Chapter 8
"Your murderous rampage ends now Carnage! By order of the King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo, we are here to take you before them to answer for your heinous crimes!"
Carnage looked at the line of young female warriors standing in front of him. He couldn't help himself as he let an arrogant smirk spread across his large mouth that was full of black needle-like teeth. It was positively amusing to him that these strong but clearly delusional young women believed that they could successfully take him down. From what he could see Sailor Uranus had visible bandages on her arm, shoulder and hip. Sailor Jupiter, his own wife,
had her arm in a sling and a thick bandage around her thigh. He quickly came to realize that Sailor Neptune was the missing Sailor warrior which meant that she was either the most injured of them all or had died. He leaned towards the former since he severely doubted that Sailor Uranus would have been able to emotionally control herself if she had died as a result of the wounds he had inflicted on her.
His response to Sailor Venus's bold statement was to raise his hand and point all five of his fingers at them like each one was the barrel of a gun with the hammer cocked back and ready to fire. Blood-like drops ran off the end of each finger and hit the ground in front of him before merging back with the symbiote in a continuous cycle. Like a time-elapsed film of plants growing Carnage's fingers sprouted nasty spiked points at their blackened tips. From their vantage point, the continuously moving symbiotic red skin again made the razor-sharp blades look as if blood was already dripping from them. That could be the Sailors' blood if he was successful in the inevitable battle that was seconds away.
"You talk too much!"
Carnage fired the spikes from his fingertips directly at the Sailors like five arrow bolts from a crossbow. Instinctively the young warriors jumped in all directions to avoid the incoming flying projectiles of death. Only Sailor Saturn stood her ground as she planted the bottom of her bladed glaive staff to the ground. As the base of the staff touched the cobblestones underneath her purple and white lightning suddenly appeared and cackled wildly at the tip of the twin curved steel blades.
"Silence Wall!"
The spike that had been aimed at her struck the newly created energy barrier and dozens of sparks instantly flew. Flashes of blues, oranges and reds lit up the area briefly as the invisible shield vaporized the spike with a loud sizzling hiss. The powerful energy that made up the protective shield surged for a few moments and temporarily blocked the view of Sailor Saturn from the others before returning to its original semi-transparent state.
"You will not defeat us Carnage! Even with our reduced number we are still stronger than you."
"Yeah? But I'm nastier!"
Before anyone could react or respond to his menacing boast a dozen tendrils sprang out from various points along his body and snaked through the air at incredible speed. They zeroed in and wrapped tightly around Sailor Mercury who was the closest of the Sailors to him. Before she could react, the symbiotic vines pinned her arms firmly to her sides and her legs together. Without any visible physical strain or effort the tendrils lifted her off the ground. In one quick flicking motion he threw her directly at where Sailor Saturn was standing.
Sailor Saturn's eyes widened with surprise as she saw her friend coming straight at her at high speed. Her energy barrier was still activated as a protective measure in case Carnage flung any more sharp objects at her. It had proven that it would protect her and anyone else that was inside it from Carnage's symbiotic weapons which were organic alien in origin but still could be classified as living tissue. However she wasn't sure if Sailor Mercury's Sailor powers would neglect or cancel out the effects of her own Sailor powered shield and thus prevent her body from being burned to a crisp like the dart. It was a risk that she wasn't about to take not and certainly not when her friend's life was at stake.
She lifted her staff off the ground and broke the shield's connection to the planet's internal power supply which quickly dissipated the residual energy surrounding her. She didn't have any time to avoid Sailor Mercury as she crashed into her with the protective shield now gone. They both tumbled backwards and landed in a heap on the cobblestone street. Carnage began to laugh hysterically as he watched the two young warriors struggle to get back to their feet after his clever counter-attack.
The other Sailors were slow to react as they all took in what they had just witnessed. It shook each of them to their very cores at just how much disregard Carnage had for human life now. It only further proved to them that their friend was truly gone as the man they had once known would have never treated any one of them like a piece of garbage.
"Oh look at that, I threw a strike! Ha Ha Ha!" Carnage exclaimed with child-like glee.
"It wasn't that funny. Crescent Beam Shower!" Sailor Venus barked.
"Game's over laughing boy. Space Turbulence!" Sailor Uranus added.
