Chapter 13

Sailor Jupiter watched the small red sports car speed away as anger rose inside her. She should have protected Sol. She should have watched him, should have known something wasn't right when that small creature took Yurichiro inside the shrine building. She clenched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth, trying to contain her growing rage. Squeezing her hands until they hurt from her finger nails digging in; she spun to Sailor Moon standing a short ways behind her. "Call Tuxedo Kamen. He must have seen this from his vantage point." It was Tuxedo Kamen's own idea to watch from a rooftop not far away, just in case something like this happened. His reasoning was with the five of them to protect Sol he could act as the look out and warn them if anything went awry.

The tall brown haired girl listened as the wrist communicator rang and rang, unanswered. Sailor Mercury reached out to Sailor Jupiter, taking her slender gloved hands in her own. "I'm sure Tuxedo Kamen isn't answering because he's trying to follow them by the rooftops." Sailor Jupiter took deep breaths, trying to calm her shot nerves.

"Also I wasn't able to track the exact location with the phone tap, but I did narrow it down to a six block radius. With the five of us and Tuxedo Kamen searching, we should be able to find that red car quickly." Everyone stood in silence waiting for her response. The communicator on Sailor Moon's wrist crackled to life, Tuxedo Kamen breathing heavily on the other side. "I couldn't follow them very far, but they were heading in the direction Sailor Mercury tracked the call to. If we hurry, I'm sure we can catch her off guard." Quelling the anger inside with steady breathing, Sailor Jupiter felt a wave of relief that they had a plan of attack.

"Everyone, we should get off the streets. People are starting to notice us and a crowd is gathering." Sailor Venus' voice sounded grave. Sailor Jupiter and the rest of the girls scanned the rubble ridden streets and were greeted with glares from the onlookers.

"Turn yourselves in!" Someone from the shadows shouted.

"Murderers!"

"We trusted you and this is how you repay us?!"

A young boy no older than ten ran out from a shattered store front window, placing himself between the Senshi and the growing mob, holding his hands out protectively. "They were framed!"

"Don't speak of things you know nothing about kid!" a gruff voice yelled, unseen.

"That's not true!" He screamed as loud as he could. "I've seen Sailor Moon fight evil before and I know deep down she isn't capable of that. She's a hero! If you can't see that, then you've lost your way. You've given up on hope and let darkness into your hearts." His voice dropped to almost a whisper. Such courage from such a young boy Sailor Jupiter admired his strength. Sailor Moon crouched down beside him and spoke softly, her unconditional love flowing out naturally.

"Thank you young man. I`m glad we still have some people who believe in us. Don`t worry, we`ll find the bad guys and make them pay. In the name of the moon." Winking as she stood giving everyone else a nod, they ran to the nearest building, easily scaling the side to the rooftop. We can move effortlessly up here without causing a commotion Sailor Jupiter thought with a renewed vigor as her high heeled boots clicked against the hot roofs, arms and legs pumping and pushing her forward. Don't worry Sol, we're coming. I'll save you.

-/-*-\-

Koji sat in his office, staring at the watch on his wrist, counting the seconds as they ticked by. Ever since he forcefully took the leach that was his boss, everyone was on edge. People had cried, others giving condolences. Why were they so upset? If anything he had given them all a chance to advance their positions within the company. Not that it mattered much, soon he would be king. Yes, very soon.

The night before had proven very successful in his search for an army. He had located an entire den of Dark Ones, led by an amateur. The would-be leader didn't know what he was up against, facing off with Koji. He had made sure to make an example out of their best fighter, not even transforming into his more powerful form to defeat the opponent. Koji's win had to erase any doubts they might have had, had it been a closer fight, so he made sure not to hold back, finishing the weakling by taking in his dark energy. That had the shock effect he was looking for and all of them had bowed in unison. Koji appointed a new lead hand, so to speak while in his absence. Giving him a personal cell phone, Koji told the man he would be calling soon, and they had better answer that call else they suffer the same fate. My army grows ever stronger while the Sailor Senshi cower in the shadows. Strange, the shadows are our domain, but it seems the roles have been reversed.

Pulling his mind back to the present, he checked his watch again. He picked up the receiver of the telephone on his desk and dialed all the numbers except the last one, waiting the final seconds out. As he pressed the last button down he wondered how much longer Aksuna would willingly stay there until she begged to be released. He knew she wanted out more than anything at the moment, and decided if she asked, he would give her the freedom she so desired. The phone hadn't even finished the first ring when she picked up and spoke quickly, like she didn't want to take the call, but knew she had too.

"Hello Koji, as you can tell I'm still here, so if that's all, I'll just hang up now ok?" Koji didn't respond, his mind racing through scenarios as to why she was in such a hurry to hang up.

