Sailor Moon - Rise of the Exalted Knights

by Lisseas

Chapter Sixteen - Descending Into Darkness

Posted: 04/09/2017

"This seems foolish."

It was Pluto's second such observation, one Sailor Mars just couldn't ignore. Her face tightened in a brief scowl directed solely at the Guardian of Time. "The enemy drops a mall on our friends, and you want to just leave them under it?!"

"That's not what I said."

"Well, it sure sounded like it to me." The miko knew she was just taking her bad mood out on Pluto, at least on some level, but that wasn't enough to make her stop. "How about you do something else instead? You could, oh, I don't know, use that foresight of yours to actually help us find everyone?"

A sigh of pure exasperation hissed from Pluto's lips. "You know I can't-"

"Yeah, yeah. Excuses, excuses." Mars turned her attention to the darkened subway entrance. It was a long way down, the escalators stationary after a spate of city-wide power outages, but it was their only real option if they wanted in to the mall.

"That's not fair, Mars."

Chibi Moon, she thought wearily. That girl never was afraid to speak her mind. The urge to snap back at her flared up for just a moment, but faded quickly as she reconsidered. This isn't about Pluto, or Chibi Moon. It's about what happened earlier, with that Hunter…and how I'm feeling about it. With a brief, conciliatory nod, she let it go. "You're right. I'm sorry, Pluto."

The older Senshi offered a gracious nod of her own. "We're all under a great deal of stress. Consider it forgotten."

Another voice called up from the darkness below; a clearly impatient Guardian Knight of Justice. "If you're finished with your little love-in or whatever the hell you want to call it, maybe we could get a move on?"

Somewhat embarrassed – and entirely unaware she'd stopped moving – Mars motioned the rest of the Senshi downward. "Come on, girls. Let's go."

The darkness was palpable, broken up every ten meters or so by red emergency lamps. The Senshi's stomach lurched, an unexplained feeling of dread rising with every step, until it finally clicked. While the lighting was far less intense and all-encompassing, it was a sufficient reminder of Chaos' assault on her home, Hikawa Shrine. The crimson glow, the stifling darkness beyond; it left her shaken all over again.

Another reason I've been so short-tempered of late, she confessed to herself. These bastards have a lot to answer for after choosing to serve Chaos. Her hand curled slowly into a tight, quivering fist, as a renewed anger pulsed through her veins. It would be so much easier if I could just feel something after killing them. Anything! Nothing is…it's just frustrating. I was disgusted by Rinjirou's apathy, but now that I'm in the very same position…

As she stepped onto the station concourse, she pushed such thoughts from her mind and focused on the here and now. Justice was already moving again, vaulting over the turnstiles. Mercury came right up behind her, her computer chirping quietly.

"I've got something. Senshi communicators."

Mars flipped her own device open and brought it to her lips. "Jupiter? Venus? Can you hear me?" As the seconds passed, the same infuriating static from earlier only grew in strength. "Damn it!"

"There's too much interference," Mercury said dejectedly. "That blast was incredibly powerful, more so than any conventional explosion. We're practically swimming in its after effects, even down here."

The group continued in, finally stepping onto one of the platforms. Justice refused to slow down, his armoured form already more than halfway down its length. Mars followed his gaze to the ceiling and stifled a gasp. An immense crack snaked its way across the concrete surface, a testament to the level of destruction wrought by Chaos' ambush of their friends. The dust was still settling, leaving the air a hazy, otherworldly mess in its wake.

"That leads up to the mall." Mercury pointed to a partially collapsed doorway across the tracks. "It's collapsed, though. Must have given way after the explosion."

Chibi Moon's eyes widened with concern. "If the others tried to escape down here…"

Mercury shook her head. "The interference is growing worse, but I'm sure their communicator signals are coming from the tunnels." She gestured to the circular opening at the far end of the platform, where the train tracks disappeared into darkness. "My best guess? They're about a hundred meters down the line."

"That would match up with the mall's main entrance," Mars murmured, her arms coming up around her elbows in a loose self-hug. "Right?"

"Right. I doubt they had time to reach the station entrance." Her computer began beeping more steadily with every step Mercury took down the platform. "Everything here seems to be intact, but there was a collapse…" She inhaled sharply as the beeping intensified. "About one hundred meters in."