Sailor Venus raised her right hand and extended her index finger. She instantly began to collect energy from her surrounding environment. In no time at all her right hand began to glow which was the signal that her attack was ready. She lowered her arm and aimed her extended finger directly at Carnage. As soon as her hand was level with her target she released the energy in the form of a thick laser beam. At the exact same time Sailor Uranus raised both of her hands over her head and mirroring her team mate's actions as she collected the invisible energy from all around her as well. After a few seconds her hands began to rippled and crackle with powerful-looking white lightning. It was at that point that she threw her hands down and unleashed the gathered energy at the homicidal monster standing before her at the same time Sailor Venus fired her beam.
As the beam that was fired by the long haired blonde warrior rapidly approached Carnage it split apart into multiple thinner laser strands which continued to shoot forward toward him Sailor Uranus' white lightning merged with Sailor Venus' yellow laser beams to create a more powerful attack.
In response Carnage threw up his arms and leaned back as he planted one leg behind the other to brace himself for the incoming impacts of the beams and white energy lightning. His symbiotic skin covering his arms and legs flared out into dozens of whips and strands before intertwining together into a single large red and black mass. A second before the combined mass of powerful energy connected with him the bundle of alien tissue split apart and instantly formed into a pair of large bulwark shields. A second later, the laser beams and lightning struck the protective organic barriers and the resulting explosive reaction created a concussive shockwave that kicked up a huge thick cloud of dust, dirt and other debris particles that obscured the Sailors' view of Carnage for several seconds.
Sailor Venus lowered her body and placed her hands on the front of her knees as she breathed heavily and tried to physically recover from her attack. She had put everything she had into that barrage of beams with the hope that she could end this battle quickly before anyone else got hurt. Like her fellow Sailors she kept her eyes fixated on where their opponent had been last seen as they all waited anxiously to see if hers and Uranus' combined attacks had been successfully in completely stopping Carnage. As the seconds ticked by and the dark dirty cloud surrounding the spot where Carnage had just been standing slowly dissipated her mind flashed back to when they had first arrived on the scene only a few minutes earlier.
They had left the Crystal Palace only minutes after the military commandos had. With their enhanced physical endurance and strength they should have caught up to them or even reached Carnage's location first. However as they raced through the streets the stampeding crowds of citizens as they ran to safety and the resulting civil unrest caused by Carnage's presence and actions were creating all sorts of new problems. They had to stop several times to save people from being trampled or severely hurt as the inhabitants of Crystal Tokyo scrambled desperately to find a safe place to hide from the monster that had invaded their kingdom. These repeated delays had ended up costing them precious minutes and held up their arrival at their destination. This had allowed Carnage the time to slaughter numerous innocent people and the squadron of royal guards.
When they finally did make it to the area where Carnage had been last reported to have been they were absolutely shocked at what they found. Where there should be signs of life, the neighbourhood around them was now deathly silent. There were no screams or sounds of any sort other than the ones they were making as they walked or breathed. There were numerous signs all around them of needless destruction caused more than likely by the people in the area desperately trying to get away from Carnage. It was a sight that they had prayed none of them would ever have to see again the indication that chaos had once again returned to their lives despite Neo-Queen Serenity and the Silver Moon Crystal's protection.
"Guys,"
They all turned to look at Sailor Mars who was staring intensely at a small shop off to their right. Her head and eyes were cast downward as she looked at something near the front doorway. They all panned their eyes down to see what Sailor Mars was staring at. They saw the single set of bloody footprints that exited the store. The prints were clearly made with bare feet as there were no signs of any sort of tread pattern that would indicate the presence of shoes or boots. They also appeared to be animal-like in their shape as the toes came to a point rather than being rounded as one would see in a human footprint. At the end of each toe was a narrow triangular tip that looked almost like a claw and was similar to the prints left by an animal like a large Kodiak bear.
Each of them felt a lump grow inside their throat and they all consciously tried to swallow it as they fought their internal common sense to not enter and investigate the store's interior. However they needed to know what had happened in there and what they had come to fight. That sense of purpose and duty trumped their overall fear and nervousness of what they would find inside once they entered the establishment.
