Absence � By Kirika
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Chapter 20 � Power Of Love
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Laodameia started to get an uneasy sinking feeling in her stomach as she strained her eyes, trying to see into the mist that surrounded her suite. The connections she had to her youma were being cut at an alarming rate, the trauma of each creatures� death feeding back to the pink-haired woman. Desperately she reached out with her mental power, attempting to infect the minds of the Sailor Senshi and their male ally. The demon cursed under her breath. It was no good; their focus was too strong. One senshi had a barrier of pure hatred in her mind, berserker fury interlaced with an image of a woman with light green hair. Another had a wall of duty and worry, mixed with an image of a girl with a ponytail. The pathetic caped man, who was Laodameia�s former prisoner, had revenge on his mind and also an image of the blonde girl with the strange hairstyle the demon had seen before in the raven-haired girl�s head. That senshi�s mind was filled with ecstatic joy for some reason. It totally confounded Laodameia. Hadn�t the senshi nearly killed her friend only minutes before? The pink clad woman thought that of all the enemies� minds -that- senshi�s would be the most vulnerable. But instead she was met with an impenetrable firewall of determination weaved with euphoria and an image of the same blonde girl in the masked man�s thoughts. The blonde girl in question had a similar mind set, a barrier of determination, but with two images: one of the raven- haired girl and the other of the caped man.
Laodameia swallowed slightly nervously and contemplated a strategic withdrawal. She most definitely didn�t want to have to fight. The demon blanched at the vulgar thought. Her little brother was supposed to do all the fighting for her, or the youma were to in his stead.
�I can�t see anything in this blasted fog!� Laodameia complained, waving her fan at the vapours in irritation.
The demon couldn�t see a thing. If it weren�t for the sounds of the battle she would have thought that she was alone in the room.
�It might be wise to, er� leave discreetly, and give a report to Lord Makareus in person, my Lady,� Aiaia said close by, a slight waver in her voice.
Laodameia squinted her eyes in the direction of her assistant�s voice, trying to make her out. She thought she could see a large dark blue, almost black, shoulder pad in the fog.
�Preposterous!� stated Laodameia, pretending to be unconcerned, �Even if they do manage to destroy all the youma, they will still have -me- to deal with��
Aiaia remained quiet for a moment and then Laodameia heard her voice again. �Yes, my Lady�� she murmured. Not the ringing optimism the demon was hoping for, but what did the youma know anyway?
How hard could it be? thought the pink clad woman, attempting to reassure herself, I�ve seen Khairephon and youma fight all the time; it looks easy. And I�m no pushover
Laodameia the seductress was startled out of her musings by a blood- curdling howl from the mists that slowly choked off into rather disturbing gurgle.
Maybe it isn�t entirely too late to run� were the demon�s last thoughts before she dropped her human masquerade.
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Sailor Mars stood beside Sailor Moon, panting as the mist began to clear and reveal the hotel room that had become a battleground, with the brainwashed human prisoners of war safe in chunks of ice at the back of the room. The gradually disappearing bodies of youma were spread around the once finely decorated suite. There were shattered ice statues here and there, the destroyed frozen sculptures dripping water onto the carpet. Other youma were riddled with roses, creating bizarre and macabre bouquets. Even more were horrifically scorched, their skin and flesh melted like wax, showing blackened bones beneath. Some of those fallen youma had missing limbs, as if severed by a buzz saw blade. And finally there were dust piles everywhere, some of the brownish substance still floating in the air, gradually falling to the ground. All the youma had met with death.
Mars looked at her three other companions, checking to see if everyone was all right. They were all still standing at least. The two senshi and Tuxedo Kamen all had minor flesh wounds, merely cuts and scrapes. Sailor Uranus also appeared to have a large nasty gash in her side, however. She didn�t seem to be bothered by it, or even aware of her injury. Sailor Mars could relate to that feeling. Sailor Mercury gave her a small smile when she saw that the miko was looking, no doubt relieved the raven-haired girl was still standing. The fire senshi glanced at Sailor Moon. She was panting heavily like Mars, holding her spiral heart moon rod tightly in one hand. The blonde odango atama didn�t have a scratch on her. And for that matter, Sailor Mars had no new wounds either.
