Chapter Ten

Uranus and Neptune burst out of the caves with an uncountable number of monsters roaring at their heels. Luckily the tide was out, allowing them to position themselves at the cave mouth and begin blasting as soon their foes started to emerge.

The monster ranks showed no signs of abating, and both soldiers knew it was only a matter of time before their thin line of defense was broken. There were simply too many of the scaly creatures to hold them off forever.

Again, their devices went off.

"Uranus, Neptune," said Jupiter's voice. The signal was very weak, and the words so distorted it was difficult to make them out. "All the people have disappeared from the city; there's only us sailor soldiers left. We need you to help us protect Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask was attacked—"

Both communicators went dead at the same moment. Uranus and Neptune exchanged a glance. If there were no civilians to protect, they both knew there was little need to stay here when their princess needed them.

"We'll use the Mirror to transport," said Neptune, diving to Uranus's side and grabbing her hand. The surface of the Mirror crackled with what looked like jagged forks of lightning, and then went completely dark.

"Apparently not," Uranus said.

A quick test confirmed the Mirror was still working as a weapon, but Neptune could feel a barrier preventing her from accessing most of her talisman's other powers. It could well be why their communicators had cut out as well.

Uranus demolished another rank of monsters. "I don't think I can teleport at all. You?"

"No. Something is causing serious distortions…"

"We can't lead these monsters to the princess." Uranus's brief skyward glance was the only warning Neptune had before she was swept up into the air, far faster than she ever would have been able to fly on her own.

Wrapping her arms securely around Uranus's neck, Neptune commented, "a little warning next time?"

"Sorry." Uranus's mouth tilted into a smile. "Didn't want to tip the enemy off." Her arms were steady around Neptune's waist as they streaked into the sky over the city. Even with all the distortions, they could roughly feel where the others were, and soon landed in a deserted shopping district not too far from Hikawa Shrine.

Venus immediately paced over to them in a blood-spattered uniform, fire burning in her eyes. "Where the hell were you two? We have a crisis here!"

"We were dealing with our own crisis," said Uranus evenly, ignoring the shortness in Venus's tone. Like Neptune, she was checking the numbers of the current party. Only Venus, Jupiter and Moon were present. "Where are the others?"

"Mars and Mercury got Tuxedo Mask to the shrine just before we lost teleporting and communication. The rest of us were locked in battle—"

Neptune's senses prickled. The monsters from the sea-caves were fast approaching, probably drawn by the concentration of all their magical energy.

"Is the shrine secure?" she said, interrupting Uranus and Venus. "Mercury and Mars were working on that shield to keep enemies out…"

"It's finished," said Venus. "Never been tested, though."

"Then it's about to be. Take the Princess and run."

Sailor Moon immediately shook her head. "No! We're not leaving anyone behind."

Already the first ranks of monsters from the caves were starting to appear in the distance.

Venus and Uranus exchanged a glance. There might be too many monsters here for even their Princess to overcome, and if there was to be any hope of putting this situation right, they both knew Usagi had to survive.

"Jupiter!" Venus barked. "Get Sailor Moon. We're leaving."

Jupiter immediately got Usagi into a vice-like grip, holding on determinedly as she struggled.

Taking another glance at the fast approaching monsters, Neptune felt both her fear and her irritation rising. Unless the others left now, escape would no longer be an option.

Reassuringly, she placed a hand on her Princess's shoulder and smiled. "It's all right. Uranus and I will meet you at the shrine. I promise."

"You're lying! You're going to try and sacrifice yourselves again, like you always do."

"We'll be right behind you," Neptune whispered. "We'll never leave your side." She kept any hint of deceit from her eyes as she met Usagi's gaze. Usagi's maturity had come a long way in the last few years, but there were still things she would always prefer not to believe. Even as she accused Neptune of lying, she didn't want to consider that it might actually be true. She was looking for reassurance she was wrong, not confirmation she was right, and Neptune used that miscalculation shamelessly against her.

"We'll see you soon, princess," Uranus added. Her voice was soft as a caress. "Take care."

Visibly steeling their hearts, Venus and Jupiter managed to get Moon turned in the direction of the shrine and dragged her along until she was moving of her own accord. Unlike Usagi, they hadn't been fooled. They knew Uranus and Neptune weren't going to follow.

As the monsters drew closer, Uranus brushed her eyes over Neptune in a glance filled with longing and regret. "I was really beginning to think we might make it," she said, an extra husk in her tone. "That there might be a place in the future for us."

