Chapter 5: Loss of Future
They pulled into the driveway more than an hour later. She had been right, he had made sure to get someplace far, far away from the town of Juuban. And the house was pretty secluded. There were only three other houses on the road, along with four across the street. It was a quaint little area, and had she not been in these precise terms, she'd probably have liked it.
She followed him as he exited the car, "And you're going to make sure she gets dropped off at the house?"
"I've arranged it, yeah," he said as he unlocked the door, "The car will be here in a few minutes"
She entered behind him, her mind calm. She had made the right choice; there was no other reason to worry right now. She should fear for her future, she knew, but it was just constant Scott. She could handle that. She'd want to kill herself every minute of every day, but it wasn't like living a day with Chibi-Usa in danger. And she'd lived through too many of those to want to experience another any time soon.
"Wait here," he said as they entered the living room, "I'll bring her out"
He exited the room, walking swiftly to the far bedroom. He used his key to unlock the door. He'd called a favor in from a local taxi place to arrange a pick-up for the brat. He'd leave her outside to be collected, and the driver would ensure she'd have no recollection of where she had been held. It was quite expensive, but he wasn't surprised. There weren't depths people wouldn't go to for some green. Thankfully his adoptive parents had "passed away" a year ago, leaving him with a large sum of money to be spent as he pleased.
He pushed the door open- to feel something attack his legs and attempt to rush past him. His hand shot out and grabbed her hair before she could leave the room and she shrieked.
"Time to go," he said to the brat, his lip curling in distaste at the girl in front of him. He couldn't understand why he had such a dislike of the girl. There was something about her, maybe the way she acted almost the part of a child of Usagi and Mamoru, but he hated her.
"You bitch!" she screamed, "What did you do to her!? I swear, if you touched her, I will-"
"What will you do?" he asked stonily
"Mamoru will-"
He slapped her hard across the face, "Never speak that name in my presence," he spat, "And don't make me regret letting you go"
Her eyes furrowed, "I thought you weren't letting me go till you had Usagi"
"Exactly"
He proceeded to drag her back to the living room, ignoring her screams and violent attacks. She froze when they got to the living room, her face paling as she saw Usagi.
"Usagi! What are you doing here? You shouldn't have come! Scott's crazy, get out!" the young girl shouted at Usagi once she had recovered, "Please!" Usagi just looked at Chibi-Usa blankly from her seat on the couch.
"Well, Bunny?" Scott asked, still holding the young girl tightly, "What are you going to do? Are you going to listen to the brat and leave her or are you going to sacrifice yourself so she can be safe?"
He was just taunting her now. She knew, just as he did, that there was no way she could take back her decision now. Chibi-Usa was leaving and Usagi was taking her place. End of story. But he couldn't resist rubbing it in her face that the brat was the reason she was being forced to let it all go.
He knew he should be thankful that the girl existed, so he acknowledged she had one efficient use.
Usagi stood, facing the two of them, "Chibi-Usa, I'm sorry you got dragged into this," she took a deep breath, her face twisting into something purely good, "I love you." His grip loosened involuntarily at the emotion in her words. His mind numb with shock. The way the girl spoke, it was as if the child's mother was speaking to the child.
Chibi-Usa flew to Usagi, and Usagi bent down and took the child in her hands, hugging her dearly. Her heart thud against her ribcage, begging its admittance towards the child. Every nerve in her body moved to be a little closer the life they had given.
"Mommy," Chibi-Usa whispered in Usagi's ear, "It's not your fault. I love you too, now, please, leave"
Usagi broke the hug, and wiped the tears from Chibi-Usa's eyes tenderly, "I can't, love. This was a trade. Me for you." Chibi-Usa cried harder and Usagi's heart broke. But she stood, looking at Scott calmly, "Now let her go"
Scott wordlessly walked back to the front door, "The driver will pick her up here in a few minutes"
Usagi half-dragged the child with her to the front door. Chibi-Usa wasn't going easily, fighting with her every step of the way. But she had practice with this. Those fights she had gotten into with the girl years ago had taught her how to handle her. She picked her up and dropped her on the outside of the door.