They slowly piled into the store and spread out into a horizontal line just inside the front entrance. The inside of the shop that had once been a place that smelled of fresh foods and flowers and where citizens had come to buy delicious fruits as well as converse with friends and neighbours now smelled like a slaughterhouse. A strong copper smell of blood filled the store with the thick choking odour of death that not even the cool breeze from the open front and back doors could clear out. Pools of blood were drying in black spots along the floor and thin red lines of it were splattered on the walls and over everything else as if an angry child had gone crazy with a set of paints. From each of their individual vantage points they could see at least two horribly maimed bodies scattered around the building's large interior.
"My, god." Sailor Mercury whispered.
"I think I am going to be sick."Sailor Venus stated as she turned her body away.
"We have to stop him Jupiter, by any means necessary now!" Sailor Mars said as she turned to look over at the tall brunette.
"This isn't him! Aldrich corrupted him; he would never do this," Sailor Jupiter weakly replied, trying to sound convincingly but failing.
"But he did! And we have a duty to our kingdom! We cannot let our personal feelings distract us from doing what we must!" Sailor Uranus countered.
"Everyone! Over here." Sailor Saturn called over from across the store.
Everyone turned to look over at the spot where Sailor Saturn had called from. She had remained silent since entering the store but had wandered off as the others each tried to deal with the beyond horrific scene around them. They walked down one of the disorganized aisles. They were very careful to not step on any of the bodies, puddles of blood or the various grocery items that had fallen to the floor during the chaos of the massacre. When they all reached the spot where Sailor Saturn was they followed her head position and stared at the section of wall directly in front of them. There on the plain white drywall in large letters were two words.
'Carnage Rules!'
It was clear that the words had been written in blood as there were streaks coming off the letters where the liquid had dripped down due to gravity. Visually, the look and texture also matched the dozens of puddles and streaks around the store behind them as well.
"Jupiter, we need you completely in this! Are you willing to fight with everything you have?"
"I don't know, I still love him with all my heart!"
"He is not the same person you married! You have to understand that!"
A distant and sudden series of screams cut Sailor Mars' comment short. All of them quickly turned their heads around to look back at the front door of the store as they each tried to determine where exactly the chorus of screams had come from. By eerily luck, the fates answered them again as another group of screeches broke the grim silence that had once again filled the shop of horrors. Sailor Uranus and Venus rushed to the door and then outside with the other Sailors following right behind them. They ran out to the middle of the street and closed their eyes to block out all the other sights and sounds around them. Sailor Mars used her psychic intuition to feel the flow of invisible energy around them and look for the evil presence that Carnage was sure to be giving off. After a few seconds her eyes abruptly flapped open and her head turned sharply to the left.
"This way, follow me!"
They had run as fast as their Sailor strength would allow them as they followed Sailor Mars' lead. As they moved through the streets, the distinctive screams and unmistakeable sounds of terror got increasingly louder as they closed in on the epic-center of the chaos. Sailor Mars had led them to the rooftop of an apartment building where she stopped at the edge before casting her eyes downward to the street below. In no time, the rest of them had each taken positions on either side of her before looking down as well.
They had arrived just as Carnage finished killing his former team of commandos. They watched in temporary paralysis as he had morphed his arms into a pair of sharp bladed weapons that had caused more than a cold shiver to pass down a few of their spines. Before any of them could have reacted he had spun those blades around in a deadly circle and his arms had stretched out to non-human lengths to cover the distance between him and his intended targets. Their body numbness became extended for a few more seconds as they watched the last four members of his former team collapse to the ground with large visible pools of blood rapidly spreading out from underneath them. His insane laughter that had followed after had snapped each of them out of their temporary frozen states and refocused on their purpose for coming.
"This ends now, no more death, no more pain!"
"Everyone! Get Ready!"
Sailor Venus snapped out of her memory recall at the sound of Sailor Uranus' remark and refocused her eyes back on the spot where Carnage had last been seen. A short distance away from her, the dust cloud was quickly clearing away and in a few more seconds it would be completely gone and they would be able to see the results of the combined attack from Sailor Uranus and herself. Through the rapidly thinning mist a shadowy humanoid figure began to come into view. As the last of the cloud blew away the Sailors let out a collectively gasp of surprise that contained more than a hint of utter shock.
Carnage was still standing which was a disturbing demonstration of the enhanced degree of physical strength that he possessed to avoid being blown back by the incredible amount of force created by the impact of their combined attacks. His organic shields that he had made from his arms and legs had managed to hold up against the combined energy assault. However he had not escaped completely unscathed as the symbiote was showing signs of being in some level of physical distress. Tendrils of various lengths were flailing around his body and gave it the appearance that it was panicking or in some amount of pain. It would be revealed later that this was due to the "thunder clap" of sound that was created at the point of impact when the energy attacks made contact with Carnage. It was common knowledge to the Sailors that loud noise or any sound at very high decibels was one of the symbiote's greatest weaknesses.
