Whiteblaze walked along through the darkness, his padded feet making soft thudding noises on the smooth, marble-like floor. Yuli and Reenie were perched on his back and looked around apprehensively at just about every little sound, creak, and scrape they heard. This place was just one long twisting hallway, with white pillars on both sides that had nothing but blackness beyond them. Reenie's Luna Ball, at the moment, was a small, pink flashlight that she was shining onto the path they were traveling. It barely did them any good; the gloom seemed to shallow up the light.
"I wish we could get out of here," Reenie said miserably, already tired of these bleak, depressing surroundings.
Yuli looked at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. Whiteblaze is gonna help us find Ryo and the guys, then we'll be able to find your friends with no problem."
"I hope so." Reenie wanted to see the girls again and she missed Darien. She missed Serena the most, although she would never admit to it. Reenie had never actually said so, but she did see in Serena a glimmer of her mother. That was part of the reason she could bear to be away from her parents while she trained to be a Sailor Scout. But it was still hard to get along with her. Reenie was comfortable around Darien because he was in many ways like her future father, and since he knew she was going to be his and Serena's child, it was like he had already taken the role of being her dad. Serena, however, didn't act the way Reenie's mom would in the future. Neo-Queen Serenity had often reminisced to her daughter about how much Reenie behaved the way she did when she was younger. That was why Reenie and Serena got into fights so much, for they were practically mirror images of each other.
"I wonder what this place is used for," Yuli pondered, rather puzzled as to why this tunnel was constructed the way it was.
Reenie was confused about that as well, but she said without hesitation, "Whatever they use it for, I don't think I want to be around when they do."
As Yuli nodded in agreement, he and Reenie were not aware that someone was watching them......
These children are starting to become quite a bother, he thought to himself. He had been watching the newcomers since they had arrived, and had seen them display some interesting abilities. Of course, none of them could ever stand up to his power. But they could become problems if they got any farther. They had already destroyed many of the monsters he had created to keep his hold on this world. It would probably be best to eliminate them now. But how? An idea formed in his mind, one that would take care of all of these nuisances. He turned his attention to the two youngest ones that were traveling with the large white tiger. Yes, he thought with a wicked smile on his face, these two will prove most useful. He raised his hand as he began to glow in an evil red light. "Arise, shadow beings. The time has come for you to serve me."
"Whoa, boy!" Yuli tugged on Whiteblaze's fur to get him to come to a halt.
"Why are we stopping?" Reenie asked nervously, wanting to hurry up and get out of this place.
Yuli's gaze was focused forward. "Look," he whispered, "there's someone here."
A figure stood in their path, several yards in front of them. Reenie could barely make out the dark outline of the person. It made no attempt to come toward them, or to move out of their way. Whiteblaze growled menacingly at the stranger, but Yuli promptly quieted him.
"Should we try to hide?" Reenie asked in a hushed voice.
"Nah, I don't think so. Shine the light over there so we can see who it is."
Reenie complied and aimed her flashlight at the person. As the beam hit the figure, both children abruptly blinked a few times to make sure they were seeing correctly. When the image didn't go away, Yuli gulped. Reenie almost dropped the light. Whiteblaze let out a snarl, knowing trouble when he saw it.
The person had no features whatsoever, just the form of a human. The flashlight beam penetrated slightly through its black body, giving off a dim glow on the other side. "What is that?" Reenie asked, bewildered.
"I think it's a shadow," Yuli said with uncertainty.
Reenie watched the thing apprehensively. "Aren't shadows supposed to have someone attached to them?"
"Maybe no one told that one." Yuli gave Whiteblaze a nudge, keeping his eyes on the silhouette. "Come on, Whiteblaze. Let's go back."
Whiteblaze growled in protest, but obeyed and reluctantly turned around. But they didn't get the chance to leave as several dark tendrils slithered around the tiger's feet. Yuli and Reenie were thrown off Whiteblaze's back as he was literally yanked out from under them. The flashlight clattered to the ground and the tunnel plunged into darkness as the beam shut off.
Yuli got to his knees, wincing. "Whiteblaze?" he called worriedly. He could hear Whiteblaze's snarls and scrambled to his feet. He searched the blackness, but couldn't see a thing. "Whiteblaze, where are you?"
Reenie was crawling on her hands and knees, trying to find the flashlight. Her hand finally bumped into it and she snatched it up, flicking the light on. She swept around it around, finding Yuli near her. "Are you okay?"
