A Moon Never Grasped

by Punkdays

Serena made a deal with Galaxia, that if she swore her loyalty and her Star Seed to Galaxia, then all the dead on Earth would come back to life. Part of the deal was that no one would remember her. What will Serena do with having all the memories that her friends were forced to forget?

6. Chapter 5: Dreams of the Forsaken Part 2

A Moon Never Clasped

By: Danni Lynn

Chapter 5: Dreams of the Forsaken Part II

~+!Mina!+~

Standing on the edge of the road, scraped from tripping over bushes that Darien had earlier stealthily jumped, caused Mina to swear a string of curses under her breath as she tried to wipe of the remaining dirt that stained the edges of her skirt. Obliviously, Mina was unaware that Darien had stopped moving as she kept walking and bumped head first into Darien's back. Angrily, Mina raised her head, about to yell at Darien for making him lose most of her snacks and her balance, but she paused when she followed Darien's stiff stare as they caught sight of an slumped figure resting against the wall with two standing figures hovering protectively over it.

Feeling her throat beginning to close made it hard for her breathe, while sweat made her skin go clammy. Mina tried to ignore her hovering doubt that lingered way to close to her up most common sense certainty. "Isn't that...?" She started but couldn't grasp the illogical sense that what she was staring at was true. Pinning the figures close to the wall, stood a inhuman person, with daggers that seemed to come out of its skin. Its back was burned and scarred with what look like knife wounds, but Mina wasn't sure. Having a nagging sensation that she had seen this monster before unnerved her. Hadn't the winged angel killed it?

Eerily, Mina was almost positive that the youma that stood before her was the same youma that the winged angel had taken down no more than the day before. When she looked back at Darien for recrimination, all she got was a paled complexion and a face distorted in disbelief. "Yes, Mina, I think it is." Darien finished for her softly as he, himself, tried to grasp the strange reality that had been placed before them.

Looking around to see if the area was vacant, Darien glanced at Mina and caught her gaze. Simultaneously, they nodded together. As Darien pulled a rose out of his jacket and Mina rose her right hand high into the air with a orange pen with the planet Venus' symbol in it, they transformed into their altar ego selves. Transforming out of their civilian clothes, Darien and Mina became part of the recruitment team to get rid of the youma.

"Sailor Venus, Tuxedo Mask! Help! Its...its..Ami!" A sailor dashed with the color red cried as she sent waves of flames at the youma, the monster easily evaded. "Ugh! You nega-creep, get out of the way!" A tall brunette angrily yelled as she called lightening to her hand sent a bolt of it speeding towards the monster. It laughed that sounds like nails on chalkboard, as it bent low and pulled it's dagger-like arms over it's head in protection. The bolt of blue ricocheted off the metal arms and back towards the brunette sender, seeing the oncoming reflection, Venus screamed at the surprised sailor and ran hurriedly towards her.

In the nick of time, the blonde goddess made it by mere inches from being hit to send the tall warrior to the ground. The flash of lightening embedded itself into the wall with a loud crack as bits and pieces of rubble went flying. Being peppered with sharp debris, Venus was grazed several times by the bits of cement, that she staggered abit from the wounds that flared her rage to life.

"Goddammit! I'm going to have scars now!" Venus shrieked as she wiped away the seeping blood. The brunette that laid stunned onto the ground stared at Venus with a concerned facade as she tried to stand up, but only winced in pain instead. "I'm sorr-" The tall sailor started, but was quickly cut off as Venus glared at her menacingly. "No excuses, Jupiter. That was your attack! You should have reacted faster!" The orange clad sailor screeched as she turned away from the brunette that watched her with hurt eyes.

As Venus was turning, a hot ball of fire whizzed by her, and singed the ends of her hair a darker shade of blonde. Whirling around with her nostrils flaring, Venus met the accusing eyes of her fellow comrade. "Mars! What the hell? That could have really done some damage if that had hit! What's your problem?" Venus yelled as she lashed her whip high into the air with a satisfactory snap! For added effect. Mars raised an eyebrow at her, unamused, and unaffected.

"Oh, was that suppose to scare me? My problem is, Venus is your attitude. Just because Jupiter froze and you got banged up a little , doesn't give you the right to treat our fellow comrade like shit. Get that through that pretty little head of yours." Mars hissed icily as she braced herself for Venus to attack her. Just as Venus raised her whip high into the air, a black mass blew passed her, and with an agonized groan, bashed, spine first into the wall. Blood splattered Mina's face as it ran down her cheeks, startled, she turned to look at the slumped body.