Mercury�s mist finally dissipated, and Mars turned her vision to where the cushion throne had been, expecting to see a woman covered in pink silk. Her eyes widened as she looked upon the creature that was crushing the pile of cushions with its weight, popping some and sending feathers flying. The beast was huge, not as big as Khairephon had been in his true form, but still very large indeed. If the hotel suite didn�t have a high ceiling, the demon would have had to stoop. The creature that Sailor Mars assumed was Laodameia was partially humanoid. The lower half of her body was that of a dark pink thick-scaled snake, but ended in multiple long tails, each one with a serrated spear tip made out of bone at the bottom. The top half of Laodameia looked like a woman�s, except that her skin was covered in lighter, thinner scales of pale pink. The demon�s head was largely unchanged, still with long wavy dark pink hair flowing down her back. Her face was slightly more reptilian, however, with eyes similar to what Khairephon�s had been like, except pink.
Sailor Mars heard an audible gulp from Sailor Moon as she looked at Laodameia. Oddly, Mars felt no fear. Sure, the demon was imposing and could probably kill her with a single impalement from one of her tails, but the fire senshi just knew that she would prevail and survive. She had made a promise after all. And with her princess by her side, what could possibly stop the miko and her love?
�Don�t worry odango atama,� Mars whispered out of the corner of her mouth to the blonde, �this thing is nothing compared to the creature I fought in Yokohama.�
Sailor Moon nodded nervously, still gazing at the beast with wide eyes. Her bodyguard reached sideways with her right hand and grasped the blonde�s empty hand tightly, giving a comforting squeeze. Sailor Moon glanced down to their clasped hands and then at Mars� face, blinking. The fire senshi turned her head to face her princess and then gave her a wink and a smirk, causing her to blush.
�I�ve got your back� and you have mine,� she whispered.
Sailor Moon nodded again and smiled a little. She glanced over Mars� shoulder and then let go of the miko�s hand quickly. The raven-haired girl frowned slightly then realisation dawned.
Mamoru�
�You two are next�� Sailor Uranus sneered threateningly, interrupting Mars� thoughts.
Sailor Mars turned her gaze to a smaller, human-sized figure that was standing near to the demon. It was heavily armoured in tight interlocking midnight blue steel plates, which formed a suit in a feminine shape. Brightly coloured runes decorated the armour, most of which were pink. It hurt Mars� eyes to look at the demonic symbols for too long. A round extra armour plate that had a partial resemblance to a music amplifier hung from the youma�s collar. The only part of the creature�s body that wasn�t covered in metal was her head; the youma had a human female head but with pale blue skin and long, white hair tied in many fat braids which dangled down her back.
�All of you -disgusting- humans will die here tonight,� the youma growled, her face scrunched into an expression of hate and barely controlled rage.
�Indeed,� continued Laodameia in a raspy voice, two forked tongues flicking out of her mouth, �it appears I�ll have to dispose of you all. You are not -that- attractive anyway��
�Look who�s talking,� said Sailor Mars, reacting to the jibe.
The youma turned her hateful glare to the sarcastic senshi. �Lady Laodameia is the most beautiful creature in the multiverse,� she stated through clenched teeth.
�Not once we�re done with her,� replied Sailor Uranus.
�Do you think that even if you do win that the threat to your world will end? My brothers will lay waste to this planet!� Laodameia shrieked, her voice gaining a demonic timber.
Sailor Mars smiled grimly, her eyes dark, causing Sailor Moon to glance at her warily. �You only have two brothers now�� the fire senshi said, her evil smile widening.
Laodameia blinked at her in confusion for a second. �Makareus is�� she said unsurely. A smile began to form on her face.
�No. Khairephon is dead and with him nearly his entire youma army,� Mars grinned malevolently, �slain by a ghost from the past� namely, me.�
The demon stopped smiling and stared at Sailor Mars. The youma turned her head to her mistress, looking concerned.
�You lie� Khairephon would never lose to the likes of YOU!� Laodameia screamed, her cry shaking the ceiling and making the chandeliers swing.
Sailor Mars shrugged. �Death can�t seem to hold me� but it had no problem taking -and- keeping your brother and his followers,� she said with a sinister chuckle.
