The Return

Chapter 13: Sadness

by Richan

A bright light flashed in the kitchen, startling those around it. Seiya lay on the table in the midst of dinner, squishing the carrots (that nobody had seemed to want to eat anyway). Haruka stood up and pulled him off the table, knocking over glasses and plates. She held him standing up, holding on to his jacket. "How did you get here?" she asked. "Where are the others?"

Setsuna came over and gently removed Seiya from Haruka's grasp and set him in a chair.

Refusing to look at anybody, Seiya bowed his head. He could feel the eyes of everybody in the room on him, but for some reason he didn't feel one pair of eyes.

Setsuna leaned over and whispered, "She's sleeping."

He looked up into her violet-red eyes and saw the sincerity there. He glanced at the others in the room briefly before getting up and racing up the stairs.

Those left in the kitchen looked at each other in silence.

Michiru sighed, "Mou..."

"You said it, Michiru-san," Makoto said. The kitchen slowly moved into motion once again, unanswered questions running through everybody's heads.

******

Sailor Moon looked around the room, watching everybody that was left. She had the feeling that she wouldn't be able to help anybody else until Rei got here. The only thing that was good about this was that at least the others were safe.

******

Rei wandered from room to room, hoping that she would be able to find Suhai's body. He was just a whisper of light, having no shape. She puzzled over why he was having such a hard time projecting himself as time went on, when at the beginning he had had a physical body. She could feel Endymion close by, searching as well, but she blocked him out.

'Why would love not be able to send itself out?' Rei wondered. Searching within herself, she realized that only anger is able to totally push love out. Anger. That's where she had to go, her center of anger. Suddenly a terrible feeling swept over her as she started running, hoping that she wasn't too late. Her princess was in trouble.

Approaching a wall, Rei put her hand up to it and felt vibrations running along its surface. This was where she was supposed to be. Inside was her greatest foe, and she didn't know if she could defeat it.

'You can,' a voice whispered through her mind. 'You can do this, and save the others.' In front of Rei was a small spirit: the essence of the god of Mars himself. 'I will be able to help you, but you are the one that must face what comes next.'

Bracing herself, she entered the room. As she did, Suhai's body began to breathe again. Relieved, Rei let a small breath out. That was the last breath she was able to take as she was attacked on all sides by her comrades. Able to peer through holes as they grabbed at her, she saw Sailor Moon held up on the wall, her arms opened as if she were on a crucifix.

"NOOOO!" Rei tried to get out of the hold she was in, but the others were too strong. Struggling, she did her best to get free. All of a sudden, she stopped, making the others let go of her in surprise. Taking the chance she had been given, Rei ran over to Sailor Moon, frantically trying to get the bindings off her. Her fingers scrambled along the vines holding her in, she couldn't get any purchase on them. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the others coming towards her, anger twisting their faces into horrible mockeries of what they normally were. Behind her she heard Endymion being attacked as she felt some move from her.

She looked down to see that they had put armor on her. Next to her stood Shingo, a spear held in his hands. Holding it out to her, he gestured at Sailor Moon. She looked behind her and found Endymion tied up in the same manner as Sailor Moon.

Dazed, she thought that the others were acting like savages. Startled, she realized it was true. She had just finished a book the night before Usagi and Mamoru were supposed to get married. She hadn't really liked "Lord of the Flies" but she had been determined to finish it. The spear, the way they were tied up, brought back memories of the story. Rei tried to recall how the book ended when another thought came to her. She was the author inside her head, and she was the one who would determine the ending to the story. After all, there was no Simon or Piggy here to get killed trying to tame the wild ones, just her.

Looking up, she saw Sailor Moon watching her with the compassionate eyes that she always had. Standing straight, she hefted the spear and threw it at Sailor Moon. The others began to cheer, but it abruptly ended as they saw the spear was three centimeters from the senshi's head. Rei looked at the others with a dark glint in her eye. Within it a fire burned three-fold: anger, sadness, and strength. Reaching into herself the deepest she had ever been, Rei freed the last of the resistance she found there, the last little bit that had a hard time believing that her life would never go back to what it had been before she had met Usagi.

