Chapter Eight Sailor Moon took a deep, quivering breath as the daimon turned to look at her. So much for the element of surprise. Or rather, the surprise had been on her. The stakes in this battle had just climbed much higher. It was bad enough when innocent victims were in danger. It was much, much worse when her friends were injured trying to protect those people. But when one of those victims was a protector himself...*her* protector!...and the only man she had ever loved.... Usagi's initial shock and fear turned into an anger so intense that for a moment she couldn't see straight. "LEAVE THAT MAN ALONE!" she yelled with a force and conviction she hadn't known was in her. The daimon looked up, startled, at having resistance come from such an unexpected source. "Love is a gift that we often take for granted, unless that love is in danger," she said passionately. "The man you are hurting is my only true love. I've already put that love in jeopardy once, and I've come to see the error of my ways. Now I am here to show you yours! I, Sailor Moon, will punish you!" She finished with a flourish, unveiling the Spiral Heart Moon Rod. The daimon realized it was being threatened and regain its intimidating countenance. It took a step towards her. "Oh no you don't...." Sailor Moon muttered. She began her attack sequence. "Moon spiral heart...." And then she was flying through the air again, as the daimon reached her in two short steps and tossed her aside like a limp doll. It turned its attention back to Mamoru. He was looking with anguish in her direction, but she was in no position to notice. The brief time she was in the air felt like an eternity. She stifled a scream, fighting the rising panic in her as the memory of her last fight alone struggled to surface. Waves of self-doubt plagued her. She had to keep her head; she couldn't let the panic get the best of her, or she might land wrong. And then she not only wouldn't be able to save Mamoru, but her injury might be permanent....her throat went dry at the thought of either. Her reactions were half instinct; she twisted, mid-air, so that she caught most of her fall on her shoulder as she landed. And then she gasped at the spasm of pain that went through her arm. It throbbed so badly that tears burned her eyes, and she was sure she had sprained it. She carefully turned so she was lying on her back, panting as she tried to catch her breath. She had been so preoccupied with her shoulder that she hadn't even noticed that this seemed to be her only injury. She gingerly tested her legs. She still seemed to have as much range of motion as she had had before. Which was not as much as she wanted...but still, she had been successful in preventing further injury. A fact that would come to amaze her later on--but now she had no time to think about it. She had to keep fighting the daimon, which meant she was back to crawling. She rolled over on her stomach, grimacing as she had to move her shoulder, but with both shock and relief discovered that it didn't hurt quite as much as before. Maybe it was just bruised. In any case, she still had enough strength in the arm to do what she had to do. She propped herself up on her uninjured arm and rethought her plan. It was altered a bit when she heard a voice beside her. "Sailor Moon, what are you doing here?" she heard an almost literal hiss and looked at the speaker in surprise. "Luna!" Sailor Moon said. In the heat of the battle she had almost forgotten that her guardian was here as well. "What does it look like? Getting my butt kicked!" she groaned. "Why didn't you listen to me?" Luna said in annoyance. "I told you that you would need me," Sailor Moon retorted, then gave a worried look over to the others. "How are the other Sailors?" "Not good," Luna sighed, "they can't help you any. But they'll be all right. I's all minor injuries, if that's what you're asking." She tried to reassure her as much as a person can be reassured when her friends were hurt and the stakes were high. "You know me too well," Sailor Moon said. "That's good to hear. Well, it's not good, but at least it's not worse...oh, you know what I mean." She tried to smile at her guardian, but her quivering lips betrayed her emotions. She blinked back tears at their plight, then sighed. She felt helpless. And the daimon's next actions did nothing to aleive this pain. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as the daimon finished its extraction. A luminous, four-pointed crystal materialized just above Mamoru's heart, as he himself fell limp and unconscious, his skin pale. Sailor Moon knew that it had to be returned to him soon or he would die. Suddenly her eyes were burning again and there was a humongous lump in her throat that hadn't been there before. Mamoru could die, and the last thing he would have heard from her was angry words. How could she have been so stupid? She couldn't lose him. She just couldn't. Swallowing hard, she gathered her resolve and turned to her cat. "Luna," she whispered, "I'm going to try to sneak up on it. Go back to the other senshi and see if you can revive any of them." "But how..." Luna protested. "Luna, you always want me to act like a leader, and now I'm acting like one," Sailor Moon said, surprising even herself at the commanding tone in her voice. "Just do it!" Before Luna could protest Sailor Moon pushed herself up so that the upper half of her body was off the ground, then slowly and excruciatingly began to drag herself towards the daimon. 