Hi, guys! I'm so sorry for not updating earlier. Here's the next chapter of Unexpected! I hope you enjoy it!
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Nightmares plagued Usagi's dreams. She tossed and turned in her sleep, hitting the not too far away Tuxedo Kamen. After the fifth kick to his ribs, the dark haired man could bare it no longer. He sat up and glared at the blonde tossing form. "Usagi," he said, annoyance laced his voice.
"No!" the girl, still sleeping screamed. Tears ran down her face.
The masked man grabbed her flailing arms. "Usagi!" he shook her.
"Endymion!" she cried.
"Usagi!" he called her name over her cries. "Wake up. You're dreaming!"
The flailing stopped. She opened her eyes and sat up. Tuxedo Kamen let go of her arms and sat beside her silently as she wiped away her tears. The early sunlight peeking between the trees allow him to see that her face was flush from crying and she was still shaking from her horrible dream.
Usagi broke the silence. "I'm sorry," she said between sniffled. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
"Don't worry about it," Tuxedo Kamen mumbled. He waited a few seconds before continuing. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Usagi stayed silent. She brought her knees to her chest and buried her face in her knees. Kamen could hear her faint sniffles. "You know," he said. "I used to have nightmares too. It was pretty bad. The same dream every night. It was so bad that I used to hate to sleep. Is that how you feel, Usa?"
Usagi turned her head to face him and nodded. "Every night," she said softly. "It starts out really good but it ends the same way. I usually set my alarm for the middle of the night so I only have to see the good part."
"But there are no alarms here," Tuxedo Kamen finished, nodding his head in understanding. "Do you want to tell me what your dream was about? Was it about the Moon Kingdom? You said my name."
Usagi shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it. I try not to think about it in the daytime."
He nodded again. "Okay. Well, if you ever want to talk, I'm here."
Usagi smiled softly. "Thanks. That means a lot." She glanced at the rising sun. "We should go."
"Without breakfast?" Tuxedo Kamen asked, changing the subject with a raise of his eyebrows. He stood and held out his hand for Usagi to take.
She placed her small hand in his and he pulled her to her face. "Don't worry," she said teasing, also desperate to get away from the subject of her nightmare as well. "I'm expecting you to buy a very big lunch when we get to Nagoya.
She grinned and skipped ahead cheerfully. Still, the vision of her nightmare plagued her mind. It was more vivid than usual. She could not shake the thought of a sword going through Mamoru's body, the crimson blood dripping down the blade. She desperately wanted to cry and throw herself in his arms as he soothed and reassured her that everything was okay now. That they were both alive and together. Yet, she couldn't. This is what Mamoru suffered through for ten years, day and night. She could not and would not bring up the horrible memories again and expect him to comfort her. Her selfishness caused him pain before, she reminded herself, thinking of the conversation they had in Luna's and Artemis's living room. She would not be selfish again.
"Wait for me!" Tuxedo Kamen ran to catch up.
"Keep up, silly!" Usagi said, sticking out her tongue.
The two walked at a leisurely pace with the sound of youma roars echoing in the distance. They had one goal in mind. Nagoya. Usagi's stomach growled.
Tuxedo Kamen raised an eyebrow, his curious eyes sparkled behind his mask. "I though you weren't hungry."
"I never said that," Usagi said with a blink. "I said that I'm expecting a big lunch." Youma roared echoed through the dense forest again, this time with them sounding a lot closer.
"They're coming," Tuxedo Kamen stiffened. He wrapped his arms around Usagi's waist and pulled her close. He jumped and they landed in the branches above. "Stay quiet." Usagi nodded.
From the view given to them by the tree branch, they watched three youma walk below, growling and roaring the entire time.
Usagi's stomach growled again. Tuxedo Kamen shot her a look. "Quiet," he mouthed.
"It's not my fault!" she mouthed back.
It growled again, this time just loud enough to be heard by one of the youma's sensitive ears. The youma stopped and looked around. Usagi held her breath. She felt Tuxedo Kamen tense behind her. Yet, their attempt to be stealthy was not communicated to Usagi's persistent stomach. It growled again.
The youma looked up. Its eyes widened and it let out a roar to notify its teammates that had walked ahead. They ran back immediately. Usagi and Tuxedo Kamen could only watch as the youma explained what it saw and pointed towards them.
"What are we going to do?" Usagi whimpered.