"Something's got Whiteblaze!" he said frantically, close to tears. Reenie aimed her flashlight in the direction of the scuffle. Nothing could have prepared them for sight they saw.
Whiteblaze struggled in rage as he hung suspended in the air, shadowy tendrils wrapped around his legs and neck. The restraints were connected to numerous silhouettes on the ground that kept him captive. Other shadow beings stepped forward, extending their arms to snakelike lengths as they reached up and ensnared the tiger further.
"Let him go!" Yuli yelled angrily. He went into a full sprint and threw himself into the midst of silhouettes holding Whiteblaze. He toppled a few of them to the ground, then he was caught around the waist by another shadow. Pinning his arms down, it hoisted him off the ground and held him there as he kicked his feet helplessly in an effort to get free.
"Yuli!" Reenie raced toward Yuli, but was cut off by two shadows. When she tried to dart around them, they instantly leapt in her way. She jumped back as they attempted to snag one of her ankles. I have no choice, she thought, out of options as she reached for her transformation brooch. Suddenly, the things shot out two tendrils and caught hold of her, constricting her arms. She strained against them, trying to lift her hands to the brooch. If she could just get to it, she could save everyone. A cry of pain distracted her and she looked up to see the shadow holding Yuli slowly crushing him in its grip. Whiteblaze was also being suffocated as the tendrils around his neck tightened. Black electricity began surging into their bodies from the shadows, causing them both to writhe in agony.
No.... Reenie was suddenly seeing her mother, falling to the Negamoon's attack to protect her. Her friend Melissa shoving her out of the way of getting hit by a blast of evil energy, then being hurt herself. No, I'm letting everyone down, she thought in despair. I won't let it happen, not now, not ever again! I've got to do something before it's too late! Wait, I got it! Reenie's eyes narrowed in determination as she used the one last resource of power she could utilize at this time and something flared up on her forehead. Its glow illuminated the dark tunnel, attracting the shadows' attention and they loosened their hold on their victims.
"Huh?" The pain Yuli was feeling subsided and his senses came back intact. He became aware of a brilliant glare in his vision and when his eyes cleared, he realized that it was coming from Reenie. He watched in shock as her bangs flew up to reveal a crescent moon gleaming radiantly on her forehead. His friend squeezed her eyes shut and after gathering her strength, screamed at the top of her lungs.
"LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!!!!!!!!" An explosion of light blinded everyone, Reenie's energy bursting up toward the ceiling. Debris rained down from overhead as the blast made contact and blew through the barrier. The shadows retreated from the intense brightness, dropping Yuli and Whiteblaze without warning. They both sat up from their tumble, relatively none worse for wear, and stared in amazement at Reenie, who stood with her head tilted upwards. She directed all the intensity she had into the moon beam, trying to keep it from fading away. Serena, please see this! You've gotta come and help! I can't do this alone......
"Whoa, look at that!" Kento pointed his finger in astonishment. A golden beam of light had shot into the sky in the distance. The whole group watched it as streaked high into the air, ripping through the clouds.
"What is that?" Ryo asked.
Rowen observed it warily. "Another monster, perhaps?"
Luna and Artemis gave each other a worried look, and glanced over at Mercury. She caught their drift, implementing a scan of the light. A shocked expression formed on her face. "That's the moon beam!"
Venus's eyes widened. "That means....."
"That means Reenie's in trouble!" Sailor Moon didn't listen to anymore, but instead took off running in the direction of the light.
"Sailor Moon, wait!" Mars shouted, racing after her. The rest of the scouts dashed off in hot pursuit. The Ronins joined the chase, though they weren't really sure what was going on.
Mars and the others could barely keep up with Sailor Moon. They had never seen her move so fast, save for when she was late for school. In no time at all they arrived at the site of the phenomenon just as it died away. Sailor Moon came to a stop and looked around, the rest of the scouts and Ronins finally catching up with her. She could see jagged opening in ground, but no Reenie. "Reenie? Reenie!" Sailor Moon cupped her hands to her mouth as she spoke.
"We're down here!" A voice, not Reenie's but a little boy's, yelled up from out of the hole in the ground. A familiar roar also sounded, catching Ryo's ears. He raced over to the opening and peered down.
"Yuli!" Ryo was relieved as he saw Whiteblaze and Yuli looking up at him. A pink haired girl was with them, but she looked sickly. Yuli was helping her stand and she could barely lift her head. Ryo called to the others, his tone mixed with excitement and concern. "They're okay, you guys! But there's another kid that doesn't look so good."