"What's going on Aksuna?" He questioned finally. There was some muffling on the other end, like she was covering the microphone. What is she trying to hide form me?

"Going on? Nothing is going on, I just-"The sound of another voice in the background was unmistakable. Someone was shouting. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but someone was in the warehouse with her.

"Is there anything you need to tell me Aksuna? Perhaps a loose end?" He couldn't keep the acid out of his voice as he hissed into the telephone.

"No, no, no, there are no loose ends here. That's just-"Panic was overcoming her now, he could tell. She was speaking like the first time they had met. She's afraid right now.

"I'm coming over there. Now." Slamming the handset down, he stood up quickly from his desk chair and stormed out of the office.

-/-*-\-

Sailor Jupiter was first to reach the edge of the last tall building in sight. She had reached the edge of the industrial district where the buildings were much more spread out and traveling by rooftop was no longer an option. Tuxedo Kamen was close behind her and ran to a stop sucking in deep breaths from the hard trek. He bent over and put his hands to his knees for support. Sailor Jupiter could see her chest raising and falling as well, but she couldn't feel the burning in her lungs right now. All she could think about was finding Sol and keeping him safe.

The other Senshi trickled in one at a time with Sailor Moon coming up last, each one breathing hard as sweat poured off of them. Tuxedo Kamen finally stood straight and turned his attention to Sailor Jupiter. "I didn't know you could run so fast. I think if a wall was in front of you, you would have crashed through without slowing down." In the back of her mind she knew any kind of compliment from Tuxedo Kamen was genuine, but all she did was nod. Her eyes scanned the parking lots she could see from this vantage point, hoping the little red sports car would stand out, but most were empty, devoid of any cars.

Sailor Jupiter turned to the other girls, still doubled over trying to calm their breathing. "We need to split up and canvas the area. I'm going down now"

"Wait" She heard Sailor Venus' voice behind her before jumping off the roof ledge. "I think- we should- transform- back." She could only get a couple syllables out before needing to inhale another breath.

Tuxedo Kamen nodded before he spoke. "Agreed, the last thing we need right now is more trouble from civilians." Sailor Jupiter let her uniform disappear around her, putting her back into regular clothes. She wore light khakis with a green turtle neck, something she wore often. Being self conscious of her appearance, she felt most comfortable in clothing that hid most of her body. Right now though, she felt like she could run around naked and not care what anyone else thought.

"I'm going now unless there's something else we need to discuss." The words came out colder than Makoto intended. It wasn't her friends fault Sol had been taken. People were strange that way. In times of stress, they take their anger out on the ones they love the most. Maybe it's because the ones we love the most will forgive us the easiest. Sailor Moon was standing beside her now. She hadn't noticed the short blonde girl walk up. She took Makoto's hand in her own gloved one and squeezed it gently. Makoto felt a small wave of relief pass over her while Sailor Moon spoke softly to her "Don't worry Mako-chan. We'll find him, we always do. Now it's your turn to save your boyfriend" She finished, giggling quietly. Makoto couldn't help but smile at her infectious attitude.

Taking one more calming breath, she stepped off the ledge and let gravity pull her down to the sidewalk below. Air rushed past her ears as she fell, landing gracefully. Taking off at a light jog towards the closest building, she wondered how long it would be before the others joined in. Checking the parking lots of the front of each building was easy, the back of some proved more difficult. Jumping the chain link fence of one property was more than she bargained for as she was chased out by a large guard dog. Luckily, she could jump over the fence in one bound or she might have had some serious trouble.

The feeling Sailor Moon had given her was wearing off quickly as the search continued. She was almost ready to call the other girls in the hopes one of them had found something when tires screeching behind her made her turn around. I grey luxury sedan peeled around a corner not far off and came speeding towards her. The engine revved loudly as it screamed past, the brakes locking up while the front wheels turned hard to the left and peeled off again out of sight. Makoto took off at full speed behind it, thinking whoever was behind the wheel probably had something to do with this.

She ran around the corner just in time to see the grey car pull into a parking lot and come to a stop beside a small red sports car. Here it is! Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sight. A tall muscular dark haired man dressed in an expensive suit stepped out of the car. He looked angry but she absently wondered if he always looked like that. He certainly didn't appear very friendly. She watched as he went to the front entrance and waited. A few seconds went by before the door was thrown open and he stepped inside. Makoto didn't get a chance to see inside the building though. She took off to where he had just disappeared, not bothering to call the other Senshi. She knew it would take too long for them to arrive and something told her time wasn`t on their side right now. The way that man had driven meant he was in a hurry.