Justice joined her, his helmet staring blankly towards the tunnel. "So, they could've fallen through?"

"There's not enough evidence to say one way or another, but…" The blue-skirted Senshi settled on a tentative shrug. "It's possible."

Pluto responded with a dismissive snort. "More assumptions. The simple truth is that we don't know what happened!"

"Oh, you're just worried like the rest of us," Chibi Moon said, winking right at Mars as she ignored the older Senshi's glare. "She's always snarky when she's worried."

"Small Lady!"

The miko was forced to concede Chibi Moon's point. Setsuna's usually cool, calm and collected, but I think she's been more emotional than ever this past week or so. Nice to see even she's not above the stress of the situation.

"Screw it." Justice dropped off the platform with a heavy metallic clang, striding towards the tunnel with purpose. "I'm going in."

"Oh, by the ancients…" She followed after him with an irritated sigh. "Wait, Justice! We need to stick together!"

The dim light of the station faded quickly as they headed further into the tunnel. The darkness was a tangible, ominous presence, the only sound the light tap of their shoes against the rails and concrete beneath them.

"You always bring me to the most interesting places when I visit."

Not even Chibi Moon's light-hearted quip was enough to quell Mars' nerves. She's nervous too. All of us are. Setsuna was right about one thing, at least: this is foolish. We have no idea what's down here with us…or who.

Sure enough, a little over a hundred meters in, the tracks disappeared beneath a misshapen heap of concrete and other debris. The tunnel's ceiling had caved in, just as Mercury had reported.

Justice let out a snarl of frustration as he kicked the obstruction. "Well, that's just great. I'm guessing those communicator signals are coming from behind all this?"

Clearly upset herself, Mercury offered a look of pure helplessness. "The interference is even stronger down here. I…I just can't tell!"

Mars patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "Give yourself a break, Ami. You've gotten us this far."

The Guardian Knight's pauldrons lowered slightly as he sagged. "Right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Mercury said quickly, gathering herself. "We must be standing right underneath the epicentre of the initial blast. The whole area's flooded with residual negative energy."

Mars ran a hand across the rubble. It was packed in tight, leaving very few noticeable holes…if any at all. Getting through it would be a nightmare, especially with their two strongest Senshi on the other side.

"Haruka would make short work of this mess," Pluto murmured, echoing her thoughts out loud.

"Well, if they're on the other side…?" Chibi Moon leaned in close and cupped both hands around her mouth. "Uranus? Saturn? Jupiter? Venus?" Gulping down another lungful of hair, she managed to be even louder the second time around. "Can anybody hear me?!"

The miko listened intently as her voice echoed around them before finally fading. Just like her hopes. "Nothing."

"Is there another way around?" Pluto asked, turning to Mercury. "Another tunnel, perhaps?"

"I'm not sure. Let me try to scan-"

A heavy, metallic clang rang out in the dark. Mars just about jumped out of her skin, whirling around to find Justice mid-kick. His armoured boot slammed into a nondescript door, recessed into the side of the tunnel, springing it open on the second attempt. More red light shone through, illuminating a smaller, narrower passage beyond.

"Maintenance tunnel," he grunted, motioning them forward. "Looks like it runs parallel to this one. Might be our way past the collapse." He ducked under the doorframe and disappeared through, his heavy footfalls fading slowly after him.

Chibi Moon sighed long and hard. "He's really not great at the whole stealth thing, is he?"

Mars matched her with a sigh of her own. "To be fair, Chibi Moon, none of us really are." She made for the doorway, waving her friends after her. "Come on. Let's see where this goes."

Consciousness returned to Sailor Jupiter slowly. A pained groan followed as she opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Everything hurt. Every inch of skin, every muscle; everything.

"You're awake?"

She blinked rapidly, confused by the total darkness around her. The voice was familiar. Unpleasantly so, in fact. As her vision began to clarify, she offered a silent curse to the universe for her bad luck.

"Are you awake?"

"Oh, great," Jupiter muttered sourly. "It's you."

Sailor Venus responded with a derisive snort. "Some gratitude. Maybe I should have left you behind in the collapsing mall?"

That gave the brunette pause. She didn't remember how she'd gotten here, wherever they were. "I didn't mean…" Unsure how to finish, she finally settled on a helpless shrug. "Thanks. For not leaving me behind, I mean."

