Here's Chapter #8, with lots and lots of action! ^0^ *ALERT* I better make this chapter PG-13, as the level of violence have gone up in some scenes. Just a warning. Disclaimer: Just the usual - I don't own Sailor Moon. Naoko Takeuchi does. So don't sue me! *************************** CHILD OF THE GLAIVE By Jellicatso Rated PG-13 (This chapter, anyhow) *************************** Tsuki grinned evilly at Chibi-Moon and Chibi-Hotaru. "So we met again! And you!" She pointed at the trembling dark-haired child. "You cannot escape us, and the Mistress is waiting for you! Come with us or else!" "Forget it! You cannot take my friend!" Chibi Moon shouted belligerently. She produced her wand and aimed at her. "In the name of Moon I shall punish you! Sugar Heart Attack!" She declared, and fired away. Her attack, however, was instantly met by the blazing sphere of energy from Tsuki and dissipated. "Nani?!" Chibi Moon cried, staring at the youma in disbelief. "'Sugar Heart Attack'? How cute," Tsuki sniggered, "But dreadfully ineffective, it seems!" The youma shrugged. "Nevertheless, it doesn't matter. I am getting tired of you anyway. I would rather have you out of our way - and the sooner the better!" So saying, she flung down another crackling yellowish black ball of energy toward the small Senshi. Chibi Moon reacted, but she was not quick enough; the ball smashed into her, knocking her off the feet and onto the wall. The impact knocked the wand out of her hand and sent it spinning off out of reach. She slid down without a word, and did not move. "Chibi Moon!" Artemis cried, horrified. "Hah!" The youma crowed triumphantly and turned toward Chibi-Hotaru. "See, no one can help you now. You might as well come with me!" Chibi-Hotaru stared terror-struck at the wild-haired youma and backed away from her. "Come on, we don't have all day!" Tuski said harshly, reaching out to grab the girl. Artemis went berserk. With an unearthly yowl the Lunar Cat sprang forward, his teeth bared in a near-feral snarl and claws fully extended, aiming for the jugular vein. Tsuki cried out in surprise and hit him backhanded with such a force that the Cat went sailing off and crashed against the wall with a sickening thud. He flopped bonelessly onto the floor next to the body of Chibi Moon. "Yay! Well done, Tsuki!" Miserka cried, clapping her hands. "Should I take care of the pink brat and the little beast, ne?" "Be my guest, sister!" Tsuki said. She turned toward the dark-haired girl. Terrified, Chibi-Hotaru stepped back. "Please...don't hurt me!" She begged. "You had caused us a lot of trouble, brat," Tsuki hissed. She grabbed Chibi Hotaru and with a yank she pulled the little girl up close, almost nose-to-nose. "And it shall be my pleasure to hand you over to the Mistress and be done with it for once and all!" The youma's grip on her arm was painful, and Chibi-Hotaru couldn't help but let out a loud cry of fright. Suddenly the voice boomed out, "WHAT IS THIS? WHO DARED TO DISTURB MY PEACE, I COMMAND YOU TO SPEAK OR ELSE YOU SHALL DIE THIS INSTANT!" Both Tsuki and Miserka gasped and fell to their knees. "Mistress! Mistress!" They stammered, bowing repeatedly, "Do not be angry with us! Look, we have found the brat you demanded us to bring back to you!" "IS THIS SO? LET ME SEE!" This said, the strange black clouds began to form in upper part of the chamber, and soon the eerie, glowing large eyes could be seen peering down through the clouds. "HAI, HAI, I SEE HER NOW. YOU HAVE BROUGHT HER BACK...WELL DONE, MY SERVANTS!" Tsuki and Miserka beamed, flushed with pleasure. Chibi-Hotaru, however, took one look and screamed... ******************************** Somewhere down the hallway the time portal appeared in mid-air, unfolding big enough to allow three Senshi warriors to step through it just as the faint but terrified scream came floating toward them. Both Eternal Sailor Moon and Sailor Saturn looked up, alert and anxious. Sailor Pluto looked grim. "We better hurry, then. Come this way!" With that she took off running toward where the voice had came from. Eternal Sailor Moon and Saturn did not waste one second and hurried after the tall Senshi of Time. ********************************** "Shut up! Shut up, you little brat!" Tsuki snarled, shaking Chibi-Hotaru furiously. "You're going to meet the Mistress, whenever you like it or not! So shut up already!" "Nooo...!" Chibi-Hotaru moaned, writhing in a desperate attempt to get away from the horrid yellow-skinned youma. Tsuki snarled again, and slapped the girl hard across the face. "Hey! Leave her alone!" A young voice shouted, and before Tskui knew it the pink-haired Senshi crashed into the youma, knocking her off the feet and causing her to loose her grip of Chibi-Hotaru. The dark-haired girl scrambled off. Miserka, however, grabbed her before she could make good her escape. "You sure recovered quickly, don't you?" Tsuki spat, glowering up at the determined Chibi Moon who glared back defiantly down at her. With a savage growl the youma flung the young Senshi away. "Bah! You are still small, weak and quite