AN: Ergh sorry for the big delay again, you guys. I know I'm always apologizing for delays, but the new semester at school has been keeping me super busy. But at least there's a chapter now! Not much to say about it, so as always, thanks to my fantastic reviewers: Arigato210, Cafuchi, Astraearose-silvermoon, Danykasd, hpgsnlctt, lilymoon80, Guest, slightlyxjaded, Jakeros, HyenaYu, Shuuwai, Moonprincess998, and SereStarOfGaea.
Holy cow you guys, 13 reviews? It really means a lot to me, so thanks for all the support. And now, on to the chapter!
Ami walked around the main room of the observatory, carefully taking in the head astronomer's talk about the kinds of research they did there, and the technical aspects about their primary telescope.
"This is so lovely, Zoisite," she said. "Thank you. I'd been meaning to check this place out, but I doubt I ever would have on my own."
"You work too hard," Zoisite commented. "It's okay to set aside some time for yourself, you know, you don't have to dedicate your entire life to your job as a Senshi."
Ami's lips twisted into a wry smile. "I kind of do, though. The Black Moon Clan is… well, very unknown. And that's frightening. And with Usagi the way she is currently, everyone has to pull a little extra weight. Which none of us mind," she hastened to add. "This breakup has been so hard on Usagi, and she's handling it remarkably well, but it does mean that her mind isn't fully on the job, and we have to take over a little."
Zoisite sighed and offered a sympathetic smile. "Your kindness and loyalty to your friends never ceases to amaze me. You sacrifice so much for them. For the whole world, really."
Ami blushed and shrugged slightly. "I don't see any other way around it. I was called to be a Senshi for a reason, and I'm not going to shirk my duties. I've always wanted to help people, I always thought I'd grow up to be a doctor, like my mother is. Being a Senshi interferes with my dream of being a doctor, but… it also fulfills it. I'm already helping people. I was always destined to become Sailor Mercury, perhaps my childhood dream of being a doctor was because deep down, I knew who I was, and being a doctor was the only logical way I could process it."
Zoisite grinned broadly. "That's one of the things I love about you, your kind and generous heart." His eyes widened as he realized what he'd said. "Like! I mean, that's one of the things I like about you. Not… I mean not that I don't not love… but no, um, yeah, purely platonic love. Like."
Ami stifled a giggle as Zoisite stammered and blushed. "It's okay. I don't want you to feel like you can't be yourself around me, Zoisite. I… I don't really know how I feel yet. I don't know how much of what I'm feeling is memories of our past life together and how much is how I feel right here, right now. And… it will likely take some time to sort that out. But while I do, I… I like having you around. And you don't need to pretend to feel things you don't, or hide feelings that you do have. I don't think we can ever find out if a relationship will work between us if we're not open and honest with each other."
Zoisite smiled and grabbed Ami's hand as he kissed the back of it. "Thank you. You are, as always, right. And no matter how things turn out, I'm glad to have gotten this second chance to get to know you again. You, Ami Mizuno, not Metis. I loved Metis, but I know you are not her, and I'm not the man I was back then either. I look forward to getting to know you in this lifetime, and I feel immensely grateful to have the opportunity."
Ami smiled. "Me too. But you don't have to be so formal, you know." She stretched up on her toes to place a slightly shy kiss on his cheek. As Zoisite stood there, shell-shocked, she giggled and grabbed his hand. "Now come on, let's go check out this telescope."
Usagi sat on the bench in the park, grateful to have some time to herself for once. Chibiusa was lovely, and she was oddly grateful to have the girl in her life, but… looking after a 6-year-old all the time was wearying, even a mature and sweet 6-year-old. It was good to have some time to herself and her thoughts. Even though, invariably, her thoughts always turned back to Mamoru. Things were getting better, but slowly- too slowly; it was like a barely scabbed over wound that kept reopening every time she moved.
Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned back, trying to just soak up the sun and enjoy the beautiful weather. At least her ankle was better—she had to wear a stupid, bulky boot, but she was off crutches. And thankfully, when she transformed into Sailor Moon, the injury was always minimized. Even after all this time, it never ceased to amaze her, the sheer amount of power that ran through her veins, and the ways her body could do things she never thought possible when she was transformed.