"Tuxedo Mask!" Mars screamed as she ran to the man's aid, as he slowly tried to climb to his feet as his cape and the back of his jacket were ripped and doused in a heavy crimson liquid that stained the wall in a smeared huddle and pooled onto the ground in a small puddle. "No, I'll be fine. Just get Ami away from the youma. She needs help." The Tuxedo clad man hoarsely choked as he pushed away a apologizing Mars with a wave of his hand.

As Venus recovered from her previous shock, she looked back at Jupiter with her head hung. "Sorry, Jupiter. You okay?" She muttered with shame, feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment because she had made a scene over some scrapes and cuts when their best friend lay on the ground a couple of feet await away dying. Jupiter got to her feet , took a step and cried out and clutched her left leg, that was swelling up nastily. "No, my leg. I think I did...something to it." Jupiter moaned in exasperation, as she struggled to keep her footing. Venus sighed in irritation, not at the brunette but at herself. If only she hadn't shoved so hard.

"Alright, Jupiter, you help Tuxie man back there, and you both try to help Ami get to the hospital. Mars and I, will dust this youma!" Venus commanded as she turned her attention back at her foe, that watched her with beady yellow eyes and a sinister smirk that danced merrily on its lips. "Ready to die?" Venus asked the monster, who in return only cocked its head to the side and gave a twisted grin. "Maaayyybbbeee." It croaked before it lifted its arm and aimed at the struggling brunette. The air hissed by as a long steel dagger split the air. Flicking her wrist with a quick jerk, Venus' whip came down hard onto the flying dagger and brought it to an immediate stand still, as gravity took its course and it feel to the ground with a metallic ring.

Venus twisted her arm and like a lasso, wrapped her whip around the monster, trapping it from any movement of any kind. "Mars, now!" Venus shouted as she pulled tighter on her chain, while the monster let out an ear splitting laugh. Mars nodded her agreement and brought her hand up towards the hysterically screeching youma and whispered a couple of incoherent words. Suddenly, a torrent of fire blasted its way through the air and towards the pinned beast.

As Venus was about to let out a victory cheer, her whip snapped so quickly that the jolt came back and slapped her in the face, which laceration deeply into the side of her right cheek, Mars' attack hit something and brought up a cloud of dust from impact that made the battlefield go hazy.

"Did we get 'em?" Venus muttered under her breath as she clutched her cheek and tried to stanch the wound while she waited for the dust to clear. From behind her, a shout was heard followed with the sound of a sickening crack! That caused Venus' heart to still for moment. "Mars?" Venus called out into the clearing smoke, and as she waited...

Her eyes widen suddenly, and then...

"I'm here." Came a curt reply to her right that nearly made her shriek in fright. Thanking her lucky stars, Venus made her way towards her friend, and stopped when she caught sight of the youma that stood hovering over Mars with its blade-like arm raised. "Mars! Watch out!" Venus cried out, as she felt her feet moving long before her mind registered what happened. A flashed of white appeared and then Venus' gaze went red.

With a yell of fear, Venus grabbed widely at her face, trying to rid herself of the foul stench of iron and bring back her vision. "No!" She cried as her used her gloved hand to dab at her face and remove whatever liquid had sprayed into her eyes. Cracking an eye open slowly, Venus caught sight of a brownish red liquid that dampened her glove like a dye. Frantically after realizing the sight of blood, she scanned her surroundings.

Tuxedo Mask and Jupiter clung to each other a few yards away as they hobbled towards Ami, while...Venus stopped. Mars was gone and where she had originally stood, was a massive spray of blood. The youma that had been standing behind Mars no more than a moment ago, was now eight meters away through the shattered cement wall.

"Oh God." Venus murmured as she struggled to face the evidence that pointed fearfully at a reality that Venus did not what to look at. Wrapping her arms around herself, she rocked back and forth on the tips of her heels, whispering in a low mantra a string of 'oh, God's that seemed to relax her sensitive nerves but didn't still the profound pain in her chest that clung to her heart like as if there was a fist in its grasp that was squeezing...

squeezing...

squeezing...

Tears running down her face, Venus opened her jaw and let loose the most agonized wail that she could muster. The world around her went silent as her eyes went unfocused, blurring her vision to fuzzy blurs and shapes. Then suddenly, her head snapped side-ways and her wounded cheek burned all the more. Rage that vented her body course their her, edging her onward toward the cliff of madness. Driving her closer and closer to her breaking point.

