MoonDraong: I'm not even going to apologize for being really late for the updates anymore. Just know that I'm sorry every time that I am. Well, summer vacation is going to be here really soon, only one more week of school, so I'll have a lot more time to write then. Actually, I'll be so bored that I'll just write because there's nothing else to do, ha ha. I got severe writers block for this chapter, so I only hope it ended up alright. Please review or I might have to go cry in a dark corner.

Unspoken Memories

Chapter 16

Deep within her musings about how the child had anticipated her Moon Dust strategy an electronic noise erupted from Chibiusa's pocket. It wasn't a distressingly irritating sound such as an alarm clock meant to wake you for school, but it was melodious and left a sweet after-tone during each of its pauses after short, few second periods. It reminded her of a dream, or a soothing sound conjured from a fantasy video game. It was mystical.

The pink haired girl tensed just slightly burrowing her hand into her pocket fishing out the same cat-head key chain she had pulled out earlier in the evening. The hum perturbed from the open red mouth where Usagi could see tiny little holes allowing the sound to pass through. Its white eyes flashed brightly against the black pupils and Usagi wondered what it was supposed to mean. It might've been some new, stylish beeper.

"There's going to be a youma appearing very soon," the child revealed causing Usagi to arch her eyebrow before realizing what she meant. 'Oh, yeah. She was saying something earlier about how it's supposed to flash up when there's one around.' "I'd better hurry and transform before it shows up. I wonder where it's going to appear…"

The sound of swiveling water captured both of their attentions. The lake beyond them started to form ripples originating from several meters into the middle. Slowly, but surely, the liquid ruptures grew larger until they were like miniature waves crashing up and slightly over the edges of the lake. The spray-like mist when the water splashed against the constricting sides could be felt by both girls like a gentle brush against their legs from their seating position on the bench. In the creature-made whirlpool a youma started to sprout as if a pedestal was pushing it upwards steadily.

Its skin was slippery to the appearance and glistened as the sun beat down upon it making it seem like a metallic light blue. Only three fingers decorated each of its slick palms coated with webbing for more mobility in the water. Multitudes of tiny dark blue fins started at each wrist and traveled upwards, elevating at a diagonal angle, slithering from elbow to shoulder and meeting up at the midpoint on the back of the youma's neck. Identical, but larger, replicas of those fins could be found on the head found only on the forehead. Half of its body was nestled in the waters so Usagi couldn't identify whether or not the creature had legs, but seeing a tail fin peak out of the water ripples waving idly in the air she assumed there were none.

"Keep it distracted while I transform, then I'll finish it off." Chibiusa ordered clearly expecting Usagi to follow without question or fail. Sailor Moon merely rolled her silver-blue eyes thankful for having transformed awhile ago.

"Or I could just blast the stupid thing before you have a chance to do anything," she whispered to herself having no intent on the younger senshi to hear her. "Seems to think that she's the star here."

The freshly conjured youma hastily gazed over its surrounding in a hurry looking quite jittery and maybe even a bit hyper. Sailor Moon had long ago stopped being surprised when a demon was summoned. Two black eyes which seemed like endless tunnels to nowhere locked onto hers as soon as it settled down in its environment. Pure glee was evident in its lifeless stares, but there was something else coating the emotion; blood-lust.

As though newly born in the park's water, the youma still fixed its attention on Sailor Moon specifically paying no mind to Chibiusa in the background. A crimson tongue with two wily tips slipped from the youma's lipless face and flickered about randomly like a snake sniffing out the air. Then, raising a webbed hand, smacked down on the liquid surface it resided in bringing forth fist-sized water balls now floating in the air. With a swipe of the opposite hand the youma sent them bulleting towards the sliver and golden senshi.

Sailor Moon wasted no effort in trying to deflect the attack charging at her with a praise-able amount of speed. As soon as the liquid came within a decent striking distance to the senshi it splattered against some unseen force. As the water broke out into smaller droplets they slid down the faint golden barrier protecting Usagi now visible from the sun reflecting off of the youma's failed attempt at assault. She allowed a simple, pride-filled smile to adorn her features not feeling a single thing.