Just when she was considering getting up, maybe stretching her legs for a bit and going to get an ice cream cone, her thoughts were interrupted as a scream pierced the air.
"Help!" a woman cried out as she stumbled into the park, and even from a distance, Usagi could tell she was bleeding profusely. "There's… one of those monsters!" she choked out. "It attacked me!"
Usagi rushed over as fast as she could with the awkward boot. "Please, tell me what you saw. Where is this monster?"
"A few blocks… that way," she said, her voice getting faint as the adrenaline wore off. "It's… big, with sharp claws and… and…"
Usagi gnawed on her lower lip and looked around. "Please, someone stay with this woman until help arrives. Keep her conscious, and staunch the bleeding as best you can."
The people who had gathered looked a little surprised to see a petite blonde teenage girl taking control, but one main nodded and shook himself out of his stupor. "I know basic first aid training, I'll do what I can."
Usagi nodded her thanks and ran off to find the youma, though not before she heard a snippet of conversation from a woman standing off to the side.
"Sailor Moon will save us," she muttered, clutching her rosary protectively. "The Sailor Senshi always do."
Usagi winced slightly. She was grateful that people had come to trust and rely on her and the other Senshi to protect them, but it was a double-edged sword. It made it harder to protect her civilian identity, and it meant that if she ever failed… well. The stakes were certainly high.
The trail to the youma was easy to track, as panicked civilians fled, some more injured than others. After a few minutes of awkward half-running, half-staggering, Usagi glimpsed the youma. It was very large, easily the size of a car, if not larger, with long claws that glinted in the sunlight. Usagi winced as she saw them easily tear through the metal of a small car, as if it were butter. Clearly the youma meant business, and she ducked into an alley and flipped open her communicator, including Haruka and Michiru in the call as well.
"Guys, we've got a problem," she said. "There's a youma downtown, just a few blocks from the park."
Someone—Rei, by the sound of it—let out a string of curses. "Great. We were just about to contact you, Usagi. Ami, Makoto, Minako and I just stumbled across a youma on the other side of town, near the library."
"Perfect," Usagi muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Haruka? Michiru?"
"We've run into a problem as well," Haruka said, and Usagi could practically hear the grimace. "There was reports of a youma attack over by the high school. We were on our way to check it out."
"Can you hold it off for now?" Ami asked. There was a brief pause and Usagi could hear Jupiter letting off a lightning attack in the background. "We'll be there as soon as we can, but this youma is tough and our resources are stretched thin."
Usagi sighed. "Yeah, I can hold it off." Not like she had much of a choice, the youma would keep attacking innocent civilians if she didn't hold it off, but hopefully it wouldn't be too terribly taxing.
"I finally get time to unwind and relax but of course it doesn't last," she muttered under her breath as she cut the line. "It never fails." But there was no time to waste on self-pity, so she pulled out her transformation brooch, ready to kick some serious youma butt.
"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" Nothing happened, and Usagi cursed under her breath. She really needed to speak to Luna and Artemis about this, it was becoming highly irritating. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, focused on the energy that she could feel even now, deep within her, and tried again.
"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" Still nothing. She was just Usagi Tsukino, regular old school girl. She could still feel the power within her, so why couldn't she access it? What was wrong with her? She took a deep, shaky breath and squeezed her eyes shut tight against the tears that threatened to fall.
Her hands were shaking as she held up her transformation brooch one last time, but she couldn't just give up, she had to try- even though something inside her said that this time was different, that she'd ignored the warning signs for too long and this was the consequence.
"Moon Prism Power… MAKE UP!" Nothing.
Usagi fell to her knees, unable to stop shaking uncontrollably as her vision narrowed and her breaths came faster and faster. A sob escaped her and she clamped a hand over her mouth to try and stifle it. What was happening to her?