'Just like physical therapy,' she thought ironically. 'I've got to remember *not* to tell Sakura she was right.' The dirt and gravel cut into her hands and scraped her legs as she drug herself along, but she ignored it. The pain wasn't important; Mamoru was. But soon the price of having to use so much arm strength took its toll on her. She paused after only a few feet, gasping for breath. "There's got to be an easier way to do this," she grumbled. "It's called walking." Sailor Moon startled and looked up at the speaker with shock. "Who are you?" she gasped. Ignoring the fact that Sailor Moon had no idea where the girl had come from--she *had* been alone, after all--it was her fuku that confused her. The person before her *looked* like a sailor senshi, from her gold and navy fuku right down to the navy choker around her neck. The only thing wrong with this picture was the fact that Sailor Moon had never seen her before in her life. 'There are more of us?' She almost thought out loud, but caught herself in time. Meanwhile the newcomer stood staring down at Sailor Moon with a look that was a cross between confusion and contempt. "I could ask the same for you," the woman replied tersely as another shadow fell over Sailor Moon. One look at the teal fuku made her gasp. *Two* new sailor senshi? "What happened to your friends?" the first senshi, a tall blonde, asked. "What does it look like?" Sailor Moon snapped, putting her astonishment aside for the moment. There were more urgent matters right now. "Here's a better question: are you two sailor senshi like me? And if you are, why don't you stop that daimon over there before he hurts someone else?" 'Like Mamo-chan,' she thought anxiously, casting another distraught look at him. "That's not our job," the blonde said coldly. "We have a more important mission to attend to. Neptune," she turned to the woman on her left, who was ready to act. "Deep submerge!" she cried, and the watery attack struck the daimon head on. It gave a roar of anger and pain as it was knocked back several meters, losing its grip on Mamoru's fragile heart crystal. Uranus caught the crystal in her hand as smoothly as if the whole thing had been choreographed. She examined it closely. "It's not the one," she said, disappointment evident in her voice. "The one what?" Sailor Moon asked, not sure whether to be awed by the power Neptune had possessed, not to mention the ease at which the two senshi worked together--or be scared senseless at having her boyfriend's heart crystal in the hands of someone who didn't care the least as to whether he lived or died. "That's our concern, not yours," Sailor Uranus dismissed her. "Why don't you stand up?" "Don't you think I would if I could?" Sailor Moon said sharply, satisfied to see that her words had actually made the other two look startled. They obviously hadn't considered the possibility that her current position might not be by choice. She nodded anxiously at the heart crystal that Uranus was now holding. "Will you give that back?" "Only because it's not what we are looking for. There will come a time when we won't be able to," Uranus said ominously, then walked over to the unconscious Mamoru and gently gave it back to him. With great relief Sailor Moon watched as his chest heaved as he began breathing lightly. Tears in her eyes, she looked at the other senshi with gratitude, then frowned at their haughty demeanor. "Aren't you going to help me defeat that thing?" she asked the two senshi pointedly as they started to walk away. The blonde actually hesitated, her back still turned, and Neptune cast a questioning look at her partner. "She can't walk..." Neptune said, low enough that only Uranus could hear her, in case her partner needed justification. They both glanced back at Sailor Moon, who had pushed herself up into a kneeling position--which was very precarious for her considering how weak her legs were. She glared at the other two senshi. "A true sailor senshi wouldn't desert their fellow senshi in a time of trouble," she said. Uranus narrowed her eyes. Sailor Moon had a lot of nerve to challenge her, especially considering her vulnerability at the moment. "And if you're a true sailor senshi then you don't need our help," Uranus said scornfully. They turned on their heels and left without a backwards glance. Sailor Moon growled to herself, both frustrated and alarmed. She was no better off than before. The two new senshi had not helped her any; in fact they only added to the confusion. Now she not only had to defeat what was practically a 'super daimon' all on her own, but she had to figure out the mystery surrounding those two. She rubbed her forehead, deciding that she had a definite headache. "Sailor Moon!" "What, Luna?" she snapped, forcing her thoughts back to the battle. "I thought you were with the others." "You need a plan," Luna answered. "Brilliant deduction, Sherlock," Sailor Moon said sarcastically, looking nervously at the advancing daimon. "Any suggestions?" "Yes. Strategic withdrawal," Luna improvised. "You're *telling* me to run away?" "No," Luna said curtly, "I'm telling you to retreat." "You're telling me to run away!" Sailor Moon said in