Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Knight's Work Is Never Done ❯ Floran's Trap ( Chapter 8 )

A Knight's Work Is Never Done

Chapter 8: Floran's Trap

 

By: Ginsan

 

 

Jordan was not having a very good day. His already normally foul mood was becoming worse by the minute. Everywhere he looked, there was some kind of plant type Soul Devourer waiting to attack.

 

"Damn things are too damn smart." He swore softly, as he peeked out from his hiding place.

 

The fact that it was a rosebush wasn't helping. A prickly rosebush, that was stabbing him in very unpleasant places.

 

"Now I know why they took Ami. Bait for this little trap. But a trap for who?" He continued to mark positions of Devourers while his mind quickly tried to come up with some sort of a plan.

 

If he had known there were this many Devourers here, he would have re-thought coming on his own. As it was, he hadn't sensed them until he had almost tripped over one. It had all been down hill from there.

 

"Thirty two. Thirty two damn plants that stand between me and whatever the Hell is waiting inside. Great. Bet there's a bunch of those damn bull things in there."

 

The longer he thought about this situation, the less it made sense. Soul Devourers were not supposed to be intelligent. Yes, they could adapt themselves to new situations, but so could a blind dog if it wanted to. The fact that these things had set a trap was disturbing to him. Not even his memories from the past could come up with an explanation.

 

Something had happened to change the Soul Devourers, and Jordan just plain didn't like it.

 

"Guess I should quit pussy-footing around."

 

His best bet would be to send an attack from one side, and then come in from the other while they were distracted. It would fool the dumber ones, but he had a feeling that even with his distraction it would still be difficult to get in.

 

"Maybe if I had a bigger distraction? One that would last a while."

 

For some reason, Serenity above gave it to him.

 

Right before Jordan's eyes, the Sailor Scouts came running by and right up to the large building. He couldn't have planned things better if he tried.

 

Several harmless looking plants erupted from the ground at their approach, and all manner of bizarre plant and animal mixes surrounded the Scouts.

 

The Scouts quickly locked together in a circle formation, realizing that they probably should have had a plan first.

 

"Um, I hate to be critical guys, but I think we're in trouble." Lita's rather obvious comment made Jordan smirk from his hidden location.

 

Now all he had to do was wait for them to start attacking, and then he could deal with most of the Devourers. With luck, the three real Scouts they had brought with them could deal with the stragglers.

 

He didn't have to wait long.

 

A nasty looking fish/plant creature, dripping a foul smelling ooze as it walked, launched itself at the Scouts. It was followed quickly by several other creatures. While they were still in the air, Jordan struck.

 

He phased right into his Phaeton form, and launched himself from the rosebush. His hands clapped together, as he muttered out an attack.

 

"Solar Desolation!"

 

A shockwave of white and black light launched from his hands, and slammed into the Soul Devourers just as they were about to strike the Scouts. They were all incinerated almost instantly.

 

"Someone grab their Soul Gems, quickly!"

 

He jumped back, just in time to avoid a spray of an acid looking liquid that a rather grotesque Devourer had spewed at him. Before the thing could launch another attack, Phaeton's energy blade had sliced it in half. It was still trying to attack, as it's body dissolved into dust.

 

"May not be as hard as I... Ougf!"

 

He was slammed from behind by what looked like an elephant/plant Devourer. The thing was massive. Phaeton had just enough time to roll to the side, before a rather large foot stomped down where his head had been. A quick look, revealed a bear/plant Devourer that was just as large as the elephant one.

 

"I dub thee Ugly number One, and Ugly number Two. You can fight out which is which."

 

Phaeton rolled again, as another foot tried to crush his head. This time though, the foot met with an energy sword which severed it at the ankle and sent the whole beast toppling to the ground.

 

"The bigger they are..."

 

He was grabbed from behind, and slammed into a tree trunk.

 

As he slid to the ground, he could make out that the elephant had been the one to throw him.

 

"The more they can hurt you." Phaeton groaned as he struggled to his feet.

 

He faced off against the elephant, while the bear stood back up. A quick glance revealed that it had grown it's foot back.

 

"All right. Try this one."

 

Phaeton stuck his arms straight out to his sides and then slowly raised them into the air.

 

"Hell"

 

He rotated them in a small circle above his head, before dropping them to stick straight out in front of himself.

 

"Rising!"

 

Two large waves of what looked to be liquid fire, came from behind him and merged into one large wave in front of him before slamming into both of the large Devourers.