Neptune clasped her hand, feeling Uranus's steady warmth, a thousand memories flashing by of a life lived fearlessly, never letting go of love even when the shadows of battle so often overtook them. "Our place has always been beside each other, Haruka. As long as we have that, nothing else matters."

Something in Uranus's expression eased, her lips losing that twisted line of pain Neptune hated every time she saw it. "You're right."

They shared a long look with their hands still intertwined, then they readied their talismans and the monsters were upon them.

"Watch out!" Fighter blasted apart a large tentacle that had just erupted from the pavement, grabbed onto Healer and been about to slam her into the side of a building.

Set free, Healer rolled as she fell, quickly sprang to her feet and resumed running alongside Fighter. "Where are all these monsters coming from? I don't get it."

"Who knows? We should try and meet up with Moon and the others. Are you sure they're still in the city?"

"Yes. It's difficult to tell where exactly…" Healer slowed, then stopped altogether.

"Healer?"

"Those two are in trouble." The tone of her voice made it obvious who she meant.

"Uranus and Neptune? Can you find them?"

Healer looked extremely put upon. "If I have to. You want to go help them, don't you?"

"Well, we are guests on this planet and it would help to foster good relations. I think it's what our Princess would want us to do, don't you?"

"When we get there, I bet the first thing Uranus will do is insult us."

"Probably. But would you really be okay if something happened to them and we could have helped prevent it? You'd be okay with seeing Sailor Moon crying over their broken corpses? You'd be okay with seeing Maker heartbroken because they were Pluto's family?"

"Don't go all melodramatic," Healer grumbled. "We'll go help them out. I'm just saying…It would be nice if they occasionally said thank you."

"There's a first time for everything."

Healer gave an unimpressed sigh. "Sometimes, Fighter, your optimism is just depressing."

Uranus and Neptune were still holding the monsters back, but only just. The pile of corpses in front of them rose higher and higher with each new attack they launched, but no matter how many of the creatures they killed more kept coming, climbing over the bodies of their fallen brethren without a care and slowly inching their advance forward.

A group of monsters that were larger than the others, and perhaps smarter too, made a concerted effort and rushed at them, succeeding in muscling their way through the barrier Uranus and Neptune were trying to maintain. They targeted Uranus first, who went down fighting underneath a pack of scaly hides, and before Neptune could act she was overwhelmed herself, pinned beneath at least five monsters intent on crushing the life out of her.

She heard Uranus give a cry of pain and managed to fight one arm free, throwing the light of her Mirror right into the snarling face of the monster on top of her. She'd had little time to build much power into the attack, but it was enough to get that one off her at least.

A World Shaking blasted through the space above her, taking out the rest. Neptune was on her feet immediately, and fear stabbed into her heart at what she saw – the kind of fear that no monster, no matter how terrifying, could ever make her feel.

Uranus was tottering on her feet, one hand clenched to her side, blood leaking out from between her fingers.

"Run," she croaked, and unspoken was leave me behind. Neptune knew that meant the wound had to be bad, bad enough that Uranus thought she wasn't going to recover from it.

Something snapped in Neptune and she sent a massive wave crashing down the street, taking out nearly every monster in the vicinity.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Uranus."

Uranus wouldn't be able to make it far, but that didn't mean Neptune wasn't going to do everything she could to prolong their lives for as long as possible. She put Uranus's arm over her shoulder, tucked her own arm tight around Uranus's waist, and ran with her at a staggering pace to the nearest shop on the street.

It was, of all things, a florist. Placing Uranus down gently next to a display of tulips and ignoring her streaming protests, Neptune hastily set up a small portable shield that Mercury had been working on for situations just like this.

Chances were it wouldn't last long against an onslaught of this magnitude, but at least it would buy them a little more time. The next wave of scaly cave monsters was still some distance away, and Neptune used the opportunity to find a first-aid kit and attend to Uranus's deep, jagged bite wound as best she could.

"Neptune," Uranus repeated yet again as she worked, "you have to get out of here. We both know I'm already dead. But I can hold them off long enough to give you a head start. You can still make it to the shrine."

"Uranus," said Neptune, glancing into her pain-filled eyes. "You know I'm not going to leave you. We face our fate together."

Uranus's breath was coming far too quickly, and she was losing colour fast. Already the bandage Neptune had just applied was starting to stain. Despite all that, she gave Neptune a sallow grin. "Well, it was worth a try."

Her smile faded as she said, "for all this to be happening, Pluto must be trouble. Nothing else could be causing so much distortion."

"I know. But we have no way of helping her right now."

