Chapter 18: Bloody Truths
The air rumbled, the noise causing discomfort in her mind as the darkness slowly brightened. Slowly her eyes opened, snapping wide as an explosion of energy sent a shock wave roaring across her body, whipping her hair back.
"What on Earth?" Amy asked she stared at the smoke that lingered in the air from the explosion, confusion mounting in her mind.
"Finally awake?"
Looking down Amy saw Sailor Neptune standing at the base of her cross, focusing her powers into the base of the crystal, shooting a fine stream of water into the bloody gem and cutting the imprisoned Scout free from the cross. Turning her head Amy saw that Sailor Mars, Venus and Moon were already free, though all were still asleep.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Tuxedo Mask asked as he watched the battle behind them, Sailor Moon in his arms as he cradled her. "How long do you think he will last against the two of them?"
"He'll win." Sailor Mercury said, causing everyone to stare at her in shock. "He absorbed my powers... all of our powers. Even combined, Koaru and Tenshi can't match him."
"So?"
Amy looked to her left to see that Jupiter was also awake, her eyes locked on the combat, the sparks of battle reflecting in her eyes as her hair swayed in the breeze.
"By your calculations we should have never won any of our battles. Yet we always win." she stated, turning her eyes to her friend, a small smile on her face. "They'll find a way to win. Koaru has never let us down before, has he?"
"No," Amy said weakly as the memory of her death flashed through her mind, the fading image of Koaru's pain stricken face sending chill's through her body. "No he hasn't."
"Tritus Pyro Stream!" Koaru roared, punching the ground and releasing the raging bolt of silver flames towards Shiro.
"You're tricks are getting old!" Shiro shouted as he swept the flames aside with a sweep of his arm.
"As are yours," came Tenshi's voice, causing Shiro to turn. Tenshi was right behind him, bastard sword already sweeping in, its edge gleaming in the bloody light form the sky. Glaring at Tenshi, Shiro felt his heart skip as he saw Koaru's image reflected in the knight's eyes, the giant sword of the guardian coming down on him in an overhead chop. Clenching his teeth, Shiro extended both hands, catching the swords in mid swing, freezing the warriors' attacks.
"Fucking," Koaru muttered, releasing his right hand from the sword and pointing his index finger at Shiro, its tip glowing with a black and gold energy.
"Moron," Tenshi finished, his left hand extended at Shiro, a light blue aura surrounding it.
"Dead Sun Flare!"
"Sub-Zero Lancet!"
Koaru panted heavily as he kept his hand pointed at the smoking area that had once been Shiro, his fingertip slightly numb from the overlaying power from Tenshi's attack.
"We get him?" he asked as he tightened his grip on Kameharu, straining his eyes to see through the smoke.
"I think so," Tenshi replied, sending some slight relief through Koaru's body, his muscles relaxing slightly.
"You think wrong!" came Shiro's voice from the smoke. Koaru and Tenshi blinked in shock at their sword were yanked from their hands.
"The Hell-" Koaru yelled before Tenshi's bastard sword flew out of the smoke, silencing the Guardian as he fell back, pain screaming through his chest.
Tenshi skidded back across the rooftop, blood running down his cheek from the fresh wound on his face from Koaru's Zweihander nearly taking his head off. Wiping his cheek with the back of his hand, the knight stared into the smoke, trying to see what was happening.
"Koaru!" he shouted, silence answering his call. "Koaru, say something!" he yelled again, sweat running from his face.
"I'm sorry," came Shiro voice from the smoke as the teen stepped out of the dark cloud, his body covered in charred chunks of the concrete from the roof. "The other one will not be joining us for the remainder of this battle."
Tenshi's eyes widened as the smoke cleared, revealing Koaru behind Shiro, his bastard sword and Kameharu both pierced through his body, pinning him to the ground, blood covering the ground all around him.
"Koaru!" he shouted, rushing forward a few steps before being slammed backwards by Shiro's powers.
"No you don't," the young teen said as he lifted his hands to the sides, causing large chunks of the concrete rooftop to break away and hover in the air around him. "you and I are going to finish this once and for all." he said, smiling as he threw his arms forward, sending every piece of concrete flying towards Tenshi.
"Damn it all!" the knight shouted as he leapt around the flying debris, dodging as much as he could and deflecting what he couldn't with quick blasts of energy from his hands. Leaping over the flying chunks of concrete, Tenshi reached into his pocket, pulling out the Shadow Sapphire and clenching it in his hand. "I hope this works." he muttered as he cocked his arm and prepared to throw it to Koaru.
""Denied!" Shiro shouted as he punched the air between himself and Tenshi, his mental powers slamming into the knight, knocking him out of the air and causing his throw to go wide.