The youma's tongue flickered about more profoundly now as if miffed that it accomplished nothing. Now it was swaying with the soft current its arrival brought forth going back, forth, diagonal, up, and down. In those depthless eyes seemed to be a mind thinking of how to continue. It made Sailor Moon impatient waiting for its next strike because it wasn't as if she could just charge in because walking on water was beyond her abilities. Seeing as it was going to laze about and not attempt another attack any time soon, Usagi took it upon herself to fire a ranged magic.

Positioning herself facing sideways towards the youma Sailor Moon extended her arm so it reached out in its direction. Three gloved fingers curved and nestled in her palm while her thumb shot out in the air and pointer targeted out its latest victim. The image mirrored a gunman ready to fire at will. Slowly white light gathered at her fingertip forming into the illusion of a bullet. She didn't expect this to take long so the blow only carried a limited amount of firepower. The youma didn't seem all that threatening; she figured it would be enough to finish it.

Accompanying her attack was simply a small sigh as she unleashed it. She didn't bother to name this move since it was merely an imitation of any other gun. The white flash rocketed towards its target matching the speed of a real bullet. As it charged forth the water demon thrust its hand deep into the water in front of the beam and slashed across the surface. The action brought up a defensive wall two or three feet high. When Sailor Moon's makeshift bullet struck the surface the momentum slowed down at a surprisingly sluggish speed giving the youma ample time to dodge.

Seeing the outcome, Usagi clicked her tongue. That was unexpected. 'I just need to put in more power. I don't want to put in too much though… the force might wipe out the youma, but the excess power that wasn't used will keep on going hitting who-knows-what behind the stupid thing. Just a little bit more then, not too much…'

"That's enough, I'm ready to go," Sailor Chibi Moon announced from behind the senshi. Usagi took a quick scan towards the pink warrior almost forgetting that she was present at the moment. It slipped her mind that she wasn't the only one there since she was the only original senshi left.

"Didn't I tell you earlier that these are my battles?" Usagi questioned still keep her cautious silver eyes in the youmas direction. Now it swirled in a circular fashion seemingly undecided on what to do next but needing to be in motion. The monster clearly had enough intelligence to stay at a distance in the water so it had the greatest advantage.

"Well, didn't I tell you earlier that I'm taking over?!" the child shot back earning a glare from her superior. Sailor Chibi Moon stepped forward to Sailor Moon's side giving the teen a closer, more revealing, look at her back. Rolled up into little balls were what seemed to be two feathered bundles.

"Wings? Did you get an upgrade during the time between the last fight and this one?" The mini-senshi tilted her head upwards to look at her and gave a confusing stare.

"I can make them come out at will." Usagi continued to stare. "Why are you looking at me like that? You can do the same thing." In a swift, clean motion the wings untangled themselves stretching out to Chibiusa's sides. They fluttered and moved for a bit as the pink haired girl was reacquainting herself with how to use them.

"I can't do that," Sailor Moon revealed wondering what gave the child the idea to presume something like that. Chibiusa continued to stare questioningly as if deciding whether or not Usagi was lying. Her mouth opened in surprise.

"Oh! You must not have learned to do this yet. That's weird… she told me that this was around the time where you learned to do that." This time it was Usagi who was baffled.

'She? Who is she?!' her mind screamed out. 'Is Chibiusa-chan spying on my life or something? It's like she thinks that all of these things are planned out and knows what I can and can't do, like with the Moon Dust. It's creepy! And who's SHE?!'

"That's enough talking! I still have to take care of this youma!"

"You mean I still have to take care of this youma," Sailor Moon countered back, but her words fell of deaf ears as Sailor Chibi Moon had already flapped her way off the ground and became airborne. Trailing upwards in fluid motions Usagi had to shield her eyes to keep watch on her since she was getting closer to the direction of the sun.