Whatever was happening, it was progressively getting worse. There was a heaviness in Neptune's body now, a feeling of being chained to the Earth. They weren't going to be able to use flight to get out of here.

The shield flickered warningly. The latest wave of monsters had caught up with them and was swarming outside. With Neptune's help Uranus staggered to her feet, ashen and dripping blood.

"You should take my Sword. You can make better use of it right now than I can."

Neptune shook her head, closing Uranus's fingers around the pro-offered sword. "Keep it," she said softly. "You'll need it if anything gets past me."

Fondly, Uranus replied, "nothing will get past you." Her voice dropped and her eyes gentled as their bloodied hands continued to clasp over the hilt of the Sword. "Michiru, you know that I—"

"I know, Haruka. You show me every day."

The glass of the shop front cracked warningly. Neptune let go of Uranus's hands and turned, readying herself for the fight that would begin at any moment.

"Stay behind me," she said over her shoulder, though really there was no need. Uranus wasn't about to make their situation even more difficult out of some misguided sense of ego.

"Send a wave through the door when they get here," Uranus panted. "I'll strengthen it with wind. Should take care of the first few ranks."

"Right."

The shield blinked out and the window glass shattered. Monsters poured into the shop only to be crushed by a wall of seawater backed by a mighty wind. But as soon as the attack cleared more were rushing into the gap. Neptune wondered how there could possibly be so many of these scaly cave creatures – had the original infestation really been so bad, or were they just multiplying out of control, able to exploit whatever had gone wrong on this plane of existence to keep infinitely swelling their ranks?

Uranus continued to push them back with wind while Neptune used her Mirror to disintegrate as many as possible. They were fighting with their backs to the wall, trying to keep out of range, but even so monsters were starting to slip through. Grunting with effort, Uranus felled two with her Sword, one after the other, trembling so hard she nearly dropped her weapon.

She was determined, and she was hanging in there, but Neptune could tell Uranus was afraid. The moment was coming when one of them would slip and they'd both be taken down, and Neptune saw the look Uranus cast her way; the one that said she'd make any sacrifice to try and get Neptune out of this alive. Endure anything to spare herself the sight of her lover being torn apart by their foes.

Alarm suddenly shot into Uranus's eyes and she grabbed Neptune and pulled her to the ground as a bright blue beam of energy exploded into the space they'd been standing in moments ago.

Fighter and Healer burst into the breach the beam had created, and Healer dispatched the monsters still in the shop while Fighter threw up what looked like a series of tiny glittering stars. They expanded to erect a barrier that appeared far more solid than the one Neptune had used. Regaining her feet, Neptune helped Healer with the remaining monsters as much as she could, but she didn't leave Uranus's side. Uranus was still lying tumbled on the ground, and looking at her, Neptune knew she didn't have the strength to rise again.

She knelt back down as soon as the last monster fell, vainly offering what poor comfort she could as Uranus's expression contorted with pain. Realising how badly hurt Uranus was, Healer's eyes widened, her gaze flicking pityingly between the two Outer Soldiers as Fighter continued to fiddle with the barrier, still oblivious.

"Next time learn to aim, Fighter. You nearly took Neptune's head off."

At the gruff reprimand, Healer lost her look of sympathy and said scathingly, "are the words 'thank you' not in your vocabulary Uranus? We didn't have to come rescue you, you know."

"Uranus – Haruka." Neptune bit back further words, but her broken tone said everything. What was the point of arguments this close to the abyss of death?

Uranus's calloused sword hand touched her cheek. "Sorry," she whispered, her eyes tracing every detail of Neptune's face in defiance of the oblivion they both knew was creeping up on her.

Still working on the barrier, Fighter said distractedly, "there were so many monsters we couldn't even tell where you were. We just had to blast in and hope for the best."

Turning at last, she immediately caught sight of Uranus's wound and blanched. "Uranus…"

"Yeah I know." Uranus grimaced. "Listen Fighter, Healer. I need you to do something for me. Make sure Nep—"

"Shut up, Uranus!" Neptune said sharply. "Whatever you're going to say, it's a stupid plan and I hate it already and we're not leaving until someone comes up with a better one!"

A look passed between Fighter and Healer.

"Healer," said Fighter. "Can you…"

"She's dying," said Healer bluntly, nearly making Neptune want to wipe her out with a tsunami.

"I know." Fighter's voice was soft. "But can you?"

They continued to stare at each other, Healer's eyes stubbornly resisting whatever plea Fighter was making.

"You expect me to risk—"

"Could you really live with yourself if you didn't?"