"NO!" Chibi-Usa cried, trying to force her way back in, but Scott moved over so he was blocking her, "USAGI! DON'T DO THIS!"
"You're free to go," Scott said to the sobbing girl on his doorstep, "Now, leave!" He stepped back and slammed the door closed, cutting off the cries of the girl mid-sentence. They could vaguely hear her screaming and crying, but the door was thick.
Scott turned to her, "Your phone, Bunny,"
She pulled it out of her pocket, and giving it one last loving glance, she handed it to him.
He pocketed it.
"And your broach"
Her heart stopped mid-beat.
"I don't have it. I left it at home," she said shakily, wishing upon wish he believed her.
"Where do you think you can hide it here?" he spat dangerously, "Because we both know you wouldn't leave without it. Now, give it to me"
She closed her eyes tiredly, knowing he was right. She had placed it in her jacket pocket when she left the house. She had been fingering it continuously, waiting for the opportune moment to use it, but she knew she didn't have the chance while Chibi-Usa was in the vicinity. When Scott had left to get Chibi-Usa, she had hidden it under the couch.
"Give it to me, or I swear, I will open that door and-"
"I'll give it to you," she sighed as she turned and walked back to the living room. But once it was back in her hands, it refused to let her give it up, and her fingers grasped it as if they had a mind of their own.
A trickle of power went through her, and courage mixed with it, telling her that she could handle him. It had never been a one-on-one fight between Sailor Moon and Scott- and she had the power of ten men, she must have the power to best him.
"Crisis Power!" she shouted, pulling away from him violently, "Make-Up!" She didn't bother waiting for the transformation to finish before she heaved a kick at him. He grunted as he flew into the wall on the opposite side of the room. She took a defensive stance in front of the doorway, watching him with sharp eyes.
He got up shakily, glaring at her angrily. "I thought we were past this, Bunny," he said in his seething quiet voice- it was the voice he used whenever he was beyond yelling at her- and just before he would lash at her. Just as the thought entered, he flew at her. She blocked the hit that would have usually have her rolling on the floor in pain, and punched him in the chest with her other arm.
He grunted in pain but didn't go reeling back like she had expected, instead it felt like he had attached himself to the ground. She tried again to punch him, but his hand flashed to hers, stopping it just before it hit him in the nose.
His eyes met hers for a millisecond, and dark power swirled within them. The normal dull green was misted over, a glassy look emerging as if he wasn't truly there- but their anger remained. Then he violently twisted her arm, causing her to scream in pain at the power behind it.
He easily pushed her against the door, the power in his body somehow quelling hers. She writhed violently against his hold, but he twisted her arm further, almost breaking it and all she could do was hold herself steadily and whimper in pain. "You would think with so much power you could beat me," he said softly, his breath right next to her ear as he leaned closer and closer.
"Get off of me!" she spat, trying to push him off with her free hand. But it felt like she was pushing against a wall as his hard chest didn't budge an inch.
"You'll always be less powerful than me, Bunny. You must know that by now. But yet, you still fight it," his voice had turned condescending as he whispered harshly in her ear. He grabbed her free hand and trapped it within his tightly, almost feeling as if he were breaking her fingers. He released her other hand to pull it harshly above her, now holding both of her wrists in one hand above her head.
His now free hand traveled to her breasts, and in that moment, she didn't fear for herself- she feared for the Crystal. Her fears were assured when he violently pulled at the broach at her chest. A sharp cry was pulled from her lips as breathing became harder and harder.
The strength of the pull increased at each pull, screams ripping from her throat, until finally, pain filled her as it was snatched from her bow.
He held her tightly against the wall when her legs gave out, now the only thing supporting her. All the power she had felt vanished with the broach- now held safely in Scott's hand.
She stared at it, unable to form coherent words. Her mind was in frenzy, wondering how Scott had managed to best her, how he had taken it from her, and most of all, what he was going to do now.