useless! I will make sure you will not be able to rise again!" Sneering, She rose to her feet and held up her hands. A small burning ball of energy began to form between her fingers. Tsuki looked at Chibi Moon and snickered nastily. "It'll just be like stepping on a small insect, such as you are!" Suddenly the three angry-looking figures burst unexpectedly into the chamber through the double doors. Tsuki let out a startled hiss and the ball fizzle out between her hands as she twirled around to confront the newcomers. Chibi Moon took one look, grinned happily and sat up with a shout, "Mama!" "Small Lady!" Eternal Sailor Moon cried. She glared at the yellow-skinned youma and her huge wings flung wide with a snap. "If you dared to harm my daughter in any way, then in the name of Moon I shall punish you!" "WHAT IS THIS?" The booming voice roared. Eternal Sailor Moon jumped, and looked around wildly. "TSUKI, MISERKA, DESTROY THE INTRUDERS!" "That's Vadiane," Pluto said quietly. "Mommy!" Chibi-Hotaru cried excitedly. "Chibi-Hotaru!" Saturn said, and rushed toward her future daughter, her violet eyes flashing with anger because Miserka was holding the little girl tightly in her claws. But the purple-skinned youma, acting according to her mistress' command, pushed Chibi-Hotaru toward Tsuki and promptly transformed herself into what looked like a huge mutant scorpion with powerful, deadly pinchers clicking menacingly over her head. She swung her tail around and Saturn had to leap out of way to avoid getting stung. Eternal Sailor Moon flinched at the sight of a horrible monster, but Pluto hardly bat an eye and merely whispered, "Dead Scream." The attack blasted into Miserka, knocking her a couple of feet back. Unperturbed, Miserka picked herself up and scuttled toward the three adult Senshi warriors at a surprising speed, too fast for Saturn and Eternal Sailor Moon to react in self-defense. "Get out of way!" The Senshi of Time shouted, and pushed them roughly to one side out of danger just as Miserka's tail came swinging violently toward them. Then, another "Dead Scream" came blazing forward and sheared the tail off the giant scorpion just in time. Miserka screamed in pain and one of her pinchers jerked out, slamming into Pluto. Her Time Staff flew off as she was flung across the floor and onto the wall where she lay in crumpled heap. "Puu!" Chibi Moon shouted, stricken at the sight of her dear friend lying so still. "Pluto! Oh, no!" Eternal Sailor Moon cried in horror. She was about to rush toward the prone Senshi of Time when she noticed that Miserka had turned her evil eyes toward her and was bringing her pinchers toward her with every intention of rending her to pieces. The winged Senshi was suddenly paralyzed, too terrified to think clearly what to do. "Kill them, Miserka! That's right, kill them!" Tsuki called out encouragingly. She was holding Chibi-Hotaru by the hair now, to ensure that the girl would not escape this time. "Destroy them!" "I don't think so!" Saturn shouted suddenly. With that she leaped forward. Her Glaive sliced up, down and sideways and the body of Miserka fell apart in five different ways. One piece of rolled across the floor and ended up before the white cat that was just beginning to regain his conscious. Slowly, he raised his head and peered at it. He made a face. "Ugh! What is going on?" Artemis carefully pulled himself up to a sitting position dispite his aches, surprised that none of his bones were broken. "No doubt I'll be sore like hell tomorrow morning!" Just then he heard a familiar voice and looked up in surprise. "Eternal Sailor Moon?!" Indeed, Eternal Sailor Moon and Saturn were standing a few feet from the yellow skinned youma, their faces determined. "Please don't make any more trouble, and let our children go. That's all we ever want," Eternal Sailor Moon was saying. She looked up and added, "And that means you, Vadiane!" Tsuki did not say anything; she was too stunned by the sudden death of her sister. "Miserka...Miserka. My sister..." she was whispering. Her hands relaxed, and Chibi-Hotaru, sensing that she was released, slipped away. At the same time Chibi Moon, seeing Tsuki distracted, started to sneak off as well, eager to rejoin her mother. "Mommy!" Chibi-Hotaru called, running toward the Glaive-wielding Senshi. Saturn promptly crouched down and held out her arms. "Chibi-Hotaru." "DESTROY THEM! DESTROY THEM AND BRING THE GIRL TO ME!" Vadiane's voice screamed again. "Miserka..." Then Tsuki snapped out of her grieving state and her eyes grew hard. "Hai, Mistress! As you wish!" She looked up, noticed the young girls approaching their respective mothers, and her face turned ugly. Quickly she formed a burning sphere of dark energy between her hands and sent it hurtling toward the unsuspecting Chib Moon. "CHIBI MOON! WATCH OUT!" Artemis screamed. Alarmed, Saturn looked up. "Chibi Moon!" Eternal Sailor Moon had already seen the fiery ball speeding toward her daughter, and her heart leaped in horror. "SMALL LADY! BEHIND YOU!" She screamed. The younger Senshi twirled around, saw the fiery