Snapping open her eyes, Venus raised her hand, about to apply equal if not more force to the person that had slapped her. Feeling her mind fog and her heart leap right out of her chest, Venus gasped as she stared into the fiery irises of her supposed-be lost comrade, Mars. "Y-y-your...alive?" Venus stuttered as she cautiously reached her hand out and touched Mars face gently. After feeling the soft touch of flesh against flesh, Venus gave a cry of joy and enveloped Mars into her arms, like as if she had found her long lost sister.

"Fuck yes, I am. Now, stop having your panic attacks, and help me get rid of that damn youma." Mars pushed Venus away, but when she turned her head away, she got sight of Mars' hidden grin. Venus gave her fellow sailor a gracious nod and turned her attention back towards the monster that was scrambling to its feet, while hurriedly pushing away rocks of cement that littered it and the ground around it.

As Mars took a tentative step towards their enemy, Venus caught the smell of brunt flesh that she was all to familiar with by having a friend that wielded the element of fire. Looking around towards the source, she caught sight of pure white wings that stretched a good foot and a half above a golden haired head. Following the crooked designs of the wings, Venus traveled her gaze towards an angelic face that seemed frighteningly pale and cold azure blue eyes that held a certain kind of coldness that most would never be able to obtain. Steadily, the icy stare of the angelic being met with Venus' curious one and quietly they watched each other with wary eyes. Then the haze of vermillion quickly caught her attention, as she studied a part of the right wing that was cut diagonally across the bottom in half, the dripped rapidly with blood, following the cut was a deep gash into the calf of the winged girl that had stopped bleeding but showed ripped muscle beneath it as bits of flesh hung to the side.

"Your hurt." Venus told her as if it was the hardest thing to find out up to that moment in time. The girl only flicked her eyes from the youma back to Venus then returned it back towards the youma, with a steely resolution hidden deep in her cobalt blue eyes.

"I am fine." She murmured silently, so low that if it wasn't for the fact that Venus was down wind, she would have never heard her. "Alright, lets attack." Mars announced as she raised her hand to let loose a ball of fire. The angelic being took a couple of steps and stood in front of Mars with her eyes bearing heavily into Mars' irritated gaze. "No. I shall handle this. Grab Ami and leave." She told Mars but looked at Venus when she said it. Venus nodded her head, and a ghost of a smile made its way faintly to her lips. Twirling around quickly, the angelic girl made her way slowly towards the standing youma that watched the sailors with devilish eyes (quiet good with an injured leg).

"Die, once more, lost child. Find your peace in death. You will have no solace here." The winged girl demanded. The youma gave a barking laugh that drilled deep into Venus' skull so hard that she winced in pain at the shrill sound of it. Then, with a quiet whoosh! The eery laughter was cut mid-way and the sound of something soft landing onto the ground made way to Venus' ears. Looking up, Venus caught just in time, to see the youma's headless body collapsed onto the road.

The angelic girl turned around to face the staring sailors with a blood stained sword in hand that Venus had not noticed before, but just as quickly as she saw it, it dissipated into the air, in what Venus assumed was another of those space-sub pockets. The youma's body erupted into a blueish fire that it had once previously. Watching it Venus could only wonder if it would come back to life once more. "Is it really dead?" Mars asked as she made her way to Venus' side. The angelic being nodded her head. "Hey, what's your name?" Venus wondered her thoughts aloud, hoping she could have a natural talk with this mysterious angel.

"Cosmos. Sailor Cosmos" She whispered as she turned and walked away. Mars opened her mouth to call after the winged angel named Cosmos, but Venus held up her hand to stop her. "Mars, not now. I have a million questions of my own to ask, but Ami really needs help and if my assumption is correct then, if more youma appear then more of her we'll being seeing as well." Venus reasoned as she turned her attention towards the group of three that were some-ways down the road, with a steady trail of blood following them. "Alright." Mars quietly agreed as they trailed silently after the injured group.

~!~

Slower and slower her breathing became, it was so shallow in fact, that you had to hold your ear against her mouth to hear the faint push and pull of air being carried in her lungs. Her face was so pale, that the corners of her lips and fingers were tinged blue.

Running on her bad leg, Lita, the fastest out of all of the group bounded hurriedly up the hospital stairs, with her left leg swollen around her thigh and calf with deep purple bruises. Mina just knew that had to be killing her up at that moment. It had been forty-five minutes since they had left the apartment to rush her to the hospital. It had been fifteen minutes since the battle. Another ten more minutes might just kill Ami, Mina thought.