He let her fall as he stepped away, facing her with hard eyes. She shakily stood, using the wall for support. "Scott-"
"You are mine," he hissed in a tone she had never heard. Then he continued to chuck the broach to the ground, and raised his foot.
"NO!" she cried out, "NO! DON'T!" Pure unadulterated terror washed over her. If he broke the crystal…it was over. Everything was over.
Looking at her with cold eyes, he stomped on it, shattering it.
She gave a loud scream of agony, clutching her heart as lances shot through it. She fell to her knees. She felt as if her heart were breaking. And it was. She had lost the crystal. Her power. It was gone. Chibi-Usa…not Chibi-Usa!
She had lost everything. And she'd never get any of it back.
The pain continued on, but her mind refused to let her slip into the darkness. It was as if her body was being punished, and at the same time, punishing her for giving up her daughter, for giving up the Silver Crystal.
She sobbed into her hands as the world shook around her, the pain becoming unbearable. It felt like her soul was being pulled from her body slowly.
Cold hands picked her up and carried her to a bedroom, laying her onto the bed softly. He brushed her hair away from her face, "You'll be okay," he said, ignoring her loud sobs.
She turned away from him and curled into a ball, thinking maybe if she was smaller, the pain would decrease.
She heard the steps recede away from the bed and the door close and lock behind him. Pain lashed at her, forcing her mind back to it. Sobs wracked her body, and she felt like she'd never stop.
*
Chibi-Usa heard the screams and it shot pain through her. The final scream tore through her, almost pulling her heart with it. Or was it something else that pulled? She continued to bang at the door, increasing her volume and power. However, she weakened and sagged against the door. She looked down at her hands, and was surprised to see they were inhumanly pale. She was disappearing.
She lay down at the door, her energy waning. She knew what had happened. The Silver Crystal had been broken, and without it, the future, her past, was no longer there.
"Mommy…" she whispered as air left her lungs, and her eyes fluttered, "I love you…"
Miles away, five people shot up in their beds or seats, screaming in agony. They could feel the power of the Crystal leaving them, Chibi-Usa's presence vanishing as it did so.
Mamoru seized in agony in the car seat, his hand clutching at his heart. Chibi-Usa! He couldn't feel her at all anymore! And the pain! Oh! He could hear screaming and couldn't even tell if it was himself or the world around him. The pain Usagi was experiencing was leaking over their bond. He wanted to rip his heart out of its place. To not feel the pain. But knowing that Usagi was feeling it- he held out. He would share all he could with her. It was the least he could do. Sobs and screams wracked his body, leaving no other space in his mind and mouth for anything else but "Usako!"
Rei had felt the pain and shot out of the car, bounding to the house. She ignored the pain coursing through her as if it were blood, steps coming to her before she even made them. She crashed through the door without a thought, not caring that she had just broken down the door of her friend, and raced to the room she knew so well. The curtains billowed airily, the window half open. She gave a scream of agony and fell to her knees.
Makoto seized in pain, shouting in anguish. She immediately crashed through the items by her bed for the phone. She dialed Usagi's Senshi contact, gritting her teeth in pain as jabs of pain hit her like volleyballs. "This number is no longer available," a cold metallic voice said to her and she chucked the phone away from her. It shattered against the opposite wall. She jumped up, seizing the chair by her bed, "NO!" She slammed it across her table, destroying her items, "NO!" She continued her path of destruction across the room, the exclamation "No!" always on her lips.
Ami woke up screaming, her heart pounding painfully. Usagi! Chibi-Usa! She clambered to her laptop, ignoring the mind-numbing pain stabbing through her like knives. She clicked rapidly in her laptop, and immediately it went black on her, telling her that Usagi Tsukino and Chibi-Usa Tsukino did not exist. "PLEASE!" she cried, her mind crashed and everything went dark, she slid to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, "Please…"
Minako writhed in agony, pain surrounding her. She shot up and immediately reached for her bond with Usagi. Being the leader of the Inner Senshi, she had the strongest link with Usagi. But she convulsed in pain as the link vanished, leaving nothing in it's place.