ball coming and froze, her reddish-brown eyes widen with terror. "Small Lady!" Without thinking, the Senshi of Love and Justice sprinted toward her daughter and at the same time Saturn leaped forward to scoop up Chibi-Hotaru off the floor. Out of the corner of her eye Saturn saw the blond Senshi reaching toward Chibi Moon as though in slow motion and clasped the young pink-haired girl in her arms just as the ball smashed into them in a blinding flash and a resounding crackle. Agonized shrieks shattered the air and Saturn twirled around in time to see both Sailor Moon and Chibi Moon knocked clean off the feet. They detransformed in mid-air, their fuku coming loose in ribbons and re-forming into ragged royal gowns around their bodies as they went skidding across the floor and ended up in a heap in the farthest corner. Artemis let out a piercing scream in fear and anguish and rushed toward the tangled bodies in the corner. Stunned, Saturn's head whipped around and stared at Tsuki. The evil youma was laughing gleefully, gloating over what she had done. Suddenly filled with fury, Saturn sprinted toward the youma with Chibi-Hotaru held securely in her one arm and swung the Glaive around in the other hand. Hearing her coming, Tsuki looked quickly up. Her jaws dropped at the sight of the vengeful Senshi bearing down on her, and tried to flit away. The Glaive flashed down - and Tsuki's head bounced along the floor before the youma had taken one step. Leaving the body of the youma to flounder in widening pool of blood Saturn rushed toward the corner with Chibi-Hotaru still in her arms, her heart beating rapidly with anxiety. "Oh, no, no, no..." Artemis was crying. He was extremely agitated, pacing frantically around the still figures of the queen and the princess and calling their names over and over again. "Serenity-sama! Princess Usagi-chan!..." Suddenly he wailed heartrendingly, and tears flow down his face as he bowed his head in grief over his friends. Saturn came to a stop as soon as she caught a sickening scent of burnt flesh. Chibi-Hotaru took a look, made a soft mewling sound and hid her face in her future mother's fuku. Saturn's throat tightened as she took stock of the bodies' condition. "Oh, Serenity-sama," She wept. "Chibi Usa-chan....Noooooo!" Serenity and Usagi lay in a heap like broken dolls with Serenity's arms still wrapped around the smaller girl, their heads touching. They looked as though they were sleeping, except the queen was horribly burned along the side of head and down the side of her body where the blazing ball had hit her. Princess Usagi's chest looked caved in with an ugly, charred wound with smoke coming out of it. It seemed unlikely they could have survived such a deadly blast. But, "There's no way they can be dead!" Saturn shouted. Quickly she put Chibi Hotaru down and fell to her knees, the Glaive clattering to the floor next to her. She pushed Artemis roughly out of way and clapped her gloved hands upon the bodies. "What are you doing!" Artemis demanded. Then he shut up, for he noticed her hands glowed almost immediately in a purple-white brightness. Saturn did not respond. Instead, she closed her eyes and went into a light trace, making a concentrated effort to find the pulse deep within the bodies. After a long moment her violet eyes snapped open. "They are still alive!" Saturn gasped, startling Artemis and Chibi-Hotaru. "But barely..." For she could sense the terrible pain both the queen and the princess were in, how feeble their heartbeats were, and that their life-forces were fading fast. Within a few minutes, their hearts would stop forever... "Artemis-san," Saturn said in a hoarse yet determined voice, as she looked straight into Artemis' dark, anguished eyes. "I am going to heal them - that I will do, even if it takes all I have to give them!" Artemis gaped in shock. "Sailor Saturn," he stammered worriedly, "But if you overexert yourself..." "Don't worry about me," Saturn interrupted the cat. She sounded deadly serious. "Just let me do what I can do for Serenity-sama and Chibi Usa-chan!" Artemis opened and closed his mouth for a while as though wanting to say something. But instead he nodded quickly and backed off to give Satun some space. Saturn took a deep breath. Healing...she used to heal many minor scraps and cuts when she was young... and after she had accepted the calling as the Senshi of Destruction and Rebirth, she have healed only once in a while when necessary, usually those with non-life threatening wounds. Could she heal such serious, death-inducing wounds and bring her friends she loved back to life? She didn't know if she could do that. Only one way to find out. With all her heart and strength, she went even deeper into a trace and willed the wounds to start healing up. It was very difficult and she was soon trembling and perspiring with efforts - yet she stubbornly kept on feeding her own energy into her dear friends. She was barely aware that her hands becoming very warm with purplish glow that grew brighter and brighter over each wound. She was fast approaching the