Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Enemy Within? ❯ Chapter 8

Authors Notes: Okay, this is BAD! I'm VERY sorry about so much time being taken, people, and I apologize again for how short this chapter is. However, I was sick and tired of seeing so many people taking the time to update their fanfics, while mine sat and got moldy.:D Anyway, this should tide over my few remaining loyal readers until I can get something more substantial out. Don't be surprised though, if it takes me a while to get new chapters out for a bit, though.:)

Addendum: This chapter has now been edited(more like, added onto) for more fun reading. The section that is marked with pound signs (#) is a transcript that I borrowed from a fanfic that I read by Sean Gaffney, titled "Made of Stone". If you EVER have the chance, I suggest you read it...it's THAT good and MORE. Now I just have to hope he didn't mind my using it...

Disclaimer: We Michigan boys like to play fair. That's why I'm not writing this fanfic for profit, or trying to act as though I own all the characters in it. That's all there is to it.

Chapter Eight

Mercury was scanning Hotaru's prone body, overseen by Serenity, Usa-chan and an anxious Neptune, when Serin burst in. "We've got a lead," he announced without preamble.

The others shot him a look, but Mercury returned to her computer within a few moments, though Serin knew from past experience that she was still listening intently.

"What do you mean, Serin?" his sister asked with an arched eyebrow. The paladin steepled his fingers in front of his chin and answered, "Apparently, this isn't entirely Sephiroth's fault. A source told me, in a roundabout way, that both Neptune and I are correct in our assesments of the situation."

Everyone's eyes widened at that, and even Mercury looked up from her computer a moment in surprise. Neptune was the first to recover, questioning, "And...who was this 'source'?"

Serin pursed his lips as he looked at all of them. "Sailor Pluto. Why? Is she not reliable or something?"

The reaction was slightly puzzling to Serin at that point. Each of the senshi slowly glanced at the others, an unreadable look passing between them. When attention returned to him, Serenity asked, "Serin...what exactly did she tell you?"

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'There...should be able to fool anyone into thinking that he's sleeping.'

Glancing around the hall once more, he quickly gave a short pat to the unconscious soldier's shoulder and slipped into the confiscation room. After scanning the room and making certain that no cameras or guards were inside, Sephiroth then went to task on finding his Masamune.

It hadn't been at the top of his list, but when he found himself suddenly having to pass by, his urgent pace had suddenly slowed as he pursed his lips, sighed, and decided that it wouldn't hurt to at least take a look. Disabling the guard was a trivial matter, his silver hair notwithstanding. He'd wake up in a few hours with a headache, but nothing more serious.

Fortunately, he managed to turn up his weapon in short order, which was all the time he had been willing to give himself anyway. Picking up the sword and giving it a short test swing, the former commander sheathed it and stepped back out into the hallway and continued on his way, a more urgent step to his pace than before.

As he approached the hospital wing, a number of approaching voices drifted his way. Frowning, he paused a moment...and then smoothly slipped into the shadows of the corridor when he placed them, only one eye peeking from around the corner as the owners of those voices appeared.

"...I just don't get it. How can both you and I be right, Neptune?" Serin was saying.

The water senshi sighed and shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. It's possible that Sephiroth has some sort of 'split personality' or something. Either way..." she sighed, "I...probably shouldn't have been so harsh with him. I just..." Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes.

At that moment, the queen laid a hand on Neptune's shoulder, smiling comfortingly. "It's okay...we may be senshi...well, some of us," she amended with a grin at Serin, "but we aren't immune to feeling pain and instinctively lashing out at what we think caused it. Maybe we'd all feel better if we spoke with Sephiroth now. Hopefully...hopefully we can all get some answers"

Mercury nodded at that point. "If it would make everyone feel better, I can rig up a lie detector with my computer. I don't see any reason why he would lie, but just to erase doubt..."

Serenity nodded. "I don't think he'll object, either. I could tell that he wanted to be cleared of this. But it does beg the question..."

Finally, their voices faded as they turned a distant corner, leaving Sephiroth to stare at the direction they'd gone. Maybe he should have stayed in his cell...

A quick shake of his head discarded that idea. He didn't care what everyone thought of him for breaking free(although, he had to admit, he had no idea HOW it had been done...), but his priority right now was seeing to his fiancee...