Sailor Moon was there next to Ryo in an instant. She gasped in horror at Reenie's state. "Hang on! We'll get you out of there!" With that she leapt down into the hole, followed by the Scouts and Ronins. They might have thought twice about this move if they had known the danger they were going to face......
He laughed out loud as he watched the teens disappear into the abyss. This was better than he could have imagined. He had only planned to capture the children and hold them hostage, but the girl had managed to bring all of the troublemakers together in one place with her little light show. Now he could kill them all at once without having to lift a finger. But as a precaution, he quickly closed off their exit by making the hole vanish. He smirked at their startled expressions as their only escape route was blocked. The real fun was about to begin....
"Hey!" Venus said as the opening they had just come in faded away.
"We're trapped in here," Rowen stated apprehensively, sizing up the situation. "This must have been a setup!"
Sage caught sight of many dark forms approaching them menacingly. "And looks like the welcoming committee's here." "What the....? They look like shadows!" Mercury said disbelievingly.
Kento shook his head, dumbfounded. "This just keeps getting weirder and weirder!"
Mars and Venus stepped forward, ready to fight. Mars closed her eyes, holding up her hand as several of her scrolls appeared between her fingers. "I call upon the power of Mars," she said, the pieces of paper glowing fiery red. "Fireballs Charge!" Her eyes flashed open, her scrolls snapping straight up. Mars launched them in numerous directions at the shadow beings, hitting many of them in the foreheads. Frozen in place, they struggled to move and failed miserably.
"How many of those things do you carry around?" Ryo asked jokingly, despite the situation. Mars ignored that comment, throwing an annoyed expression at him.
Venus threw her arms down at her waist, her hair billowing in a phantom wind as a transparent chain of hearts suddenly materialized and spiraled around her. "Venus Love Chain," she shouted, raising her hand and aiming it at her targets, the chain solidifying. "Encircle!" Her attack flew through the air, wrapping around a whole group of silhouettes. Venus then pulled the chain tight, trapping them. She smiled proudly as they were squished together. "That ought to keep them busy."
Sailor Moon attended to Reenie, kneeling in front of her. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
Reenie took a fatigued breath before she answered. "Just a little tired, but I knew you'd see the moon beam." She gave Sailor Moon a weak grin. "Thanks for coming."
"Oh, Reenie," Sailor Moon tsked in a rather motherly manner. She took off her brooch and opened it, the crystal inside sparkling. She held it next to Reenie's locket and the stone sent a stream of energy into it, causing the locket to gain a new sheen to it. Then she stood up, placing her brooch back on the front of her sailor suit. "Now, transform! We're gonna need your help."
Reenie was revitalized by the power boost, and nodded happily. "Got it!"
She raised her locket high into the air, the cover flipping open to reveal a heart-shaped, rosy- colored gem. "Moon Prism Power!" The crystal gleamed vibrantly as Reenie put the brooch on her chest, her body turning a glittering pink. A flurry of hearts swirled around her and her sailor suit formed. One lone heart flew up and attached itself to Reenie's neck band.
"Ready to fight?" Jupiter asked the littlest Sailor Scout after the transformation was complete.
"Yeah, you bet!"
Yuli was amazed. "Wow, Reenie! That was really cool!"
"Thanks," she said appreciatively. She was glad that her friend wasn't frightened by her transformation.
"All right, Sailor Scouts!" Sailor Moon said, her Spiral Moon Heart Rod appearing in her hand. "Let's blast these things while we can!" Sailor Chibi Moon called forth her heart rod. The Ronins also got ready to change into their armors.
Suddenly a voice shouted from out of nowhere. "Stop! You can't hurt them!"
"Don't do it, Ryo!" another voice pleaded.
Sailor Moon stopped in mid-attack, recognizing the voice. She thought she must be imagining things. "Darien? Is that you?"
Ryo knew the second voice, as did the other Ronins. "Mia!" They all searched for the source of the voices, but no one was there. "Where are you?"
"It's complicated, Ryo. But I'm all right."
Darien spoke again. "So am I. The person who brought us here is allowing us to communicate."
"What's going on? Why can't we attack them?" Kento asked insistently.
"I don't know all the details, but those things are human," Mia explained.
"Human?" Cye said disbelievingly. He looked at the shadows as they fought to free themselves on the intent of killing him and his friends. "How can these things be human?"