The parking lot of this building was full of cars, unlike every other one she had come across so far. Approaching the building cautiously, she peered inside the windows of the front offices. She didn`t see anyone moving around inside and this raised her suspicions. I should have seen someone with this many cars parked out here. Deciding against caution for the time being, she darted to the door, and flung it open. Immediately she was blasted by the intense smell of blood. Covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve, she pressed forward with caution again. Her eyes burned as the smell of blood quickly turned to the rotting smell of death and decay. She tried not to cough as her throat gagged on the awful stink, but some made their way out no matter how hard she resisted.

Faintly she could hear someone`s voice in the depths of the warehouse. Whoever it was sounded mad as they screamed their lungs out. She couldn`t make out any of the words, but used the noise to find her way through the unknown territory. Before she could track to where it was coming from, the voice stopped. Makoto stood in front of a heavy looking steel door that read 'Employees Only' in big red letters. She pushed on the handle and prayed the hinges were well oiled as the door opened silently. Grabbing the handle on the other side as the door quickly closed, she eased it back into place before everything went black and she drifted through darkness.

-/-*-\-

Sol had been thrashing against the chains that held him in place since he had woken up. They were wrapped around support legs of the steel racking spreading his arms out wide like an eagle spreads its wings. At least they were loose enough that he could sit down. That woman hadn't come and talked to him once since he had come to, and he wondered if she intended to leave him here until he died from dehydration. His eyes and throat burned from the ammonia in the air and he coughed every time he screamed for her to show her face. At least she let me keep my sword he thought as he tried again to wrench his hands free. The chains around his wrists weren't tight when he let himself relax, but bit into his skin when he tried to pull free. Blood dripped down into the long sleeve of the trench coat he was wearing, making him look like he worked in a butchers shop and forgot to roll up them up.

He heard a door open and footsteps approach. Finally. He wasn't expecting a tall black haired man, dressed up all fancy to come and see him. "So you're the one helping Sailor Moon eh? I'm only going to ask this once: Who is she? Her real identity? If you tell me who she is, you can run along with your life." The words were cold, without emotion. Whoever this guy is, he was used to getting what he wanted. Sol could tell by the way he walked towards him that this man was dangerous.

"You already know who she is. After all, you're the one who told her to kill that man, right?" The reaction he was hoping for never came. Instead all he got was one raised eyebrow, but that was enough to tell him that this man and Aksuna were working together. He walked closer to where Sol was tied up, taking his time. As he got closer Sol noticed how muscular the man was. Luckily I have the power of the Silver Crystal coursing through me. This guy shouldn't be able to hurt me too bad. As if the man could read his thoughts, he burst forward with incredible speed, driving his knee into Sol's abdomen. The air in his lungs was forced out by the powerful blow lifting him off his feet. Sol grunted against the pain that shot through his body and his eyes felt like they would pop out of his head if he didn't squeeze them shut. Falling to his knees, no longer able to support his own weight as he struggled to suck in just one breath of air. He had had the wind knocked out of him before, but never like this.

He felt like he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen when his stomach muscles finally relaxed enough for him to inhale. Gasping for breath as he coughed, he realized this man also had power of his own. The pain was greater than anything he had ever experienced before; surely the blow had broken a few ribs.

"Tell me what I want to know or I'll kill you where you kneel maggot!" He screamed with a fury Sol had never encountered. Everything about this man was intense.

"Go to hell" it was barely a whisper that escaped his lips, but he was glad to have defied this man with his last breath. I'll see you soon Sol thought sadly. He wouldn't be able to hear Makoto's angelic laugh again, or see her smile. She was the only thing keeping him going, as hard as it was to struggle on, he would do it for her. He felt regret at the selfishness that he would finally being rid of this heavy burden. He heard the man sigh. "Very well, have it your way." The large man's hand reached down and he wrapped his fingers around Sol's throat. Before he could squeeze his wind pipe closed, black smoke rose from his outstretched hand, just like when Sol had touched his father's shoulder.

Pulling back with a gasp the man asked more to himself than Sol "What's the meaning of this? Could you possibly be...?" It took every last bit of strength Sol had to lift his head enough to look the man in the eye. A worried expression crossed his face but was quickly replaced with an emotionless one. Sol couldn't keep his head up any longer and let it fall back to his chest.

"Where did you get this power?" Now it was his turn to speak in barely a whisper. Sol smiled to himself At least I've thrown him off a little.

"I already told you, go to hell" Sol spat with much more energy than he felt he had. Struggling to stand, his legs wobbled from the weight under them. One hit from this guy and I'm barely able to stand.

"Koji" a woman's voice from behind the tall man spoke. She walked out from the shadows, dragging something behind her. Sol couldn't tell what it was at first and strained his eyes past Koji to catch sight of what it. "I've found something that will give us any information we want out of this child" she laughed softly. Sol blinked at what he saw, not believing his own eyes. But the image never changed. Aksuna had a hand full of chest nut brown hair and was dragging an unconscious Makoto behind her. This can't be happening! I'm going delusional from being hit so hard!

