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Chapter Thirteen

"One should . . . be able to see things as hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."

― F. Scott Fitzgerald

With few other options, they made their way back to the bike as quickly and silently as possible, taking a completely different route in hopes of avoiding any more attention. Usagi could just see the 'Wanted' posters with their names on them being placed all over town.

Mamoru grabbed her hand, rubbing small circles into the back of it. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged, the two of them walking side by side for once instead of him pulling her along. "If they don't want to join, then we will just do it without them. I won't force anyone to help me, and if they are going to be that selfish, then I don't want their help."

"Usagi, they are mighty. All the outer Senshi are."

"Doesn't matter. Neptune and Uranus have a problem with my friends. People who are risking their lives for the sake of the world. If they don't see the value in those people, then how can they value the world as I do?"

He squeezed her hand, catching her attention and pulling her gaze from the path ahead of them. "No one values others the way you do, Usa. Part of the power of that heart of yours."

Pulling them to a stop, he jerked them into a dark corner of a building. A few Youma passed by and searched. After a few tense seconds, they passed by, none the wiser. Mamoru had pressed her into the building just like he had when they were next to the underground river while the air raid went on forever above them. Ever since they had met up again, people kept saying things; little hints and clues about who Mamoru was. But Usagi still had no idea.

"I probably should have asked this a long time ago." Mamoru's head snapped back to Usagi, the Youma fading in the distance, and he still stood over her. "But… who are you?"

He stiffened, but then a smirk covered his discomfort. "You know who I am."

"Do I? I thought I did. But in reality, I never knew, did I?"

Standing straight, he took her hand in his again, pulling her from the wall. "I'm… your friend."

Mamoru said friend, but it sounded painful for him even to admit it the way he said it. Usagi wasn't sure if he struggled to give her even that title or the title itself, but it caused her heart to twist in pain.

The dim light of the hazy day hit them again, the bike in their sights still somehow where they left it. Usagi was behind him now, letting herself be pulled again as she let all that she had seen and heard from Mamoru wash over her. Swimming in her facts, Usagi desperately tried to put the pieces together. But it was as if she was missing too many for the picture to match the box, her puzzle coming up short of a clear image.

Her musings had her ram into Mamoru's back when he stopped suddenly. Her nose thoroughly squished; she rolled it around in her fingers to rid the sting and looked up.

Surrounding their bike now stood ten Youma, all big and all powerful. Usagi's hand in Mamoru's, she knew he had not recovered from their last fight. If he were to take on all of them by himself, he would pass out or die. Or both.

This time, she pressed him back, standing in front of him and pushing him back. Usagi heard Mamoru's growl but ignored it even as he pulled on her. "Run, Usagi. Just run!"

She dropped her arms, turning and running back towards the dark alley they just left. But she soon stopped, turning again to find Mamoru in the spot she just left him. "Mamoru!"

He didn't even look at her, keeping his eyes on the Youma. "Just go. I'll hold them off."

"Not without you!"

"Get out of here!"

She ran back, joining his side again, and he pushed her back, still not looking at her. "You can't do this by yourself; you're too drained."

The Youma spotted them, turning from the bike and slowly making their way over -as if they had all the time in the world. "I can give you a head start, but only if you go now!"

Mamoru shoved her again, but Usagi held herself still, standing a few inches from him and staring at his face. "I'm not going to leave you here to die!"

"Focus on your mission. You don't need me."

It felt as if all the air had left her lungs; Mamoru was more than willing to die just to give her a head start. "Yes, I do."

He finally looked at her (his anger at her clear), softening after half a second. Then, before he could stop her or do anything about it, Usagi placed herself in front of him again. "Hey, losers!" Usagi ripped her hat off, letting her hair spill out before their greedy eyes; the Youma's mouths dropped and salivated on sight. "Catch me if you can!"

In her last act (before taking off down the road), Usagi bent down and knocked Mamoru's legs out from under him. Mamoru hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of him from the shock of it all, and she felt a twinge of regret.