A few seconds after the dust cloud had vanished Carnage lowered his arms and changed them back to their usual human-like appearance. He completed the change by forming a long black claw at end of each finger. These claws were larger than they normally were and were about the size of a Bengal tiger's. He lifted his head to look at each of them. His large white pupil-less eyes contained a stare that sent shivers throughout each of their bodies. When he saw the unmistakeable signs of nervousness and fear in each of their eyes he couldn't help but let a wide black toothed grin spread once again across his oversized mouth.
"Hoo Haa! That was a scream!"
"You won't win Carnage! We have defeated every enemy that we have faced and we will stop you!"
"In your dreams pretty lady! You may have defeated everyone else but you won't defeat me!"
With the completion of that arrogant boast Carnage instantly morphed his arms in a pair of semi-circle blades again. He threw his arms out to the side and began to spin like a ballerina. He used his agile feet to move quickly around the battle area as he swung the blades like a deadly pair of guillotines. In response, the Sailors all jumped clear of the blades and quickly put a safe distance between him and them. Sailor Mercury took the momentary distraction as Carnage passed by her to attack.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
She placed her hands on the front of her shoulders. She then began to spin around in place on the soles of her knee high white boots as she collected droplets of water from the surrounding air. These water particles collected in between her hands as she raised them above her head. When she had gathered enough water she abruptly stopped twirling and faced Carnage as she sent the compiled water mass at him. Her blast of water struck him in the middle of his back and spread out over his body due to the splash effect of the attack. Almost he became encased in a block of solid ice from head to toe.
The Sailors all breathed a collective sigh of relief as they felt their individual hopes begin to instantly build. They had done it they had really done it, they thought to themselves. They had managed to capture Carnage without resorting to the unthinkable or extreme measures. Now all they had to do was get him back to the Crystal Palace so that Neo-Queen Serenity could purify him and re-curse the symbiote with a "soul" once again.
They began to collectively think of a way to safely transport their current prisoner and hopefully soon their dear friend back to the Crystal Palace. As they brainstormed Sailor Saturn noticed something out of the corner of her eye and quickly voiced a warning to her team mates.
"Everyone, he is breaking free!"
The Sailors all fixated their eyes on the still frozen form of Carnage as they feverishly hoped that Sailor Saturn was wrong in her observation. Their spirits quickly fell as they saw that the symbiote was indeed causing visible cracks to form along the outer surface of the ice block as it drilled through its icy prison and wiggled through the narrow tunnels it was creating. In less than three minutes the block of frozen water had become weak enough due to the dozens of internal fissures that Carnage was able to flex his muscles. He used his augmented strength to move his arms outwards and kick his legs forwards to violently smash the ice shell that held him to pieces.
Knowing that they had less than a few seconds before he would be fully free and able to re-engage them in combat Sailor Jupiter rushed forward. She couldn't remain on the sidelines any longer while her friends picked up her slack. This monster was not her husband. She knew that now but it had taken her awhile to finally fully convince herself of that fact. She had to help her friends stop him with all of her power or there was a very good chance that one or more of them would die because of her hesitation and reluctance. That was something that she would never forgive herself for and never let happen if she had any say in the matter. With her left arm still firmly in a sling her current attack options were limited.
"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"
The antenna in the middle of her tiara rose up from its resting place again as it began to collect the electrical energy from the electrons in the matter all around her. She brought her hands together as she ignored the pain in her shoulder and rose them up towards her forehead as high as she could with her current limited range of motion in her left shoulder. The collected electrical energy passed from the tip of the antenna to her hands. She spread her right arm wide which caused the gathered energy to crackle and pop as it took the form of small lightning bolts that flicked back and forth through the open space between her hands. She locked her bright green eyes on Carnage and pressed her hands together as she twisted her body to the right. Her gesture of bringing of her hands back together caused the collected energy mass to be re-shaped into a small ball disc of concentrated power. It was about the size of a softball and radiated a light blue hue. In a single graceful motion just like a professional baseball pitcher she reared her right arm back and hurled the energy ball at the creature that had taken over her beloved's body.