She saw everybody that loved her there, deep within her soul, encouraging her to be strong, not as how they were in this room. Taking a deep breath, Rei opened her eyes and held out her right hand. In the palm of her hand a soft glow began to rapidly spread, elongating. One end spread out, and when the glow died down, the hammer that created life lay in her hand.

Rei knew that this was not a weapon, but a tool. She was not the one who wielded it, but the one who would guide who would. 'Shingo,' she thought. 'Forgive me for what I must do next.'

Raising her hand high, she felt a new power sing through her veins. "Mars Fire Power, Make Up!" Transforming, she held her bow up and pointed it in Shingo's direction. Concentrating, she could barely hear Sailor Moon's pleas to stop. "In order to be cleansed, the world must be bathed in fire," Sailor Mars softly said.

Released, the arrow sped towards Shingo, engulfing him in flames.

******

Hotaru sat up in bed, screaming. "Nooooooo!!!!!!"

******

Shingo felt the heat spread through him, burning up the anger left in his mind. He had expected to be burnt to a crisp, but instead, it flew through him as a soft breeze on a summer's day through the trees. Looking around the room in the middle of the flames, he saw what had become of him. His sister was tied to a wall, the spear still next to her head. The spear that he himself had handed to Rei.

Sobbing, he let the flames get higher, scaring everyone in the room to their senses. He couldn't hear their calls over the crying in his heart. He had let anger get the best of him, to the point where he had been willing to kill his own sister. She didn't deserve that.

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his misery. In the middle of the flames stood Sailor Mars. "Shingo-kun," she said softly. "Leave this sadness. Your sister needs you. The rest of us need you to help fight for this planet. Hotaru needs you," the last she whispered to him.

Closing his eyes briefly, Shingo thought about it. Was he going to let the Earth collapse while he brooded over his inability to control himself? 'No,' he thought. 'I will not let that happen.' Looking back at Sailor Mars, he saw that she was holding out the hammer to him. Reaching for it, Shingo touched it with a fingertip and the world shook.

******

"Hotaru!" Setsuna rushed into her bedroom at her screaming.

"Setsuna-mama!" Hugging the tallest of the senshi close, Hotaru felt as if she were drifting. She had felt as if she were being swept up in the flames. She could have sworn that she was there with Shingo, had felt Mars' arrow pierce through her.

Haruka and Michiru hung back in the doorway, Kunzite and Zoisite behind them. The four of them were worried about the youngest of the senshi. She had been even quieter than she usually was when the immortals had been taken.

Sensing her confusion, Setsuna just let her cry. 'Please, Hotaru, be strong.' The senshi of time held her, thinking that she loved this girl as if she were another sister. Hugging her tight, Setsuna let Hotaru cry.

The four in the doorway were torn. They could see that there was nothing they could do, yet they wanted to help. A small tug on Kunzite's sleeve alerted him that there was somebody standing next to him. Turning, he found Ami, looking worried. Behind her, Minako was subdued, not her usual bright, cheerful self. Understanding dawned in his brain as he motioned for Haruka and Michiru to let them through.

The two inner senshi went over to the bed and hugged Hotaru as well. All four of them had been separated from somebody, and each needed comfort.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling as the house shook. Thinking it was an earthquake, everybody rushed to the doorways along the hallway. Jamming up against one another, none of them noticed the flash of light at first. As it pulsed, though, it caught everybody's attention. Racing outside, they found the others that had been inside Rei's soul.

******

Seiya slowly pushed the door open. He saw Kashikoi on the bed, sleeping peacefully. Or at least, that's what he thought. As he got closer, he could see the tear tracks on her cheeks. Cupping her cheek, he sat down on the bed.

Feeling her face being held, Kashikoi opened her eyes sleepily. When she saw Seiya's face so close to hers, she woke up quickly. She sat up, blushing, dislodging Seiya's hand. Her cheeks got even redder when he put his hand back on her cheek.

"Sumimasen," he whispered. He put his forehead on hers, and looked deep into her eyes. He hoped that she could see how sorry he was for what he had put her through.

"Daijobu," she whispered back. Smiling slightly, she kissed him briefly and started to pull back. She didn't get too far, because he pulled Kashikoi into his arms and really kissed her, a deep, soulful kiss.

