Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Something to Stay Awake For ❯ The Beginning of the End ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four: The Beginning of the End

Tears of hatred, sorrow, and defeat welled up in Sailor Chibi Moon's eyes, as she dropped onto the ground in a heap. For several hours, the guardian cats had searched with her all over Tokyo for Onihiko with no luck. Luna and Artemis had suggested several times that they search in Sailor Chibi Moon's neighborhood to see if Onihiko was there, but she had refused to go. In the current situation, she hadn't been ready to see what had happened to her beautiful house that contained so many of her happy memories. But since looking all over the rest of Tokyo had been fruitless, she had finally agreed. And now, she was lying in front of the scorched ruins of her home.

Just like every other building in the city, her house had been burned to the ground, but it was by far in worse shape then any other structure. It seemed almost as if Onihiko had known it was her home and had made sure to damage it the most. Not only had his enormous fire totally engulfed it, but giant thunderbolts had crashed through the remainders of the house, totally demolishing what was left of it. Also, the hornets had ate away all of the surrounding ground, exposing the foundation, all of the pipes, and some of the electric lines. The lovely tree that had once shaded the front lawn had been ripped up by the roots and thrown mercilessly across the street. If Sailor Chibi Moon hadn't know the location of her house, she wouldn't have known the smoking pile of ruble and dirt before her was her home.

Sailor Chibi Moon just sat there on the ground, crying silently. She held her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking, as sobs raked through her body. That had been the only home she had ever known. It had been the place where she had grown up. It was the house her mother, father, and cats had once lived in, and it had been the house in which they had protected and loved her. Everything of her family's had been completely destroyed now, and if the attack on Onihiko failed, she would have nothing to remember her family by. There would be nothing to help her cling to her memories. Along with the current situation, this loss was just too much to handle. She had everything sitting on her shoulders, but now she didn't even have a home to come back too. What was she going to do?

"Sailor Chibi Moon, are you okay? What's wrong?" A tiny voice mewed, very concerned. The pink-haired senshi turned around to see her tiny kitten, Diana, sitting on the remainder of the street with her. She looked very worried about her owner and best friend. Sailor Chibi Moon smiled weakly at her, wiping the tears from her swollen eyes and cheeks.

"I'll be fine." Sailor Chibi Moon whispered, trying to convince herself as much as Diana. She stroked the kitten's soft, purple fur. Diana purred happily, rubbing her small against the girl's side. As the two sat together, an exhausted Luna and Artemis appeared from behind a chunk of rubbish and headed toward them. From the looks on their faces, they hadn't had any luck in the search.

"Oh, this is useless! Onihiko is obviously gone!" Luna cried, hanging her head. Artemis sighed sadly, as he plopped down on the ground. They both looked very defeated.

Sailor Chibi Moon said nothing in reply. She simply sat there on the cold pavement, her legs tucked underneath her. Her hand caressed Diana's fur involuntarily, as she stared sadly off into space. The tears had stopped, and now she only felt a deep emptiness inside. Diana continued to purr, to young to realize what was going on.

"I think he's probably planning an attack." Artemis replied with a long, gloomy sigh. He clearly thought they were beaten, and that this was the end.

"Let's not give up!" Diana abruptly exclaimed, as she stopped purring. She jumped up, pulling away from the senshi's hand, and looked around at everyone. An angry expression came over her young face. "You guys are acting like a bunch of quitters! We can't just give up! We have to look again!" The tiny purple kitten cried before setting off down the street. She obviously didn't realize the seriousness of the situation or the fact that they had lost.

"Diana, Onihiko has outsmarted us! We lost. There is no point in looking." Artemis called out after his daughter, but either she didn't hear or pay any attention, because she continued to run down the street.

"We better go get her. She might get hurt." Luna suggested, and the white cat nodded. Artemis and the black cat got up and hurried after the purple kitten, as the sun began to set. The sun started to disappear behind the hills, and the clouds turned the color of flames. The sky, which had been blue a half an hour before, glowed red, orange, and high up, black. Moments passed and the stars and moon appeared.

Sailor Chibi Moon sat on the street, watching her only friends until all three were out of sight. Her eyes then drifted back to what used to be her house, and tears starting streaming down her cheeks again. She felt sick and exhausted, but more than anything, despair, meaningless, and worthlessness. Onihiko's second attack on Tokyo and the destruction of her home had taken every ounce of hope from her body. Now, everything was completely pointless. Not even the guardian cats could heal this pain. "Oh, please…" She cried, burying her head in her lap, as she burst into tears.

"Oh, what a waste! A pathetic, weak mind paired up with a strong body and a powerful Sailor Crystal." Sailor Chibi Moon slowly turned around at the sound of the unfamiliar male voice with a surprised choke. Through her tears, she saw a person.

Behind a curtain of fine, extremely long, silver hair stood a tall, lanky man. He was too pale, and his vicious, yellow eyes were sunk back into his head. He looked very ill, but there was something about the way he held himself so that he appeared strong and healthy. He wore an expensive, black business suit with a silky, dark tie. He looked very sophisticated and intelligent. He wore a knowing half smile that made him appear frightening. Everything about him was intimidating. He made Sailor Chibi Moon feel extremely inferior. She stopped crying immediately and simply stared at the man, completely speechless.

