Chapter 17

The large menacing looking man closed the distance between Rei and Ami with a wicked grin on his face. He had finished cracking his knuckles and now had his hands balled into fists at his sides, ready to strike if they fought back. The rest of the group stood their ground, confident the girls wouldn't try anything. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Rei turned her attention to Ami, ignoring him. "We don't have any other choice. We need to transform and fight."Rei waited for her to agree or even respond but all she did was narrow her eyes. She's thinking of a way out. Maybe I should buy her some time here.

Rei pulled her transformation pen out and held it high. She opened her mouth to yell out the incantation, but Ami's hand on her own stopped her. Rei furrowed her brow and stared at the concerned face of her friend. "What are you doing Ami-chan? We need to-"

"We can't transform here. Look at all the people watching now." Rei quickly scanned the area, and Ami was right. Small groups of people were standing around, watching and waiting to see what would happen. "I have an idea Rei-chan, but the timing needs to be perfect. I may need you to cause another distraction and take some attention off of me for a few seconds." Rei had to lean in close as the other girl whispered, not wanting to be heard. The man in front of them grunted, not impressed that he was being ignored. Rei turned her attention to him and held her hand up to her ear, turning her head sideways as she mocked him.

"Pardon me? I couldn't hear you. I have a problem listening to what losers have to say." Right after the words were out of her mouth Ami sat down and pulled her knees up close to her chin, hugging her legs. Rei looked at her friend in disbelief. She gave her head a shake and reminded herself that she had a plan. The man in front her went from searing rage to bold confidence as the scene unfolded in front of him.

"You're friend is smart. Just give up and you won't get hurt." He narrowed his eyes at Rei, flashing teeth in a smile that never touched his eyes. "I promise." He softly chuckled. The entire circle of people began to move in towards them. Rei felt panic grip her, squeezing the air out of her lungs. She turned to look down at Ami who had quietly slipped the small hand held computer out of her bag and her fingers worked furiously over the controls. Ami peeked a quick glance up at her dark haired friend and recognized the situation. In an almost inaudible whisper Rei heard "Stall them just a few more seconds." Her mind worked desperately to think of something, anything to give Ami the time she needed to... What is she going to do? If only I could fight them like I did against Koji. With that thought, it was like a light went off inside Rei's head. The panic subsiding, she held her hand out, palm facing the approaching crowd.

"Hold on a second" she barked, now full of confidence. "You all saw what we did to Koji right?" Everyone paused and looked around nervously, not expecting this. "Isn't he your leader? Well guess what, we can do that to you too! Now back up before I lose my temper or I swear-"Ami suddenly turned around and covered her ears as loud cracking noises came from the Crystal Palace. Rei watched in stunned disbelief as a large spire grew from the side of the Palace they faced, coming toward them quickly. Everyone around them turned their attention, unsure of what was happening. Rei was about to ask Ami what she had done when the long protrusion began to glow a deep red, like the element of a stove left on for too long. A sudden and violent explosion blinded and deafened Rei, she was completely disorientated. The shockwave from the blast knocked the wind out of her and she struggled to breath. She was about to drop to her knees and try and regain some composure when she felt a hand grab hers and give two quick squeezes of encouragement. Right away she knew it was Ami, the only one who hadn't been looking towards the palace, making her the only one able to move at the moment.

Her ears rang as the other girl pulled her along, stumbling every now and then, but Ami was right by her side, quickly righting her from falling on her face. Rei's head was spinning from a lack of oxygen and having her hearing disabled threw her balance off, but she knew they had to push forward. The after image of the explosion was burned into her vision and all Rei could do was blink continuously, hoping it would recover her eyesight quicker.

The tightness in her chest began to relax as her eyesight got a little better. She felt Ami turn her once more and could tell they were somewhere dark now. Rei felt Ami's presence close to hers as Ami began to say something into her ear, but the only words Rei caught were 'away' and 'sit'. Feeling a wall at her back she let herself slide down and come to a sitting position. What had Ami done to the Palace? Was the whole thing destroyed now? All Rei could do was wait until her other senses came back and she felt another reassuring squeeze from her reliable friend.

-/-*-\-

"I told you already, I can't just channel my emotions like you can." Sol complained to Mamoru, who scoffed at what he said. The two young men breathed heavily in the afternoon sun. Sol was wearing a light t-shirt that clung to him from the sweat pouring off his body with lose fitting pants. Mamoru was wearing similar garb that also stuck to his body. Both needed to be able to move freely as they trained together. Well more like him training me, I doubt he's learning anything new here. The small clearing of trees where they came to practice every day was starting to show signs of wear, the grass was no longer a lush green, but a dying brown. "Explain it to me one more time." He continued.