"Ahem," came a voice from the doorway. The two on the bed separated faster than the speed of light, making the tall black-haired woman laugh.

"Luna," Artemis said right behind her, admonishingly. "As if we didn't do that when we were younger."

"Artemis," she said, blushing. "Don't say things like that." She turned back to the pair on the bed, finding that they were now on opposite sides of the bed. "Setsuna sent me here to let you know that you should go downstairs. Now that everybody is back, we need to come up with a plan to defeat Beryl."

Kashikoi stood up and headed over to the door. She corraled Luna and Artemis out of the door and shut it behind them. "We'll be down in a minute or so, ok?" She didn't let them answer as she shut the door firmly. She turned back to Seiya and crossed the room to the bed. Sitting next to him, she cupped her hand on his cheek.

He turned to look at her and found happiness in her eyes. "Don't worry about this. We should just think of this as another test to pass, and we haven't failed it yet. Only when everything goes totally wrong will it be bad. We can learn from what happened, and forget about the pain the mistakes gave us."

Seiya could understand this, and he hugged her, burying his head in the crook of her shoulder and neck. Inhaling, he could smell the soft jasmine of her shampoo mingling with the scent of what he knew was her's alone.

"We should get going," Kashikoi whispered.

"Aa, we should," Seiya said.

Neither moved a muscle.

******

Luna looked over at Artemis as they headed down the stairs. She had seen the glint in Kashikoi's eyes as she had shut the door. Those two wouldn't be downstairs in the minute that she had been told, but she understood that they needed to be alone. 'Much like Artemis and I need to be alone.' Making up her mind, she suddenly stopped. Turning around, she grabbed a surprised Artemis and pulled him into the room nearby.

Shutting the door, she pressed her lips against his.

******

Yaten looked up into worried blue eyes. Holding his head, he slowly sat up and looked at Minako's concerned face. He didn't want to tell her what had happened, ashamed at his behavior. He had fought with one of the people he trusted the most in anger. Looking around the room, he saw Taiki still sleeping, his hand wrapped around Ami's.

"Yaten," Minako said softly. "Daijobu?"

Closing his eyes, he didn't want to answer. How could he? He didn't even understand what he was feeling right now. Shame intermingled with love, twisting his thoughts even as he tried to straighten them out.

Minako was worried. Yaten wouldn't answer her and refused to meet her eyes. Well, she wasn't the Ai no Megami for nothing. Standing, she pulled Yaten to his feet and dragged him outside of the house, only Nephlite noticing them leaving. Stopping in the garden, she pulled him over to the bench and sat down next to him.

"Yaten!"

He looked up at his name.

"You get a hold of yourself! I don't care what happened yesterday, just as long as you are alright!" Minako's words drifted off as tears rose in her eyes. "I couldn't handle it if something happened to you."

"Minako," he whispered. "How can I tell you that I felt everybody's anger, and let it build my own? How?" He hugged her closer to him. He felt detached from himself somehow, and needed to hold on to her to get himself back.

He breathed in the sweet scent that seemed to cling to her, even sweeter than the flowers that surrounded them. "I'm so sorry."

Minako pulled back and looked into saddened green eyes. "Yaten, don't be sorry. You couldn't control it!" She shook him slightly. "Let it go!"

Yaten looked into blue eyes that had the beginnings of tears in them. "Hai."

Minako hugged him again, tightening her hold until it was almost strangling him, but he didn't move from her arms. The strength that lay beneath the soft skin seeped into him, giving him the power to go on from where he now stood.

"Hai," he softly repeated as he buried his face in her soft hair.

******

Rei wept.

Suhai hovered behind her, unsure as to what he should do. The raven-haired senshi had not stopped crying since they had returned.

Usagi came over and looked at her friend. She could feel the emotions sweeping over the fire senshi in waves. Her blue eyes wavered slightly at the feelings her friend was fighting.

A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie. Turning, she found Mamoru smiling softly at her. "She will be okay, Usako," he told her gently.

Nodding, the blond looked at her friend once more before she and Mamoru left the room.

******

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