AN: Hello from Japan! Yep, I'm here, safe and sound. I know, I know, this chapter took forever. I'm very sorry. Perfection takes time. *smiles innocently* Remember to review! I'm most interested in what you have to say. Whatever it is you have to say. I'll be working on ADABN next, so sorry, there won't be a fast update on this. Just . . . don't give up on me, kay? Much love and cookies to my many reviewers who have nudged me along in the writing of this. This chapter is dedicated to GU, in hopes that it will inspire BOTH of us to write, write, write!
Kunzite continued musing while Zoicyte ate. He'd replayed the battle in his mind almost compulsively while his lover had slept, analyzing it from every angle. He had several questions he found himself unable to answer and attempts to draw from his past knowledge only increased his frustration. He knew that he had known the senshi, the Lunar Royal Court, and the Moon Palace. He could tell you with absolute conviction that he had planned the assault, that he had killed Venus, even that he'd been excited by the act. But he couldn't remember any of it! He couldn't call up her face as she died. He couldn't remember what the palace had looked like as Metallia gave Beryl the power to blast through the forcefield. He couldn't even summon up a vestige of the triumph he must have felt at their utter victory over the pathetic senshi.
Kunzite had been stewing over this for almost a day. He was suspicious as to how and why his past was blocked from him. It deepened his mistrust of Beryl, though he barely dared acknowledge it in his mind. What Beryl refused to comprehend was that she had not created in Kunzite an agent of destruction. She'd created someone who surpassed her in hatred, in the desire to destroy. Once he'd gotten a taste for death and destruction, thanks to his acceptance of Metallia's energy and power, Kunzite had fallen from all of his once cherished ideals.
Beryl had dictated how much power Metallia was to give each Shitennou. Kunzite did not remember this, but that was to be expected. The darkness coursing through his veins did not have its own consciousness, but it did have its own mission. Beryl only feared one thing: love. It was why is she demanded loyalty to herself only and why she would punish Zoicyte and Kunzite if their relationship was revealed. It was why Nephrite had been disposed of. It had given Endymion the courage and strength to defy her. Metallia had even warned her that the love of the senshi could break their hold on the Shitennou. So she'd set the barriers in place as they had recovered from their immersion in Metallia, creating a permanent wall between their memories of their lives before her and their new consciousness as her minions.
Beryl shifted impatiently on her throne, wondering when Kunzite would finally return with the details of his new plan. She'd been furious when he'd returned empty-handed and enraged when Zoicyte didn't appear before her. Only Kunzite's news that the Princess had been found and severely wounded had appeased her. Still, the fiery-haired woman thought coldly, this would be Zoicyte's last mission. He was obviously even a liability to Kunzite.
The thought of Kunzite triggered a wide, vicious smile that struck fear in all of her attendants. Oblivious to their attempts to shrink into the walls, she practically purred as she let her thoughts to dwell on the impressive warrior Kunzite was. She trusted him the most out of all of her minions. Claiming him had been one of her finest moments. He'd stood before with such pride, a derisive smirk on his face, believing he would best her. She closed her eyes to better remember that day.
"Lady Beryl," an obsequious, wrinkled old man gasped as he scurried to her side, "one of the Shitennou is here to see you!" he wrung his hands nervously, obviously terrified.
"Really?" she purred in surprised pleasure, "Then hurry up and show him in." She didn't turn away from her brightly burning green hearth. She had no fear of Endymion's generals.
When Kunzite entered the room, she was amused to see his sword already drawn. "General Kunzite," she murmured appreciatively, "how nice to see you."
"I'm not here to be sociable, Beryl, so quit simpering," his tone dripped disgust and it angered her. He'd never been anything but polite to her before and she blamed his change of attitude on his senshi tramp.
But Metallia whispered soothingly to her, controlling her temper, enabling Beryl to sound only mildly hurt as she replied, "Then why are you here, if not as my friend?"
"I was never your friend, witch," Kunzite sneered and Metallia's soothing whispers buzzed in her head again. "Your pathetic obsession with the Prince has destroyed you and now you seek to take everyone else down with you. Stop your rebellion and release the peasants you have brainwashed or I will finish you myself!"
Beryl laughed hollowly, "I have bewitched no one. You know how easily swayed simple folk are. And I've done nothing but tell them the truth. Their Prince would rather spend all of his time with an alien than take care of his own people!" she shrieked.
"That is untrue and you know it!"
"Is it?" Beryl mocked. "Everyone knows you are just as besotted! Can we trust any of you to look out for the best interests of Earth?" She laughed mockingly, enjoying the sight of Kunzite's face flushed with anger.
"You're twisting the truth for your own purposes and it will not win you the Prince's heart, witch!" he snarled unwisely.
Beryl's eyes narrowed, a cold rage filling her, fueled by Metallia's encouraging murmurs. Her silence seemed to Kunzite an opening, and he moved to strike her dead, sealing his fate. As he sidled quickly past the hearth, he found himself trapped in the green flames, his body and mind aflame. He'd assumed it to be a real fire, confined to its rocky bed, but it was a manifestation of Metallia herself, and mobile.
Beryl began to address her captive, even as Metallia filled his mind and body with her poisonous dark energy. "Oh, Kunzite, now you'll finally understand, just as your friend Jadeite does." She saw him jerk in surprise and admired his strength of will, fruitless as it would be to fight Metallia. "Did you not realize he'd joined my cause? That Venus must be very distracting, indeed." Her mocking laughter enraged the captive Shitennou, which would aid Metallia's efforts to control him. She just had to shift the target of his anger.