Laodameia screeched and attacked Sailor Mars, her long tails striking at where the girl stood. The fire senshi back flipped out of the spear-tipped tails� path, aware of Sailor Moon diving to the right. The miko flipped over twice using her hands before up righting herself. Laodameia�s tails retracted, ripping a hole in the floor, some bone spears with floorboards stuck through them.
�WORLD SHAKING!�
Sailor Uranus launched an orange energy ball at the enraged demon, the ball crackling along the floor at tremendous speed. Laodameia looked at the attack and made no effort to avoid it. The energy ball smashed into a glassy barrier just in front of the demon with the force of an earthquake, but otherwise did nothing. The snake-woman lashed out with several tails at Uranus� direction, causing the senshi to dive and roll under a circular table. The tails ripped into the floor where the blonde had stood and then followed her dive, banging into the table and throwing it out of the way. Sailor Uranus cursed and threw herself to the right as the spears ripped the floor asunder.
�SHINING AQUA ILLUSION!�
Meanwhile, Sailor Mercury fired a geyser of water at the armoured youma, hitting her dead centre in the chest. The youma staggered backwards a few steps, her armour only partially being frozen. The white-haired creature adjusted her amplifier and screamed loudly through the device. A soundwave rocketed out of the amp and across the room, blowing furniture out of the way and shattering glass. Mercury cried out as she was thrown backwards and hard into a wall, cracking the plaster. The runes on the youma�s armour glowed briefly, and the ice from Mercury�s attack cracked and fell off.
�MARS FLAME SNIPER!�
Sailor Mars fired an arrow of fire at Laodameia, only to have a glass-like wall manifest itself and block her attack. She ducked as a spear-tail stabbed at her. Mars reached up and grabbed the appendage tightly, attempting to hold it in its current position.
�Sailor Moon!� she called.
Mars� princess dodged more spear-tails and looked at Mars, knowing what she wanted.
�MOON TIARA ACTION!�
Sailor Moon threw her energy charged tiara at the exposed tail, the frisbee slicing into the limb and then returning to her. However, the scales were too thick to penetrate, the attack only flaking some of the dark pink plates off. Sailor Mars let go of the tail, no longer able to hold it steady. She leapt to her right as the tail in question slashed at her in retaliation.
Her tails don�t have that force field Mars noted.
Tuxedo Kamen threw a rose with a shout at the blue skinned youma, the flower flying straight and true at the creature�s face. The youma turned and casually swatted the projectile out of the air with a metal arm, deflecting the rose into the wall. She let out another scream, the soundwave punching into Tuxedo Kamen with the force of a freight train, blowing off his hat. The masked man was pushed back along the floor and closer to the now broken windows, as he desperately tried to grab on to something. The youma kept screaming a constant cry, never wavering in pitch or intensity.
�SPACE SWORD BLASTER!�
A sharp beam of white light crashed into the youma�s back from Uranus as she still dodged Laodameia�s strikes. The runes on the creature�s armour glowed brightly once again, neutralising the attack. But the beam was enough to disrupt her scream and give Tuxedo Kamen a chance to recover. The man threw another rose at the youma, this time aiming at the amplifier. The white-haired creature smirked and gave a short, sharp cry into her amp, redirecting the rose back at Tuxedo Kamen. The masked man raised his eyebrows in surprise and quickly spun his cane, deflecting his own flower attack.
�MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!�
Sailor Moon used her mood rod while Sailor Mars ran interference, drawing Laodameia�s spear-tipped tails towards herself. The demon appeared to concentrate hard as she was pushed toward a large red heart, the glass shield straining against it. Sailor Mars stopped running and diving as the tails ceased trying to skewer her.
�MARS FLAME SNIPER!�
Sailor Mars took a chance and fired a bolt of flame at Laodameia�s side. The arrow met no resistance and exploded on her waist, flaming pink scales flying all over the place. The demon gasped in pain but kept concentrating. Finally the giant red heart disintegrated, Laodameia�s psychic shield prevailing. She turned a hateful glare at Mars, and the girl watched in horror as all the broken glass in the hotel room started to rise, the broken points aimed directly at her.