"CHIBI-USA!" she cried, jumping up and reaching for her bond, "USAGI!" There was no response, and she cried out in pain. NO! Her mind refused to believe her and she punched her hand against the wall, needing to feel the outside pain to wake up from this nightmare. Despite the pain filling her, it wasn't enough. She didn't believe it! She roared, punching again and again, welcoming the pain on the outside and the inside.
She didn't stop till her hands were bleeding sorely, the pain inside her was rising at the thought of Chibi-Usa disappearing. But she pushed it from the forefront of her mind. Usagi was in danger. Her princess was in trouble. And as her head general and, most importantly, as her friend, it was her job to make sure Usagi was safe once again.
She could feel the pain etching in from the other Senshi and from the Prince. They were being destroyed over what was happening. And it was her place to make sure there was something for Usagi to come back to when she returned.
She wished Luna and Artemis were here to tell her what to do. But those two had disappeared a few months ago, telling the girls that there was a darkness that they had to learn of. They never returned or sent word. And Minako knew that they were gone and that it all had to do with this precise moment. Something evil was here, and it wouldn't stop till all the good was gone. And it was up to her to make sure she led the others and to make sure it didn't happen.
She turned from the wall that had taken her hits. It had streaks of red along it but she ignored that. She had to make sure the girls were okay. That was what Usagi would have wanted. She grabbed her henshin and was gone from her house within seconds, running along to Usagi's house. She could feel Rei and Mamoru there. They were losing it. And distantly she could feel Ami sobbing into her floor. And she could feel Makoto finally stop after the destruction of nearly everything she owned was gone.
But the Prince was her priority. He was in the worst shape.
She arrived at the car and yanked it open. Mamoru tumbled out of the car pathetically, turning to cry into the ground.
"Mamoru!" she cried, bending down and heaving him around so he was looking at her, "Look at me!"
He wasn't meeting her eyes as he cried and she could tell he was slowly and surely losing his sanity. She slapped him as hard as she could, ending up sending him careening into the car behind him. The cries suddenly stopped and Mamoru held his cheek in wonder, staring at her, tears still falling from his eyes.
It was scary, was Minako's first thought. Mamoru was the strongest out of all of them. She had never seen him cry in the years she had known him, and it scared her. But she couldn't think like that. Mamoru was the most bonded with Usagi, Chibi-Usa was his daughter, of course he was losing it. No one was strong enough to resist the pain present.
"Don't even think about leaving Usagi like that," she said, facing him defiantly, "She needs you, don't give up on her"
"But her pain…" he whispered
"Exactly, her pain," she said, "Don't leave her to that fate"
He stared away from her, "But I can't feel her, just the pain"
"Does it matter?" she hissed, "She's there, she waiting for you to find her, what more do you need?"
She watched the transformation across Mamoru's face as he stood, "You're right." She wished it could always be that easy- to say a few inspirational words and everything would be fine, but it never would. Mamoru would crack again- and he would crack soon, she just hoped she could help keep him together till Usagi came back.
"Get to Ami, find out what she can get," she said to him as she stood as well. He nodded swiftly and was gone into the night within the time it took for her to blink.
She detransformed and then she was off to the house where lights were blasted, screams of cries coming through the splintered door. She entered the house to find Kenji Tsukino talking calmly to a few police officers. But it was easy to see the calm was only surface deep. His insides were writhing in fear. Ikuko was holding Shingo in the corner, rocking back and forth as Shingo sobbed into her chest. She was muttering wordlessly, looking as if the only reason she was still sane was because Shingo was in her arms. Shingo didn't look ten. He looked like a small child going to his mother for comfort after- after a sibling had died. She could feel their pain as if it were her own. They had felt it too. So attuned to Usagi as they were, they were a part of her as well. It wasn't extreme pain as Mamoru and the girls had felt it, but there was an echo of it. They knew something was wrong, they could feel it.
Kenji came to her, his hands visibly shaking. His calm was threatening to crack, but he looked like he knew he had to keep it- for his wife and son, and she knew he would, for them.
"Rei refuses to move," he said to her without emotion in his voice
She nodded, "I'll get her"
She made to move past him, but he grabbed her hand and she turned to look back at him, "Mr. Tsukino?"