Usagi pumped her legs as hard as she could, her heart hurting as it beat painfully in her chest while her lungs stung from all the effort. The small head start she had on the creatures was disappearing rapidly. Usagi's five years asleep had affected her speed more than she realized, feeling so slow as if her legs were still sleeping. When one grabbed a handful of her long locks, she regretted letting it loose. Her scalp screamed in protest as she was pulled back by her strands. A different Youma, tall and rocky like a cliff, grabbed her up, pressing her arms into her sides.

"Quick! Cuff her!"

"She doesn't have any powers!"

"Do you know that for sure? She was with Endymion!"

There was a cold pinching to her wrist, something getting clamped down on it in haste as soon as it was tight to her skin, pain irradiated through her. It was as if something was pushed back into her at such force; it knocked her insides around. A cry escaped her lips, and the Youma sneered, the one who suggested the 'cuff' grinning from ear to ear.

"See, I told you. This one has powers too, just like her mate."

A roar (barely sounding human) came from behind, and the Youma that held her turned to the sound. She twisted in its hold just in time to see Mamoru jump into the rabble, his fist connecting with one of the larger Youma as he leaped to an impossible height.

"Usagi! That is not what I meant when I said run, and you KNOW IT!"

Mamoru was furious, but so was Usagi. "You were supposed to run the other way, Baka!"

Using just his fist, he made his way to stand in front of her, another Youma recovering and grabbing him from behind before Mamoru could reach her. All while she could do nothing but watch. They were going to get drained, and they were going to have to watch.

Mamoru grunted loudly, a 'cuff' getting placed on him as well before he could pull free of the Youma. Still fighting, he didn't even try to use his gifts, pounding his fist into whatever flesh he could meet it with. She struggled against the hold on her, but a sharp pain came to the back of her neck, causing everything to go black. In her mind, she dreamed of Mamoru, his voice growling as he cursed and promised painful deaths to those who hurt her.

oOo

Usagi's head was throbbing, making her wish to remain in blissful, unaware, unconsciousness. But, even with the pain, a thought came to her that had her flinging her eyes open.

Mamoru.

The light was dim, and the air was stale. However, Usagi's eyes still focused and found a slumped Mamoru right across from her. She crawled, the dirt on the cold floor attaching itself to her palms in seconds. Then, climbing over his legs that stretched out before him, she grabbed his face in her hands. A large bruise was swelling on his forehead, just at his hairline. Other than that, she saw nothing wrong with him.

"Mamoru.." She was whispering, in part to be gentle on him but also because she had no clue who was listening or watching. "Mamoru, wake up."

He groaned, a good sign in her book, and Usagi was right because his eyes fluttered open soon after. She could tell he wasn't entirely 'with it' yet because he placed his hands over hers and stroked them down her arms. "Usako…" Her name left his lips, and he snapped to attention, his hands leaving her arms and going to her face, just as she held him. He was looking her over. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. Mamoru's tender care of her leaving her a bit speechless. That and the astounding confusion she felt. They weren't dead...were they?

Mamoru dropped his hold on her, and Usagi took in their surroundings. Dark and dingy, the only thing that really registered in her mind were the bars that stood a few inches away from her. "Where are we?" Usagi asked loudly without concern of being heard.

"Usagi-chan? Is that you!"

Usagi left Mamoru on the floor, rushing over to the bars and pushing herself as far out of them as she could. "Mako?"

A sad giggle came from Makoto as her hand stuck out through the bars. "Got you too, huh? Some Senshi we turned out to be."

"Where are the others? Rei, Ami, Tark, Matsouri, Mary, and the rest?"

On cue, hands started appearing outside through their bars, many clumped together. The whole gang was here. "So much for our rescue." She flinched, looking over to Mamoru, who now stood next to her, anger in his voice. "Why didn't you RUN?!"

Keeping her hands on the bars, Usagi turned away from him and frowned. "If you have to ask, then you don't know me at all, Mamoru."