Turning sharply on his heels, the commander raced up the corridor the last fifteen or so meters, discovering a door that was guarded by two soldiers. Stretching out his mind, Sephiroth needed only a brief touch to assure himself that that was indeed Hotaru's room...the darkness from inside was sickeningly strong there, almost overwhelmingly so.

That just left the manner of the guards to deal with. A quick search of his pockets revealed little that he could use...breath mints, the box that had until recently held the engagement ring he'd given Hotaru, some small change...

A thought then occured to him, and before he could discount it, the former commander pulled out one of the larger coins in his pocket, gauged the distance, and threw it as hard and fast as he could.

Not too far away, a loud 'TINK!' sounded throughout the corridor. Both guards tensed and looked in that direction, with one of them actually taking a few steps.

That was all the time he needed. Racing forward unnaturally fast(and yet still silently), Sephiroth slammed the flat of his hand against the first guard's throat, sending him down gasping for air. The sudden scuffle caused his companion to whirl as he drew his sword, though he nearly dropped it in fright as he saw who his opponent was, which caused Sephiroth to loose a mental sigh. Two jabs to the gut later, the second guard also dropped to the ground. After making sure both were suitably unconscious, he quickly arranged them to make it appear as though both had gone to sleep. He had just finished up when he heard a cool, confident voice state, "Don't move."

The swordsman's body stiffened for a brief second before he forced himself to relax, letting a very powerful mental curse be directed at himself. He'd been so caught up in getting the guards neutralized that he'd never thought about someone else being inside the room. Knowing he didn't have a lot of time whether she called for help, Sephiroth decided to press his case. "Look Usa-chan, I'm here to see that Hotaru..."

"Dies? Is that what you were about to say, you bastard?" the voice behind him snarled. "She very well may, thanks to you. She trusted you, gave you her life and love, and this is how you repay her, huh? And to think...I was looking forward to your wedding...you..."

"Usa-chan, that is NOT what happened!" he hissed furiously. "Look at me, alright? Look at me, and think about the times you saw Hotaru and me together. Did I ever act as though I had an ulterior motive? Did I act suspicious in any way in front of her...or the rest of you? I'll answer for you, I did NOT! I was as open as one could be with all of you. I don't know who decided to hurt Hotaru, but I promise you on my soul that it wasn't me."

A long pause ensued after that comment, until finally he heard footsteps backing into the room. "Leave the sword outside. I still don't trust you," the senshi said.

Nodding in agreement, Sephiroth slipped off his weapon, scabbard and all, leaning it against the wall before following Usa-chan inside. One look at the figure lying on the bed broke his heart, and he immediately went to her side, ignoring his watcher's glare. Clasping one of Hotaru's hands in both of his, the proud, normally cool swordsman cried bitterly at what he saw.

Her face was twisted in obvious anguish which showed up quite clearly even through the oxygen mask that she wore. Several monitors relayed her vital signs to any observers, and from what little he knew, Hotaru's signs were very erratic...dangerously so.

Giving his love a kiss as best as he could through the maze of wires and tubes, Sephiroth stood and pulled off one of his gloves, placing the hand on Hotaru's forehead. Shooting a glance at Usa-chan, he said, "Don't let anyone stop me until I'm done. I'm sure everyone's noticed by now, but...she's been repossessed by something dark and evil."

The young woman's sudden blinking fit and horrified glance at her friend told Sephiroth that she did not know this, which surprised him, to be honest. Sighing, he added, "Anyway, she is. I'm going into her mind to see what I can do. I want you to promise me that you won't let anyone interrupt me...if I'm forcibly pulled out of this...well, let's just say that things will not be enjoyable."

Usa-chan looked up at the taller man, and nodded. "But...what are you going to do?" she asked.

"...I don't know. But I can't stand by and do nothing. If the woman I love is in pain...then I'll do my damndest to share in that pain, if not bear the brunt of it. I won't abandon her."

And with that, he gave her a small smile with a jaunty salute before his eyes closed and he was in the mind of the second most powerful senshi...the woman he loved.

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"Damn!" Serin cursed as the guard left to relay his orders. "Why did he leave? I told him he wasn't going to be killed for this, stupid fool!"

Mercury shook her head in amazement, although it was more at the state of the room than the paladin's words. "I'm more interested in the 'how' than the 'why', myself...the stasis field is supposed to be impregnable to manipulation from inside...and then there's the door. If I didn't know better, I'd almost swear he had help."