"Do you really believe that she loves you, mighty warrior?" she crooned, moving closer to the fiery barrier between them. "Don't give me that look. I've heard all about the senshi from Jadeite. He was quite brokenhearted when I found him," she murmured in a near-perfect imitation of sympathy. "And why? Because that foolish Sailor Mars rejected him on the grounds that her whole life, from birth to death, was pledged to her idiotic, weak Princess!" Beryl warmed to her theme and began embellishing the tale, "He told me that the senshi were strongly 'encouraged' to make the Shitennou feel welcome and included. I'm sure Mars is not the only one who understood that as an order, just the only one so far to balk at it."
Kunzite wanted to block out what she was saying, but Metallia painted traitorous visions in his head. Doubts filled him. Would Venus have bound herself to him to make Serenity happy? They'd seemed so well matched, both putting their responsibilities before themselves. There'd been no jealousy or recrimination as in his past relationships. Was that actually because she didn't care when duty stole him away from her?
Metallia whispered his doubts to Beryl, giving her the necessary insights to push him further. "Metallia, the being you've been captured by, has the power to make Earth the pre-eminent power in the solar system! She is so feared by your precious Prince's beloved's family that as she traveled through this sector of the universe, the treacherous Queen ordered an ambush on her, sending her crashing into our planet, near death, attacked and nearly executed without any chance to defend herself or declare her peaceful intentions. Your Venus surely had a hand in that unwarranted, unprovoked assault. You think a woman willing to murder on her Queen's behalf is going to let a little manipulation of the heart trouble her conscience?"
Kunzite desperately wanted to hold onto his vision of Venus, a warrior woman with an open heart, a stunning smile, and an honest nature. But the onslaught of Beryl's words and Metallia's skewing of his memories grew too much for the man to bear. In desperation, he tried to break free of Metallia's grip, to escape the ideas and doubts she'd forced him to embrace. Metallia, surprisingly, let him go. The proud, unbreakable leader of Endymion's army fled Beryl's cavern hideout, already ruined, unaware he would soon kneel before her of his own volition.
As he fled, Beryl smiled contentedly. Soon, Kunzite would return and she would use him to bring her enemy's own armies to her doorstep. Jadeite was useless on his own, his desire to punish Mars a liability. He irritated her and Metallia was forced to control him very carefully. The fact that he was currently on Earth-bound duties for the foreseeable future was the only reason they hadn't decided to dispose of him.
"My lady," a quaking voice echoed in the throne room, timidly drawing Beryl back to the present. Her red eyes narrowed on that nearly prostrate messenger trembling at her feet.
"Yes?" she queried in irritation.
"General Kunzite wishes an audience, my Queen."
"Then show him in!" she snapped, her voice cracking across the youma's back as if it were a whip. It carried to the great doors beyond which Kunzite was lazily waiting.
Queen Beryl appraised the cool, elegant Kunzite as he strode confidently forward. His face was carefully schooled to be impassive, something that always made her burn to chase that bored indifference away. She'd always desired him, but since she used a relationship with her as an enticement, a reward for her most successful Shitennou, she'd resisted the pull between them. Her eyes flickered appreciatively over him as he knelt before her, his long, luscious locks concealing his face from view, and she was pleased he would be the winner of the competition. If she couldn't have Endymion, she'd long ago decided, then Kunzite would be a very pleasant substitute. His temperament more closely matched her own and they could certainly rule the planet with a very heavy iron fist.
"What of your plans, Kunzite? I am anxious to see Serenity's head before me."
Kunzite smiled darkly at the tile before launching into his prepared speech. "As you know, my Queen, the most powerful senshi right now is that ridiculous Sailor Moon. They do not have the Ginzuishou yet, therefore the Princess is weak. If you strike against her now, the mysterious weapon we all search for will be lost, perhaps irretrievably.
"Explain!" Beryl snapped, displeasure radiating from every pore.
"The best efforts of your Kingdom have failed to uncover it. This is not due to lack of effort on our part to nor due to a clever stroke of genius on theirs, I have concluded. Rather, it would seem the only one who can locate it is the Princess. I am proposing we give her some additional… incentive."
Beryl leaned forward, intrigued by his thought process. "What do you mean by 'incentive'?"
"I want to take someone from their team, someone we could turn to our own advantage. Claiming one of their number will crush them, breaking the bonds of the team and giving us the leverage we need to claim the crystal, either by treachery or negotiation."
Beryl liked this plan immensely. It was vicious and preyed on the weaknesses of the senshi and their devotion to each other. "Which one?"
"Zoicyte and I have been discussing that," Kunzite stated, pretending not to notice the revulsion Beryl evinced at Zoicyte's name. "We feel that any besides the Princess is a valid target. We would like permission to study the senshi in their world to determine who would do the most damage to the team if taken." He'd actually already selected his target, but he didn't want to give Beryl any advance information. The senshi would be his loyal drudge, not Beryl's. She would be but a tool against the beast who hid behind a woman's face.
Beryl agreed, trusting Kunzite implicitly. Kunzite quickly arranged their accommodations and moved Zoicyte to the surface to set up their cover identities while he arranged their future pet senshi's home. He accepted that he was nearing the end of Zoicyte's life, but a deep, dark hatred danced at the edges of his mind, clamoring to consume him if his icy control slipped.
Rei struggled tiredly up the steps, awkwardly lugging several bags of groceries as well as her school bag, her exhausted body protesting every step. School had been brutal, the result of too few hours sleep and the responsibility of not only caring for her injured grandfather and Yuuichirou, but also for Usagi, who would not get up this morning. She grimaced in irritation as she remembered the whiny protests of the younger girl as Rei had bossed her around and eventually ordered her out of the shrine earlier than Usagi had been expecting. Having to get across town for school was her cover excuse, but mainly Rei had wanted to get away from her friend's curious, worried eyes.
