CHAPTER 7 - Separated

"Sailor Moon, where are you?!" Sailor Mars called out in desperation hoping that she would hear her calling back. The girls stood terrified, silence the only one to reply. "How could this happen?" Sailor Mars asked, despair in her voice. No one answered, each girl mentally kicking themselves for what had just occurred. Thinking deeply, Sailor Jupiter asked, "How long has she not been with us? How could we have not noticed?" The girls continued to look around, hoping that Sailor Moon would stumble out from behind the trees. Reality hit hard when after some long moments, she didn't.

"The last time I remember seeing her was after the first earthquake. I don't really remember seeing her after that." Sailor Venus said quietly. Sailor Jupiter curled her hand into a fist and slammed it into a tree trunk."I can't believe I didn't even notice she was gone." Sailor Mercury peered out into the distance as far as she could. "Where we were during the first earthquake is quite a distance from where we are now. I don't even know how to get back to where we were without getting lost."

"We have to go back!" Sailor Mars said, her eyes wide with fear. "We have to go find her!" Sailor Mercury swallowed hard. "The longer we're here, the more the enemies feel our presence. We have to get through that barrier as soon as we can." The Sailor Scouts stood still, knowing they had to make a difficult decision. "Sailor Moon, please be safe and find us." Sailor Mercury whispered into the air.


Sailor Moon sat on the ground, her back leaning against a tree trunk. The rest of the scouts had been long gone and Sailor Moon now had her thoughts as her only companion. How much time had passed since she quietly slipped behind a tree and stayed silent until she could no longer hear the others' footsteps? They didn't even notice. It hurt a little, but Sailor Moon scolded herself for being self-pitying. After all, she had chosen to stay back. Deep in her gut, she knew she was being ridiculous and senseless for not trailing along when the Scouts had begun to walk again. She felt uneasy thinking of when the scouts finally did realize she was not in their midst. She sighed with exasperation because although her brain knew what was right, still her feet did not cooperate. They only stayed put, glued to the ground when they should have stepped along with the others' feet as they trudged along the rough terrain.

I'm in more danger when the Sailor Scouts aren't with me. As guilty as she felt about the circumstance, Sailor Moon admitted it was true. She was purposely putting herself in danger. Some would think only a deranged human being would do such a thing, but for the past couple of weeks, Sailor Moon felt as if she was anything but sane. Her thoughts swept back to the day she was looking out over the harbor and she recalled her conversation with Luna. "The only time he'll come near me is when Sailor Moon is in danger." The words echoed in her mind as if they had been yelled out across a canyon. There's got to be a reason why he still comes to save me. Sailor Moon's thoughts swirled in her head as she tried to push away the images of Darien walking down the street with another girl.

She finally stood up and steadied herself on the ground before taking a good look at her surroundings. There wasn't much to look at except...trees and more trees. Her surroundings just looked like one big mess of a forest. She had no idea where she was or in fact, where exactly she meant to go. What exactly was her plan? She shook her head as if to answer her own question. She didn't even have a plan to begin with. She only had an objective and she was determined to succeed in attaining the end prize. The objective was to reacquire Darien's affection, but the pathway to gaining that was quite hazy and unclear.

She sighed as she realized that she had once again managed to plummet into a situation without thoroughly thinking about the consequences or acknowledging the possible negative results. This was how she had always been, never letting her logical or rational side take complete control. It was simply her way of doing things. However, not everyone thought this was an admirable trait as many had often let her know. She had received enough of that critique from her parents, but was often forced to swallow an extra dose from Rei. She remembered their argument before leaving. "What's wrong about your way?? You never think about the consequences, that's what's wrong about your way!!"

She swallowed hard, attempting to clear the lump that had formed in her throat. It was too late to undo all of this now. She had to continue with her plan. She stopped for a moment remembering a plan didn't even exist. After a while of thinking, she finally took a step. She had no idea which direction she was going, but it was better than sitting here all day. She took big, careful steps keeping her head down hoping with all her might that she wouldn't klutz out anytime soon. It was a dangerous time more than ever to do that now.