disbelief. "This is a red letter day! I need to mark this one down on my calender: Luna actually advises me to run aw...." "Watch out!" her sarcastic tirade was interrupted by a shout from her guardian. Sailor Moon looked up, startled, to see the daimon about to launch a tackle and did the only thing she could think of. She waited until he approached and then forcefully dove straight under him , her arms taking the brunt of the motion, as he jumped. She rolled off to the side before he landed. The move was a temporary successs. The daimon was confused at losing its prey, giving Sailor Moon a brief window of opportunity to get away and re-strategize. "Uh, good plan Luna," she said hastily, then proceeded to half- crawl, half-drag herself towards the nearest tree, which she promptly hid behind. "Okay, now what?" "Diversionary tactics," Luna said. Sailor Moon rubbed her forehead again. "English, Luna," she groaned. "And what exactly were you planning by that?" "Sailor Moon, to be a good warrior, you really should familiarize yourself with the terminology," Luna chastised. "Okay, okay," Sailor Moon said in aggravation, almost at the breaking point. "Study session at Rei's as soon as this is over with. But for now don't you think there are more *important* things to be worried about? Such as stopping that daimon before he takes another victim's heart crystal?" "Right. As I was saying, you need a diversion. Something to distract it while you have time to power up for your attack," Luna explained. "Oh, sure," Sailor Moon said skeptically. "Great idea, Luna, excluding one minor detail. Where are we going to get someone that stupid to be our decoy?" She raised her eyebrows, gazing at Luna with a 'duh' expression apparent on her face. "I am not stupid!" Luna said indignantly. "What? Luna..." Sailor Moon stopped her satire, a worried expression on her face. "You can't do that, you might get hurt." "That's a chance I'll have to take," Luna said softly. Sailor Moon sighed. She hated making decisions like these. She didn't want to have to fight the evil, but if someone was going to be hurt from it, she would rather it be her than any of the ones she loved. But who was she to stop them from making the same choice? "I don't like it. Too many people have suffered already. But...I'll let you do it," she said cautiously. "But please be careful." Her voice had a pleading tone to it. "I will," Luna promised. "Now, as soon as you see I have the daimon's attention, try to crawl out and get in position for your attack." "Right. Good luck," Sailor Moon said. "You too," Luna said, and in a swift movement that surprised Sailor Moon, she jumped up on Sailor Moon's shoulder and nuzzled her ear in an affectionate manner. "You'll do fine," she whispered, then jumped down and ran out from behind the tree to face the daimon. Sailor Moon blinked back tears. She sighed, and then her sigh turned into a grunt as she pulled herself up and began crawling out into the open. She wasn't sure what her plan was; she needed to support herself long enough to execute her attack. The tree was as good enough a support as any; she would lean up against that. As long as her aim was true, she would have an easy victory if Luna was able to keep the monster distracted that long. She pulled herself around the tree, looked up anxiously to see how Luna was....and noticed that her guardian had stopped herself, staring at the daimon in disbelief. She looked to see what had gotten Luna's attention and felt faint again. The daimon had gone back. Having lost its diversion when Sailor Moon and Luna had hidden, and annoyed with having its mission foiled, it had simply found the closest victim and began removing another heart crystal. The problem was, its closest victim...also happened to have been its last victim. 'Mamo-chan.' Sailor Moon gulped, a naseous feeling in her stomach, her vision blurred. He hadn't been strong enough to get away, and now he was at the mercy of the daimon again. She was almost paralyzed on the spot, thinking of the implications. The plan had just gotten a lot more complicated. 'Dumb, dumb, dumb'--she rebuked herself derisively. 'Did you think it was just going to give up after being outmaneuvered one time?' It was an inexcusable oversight. She glanced over at Mamoru again, stricken. 'I'm the only one who can help him now,' she suddenly realized, and the thought was enough to help pull herself together. There would be time for critiques later. Now she had to just do what she can and pray that it wasn't too late. With a burst of speed, she pushed herself up onto her knees and went straight for the daimon, in clear view of everyone in the green, most importantly the daimon. She heard a faint hiss from Luna ("Sailor Moon! What are you doing?") but she sent a silent apology to her even as she ignored her. The fact was that even she didn't know what she was doing, but she knew *some* action had to be taken, no matter what it was. The daimon looked up. Her heart skipped a beat. This was the moment of truth. Any second now it would feel threatened by her presence and leave Mamoru, and that would be when she had to get a grip on the slim shadows of a plan in her mind and force them to become a favorable reality. The daimon fixed its cold gaze upon her, and she gave it a level stare back. It was trying to intimidate her--and