"I can't explain right now, there's no time. You all need to get here as soon as possible."
Sage was incredulous. "We don't even know where you two are! And we're trapped down here in this tunnel."
"Guys!" Mars spoke urgently to get everyone's attention. They saw her scrolls were beginning to burn away. The links on Venus's chain were being stretched out to near breaking point.
"Those aren't going to hold them much longer," Mercury said anxiously.
"Listen, Sailor Moon," Darien said. "You and the other Sailor Scouts are going to have to use the Sailor Teleport. Focus your minds on the source of our voices and you should be able to get here."
Sailor Moon couldn't believe what she was hearing. "We've never teleported this many people with us. There's no way we can take everyone!"
"You've got Chibi Moon with you. She can help you."
"Those things are going to break free any second. They won't have enough time to power up," Luna said skeptically.
Mia had the answer for that. "Ryo, can you and the others make the circle of power? If you can shield the Sailor Scouts long enough for them to use their teleport, then you might be able to escape."
Ryo nodded. "That's a good idea. What do you think, guys?"
"Let's do it!" Kento said.
"I'm ready," Cye declared.
"Count me in," Sage said.
"That goes double for me," Rowen added.
Ryo smiled at his teammates as he spoke. "All right. Form the circle!"
"Yeah!" The Ronins began sprinting in a circular path around the girls, Yuli and Whiteblaze. The scouts were bewildered at this sudden marathon.
"What's the circle?" Sailor Moon asked, confused.
"It's a shield," Yuli explained. "They use the power of their armors to form a barrier around us."
"Hope it works," Artemis said anxiously as he saw the shadow's restraints getting weaker.
Each Ronin stopped running and crossed his arms. On their foreheads, their kanjis were glowing brightly.
"Wisdom!" Sage's armor of Halo materialized in front of him.
"Trust!" The armor of Torrent appeared for its bearer.
"Justice!" Kento called forth the armor of Hardrock.
"Life!" The Strata armor emerged from thin air.
"Virtue!" Ryo brought his armor of Wildfire to complete the circle. He felt himself become one with his armor, and it in turn was a part of him. He was too busy to notice Mars staring at his armor. It can't be, she thought numbly. That armor was the exact same one that person who killed the huge bug was wearing. That meant....... Mars's eyes widened as she finally made the connection. She hadn't wanted to believe it, but it was true. Ryo was that dark figure who had saved her before!
The armors also had their arms crossed like their wearers. As the Ronins uncrossed their arms, the armors moved with them. Beams of light shot across the ground from each armor, connecting to the armor next to it and forming a pentagram. The shield was established just as the anti-evil scrolls burned out and Venus's chain broke apart. The shadows lunged at the group, only to smash against an invisible barrier. Ryo glanced back at the scouts. "Okay, get us out of here!"
Cye suddenly let out a cry of pain. The Ronins looked to see his body surrounded by crackling dark power. The front of his armor of Torrent was unprotected from the shield and several shadows had hooked themselves to that exposed section, zapping black electricity into it. Since he was connected to his armor to form the circle, Cye could feel the dark energy as if it were him the shadows had surrounded.
"Cye!" Kento was almost ready to break the circle to help his friend, when his armor was attacked and he was hit was by a surge of the black energy. Sage and Rowen screamed in agony as their armors were assaulted. Ryo couldn't move or think; the energy slamming into his body was so intense.
The scouts were horrified. "Stop it!" Sailor Moon shouted, as if her plea would somehow stop the merciless shadow beings. "You're killing them!"
Mercury's computer clattered to the ground and vanished as she let it fall from her hand. She rushed towards Cye, but Mars caught hold of her arm. Mercury fought against her firm grip, not quite able to get away but coming close to it. "Let me go!" she begged. "I have to help him!"
Mars dragged Mercury back to the rest of the scouts. "Calm down! If you want to help him and the others, we need to get them out of here. We have to hurry and use the Sailor Teleport now!"
Jupiter had to fight the urge to come to Sage's aid, but she knew Mars was right. Venus agreed, barely able to stand Kento's cries of pain. Mars, though she kept her head, could feel Ryo's screams ripping through her heart. "Come on, let's do this!" Sailor Moon said, wanting to save Rowen, her new friend. She wouldn't let him or anyone else die.
"Hurry!" Yuli pleaded in a choked voice.
The Sailor Scouts immediately made a circle and linked hands. They focused their minds on Mia and Darien's voices.
"Mercury Star Power!"
"Mars Star Power!"