"And if you knew me, you would listen. But nooooo! You just do whatever the hell you want!"

He was pacing now, inside their tiny cell, so she decided just to ignore him. "Can anyone tell me where we are?"

"The Colosseum." Saori's voice lifted out of the darkness, her shoulder visible from where she rested against the bars.

"We are going to be put in a ring to fight to the death."

Usagi's eyes danced to the voice, finding Turner sitting across from them, forlorn and slumped against the wall. "What? What happened to you guys? How did you even get here?"

"We made it to town, only to get stopped by a group of Youma and human supporters. One of the humans recognized us and locked up our powers and our bodies before we could do or say anything." Ami was clearly upset by the whole thing, probably for the civilians involved and because Usagi was now with them.

"What do you mean, we have to fight to the death?"

Tark huffed, the sound echoing off the walls. "One of the lovely things Nephrite instilled in his new society was a gladiator-like form of...entertainment. Those they deem either worthless or would make a good show, they throw in here."

"So basically, those with powers and those who support those with said powers."

Her breath left her at Matsouri's words. So people were forced to fight for entertainment? "That's sick."

"Isn't it, though?" Mary was glib; gone were her sweet tones of hope.

She found herself focusing on Turner, her heart breaking for the sad, scared boy. Noticing then that someone was missing. "Wait...where's Itsua?"

Turner recoiled from the name, giving her her answer. Tears fell unchecked down her cheeks as they all grew silent, but only for a second as the loud clink of a door rattled the room. The shuffling of feet followed, everyone getting up save for Turner, who still sat like a sad lump on the floor. Mamoru shoved her hat back into her hands with no clue as to where he got it from and silently told her to put it back on. As quickly as she could, she twisted her hair around up into the cloth, down her ears, its warmth spread; she hadn't realized had gotten so cold.

Two Youma walked right up to their cage, and Mamoru pulled her back roughly from the bars. "Comfortable?"

It sneered at her, looking past Mamoru to Usagi, a common occurrence for some reason. "So, what is her story? She is far too pretty to be down here."

"I swear to God if one of you even tries to touch her…." Mamoru growled with so much malice; it made Usagi's heart skip a beat.

"Relax, lover boy. She can die with you. How romantic, huh?"

The two chuckled as if the tall, skinny one had made some great joke. When really, it was all just sick. "Are you going to make all of us fight?" They sneered at her in response. "But, these guys are just humans!"

"Yes, and they will make for fast, bloody, and entertaining kills, won't they?"

Mamoru hit the bars, his arms stretching out between them, but nothing happened save for the painful grunt that came from his attempt and the laugh the two Youma gave him. "You should know what that cuff does by now. But by all means, keep trying to use your powers; it will only hurt you in the process."

"They're dampeners, Mamoru, designed to contain our powers within ourselves. And if we try to use them with them on, it will just push it back."

The Youma turned to -what she assumed was- Ami's cage. "Oh, but they do far more than that now."

It pulled a small black stone from the front pocket of the coat it wore, the tall Youma smirking with glee. Its eyes trained on Usagi, it flicked its thumb across the stone in her direction. Fire scorched through her, Usagi's knees going weak as her veins burned up from the flames. She never experienced such pain, such fire, and that was after sparring with Mars a few times in training. It felt as if her skin was going to melt off, the pain so intense she could only whimper. Usagi felt Mamoru's arms around her, keeping her from the floor, but nothing else aside from the fire.

Mamoru growled at the beast. "Stop it! We get it!"

The pain disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Mamoru held her steady for a few more seconds before releasing Usagi to try and grab the creature that hurt her. He flicked his thumb over the crystal again, this time at Mamoru, who managed to hold himself up against the bars.

"I'm going… to kill you... you asshole."

Grabbing Mamoru, the Youma turned off the pain, and Usagi pulled him back from the bars. Panting, he still put her behind him, planning on taking any more hits of the crystal for her.