Some rational voice inside her head told her that she was having a panic attack, that she needed to focus and take deep breaths and focus on what was tangible, that maybe she wasn't and couldn't be Sailor Moon right now, but she was still far better equipped to deal with this than a regular citizen, and there was still a job to be done. That voice was right.
Slowly, Usagi stood, taking a deep breath as she wiped away her tears. She couldn't live with herself if she just cowered and let the youma terrorize and kill innocent civilians. She couldn't fight right now, but she knew how the youma tended to operate, and she could at least attract its attention and keep it distracted until the Senshi could arrive and provide backup. It would be okay.
Steeling herself, she squared her shoulders and stepped out into the open. "Hey, you!"
The youma ignored her, growling and pouncing on a passing civilian and Usagi winced. She couldn't let it harm any more innocents. Searching around desperately for something to grab its attention, she spied a rock out of the corner of her eye, and hurled it at the youma, hitting it square in the head.
"I was talking to you, ugly. Leave these people alone." She smirked slightly. "I think you'll find I'm a much more interesting target."
The youma growled and dropped the woman it was holding, running on all fours over to Usagi. It was fast, but she could handle it. At least, she hoped she could as she turned and ran, glancing over her shoulder occasionally to make sure the youma was following. It kept after her at a steady pace, and she breathed sigh of relief.
"You can smell the power on me, can't you? You know I'm different. Good."
The youma just growled in response and picked up speed, and Usagi turned down an alley, hoping to lead it away from the civilians. But already her lungs were aching and her still-healing foot sent sharp pains up her whole leg every time she put weight on it, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep going with this. She hoped the Senshi would get there soon.
However, as she rounded the corner, she realized she'd made a grave mistake and turned down the wrong alley. Just one street over, the alley connected to the back parking lot of the old grocery store. It was where she'd been hoping to lead the youma, as it was a relatively open space and not likely to be very densely populated.
But this street, the alley she'd turned down, was a dead end, and she could see the wall getting closer and closer as she kept running. She glanced over her shoulder to see if she could chance running past the youma and turning around, but the alley was too narrow and the youma too wide, and it blocked it off.
Usagi swore under her breath. "Kami help me," she muttered. She slowed down and backed up against the wall, her heart pounding in her chest, both from exertion and fear. How was she supposed to get out of this?
The youma slowed as well, growling as it closed in on Usagi, pacing back and forth as best it could in the narrow space, the way a predator might circle its prey. It flexed its claws and Usagi winced, remembering how easily it had sliced through the car.
Her hands fumbled along the wall, searching for anything that might be of use, any kind of makeshift weapon that might help even the playing field, even just a little. A few stones came loose in her prying hands, and she gripped them so hard her knuckled turned white. Waiting for the perfect opportunity, she bided her time as the youma crouched down low, and just before it could pounce, she threw the stones at its head, one after another.
The youma stumbled back slightly, stunned, and Usagi made a run for it, hoping to duck past the youma while it was distracted and she was so close to making it past the youma when something hit her hard in the chest, and she was airborne. The sensation only lasted a few seconds before she landed with a sickeningly loud crack, her head slamming back against the wall from the force of the youma's throw. She could feel a hot, stick liquid dripping down the back of her neck, and she knew it was blood, but there was no time to worry. Ami could patch her up once she got out of this mess.
If she got out of this mess.
She tried not to think too much about that. She was Princess Serenity, she was Sailor Moon, she'd defeated Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom and she'd technically died twice. She would make it through this, it was just one measly youma.
She tried to ignore the voice that reminded her that when she'd defeated Queen Beryl, she'd not only had her powers, but she'd used the full power of the Silver Crystal and she'd had help from her friends. Right now, she was only marginally better than an average civilian.
Still, she wasn't going to give up without a fight, so she staggered to her feet, blinking rapidly to try and clear her double vision. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a pile of recycling that one of the stores had set out, and in it were several wooden slats, likely leftover from a shipment crate. Diving for the pile, Usagi grabbed one of the slats and held it defensively in front of herself, just as the youma swiped its claws at her.