"Yeah, well…" Venus finally came into view as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, no more than a few meters away. "It's not like I could actually do it. Not really."

They settled into an awkward silence, giving Jupiter an opportunity to study their surroundings. They were in some sort of cave or tunnel. Rising carefully to her feet, she took a few tentative steps and was surprised when her boots tapped against a long, thin piece of metal. Rails? Why would there be…?

"We're in the subway under the mall," Venus said, guessing at her thought process. "Uranus threw a World Shaking into the floor, and we fell. I woke up maybe ten minutes ago."

"That Construct. The one that looked like Usagi…" The explosion must have knocked her out, rending her useless in the escape. That little factoid hurt most of all; Jupiter hated feeling useless.

"Mm-hmm."

She studied Venus carefully. There was something there. A brief, hissed inhale before speaking, even the beginnings of a grimace. Hell, her body language screams 'I'm in pain', and she's leaning like…oh. "How's your back?"

Venus straightened quickly, a scowl rising on her face. "I'm fine."

"I just…" Jupiter gave up, her own sense of irritation growing. She just can't resist making everything difficult, can she? It was a familiar anger, one she'd kept to herself for months before it would finally erupt at Minako's hypocrisy. Or perceived hypocrisy, at least…like Rei said.

She took another look around, deciding they were effectively standing in a literal hole. It's almost a metaphor for the state of our friendship, isn't it? While she did resent Minako's inane jealousy and apparent 'free pass' from their friends, it wasn't exactly wrong of Rei to suggest she'd taken things too far herself. Minako did get me down here safely, after all…and I can't really blame her for snapping back at me. Not entirely. She's probably just waiting for the next war of words, same as me…but one of us has to take the first step.

With a deep breath, she swallowed as much of her anger and frustration as she could…and took that step. "I guess we've gotten used to fighting each other, huh?"

Venus met her olive branch with folded arms and a fiery glare. "Is that a rhetorical question?"

"Oh, come on, Minako!" The brunette's temper flared right up again. "I know we haven't exactly had a great relationship of late, but I am trying here. Is it really so hard to give me something in return? Is it?!"

She expected more ice, or even outright anger…but Venus surprised her. After a moment of thought, she unfurled her arms and shook her head. "No. You're right, Makoto, it isn't." She considered again, her jaw working silently for seconds before she spoke. "Thank you…for asking about my back."

Jupiter was surprised, to say the least. But I can hardly be smug after I just called her out on her bad attitude.

"What about you? You took the brunt of Phoney Moon's blast."

She was briefly tempted to put on a brave front herself…but she was in too much pain for that. "I'm hurt, but alive. Thanks to you. Er, and the others!" The brunette cringed inwardly at her abrupt little addition but, surprisingly, Venus didn't press the issue. Instead, another uncomfortable silence was brokered, interrupted only by the occasional rumble from the ruined mall above; an unpleasant and timely reminder that Jupiter knew little about their situation. "So, uh…how are we looking?"

It seemed Venus was just as eager for a distraction from their…difficulties. She perked back to life in an instant. "Well, we know where we are…vaguely…but we're trapped on both sides." A brief wince followed as she gestured upwards. "We got lucky, though. That could've landed on us."

Peering into the darkness, eyes narrowed in an intense squint, Jupiter saw it; an immense girder that had wedged across the tunnel's broken ceiling. It acted like an umbrella, she realised, spreading the debris to either side of us. She swallowed past the sudden, painful lump in her throat as she reflected on how differently things could have gone. "Uh-huh. Things could be worse."

"I think the station is that way," Venus continued, turning to the nearer of the two 'walls', "But with these burns...and my back...I'm not sure I'm thinking clearly." She hesitated before tentatively offering an olive branch of her own. "What do you think?"

Her effort was not unnoticed, and entirely appreciated. Jupiter managed a painful shrug and took a closer look at the tunnel's actual walls. "I think I'm in the same position." She brushed a finger over some worn signage, struggling to make it out in the darkness. "This mentions the station itself, but I can't read all of it." Straightening up, and doing her best to ignore the painful tightening of her skin, she made an equally painful decision. "I'd say…you're right." It hurt so much, but she steeled herself regardless and committed entirely. "The station's that way."