Mamoru inhaled slowly and let the breath out. "First I picture an empty lake. It's empty because I'm going to fill it with my emotions. I think of how much I care for Usako and I let the water pour into it. Once it's full the water can be gentle and graceful, but if I need it too, I can turn the water and make it violent and crushing. But this all stems from my love for Usako. You need to learn to fight with love in the battlefield Sol." He had explained it to him like this many times already, but it didn't make sense to Sol. The water part he did understand, he was learning about grace and fluidity, but the metaphor made no sense to him. An empty lake is just a depression in the ground; the water makes it a lake. Maybe I'm being too literal. "Try and find what works for you Sol." He looked across to the taller man. There wasn't any frustration in the eyes that looked back at him.

Sol closed his eyes and tried picturing an 'empty' lake, but quickly shook his head at the idea. He calmed his breathing and tried again. In his mind there was only blackness. He let his thoughts drift, from what happened at the palace, to feeling more alive than he ever had on that fateful day. He saw his mothers smiling face before him and let the memories of her kindness wash over him. He remembered a time when he was playing a card game with his mom and dad. He waited for the hunting images of what his father had become to flash before his mind's eye, but they never came. Instead the scene played out in his head.

Sol held a pair of kings, a good poker hand in five card flop. He looked from his mom to his dad, trying to get any kind of read but his mom just smiled, exchanging glances with the two of them. His father had a fake cigar hanging out of his mouth, something he had bought years ago and only used when they played cards.

"I see your candy bar and raise you five jelly beans." Tom said with the cigar clenched in his teeth. His mom threw her cards down and sighed "Too rich for my blood dear."

"Aha" Tom chuckled softly. "What'll it be Aherne" Sol knew he meant business when he only called him by their last name. "Call or fold." Sol fingered the cards nervously. He wanted the large pile of candy in front of him, but didn't want to risk anything else in case his dad had the better hand. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"I'll call." He replied as he slid five jelly beans from his pile into the pot. "Watch out honey, I think our little card shark might have something." Shannon chortled as she moved to warp her arms around her husband. She took a quick glance at his cards and Sol watched as her eyes went wide "Not a bad hand dear."

"Let's see what you got Aherne." Tom mumbled in a bad mobster accent. Sol put his cards down showing his kings with a queen for a kicker. He looked over at his father anxiously, heart pounding in his chest. The large smile that had been plastered on his face slowly melted away. "Looks like you got me this time Aherne." He grimaced as he threw his cards face down in defeat. Sol eagerly reached out for the large pile of edible goods as the phone began to ring. "That'll probably be work" His father grimaced again.

"I'll start dinner now." Shannon said to no one in particular. They both left the table and Sol continued to haul in his winnings. I wonder what dad had. He peeked down the hall and his father had his back turned as he chatted away on the phone. Sol quickly reached out and grabbed the cards. His eyes went wide. Three tens and two jacks. His dad had a full house. He let me win. Why did he let me win?

His memories of that day seemed to awaken something within him. Sol opened his eyes and everything seemed brighter and clearer, like the day he had first been given his powers. He could smell the grass underneath his feet and taste the salt in the air from the nearby ocean. He could hear people's conversations over the large retaining wall of Hikawa Shrine; even hear their footsteps as they walked by. Is this what being alive truly feels like? He was about to draw his katana and really challenge Mamoru when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs of the shrine. They're coming up fast too!

Mamoru had heard the same thing and they both sprung into action, expecting the worst. The two burst from the tree line and onto the path weapons ready to strike, but were greeted by Makoto who was carrying an injured Minako. Makoto was breathing heavily, her brown hair dripping with sweat as it clung to her face. Minako looked exhausted, like she could barely hang on to the taller girls back. At the sight Mamoru and Sol sprung into a different kind of action. Mamoru helped Minako off of Makoto's back while Sol offered a shoulder to lean on. She nearly collapsed into his arms as her legs gave out.

"What happened to two?" Mamoru asked much calmer than Sol would have expected him too. Makoto was still gasping for air so they turned their attention to Minako who was favouring one leg heavily.

"We were ambushed by a Forsaken. It was some kind of lizard thing and it nearly killed us both. Mako-chan carried me all the way back here. I would have been killed by an angry mob of people if it weren't for her. At least I would make a beautiful corpse." The blonde girl through her head back and laughed nervously, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Where's Usagi-chan?" Almost like she could sense someone was inquiring about her, Usagi opened a door from inside the shrine and stepped out. Upon noticing her friends were back, she waved enthusiastically as she called out their names. The closer she got to them, however, the grimmer her features turned.

Minako went into better detail of how the fight played out once Usagi was beside them. It seemed to Sol that the Forsaken were beginning to take drastic measures now. What they needed was to strike back. After Minako was done filling them all in, Makoto threw her fist into her opposite hand in frustration. "I didn't even grab the obi I had picked out for Sol. Maybe if I go back it'll be there in the rubble somewhere."