But the slat easily broke in two, and Usagi only barely managed to avoid the youma's claws herself. Desperate, she lunged forward, attempting to stab the youma with the broken end of the slat, but no such luck, and the youma brushed it away easily, its claws raking down her arm and she cried out in pain.
Before she could even attempt a counter attack, the youma grabbed her and tossed her up in the air, and a scream tore through her throat as she reached the top of the arc and started to fall again, grasping desperately at the air, but there was nothing to break her fall. She landed hard, and heard the sound of her leg breaking before she felt it. But then she did feel it, and she couldn't stop from crying out.
Whimpering, she tried to crawl away, but the youma closed in on her, and Usagi had a feeling that up until now, it had just been toying with her, but that it was getting tired of it. The sinking realization that she was about to die suddenly hit her, and tears sprang to her eyes.
She was only 14, she didn't want to die. She always knew that dying was a potential consequence of what she did, but… she never expected it to go down like this. Alone and scared and powerless in a dark, dank alley, with no one around to even know she was in trouble.
No one would know what happened to her, or why she hadn't transformed. To the world, she'd just be one more casualty of these attacks, a name on a list or a memorial somewhere, sad but ultimately forgotten. But to her friends… her family… Mamoru… they'd be left with so many questions.
She wished she'd had the chance to make up with Mamoru- even if he never loved her again, she wished they could have been friends. She wished she'd had the chance to find out what was terrorizing Chibiusa so much, to help her and bring her home. She wished she'd be able to help her friends defeat the Black Moon Clan, she wished she'd had more time to spend with her family, she wished for so many things that would never happen.
Closing her eyes, she resigned herself to her fate. At least she'd gone out in battle, trying to save civilians. Maybe she'd been over-confident in her abilities, maybe she'd been reckless, but she was at peace with her decision. If she had a chance to do it over, she'd do the same. She wouldn't allow innocent civilians to be killed while she stood by, idle and cowering in fear.
She was proud of herself, that only a small whimper escaped her as she heard the youma growl menacingly, and so close. A second later, its claws pierced her abdomen and her eyes flew open from the pain as a soundless cry escaped her. The pain was excruciating, and just when she thought she couldn't possibly bear it any longer, it started to dull and her mind started to fade, and soon she didn't feel anything at all anymore. Beside her, her communicator buzzed frantically, but she couldn't hear it anymore.
The Sailor Senshi tore through the streets of Tokyo, all with the sinking suspicion that something was very, very wrong.
"She won't pick up," Mars muttered. "Come on Usagi, answer your goddamn communicator!"
"This isn't like her," Jupiter said. "Even if she were in the middle of battle, normally she'd at least let us know she was busy."
"There's nothing we can do but stay calm," Mercury said, her voice level, though her expression gave away her concern. "I'm tracking her communicator signal, we're getting close. Right down this alley."
They ran down the alley, and as they rounded the corner, they saw the youma, and behind it, Usagi, lying broken and bleeding on the ground.
"USAGI!" a feral scream escaped Mars, and she sent a blaze of fire at the youma.
Venus rushed forward, sending a concentrated beam of light over her shoulder without a second glance and the youma crumbled into dust. Mercury was the first to reach Usagi, gently turning her over as she assessed her injuries.
"How bad is it?" Jupiter asked, almost afraid to know. "Is she…" she couldn't bear to finish that. Usagi had to be alive.
"It's not good," Mercury said, her voice shaking. "She needs immediate medical attention, we need to get her to the base, all my medical supplies are there. Someone should call Uranus and Neptune as well, let them know."
"We're here, what—oh no." Neptune rounded the corner, Uranus just behind her. "Oh no, oh no, that's… is she…?"
"We're moving her to the base right now," Mercury said. "I don't suppose you have a car nearby?"
Uranus, who had been silent up until then, nodded. "My car is parked just a few blocks from here. Come, I can drive you to the base." Her voice was even and unemotional, deadened. "We should drop our transformations, we'll attract less suspicion."