Venus nodded slowly. If she appreciated the validation, she was giving no outward sign of it. "Well, I guess we'd better make a start on this rubble, then."

Jupiter didn't bother answering. Instead, she crouched carefully at the debris and began clearing the smaller pieces, a simple acknowledgement her only thought on the matter.

Well…that went better than I expected.

Justice had never really liked cramped spaces. At six-foot-five barefoot, he already felt a little big for Japan, and his armour only compounded the problem. The maintenance tunnel was a tight squeeze, with his pauldrons and the small swings on his helmet regularly striking any combination of the walls and ceiling. Coupled with heavy, metallic footsteps, he was precisely the opposite of sneaky...and he knew it.

Mercury seemed just as sick of their surroundings as he was. "We must have passed the collapse by now. I fear we'll have to backtrack."

"Beats digging through that mess back there," Chibi Moon pointed out. She came up beside him and nudged him gently, dropping her voice to a near-whisper. "So, I haven't had much of a chance to talk to you since you got back, but…well, how are you doing? With all this, I mean."

"I'm worried about them," he admitted quietly. "About Minako."

"She'll be fine. They all will. They're tough."

"Yeah…" He didn't bother to correct her assumption. I believe that. It's the conversations afterwards that concern me. How will everyone react to me just popping back up in Tokyo? How will Minakoreact?

"Look!" Mercury's relief was palpable. "Finally, a door!"

Justice gently guided Chibi Moon back as he approached it and gave an experimental push. Nothing. He grabbed the handle and pulled. Same result. "Well…"

Mars cleared her throat. "So, let's do this-" She was drowned out by the crash of steel-on-steel as he shouldered the door open, stumbling just a bit into the much larger rail tunnel. "…quietly." The miko sighed and followed him through, shaking her head in what could almost be taken for disgust. "Ancestors, grant me strength..."

"This isn't a video game," he retorted, not sorry at all. "Plate armour's no good for sneaking around, and your voice is carrying just as badly!" He paused as an odd skittering sound drifted out of the dark around them, impossibly omnipresent.

Mercury tensed, and Chibi Moon was quick to notice. "I've never seen you all like this before. You're jumping at Shadows."

"What?" Mars shot a perplexed look her way. "Why are you saying it like that?"

The younger girl frowned. "Like what?"

"Jumping at Shadows," the miko repeated, emphasising the first syllable of the word. "It's weird."

"I'm just not hearing it…"

Justice motioned for silence, reminded of just how crazy the Sailor Senshi could be. And they were worried about me making noise!

"It's just the debris settling above," Mercury murmured, clearly not at all sure of herself.

A slight, barely-there twinge in his gut left Justice doubting that. "Be ready." He exhaled slowly and allowed just a touch of Selene's power into Justiciar. The blade began to glow, the silver-white light illuminating the tunnel around them…and revealing a writhing mass of jet-black bodies on the ceiling above.

Mars' fear was obvious. "Spider Constructs?!"

Justice had little time to respond as eight razor-edged legs crashed down beside him. Sparks flew as they scraped against the rails, the bulbous, obsidian body atop them whipping about to face him. A humanoid torso stretched up from it, knife-edged arms and a blank, mannequin-like face completing the nightmarish image.

"How does Chaos have-"

"It absorbed a piece of the Revenant Knight, remember?!" He swung at the nearest creature, taking off an arm as it tried to parry. "Chaos has all his knowledge, including how to make these things!" A second Construct lunged at him, and he slapped it aside with a brief flash of his shield. Left open to counterattack, he stabbed Justiciar deep into its abdomen. The blade flared with radiant light, quite literally tearing the beast apart from the inside. Justice stepped back as its body collapsed into dust, marvelling at Selene's upgrade. Everything felt effortless!

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

He drove another shield into the Construct harassing Mars as Mercury and Chibi Moon stepped into the fray. One Construct lost a pair of legs, frozen and snapped off at its body, while another was crushed beneath the teen's massive pink heart. Free of her attacker now, Mars span about and unleashed hell.

"Burning Mandala!"

Three more of the creatures ignited in the wake of her blazing rings, their featureless black flesh now wreathed in flames. One dove for Chibi Moon despite its condition, and Justice removed its head in a single cut. The remaining two skittered about, letting out hideous shrieks before crumbling to ash. Pluto, bringing up the rear, finally stepped through the open doorway and levelled her staff.