The golden light sprinkled on Chibiusa making her glow a warm color. Her hair sparkled flowing fluidly in the wind, and her wings shone brightly against the sun's rays. Studying her features more intently the child's face looked so much more mature as it was set in content focus. Like an angel on a mission it couldn't afford to fail. A few feathers escaped her wings and fell to the ground as Usagi looked up in amazement feeling one brush against the exposed skin of her arm. "Wow, she's really pretty," Sailor Moon breathed to herself.

ooOoo

Chibiusa positioned herself above the youma high enough so that her prey seemed small and insignificant. Not at all frightening. Once more she was going to try to use her Crescent Explosion, and this time she was determined not to fail like she had previously. True, it was much more energy than required to dispatch such a lowly youma, but she had something to prove. Sailor Chibi Moon needed the one and only original Sailor Moon to see what she could do and be recognized for her abilities. While she charged she also contemplated.

'It's… strange. I thought for sure that Sailor Moon figured out how to grow wings by now. She's also a little… different than I imagined her being. Maybe I came at the wrong time. Oh well, I'll thing about that later. Now, if I can just show her how much power I have then maybe she'll see that I can defeat Nokemono by myself. There's absolutely no way I'll let her kill them. Never.' Tears misted her red eyes, but she was able to keep them at bay with her conviction alone to not come off as a child not yet prepared for battle. 'Never.'

Her hand throbbed with the amount of pressure building up in her small palm. This much energy wasn't meant for an 11 year old and her body wasn't yet mature enough to handle so much concentrated at one point. She moved her other hand to brace herself trying to take half of the burden onto the other. Sailor Chibi Moon could've put much more power into the attack, but her palm was stinging too much. Surely this would be enough to take care of it anyways. There was no need to show off too much, just enough to give Sailor Moon an idea of what she could do. The energy burned and the kid could feel her skin even under the gloves beginning to peel and redden. Now was the time.

"Crescent…"

"Wait!" Sailor moon shouted from the ground. "Are you crazy?! That much energy straight at the ground will-"

"Explosion!"

White light burst forth from her hand as if someone just unlocked a cage that a rapid animal was currently residing in giving it the freedom to tear and claw into everything around it. Chibiusa was propelled higher up than she already was from the force. Taking on the shape of a crescent moon, true to its name, it descended down upon the youma who thrashed at the water trying to put up the barrier it did for Sailor Moon's lethal attack in hopes of dawdling it down so it could dodge. It proved futile as it assaulted and penetrated straight through with absolutely no loss of momentum. It was too powerful to be stopped with such juvenile tactics.

As the white light smacked down against the waters surface it split the air in a deafening crack, but the monster in its pathway made a much more unappealing noise. The youma underneath the blow withered and shriveled shrieking in a manner that inspired nightmares and crazed minds. A tortured call that shook Chibiusa more intently than she thought it could. She could only watch as her technique shook the ground and splashed water so high up that it splashed against her face knocking the wind out of her.

Her small form shook as it levitated in the air gazing on at what she had done. Eyes were seemingly torn wide open unable to blink and unable to shy away at what she had accomplished. A gasp escaped the tiny warrior and she brought her hands up to her chest holding them trying to stop from trembling.

'I… I killed it…' she thought in distress feeling light-headed. As the water fell back down to the surface she tried to identify any remains of the youma that might be left. Eyes darted around unhealthily around what was left of the lake, and, much to her dismay, she couldn't even find one slippery scale. It had been completely vaporized by her Crescent Explosion. 'It's dead…'

The shrill, bone-chilling last shriek of terror and pain the youma made kept replaying itself inside her head like a digitalized masterpiece playing it exactly as it wounded the first time. It made her lose more and more control from reality. Shakily putting her hands out in front of her she examined her twitching palms, one vibrating more violently than the other due to the after-effect of her attack. Those same hands brought on the death of a living creature. She had never before murdered anyone and didn't expect it to leave her this terrified or hallow inside.

Sailor Chibi Moon broke out into a sickening cold sweat as she panted for air never seeming to get enough. Her throat constricted into itself and wouldn't unclench as if the guilt of what she had done was trying to strangle her in the form of a punishment. It was hitting the child harder than she thought possible, even if the creature was out to kill them.