Nodding, the other Sailor Senshi did that and followed Haruka as she led them to her car. Makoto was the one to carry Usagi, being the tallest and strongest after Haruka, and she held Usagi close, trying to jostle her as little as possible while she ran as fast as she could and tried not to think about the fact that one of her dearest friends was bleeding out in her arms.
They reached the car quickly and everyone piled in, Haruka sliding behind the wheel. There wasn't enough room for everyone, but they all understood that no one was willing to be left behind, not now, with Usagi's life on the line, so they all crammed in, Usagi carefully laid out on their laps. Haruka slammed down on the gas, the tires squealing as the car took off down the street.
"Someone should let Luna and Artemis know what happened and that we're coming," Ami said, her voice tight. "They can help set out all the medical equipment as well."
Minako nodded. "I'll call them." She pulled out her communicator and dialed the base, not looking forward to this conversation. "There's been an emergency. Usagi's injured pretty badly. We're on our way to the base, can you set out Ami's medical equipment? … yes, I know you're concerned. We all are. But right now there's no time to explain. We all just need to remain calm."
They made record time, and right as Minako hung up, Haruka pulled up in front of the arcade, but Ami shook her head. "Not here, drive around to the back. I just had Luna put in a back entrance, it was too problematic to always be going in through the arcade."
"And not a moment too soon," Makoto agreed. How the hell would they have been able to just carry Usagi through the front doors? It would create far too many problems.
Haruka complied, and a moment later, everyone scrambled out of the car and Ami led them through the back door and down into their base.
"Usagi!" Luna cried out as she saw the state that her charge was in. "Oh, Usagi… how did this happen?"
"We're not sure yet," Makoto said. "We just… found her like this. She wasn't even transformed."
"Please, I know you're all worried, but I need space," Ami said. "It's in Usagi's best interests. I need space and I need quiet to do all I can to save her."
The other Senshi nodded their agreement and backed away as Ami drew the curtain around the medical quarters and began to work on saving Usagi's life.
"Fuck," Haruka muttered, punching the wall. "Fuck!"
Michiru placed a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, but Haruka shrugged it off. "We should have been there. We're sworn to protect her, to keep her safe. How did this happen? We failed her."
"There's no use in blaming ourselves," Michiru said gently. "We can't change the past. But Ami is very capable, and Usagi is strong. She'll pull through this."
There was a silence as everyone considered the very real possibility that she wouldn't. What then? What would they do without Usagi? How could they just go on? They couldn't.
"Someone should call Mamoru," Minako whispered. "And the Shitennou. They're our allies too, now. I'll… go do that."
Everyone winced at the thought of telling Mamoru, for whatever he claimed, it was obvious how much he still loved Usagi. It was doubtful he would handle the news well.
Mamoru sat in his apartment, absentmindedly listening to Chibiusa as she told him about the picture she was drawing. Something felt… off. Wrong. It wasn't the usual sensation he got when Usagi was in danger, it wasn't that tangible pull that drew him to her location whenever she transformed. It was just a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that something very bad was happening, but he tried to shrug it off.
"Do you think I should draw an octopus or a sea turtle next?" Chibiusa asked.
"Hmm?" Mamoru blinked at her, unsure what she'd said, and the girl pouted.
"Are you paying attention? I was asking what animal you think I should add to my underwater picture, a sea turtle or an octopus."
"Oh, um… how about an octopus?" Mamoru suggested, and Chibiusa considered this for a moment before nodding and starting on the drawing.
The doorbell rang and frowning, Mamoru got up to answer it. That was odd, he wasn't expecting anyone. His confusion only increased when he opened the door and found Zoisite standing there, fidgeting nervously.
"Zoisite? What are you doing here?"
Zoisite fixed him with a concerned, sympathetic look. "There's… there's been an incident."
No. Mamoru's blood froze in his veins. Please, for the love of Kami, anyone but her, he thought.
"It's… it's Usagi. She's injured pretty badly, and… they're not sure if she's going to make it."
AN: Ugh, I'm sorry to leave you guys on such an evil cliffhanger, but if I didn't end it there, the chapter would have been monstrous. Please review, and I will do everything I can to get the next chapter up soon!