"Dead Scream!"

The violet orb lit up the tunnel, tearing across its width to obliterate two more Constructs. They crumbled too, leaving little more than a scorch mark on the floor in their place.

"I detest spiders," she murmured, carefully brushing a loose strand of hair from her eyes. "Our prior encounter with these things was more than enough for one lifetime."

One Construct remained, turning tail to flee. Justice considered a blast from his sword to finish it but, as it vanished into the darkness, Chibi Moon beat him to it.

"Celestial Tide!"

A blast of brilliant white light left her open palms, washing over the floor like its namesake. It quickly overtook the fleeing monster and enveloped it, smashing it to pieces against the unyielding concrete floor.

"That was refreshingly easy," Pluto noted quietly, with narrowed eyes. "Disturbingly so, in fact."

"On that," Justice answered, "We agree."

They began to regroup, gathering amidst the various scattered dust-piles of the Constructs, when a soft, gentle beeping became audible; Mercury's computer. The blue-haired Senshi produced it from her subspace pocket and beamed. "Communicators, back the way we came!"

They followed the tracks about a hundred meters back before the blockage came into view and, with it, two familiar figures; Sailor Saturn and Sailor Uranus. The tall blonde woman leaned heavily on her companion's shoulder, uniform torn and the exposed skin beneath red, but they were moving. That was all that mattered.

Despite his relief, however, Justice couldn't help but feel a pang of concern. But where are Minako and Makoto?

Chibi Moon showed no such hesitation, rushing towards them immediately. "Hotaru! You're-"

"And lo…"

Justice tensed as she ground to a halt, instantly on guard. The unfamiliar voice seemed to flutter at them from all angles, both everywhere and nowhere at once. Deep and dark, yet strangely melodic.

"...the wicked Senshi were punished. Entombed in concrete and glass and steel, and it…was…good."

With a tell-tale shimmer, a pair of Hunters appeared at the Senshi's side. They knocked Saturn down with a well-placed strike and seized the barely-conscious Uranus with ease.

Justice drew his sword and started towards them, ready to defend his friends, when another blur of air appeared in his path. Three more Hunters popped into view, standing motionless between them.

"But they sought to escape this just and fitting punishment. So then did Her Faithful seize them...and make ready to dispense Her divine justice."

The Guardian Knight wasn't quite sure what he was hearing. It was clearly the centre Hunter talking, that much was obvious from the movement of his hood, but the manner of that speech was strange. It was Japanese, and yet he was clearly not a native speaker of the language. And the way he speaks, he noted. It reminds me of a preacher from back home when I was a kid. Hellfire and brimstone and all that other bullshit…assuming I'm hearing it right.

There was little time for such thoughts, though. He stepped forward, Justiciar raised before him, and made an open challenge. "You get one warning. Release our friends and stand aside."

The apparent leader made no move at all. "Or?"

Neither did Justice. "We'll move you and free them ourselves."

A low, throaty chuckle emanated from under the hood. "Such arrogance. If you wish to have them, you will have to smite us first."

The two Hunters at his sides drew swords from beneath their robes, and that was enough for Justice. His conscience was now clear, and he unconsciously slipped into English. "If that's the way you want it, pal."

His sword descended towards the Hunter on his left, ready to disarm him…until the leader snatched it out of the air, seizing the blade in his hand. "Oh," he responded, in English as well, "It is."

"That…" Justice's earlier confidence wavered in the face of such an impossibility. "How did you…?"

"All things are possible through Her." The Hunter reached up with his free hand and pushed back his hood, revealing the usual porcelain mask with one very key difference: a bloody smear running diagonally across it from cheek to brow

Mars and Mercury stiffened. "Careful, Justice," the miko called. "That's no ordinary Hunter!"

"Hunter..." The masked man released Justiciar with a derisive snort. "We were once Vigilant; those of the Watchful Eye. We guarded the Order of Black against exposure, corruption, and decadence…but it was a flawed institution, and it died as it had to so that She might be reborn." He straightened abruptly, revealing a man far more physically imposing than Justice had first thought. "We are now Her Faithful. We serve our Lady Chaos without question. I am the Black Death, Justice, and perhaps we are Hunters after all…for you are our prey!"