point of total exhaustion. She felt her strength faltering, and she was about to keel over. Serenity and Chibi Use were not responding. If anything they were growing colder and paler each minute. Suddenly, she felt a different energy poured into HER, boosting up her strength, somehow filling her from heels to head with incredible power that enable her to keep on going. She opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw. Two Ginzuishous, one from Usagi and another from Chibi Usa, had somehow gotten freed of their containers and were floating above the bodies, burning bright white. Some of the beams were shining upon Saturn, and that was how she felt buoyed and powered up. She did not know, or could understand, just how was it possible. But that was enough for her, and so she continued to pour with all her energy into the bodies. The hands glowed white now, and continued to glow brighter and brighter. She saw the wounds began to mend and to close. So she hasn't lost the healing ability after all! She wanted to rejoice, but the healing is not over just yet. As suddenly as it had begun, it was over. The wounds had now fully closed up leaving only faint purplish-pink scars. The Ginzuishous dimmed, and fell back on their owners respectively. Saturn slumped, feeling utterly weak and thoroughly drained. Her hands were still on the bodies, and she felt for a pulse. It was weak, but growing stronger each moment. Saturn lifted her haggard faced toward wide-eyed, openmouthed Artemis. The Lunar Cat leapt forward. "Saturn!" He cried anxiously, "Are you all right? And Serenity and Princess Usagi...are they..." Saturn tried to speak, but could not - she was so tired. So she only smiled, nodded weakly and gave him a thumbs up. Artemis fell over, laughing and crying at same time. "They're all right! Oh, thanks Kami-sama!" He flipped to his paws and spotted Chibi-Hotaru still looking upset. "They're going to be all right, Serenity-sama and Princess Usagi!" He said happily. "Everything will be just fine, kitten...!" His voice trailed off when he saw the dark-haired child started backing away, her wide, terror-filled eyes staring over his head. "Nani? What..." He looked back, and jumped up with a yowl. Saturn looked quickly up, and saw the dense clouds swirling blackly overhead. Two giant, glowing eyes peered down through the dark clouds, glittering malevolently. A huge dark hand with long red nails emerged and reached toward Chibi-Hotaru. The small child screamed and tried to scramble away, but instead stumbled and fell down. The hand closed over her and lifted her off the floor, moving slowly back into the clouds. "CHIBI-HOTARU!" Saturn shouted, stricken. She grabbed the Glaive and used it to pull herself up to her feet. "Silence Wall!" Artemis looked around startled as the force field of light purple haze came up almost instantly and surrounded the cat and the still prone bodies of Serenity and Usagi. They would be safe from danger for as long as the Wall stood. Saturn then turned somewhat unsteadily but determinedly around to look at the dark menacing clouds. "Chibi-Hotaru!" "Mommy! MOMMY!" The girl was crying now in sheer fright. "I'm coming, Chibi-Hotaru!" Saturn called. Just then the little girl vanished into the clouds. Vadiane's disembodied voice spoke from among the clouds, crackling with hideous glee, "Soon! Soon, I will have absorbed all her energy into me, and become the most powerful ruler of the enire planet and nobody can overthrow me anymore!" Even as she finished speaking, a piercing scream broke out and the black clouds dissipated just a bit to reveal Chibi-Hotaru glowing bright white, her hair blowing wildly around as though in a wind and her clothes coming apart in ribbons. Writhing in pain, the girl screamed again and again. That was more than Saturn could bear. Even though she had not recovered sufficiently from her overexertion she nevertheless took a few running steps and launched herself into air toward the clouds, her Glaive thrust forward. She could see the enormous face of Vadiane gradually forming, becoming more solid - a face of a very beautiful woman though her cruel, hard eyes glittered with hatred and her evil laughter chilling. As the face loomed closer, Saturn quickly drove her Glaive right between Vadiane's eyes - only to discover it was to no avail. Vadiane laughed again. "See, you cannot hurt me now. You may be powerful," The gigantic woman jeered, "But I am already growing even more stronger and powerful than you each minute! Soon nobody, not even you can destroy me anymore!" Even as she finished speaking a black lightning raked across the clouds and struck Saturn, flinging her back with a cry of pain to the floor. "Saturn! Saturn, are you all right?" Artemis cried, pacing around frantically within the Wall, helpless to do anything except to watch the horrifying scene before him. When Saturn lay motionless and did not respond his anxiety raised several notches. "SATURN!" To be continued... Author's Notes: Almost done! Only chapters 9 and 10 to go, and then the story will be finished. Yay...