Minako put her hand on Makoto's shoulder as she reached under her shirt and pulled out a small plastic bag, smiling slyly at her friend. "I grabbed this while you were taking a nap" she teased. Makoto's face went from disappointment to tired happiness instantly. "I know how much it meant that you give this to Sol, so I made sure to grab it when I saw it. Almost cost me my life though." Tears began to fill Makoto's big green eyes as she threw her arms around her friend.

"I knew there was a reason I decided to save you back there" she teased right back, grabbing the bag from Minako and handing it to Sol. "I hope you like it, and if not... Well" she gave Minako a sideways glance as the two girls giggled quietly. Sol exchanged a confused glance with Mamoru who only shrugged his shoulders. Shaking his head Sol reached into the small plastic bag and immediately felt soft cloth against his hand. He pulled it out carefully and a long white rose covered sash unrolled before him. The intricacies of the needle work were marvelous; it was like he was actually looking at real roses. The red on white contrast only added to the effect. In a word, the obi was beautiful.

"Thank you Makoto-chan, I'll wear this with pride." He was against having one before, but after seeing this, he was glad he hadn't objected further. Usagi beamed brightly as she examined the obi closely, eyes sparkling. "It matches your earring Mako-chan!" She squealed in delight. "Let's get this on you so you can try it out." Usagi giggled. The two girls worked together as they wrapped the smooth fabric around his waist, tying it off at the back. When they were finished Sol slid the sheathed blade into place and adjusted until he found a comfortable spot against his hip. That should be easier than pulling it out off of my back.

As the girls were admiring how good it looked it seemed they all heard another set of approaching footsteps at the same time. Everyone turned to see what looked like Ami leading Rei by the hand slowly up the steps. Sol noticed immediately that Rei was blinking quickly and it seemed she couldn`t focus on anything far away. Everyone waited for them to come up the steps as neither was in any danger or had been harmed. Once they were close Ami began to fill them in on what happened.

"Rei-chan is having a hard time hearing anything right now." Upon finding this out, everyone turned their attention to Rei, like they could somehow see she couldn't hear.

"I'm having a hard time hearing anything, what did Ami say?" The dark haired girl yelled out. Sol couldn't help but feel amused and had to hide his smile behind his hand or the quick tempered girl might get upset.

"She keeps saying all she can hear right now is a ringing noise." Ami informed them.

"All I can hear is a ringing noise." Rei echoed again, much louder than was necessary. Sol couldn't contain his laughter. He had to face away from them as his shoulders shook while he tried his best not to lose complete control. Ami told them the rest of what happened, informing them all how the Palace was under guard right now and how she used the Palace to create a diversion. When she was done it was Minako who spoke first.

"That's amazing" she remarked to no one in particular. "To single out and overload a portion of the Palace. That could be used to our advantage in the future if Koji really is after the Palace." Sol looked at her and pondered but it was Mamoru who replied.

"I think having all those Forsaken as guards is proof that Koji really is targeting the Palace. Although he won't be able to do anything while the shield is up." Everyone nodded in agreement, Sol being put at ease by what he said.

"Everyone!" They all turned towards the stairs to see Luna and Artemis hurrying towards them. "Koji is on the move!" Artemis continued. "We overheard some Forsaken say that Koji is about to change the world and make it in his image!" The panic in his voice was crystal clear. Ami bent down and stroked his head and back softly.

"Don't worry Artemis, he can't get in as long as the shield is active, and you can only deactivate from the inside, or with this" she held up her small hand held device. The blank screen reflected their faces back at them, Ami smiling and Artemis full of worry. Both cats relaxed just as the screen lit up and began emitting a high pitched alarm. Sol watched as Ami quickly began pressing buttons and executing commands, her features turning graver the further she went.

"What's wrong Ami-chan?" Usagi asked softly. Ami began to shake her head slowly, eyes wide with what Sol thought was fear. These girls don't fear anything.

"He's breaking it down." Ami whispered, still shaking her head. Sol looked at the other girls around him and saw they too were uneasy. No one was saying anything so Sol asked the obvious question.

"Breaking what down?"

"The shield around the Palace. Koji is destroying it. The Palace is sending me a warning, the shield is down to 85% and dropping quickly."

"How?" Makoto blurted out. Ami shook her head again "I don't know." Mamoru leaned down and took the small device from her before addressing everyone.

"The how doesn't matter right now. What matters is he is attacking us. We need to hurry over there and stop him. I believe he's going to use the Palace to plunge the world into darkness." He turned to Rei who seemed to be able to hear again "I think your prophecy is coming true now. We have to stop them, no matter the cost."

A/N: I got stuck on this chapter, sorry everyone. I feel like this chapter isn't very good, but you are your own worst critic right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.