At his words, the Hunters holding Saturn and Uranus began dragging them further down the tunnel. The two Senshi offered only meagre resistance, too drained after their ordeal to fight back properly. Justice prepared for another strike…only for Mars to force her way past him.

"Burning Mandala!"

A wall of flame sprang up beneath the Hunter's feet, but they were already in motion. One shrugged out of her robes as they ignited, revealing familiar black armour beneath. The other hurled a fireball of his own, but Mars slapped it out of the air and responded with a Fire Soul.

"Dead Scream!"

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

Justice moved for this 'Black Death' as all hell broke loose. He was surprised by the Senshi's apparent willingness to go all-out so quickly, but they had been through two weeks of near-constant fighting; he couldn't really criticise them when he hadn't been here with them.

The Hunter to his left took Pluto's attack head-on, raising his forearm and blocking it against the very shield he'd absorbed Mars' Fire Soul with seconds prior. He made no effort to stand against the large concrete-like heart descending on him, though, diving to the side as it slammed into the ground where he'd been standing. The Guardian Knight caught him mid-move, shouldering him into the wall and breaking his mask with a hard right hand.

Dawkins would be proud of that punch, he noted silently. I could really use your guidance right now, old man.

Turning, he barely avoided a hit to his helmet. The Black Death stood before him, pulling back into a high guard with a coal-black broadsword in hand. The bloody-masked Hunter regarded him in a silent stare-down, making no effort to close again…and Justice took the challenge as it was intended. He settled into a defensive stance of his own, shifting his feet slightly apart as Justiciar rose between them.

The man he'd punched was already back in the fight despite his missing mask. A pale man with high, haughty features and jet-black hair, he whirled through the fray, harassing the Senshi with his sword. These Hunters were clearly different from the ones they'd fought before, stronger and faster. Maybe even more perplexing were their tactics, fighting to hold their ground over pursuing actual victory. It jumped out to Justice immediately; they were stalling the Senshi, but why?

"Let us dance." The Black Death moved in with surprising grace and speed, slashing with precision for Justice's left side.

He decided to test Selene's upgrades a little more, and let his shield take the hit. Without waiting for the result, he launched a simultaneous counterattack, swinging Justiciar at the Hunter's stomach. In less time than humanly possible, the Hunter drew a knife from his belt and deflected the strike.

Justiciar should've cut through that thing with ease, he thought, actually annoyed. Ah, well. Guess I have to do this the old-fashioned way and actually beat him in a fight. You've gotten lazy, McLeod!

It was at that point that the battle changed unexpectedly. Two swirling black portals opened up, right behind the distant Saturn and Uranus. They were immediately familiar; Terror and Wrath had used similar portals to move their Constructs around Tokyo. Now, it seemed, the Hunters were using them to abduct their friends!

Pluto jammed her staff into her opponent's chest with an unusual level of anger. "They shouldn't be able to do that!"

"Well, they are!" Mars snapped back, narrowing avoiding a knife thrust from his companion. "We have to reach them now!"

That was the plan but, no matter how hard they fought, they just couldn't get by the assassins. They operated as a singular opponent, reinforcing one another and willingly taking hits if it meant keeping the tunnel closed off. At one point, Chibi Moon actually knocked the female Hunter down, but Black Death broke away from Justice and shored up her position personally, holding even against three of the Senshi at once.

It hit Justice hard, a bolt of realisation. I have a clear path. He summoned Selene's strength, readying himself to blink right to their friends. The world vanished in a brief, familiar flash of golden light…and he was forced to defend himself as he reappeared, the Black Death blinking into existence in front of him!

"You may have your Lady, Justice, but I have mine…and She will not be denied! These Senshi are Hers now."

They began a furious exchange of blows as the Guardian Knight struggled in vain to get by. It was all for nought, however, as Saturn and Uranus were dragged kicking and screaming into the portals.

"Damn you!" Mars swore, as they closed behind them. "Bring them back right now or-"

"Or what?" The Black Death retreated from Justice once again, his bloody mask whipping about to face her. "You bark like a frightened dog, shrine maiden, but I do not fear your bite." His words hung in the air, a mocking whisper, as he faded from view…his mask the last thing to disappear. "Come and find them…if you dare."