The feeling was too overwhelming. Realizing for a fact that she ended the life of something shut down the young child, and she felt her body beginning to turn numb and she couldn't perform a function even as simple as flexing a finger. All she could accomplish was the unconscious shaking Chibiusa was still doing.

Staring around she also noticed how torn up the Earth looked after her feat. Trees were torn from their roots around the lake from the wind impact, and more than half of the water had dispersed to its surroundings. She remembered how beautiful the scenery seemed when she was drawing on the bench earlier and now gazed in horror of how she had transformed it.

Killing something that was alive and the knowledge of what she had done to the portion of the park was enough to push her over the edge. Her wings gave out as she transformed back into her civilian form no longer able to grab a hold over her senshi form. The power flowed out of her as if someone turned on the faucet and let it come out at full power. She crashed head-first into what was left of the lake and landed with a splash falling deeper and deeper into the water…

ooOoo

The ground shook violently and Usagi shrunk down to her knees falling over from the sheer force Chibiusa's Crescent Explosion brought forth. Instinct brought her arms to cover her face in a protective manner, but all the debris and stray, harsh splashes of water tried to lay claim over her form didn't succeed. Luckily for her they merely slapped against her barrier and skidded over Sailor Moon. Sure, she had taken care of the youma, but there was no need for such extreme firepower.

'What was she thinking?! That much force straight down?! She probably took out more than half of the water in the lake, and now there's a huge crater where the energy struck the ground! Not to mention some of the trees and bushes got blown over and destroyed. All of the animals that lived there are most likely dead… Didn't she even think about what would happen to the things around her?'

Usagi tried to calm her frantic nerves at what Chibiusa had done. She tended to overreact when the environment got caught up in the battles because she loved it so much. The luscious green of the trees and the sparkling reflection of the water were things she held dearly. They weren't there on the Moon except for sparse gardens and most took them for granted. Usagi knew what life was without them and therefore looked on in horror of Sailor Chibi Moon's attack.

'She's still just a child,' she told herself. 'Chibiusa-chan must not have that much experience in the battlefield and doesn't even realize what she did. I'll have to talk to her after… this…' Sailor Moon gazed upwards at the pink senshi using her hand to block most of the sun's rays to get a better look and realized how wrong her thoughts here. She looked deranged and horrified looking at her palms. If she examined closely she could see Chibiusa tremble.

Suddenly her wings stopped fluttering and red ribbons washed over her stripping the senshi uniform off, replacing it with her civilian outfit. Sailor Moon gasped getting up on her feet watching her freefall into what was left of the lake. Chibiusa looked completely fatigued and weary and might not be able to swim back up to the surface alone.

Letting her own ribbons swallow her up since there was no need to be Sailor Moon anymore, she dived into the waters as her regular clothes let her senshi uniform take a break. Out into the middle she estimated where the pink haired girl had fallen and hurriedly ducked underneath the surface. Unfortunately for the rescuer, the water was murky with dirt and debris making it hard to see through.

She swam fluidly throughout the water trying urgently to find Chibiusa. From the way she looked in the air it seemed as though she wouldn't be able to resurface alone. If Usagi couldn't find her it was over. With each moment that passed helplessness nestled within her, but she quickly dispatched those thoughts. Her lungs were also making her aware of the need for air as they started to sting her, but she would not let Chibiusa down. She would rescue her no matter what.

The golden haired teen would've sighed in relief if she didn't need her all of her breath to remain underwater. With the sun shinning through the surface it lightened up the water enough that she could see Chibiusa's hair shimmering from the rays upon it. As Usagi suspected, her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Quickly hooking her arms around the child's waist she kicked at the water bringing them both up for air.

Breaking through the surface she took in a huge gulp of oxygen not use to staying under for so long. Her lungs thanked her for the gift by not causing her as much pain as when they were cut off. Cupping the child's cheek in her palm, she brought her ear close to her mouth and was instantly relieved hearing the small puffs of air indicating that she was in fact breathing. The only problem remaining was that she was knocked out. Hugging the pink girl to her she smiled thankful that she was all right.