Carnage's large white eyes were like an insect's compound eyes in that they allowed him to have incredible peripheral vision and in the spots where his eyes couldn't see the symbiote relayed other sensory information to assist him. He saw the blue and white flashing energy disc coming at him the very second it left Jupiter's hand. He quickly turned completely around to face her before leaping forward into a roll. This allowed her attack to pass harmlessly over him. Her energy disc continued on until it impacted into the side of the building directly behind him. The consequence of the impact was the destruction of a huge section of the wall and the sending of bits of mortar and clay out in all directions. When Carnage came out of his evasive roll and stood back up he looked directly at the source of the attack with an amused smirk on his ugly face.
"Here Comes the Bride! All Dressed in White! I wish it was Red then you'll be dead! Welcome to the battle honey lips!"
The horrible and tasteless comment towards her infuriated Sailor Jupiter to levels she had never thought possible. She instantly lost her temper and charged forward again. As she rushed towards Carnage she raised her right hand clenched it into a fist so tightly that she could have created a diamond from the level of internal pressure. When she got within striking distance she launched herself into a frenzy of wild punches and kicks that drew on her many years of marital arts training in various disciplines as she had done many times in the past. However her current level of rage was making her sloppy and reckless and she began to telegraph her moves.
Despite his current insane mental state Carnage was still a formidable fighter. He easily read her movements like a well-seasoned warrior and patiently waited for the right opportunity to strike as he blocked and countered her physical attacks. He ducked under a roundhouse kick from Sailor Jupiter and as her momentum spun her body around so that her back was briefly facing him he sent a strand of symbiotic tissue upwards with a small rectangular brick at the end of it. As she came back around to face him, the tendril struck her in the solar plexus like a battering ram. This caused a "woof" of air to blow out of her mouth as the force of the blow pushed against her diaphragm. She dropped down to her knees as the intense pain rocked her body and she struggled to regain her normal breathing rhythm.
Carnage stood up and casually walked up to the spot where she was kneeling and hunched over. Not wanting to waste any time with verbal banter he reached down and roughly grabbed her by the back of her white and green Sailor uniform. With no visible sign of physical strain he lifted her up off her feet with one arm like a person picking up a piece of fruit. He extended his arm out passed its usual length so that her long legs were not touching the ground and she dangled helplessly in the air. He reached his other arm back and a huge battle ax blade formed at the end of his arm. Sailor Jupiter's eyes widened as she saw the instrument that was meant to end her life and began to furiously claw and scratch at the wrist and arm that held her. This was very much like how Carnage had reacted when the demon prince Gaap had held him in the very same position many years ago. Her desperate efforts were not getting the desired effect as she could not get enough leverage to break free with her feet still dangling uselessly in the air.
"I guess you can say that you axed for this Sailor J!"
"Fire Soul!"
A fireball struck the ax blade and quickly engulfed the entire limb in a blazing inferno. The effect of the sudden attack was immediate as Carnage quickly dropped Sailor Jupiter and cradled the injured arm tightly against his torso. He screamed out in pain as the smell of burning organic tissue quickly filled the air. From her vantage point Sailor Uranus could see that the symbiotic skin had been burned away and had exposed the human hand and forearm of Sean underneath. As she continued to watch Carnage's reaction to Sailor Mars' attack she took note that the alien skin appeared to be very slow in its healing and regeneration. An idea quickly formed inside her brain as she looked towards her partner Sailor Saturn and locked her blue eyes with hers. She gave her young team mate a grim look and a slight nod of the head which was mirrored back by the soldier of rebirth. They shared a quick silent conversation between them as they shaped a battle strategy.
Sailor Saturn turned her head to look back towards where Carnage was standing and proceeded to rush in and engage him. Carnage turned his head to watch her as she approached. Sailor Mercury used the opportunity to hurry over to where Sailor Jupiter was. She was slowly getting back to her feet but she looked to be bad shape. Sailor Venus also took advantage of Carnage's fixation on Sailor Saturn to move in to assist her in battling the symbiotic monstrosity.
As the rest of the Sailors moved around the battlefield to either engage Carnage or offer aid to Sailor Jupiter Sailor Uranus hurried over to where Sailor Mars currently situated. She roughly grabbed the raven-haired warrior's arm to get her attention and prevent her from entering the fray with their others. She looked first at the hand that was grasping her and then up at the face of the person it belonged to. Her face had an expression that was a mixture of confusion, surprise and annoyance.