"Son of a bitch!" Justice's anger finally boiled over and he slammed an armoured fist into the nearest wall, cracking the concrete finish. I thought I was strong enough now. I thought... "Mercury?"

Her computer chirped faintly, followed by complete silence. She looked up, meeting their gazes one-by-one as a heavy sigh left her lips. "Nothing. No readings at all. They're gone…and so are Saturn and Uranus."

"They shouldn't be this strong," Pluto growled, "This powerful. It's all wrong!"

"But they are," Mars muttered, slamming a fist into her palm. "It looks like Chaos has rewarded its Faithful with a few upgrades of their own."

Another chirp filled the silence, different from the first. "Wait…" Mercury turned, back towards the station and the other side of the collapsed tunnel. "Now that all that negative energy is clearing, I'm picking up…" Her face lit up as the chirps grew stronger. "Venus and Jupiter's communicators! They must be behind here! Perhaps two obstructions with them in the middle?"

Justice was quick to her side. "Life signs?"

"I can't…" The blue-haired Senshi let out a frustrated hiss. "There's too much residual interference. I just can't tell."

"But you said it yourself!" Chibi Moon said excitedly. "A two-sided collapse, with our friends trapped between them!"

"They certainly could be." The Guardian of Time hefted her staff, returning now to a more familiar state of calm and restraint. "But we don't know that for certain, and we must focus on Saturn and Uranus. They're in great danger, we know that for a fact!"

Mars lost some of her own enthusiasm. "Right. We can't leave them in that monster's hands."

"We should inform Sailor Moon at once." Pluto looked about, offering Justice a sympathetic glance. "They are more at risk than anyone else right now."

"Are you serious?" The Guardian Knight had heard enough. "You don't know that. Minako and Mako could be hurt! They could be running out of air! We don't-"

"We don't know that." She met his stare with a pointed one of her own. "This 'Black Death' has two of our friends, and he-"

"He told us to come find them!" He shook his head in disbelief, spreading his arms wide. "Christ, my head actually hurts from all the stupid! It's a trap, Setsuna, plain and simple! He isn't going to just kill them without us making a rescue attempt, but Minako and-"

Pluto cut him off with a dismissive snort. "You're letting your emotions get the better of you."

"And you're not? I know you're worried about Hotaru and Haruka, I get that." He thrust a finger towards the collapsed tunnel for emphasis. "Just like I'm worried about them."

"Is it really them you're worried about?" she wondered pointedly, "Or her?"

Justice couldn't help but scowl behind his helmet. He'd hoped this kind of debate was behind him by now, but it seemed not. "The two aren't mutually exclusive, Pluto." At that, he turned his back and began yanking pieces of broken ceiling out of the pile. "Go on, then. Take everyone. Go tell Usagi all about it and rescue the others. I'll be here, digging our other friends out of the ground."

Her angry exterior seemed to crack a little. "Look..."

"We don't have time for this!" Mars yelled, with a frustrated sigh. "Now is not the time to split up, Justice!"

"No, he's right." Chibi Moon backed up and joined him by the rubble, lifting a smaller piece. "We'll stay and work on freeing Venus and Jupiter. The rest of you go warn Sailor Moon, and plan a rescue for Saturn and Uranus. Divide and conquer and all that."

Again, Pluto wavered. "Small Lady…"

"Just go," Justice muttered, through gritted teeth. "I'll keep her safe."

"Excuse me?" The pink-haired teen kicked him hard in the shin, though it barely registered through his armour. "I'll keep myself safe, thank you very much!"

"…right. My mistake."

AN: Hey, so Exalted Knights isn't abandoned! Seriously though, I know it's been a while since my last update but I finally found some inspiration and motivation again and ended up with a chapter I was happy with. This is probably the third full revision of my first draft, but I feel it was worth the wait. Better still, I now have a better idea how everything fits together to get my back on track with my overall outline, so...yeah. I'm hoping that combined with being in a better place mentally will translate to progress like the old days!

Thank you for all the reviews and kind words and wishes last chapter. It meant a lot to hear from so many people who are reading, and the general "no pressure, take your time" message really helped me to chill out, take the time to reflect on everything that's happened of late, and refocus. Admittedly a little later than I was hoping for, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I'm hopeful the wait was worth it, and I look forward to your continued feedback and support.

Lisseas