"This is his girlfriend. If we can't beat what we want out of you, we'll beat it out of her instead" Aksuna began to laugh uncontrollably, knowing they had won. She was right; he was going to tell them anything they wanted.

-/-*-\-

Makoto had come around shortly after being hit, but allowed this woman to drag her to where Sol was. She now knew beyond a doubt this is where Sol was being held. Pretending to be unconscious was more difficult than she would have thought, and had to allow herself to relax constantly. A door opened, and the woman finally spoke. She told someone named Koji that they could just beat out the information from her, probably to make Sol talk.

"NO! Don't hurt her, I'll tell you anything you want!" The sound of Sol's strained voice pleading with them only fed fuel to the fire. "It was the palace! The palace gave me this strength, that's all I know, so please, don't hurt her!" Sol continued as what sounded like chains clattered as he spoke. Makoto felt the grip on her hair loosen. It was her turn to strike now that the other woman's guard was down.

She opened her eyes and placed one hand under her for support while the other slammed into Aksuna's hand holding her by the hair. Letting her weight fall onto the hand placed on the ground, she twisted her hips and kicked her leg in a sweeping motion, taking Aksuna's feet out from under her. Letting the momentum carry her on in this circular motion, poised with her elbow to her hip, spinning like a break dancer, she kicked Aksuna in the chest as hard as she could before the woman hit the ground.

The tall dark haired woman went skidding across the concrete floor, coming to a rest at Koji's feet. Makoto stood quickly, and assessed the situation, hands up and ready to fight. Two against one wasn't throwing the odds in her favour. She didn't have any choice, if she wanted to save Sol, she needed to transform into Sailor Jupiter, here and now. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the transformation pen Luna had given her what seemed like so long ago.

"Jupiter Power Make Up!" She yelled as she held the pen high. Lighting traveled around her like photons of an atom travel around the nucleus. They gained intensity as the closed in around her, and crashing out away from her body leaving behind the green sailor uniform of Sailor Jupiter. All three stared at her with shocked looks on their faces.

Koji was the first to recover, shaking his head and snarling at the woman still lying on the floor at his feet. "Take care of her, I'll deal with him." Aksuna stood and Sailor Jupiter was ready to fight her, but was distracted by the figure of Koji who grabbed Sol by the throat and picked him up off his feet effortlessly. Black smoke rose from around his fingers, but he didn't seem to notice. Sailor Jupiter felt panic rising in her chest, she was too far away to do anything. If she used Sparkling Wide Pressure she might hit Sol and possibly kill him. With his other hand Koji extended his fingers straight and placed them over Sol's heart, like an arrow about to pierce its target.

I need more speed! I need to be faster! I need to become like the lighting! Sailor Jupiter surged forward as time didn't just slow down, but seemed to stop entirely. Tendrils of electricity sprang off of her arms and legs as she started forward. Running by Aksuna, the woman hadn`t taken her eyes off of where Sailor Jupiter had stood before, completely motionless. Sailor Jupiter was beside Aksuna now, but the other woman didn`t notice. She reached out to where Sol was being held, her hand becoming engulfed in the swirling electricity that poured from her. It traveled up her arm and to her shoulder, spreading quickly over her entire body. With a loud crash like thunder, she was suddenly in front of Sol who was very slowly falling back to the ground. Turning her head to see where Koji had gone, she was shocked to see him flying through the air like he had been hit by a train, but in slow motion. It donned on her finally that she was moving with incredible speed, moving like lightning.

Sailor Jupiter acted quickly, using her hand like an axe against the chains that held him in place. As her hand swept down, it became wrapped in lighting just like before and chopped through the chains effortlessly. Catching him with her arms under his before he hit the ground, she looked towards the door they had come from. We need to get out now. The lighting began to spread over her body again, covering Sol like he was a part of her. Once she was completely covered again, she crashed out the door and through the offices, blasting through the front windows like an explosion. She felt a huge wave of relief pass over her as they come back under the sun together and this enormous power left her just as quickly as she had gained it. They both came down hard into the pavement, rolling over each other as the tumbled down the empty street.

"Everyone, I have Sol with me, hurry to this location!" Sailor Jupiter screamed into her wrist communicator as she depressed the button that sent out a distress call to the others. Sol was on top of her and she struggled to sit up against his dead weight. He must be unconscious right now. Maybe he'll forget what he just saw. She hoped that he would forgive her for not being honest about whom she really was, but even if he didn't, at least he would still be alive. For the time being. I can't outrun those two with him knocked out like this. Hurry everyone, we need you.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but it is summer after all! Again, hope you like what you're reading, and yes I did watch the new Sailor Moon Crystal. I thought it was super wicked awesome and can't wait for the next episode to come out. Feel free to tell me what you think, even if you think it sucks.