"Don't worry," Tuxedo Kamen said back. "That species of youma can't climb very well. As long as we're up here, we're safe."
The youma tried to climb and fell only two seconds later. That act and Mamoru's words reassured her. She relaxed. They were safe.
The youma let out another roars and grabbed either side of the tree with its claws. It shook the tree violently, forcing the two that sat there to hold on for their life.
"Mamoru!" Usagi cried. "W-what are we going to do?"
"Hold on to me," Tuxedo Kamen commanded. Usagi nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. The hero held her bridal style, stood carefully against the shaking and jumped to the next tree. Tuxedo Kamen landed and teetered but was able to keep his balance.
The youma responded immediately by moving to the new tree and shaking it like the others. Leaves fell around them and Usagi felt that soon, she and the hero that was holding her would join them. Tuxedo Kamen jumped to another tree.
"We have to fight them!" Usagi said.
Tuxedo Kamen shook his head. "If they find out who you are, they'll kill you without a second thought."
The youma moved to the tree and began to shake. "They're going to kill us anyway!" Usagi argued. "You can't keep jumping forever!"
"Let me handle this, Usagi," Tuxedo Kamen snapped. He jumped to another tree, but this time, he did not stop. He dashed from tree to tree with the blonde in his arms. The youma roared and chased after him. He stopped and turned, pointing one hand in their direction. "Tuxedo the Smoking Bomber," he yelled the attack. He did not wait to see if the attack succeeded or not. Usagi was his main priority. He had to make sure she was safe.
He continued to jump until he could no longer hear the roars behind them. He sat Usagi onto a branch and sat himself to catch his breath. Save Tuxedo Kamen's heavy breathing, the two sat in silence. He was the first to breaking it. "I'm sorry for snapping at you."
Usagi shook her head. "You've been fighting those youma way longer than I have. You knew what was best."
Tuxedo Kamen opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the tree suddenly shaking. Usagi managed to hold on but the masked hero lost his balance. "No!" Usagi cried. Using her senshi reflexes, she managed to catch his arm with both hands.
The youma hit the tree and it shook again. Usagi felt herself falling and quickly grabbed the tree with one of her hands. She took a breath and wrapped her legs around the branch. She gripped him again with both hands and began to pull him up.
Her attempts were in vain. Every time she pulled him upwards an inch, the youma below would hit the tree and gravity would play its dirty game, yanking him and her upper body towards their assailants. Her face turned red with effort. She could feel him slipping from her grip and re-adjusted.
"Let me go, Usagi," he told her.
Usagi flashed confused eyes. "Are you insane?"
"I can fight them!"
Usagi pursed her lips. In her nightmare, he said those said words when the kingdom was being attacked. That reaffirmed her will. She gripped him tighter. "If we fall, we're going to fall together." She pulled and like the times before, the youma hit the tree and forced her to start over.
Usagi heard a snap nearby. She looked at the branch and saw that the intersection where the tree and the branch met was getting extremely weak. Her eyes widened. "The branch is giving way!" Usagi cried. "We have to get to another branch!"
The words proved to be encouragement for the youma to continue. It hit the tree again, this time harder than it did before. The branch let out an audible snap again. The blonde gulped. If the tree was hit one more time, she knew the branch would fall and with it take the couple too.
"I'm going to let go!" Usagi announced.
Tuxedo Kamen nodded. "Do it!"
She released the branch and let herself fall. She let out a scream and closed her eyes. The two landed in the middle of a circle formed by the youma. "Stupid!" Tuxedo Kamen stood and helped Usagi to her feet. "You were supposed to let me go!"
"If we fall," she repeated, "we're going to fall together."
The youma closed in. Tuxedo Kamen responded immediately. He pushed Usagi behind him and pulled out three roses. "We don't want any trouble," he tried to make peace but raised the roses just in case.
The middle youma roared and lifted its sharp claw to strike. Tuxedo Kamen threw the roses. The youma wailed in pain. The other two youma rushed to its aid, throwing punches and scratches.
"Tuxedo Kamen!" Usagi cried.
With Usagi's panicked cries fueling him, Tuxedo Kamen fought on. He kicked one of the youma back to fight one of them at a time. The youma and the hero fought hand to hand until the youma's friend kicked him in the side. He went flying into a tree.
"No!" Usagi cried. The youma turned to her. She took a step back but her escape efforts were foiled by the tree behind her. The monsters let out growls. Faced with no other options, she gripped the brooch that hid in her back pocket. "Moon Prism Po—."