She loved Usagi wholeheartedly, but the devotion and loyalty the girl evinced when she was concerned about someone could drive one crazy. She was like a dog with a bone, refusing to let go until she'd found out what was wrong. That tendency clashed harshly with Rei's intensely private nature and often led to disagreements. The fight this morning had been relatively civil, but it had still drained Rei's reserves. She had envied the energy Usagi had displayed as she fled the shrine grounds. She'd also envied Usagi the devoted boyfriend waiting at the bottom of the steps and Usagi's excited squeal breaking the morning stillness had hardly improved her mood.
Lost in her retrospective, Rei's foot missed the next step and she lurched forward. Arms full, she could not reach out to break her fall. She let out a horrified yelp, eyes closing instinctively.
Arms wrapped about her, pulling her backwards against a taller body. Stunned, Rei felt her body go limp, the bags she'd threaded over her forearms sliding over her hands and spilling their contents down the steps. A shriek from below, Usagi's distinctive "Rei-chan," broke through her haze and Rei attempted to regain her footing in order to turn to thank her savior.
"Thank you . . ." she began, but her words were lost in Usagi's belligerent shouting.
"Let her go!"
Confused, Rei turned in the circle of the man's arms, her curious gaze falling on an open grey jacket over a white T-shirt. Vaguely aware that Usagi was screaming out her transformation phrase, Rei tilted her head back, eyes rounding in delayed horror as she found herself staring up into Kunzite's face. "You!" she gasped, jerking back in an attempt to break his hold. He smiled darkly, then swung her about to face Sailor Moon, forcing the irate senshi to redirect her tiara blast into a nearby defenseless tree to avoid slicing her best friend's head off.
"Bastard," Rei hissed, her temper flaring. She stomped on the arch of his foot and was gratified when he sharply exhaled in pain. Or maybe it was annoyance, she re-evaluated as he quickly wrapped a hand around her neck and squeezed viciously. Her vision blackened for a second and she sagged with relief when he loosened his grip. She knew from experience that this was a warning and rage and panic welled up within her.
Sailor Moon was again racing towards them, her eyes dark with hate and the promise of punishment for the smirking Shitennou.
"I'd stop where you are, Sailor Moon," Kunzite warned coldly. "I can kill her before you can reach me." His other hand now gripped Rei's chin with bruising force, "Just one little twist and it's all over."
The senshi of love and justice stopped a few steps away, frozen by Kunzite's psychological warfare. She didn't know what to do now, tormented by the thought of being responsible for her friend's death.
Rei glared at her friend, trying to urge her to fight. Her own safety was unimportant and she would rather die and take Kunzite with her than let Kunzite eliminate both of them now.
Her thoughts seemed to resonate within the wavering senshi. She reached for her tiara again, this time calculating where she could do the most damage to the man while sparing the miko. Relief filled Rei, along with a new respect. To put her friend in danger to stop a villainous madman required a higher level of devotion to the mission than she'd credited Sailor Moon with having.
Before the relief could settle in, however, Zoicyte materialized directly behind Sailor Moon, a sharpened kurozuishou pressed against her throat, jabbing slightly just under her jaw. "Drop your hand or I'll slit your throat," he hissed in her ear, the pleasure killing her would give him evident in his voice.
Rei and Sailor Moon stared at each other. In the girl's eyes, Rei could see her contemplating her chances of getting her attack off before Zoicyte slaughtered her. Her gloved fingers twitched, the tiara's glowing heat just a millimeter away. Rei's thoughts whirled as the self-sacrificing plans of Sailor Moon became patently obvious to her. She had no time to dwell on the implications, though, because Venus' voice sounded in her head, the memory unexpectedly vivid, the order to protect Sailor Moon at all costs pushing unexpected words past her lips, "Don't, Sailor Moon! I'm not worth it."
Kunzite laughed, amused at the war between the senshi to be martyred. Their stupid loyalties and contemptible friendship handicapped them and would make destroying them so easy. Tormenting them could easily become his fulltime hobby, but he needed to keep his goal in mind. "Yes, Sailor Moon," he called out, "listen to your friend and neither of you will die," he paused, then added, "today, anyway."
Reluctantly, Sailor Moon dropped her hand, the tiara's glow fading. Zoicyte snatched her hand and dragged it between their bodies, twisting it upward into an impromptu half-Nelson. His weapon-wielding arm tightened across her chest, plastering her against him, effectively immobilizing her. His lips brushed her ear as he whispered promises of agony and death should she so much as sneeze and his amusement at her shudder of revulsion stoked the fires of her anger and humiliation.
A depth of rage Rei had never known flared within her at the sight of Zoicyte's intimate invasion of Sailor Moon's space. The rage she'd felt the night she'd planned to kill Usagi's accidental peeping tom paled in comparison. Unbidden, the memory of Mamoru's pain at the revelation that Usagi had loved one of the Shitennou surfaced in her thoughts. Though her current captor was Ami's past lover, the sight of Usagi held so intimately by another man would no doubt torment him. She found herself hoping he wasn't racing across town, drawn by that strange bond their shared. She had to end this confrontation before Sailor Moon was hurt further. "What do you want?" she croaked out demandingly, her throat burning, her jaw aching as the words were forced past Kunzite's biting grip.
Now it was her turn to feel invaded as Kunzite turned her to face him, her body flattened to his, his hair mingling with hers. His grip on her chin gentled strangely and a deviant, unholy light glistened in his eyes, "I want a senshi."
He said it so matter-of-factly that Rei could only gape at him in dumb horror. Behind her, Sailor Moon gasped in outrage, then whimpered in pain. Her head began to whip around to check on the younger girl, but Kunzite's grip tightened again, preventing her from relieving her concern. "It's very simple, Sailor Mars," he sneered, openly mocking her, "surrender to me and Sailor Moon lives. Resist me, and Zoicyte will start taking her apart, piece by piece."