So, using whatever energy she had left, she sprinted past the panting brunette that carried their dying friend in her arms, and slammed open the emergency door so hard that the glass in the door cracked a little. Two burly security guards rushed to meet Mina head-long with guns ready in hand. "Ma'am calm down. What's the problem?" A rather handsome bleach blonde guard asked as he eyed Mina's wounds cautiously. Feeling pent up anger and irritation break inside of her, Mina decked the good looking security guard right in the jaw, so hard, he went stumbling onto the floor a foot away where he had originally stood.

"Miss!" The other guard yelled as he raised his gun and pointed it at her. A tiny nurse watched Mina with round, alert eyes, that when Mina pointed at her, that she stood ramrod still with fear. "I don't have time for this. We need a doctor! My friend is dying!" Mina exclaimed as she looked back over her shoulder to see Lita rush in with Ami in her arms. "Take her!" Lita screamed at the security guard that held the gun, he hesitated on whether or not he should stay or help.

Sighing irritatedly, Mina ran to Lita and held her arms out for Ami, whom Lita gratefully dumped onto Mina. Just then, two double doors that read emergency on them, swung wide open to reveal a tired, middle-aged woman with red hair that dashed towards Mina side with three nurses quickly trailing behind. The doctor gently advised Mina to lay Ami flat onto the floor as the doctor knelt down and took Ami's pulse and breathing rate.

"This is...? Ami?" The doctor gasped as she turned and frantically motioned for a young blonde nurse that stood ways aside, watching silently. "Take her to the back and run her up on..." The doctor ran a bunch of medical terms that Mina didn't understand so she just turned and looked at her friend, Lita sprawled onto the ground groaning in agony, gripping her leg with both hands.

Just then, Rei and Darien slipped into the doorway, with Darien as pale as a ghost, groping the front of his shirt, panting for air and Rei, whose arm hung awkwardly to the side, limp. Mina stood up and strode to stand in front of them. "Darien? Darien!" Mina snapped as she tried to get his attention, but as soon as he looked up, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed into Mina's outstretched arms. "Nurse!" Mina screamed as she struggled to hold Darien's dead weight.

"Another?" The doctor groaned annoyed as she rushed to Darien and preformed the same procedures that she did on Ami. "Lady, if you knew what was good for you, you would shut the fuck up and help this injured man." Mina snapped as she laid Darien flat onto the floor. The doctor eyed her suspiciously and opened her mouth to retort something just as rude to say, but Rei took a step in and silenced her. "Ma'am, just ignore her. We're all just worried for our friends." She intervened as she helped Mina climb to her feet.

"Thanks, Rei." Mina muttered as she stretched her aching body and watched nurses and doctors place Darien and Ami onto the stretchers. "Welcome. Just know to watch your tongue. I can't keep covering up for you." Rei quietly whispered as she limped her way to Lita. Mina noticed that Rei's leg had a deep gash on it, much similar to the one Sailor Cosmos had on her own leg, except Rei's wasn't as deep or gruesome. "Hey, Rei?" Mina called to her, as she watched the muscles move and contract in the cut.

"Yeah?" Rei replied over her shoulder. "How did you get that cut?" Mina wondered with fear, just how bad of shape her friends really were in. "What c-...oh. I don't know." She whispered as she cradled Lita in her arms, trying to sooth her of her pain.

"Miss. Please sit down. We'll treat the rest of you later." The black security guard led her to some cold cushioned, dental office looking, chairs that were placed in a circle around a tiny coffee table with a couple of magazines on top. A similar circle of chairs was placed a foot away from the little circle Mina, and her friends were seat at, with a couple of people vacating the spot.

"Overdose?" A mousy looking woman whispered to a tall, black haired man that grunted in response and turned the page of the magazine he was reading. "More like a drug infested movie scene reenactment that went wrong." The man jeered as he met Mina's stare with a hint of challenge channeled deep within the depths.

Mina ignored them and sat down next to Rei who was trying to console the harmed Lita. "Lita! What's wrong? Well, besides your leg." Mina asked as she tried to focus on something other than the rude remarks the other patients were making about the entire scene that Mina had caused. Lita looked up at Mina with pain clouded eyes. "My thigh, Mina. My thigh." Lita whined as she whimpered while she lifted up her leg to show Mina what she was talking about.

Mina caught sight of a fist size hole gouged deep into Lita's leg that looked a good pinky sized deep. The blood had finally stanched but what looked like a wicked sharp piece of rock, was stabbed into the middle of the wound. "Oh." Mina blanched, and quickly looked away. Moving her gaze to settle onto her hands, Mina thought the earlier fight she had, had with Lita when they fighting youma and how she had gotten all worked up over a couple of scrapes and bruises. Mina was the one in the best condition, and the knowledge of that settled at the pit of her stomach like a rock.