Before the transformation could take place, a youma went flying, letting out a pained roar along the way. The other two panicked, looking around for the sudden attacker.
Tuxedo Kamen still laid by the tree. He sat up, gripping his pain-filled side. From where he sat, he watched as the second youma flipped backwards and landed awkwardly on its neck. It fell limp and did not make a sound.
Before Usagi could respond, the third youma doubled over as if someone punched it in the stomach. She saw it but could not believe it when the youma was picked up off the ground by an invisible force and thrown harshly into a tree's trunk.
Out of harm's way, Usagi was able to process what just happened. "M-Mamoru? Was that you?"
"No," a disembodied deep voice said. "It was me." There was a series of beeps. A relatively tall man, only an inch shorter than Mamoru, with dark blonde hair stood before Usagi. He wore a well fitting jumpsuit that exposed his muscles and a highly advanced watch on his large wrist. He wore a toothy grin. "Hey, Usagi."
Usagi frowned. "D-do I know you?"
Tuxedo Kamen stood slowly, keeping a hand on his injured side. He chuckled despite the pain and limped over to the other two. "What, Usagi? You don't recognize your own brother?"
Usagi's eyes widened. "No way," she breathed. "Shingo? You got so tall! And buff!"
Shingo chuckled and shrugged. "That's what happens when you fight intergalactic aliens in your sister's place for ten years. Why didn't you ever tell me you were Sailor Moon? I could have really impressed people at school."
"And that's exactly why I didn't tell you," Usagi stuck her tongue out. "You can't keep a secret to save your life!"
"Never mind that," Tuxedo Kamen interrupted. "Shingo, how did you know that we were out here?"
"And," Usagi added. "How did you get invisible?"
"To the first question," he said, kicking one of the youma bodies to make sure that it was truly dead, "Rei told me that you two were on your way a while ago. Since then, I've had people watch the satellite for any sign of you two. As for the second question," he pointed to his watch, "Ami gave me this watch and among its feature is an invisibility cloak of sorts. She made them for most of the senshi operatives. When she found out you were here, she went right to work on a special one for you." He pulled a small pink, moon-shaped watch out of his pocket. "Try it on."
She accepted the watch and slipped it on her hand. When it took its place on her wrist, the face grew larger and a hologram of Sailor Mercury appeared. The older Sailor Mercury had the same soft features as her fourteen-year-old self but sported mid-back length hair that was tied in a low ponytail. The halographic version of Mercury smiled her soft smile. "Hello, Usagi. It is great to have you back," the recorded message played. "If Mamoru is thinking what I am thinking, he does not want you to transform in order to keep your return under wraps. That is where this watch will come in.
"My skills with computers have improved a lot since I last saw you. With them and Luna's magic, I have programmed this watch to give you the power of invisibility, speed, and the ability to access a bit of your magic without transforming. Hopefully this will be enough to defeat any youma that stand in your way." The hologram disappeared and the face returned to its smaller state.
Usagi smiled. "Thanks, Ami," she whispered.
"Come on," Shingo threw one of Mamoru's arm around his neck and helped the masked man walk. "We're not too far from Nagoya."
Shingo had guided them through a crumpling building and onto an elevator. The ruined world of the surface disappeared behind silver doors. When they opened again, a bustling world appeared. Shingo guided them through the crowds and into the heart of the city: The Southern Resistance Headquarters.
The Southern Resistance Headquarters had a set up similar to the Eastern one in Tokyo. The workers hurried along to different places, ignoring the newcomers. Shingo guided them to an electronically guarded door. He place his hand on the scanner and typed his name with his free hand. The door opened and Shingo and Mamoru stepped through, Usagi following close behind.
The door closed quickly behind them, not allowing anyone to even catch a glimpse of what was inside. Usagi looked around with a look of amazement on her face. The room was a lab of sorts. Several monitors flashed on and off with different formulas, numbers, and words. Chemicals, all various colors, scattered three counters that sat in the middle of the room all in different shaped flasks.
A small blue haired girl stared in one of the flasks, unaware of her newly arriving guest. Beside her was a slightly tall woman, sporting bright blonde hair. She glanced up and grinned. "Ami," she nudged the woman beside her. "Look who's here."