No way I can dodge them all! I�m going to be torn to shreds!
Sailor Mars heard her princess scream out as the glass spun towards the raven-haired girl, certain to eviscerate her.
�SHABON SPRAY FREEZING!�
Sailor Mercury desperately filled the room with her freezing bubbles as she leaned against the wall, her bones aching. The bubbles surrounded the glass- turned-blades in the room with soft, smooth ice. Sailor Mars covered her face with her arms as the ice balls crashed into her, shattering, but only causing bruises and minor cuts, not slicing her to ribbons like the spinning glass would have.
Sailor Uranus and Tuxedo Kamen leapt around the room, nimbly avoiding the youma�s soundwaves as they both tried to find a weakness in her armour. Neither could get a clear shot at the creature�s face; she was always too quick to block. The youma roared at Sailor Uranus, making the blonde cartwheel out of the way quickly. The soundwave ripped into the already weakened wall and blew a section apart, sending debris down to the street below and opening the suite to the night air.
Sailor Mars acted on reflexes alone, dodging multiple stab attempts from Laodameia�s tail-spears. She grunted as a floating chair hit her in the back of the head, dazing her. A spear-tip tore across arm, causing the girl to flinch away and take another blow along the neck, barely missing the artery. Mars ducked as another spear stabbed at her, only to have another gash appear across her thigh.
Too many, gotta keep moving thought Mars, concentrating on dodging the most dangerous strikes.
�MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!�
Sailor Moon used her moon rod again, attempting to distract Laodameia and help Sailor Mars. The clear mental wall appeared again as the pink snake concentrated, holding back the red heart that would surely cripple her.
�MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!�
Sailor Mercury, her sharp mind taking the initiative, played her harp and launched ribbons of water towards Laodameia�s tails, each water stream hitting one and freezing the appendage solid, the demon too busy concentrating on shielding Sailor Moon�s attack to defend.
Laodameia screamed in pain as the blood circulation was cut off in each one of her tails, causing her to lose concentration and drop her psychic shield. She crashed through the red heart, her scaly hide doing little to protect her body from the attack. Laodameia collapsed to the ground, her arms clutched around her torso tightly as she writhed in agony.
Sailor Mars panted hard, hands on her knees, exhausted from all the dodging. But there was no rest for the wicked. She stood up and took a shuddering breath.
�BURNING MANDALA!�
Multiple fire rings shot out of Mars� hands, each one crashing into Laodameia�s scale-covered form. The demon howled in torment as she was burned, the less protected top half of her body taking the most punishment.
The youma broke off her attack on Sailor Uranus and Tuxedo Kamen, and turned to her Lady.
�No� NOOOOO!!� the armoured youma screamed through her amplifier, the soundwave blasting into Sailor Moon, Mars and Mercury, throwing them across the room and away from Laodameia.
The youma ran to her mistresses� side, tears rolling down her face. She knelt down and took a pink scale-covered hand in her own metal-covered one gently.
�My Lady� I have failed you�� the sobbing youma said, one hand stroking her mistresses� dark pink hair.
Laodameia strained her head upwards with some difficultly and looked at her distraught youma. She opened her mouth to speak but only a croak came out.
�It�s alright� you will be avenged, you and your brother� I swear it�� the youma whispered, teardrops dripping onto her armoured legs. She leaned forward and planted a kiss on her mistresses� forehead.
Laodameia gazed into her youma�s eyes, and a strange expression came over her face. As Sailor Mars watched on from where the sound blast had thrown her, she saw a look of understanding appear in the demon�s pink eyes. The youma seemed to notice it too and gasped, more tears trickling down her blue cheeks.
Laodameia let out a melancholy sigh and slumped her head on the carpet, closing her eyes a final time, her muscles relaxing. Her body turned a sickly green colour, just like Khairephon�s had before, and started to rot at an accelerated level. The seductress was dead.
The four Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen continued to watch the youma as the hand she held crumbled to dust in her grip. The armoured youma abruptly stood up and whirled around to face Sailor Moon, Mars and Mercury, teardrops being left in the air behind her.
�Murderers� you will PAY!!� she howled, the shockwave of the cry smashing apart everything as it shrieked towards the trio.
Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon dove to the left as Mercury dove to the right; the soundwave blowing a hole in the wall behind them, revealing the receiving room Sailor Venus had confronted them in.
Tuxedo Kamen throw a rose at the youma�s back, the flower merely ricocheting off the metal. That got the youma�s attention and she turned to face him, screaming all the while, causing furniture to fly around and the walls to shudder. Tuxedo Kamen ran as fast as he could as the soundwave chased after him. But he was too slow, the blast crashing into him and pushing him out the huge gap in the wall and into a ten-storey drop. Sailor Uranus quickly leapt over the yelling youma and rode the soundwave towards the falling man. She reached out desperately, grabbing Tuxedo Kamen�s fluttering cape before the man got blown further out into the empty air. With her free hand, the blonde latched on to the side of the suite�s broken wall, holding on for dear life. If Uranus let go, she and Tuxedo Kamen would be carried out into the night sky, and to a certain death.
�MARS FLAME SNIPER!�
Sailor Mars fired an arrow at the youma�s back, the arrow colliding with the youma�s armoured back and exploding. More runes glowed on the armour, snuffing out the flames. The youma ceased her scream and looked at Mars with red, hateful eyes.
�MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!�
Sailor Moon held up her moon rod, glittering streams of energy flying out of it and towards the youma. The streams coalesced into a large red heart and the armoured youma crashed through it. The creature howled in pain as all the runes on her armour flared up brightly, forcing Mars to look away. The blue-skinned youma collapsed to her knees, some of the runes crumbling off her midnight blue metal suit. She gritted her teeth then laboured to her feet, ready to attack once more.
�JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!�
Green leaves collided with the youma like machine gun fire, ricocheting all over the suite and pushing the creature back. The white-haired youma stumbled backwards through the hole in the wall and fell past the climbing Uranus and Tuxedo Kamen, falling ten storeys to the streets below, screaming and causing the windows on lower floors to shatter as she went by.
�Do I have timing or what?� Sailor Jupiter grinned.
�You certainly have something,� replied Mercury, walking rather unsteadily towards the tall senshi.
�You�re hurt!� Jupiter said with worry.
�So are you,� Mercury replied, hugging her love.
�Damnit Mars! I wanted to kill that snake thing!� cried Sailor Uranus, having just climbed back with Tuxedo Kamen into the hotel room.
Mars shrugged her shoulders. �Dead is dead,� she said absently. Sailor Moon turned a concerned gaze to the fire senshi.
�We should leave here, Laodameia had some sort of hold on the residents of this hotel making them believe there is nothing going on up here. Now that she�s dead�� Tuxedo Kamen trailed off, his meaning implied.
�That means Minako should be alright! It was hard to explain why she was tied up to the doctors� I had to make up some story that she was loony, but she�s going to be okay,� Jupiter said.
�And it also means the human prisoners must be free of Laodameia�s control too,� continued Mercury, �Mars? Could you thaw them out?�
Sailor Mars nodded to her and turned towards the several ice blocks that contained human beings. By some miracle they had all escaped damage during the fight.
�FIRE SOUL!�
Mars set some broken wooden chairs alight near the prisoners, which would slowly melt the ice.
�I only froze them lightly; their hearts and blood circulation should recover normally� but it would be best to call an ambulance just to be on the safe side,� Mercury suggested.
Tuxedo Kamen groaned and staggered forward, his wounds from the earlier battle plus the confrontation with Laodameia finally catching up with him. Sailor Moon quickly ran up and caught him in her arms.
�Mamoru! You�re badly hurt, we should get you to a hospital,� Sailor Moon said, concern in her voice and eyes.
�Heh, maybe you�re right Usa-ko,� the masked man replied, slinging an arm around his soul mate. He gave her a quick look over. �Looks like you made it out just fine,�
Sailor Moon blushed and glanced back at Sailor Mars. �I� got lucky,� she said quietly.
Tuxedo Kamen nodded absently. �Let�s go to the hospital,�
�I�m with you there,� added Uranus, holding a hand to her large gash in her side and wincing, �I�m bleeding everywhere� didn�t even notice�� She finished in a whisper, looking down at her blood-covered fuku.