"Uranus! What are you doing?"
"Listen! You are the only one out of all of us that has the power to seriously hurt that thing. You need to use your power to its fullest extent and keep it going until it is over!"
"Wait! What? I can't do that, if I do that I will kill him!"
"We don't have a choice! We can't hold him long enough to get him before our queen and the longer we battle it will only be a matter of time before he manages to kill one or all of us. If that happens there will be no one left to stop him and this kingdom will be destroyed!"
Sailor Mars was speechless as she was unable to find the words to counter her friend's grim argument. Reacting on instinct she looked back over at the spot where the battle was currently raging.
Carnage's injured hand was almost completely covered again with the red alien skin. He was trading blows with both Sailor Saturn and Venus at that moment. He was continuously sending out dozens of tendrils some with razor-sharp barbs at the ends, in all directions at his two opponents with the hopes of impaling or slicing them to pieces. Sailor Saturn was using her bladed glaive to cleave the attacking strands as they approached her. Each of the severed pieces fell to the ground as her blades slashed through the living costume's material with ease before slithering across the ground to rejoin the main body. Sailor Venus meanwhile was using her "Love-Me" chain in a defensive manner by whipping it around her to keep the living tentacles at bay. A short distance away from them Sailor Mercury and Jupiter were both back on their feet and looked like they were getting ready to re-join the battle with their friends.
"There has to be another way! The Silver Moon Crystal,"
"is useless to us unless it is wielded by Neo-Queen Serenity! You are the only one with the power to defeat that murderous creep!"
Sailor Mars couldn't argue with her friend's point again. Ever since Usagi had ascended to the throne and became Neo-Queen Serenity she had lost the ability to become Sailor Moon. That meant that she no longer had the red sonic amplifiers that she had worn in her hair. None of the other Sailors had the power or tools to generate continuous highly concentrated sonic waves. This ultimately had limited their attack options when battling a symbiote to a significant degree. It was also true that unless they could get Carnage to the Crystal Palace Neo Queen Serenity wouldn't be able use the full power of the Silver Moon Crystal that was probably necessary to successfully re-curse him.
The Silver Moon Crystal was the most powerful item in the Sailors' possession and could only be used by someone of the royal bloodline which meant a direct descendent of the Moon Kingdom of the Silver Millennium. This meant that only Neo-Queen Serenity had the ability to use it. However the Crystal Palace itself enhanced the Silver Moon Crystal's powers because of its design and magical properties. This is what gave the queen her nearly god-like powers. It was this fact that had led to an unfortunate realization.
Sailor Mercury had discovered that Neo-Queen Serenity's life force was now directly linked to the Silver Moon Crystal and the Crystal Palace like it had been when she had still been able to transform into Sailor Moon. This meant that Neo-Queen Serenity had to remain in close proximity to the crystal and the Crystal Palace at all times or her health would begin to deteriorate and her magical powers would steadily weaken over time. As a result of this startling conclusion she had not left the palace except for very short diplomatic missions or matters of extreme importance. In the four years since they had become queen she had only been outside the palace four times for the purposes of pleasure. One of those times had been the wedding of Sailor Jupiter and Carnage which had taken place just outside the Crystal Palace.
It was simply out the question to have Neo-Queen Serenity leave the safety of the palace to come to their location. It was too dangerous as the initial reduction in her powers could prove to be fatal if Carnage managed to get a lucky hit on her. There was also the risk that Aldrich had other agents inside the Kingdom which could assassinate Neo-Queen Serenity as she made her way to them. Her death would mark the end of the prophecy of a peaceful era on planet Earth and almost surely cause it to sink back into the violent and dark ways of its past.
"Mars! You have a duty to protect this kingdom by order of the King and Queen! You must do whatever is necessary to save the lives of the innocent people you have sworn to defend!"
"I don't know if I can."
"You don't have a choice! Do it or the deaths of the people killed as a result of your inaction will be on your conscious!"