A horrible shriek of pain followed his words and Rei's eyes filled with tears. She knew she had no choice. Venus, no, Princess Serenity had declared Moon's life more important than anyone else's. She opened her mouth to agree to his terms.
"Let her go!" Sailor Moon yelled, ignoring the digging pain of Zoicyte's crystal. He pulled higher on her captive arm and she was sure he was going to pull her arm off, but she pressed on, "Take me instead. Just leave her alone!"
Kunzite laughed in derision. Zoicyte moved the crystal lower, slicing neatly though uniform and flesh, eliciting an unbearable howl of pain as he tore her shoulder open in punishment for her outburst. Rei squeezed her eyes shut, in admiration for Sailor Moon and in agony for them both. "I surrender," she whispered.
"Louder," Kunzite ordered, wanting Sailor Moon to witness the fall of Sailor Mars in all its glory.
"I surrender!" she snapped, her fiery temper flaring. "Now let Moon go!"
"As you wish," Kunzite muttered absently, spearing Sailor Moon with a triumphant gaze as he turned her fallen ally to face her. He nodded at Zoicyte. Rei barely had a chance to meet Sailor Moon's eyes before Zoicyte swung the captive senshi around, released her and then kicked her in the back, catapulting her down the stairs. Sailor Moon screamed Rei's name as she tumbled out of view.
Kunzite tsked softly in her ear, "Unfortunate choice of words, Sailor Mars." The two men laughed as Rei stared, horrified, down the stairs, unable to reassure herself that the girl she had sacrificed herself for was now even alive. Tears streamed down her face while Kunzite and Zoicyte enjoyed their joke.
Tuxedo Kamen's voice floated up to them, his swearing like music to Rei's ears. "Time to go," Kunzite decided. "I'll take her. Get everything settled here." At Zoicyte's nod, Kunzite and Rei vanished. Dizzy from the conflict and disoriented from the effects of dematerializing and rematerializing, Rei passively allowed Kunzite to thrust her into a tiny, dark cell.
As she slid down the strangely smooth wall and hugged her knees to her chest, she surrendered to all of her questions and fears. Had Sailor Moon survived? Was Tuxedo Kamen now locked in mortal combat with Zoicyte? How would the senshi fare without Sailor Mars? Or worse, without Sailor Moon and perhaps even Tuxedo Kamen? And why, exactly, had Kunzite wanted a senshi, anyway?
Sailor Moon lay awkwardly on the landing, struggling to rise, her thoughts consumed with Rei's fate. She heard a voice and felt hands restraining her, but she ignored them. Her left arm wouldn't answer her mental orders to move and her view of the staircase above her was hazy. She screamed Rei's name, desperate to hear an answer and she heard Tuxedo Kamen ask her, "Is Rei up there? What happened?" She could tell from his voice that this wasn't the first time he'd asked. Tears filled her eyes and she continued to scream Rei's name until her voice gave out. She was dimly aware of Tuxedo Kamen running his hands over her body, seeking the damage done by her headlong fall down the stairs.
She was hysterical and nothing would have moved him from her side, not even if Rei lay dying a few meters away. He'd at least convinced her to drop her transformation and then he called for a passerby to call 119. Ambulance sirens were echoing their way closer, coming to Usagi's aid. He didn't dare roll her over. His tie was wrapped about the gash over her left eye. He'd wrapped his school blazer about her in the hopes of preventing shock. Her left arm was badly broken, the ulna protruding obscenely through the skin. Blood pooled under her arm, but he was unable to tell if all the blood came from the break. Her spine seemed to be largely uninjured, but had to be bruised. Her legs were a mess, chunks taken out of them, her boots having been badly torn up. Her school uniform was too neat for the fall, but the blood stained it quickly and he hoped it would conceal the lack of corroborating distress to her clothing.
He pumped her body full of energy, encouraging the minor injuries to heal. He was wary of healing her too much. "Usako," he whispered in her ear, "can you give me your communicator?"
She limply waved her right hand and the communicator fell into her palm. Shouts of the emergency responders heralded their arrival and he secreted her communicator in his pants pocket. He clutched her right hand tightly, fear and adrenaline coursing through him. Her screams faded, giving way to mutterings of, "It's all my fault!" and, "Oh, God, Rei, I'm so sorry!"
He was happy and yet furious that EMS had arrived. He knew they would separate him from her, that he would be forced to wait for permission from her family to see her. But she needed medical attention and her safety was the paramount thing.
As the medics pushed him away from her, a police officer began interrogating him. "What happened here?"
Mamoru shook his head, "I don't know. She's my girlfriend, Tsukino Usagi. Her best friend, Hino Rei, lives here and I was going to meet them here. But as I came up the steps, I heard Usagi scream and then she was wind-milling down the stairs. I ran to catch her, but she hit the landing before I could reach her. She was screaming Rei's name, but I didn't dare leave her." He spoke as quickly as he could while respecting the man's writing speed.
The officer sent a man to check the grounds for the miko after Mamoru provided him with a description. "There was a youma attack here several days ago and Rei's grandfather and his employee were injured," Mamoru added. "Usagi and Rei have been tending to them."
The officer looked intrigued by that. "Why weren't they taken into a hospital?"
"Hino-san hates them. He insisted on remaining here. They weren't injured extensively," he lied, "so we acquiesced. They've been sleeping a lot, regaining their strength. If anything has happened to Rei, it'll kill him," he fretted.
The dispatched officer returned, shaking his head, "Found two weakened men, but no sign of a girl."
