Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Brooch ❯ Chapter 22

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Brooch
By Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 22


Main Medical Building, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:11 P.M.


Ami weaved through the frantic stream of personnel rushing to get to their stations in preparation for yet
another invasion. Most of the doctors and nurses were scrambling to get to their mass casualty stations,
while she, and other nurses-in-training, did their best to try and get out of their way. Normally, she
would stay in the Infirmary while there was an invasion going on, but with Makoto awake, there wasn't
really much reason for her to go there anymore. Still, it was a routine that she had followed for so long
that it was already habit. And since she wasn't needed anywhere else, it was just as well. She could
always help out if another hand or two were needed.

She finally managed to exit the Examinations section of the main building, when she spotted someone
running up the stone steps while carrying someone. They were too far away to be seen clearly, though.
Could someone have injured themselves in the chaos down in the Lower Grounds? Not that it wasn't chaos up
here, as well. Without a second glance, Ami turned and started running toward the Infirmary.

"Ami!"

She was halfway to the Infirmary when she heard someone call out to her. It sounded like Ryoku. Looking
toward the direction of the shout confirmed her suspicions as he saw him running toward her with Makoto in
his arms while she carried her crutches. Immediately, she came to a halt, then changed direction to meet
with them partway.

"No, nothing's wrong with her," Ryoku said as she caught up with them. He didn't stop, though, as he
continued straight for the Infirmary, his gaze darting about as if he was looking for something. "I just
need you to watch over her for a while." He turned to meet her gaze with a steely one of his own. "It's
very important."

She was momentarily taken aback at the look in his eyes. Her gaze went straight to Makoto, who gave her a
look that was just as serious. Something was going on, she decided, and nodded. He'd tell her when he had
the opportunity.

Ryoku and Makoto remained silent until they reached the Infirmary. Ami ran ahead of them to open the door
so that they could run inside without slowing, then darted inside after them.

"Is Mako-chan's old room still available?" Ryoku asked as he stopped in front of the room in question and
set Makoto down. Ami nodded an affirmative as Makoto slowly reached out and touched the spot where her old
patient information placard used to hang.

The old information placard had been removed since she no longer occupied the room. The wall showed signs
of discoloration where the placard had once laid, a brighter rectangular block evidence of the years of
inactivity and waiting. Proof of time frozen in place for three long years.

"Let's go," Ryoku said as he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and gave her an understanding look.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, nodded, and then turned the knob on the door.

The inside of the room was dark, but the moment Makoto stepped inside, she felt as though she had stepped
into a very familiar place. Consciously, she had only been in this room for a few days, but her body felt
a deep familiarity here. It was comfortable in a way, but not in a way that she would prefer.

Makoto sat down on the bed, laying her crutches down beside her while Ami took a seat in a nearby chair.
Ryoku came inside and closed the door behind him. "Ami, we don't have much time, so I'll make this quick.
We need you to pretend that Makoto is staying in this room for the duration of the invasion."

Ami frowned as she tilted her head and gave him a questioning look.

Makoto slowly got off the bed and stood up, drawing her transformation wand from her pocket. "It'll be
faster if I show you," she said as she raised the wand overhead. "Jupiter star power, make-up!" A flash of
light and a few moments later, Sailor Jupiter stood in Makoto's place.

The mute girl stared in shock for a moment before turning to Ryoku and giving him a wildly questioning
look while pointing at Jupiter.

"We just found out not too long ago," he explained as he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out
the communicators he had pocketed earlier. "Here, take one of these."

Ami gave him another questioning look, but took one anyway, giving the light blue communicator a close
scrutiny while he put the other two back in his pocket.

While Ami looked over her communicator, Jupiter glanced at the back of the item, noting the symbol that
adorned the back. She had noticed the symbols on the other communicators before, so she was curious as to
what Ami's would look like. Strangely enough, Ami's symbol looked a lot like Minako's symbol, except that
there were two horn-like lines that were stuck on the top of the cross and circle.

"It's a communicator," Jupiter answered her voiceless question. "It's an emergency means of communication
between us Senshi in cases such as this, when we need to get information to everyone quickly, like where
to meet up and stuff like that."

"I know you can't transform yet, but eventually you will," Ryoku added. "When that happens, we want you to
be ready."

She stared down at the communicator in her hands for a few moments longer before pocketing the device and
nodding.

"All right," he nodded as he opened the window and snuck a quick glance outside. "We'd better get going."

"Take care, all right, Ami-chan?" Jupiter said as she gave her friend a worried look.

The mute girl smiled and nodded, and then gave her concerned look in return.

"We will," the ponytailed Senshi agreed before jumping out of the window.

She turned toward Ryoku and gave him a worried look, seeing as he hadn't left yet.

"I didn't want to say this in front of the others, but I'm really worried about this invasion," he told
her. "HQ said that flying Youma were reported to be amongst the invaders." Ami gasped and Ryoku nodded in
response. "We've never faced that before. We're going to lose quite a few people, Ami. I can feel it."