Ami's head shot up and she let out a happy laugh. She abandoned her work and ran to the door. She grabbed her long-lost friend in a tight hug. "It's you," she whispered. "After all these years."
Usagi returned the hug. "Sorry for the disappearing act," she said with a shrug. "I didn't mean to."
Tuxedo Kamen clear his throat. "As touching as this reunion is, I could really use someone's help over here."
"Oh, hush, Mamoru," the blonde, Usagi recognized her as Minako, said with a playful swat. "It's been ten years since we've seen our princess. Let us have our moment. Your leg can wait."
Tuxedo Kamen scowled and released himself from Shingo's support. He limped over to a chair and plopped into it. He released his transformation. "Ow," he said loudly so the girls could hear. "The pain. I-I think I see the light!"
"Maybe you should check on him," Usagi said to Ami. "He was hit pretty hard."
"Mamoru is fine," Minako said with a shrug. "He's been through worse than that many times before." Despite what she said, though, the two walked over to the injured hero and Ami went to work.
She observed the injury and made sure he could move it properly. "It's a little swollen," she reported. "Just some ice should be enough."
"It's all Usagi's fault," Mamoru muttered.
"My fault?" Usagi repeated with disbelief. "How is it my fault?"
"If you just listened for once in your life and just stayed in the tree, I would have had an easier time defeating the youma."
"The branch was breaking," Usagi argued. "I would have fallen anyway. I stop a branch from crushing us!"
"That's enough, guys," Shingo interjected. "You're both safe. That's what counts."
Usagi crossed her arms and let out a heavy breath. She couldn't believe Mamoru was trying to pin his injury on her! How was she to blame when he was the one that banned her from transforming?
"Shabon Spray Freezing!" Ami put a layer of ice on the injury and pulled his pant leg back down. "Other than melting water slowly streaming down your leg, you'll be okay."
"Which means we can focus on the issue at hand," Minako said. "Follow me." She stepped to the door, pressed her hand onto the pad and typed her name. The door opened and she led them through the halls of the building.
"As I'm sure you saw in the last few days, Usagi," she said as she walked, "a lot has changed since you left. When Beryl attacked and we got our memories back, we did everything in our power to resurrect the Silver Crystal. We knew that you were the only one that could use it, but it was our only hope."
"Did you get the crystal?" Usagi asked.
"No," Minako said with a sigh. "But we came close to imitating its power. We thought it would be just enough power to defeat Beryl."
"Why didn't you use it?" she asked.
"It has a minor setback," Minako said. "While it is a great alternative to the Silver Crystal," she stopped at another door and typed in a code into a keyword, "it still need the power of the moon to activate it. Your power." The door opened and Minako stepped through it.
The others followed closely. She led them to the middle of the room where two people wearing lab coat stood. They stood in front of a monitor and copied numbers down onto a monitor. She between them and typed on a computer keyword. The monitors shut off and turned the wall began to turn. It fully turned to reveal a small box with a small stone in it.
She opened the box and brought the stone out. "Do you have your brooch?"
Usagi nodded and showed the brooch to her friend. Minako put the stone to the brooch, it flashed, and the brooch transformed. Minako smiled and handed the brooch back to Usagi. "With a new brooch and the watch Ami gave you, you should be able to transform without Beryl detecting you."
"Thank you," Usagi exclaimed. "You don't know how much I missed the power to transform!"
"I asked you to go two days with transforming," Mamoru said.
"And that was two days too many!"
Minako chuckled. "All you have to do is press the button on the side of your watch and say 'Moon Crystal Power'."
Usagi nodded. "Okay."
"But remember," Ami said, "Beryl may not be able to detect you but her youma can still see you and report a Sailor Moon sighting. That's what your watch is for. Don't forget to use it."
A far-off explosion shook the building. Shingo frowned. "What was that?"
Screams could be heard. The door slid open and a small girl, she looked about fifteen years old, rushed through. "Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury!" she cried. "Youma are attacking the building! They're holding hostages! There has to be hundreds of them! You have to stop them."
Minako and Ami exchanged looks and looked to Usagi. "How convenient," Minako said, "Well, Usa? Are you ready for Sailor Moon's big return?"
Usagi pressed the button on her watch. "Moon Crystal Power! Make up!"
And that's the chapter! Did you love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review! I love hearing from you guys! Do you agree with Usagi or Mamoru? Was his injury Usagi fault? Tell me what you think in a review!
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Thanks so much for reading!
~Koneko~