Usagi's screams began to make sense and a horrified dread filled Mamoru's expression.
"Something to share?"
Mamoru thought fast, "Hino Rei's father," he murmured dully.
"You think your father is behind this?" the younger officer pounced.
Shaking his head vehemently, Mamoru snapped, "No, of course not. Her father is an influential, well-respected politician. But if someone wanted to intimidate him…"
The officers hissed in the comprehension. "Possible yakuza involvement," they muttered. Mamoru was happy to let them leap to that conclusion, although he was certain Rei would be better off if it were the truth.
Usagi's cries recaptured his attention. He grimaced in horror as he watched them stabilize her broken arm, every movement causing her fresh pain. "Please," she whined, "I want Mamo-chan."
He whirled back, comforting her, "I'm here, Usako, it's going to be okay. I'm here," no one shifted to let him get closer, but the officers decided to leave him alone for a moment.
Eventually, they were ready to transport her. The EMS technicians firmly refused to let Mamoru go with them. They told him to call her parents and come with them to Juuban General Hospital. Her demands for him broke his heart, but had no effect on anyone else. He followed them to the ambulance, promising he would be there soon as he could, with parents and friends. Fat tears ran down her cheeks and he knew she was afraid. "Can you sedate her at least?" he demanded. "She's terrified, something happened to her best friend, and she's in terrible pain. If I can't go with her, if she has to be alone, can't you make her comfortable?" he slipped into an authoritative tone of voice and one of the techs agreed nervously, quickly finding a mild sedative. "It's okay, Usako," he soothed, using his most comforting voice, "when you wake up, we'll be there."
"But Rei-chan," she cried brokenly as she clung to his hand desperately, "she's gone!" The guilt and self-hatred stamped on her pain-ravaged face burned him, but he had no words of reassurance to offer. He hung his head, defeated in the face of what she had experienced.
Her grip loosened as the sedative kicked in and Mamoru reluctantly released her, allowing them to slam the doors shut and speed off. Usagi's arm would most likely require surgery, putting Sailor Moon effectively out of commission for a while. He watched them take his beloved away, then turned back towards the officers. "I'll call her family and tell Grandpa Hino," he told them as he headed up the stairs. "I'd rather you talked to her father." The authority that rang out of him compelled the officers to comply and they busied themselves with what remained of the crime scene.
Once in the main room of the temple, Mamoru called the three remaining senshi on the communicator. "I don't have time to explain, but Usagi is in the hospital. I don't have all the information, but I had every reason to believe Mars has been captured. Ami, can you have your mom treat Usagi? We might have to blow our cover to her, but Usagi is headed to Juuban General for surgery. I've got to call her parents. The police are involved. Right now, they think it's a politically-motivated kidnapping by the yakuza. I don't know how long that will last."
He signed off without letting the girls speak and ignored their attempts to reach him. He needed to focus on what he was going to say to her parents.
Doctor Mizuno had been advised of the trauma coming from Hikawa Jinja and had known immediately she needed to be on this case. Her instincts told her it would be one of her daughter's friends. Pulling rank, she got Tsukino Usagi assigned her. She was relieved it wasn't her own daughter, but she was devastated by the brutal abuse her daughter's best friend had endured.
A severely broken left arm requiring surgery, a four-inch gash above her left eye requiring stitches, serious bruising to her torso, deep gouges on her legs and arms, trauma to the face resulting in swollen facial tissues, a laceration to her left shoulder that appeared to precede the other injuries, a nearly dislocated right shoulder… the catalogue of injuries went on. Doctor Mizuno was surprised that certain expected injuries, such as a broken nose, lost teeth, or spinal damage were absent, but she chalked that up to divine providence or compassion in the face of all of her other injuries. It was apparent to her that Usagi had been forcibly restrained and wounded before she was tossed down the stairs. It was also obvious to her that Usagi had not been wearing her school uniform when she'd fallen.
Insisting on assisting the nurses with getting Usagi cleaned up and ready for surgery, she literally tore the uniform up to remove it from the sedated girl's body. The nurses followed her lead, slicing the fabric away in small pieces, as the cloth was clotting into the wounds and it was hard to tell the major injuries from the minor. It was a laborious task, as very little of the teen's flesh was not torn up to some degree. Word reached her that Usagi's family and friends had arrived, but she had no intention of allowing them to see her until the surgery and stitches were complete.
Sailor Mars sat in the dark. Upon her arrival, she'd immediately transformed, finding her alternate identity a source of strength and comfort. She was trying to keep her emotions under control, but panic was welling up. They'd left her alone for about a day now, she thought. She was worried about Usagi. Tuxedo Kamen's violent verbal eruption had told her that Usagi's situation had been serious. Tears threatened to fall over her friend. Everything she done to protect her and they'd still tossed her to her death.
Comforting anger filled her and she surrendered to the fiery thoughts that raged within her. It was so much easier to rage against the monsters that had captured her than dwell on how her family and friends were doing. Little did she know that Metallia had been patiently waiting for her to give in to her temper. The darkness in the cell seems to magnify around the Senshi of Fire, but the darkly muttering girl didn't notice.
Metallia filled the tiny chamber with a noxious dark gas that clawed at Mars's throat as she inhaled. Her vision swam and she staggered about, desperate for relief. Her hands found the iron door and she clawed weakly at it, but the fumes quickly overpowered her and she crumpled to the floor in a graceless sprawl. Metallia crept into the unconscious warrior's mind, attacking it the way she'd attacked the Shitennou millennia before.