Ami moved over to him and slipped her arms around him, hugging him tightly while giving him a pleading
look.

"I won't die, Ami," he told her as he ran a caring hand through her short, blue hair. "I'll come back. I
promise." He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on her lips before breaking the embrace.

"I... I have to go," he said, turning away from seeing her face still tilted upward and eyes still closed.
He broke away and leaped out of the window, running after Jupiter as soon as his feet hit ground.

"What took you?" Jupiter asked as she picked up her pace once Ryoku caught up.

"I... had to make her a promise," he said, his expression turning grim.

Jupiter went quiet for a moment. "Ryo-chan... we'll be all right... won't we?"

The ponytailed Blade's frown tightened for a moment. "We'll do what we have to, Mako-chan," he finally
replied.

She nodded uncertainly as she turned her attention toward getting to the meeting point as fast as
possible while trying not to think about what her brother's words could mean.


_________________________________________________________________


Lower Grounds, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:16 P.M.


Michiru trailed behind the exodus of people making their way toward Sendai Hill and the Hikawa Jinja
proper. All around, people were chittering anxiously amongst themselves, apprehensive and fearful.

There were whispers that the reason that the Youma were invading now was that Jadeite had somehow learned
that the barrier was coming back up today. No, the reason was that Jadeite had finally had enough and had
called in another General to help wipe them out, as evidenced by the new flying Youma someone had
overheard the Blades warning each other about. No, there was a traitor amongst the humans; how else could
Jadeite have timed his invasion so close to the barrier coming up? No, the timing was a coincidence. But,
if the timing was a coincidence, how come Jadeite never bothered to invade until now, since the barrier
had been gone for a good while?

Michiru tried to tune the frightened speculation out. There was enough to worry about without anyone else
inadvertently adding fuel to the fire.

As she made her way to the Hikawa Jinja proper, she tried to keep an eye out for Haruka. She hadn't seen
any Shishu uniforms, so she figured that they were already gathering at their headquarters or on their way
to meet the invasion. Maybe Haruka would be part of the force that would remain near Sendai Hill in case
the Youma made it this far. She had seen people make their way in the opposite direction of the people
fleeing for the relative safety of Sendai Hill, whom she could only assume to be members of the defending
force that would supplement the small handful of Blades they had to protect them.

Just as she was about to reach the stone steps that would lead up to the Hiwaka Jinja, two people suddenly
leaped down from the top of the stairs, barreling down the stone steps at a reckless, breakneck speed.

"LOOK OUT!"

"MAKE WAY!"

Several people all but dove out of the way of the two as they hurtled down the stone steps, stopping only
to regain their balance once they hit the ground. Michiru jerked back, startled, not only because they
landed right in front of her, but because one of them was a Sailor Senshi and the other was a Blade she
recognized.

"Sorry about that, Michiru-san," Ryoku said by way of an apology, before darting past her, "but we're kind
of in a hurry."

"Excuse us, please," the Sailor Senshi added as she rushed past as well, her ponytail fluttering behind
her.

Michiru stared after the Senshi for a few moments, wondering at the strange urge compelling her to go
after her. She knew she had never met that tall Senshi in green before, but there was a connection there,
just like the one she felt when she had seen the image of Sailor Moon two days ago.

Was it only two days ago? It felt like forever.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Michiru snapped out of her musing and turned toward the person speaking to her. "Eh?"

"Why are you just standing there, staring into space?" a red-headed girl inquired as she stared at her
with a bit of concern. "It's not safe down here."

"Rin-san! Hurry!" a blonde girl called out from partway up the stairs.

"Just a minute, Himiko!" Rin shouted back up. "Man, she can be such a worrier at times," she grumbled to
herself before turning back to Michiru. "Anyway, you coming or are you just gonna stare out into space
until the Youma get here?"

Michiru grimaced at the mention of Youma, but quickly recovered. "Let's go," she said as she started
climbing the stone steps to the jinja. Rin merely nodded as she hurried after her.


_________________________________________________________________


Outside Shishu Headquarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:16 P.M.


Haruka came to a stop next to the gathered group of Blades and defenders, all of whom were chattering
amongst themselves in tones ranging from fearful to fatalistic to grim. Some of them turned to look at her
as she approached, making her feel self-conscious until she forced herself to return their stares with a
challenging one of her own, daring them to deny the fact that she was a Blade as well. Most of the people
turned back to what they were doing, some of them grumbling to themselves under their breath. A few shook
their heads as if they couldn't understand what they were seeing. The remaining few nodded in greeting and
went back to what they were doing, a few of them giving her looks of support and even nods of
encouragement.

'That wasn't even half as bad as I thought it'd be,' she thought to herself with the hint of a triumphant
grin. Some acceptance was better than none at all.

"Blades, line up!" Mamoru called out as he arrived, slightly winded from an obviously hard run.