Usagi shuddered at the reminder of the pain, and the two started to walk away. Making it around Mamoru and out of his hold, Usagi pressed against the bars. "WAIT!" She was surprised when they actually stopped and looked back at her. "I can… buy their freedom."

They both laughed at Usagi hard until she reached into her pocket and pulled out the large pile of bobby pins Artemis had given her before leaving. They both grew silent, and one of them went for them. But she pulled back, not letting a single one slip.

"Where did you get all of that metal?"

No way she was going to tell them. Usagi was happy metal was just as scarce here and to the Youma as it was in Tokyo. "Do you want it or not?"

"What is to stop me from taking it off your corpse?"

She just laughed, faking some bravado and using it to give her time to think of a story. "Do you know who I am?" They both looked at her -shell shocked- and shook their heads 'no'. Good, then Usagi could say whatever she wanted. "Then you have no clue what I can do. If Nephrite finds out you killed me? Losing a real money maker? He will dust both of you without hesitation."

The shorter, rounder one looked like he was just going to come in the cell and take them from her. But the tall one stopped him. "We don't need the humans. But the specials? They're priceless."

Her skin crawled, the short one coming over to take her 'money' while Usagi struggled with the deal. At least it would get Turner out and the others. She and the Senshi could handle anything that was thrown at them, she was sure. Usagi still held back her hand when the Youma neared. "Free them first."

Usagi craned her neck, watching to make sure each cage was opened and emptied. The one just next to theirs opened, Toki walking past their bars. He reached out, fear clear on his tired face, grabbing her free hand for a moment.

"Help Turner," Mamoru stated gruffly.

Toki looked up at Mamoru, a thousand things running across his eyes of things to say. But instead, he nodded and helped Turner to his feet at Mamoru's request. Once the last body was out of sight, she let the pins slip from her hand and into the Youma's. It grabbed Usagi's wrist harshly in response, growling at her before Mamoru ripped its claws from her and pulled her back.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you die the most."

It walked away; the sound of her Senshi trying to reach out and hit the beast as it passed was the only sound till the door clicked back in place. "They'll be okay now."

Mamoru still held her wrist in his hand, the one he retrieved for her. He gently lifted it closer to his face, looking it over for any damage. But what little hurt done to her was already healing anyway, so he watched the bruises disappear. Once gone, Mamoru released it, and she pulled it back to herself, running her fingers over the spot he had touched.

"I don't think I will ever get used to that," Mamoru murmured.

She looked back at him in confusion. "What? My healing?"

"More like… the relief it gives me to see it."

Mamoru wore a small yet sad grin on his face, his eyes studying hers.

Rei's voice floated over the static air between them. "We should all try and get some rest; tomorrow is going to be…. hell."

They both listened to Rei, sitting against the wall Mamoru woke up on, next to one another. "You never really answered me." He shifted next to her, coming a little closer to where she sat. "Who are you, Mamoru?"

He was still and silent for only a second. "I'm the guy who is going to get you out of here."

oOo

Neither of them really slept, leaning against each other at some point to try and gain some sense of comfort in the hard cell. But Usagi did drift off at some point, not knowing for how long but waking to find herself laying down. She must have fallen in her sleep, landing in Mamoru's lap. Instead of setting her back up, Mamoru left her to sleep, his hand on her head as proof. His other hand was on Usagi's shoulder as if he had pulled her closer or kept her from rolling over. Now she slowly turned to look up at him, his face slack with sleep. At least both of them got some rest.

Usagi was still watching him (absentmindedly) when the lock on the door popped loudly. Although groggy, Mamoru woke up instantly, his eyes on hers, a small smile playing on his lips. But then reality set back in, him gently brushing Usagi off so they could rise.

On their feet, their cage opened, and a group of Youma and humans stood to guide them, long pointy sticks with electrodes that sparked at the end of them to keep them in line. One of the humans gasped, looking Mamoru over carefully and then grinning wide. "We are going to make a killing off this match!"