"Jupiter Star Power!"
"Venus Star Power!"
"Moon Prism Power!"
Sailor Moon lifted her head, narrowing her eyes in determination, much like Reenie had before. "Moon Cosmic Power!"
Each scout began to glow their respective color, their powers uniting together. Their energy spread across the ground, lighting up the floor under everyone's feet. The Sailors put all they had into transporting everyone with them. But then the glowing energy began to recede back to them. Jupiter realized that something was wrong. "It's not working! We don't have enough power!" she said. She directed more of her energy in the teleport, as did the others. But they weren't making any headway and were gradually getting weaker.
Yuli watched, somehow knowing that the scouts were not succeeding. The guys were in terrible pain and he wanted to help them so much. But he was just a kid, what could he do? Even Reenie was contributing, but he was just standing there uselessly. There must be something I can do, Yuli thought in distress. He saw Ryo convulsing as he screamed in pain. Ryo had saved him so many times, why couldn't he help just once? The tears suddenly streamed from Yuli's eyes as he sobbed out. "Please don't die, guys!"
Then the miracle happened. As he said those words, Yuli's emotions caused the Jewel of Life to activate. The stone started spinning on it's string, glowing in a white light. It lifted off of Yuli's neck and hovered in the air. The boy stared in astonishment as the jewel shot out a burst of energy into the circle of Sailor Scouts. Sailor Moon and the others could feel a sudden increase in power.
"Everyone, now!" Sailor Moon yelled, something in her mind telling her to take this opportunity. They all lifted their heads and shouted in one voice. "Sailor...Teleport!" The glowing energy enveloped everyone, including the armors and cats. A burst of light bathed the tunnel, causing the shadows to vanish entirely. Then they were gone.........
Mia and Darien whirled around as a flash of light lit of up the room they were in. The small child smiled expectantly as five teenage boys, five teenage girls, two children, two cats and a tiger appeared from nowhere. The Sailor Scouts and Ronins all collapsed to the ground, detransforming back into their original clothes from lack of energy. Even Yuli seemed to be weary as he stumbled, slightly unable to get his balance.
"Serena!" Darien rushed to her and lifted her into his arms. "Talk to me!" he implored desperately. He shook her gently, relieved when she stirred. Her blue eyes opened halfway, filling with gladness when she recognized him.
"Darien," she whispered, weakly raising her hand to touch his cheek. He put his own hand on hers, holding it on his face.
"I'm here, don't worry. It's all right."
Serena suddenly struggled to sit up, remembering her friends. "The others...." She searched around frantically, confused as to why she could barely move.
"They're all here," Luna said. She came over to Serena while Artemis checked on Mina. She looked at the girl proudly. "You guys did it!"
Relieved, Serena relaxed and sank back into Darien's arms. "I'm glad you're okay," she mumbled sleepily.
He held her close as she dozed off, speaking softly. "Me too, my meatball head."
Mia knelt in front of Yuli, holding his shoulders to steady him. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," Yuli nodded, tired but very happy. "I think need to sit a while, that's all."
Mia was glad to hear this, and then turned her attention to the Ronins. Whiteblaze nudged his owner worriedly as Mia checked on the leader. "Ryo?"
"Do not be alarmed." Mia and Darien turned to the little girl as she stepped forward. Whiteblaze growled, but stayed put. "Your friends will be fine. They just need to rest."
Luna and Artemis were surprised to see the girl. "You're the one we saw right before we were brought here!" Artemis exclaimed.
She nodded. "Yes. I apologize for all the trouble I've caused you, but we needed your help."
"We?" Luna was confused.
"This world. We will be doomed if you do not stop the evil that is spreading throughout the land."
"There's a lot of explaining to be done," Darien said as he set Serena down carefully. "When everyone wakes up, we'll be able to tell you guys everything. And I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of questions to answer."
Well, we've finally got everyone back together! Now you'll find out why they are here in the first place! Boy, hope I can make it sound realistic enough. Then again, realism isn't a big part of this story, is it? I'm sure all of us have powers and are transported to different worlds everyday! :) I read the reviews you guys have been sending. Wow, I can't believe that people really like this story. Though that was person, C I think is was, had a good point! I should have had Kento say his transformation phase rather than pull out the crystal! Ack! How could I have missed that?! I was assuming that Artemis and Mina would be to busy to hear him say that, and so that's the way it went. Oh, well, guess I can't be perfect. Anyway, see you in the next chapter!
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