Sailor Mars watched as Sailor Moon supported Tuxedo Kamen as he walked. The miko looked down at her own bleeding injuries staining her fuku red. They were only flesh wounds, but they appeared pretty nasty. Why didn�t her princess come running to her aid? Sailor Mars� face fell as she figured it out. Sailor Moon had only said those things to her to keep the fire senshi from killing herself. Mars had initiated the kiss after all; the blonde had probably just gone along with it but was freaking out on the inside. In the back of her mind the miko knew she was being unreasonable, that Mamoru needed help and Usagi wouldn�t be Usagi without offering support. But after the emotional roller coaster the whole day and night had turned into, Mars was very fragile.
�You guys go ahead,� she said without emotion, �I�ll stay here� and� watch the fire�� She turned away from the door and watched the flames from the burning furniture melt Mercury�s ice.
There was silence behind the raven-haired girl for a moment, and then she heard the footsteps of the others leaving. The bowed her head and stared down at the floor, keeping the tears back with sheer will.
It had felt so real, like it had actually meant something to her� god, I�m a fool Sailor Mars thought, thinking back to the moment she and her princess had shared.
The girl was startled out of her reverie when a hand was gently placed on her shoulder. Sailor Mars turned around and was met by Sailor Moon. The blonde smiled at the miko.
�You shouldn�t be by yourself,� she said quietly.
�Afraid I�d hurt myself or something?� Sailor Mars said, a little harshly.
�Nope. You�re bleeding like crazy and you�re not the type to go to a hospital unless you�re arms are about to fall off,� Mars� princess said in a matter-of-fact tone, �and anyway, how are you supposed to reach that burn on you�re back?� She raised her elegant blonde eyebrows in question.
Sailor Mars stared at her for a second. She then snorted, a slight smirk coming to her face. Abruptly the girl�s face crumbled and she returned her gaze to the ruined carpeted floor.
�I�m sorry� I just thought that maybe� you�d changed your mind or something and you didn�t m-mean�� she trailed off, the tears breaking through her will and falling out of her eyes and onto the carpet.
�Oh Rei�� Sailor Moon whispered, pulling the crying girl into an embrace.
�I meant every word I said Rei� you�re very important to me,� Mars� princess continued, and then sighed, �we should really talk about� about what happened��
Sailor Mars just nodded, her head resting on her princesses� shoulder, her face near the blonde�s neck. Sailor Moon stroked Mars� raven locks soothingly yet somewhat nervously. The fire senshi closed her eyes and enjoyed the touch and breathed in her only love�s scent.
�What a day�� sighed Sailor Moon, �we should get you back to Hikawa Jinja; people are going to find us if we stay here.�
�W-will you come with me�?� Sailor Mars asked in a small voice.
�Of course! Who else is going to patch you up? You shouldn�t have played �tag� with those tentacle thingies,� Sailor Moon said in mock irritation.
�Well someone had to get them off you�re back, you slow poke. If it wasn�t for me, you�d be a kebab by now,� replied Mars, her usual sarcasm returning.
�Oh and who saved who from those tentacle things the last time? Hmm?� Sailor Moon said expectantly.
�Mercury,� Mars smirked.
�What? No! It was me! If I hadn�t stepped in Mercury couldn�t have done anything, and -you�d- have been the kebab,� Sailor Moon cried indignantly.
Sailor Mars smiled into her princesses� neck. �Thank you for saving me,� she whispered. She wasn�t referring to the fight with Laodameia.
Sailor Moon hugged Sailor Mars a little tighter. �You�re welcome�� she whispered back, understanding.
Mars lifted her head from her princesses� shoulder and looked into her blue eyes. Sailor Moon gazed back, slightly uneasily, a blush beginning to form. The miko moved her head forward, attempting to kiss her love and saviour. Sailor Moon quickly let go of Mars and stepped back.
�We should get out of here,� she babbled, �police and ambulance people are going to be coming soon and they shouldn�t catch us here and you need bandages and stuff� uh� so let�s go.� She turned around and began to walk briskly out of the late Laodameia�s suite.
Sailor Mars watched her go, dumbfounded. She shook her head slightly and jogged to catch up.
Part twenty-one |
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