 

They screamed out in pain, as their bodies began to go up in flames. If a few short seconds, there was nothing left of them but a shimmering pile of dust and two Soul Gems.

 

Phaeton quickly grabbed them, as well as the one from the Devourer he had sliced in half as he ran for the building.

 

A quick glance at the Scouts, showed that he had been right about the three Outer Scouts with them. They were racking up kill counts left and right, while the other Scouts stayed out of the way, and snagged Soul gems. Situation under control.

 

Phaeton quickly made his way into the seemingly deserted building. He just couldn't wait to find out what goodies were in store from him inside.

 

 

 

"What the bloody Hell?"

 

Phaeton's passage through the building was entirely uneventful. Nothing popped out to attack him. In fact, there didn't even seem to be anything alive in here. The only things he did see, were an occasional spider's web and dead, shriveled up plants here or there.

 

"After what was outside, this is severely disappointing."

 

Before he could react, several ropes dropped from the ceiling to wrap around his arms and legs. Effectively keeping him from moving or escaping.

 

A closer look revealed that they were more like strings of silk, than the rope he had at first thought they were. They were sticky and hard, but resilient at the same time. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break them.

 

"Well, this sucks."

 

He didn't have to wait long for the owner of the sticky lines to appear. Its body resembled a spider, with black hair all over its body, and eight legs sticking out from it. But it had a rat's head, and the arms were tipped by claws. It was roughly about the size of a person, and looked uglier than sin itself. It was currently holding itself in the air by two arms clutching, what looked to be another strand of silk.

 

It slowly descended and scrambled up to Phaeton. It stopped a few feet away, and looked up at him.

 

"No see why Master afraid. Weak. Pathetic. Food."

 

The horribly deformed creature started to crawl up Phaeton's body. When it got to his face and chest, the rat head smiled at him.

 

"Yummy, yummy. Delicious Soul Gem. Me eat now."

 

It raised one of its claw-tipped arms and slowly reached forward with it, ready to claim its meal.

 

However, as soon as the claw touched Phaeton's chest, it burst into flame. The Devourer shrieked out in pain as it fell to the ground, covered in flames. They spread to the lines that bound Phaeton, and he was quickly freed as they were consumed.

 

As he watched the Soul Devourer in its final death throws, he bent down slightly. "Now that's what I call heart burn."

 

As it dissolved into dust, he reached out and took its Soul Gem. One more to add to his slowly growing collection.

 

He continued down the corridor, leaving behind the smell of burnt hair.

 

He emerged a few minutes later into a large room, that must have been the main Green House at one point. It was dilapidated now, and those plants that still lived were scattered all over the place. One plant in particular though, drew his attention.

 

It was more like a frame work of vines, than a real plant. It wasn't the plant itself that drew his attention, but rather what was suspended in the frame work.

 

"Ami!"

 

She was wrapped up tightly in several vines, and suspended halfway between the ceiling and the floor.

 

He started walking towards her, when a very feminine voice called out.

 

"If you value the girl's life, stay where you are."

 

Phaeton stopped, and looked around for the owner of the voice. His attention was drawn to a large flower that he hadn't noticed before, slowly beginning to open. Once it was open, he could see a Soul Devourer sitting inside of it, much like the thing was a throne.

 

"So the guest of honor has arrived at last."

 

The large plant creature rose, and stepped down from the flower, giving the scene some deformed sense of Royalty descending a dais. She walked over until she was standing in-between Phaeton and Ami.

 

"Greetings to you, oh great Prince of Phaeton." He couldn't help but notice the venomous sarcasm that laced her voice. "I am to bid you welcome. And, to offer you the greatest of Honors. Join us. Join us in the ranks of the Void, and crush this miserable world and all of its sickening purity."

 

Phaeton continued to stare at the plant creature. She mistook his hesitation for contemplation, rather than the fact that he was looking for the best possible attack to use on her.

 

"It is very simple. You come with me to the Void, and forget about all these petty Humans and their disgusting habits. Once on the Void, you too shall become a great warrior. Rising to the top of the ranks, to sit at the right side of our Queen."

 

As he continued to remain silent, she frowned at him.

 

"If you do not join us willingly, I have been told to kill you and bring back your Soul Gem. You will join us one way or another, so give up peacefully and come with me now."

 

Phaeton paused, as he looked at her. "No, I think not. Now why don't you release Ami and go back to the Void. You can tell your dear Queen that she's at the top of my list, and that I'd rather kiss a poisonous frog than join you."