Sailor Mars looked back at the monster that was battling her friends. She watched as two thick pseudopods shot out of his body and each struck Sailors Saturn and Mercury in their chests with their blunt rounded heads. She continued to watch as the force of the impacts sent then hurdling back into the sides of a pair of nearby buildings. Sailor Venus continued to attack with her energy whip but she had made the mistake of letting herself get too close to Carnage. He sensed her close proximity and in response he created six thick sharp-tipped lances that exploded out from his body in several different directions at once. The speed that the symbiotic spears had erupted from the red skin was lightning quick and caught Sailor Venus completely by surprise.
One of the weaponized heads caught her dead centre in her left thigh. It sunk deep into the muscle tissue of her quadriceps and instantly rendered the leg absolutely useless. As it retracted back into Carnage's body, the head of the lance broke off. Sailor Venus screamed out in extreme pain and collapsed to the ground as blood gushing down her leg. After she had collapsed to the ground she held her leg up with her white gloved hands in reaction to the level of pain that was rocketing through her body. Carnage stood only two feet away from where she had fallen and was poised to finish her off. A short distance away Sailor Jupiter sprang into action.
"Flower Hurricane!"
Pink flower petals suddenly appeared out of thin air and began to swirl all around her. She lifted her arms up to cross her wrists above her head as she ignored the pain she felt in her left shoulder. Inside her veins, the adrenaline that was surging through her was temporarily blocking it out of her mind. Lines of the floral petals flowed behind her hands as they traced circles in the air along the way. She then quickly spun around on the soles of her boots and extended her right hand toward Carnage which sent the flurry of razor sharp pink petals at him.
The jagged edged petals sailed passed Carnage and sliced his arms, legs and body as they flew by him. Any of the discarded pieces of symbiote that had been cut off by the barrage quickly rejoined with the main body after they hit the ground. However the amount of flower petals that Sailor Jupiter was sending at him was managing to cause noticeable damage to the human body underneath as the sheer number of pieces being lopped off was faster than the rate the symbiote could heal itself. She kept up the attack for as long as she could as she was determined to not fail her friends by giving into her physical exhaustion too soon.
After about a minute and a half she finally reached her body's physical limits and abruptly stopped the attack as she struggled to remain erect as her internal gas tank was now running on fumes. As the last of the flower petals sailed passed him the symbiote quickly healed the wounds they inflicted. Carnage looked up at her with a cruel and malevolent smile. In a blur of movement that seemed faster than what was possible he stretched both of his arms out like an elastic band and grabbed Jupiter. He retracted his limbs so that she was once again up close with him with his face inches from hers.
"So, you want to play the old Skin Game?"
Jupiter did not have time to begin to even think of what he was talking about before the symbiotic strands holding her shrunk inwards and became thinner while still maintaining their incredible tensile strength. This reduction in the tendrils' size exposed more of the bare skin on her arms and legs that had previously covered by them. Almost instantly after the pseudopods had finished shrinking small knife blades formed along Carnage's body and flicked outwards and cut her body at various spots. A surge of intense pain shot through her body again as the sharp organic blades cut deep into her flesh.
She managed to tilt her head so that she could glance down. Her body suddenly went numb when she saw that the skin on the top of both of her arms had been peeled back to expose the dark red muscle tissue and in some places her ivory coloured bones. She felt a cool draft on her legs and the continuous surges of pain that were coming from them lead her to believe that her legs were probably also wounded in the same fashion. Carnage began to laugh hysterically as he felt her body jerk and struggle against the tendrils that firmly held her as result of the pain she was in.
"Don't you just love games?"
The sight of her friend in such an intense state of pain along with her other friend on the ground with the head of symbiotic lance still protruding out from her leg as she continued to bleed profusely touched something deep and dark inside Sailor Mars. It was the part of her personality that she had long since kept hidden from the people that she cared the most about. It was the place where she kept the dark and negative aspects of her psyche locked away. It was also the area where her personal feelings toward her father, the shame of her past failures and her philosophical disposition towards violence were kept. Seeing two of her best friends be put on the brink of death had finally convinced her that Sailor Uranus was right and that she had to end this now or they would all end up being killed.
"Carnage, you are finished!"
Sailor Uranus rushed straight towards him after Sailor Mars had given her a single nod of her head. At the very last second, she side-stepped to the right to avoid Carnage's swipe with a thick symbiotic whip from his ribcage. She grabbed Sailor Jupiter tightly by the waist as she moved passed him. The force of her forward momentum and the split-second surprise element of her abrupt and agile movement to avoid his attack allowed her to pull Sailor Jupiter free from his grasp and quickly get her to a safe distance. Carnage gave them a dumbfounded facial expression as he watched them move away from him and the sudden turn of events. It was just the distraction that Sailor Mars had needed.