"What's wrong, girl? Cat got your tongue?" The stranger laughed, staring at Sailor Chibi Moon. His piercing eyes stared into hers, seeming to see her soul and fears. Those eyes made her forget everything about herself, her situation, and her surroundings. The only thing she could remember were those strange, yellow depths. She gulped, terror gripping her. Her heart pounded madly in her chest, as she got the sudden urge to get up and run away. Who was this man? He seemed so evil.

"Who-who are you?" Sailor Chibi Moon managed to stutter, swallowing hard. The man's half-smile widened, as he cocked his head to one side. Those eyes left hers and traveled up and down her body, as if he were summing her up. She began to shake. He then raised one eyebrow, and burst into laughter. Sailor Chibi Moon made herself get smaller, as she gulped again.

"I, girl, am everything you hate!" The man cried, spreading his arms and spinning around in a circle. He threw his head back and laughed. "I am the ruler of pain, the king of misery! I am the creator of darkness and destruction! I am everything you fear and what you dread! I am the insane!" The stranger stopped his spinning and laughing and faced Sailor Chibi Moon. He leaned forward and whispered so softly she could barely hear, "I, girl, am Onihiko."

Sailor Chibi Moon's eyes widened in surprise, as she suddenly overcame the fear she was feeling. This was the scum who had destroyed everything of hers right in front of her eyes! She felt hate instantly wrap around her heart. Never before had she ever despised someone so much. Never before had she wanted the feel of blood on her hands. She was going to save her family and friends and kill this man if it were the last thing she ever did. She was going to punish him for all of the lives he has taken and all of the hopes he had crushed. Rage and hatred replaced the terror, and she was immediately up on her feet in a fighting position. She clenched her fists and her fingernails cut into her palms, drawing blood that stained her white gloves. Her face twisted with revulsion. "You…"

"Are you going to try to fight me, girl?" Onihiko asked, cocking his head to the side again. A thoughtful expression came over his face, and then he laughed. "Along with being pathetic and weak, you're stupid too!" Onihiko stopped laughing. He clucked his tongue and shook his head sadly, as Sailor Chibi Moon's face burned red. Her chest heaved furiously. "You'll lose, you know?"

"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Chibi Moon yelled, taking her golden tiara off of her head and throwing it with all her might at Onihiko. It went spinning through the air so fast it was just a blur with the silver-haired man right in its deadly path. But instead of the tiara hitting him, he dodged out of the way, and when it came spinning back like a boomerang, he dodged again. The tiara flew back into Sailor Chibi Moon's hand, and she screamed in rage. Onihiko simply gave her a half-smile.

"Not a very good starting attack, girl." Onihiko said, shaking his head. He jumped up into the air and hovered there above Sailor Chibi Moon. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief as she realized he could fly. Her moment of surprise didn't last long though.

"You should have tried something like this!" His eyes glowed a bright yellow for a moment, and then the pink-haired senshi suddenly found herself flying backwards through the air at top speed. She screamed hysterically and flung her arms out, trying to stop herself. Her body slammed into the truck of the tree that had once stood in her front yard so hard that the truck split open with a deafening crack. Pain shot through her body. Her vision blurred and she felt blood running from the back of her head. Onihiko laughed. "What a weakling!"

"Weakling…" Sailor Chibi Moon heard a chorus of familiar voices echo. She ignored the throbbing pain and the warm blood soaking the back of her uniform, and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision. The fuzzy outlines of things began to appear, and she saw nine figures that hadn't been there before. They looked so familiar, even if they were blurry. She tried to remember where she had heard those voices before, but her head felt like it was going to explode when she thought.

"Sailor Senshi, would you mind getting rid of this pest?" Onihiko asked, and Sailor Chibi Moon gasped. Those nine figures were her family and friends? She tried to see clearer, but rubbing her eyes only made her head ache more. She groaned as the pain worsened. Onihiko laughed. "I don't think it will be hard."

Sailor Chibi Moon moaned. It felt like a knife had been shoved through her skull, but she tried to stand anyway. She had to be strong, or she wouldn't win this fight. She had to succeed, because not only her family's, friends', and her life depended on it, but the entire Earth was at sake. Everything sat on Sailor Chibi Moon's shoulders, and no matter what pain or defeat she felt, she couldn't give up. She had to continue to fight until she was dead, and she had to use up every ounce of courage and strength until then. If she won this battle, she would finally have something to stay awake for. Losing wasn't an option.

"I won't be beaten." Sailor Chibi Moon said, standing up straight and lifting her chin. She was gasping for breath, her vision was blurry, and she had a skull-splitting headache, but she was standing. She gathered all of her strength and took a wobbly step forward, using the thought of her family, friends, and the Earth as fuel. Onihiko raised his eyebrow. The Sailor Senshi went into a fighting stance. Sailor Chibi Moon took another step forward, her lungs feeling as if they were going to explode because she couldn't catch her breath. She ignored the pain, the desire to rush to her mother, the wish to run away, and the hatred pulling her heart, and whispered softly, "Give it all you've got, Onihiko."