 

At the sound of Phaeton's voice, Ami started to rouse a little. She came around just in time to see that something was about to attack Phaeton from behind. However, as bound up as she was, she could do nothing to warn him.

 

"Then so be it. If death is what you want, then Death you shall have."

 

Phaeton stumbled forward as he felt several very painful, needle-like things strike him. As he stumbled to the floor, he reached behind and managed to pull one out.

 

It was a needle. A very familiar looking one at that.

 

He slumped to the floor, and remained unmoving.

 

Floran smiled to herself as she looked up at Ami. "So much for your gallant Knight In Shinny Armor. Pity. I had hoped he'd be more of a challenge, what with all the attention the Queen's been giving him."

 

She turned back to face Phaeton, and slowly began to walk towards him. As she did a yellowish form appeared at her side.

 

It looked much like a large cat. However, most cats didn't have spines down their backs or spiked tails.

 

Floran patted it on the head and then gestured behind, towards Ami. "You may have the girl. Don't harm her body however. The Queen wants her as an example for the other Scouts. So that they may know what the Future holds for them."

 

The cat creature advanced on Ami, and all she could do was stare in horror as it slowly began to climb the vines.

 

Floran stopped just in front of Phaeton and bent down over him. She kicked him with one of her feet and smiled again at the dull thump that it created.

 

"So much for the gallant hero indeed. I don't even see why the Queen would want this one."

 

"Because she knows how deadly I am."

 

Before Floran could react, one of Phaeton's hands shot out from beneath him to reveal the energy blade he had been shielding from view. He rolled over and quickly stabbed upwards, impaling her on it. She screamed out in pain as he stood up, and slowly twisted the blade side to side.

 

The blade remained buried in her body as she started to turn to dust.

 

A final smile came across her lips, as she stared down at Phaeton. "Hate to disappoint you, but you've only gotten another puppet. The real me still waits for you. However, you should be worried about what's happening behind me."

 

She completely faded into dust, just in time for Phaeton to see what she was talking about.

 

Even through the restraining vines, he could hear Ami's scream as the cat thing plunged a claw into her chest. A moment later, it removed the claw. And with it, Ami's Soul Gem.

 

"NOOOOO!"

 

Phaeton was over at the vines in an instant, his blade slicing at the Soul Devourer. It let out a strangled scream as the claw holding Ami's Soul Gem dropped to the ground. The beast itself teleported away before Phaeton could finish it off.

 

Phaeton quickly grabbed the Soul Gem, before using his energy blade to slice through the vines and free Ami. He caught her limp form as she fell. He laid her carefully on the ground and knealed down beside her.

 

With every ounce of desperation that filled him, he tried to force her Soul Gem back into her body, knowing full well that it wouldn't work.

 

He tried it over and over, each time with no success. Eventually, he used up so much energy that he reverted back to Jordan.

 

He continued to try, ignoring the voice at the back of his head, that kept telling him it was a lost cause.

 

Finally, his body ran out of energy and he could no longer remain upright. He feel over onto his side, exhausted beyond anything he'd ever felt in his life. He slipped into unconsciousness with the Soul Gem clutched tightly in his hand.

 

 

 

A weary Sailor Moon looked around her, at her equally weary friends. It had been a long and draining fight, and they had a small pile of Soul Gems to prove for it. They had managed to hold their own, and no one had been seriously hurt. They had won a great victory, though as of yet, they remained oblivious as to its final cost.

 

Sailor Moon trudged up to Sailor Jupiter, who was busy looking through the remains of a Soul Devourer for it's Soul Gem. She glanced up briefly as she approached.

 

"Did you see where Phaeton went? I lost track of him after he took out those two behemoths."

 

Jupiter though for a moment as she picked up the Soul Gem. "I think I saw him go into the main building. That was a while ago though. You think somethings wrong?"

 

Sailor Moon nodded her head. "Uh huh. I've got a really bad feeling that something really bad happened in there."

 

"I agree. The remaining Devourers left in a hurry, and all at once. Something happened inside, and we had better go check out what." Sailor Uranus' deep voice startled Sailor Moon, and Sailor Jupiter.

 

It had the desired effect though, as the rest of the Scouts gathered up all the Soul Gems they could find and made their way to the main building.

 

They went down the same hall that Phaeton had. When they came to the scorched part, they all held their noses as the smell of burnt hair filled their nostrils.