Neptune was only half listening to their exchange. Uranus was barely even conscious now, her breaths coming faster and faster, her chest shaking with the force of her pounding heartbeats. Just what Fighter thought Healer could do Neptune didn't know, but if there was something, she needed her to do it now. And though part of Neptune wanted to use every threat of death and pain in her arsenal to make Healer comply, she knew that would only further antagonize her.

"Healer, please," she whispered, casting all her pride away and begging in a fear-choked voice. "If you can help Haruka I'll repay you with anything you want."

The appeal seemed to catch Healer off guard, her defiance wavering as shame and guilt began to chase each other through her eyes. "Honestly, Seiya," she muttered, kneeling down beside Uranus and elbowing Neptune away from the wound. "I don't understand you sometimes."

Fighter knelt down on Uranus's other side, an odd mixture of tension and relief seeming to fight for primacy within her. "It's because I know you can do this." In answer to Neptune's confused look, she added, "Yaten might be able to heal Uranus."

"What?"

"With a name like 'Healer', what did you think my powers were associated with? Flower arranging?"

Healer ironically nodded her head around the shattered florist with its trampled blooms as she began to cut away Uranus's sodden bandages, using a pair of scissors that were probably meant for trimming ribbons and wrapping paper.

"If you do that, she's going to bleed out!" Neptune exclaimed, nearly reaching to stop her.

"I have to touch the wound," Healer said irritably, cutting faster as Uranus's blood began to flow with alarming speed. She ripped aside the already mostly shredded portion of Uranus's uniform, exposing a chunk of flesh that looked as if it had nearly been bitten all the way through.

With a set expression, she placed her Star Yell against the wound and cried, "Star Healer Beam!"

A wash of pulsing yellow-green light expanded to engulf the wound and Uranus gasped, her limbs twitching painfully. Her eyes fluttered open, flicking from Healer to Neptune. A trickle of blood smeared her bottom lip from where she'd bitten into it with her teeth.

"What's happening?" she demanded, voice still autocratic despite her weakness.

"I'm trying to heal you," said Healer, sweat forming on her brow. "Be quiet."

Neptune found Uranus's hand, feeling her grip tighten as she repressed a groan of pain.

Healer glanced at her. "Sorry. This shouldn't be hurting. Your physiology must be slightly different from ours."

"Is it working?" Uranus bit out through clenched teeth.

"It's working," Neptune assured her. The wound was closing even as she spoke.

"Then just get on with it."

It only took a few more seconds, and one jagged scream from Uranus, for Healer to make the wound disappear completely.

As her breathing slowed, Uranus used Neptune's hand to pull herself up into a sitting position, poking cautiously at her newly whole skin.

"Thanks Healer. I owe you one."

Hunched over, Healer was shaking and gasping. Fighter had moved to place a protective arm around her shoulders, her thumb sweeping in a soothing motion up and down Healer's shoulder blade.

This, Neptune could only assume, was why Healer hadn't wanted to help Uranus. Perhaps the worse the injury, the more she herself became depleted as she healed.

It was Fighter who replied to Uranus's comment. "Good. In that case – I need the two of you to help me protect her."

"I don't need anyone's protection!" Healer bristled, still nearly doubled over.

"Yes, you do." The words had the sound of an oft-repeated argument. "Healing uses up your powers and weakens you, especially when you're treating a serious injury. You're an easy target right now and you know it. Look at you – I doubt you could even launch a single attack."

Healer muttered something that might have been an admission of Uranus's wound being a pretty bad one.

Shaking her head, Fighter produced a flask from somewhere and offered it to Healer, taking a couple of swings herself once Healer had finished and next holding it out to Uranus and Neptune.

"It's water from Kinmoku," she said. "Blessed by our princess. It will help your energy to replenish. At least, it does for us."

Both Uranus and Neptune sampled the water. Though Neptune didn't think its effects were all that potent – Kakyuu wasn't her princess after all – she did feel a boost in her recovery that gave her a little refreshment.

Though Healer still seemed drained, she too was looking better.

"Okay." Uranus picked up her Sword. "We need to make a run for it to Hikawa Shrine. That's where the others have gathered. Healer stays in the middle. Neptune and I will take point. Fighter, you can watch our backs. Any objections?"

Fighter's hand lingered briefly on Healer's leg. "None. Let's get out of here."

The four of them climbed laboriously to their feet. Neptune summoned her Mirror and Fighter and Healer had their Star Yells ready.

An army of monsters was waiting for them just beyond the barrier of stars.