"Fuck!" Tenshi shouted as he fell to the ground, cringing as he slammed down hard on his back, the wind exploding out of his lungs, leaving him gasping for breath.
"And that, my dear friend," Shiro said with a smile, lifting a giant stone spear overhead, "is the End."
Sailor Mercury stood beside Sailor Jupiter, the two of them watching the gruesome battle unfold.
"It's all over," Amy whispered as she watched Shiro heft a stone spear over his head, its tip aiming at Tenshi.
"No its not," Jupiter said, pointing to the ground between themselves and Koaru. Amy then saw it; the glint of the Shadow Sapphire. "Amy," Lita said, looking at her friend with a smile. "get it to him. I'll buy the time."
Amy took a deep breath, knowing what she had to do.
"Got it." she said, smiling.
"Go!" Sailor Jupiter shouted, sprinting towards Shiro, electricity crackling in her hands as Mercury dashed towards the gem, scooping it off of the ground before heading towards Koaru, her feet pounding as loud her heart was in her ears. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Amy heard the launch of the attack as she slid down beside Koaru, setting the gem down beside him before pulling Tenshi's sword out of his heart, hardly noticing as the black flames licked inside the wound, closing it almost instantly.
"What are you doing here?" Koaru weakly muttered, turning his eyes to her. Amy ignored him as she stood over him and grasped Kameharu, straining to lift the sword, which simply refused to move.
"Why is this thing so heavy?" Amy asked, irritated as she sensed the time that Lita had bought her drawing to a close.
"You're just too weak," Koaru replied, summing his strength to grasp the sword's blade with both hands and, slowly, pull it free of his chest.
Amy shivered slightly as blood poured from the open wound before closing. Shaking her head quickly, Sailor mercury dropped to her knees and grabbed the Shadow Sapphire, handing it to Koaru.
"Here, use it and do what you do best." she said aggressively. Koaru felt the sting in her words as he looked away from the gem and back to her.
"Do you hate me that much?" he asked, his anger replacing his pain. "Look, I know I royally screwed up, all right? I'm sorry! I admit I was wrong, so can we get past you hating me and get back to at least being friends again?"
"And what about Lita?" Amy shouted, glaring at Koaru, tears of anger streaming from her eyes, "what was that? You deflower my best friend, and for what? To get back at me for falling for Tenshi?"
"Because I love her!" Koaru shouted, drawing silence from Amy as he panted for breath, his eyes remaining locked on hers. Slowly Amy shook her head, glaring at Koaru.
"No you don't... and she knows it." she whispered, a single tear sliding down her cheek, her words echoing through Koaru's mind, bringing the reality of his words to the front of his mind.
"You're right," he whispered, lowering his gaze, "yet you're wrong. I love her, just not the way I loved you..." he lifted his gaze again, locking eyes with Amy, seeing himself reflected in them, "... not the way I still love you."
"Enough of this!" Shiro shouted as he looked past Sailor Jupiter's broken figure to Koaru and Amy, extending his hand towards them, his eyes glowing with his powers as the ground around them cracked.
"NO!" Tenshi shouted as he forced himself to his feet, sprinting towards them as the concrete around Koaru and Amy exploded and reformed as a large mass of rubble with the two of them trapped at its center. "AMY!" the knight shouted as he leapt towards the rubble as it lifted off the ground.
"Catch, dumbass."
Tenshi looked up as Kameharu flew out of the rubble and into his hands. Tearing his eyes from the sword and back to the rubble, Tenshi felt his blood freeze as the mass imploded, crushing into itself until it was nothing more than a solid sphere of concrete and steel stained with blood.
Landing below the sphere as it remained hovering in the air, Tenshi turned to face Shiro, his eyes blank as a white aura roared to life around his body, mixing in with his blue aura, creating a screaming torrential wind around the knight as we he slowly began to step towards the young teen, Kameharu glowing pure white in his hand as he dragged the seven foot blade on the ground behind him.
"You killed her..." he whispered as the wind intensified, "... you murdered both of them..." Tenshi hair stood straight up in the updraft from the swirling auras, his eyes glowing in a dark blue energy as Kameharu suddenly exploded with energy. Tenshi whipped the sword forward and cut down, holding the blade in an angle towards the ground between himself and Shiro, the Zweihander's form completely changed from a seven foot single edged great sword to a straight blade double edged four foot saber, energy crackling across the length of its blade as Tenshi's pupils dilated to the extent of resembling a cat's eyes while the ground around him cracked and pieces of debris began to lift off of the ground around him.
"In the names of Anya Silverstorm, Amy Mizuno and Koaru Tsukino, I swear that your life end before the sun falls." Tenshi spoke, loud enough for only Shiro to hear, the words bringing a smile to his lips.