Serin ran a hand through his hair and blew out a short sigh. "I know this isn't what you mean, Mercury, but I didn't do anything of that sort when I was down here. Still, I can ask the guards if there were any other visitors besides me...I doubt we'll find anything, though."

Serenity nodded. "Our priority right now is finding him, anyway. While I believe he may be innocent, we can't risk having people panic. Neptune, get all available and healthy senshi ready, and scour the palace grounds. Don't use your communicator, either; I'd prefer that our injured get the rest they need. If you mention this over the communicator, one or the other may find out and demand to come along."

The water senshi nodded and exited the cell to relay the orders.

Turning to her brother, she continued, " Serin, I'm loath to do this, but we'll need to reassign your men to patrols in the city. Try to place them as efficiently as possible, and have them patrol everywhere, but they are NOT permitted to enter anyone's house without just cause. Hopefully, that will assuage any fears that may arise from the sudden troop presence."

"Right. I'll make sure everyone understands that last before anything else. Maybe I can put another safeguard in place just to be on the cautious side," he commented as he too, left the area.

Serenity nodded, and then finally turned to Mercury. "Mercury, stay here until our investigation team arrives, and then turn over what data you've acquired and join the others in the search. Alright?"

The senshi genius nodded mutely, her gaze never leaving the monitor as her fingers flew over the keyboard.

Sighing, the queen began to return to her chambers when a sudden insistent beeping from Mercury's computer piqued her interest. Turning, she asked, "Something happen?"

Finally tearing her gaze from the computer, she whispered in equal parts surprise and horror, "A massive surge of negative energy is building up...and it's coming from Hotaru's room!"

An icy vise settled around Serenity's heart at those words. She remembered all too well Hotaru's constant battles with the darkness that lurked inside of her. She and the others had hoped that due to Sephiroth's efforts, it had been forever destroyed, but it would appear that Sephiroth's supposed 'betrayal' was all that was needed to give it a resurgence. And with the swordsman missing, what methods were left were iffy, at best. While Serenity wondered how it could have escaped notice until now, action was more important. Calling over her shoulder she said, "Get the others on the communicator, and have them meet me at Hotaru's room!"

She barely heard her friend's acknowledgement as she ran, hoping against hope that they wouldn't be too late. A moment later, a sudden rumble from the ground seemed to answer that yes, they would be.

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'He's abandoned you...just like all the others. It will only be a matter of time...why fight it? Accept what I can bring...'

"N, no...no, this...this isn't right..."

'And having them abandon you to such a cruel fate is? Where are your friends when you need them? Where is the one who supposedly LOVED you?'

To that, the woman known as Hotaru Tomoe had no reply. She could still feel the cold sting as the man she loved swung his blade down, the steel biting into her flesh...

A shake of her head dismissed those thoughts, but her confidence was shaky, to say the least. The shield she had put up flickered wildly as the darkness surrounding her probed and tested it, all the while assaulting her mind with it's taunts.

'There is no point in resisting...soon, you will be mine, as you were always meant to be. Then, you will be truly free...free from the pain of betrayal...free from such petty ideals...'

"She will NOT be yours! She is her own person, you piece of puke!" a familiar, enraged voice called out.

Hotaru whirled at the shout, and reflexively stepped back as she saw the person she last expected to see. "S, Seph..."

The former commander stepped forward, gazing angrily at the darkness surrounding his love, before his eyes settled on her own. And for the second time in as many days, Hotaru was struck by what she saw.

His eyes were filled with anger, yes...but also a great deal of pain at what she had had to go through. And try as she might, Hotaru couldn't find a hint of the cold malevolentness that had been in the gaze of the one who struck her down.

This, of course, didn't stop her from backing away when he tried to approach. Instantly, he realized his mistake and stopped, his hand outstretched helplessly. "H, Hotaru-chan...please..."

"Just...don't come near me...please, Sephiroth..." she demanded, albeit in a whisper.

The use of his full name, rather than the shortened one she normally used, hurt him more than the actual demand itself, but he acceded to her wishes, staying where he was. "Hotaru-chan...you have to believe me, it wasn't me who...who hurt you," he said, stumbling over his words. "In the two years that we were together...did I ever raise my hand in anger at you? Or even raise my voice? You know the answer, Hotaru-chan."