Minako sat on one side of Usagi's parents and Ami sat on the other. Mamoru nervously alternated between pacing and sitting beside Ami. She was amused by the wide berth the younger man gave Usagi's father. Makoto stalked about like a caged animal, torn between waiting for Usagi and wanting to tear out and challenge the Dark Kingdom to a duel. Conversation was restricted by the presence of Usagi's family and later by the arrival of Naru, Umino, and Motoki. She had put the cats to work searching for any clues to Rei's whereabouts, mainly to keep them occupied, since they couldn't come into the hospital. She was certain she knew what Kunzite had planned for Mars.
Frustration filled her. She knew Mars had been specifically targeted. They'd laid a trap for her and she was pretty sure Usagi had been an added bonus. Obviously used against Rei to prevent her from fighting to last breath. But the unnecessary violence against Usagi was calculated to weaken the team further. She had no expectation for Usagi to be ready to take on even one Shitennou alone, though she suspected Makoto thought she was holding Usagi responsible for this mess. Minako really wasn't sure anyone on their team was to blame, though she felt responsible for not predicting Kunzite's plan more accurately.
Ikuko hadn't stopped crying since Mamoru had called. Shingo had ended up having to get the information and then call his dad at work. Kenji held his sobbing wife helplessly. The only thing that made him feel better was glowering at Mamoru. If his wife hadn't been so emotional, he knew she would have told him to cut it out, but he had to do something. He hated that his baby girl had been crying out for that-boy-who-is-too-old- for-her instead of for him.
Shingo sidled closer to Minako, his little ten year old heart crushing on the gorgeous blonde teenager. He was going to play the sympathy card for all it was worth it. He batted soulful brown eyes at the bemused older girl as he leaned against her gently and she frowned lightly in pity and took his hand comfortingly. Motoki snickered behind his hand at the kid, earning a dark glare from Mamoru, who was up and pacing again. He followed Motoki's pointed gaze to the small boy giving it Minako adoring looks and he shook his head in distaste.
While Doctor Mizuno worked on Usagi's arm, another doctor was busy stitching up her forehead and shoulder, and a team of nurses were cleaning, medicating, and bandaging her cuts and bruises. X-rays showed internal injuries were minimal, restricted to a fractured rib and a possible concussion. There wasn't much to be done for the rib, other than advising her to treat it gently. Relocating her right shoulder had been an ugly process. There was some discussion about how to restrict her movement to keep her from ripping open the stitches in her left shoulder or reinjuring her right shoulder, but eventually they decided to bind her right arm to her torso until she woke and to trust the weight of the cast to prevent excessive movement with the left. Doctor Mizuno was strongly opposed to leaving Usagi without use of her arms, but she relented with the knowledge that she would be the primary care physician during Usagi's stay.
Hours had passed before Doctor Mizuno approached the group in the waiting room. She sat down in a chair Mamoru offered and they clustered around her, the senshi and Mamoru uncomfortably aware of the sharpness of her gaze as it rested on them. "The surgery went well. I don't believe Usagi will suffer any nerve damage." She paused thoughtfully, then plunged on, believing everything needed to be revealed, "Two of her injuries could not have been caused by her fall. The first is a sharp incision to her left shoulder, which appears to have been caused by a knife." Ikuko gasped and buried her head in her husband's shoulder. Mamoru, Makoto, Motoki, and Kenji reacted with varying degrees of anger, while everyone else looked downcast and sympathetic.
"It is my professional opinion that Usagi's dislocated right shoulder was due to someone twisting her arm behind her back to restrain her. Deep bruising in the shape of hand has formed about her wrist. As for her injuries due to the fall, aside from the broken arm and the gash on her head, she has extensive damage to her body, ranging from superficial scrapes and bruises to deep gouges and muscle contusions, a fractured rib, and the possibility of a concussion, which we will be watching very closely. I don't anticipate Usagi being able to leave the hospital for at least the next 48 hours while we monitor her condition. Infections are a serious concern at this point. Even when she's released, I'm not sure when I will permit her to return to school. Right now, both arms are restrained to prevent any accidental re-injuries. She also has a neck brace on as a precaution and an anti-swelling wrap about her face. She was sedated when she was brought in due to hysteria regarding whatever has happened to Rei. I do not want anyone talking to her about it, not even the police, until I clear it. Her reaction is understandable, but she can reinjure herself very easily. Please restrict your visits to no more than ten minutes and no more than three people at a time when she wakes up. I've instructed the nurses to let you stay past visiting hours."
She pushed her tired body out of the chair. "I need to get started on the paperwork and probably meet with police, but I'll be available for questions, concerns, or any developments. Ami, I need to speak with you, and Chiba-san, I'd like to talk to you about what you saw, to corroborate my findings." They both rose. "Please keep your spirits up," she told Usagi's parents. "She's a remarkably tough girl. I know her current status is frightening, but I have every reason to believe she will recover quickly and completely. If there are any items that she would like from home, please feel free to bring them to her. I've arranged for a private room."
Kenji offered her his hand and grateful thanks as spokesperson for his family. Doctor Mizuno murmured a reply and slipped away, her daughter and Mamoru on her heels.
Kunzite lounged in the living room of the small apartment he and Zoicyte had rented near Hikawa Jinja. He was smiling darkly to himself. Metallia would soon be finished with her conversion of the Martian senshi and then he would bring her back here, using her against her former friends. It would be agonizing for them. She would be right there, living her life just like before, only she would hate them. He would have to carefully control her interactions with them. He tapped his index finger against his lips, watching the clock closely and calculating when he could return to the Dark Kingdom to retrieve his prize.
Zoicyte entered the apartment, carrying a couple of bags. He cast a glance over at Kunzite, noting that his partner was having a staring contest with the clock and didn't seem to be aware of his presence. He shook his head, mildly amused, as he placed his bags on the kitchen counter. "I bought some food. Are you hungry?"