 

"I think he came this way." The sarcasm in Sailor Mars' voice was obvious to even Sailor Venus, and they continued on.

 

They eventually came out into large Green House.

 

They looked around and it was Sailor Saturn who spotted them first. "Over there!"

 

Everyone scrambled over in the direction she pointed. Sailor Moon turned away, not wanting to look at what had befallen her friend.

 

Ami was just barely breathing, and it looked as if all the colored had been drained from her. Her clothes were even different shades of gray.

 

From the position that Jordan had fallen, it looked like he was dead. They couldn't see him breathing, and it was finally a very hesitant Sailor Saturn who approached him.

 

"Jordan? Are you all right? Jordan?" She carefully shook him and continued to call his name.

 

After a few minutes, she managed to get a groan from him, but it was enough to relieve Saturn. The prospect of explaining to Morgan that her brother wasn't coming back didn't exactly thrill her.

 

She turned from Jordan and examined Ami. It wasn't good. She was still breathing, but she seemed to be in a deep trance. Saturn tried everything she could think of to try and wake her up. Nothing.

 

"I think Jordan's okay, he just needs to rest. It looks like he used up all of his energy." Sailor Saturn stood back up, and turned to the others. "Ami's a completely different story. I can't even get a response out of her. If it wasn't for the fact that she's still breathing..."

 

The rest of her comment was left unsaid.

 

"We better get them out of here. Whatever did this, could be back any moment." Every body agreed with Sailor Neptune.

 

The other Scouts carefully picked up Jordan and Ami. Sailor Uranus grabbed Jordan with Sailor Jupiter's help, and Sailor Mars grabbed Ami with assistance from Sailor Venus.

 

Sailor Uranus thought for a moment. "We should take them to the Temple. It's the safest place right now and we can keep an eye on them until one of them comes around."

 

Everyone nodded their agreement, and they set off for the Cherry Hill Temple.

 

* * *

 

"Luna, why won't she say anything? She just sits there, staring at the walls."

 

Luna shook her head sadly. "It's. It's ..."

 

"Because her Soul Gem's been taken."

 

Everyone in the room swiveled to look at Jordan, as he slowly sat up from the small sleeping pallet he was laying on.

 

When they had reached the Temple, they had placed Ami on the bed, and Jordan on a spare sleeping pallet. Ami had awoken a few minutes ago, but since then, all she had done was stare at the walls, showing no interest or awareness of her surroundings.

 

"If so, then it's your fault!" Amara glared at Jordan, and it was only because of Lita and Michelle holding her back, that she didn't try to kill him on the spot. "If you had waited for us, we would have been able to save her."

 

Jordan just looked at her for a moment, before looking at his right hand, which was still in a fist. He didn't say a word, just stared at his clenched fist.

 

"Say something damn it! How do we heal her?"

 

Jordan looked up at the angry Amara, a deep look of actual sadness on his face. "As far as I know, we can't."

 

"WHAT?!"

 

This time, all the girls jumped up, and advanced on him.

 

All he did in return, was look up at them.

 

"Stop this! Beating up on Jordan won't help with Ami." Everyone paused, and most of them felt a little sheepish, as Luna stepped between Jordan, and them. "Besides, he's told you all before that there isn't a known way to restore a Soul Gem."

 

Disgruntled, Amara sat back down, the others following her example.

 

Jordan glanced over at Ami, and then back to the girls. "The most important step though, is recovering her Soul Gem."

 

Amara jumped up again, and stared down at him. "Tell me which thing has it, and I'll go get it myself."

 

Jordan looked up at her for a moment, before holding up his clenched fist. "Don't bother." He opened his hand, to reveal a small crystal of deep blue. "I already took care of it."

 

Amara glared down at him, as she slowly sat back down. "So if you got her Soul Gem, then how come you weren't able to prevent it from being taken in the first place?"

 

He shook his head and placed the Soul Gem in a pocket. "I was busy. Taking care of the thing that caught her in the first place."

 

"And what happened to it?"

 

"I killed it."

 

Jordan slowly stood up, wavering slightly on his feet. He braced himself against the wall, as he waited for his legs to stabilize.

 

"Where do you think you're going?"

 

Jordan ignored the sarcasm in Amara's voice, as he started walking out the door. "To find Trista. If I'm going to find a way to heal Ami, I'm going to need some things."

 

Before anyone could say anything more, Jordan was gone, leaving them all feeling confused.

* * *