it was working rather well. But she wouldn't let it show. The daimon pushed its shoulders back, straightened up, and-- Went right back to what it was doing. "YOU STUPID COW!" Sailor Moon yelled, infuriated. Good grief, it was bad enough when her enemies regarded her as an easily defeated threat. But to not even bother with her at all? Being brushed off was worse than mockery. It was the ultimate insult. And a very bad mistake on the part of the daimon. Sailor Moon's fear immediately become replaced with resolve. She pushed herself so she was standing straight up on her knees, almost losing her balance in the process--but she caught herself just in time and looked at the daimon with a feeling of intense hatred. She powered up, focusing every bit of her concentration on the energy she would need for her attack. "Moon....Spiral....Heart....ATTACK!" The rays of light spiraled out and struck the daimon head-on, causing it to scream in pain and anger, dropping Mamoru back to the ground as it threw its arms up to protect itself. It was working...it was working...Sailor Moon held a shaky but solid grip on the Spiral Heart Moon Rod. She tottered on her knees, but her determination kept her from falling. She could tell that her attack had more effect on the daimon than any of the other senshi's attacks had, even if they had been combined. It singed the daimon's bulging muscles, causing the creature to stumble. The daimon swayed from side to side as it lurched, backward and forwards. Backwards and forwards. And forwards. And...forwards? 'It's not strong enough!' she thought in a panic. Her most powerful attack, and even that could only hinder the daimon's approach, not stop it. Now what? She saw Luna leap forward and try to distract it, but it just brushed her off its arms like a fly. Crying in rage, the daimon covered the distance between her and it in three short steps and yanked her up by the bow of her fuku. In desperation she threw her hands out, trying to catch herself, but she lost her grip on Spiral Heart Moon Rod and it fell uselessly behind her. The daimon just as quickly knocked her back down to the ground and thrust its hand out. Sailor Moon saw a five-pointed star on its palm. And she knew that the daimon had figured out a way to get rid of her interference with its stealing heart crystals. It was just going to steal her own, instead. A strange mix of calm and despair fell over her. Calm, because she had done her best. Despair--because she had failed anyway. She didn't care about herself, but who would keep her friends from harm now? Who would protect Mamoru even as he had protected her? And an unanswerable, excruciatingly irritating question lodged in her mind during those last moments. What if she hadn't been hurt? What if she had been able to battle standing on her own two legs? What if she had been there from the beginning, fully whole? A surge of anger rushed through her. Not at her sickness, but at the cause. It had been a daimon who had injured her in the first place, and now another one was going to finish her off. She had a fervent desire to live, if only to correct the injustice of it all. It wasn't her fault she was hurt. It was the daimon's. She deserved to have the chance to prove that she could beat it. And the knowledge that she never would made her shake all over in fury and outrage. It wasn't fair. She wanted to prove to it that she could win--she wanted to prove it to herself-- "Sailor Moon!" Sailor Moon gave a rapid glance to the side to see Luna flying at her, her own defense weapon held tight in the cat's mouth. Luna landed a few feet away from her and tossed the Spiral Heart Moon Rod towards the hand that Sailor Moon quickly outstretched. There was no time to think. She reacted on blind instinct. She caught the Rod, gripped it tightly and securely, and with one hand reached up and grabbed the daimon by the forearm. She pulled herself up, using the daimon himself as her support, and when the daimon gave a cry of surprise and indignation--she thrust the weapon straight into its open mouth and yelled "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" The blast tore through the daimon instantaneously. It was driven back almost the entire length of the green, screaming in pain the whole time. It hit the ground with the force of a ton of bricks, erupting in a burst of light the moment it struck. She heard the faintest "lovely!" cry as it faded away. A statue only a third of its size remained in its place--the Cupid statue from the fountain in the middle of the park. It wobbled on its base, finally tipping over onto its side, disfiguring itself as cupid's outstretched arm was broken off. From the space between its body and the now unattached limb a small daimon egg tumbled out, cracked open, and emitted the briefest flash of black smoke. And then it was over. An eerie silence had overtaken the lawn. There was a strange feeling in Sailor Moon's mind that something had changed, something that she hadn't been able to figure out yet. Maybe the sense of unrealism came from the sharp change in fortune. One moment she had been at death's door, the next the victor in the conflict of good versus evil. Maybe it was euphoria. She *had* defeated the daimon. She had shown that she was strong, after all, despite her injury... she glanced down at her crippled