Kunzite glanced up at Zoicyte and nodded. "Two more hours and I'll be back with our guest. Is her room ready?"
Zoicyte smiled. "Yep. I've sealed the windows and reinforced them. She has a futon, a small wardrobe, a light, and a clock. I don't think she'll need anything else." Kunzite smiled approvingly. "By the way," Zoicyte added, "the jeans and pullover look works for you."
Kunzite dropped his gaze to his choice of clothing. He'd chosen the dark blue jeans, white T-shirt and silvery gray sweater at random. He didn't care what he wore and had left the shopping to Zoicyte. He had to admit they were comfortable and made him stand out a little less, but he preferred his uniform. And, if he was perfectly honest, he missed his gloves.
Luna would not sit still. She paced around the room like a caged tiger, leapt on top of the desk where Artemis was working on the Mercury computer, leapt off, paced by the window, and then started the process all over again. It was a driving Artemis insane.
"Luna, for the sake of my sanity, sit down!" His green eyes flashed angrily and he stalked up to the agitated guardian.
She hissed harshly at him, offended by his outburst, "Do you expect me to just sit here and play with my tail while two of my girls are in danger?"
Artemis rubbed a shoulder against her tense body comfortingly, "I know how hard this is for you, Luna. You've always worried over the girls. But right now I need you to keep it together. We will find Mars. Usagi is in good hands. We just need to trust in their inner strength."
The overwrought cat leaned into Artemis's warmth, letting him talk her down off her ledge. It was the most affection she had shown him since their reincarnation, but Artemis was in no mood to rejoice. They sat like that for a long moment, their hearts and minds focused on their missing senshi.
Sailor Mars climbed to her feet, the motion impossibly smooth. A sneering smile graced her full lips and a dark humor danced in her purple eyes. Her skin was pale against her uniform collar and skirt. The transformation in her soul had not changed her uniform, but it had altered her appearance. Her beautiful face seemed carved of marble, her eyes sparkling jewels. The darkness inside her was reflected in her arrogant bearing, as if she held herself superior to everything around her. Her heart and mind were filled with selfishness and hate.
In the lightless cell, she assessed her condition and smiled mirthlessly at the raw power she felt humming through her. She felt strong and impatient, the desire to test herself against an opponent burning within her. She snapped a finger, igniting a flame on her forefinger. She studied it for a long moment, then flung it at a wooden bench, illuminating the room eerily.
As if in reply to her silent wish, a youma popped into place, blinking in surprise. It was stout and thinly armored, but its bulging muscles informed her that this was an offensive youma. Red, wild eyes narrowed as the youma recognized her uniform. It smiled viciously, saliva strings stretching in horizontal lines between its sharp-edged teeth.
Mars smirked in anticipation and raised a hand in invitation. The youma lunged for her, but she danced out of the way, laughing in delight at her speed. The youma, however, was not appreciative. It roared in rage and threw a heavy punch in her direction. She dodged it, of course, but the force with which the fist connected with the wall was impressive. Chunks of the rock wall were dislodged, falling to the earth floor in a miniature rockslide. She raised an eyebrow at this and decided it was her turn to strike.
Fireballs formed around her, five glowing, hungry orbs. Silently, not needing to name her attack, she shot them in its direction, staring in victory as they hit home and the creature burst into flames.
She had to dance around agilely to avoid the flailing, burning beast. Its roars echoes painfully in the small cell and she resisted the urge to clamp her hands over her ears protectively. She watched in fascination as the fire reduced the creature to ash, the acrid smell burning her throat and causing her eyes to water.
When the immolation was complete, the tortured screams of the youma still echoed in her mind. The remnants of the fire seemed to still glow in her eyes. The cell was dark again, both the beast and the bench nothing more than ash carpeting the floor. The air was hot and smoky, but it didn't bother her. She turned in the direction of the iron door and waited.
Dr. Mizuno slumped into her chair, her body beginning to shake with the emotions she had repressed throughout the ordeal of Usagi's arrival, evaluation, and surgery. She'd held back the terror for as long as she could, but now, in the dark silence of her office, she had nothing to distract her mind from what could have happened. She covered her face, wondering how she was going to hide her emotions from her daughter, but unable to stop the flow of tears that were overwhelming her. She hadn't given her emotions free reign like this since the early days of her divorce, but beating them back required more strength and energy than she currently possessed.
Ami and Mamoru could hear faint sobs emanating from the small office as they awkwardly paused in the hallway. They exchanged concerned glances and wordlessly decided that Ami should go in alone. She tapped lightly on the metal door, then swung it open and disappeared inside. Mamoru settled against the wall to wait for an invitation to join them.
"Mom?" Ami murmured as she approached the sobbing woman. Her voice shook with a child-like fear, remembering the last time she'd seen her strong, self-controlled mother lose control like this. She slipped comforting arms around her mother's shoulders, prepared to wait out her mother's emotional outburst. She wasn't prepared for the death-grip her mother pulled her into, yanking the slight 15 year old into her lap and clutching her to her body like she was still a small child.
Holding Ami safely in her arms seemed to comfort her and slowly her sobs faded as the young girl patted her back gently. It was several moments before she had regained control enough to speak, but when she did, her words were harsh, even to her own ears, "Mizuno Ami, what the hell have you and your friends gotten yourselves into?"
Ami jerked away from her mother, her eyes and mouth wide open in shock. She pulled herself out of her mother's clinging arms and perched on the desk, frowning thoughtfully as she studied her mom carefully. She couldn't believe she was assessing whether or not she could trust her own mother, but the senshi in her was too well-trained, too careful to trust someone just because they had given birth to her. A sharp tug at her heart reminded her just how foolishly she had trusted in the past. Her face revealed the agony she suddenly felt as Zoicyte leapt, unbidden, into her mind.