Just when she thought she was doing well at avoiding a slip up, another earthquake shattered her concentration. She gasped not taking her eyes off the ground as it began to tremble mightily causing her to abandon her efforts at being careful. Right now, she needed to hold on to something. Quickly, the earthquake's magnitude increased and Sailor Moon staggered ahead to get to a nearby tree.Just a few more steps! She quickly leaned forward ready to take the next step, but to her alarm, her foot stayed back refusing to move. She looked down and with sheer fear realized that her foot had become caught in some tangled vines rooted into the ground.

The earthquake continued, causing her to lose all sense of balance. She let out a scream as she fell forward seeing a medium sized boulder on the ground where she would soon end up. She inhaled sharply anticipating an extreme amount of pain as her right knee made forceful contact with the boulder. It was worse than she thought it would be. She cringed as intense pain enveloped her entire knee. She rolled onto her back dreading the surge of pain she would feel for a while afterwards. Shortly after, the earthquake began to subside and finally, the ground was still again.

She was left lying on the ground near a boulder, her breathing shallow and her face distorted as a result of a very unpleasant sensation in her right knee. She stayed in the same position for a few more minutes unappreciative of the amount of pain she was feeling. Using her hands to push herself up into a sitting position, she looked over at her knee. It had become red with minor cuts and scrapes, but nothing that seemed too serious. With the immense pain that emanated from it, she was sure she would've seen more damage to her knee. She wasn't at all sure if she could put weight on it, but she knew she had to try otherwise she was would be immobile in the middle of a place she wasn't familiar with.

She took a very deep breath and slowly came up while holding onto a nearby branch for support. With all of her weight on her good leg, she lifted herself up to a standing position with some difficulty. With both hands holding onto an overhead branch, she carefully and slowly began to put weight on the leg that had been injured. She immediately stopped after a few seconds, shocked at how much agony her knee was in. It seemed that it would not tolerate much weight as just a slight step motion caused a rush of severe pain. Her breathing became ragged as she waited for that rush of pain to decrease although it never completely receded.

"ARGH!" She yelled at the tree as she pounded it with her fist. She nearly toppled over as she basically had to balance on one leg. She was Sailor Moon and yet, even a medium sized boulder could get the best of her. She forced herself to think and in the process, chuckled in spite of her current situation because now she needed to use her brain. The seriousness of her circumstance became all too real when she looked down at her knee which still pulsated with pain.

Tuxedo Mask, where are you? She hoped with all her being that somehow her thoughts were reaching him. I need you. Her eyes began to burn as tears emerged. She sighed sorrowfully and lowered herself once again onto the ground. She was exhausted from this short exertion. Maybe her knee just needed a little rest.


"That girl can't even program a DVD player, let alone be wandering around in a place like this!" Sailor Mars exclaimed with agitation although she truly felt scared inside.

"So what do we do?" Sailor Jupiter asked, revealing the obvious question.

"This is definitely not easy." Sailor Venus stated as she rubbed a spot on her forehead.

It had been possibly fifteen minutes since they had discovered the sudden absence of Sailor Moon. They were still no closer to figuring out what to do. Even Sailor Mercury who usually knew what to do or could figure it out at least was at a loss. There was silence yet again for a few minutes.

BEEP! Sailor Mercury was jerked out of her deep thoughts and realized her visor was trying to tell her something. She turned towards the direction of the barrier awaiting her visor to display key information. "There seems to be increased activity going on down there. Mass amounts of energy is being detected. I don't know what they're doing down there, but it seems like they're up to no good."

The scouts looked at each other knowing what they had to do. Replacing the solemn looks on their faces with determination, they looked to Sailor Mercury for direction. With her mini computer in her hand once again, she motioned for Sailor Venus to go forward. "Keep going...keep going...keep going...ok stop!" Sailor Venus obeyed knowing that she could be seriously hurt if she took one step more.

Sailor Mars concentrated making sure not to aim too close to Sailor Venus, but close enough that she could jump through the barrier easily. "Mars Fire Ignite!" A blast of fire hurtled straight ahead and collided with the barrier. As soon as the fire disappeared, Sailor Venus knew it was her cue. She leaped through where the fire had just been, half expecting to be shocked with pain. Relief washed over her when she found she had landed on the ground, the only pain resulting from her lack of ability to land smoothly.

Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter did the same leaving only Sailor Mars left on the other side of the barrier. "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" Sailor Jupiter aimed for the barrier in front. Sailor Mars quickly jumped through landing perfectly on her feet. "Show off." Sailor Venus muttered under breath. The girls gathered themselves somewhat glad they had passed the barrier, but they knew it was far from over. With the leading of Sailor Mercury, the scouts began their venture deeper into the enemy base. Sailor Mars fell behind for a moment, quickly glancing behind her. Please be ok Serena. With that last plea in mind, she sauntered ahead.


Sailor Moon quickly awoke, realizing that she had dozed off. She had no inclination as to how long she had been asleep. It took her a minute to remember the mess she had been able to get herself into and it didn't take long for her to remember her aching knee. She lowered her eyes to the injury only to be shocked at what she saw. A gasp quickly escaped her mouth as she stared, horrified.

Her knee looked as if it was a foreign object not belonging to her leg. During her sleep, her knee had become swollen and triple the size of what it originally was. On top of that, a couple very large bruises with the colors dark purple, black, and brown graced the swelling. On impulse to see if it would, she slightly moved her knee, but was greeted with a flood of pain from that area. It couldn't even bend! She slapped her hand to her forehead not knowing what to do now. She let our a quick exhale trying not to lose her composure. If only Tuxedo Mask were here!

As she contemplated what to do about her knee, she heard some faint rustling in the distance. She sat still continuing to listen. The rustling turned into footsteps that were headed in her direction. He's here! Sailor Moon's overjoyed heart danced in her chest. He's come to save me! "Tuxedo Mask?" She called out so that he could find his way to her more quickly. "I'm over here!" She yelled directing him to her voice.

"What are you doing here?" An eerie voice asked with an unwelcoming tone. That voice definitely didn't belong to Tuxedo Mask. Sailor Moon slowly turned her head to look behind her where the voice had come from. A horrified expression inhabited her face as she looked into the eyes of...she didn't even know what it was. All that could be said was that it looked like an oversized bat. It possessed large wings that spread out from each side that when completely spread gave the bat an ominous look. Its claws were long and appeared to be lethal weapons that looked as if it could cause damage with just a touch. Its fangs glistened as it eyed Sailor Moon. "I wonder if the Master knows about your trespassing."

Instinct told Sailor Moon to run. She attempted to get off the ground and sprint, but she only landed back down with a thud. She cursed her knee that was causing her so much trouble. The bat snickered as it made its way closer to her. She glared back at the monster not allowing her fear show in the least. With an energy surge from an unknown source, she used her uninjured leg to kick the monster in its groin area as hard as she possibly could. "Why you!!!" The monster staggered and cowered back a little. However, the monster was not the only one to feel pain as the kick had also aggravated Sailor Moon's knee. It seemed any sort of movement from the waist down affected it.

"I'll show you who you're messing with!!" The beast roared, definite anger in its voice. It swiped at a vulnerable Sailor Moon who was unable to get off the ground with its long and powerful claws. Four diagonal tears on her Sailor uniform appeared across her midsection. It was only a matter of seconds until blood seeped through those tears staining the white cloth. She clutched at where she had been hit trying as best as she could to pull herself away from the monster with her free hand. The large bat only laughed. It stepped close to hover over her, evil swimming in its eyes. It pulled back its elbow so that its claws were aimed at her throat. It held its hand steady in the air, only a few inches from the skin of its target. An ugly grin exploded onto the bat monster's face as it stood face to face with Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon frighteningly closed her eyes as she saw the claws come toward her at lightening speed. He didn't come! He's too late! Just then, a thought more painful than the wounds on her midsection and in her knee came to her mind a nanosecond later. What if he didn't intend to?


Author's Note: I know, I'm so very sorry for leaving you at yet another cliffhanger. I guess I'll just have to torture you with waiting for the next part of the story. (laughs an evil laugh) Someone mentioned that Rini is absent in this story. Yes, she is in this season of sailor moon, but I chose not to include her because I want her to be safe in the 30th century. However, she may (emphasis on may) appear later on, but I'm not making any promises. Also, don't worry...we'll be getting to Darien's POV soon as well. To everyone who reviewed, thank you!!! You readers make this worthwhile.