legs and froze. And then she realized what was wrong. Or more accurately, what wasn't wrong. She was...standing. She was so dumbstruck she almost fell down at the thought, her shock so great that she even forgot to be happy for the moment. She had imagined this day happening, but now that it had, she didn't know what to think, or what had even happened. Her mind spun back to the last moments. She had been holding on to the daimon for support. But when she attacked, he had been immediately thrust backwards. Had she staggered back...? She must have, she realized, but she hadn't lost her balance. In the heat of the battle, she had forgotten to hold on to something, and in the process realized she didn't have to hold on to anything at all. Now the truth sank in. Tears filled her eyes and she wasn't sure if they were from pain or pleasure. She wanted to jump up and down but she didn't think she was *that* much better, so she just cried instead. Her eyes traveled down to the grass. Luna was staring at her, mouth open, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Sailor Moon..." Luna whispered, her voice choked with emotion. Sailor Moon was so shocked herself she couldn't even speak. She just returned her gaze with a smile, tears streaming down her cheeks. And then she felt someone's eyes upon her. She looked past Luna and saw that finally, Mamoru had regained consciousness. He was looking at her with the same look of outright shock that she was feeling. His dark green eyes met her own deep sapphire ones for the first time in a full month. And suddenly Sailor Moon felt heady. The world spun in front of her, her knees buckled, and as she felt herself pitch forward into darkness she knew she was losing herself to a dead faint. "She did it." Uranus spoke softly from her vantage point--perched inconspicuously in a tree about six meters above the ground, and until just a moment ago tensed in a position to be able to leap into action had the need arose. Now she remained kneeling on one knee, still watching the activity below, but let herself relax since the situation had been resolved. Her statement had not required an answer, but Neptune gave her one anyway. "Yes, she did." Her tone changed to one of teasing. "You're going soft on me. I thought 'she could handle it on her own.'" "How heartless do you think I am?" Uranus said without malice, not taking her eyes off of Sailor Moon. "True, she's impertinent, stubborn and unrealistic, but I couldn't just leave someone that vulnerable to fend for herself." "She doesn't seem that weak to me." "No, she's got more inner strength than I gave her credit for." Uranus was silent for a moment, then stood up, finally tearing her gaze away and turning to her partner instead. "Besides," she said softly, talking almost as much to herself as to Neptune, "I had the strangest feeling as I was watching her...there's something about her, a presence, an aura almost. Did you feel it too?" Neptune didn't allow herself to answer verbally, not quite wanting to admit it yet. Instead she gve a brief, curt nod in response, and Uranus knew that she had sensed it as well. The thought was satisfying and strangely curious. What was it about this girl...this Sailor Moon? This had been only their first time meeting, and already she was unlike any of the other senshi they had met in previous battles. Again, this was both encouraging and unsettling. It would require some thought and discussion for later. But for now both senshi turned in unspoken agreement and effortlessly leaped down. They began to walk away, still unnoticed by anyone at all. Uranus couldn't help but throw one glance back at the girl. "The Messiah will need to have that same strength of will if she is to fight the Silence," she commented, uncharacteristically quiet. "She will." Neptune's answer was soft and reassuring. "I'm sure she will." Strong arms caught her, and lifted her up. Her vision cleared and she felt herself held firmly against a strong, reassuring chest. She lifted her gaze and looked into her rescuer's eyes. Mamoru was looking down at her. He was disheveled and flushed from everything he had been through, but otherwise fine. He ignored his appearance--not to mention her own, she thought distractedly--and was just peering into her eyes. She dared to return the look, hoping yet not letting herself admit that she was searching for the love she knew was shining in her own eyes. And she found...not only love, but concern, astonishment, sympathy, pride, and...forgiveness? "I'm sorry," she choked out in a whisper, and he pulled her up and placed his cheek against hers so that she could feel him nodding in response. "Me too," was his simple answer. That was all that was said. But that was all that was needed to. He reached down, tilted her chin up, and she willing closed her eyes as he leaned forward and their lips met in the sweetest kiss that she had ever tasted. She had won. In battle...in life...and in love. She gave herself into the moment completely, secure in a love so pure that to prove itself, nothing was needed at all. Her heart swelled at the knowledge, and she basked in the warmth that engulfed her entire being. She had won. She had really won. ----------------- "Without love, we are birds with broken wings." --Morrie Schwartz as quoted by Mitch Album in _Tuesdays with Morrie_.