"Ami, whatever it is, you can tell me. We can figure this out together," her mother worried nervously, her hand grasping her daughter's tightly.
Ami shook her head slightly, a sardonic smile playing around the edges of her lips. "Mom, you know I don't like keeping secrets from you. But I have been keeping this one in order to protect you." She raised a hand as her mother began to protest, silently begging her to listen without interruption. "It's not just my secret, either. Telling you will reveal more about my friends than they probably would prefer you know. But they know that I'm going to tell you and all I ask is that you trust in me and in them." Her mom didn't budge, clearly not willing to promise anything until she knew the extent of the damage. Ami closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then faced her mom with a confession that was bigger than anything else she could imagine. She would rather she was sitting her telling her mom that she was pregnant, or on drugs, or even a murderer. Anything would be better than this. "I'm Sailor Mercury," she stated, clear as a bell, remorselessly.
Dr. Mizuno floundered for a moment. She'd suspected something like this, very faintly, in the back of her mind, but to have it confirmed was surreal. She fell back into a clinical mindset, studying her daughter's posture. Ami seemed . . . proud of herself. That she regretted keeping the secret from her mom was clear, but she was not ashamed or terrified of her identity. She sighed softly, "When did this happen?"
"My first day at school," Ami admitted reluctantly, trying not to wince at her mother's accusing stare. "I was at cram school and a youma attacked. Sailor Moon showed up to save us, but she wasn't strong enough by herself. And that's when I felt Sailor Mercury awaken within me. I didn't want to be a senshi at first. I was wary of the obligation and scared of the possible repercussions. But Sailor Moon was alone and needed support, so I eventually agreed to join the team."
"You fought alone, just the two of you?" Dr. Mizuno was horrified.
"I was there, too, if it helps any," Mamoru contributed from the open door. He had a guilty look on his face, which Ami knew was from his barging in on a private moment. "I'm sorry to intrude, but one of the nurses keeps pestering me out there."
Ami and Dr. Mizuno laughed at that admission. Several of the nurses had noticed him earlier, when he'd been pacing around waiting for news of Usagi. Ami had found it disgusting and Dr. Mizuno had scolded one of them for coming into Usagi's examination room full of gossip about the attractive young man in the waiting room. Obviously her stern reminder that the man was their patient's boyfriend hadn't affected all of her staff. "I apologize," she murmured as she gestured for him to enter the room fully. "What is your role in all of this?"
"I'm Tuxedo Kamen. I've been protecting the senshi as they learned to fight youma."
Ami noticed he'd put emphasis on 'senshi,' even though technically, he was Sailor Moon's personal savior. "Mamoru-san had been there even before I was, Mom."
"Yes," Dr. Mizuno mused, "I remember something about a tuxedo-wearing, masked jewelry thief."
Mamoru blanched, but Ami saved him, "We are searching for a talisman. The Dark Kingdom wants it too. Tuxedo Kamen was initially searching for it alone, under the assumption that it would be found in a jewelry collection. He never stole anything. He just looked around when no one else was around." Mamoru smirked at Ami's attempt at justification. Breaking and entering was a serious crime, whether or not he took anything. Indeed, the fact that he did it without his own knowledge hardly erased the fact that he had, in fact, done it. He sighed in frustration and decided to address the meat of the situation.
"Dr. Mizuno, Usagi was not injured by a human being. Nor has Rei been kidnapped by yakuza. The Dark Kingdom has done this. Two of their generals are working in collusion. What they've done with Rei, we have yet to confirm. But from what Usagi told us in her hysteria, we have concluded that she was taken intentionally."
"Usagi was transformed when you found her, wasn't she?"
Mamoru nodded. "I convinced her to drop her transformation."
Dr. Mizuno leaned back in her chair again, dropping her daughter's hand and sighing heavily. "Alright. So we're going to continue letting the police believe this is a kidnapping, yes?" She watched as the two superheroes in front of her nodded. She rubbed her left temple, feeling the worst headache of her life beginning to demand her attention. "Ami, we'll talk more later. Go check on the Tsukinos for me."
Once Ami had slipped out of the office, Dr. Mizuno pinned Mamoru with a cold gaze. "Tell me the truth. How much danger is my daughter in?"
Mamoru's chest constricted in the face of her maternal anger and fear. "There's no easy answer to that. Rei has been abducted and Usagi has been brutally injured. Obviously, the danger is great. However, we can not overlook the danger that the Dark Kingdom represents to every person on this planet. Without the senshi standing between them and the planet, everyone's life would be meaningless."
Dr. Mizuno processed this quietly. "In most cases, I would argue that a child couldn't make this decision, but I know my Ami. She will have thought this through from every angle before choosing her course of action. But don't ask me to be happy or comfortable with this." She glowered at him angrily, but he could see the helplessness behind the anger. He gazed back at her, unable to look away, acknowledging her right to be enraged by the situation. Her glower faltered as the tears broke through her resolve and she lowered her head to hide them. "Why is this happening? Why my Ami?" she whispered.
Mamoru had no answer for that. A gnawing guilt ate at him, a feeling that if only he hadn't failed in the past, if only they had all been strong enough, this brave woman wouldn't be in this situation, having to sacrifice her only daughter to this desperate cause. If only they had been able to stop Beryl in the past, Usagi would be fine. He slipped out of the darkened office, leaving the doctor to her grief, feeling doubly useless. He'd failed to protect his planet in the past and he'd failed to find a way to comfort a frightened parent. God help him if the Tsukinos found out about Usagi's alter ego, he thought morbidly as he wandered back down to the waiting room outside the ICU.