He just pulled her in close, yet another hint at who Mamoru was, and Usagi was still reeling with the missing pieces. Her Senshi walked ahead of them, separated by more creatures and men with sticks.

Once above in the dark hallway, they were allowed to join together, Ami and Rei grabbing Usagi instantly and holding her tight. At the same time, Mamoru and Makoto had the front and back. They were surrounded, the ones with sticks forcing them to continue. They were continuously pushed forwards, the tall hall still suffocating with its darkness. A few torches lit the way, roaring in the silent aisles with their flames. But the light was still slight, making it impossible to make out any details inside the large cavern they ended up in.

Soon, they were standing in front of a large door, the wood twisting with varying grains swirling all-around—weapons hanging from the walls all around them. One of the men pushing them along caught Usagi's stare and sneered. "You won't be getting any of those."

Usagi made sure to sneer back. "I won't need any."

He huffed, and Rei leered at him. "How do you sleep at night? Bringing other humans here to die?"

He broke for a second but then grinned. "I sleep very well, in Lord Nephrite's care."

"This is the day all of that ends."

Their keepers all looked over at Mamoru; his voice was low and deep that it ran a shiver down Usagi's spine at the sound of it. Then they all broke out into laughter; even with the seriousness of Mamoru's words, they felt little from the threat from him.

Their time was up, the doors cracking open before them as blinding white light spilled in. The cold that had been held back by the thick walls now spilled mercilessly over them. Pushed out, Usagi was met with the deafening sounds of screams and cheers. Her eyes adjusted, finding herself in a large ring, tall walls surrounding them, and on top of them sat thousands and thousands of people and Youma. All of them there for a show.

Their screams of excitement were mixed with 'boos', no clear sides coming into mind. And Youma sat next to humans, no differentiation whatsoever. Their guides had stepped back, the last one standing just inside the door, the black rune in his hands. Usagi thought for sure he was going to zap them all one more time, but instead, he waved his hand over it, and she could feel the rush of release through her body. Usagi dug a finger under it, tugging, but it remained tightly bound to her.

Mamoru stood right behind her, his hand on the small of her back, while the others stepped a few steps away and transformed. Never had Usagi missed her henshin as much as she did at this moment. It had her wondering if Sailor Moon would ever return.

"Ladies, Gentlemen….and Monsters…." The crowd started to roar even louder at the mention of monsters. Telling her who the main population was at this point. "We have a rare and truly AMAZING match-up for you tonight. The Sailor Guardians and the Prince of Earth!"

Usagi could feel her head as it slowly turned, looking back and up at Mamoru, who spared her one glance before turning his attention back to their dangerous surroundings. All while she struggled to focus in general.

"This is going to be a night that goes down in the history books, folks. The day Beryl's reign becomes complete!"

The screams were deafening, crushing Usagi with the sheer amount of support the evil witch had here. She was scanning the crowd -for what she didn't know- when Toki's green eyes caught hers. Her breath caught, finding the entire group huddled together watching. They sat in the very front, and she was now afraid that they would jump in and try to save them. But Usagi hoped they would prove their abilities before they thought about it, not needing the extra stress that would be saving more people instead.

Usagi made the mistake of looking at the ground around them. It was littered with bones. Some were buried deep in the snow, while others sat on top. And they were everywhere, even with the arena being the size of a soccer field. Something ticked inside her, feeling like a bomb that was waiting to go off. A spring that was pulled back and held, waiting to release at just the right time.

"Don't worry now; we will give the Guardians a fair fight. We have all your favorites, coming back just for this battle!"

The door across from them opened, a swarm of Youma coming out first, followed by what she assumed were the heavy hitters. The smaller creatures ran out, fanning out around the arena, while the 'stars' took their time walking into view.

"We have the lovely and talented Volentcia! The vicious Bader! The malicious Philostein! And everyone's favorite, straight out of retirement!"

The crowd was screaming for each name called, Usagi's ears ringing from the sound. But her breath still caught at the sight of...him.

"NECROMANCER!"