~!~

After three hours in the waiting room, they finally took Lita in with Rei helping her move as her support leaving Mina alone in the front of the emergency department. She had filled out paper work and documents, saying whatever needed to be said for each one of her friends that were in the emergency room. Yet, when the tiny nurse that Mina had first saw when she came into the emergency room, asked if she was going to be treated for her cuts and terrible gash onto her cheek, she politely turned her down. The nurse was persistent at first, but after a good dozen 'no's , she finally wore down. Though that didn't stop the fact that the nurse was watching her like a hawk to make sure Mina didn't suddenly drop dead or something.

Suddenly, the emergency double doors opened once again, this time with the doctor that had treated Ami and Darien as she strolled towards me with a grim expression onto her face. Mina took a deep breath and stood up, meeting the doctor with her first step. "The young man that you brought in, Darien Shields, I presume, has a punctured lung, two broken ribs, a fractured hand that is shattered to bits and a fractured arm as well. He is stable, but is still in critical condition. He will be hospitalized for more or less a week." The doctor explained, causing Mina to sigh in relief. One down, another one to go.

"And Ami?" Mina began as she waited for the doctor to continue, who shifted the weight of her feet a couple of times before she nervously met Mina's waiting stare.

"Ami Mizuno, well, I am not sure if you realize it or not, but your friend suffers from a chronic heart disease, that makes the heart vessels close up for a couple of seconds or possibly a minute or two if the heart pumps too hard. Your friend has been fighting this for almost two years. She escaped death today, but I am afraid to say, she either has to go through with a surgery or to wait till she needs complete medical care." The doctor finished with her head hung, the way she said it made Mina's heart squeeze in pain and after a moment of silence, she took in a deep, shaky breath and met the eyes of the doctor once more.

"Where is she? Can I see her?" Mina asked as she rubbed her eyes, to get rid of her sleepiness and the dull ache that had begun to form behind them, telling her that the light in the room was not helping her vision what-so-ever. The doctor gave a exhausted smile and nodded her head. "Second floor, room 208. She is stable." And with all that was needed to be said, the doctor whipped around with a snap of her heel and walked right back into the emergency room.

Mina made her way to the elevators that stood at the end of a long winding hall that a nurse or two had kindly led her towards. Pressing the button, Mina waited for the elevator to arrive. As she waited, she was reminded of the time when the last time the sailors had faced a youma battle just as gruesome as this one. It was when Beryl was still around and they had just found the fourth scout and where still getting used to their powers when a youma came out of nowhere and stabbed Rei through the center of her chest with a steel pipe. Luckily, Rei survived with only a couple of broken rips and a messed up lung but the damage certainly took its toll. Rei has a circular scar that is on the front and back of her chest right next to her solar flex.

They rushed Mina to the hospital and all the sailors stayed there until Rei woke up and began to move again. They stayed by her side for three days, never moving. After had gotten better Rei was a lot more alert in battle than anyone of them were. She was probably the most strongest out of all the scouts.

With a soft ding! The elevator slowly opened and Mina stepped it. As went up, Mina held the support railing as she felt her head spin. Elevators certainly were not her favorite, when one time she was pushed out of a building during a youma battle and fell eighty-stories down, Tuxedo Mask saved her before she got killed but the fear always stayed with her. Heights were no longer favorite thing in the world anymore.

Mina snorted at the notion. How the battles with the youmas had changed each scout in their own way. It made them better, but they never forgot the fear.

The fear of dying.

The fear of the pain.

The fear of the loss.

As Mina stopped at the entryway that read 208, she took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. Fear at what she might see enveloped her, but when she stood in the doorway, all she was greeted to was the sound of the machines screeching to a flat line, and a window with the curtains drawn and the window itself open.

A warm breeze that smelled gently of flowers hinted in the air. Yet, as Mina looked around. Ami was no where in sight. Thinking she had the room mistaken, Mina was about to turn around when a flash of white caught her eye. Turning she saw a white piece of paper with a short, neat, little scribbles on it. Picking it up she read:

Ami is fine.

-Cosmos

All that was said. Mina felt her heart spot a third time that day as she collapsed onto her knees in shock. Cosmos had kidnapped Ami when she was dying.

Was Cosmos friend or foe?

How would Mina ever know the truth behind this mysterious angelic warrior?

Oookkaayy! Here you go kitties. The second part of this chapter on the next day! Hoped you liked it. I wrote a nice long battle scene just for you. Review and tell me whether it was worth my time to write this or not.

-Danni