She felt the intense power rapidly building up inside her. It was an incredibly strong sensation and something that she have never felt before ever. She concluded that it was because she was tapping into something that she had chosen to purposely avoid and thus was now bursting at the seams to finally be unleashed. She clasped her hands tightly together with her two index fingers extended outwards. A swirling fireball abruptly formed at the tips of her pointed fingertips and hovered there for a second or two.
"Mars Scorching Inferno!"
The fireball suspended just above her fingers instantly turned into a thick stream of fire that shot out at an impossibly fast speed at Carnage. It struck him directly in the middle of his chest and the force of the impact's momentum sent him violently back against the wall of the building directly behind him Her fire blast continued as she tightly closed her eyes so she could have all her mental concentration towards keeping her attack going.
The intense heat of the flames rose the surrounding temperature of the area and made the immediate environment around the Sailors feel like the surface of the sun or possibly even the planet Mercury. All around the battle field they watched in complete shock as they saw what was going on. They had never seen their friend display this kind of raw power before and it was beyond both unsettling and horrific for them to witness.
Somewhere behind the blinding glare of the fires Carnage was screaming a maddening and beastial howl as he continued to struggle in vain to escape the fiery assault His screams were like a wounded animal caught in a trap as the wailing became an un-natural screech that chilled the blood in the Sailors' veins. His symbiote was completely powerless against the heat and flames generated by Sailor Mars as it was the one thing that was fatal to it besides concentrated sound.
Sailor Mars tuned out the shrieks of pain and anguish coming from him as she knew that she had to continue or he would simply heal and make sure she paid for her lack of resolve. The only voices she allowed herself to hear were her own internal consciousness that was telling her to continue on with the attack and Sailor Uranus' which was encouraging to remain steadfast and complete her task.
"Keep going Mars! Don't stop!"
Her flame thrower attack continued and it quickly became clear to the other Sailors that two things were going to happen Carnage was not going to be able to escape Sailor Mars' attack as the flaying and screams of the symbiote were becoming more and more guttural and beastial. It was what they would imagine a death cry from an animal would sound like. Perhaps even more disturbing was the second thing was something that they never would have thought their friend would be capable of. Sailor Mars wasn't going to stop her attack until Carnage was dead!
Sailor Jupiter quickly realized this as she looked at her friend and saw the intense level of concentration that she was giving towards her attack. There were absolutely no physical signs from her that she was going to stop any time soon. Her eyes widened as the reality of that disturbing fact washed over her. She looked back at where Carnage was still pinned firmly against the wall by the force of the fire stream. Despite that the bright glare of the red and orange flames was near blinding, she was still able to see him moving among the deadly looking barrage. However her mild psychic connection to him was still firmly intact. It was what had allowed him to know of her 'deaths' at the North Pole and at the hands of Galaxia when he had been thousands of miles away. It was also the way he had been able to send his strength to them through the astral plane to increase the power of the Sailor Planet Attack they had used against Super Beryl in the seemingly final confrontation with the Dark Kingdom.
She could feel his strength rapidly declining as he was brought closer and closer to the brink of death. It would only be a matter of minutes or even seconds before he would be burned to death right in front of her. Despite all that he had done to her, to her friends and to the dozens of people he had murdered since Aldrich had removed the 'curse' on his symbiote she still loved him with all of her heart. She wasn't sure if she could ever fully forgive him for what he had done but he was still her one true love. Of that she was absolutely certain.
"Mars, stop, please stop!"
"Don't listen to her Mars! Keep going, protect the kingdom!"
"Mars, in the name of god, please stop!"
"If you stop, he will kill every living thing on Earth!"
The desperation in Sailor Jupiter's voice rose to extreme levels as she continued to fight with Sailor Uranus to get Sailor Mars' attention. She could now feel that she had only seconds left before it would be too late and Carnage would be no more. She rose up to her knees and blocked out the pain in her legs. She looked directly at Sailor Mars and tensed her body into a rigid posture. Tears of both terror and sadness continued to swell up in her eyes and cascade down her cheeks as she reached out towards her friend with her right arm.
"Mars, please don't kill my baby's father!"
End of Chapter 8