"Find them," he whispered, "Find my daughters"
In that instant she was sure he could see right through all the secrets that the Senshi had built up around themselves. He knew. At least a little of it.
She nodded, "I will"
He let her go, moving past her to comfort his family.
She stared after them, wanting nothing more than to have a way to make them feel better. But she knew there was nothing she could do- save finding Usagi. So she would focus all her power into that. She stepped up the stairs quickly, knowing that it would make everyone feel a little bit better without that wailing being the predominant thing that they heard.
Rei was at the front of Usagi's room, staring without seeing into the room, and wailing. Minako quickly bent down and heaved her up to her feet. Rei tottered and made to fall once more but Minako kept a harsh grip on her, "No, Rei, stop it!"
"Usagi…" she moaned, her wailing still going on strong regardless of her weak voice
"Usagi needs you, Rei," Minako snapped, "And you're sitting here crying in the front of her room"
"But…"
"What is that going to do for her?" she snapped, "What are you doing to help her?"
Rei's wails stopped, her eyes widening in pain, "What can I do to help her?"
"Find out what's going on!" Minako said, "You are Sailor Mars, the Senshi of Fire, the most spiritually inclined of all of us. You can do a lot to help our Princess." There was a strength in her words that she couldn't feel herself. But it seemed to be feeding Rei what she needed, and that was all that mattered.
Rei nodded slowly, "I shall ask the Great Fire for its wisdom"
"Good," Minako said, giving a relieved sigh, "Call us if you find out anything"
"I will," Rei said, her eyes flashing as something passed before her eyes. Minako looked at her with sharp eyes. Rei knew something; she could feel the truth bubbling under Rei's skin. But she was holding it back, maybe waiting for something before she revealed it to the others. Minako let it go, Rei knew what she was doing and Minako trusted her to do the smart thing.
"Then, go," Minako said, nodding at her
Rei walked past her to the stairs
"Rei…"
"Yeah?"
"If there's anything that can help us to find her, we need to know it," Minako said, turning to look at Rei's back, knowing maybe Rei needed a push
"I know. Bring everyone to the temple as soon as you can," Rei said, not facing her, "I'll tell you all what's been going on…and who took her"
The emotion in Rei's voice was the most Minako had ever heard it. And once again, Minako was scared of what was happening. Could everything be alright ever again?
Rei continued to walk and was soon gone.
Minako sighed, feeling at that moment, Ami's pains also lessen as she emerged back into the real world. Now Makoto was left. And in a way, she knew Makoto would be the hardest to draw back.
She ran the whole way, her transformation into Sailor Venus giving her the speed to transverse the distance in only a fraction of time. She arrived at the apartment through the balcony, jumping from the roof. The inside was dark and cluttered as she slid open the balcony door.
"Makoto?"
There was no answer, but she knew Makoto was in the room. She could sense the inhuman amounts of pain Makoto was feeling. She crunched through the items on the floor, knowing there was nothing she could do about them. The TV set lay broken, its screen having been punched through and beside it, Makoto sat, staring blankly at nothing.
"Makoto?"
"She's gone…" Makoto whispered in an emotionless voice, "Chibi-Usa, our future, the crystal, everything is gone"
"No, it isn't," Minako said, bending down to Makoto's level on the floor, "It's never gone"
"The crystal has been destroyed, Minako," Makoto stated, "There's nothing left"
"There is always something left," Minako said defiantly
"Not in this…"
Makoto had always been the hopeful one. The one who could see the optimistic in everything if there was fighting present. But this shell of a person, she was trying to kill the Makoto that was supposed to be there. Because she didn't want to feel the pain. Makoto was the girl who had felt the most pain in her life, because she was the strongest. Because she was the one who could handle it.
"Not even when Usagi is out there? Waiting for us to save her?" Minako whispered, wanting to know the answer for herself as well
Makoto remained silent, staring past Minako with pained eyes.
"Answer me…"
"I don't know, Minako," Makoto whispered, "I don't know."
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