'He lies, little senshi...all of them have lied to you. Could anyone emulate his appearance? Or his mastery of the sword? He only seeks to finish what he was unable to before...best to accept the power I can give you, and destroy him first.'

Sephiroth glared at the darkness. "Ex-CUSE me, I'm having a conversation with my fiancee here!" Turning his gaze back to his love, he continued, "Hotaru...you know as well as I do that I would sooner kill myself than hurt you in any way. I love you, Hotaru Tomoe...more than I could ever love anyone else. When you're with me, I feel...at peace, moreso than I ever remember. Please...if you believe nothing else, believe that."

A long moment of silence answered him before the senshi spoke. "Then, how...how was it that that person was able to look like you...? And...how did you get here?"

A regretful shake of the head accompanied his answer: "I don't know, Hotaru-chan...but I swear to you, I WILL find answers...and whoever this person is, he will pay for hurting you. And as for the second part..." he grinned, "Nothing will keep me from the woman I love when she's in trouble or pain. This is MY chance to play the knight in shining armor routine, after all."

A small smile appeared on his fiancee's face at that comment, along with a low chuckle. Hesitantly, she stood, whispering, "It's...really you?"

"I swear it, love. I..." His eyes suddenly widened, and he dashed forward, panic on his face. This, of course, didn't help Hotaru's state of mind, and she screamed just as Sephiroth reached her...but instead of the pain she had expected, there was a sudden rush of movement, and then a grunt from Sephiroth...followed by the darkness' triumphant shout.

'WAHAHAHAHA!!! This is even better! With the power of this host, I can finally bring about the silence for good! I...wait...what is this?!?'

Sephiroth growled as the darkness was absorbed into his body, focusing his mind to utilize all the magic he had available...gently pushing Hotaru away, he dropped to his knees, which allowed the senshi of silence to see and piece together what had happened.

Her mental barrier had collapsed behind her, apparently when she became so distracted with Sephiroth's appearance. Seeing its opportunity, the darkness had then attempted to strike from behind...which lead to this...

"NO!" she wailed, rushing to his side. Trembling, the swordsman held up a hand, warning her to keep back.

"I can...handle it...I won't...forgive...myself if...you EEEAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" he screamed as his head was clasped firmly in his hands. Around them, the darkness' voice spoke once more.

'Such resistance...and such power. Yet I now see the darkness in your soul, and draw strength from it. Strange...it is distant...but no matter. You are mine, little man; accept your fate!'

Hotaru was by her love's side in another instant, flexing her fingers as she prepared to help him in any way possible...and then a thought occurred to her. Something that someone (Serenity, Queen Serenity) had told her once;

#Hotaru,# she had said. #You are the senshi of death and destruction. It is a terrible burden to give to someone. Yet it is perfect for you. Every power has its opposite. And not only do you possess within you the power to destroy worlds, to cloak the earth in darkness, so too do you have the power to heal, to bathe the world in light. Never forget that, for one day, it will be your salvation...#

Blinking, she nodded, giving silent thanks to the matriarch of the Silver Millenium, and began working at the darkness, manipulating it as she gathered more and more of her powers together.

'Wh, what are you...? NO! You'll kill him if you do this!' the darkness screamed in panic.

Hotaru smirked wickedly as she finished her preparations. "Not likely," she replied, and then manipulated the darkness, converting it. The darkness howled in pain as from within, a sort of dark light shone. The howl faded as the light grew then, and as the main body still in Hotaru's mind was fully converted, so too was the darkness that had entered Sephiroth's body, easing his pain. Finally, exhausted, Hotaru slumped down, allowing her barriers to drop as she tightly gripped her love.

It took only a few moments for Sephiroth's eyes to open, and when he saw the most beautiful sight in the world in front of him, he whispered, "We won?"

Her eyes shimmering, Hotaru nodded. "Yes, Seph-kun...we did it."

Her use of his shortened name caught his attention, and he smiled. "I guess you believe me, huh?"

"Oh Seph-kun, I'm so sorry for doubting you...I was just so...so afraid and..."

"Ssshhh...it's alright, little firefly...let's just go home...you have friends and family waiting for you."

Shaking her head, Hotaru kissed her fiance and corrected him, "WE have family and friends waiting for US. And don't forget it."

A chuckle escaped his lips at that. "I stand corrected. Let's go home, my love."

And with that, they stood and followed the light back to the real world.