She glanced around and saw that the other Blades were lining up in a single line in front of the
headquarters building entrance. There wasn't any particular order that she could see, so she chose to
stand at the end nearest to her and stood at attention after seeing the others do so.

Mamoru strode before the line of Blades and swept his gaze down the line. "Listen up! The Youma are
advancing from the west at a good pace. However, they are still far enough away for us to get into a good
position and set up an ambush. This is important because we are going to be facing a type of Youma we have
never seen before until now: Flying Youma."

A buzzing murmur arose from the gathered defenders behind them. "Before we start worrying," he continued
in a loud voice, pausing only long enough for the murmuring to subside, "I do have some good news. Before
I left the Hikawa Jinja to come here, Kino informed me that he was able to get in contact with the Sailor
Senshi and that they would be en route to meet the advancing Youma invaders."

"Chiba!"

The Shishu leader paused as Ryoku and Sailor Jupiter arrived. "Kino! What took you so long?"

Ryoku quickly snapped to attention with Jupiter following his lead. "Forgive me for being late, but I have
a new report for you. We have identified another Sailor Senshi," he explained, nodding toward Jupiter.
"This is Sailor Jupiter."

Jupiter nodded. "Chiba. Everyone."

Mamoru returned the nod. "Thank you for your assistance. You and all your fellow Senshi."

"Don't worry about it," she shook her head. "We all need to do everything we can to protect our future,
right?"

"Right now, all of the other Senshi are en route to section 313," Ryoku reported. "Additionally, we now
have communicators that will allow us to contact each other in case of an emergency." He reached into his
pocket and pulled out his communicator. "Here's the one that I was given."

Mamoru gave it a quick glance, then nodded. "Good. We'll need it in order to coordinate attacks with the
Senshi. For this enemy, we'll have to do a lot of improvising."

Ryoku sighed to himself. "I hope she doesn't set my ass on fire again...," he muttered under his breath as
he returned the communicator to his pocket.

"Did you say something, Kino?"

"Uh... N-No, Chiba. I was just thinking out loud. You know, trying to come up with a workable strategy."

"Anyway, Kino, I want you and Jupiter to go join up with the other Sailor Senshi. While they try to
whittle down their numbers with their power, you can act as our scout. Try to get as much information as
you can about those flying Youma before we have to face them ourselves. The more we know, the better
chance we have of keeping ourselves alive during this battle." He paused for a moment as he considered the
younger Blade for a moment. "And don't forget to grab your rifle from the Armory before you depart. I want
you to make sure you don't take any unnecessary chances out there. Understand?"

"Understood," the younger Blade nodded. "We'll be on our way, then." With that, the two headed out while
everyone else watched, especially Haruka.

Ever since Jupiter arrived, her eyes had remained fixed on the tall, ponytailed Senshi girl. She was cute,
to be certain, but that wasn't what had caught her attention so raptly. Well... not entirely. However,
there was a certain degree of familiarity that she had experienced in the Senshi's presence that she had
not expected. Perhaps this feeling was similar to the one Michiru had told her about when she had seen
that image of a Sailor Senshi two days ago.

"Ten'ou!"

Haruka's attention snapped back to Mamoru. "Y-Yes?"

"Since you haven't had any formal training yet, I want you to assist Konno and Mizuno-hakase with the
organization of the defense force units. After the organization is complete, I'll need you to take charge
of two units while Konno leads the rest to section 314. Konno, once you get to section 314, you will
arrange the units to act as an ambush, much like we did during that first morning battle two days ago. Do
you remember it?"

"Yes, Chiba."

"Good. I'll leave it in your care, then. Just remember to relieve Aida and Takei at the Armory before you
move out."

"Understood."

He turned to Haruka and gave her a fixed stare. "Ten'ou, I will trust that I can leave the last line of
defense in your care."

She gave him a grim nod as she met his gaze with an intense one of her own. "No Youma will get past me. I
swear it."

"Good." He turned to the rest of the Blades and defenders gathered. "For the rest of us, we will advance
to section 313. Once there, we will determine our next course of action. Does everyone understand their
objectives?" There was a loud shout of acknowledgement. "Good. Prepare to move out!"


_________________________________________________________________


Lower Grounds, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:21 P.M.


"Ryo-chan, what did you mean when you said, 'you hope she doesn't set your ass on fire again?'"

Ryoku grimaced as he kept his eyes ahead. "Ask me again later, Mako-chan...."


_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds - Near Section 313, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:25 P.M.


Usagi's hand brushed against her brooch for what had to be the twentieth time or so as she leaned against
the broken shell of what used to be an old apartment building, trying to catch her breath. They had been
running hard since they left the Orphan's Quarters, stopping only to catch their breath when necessary.
Rei, Setsuna, and Minako all seemed to have little problem maintaining a long run, but she wasn't quite as
athletic. Hotaru was worse, though; they had to stop several times for her.

As her hand brushed against the brooch, the usual anger she had come to expect from the brooch wasn't
there. Instead, there was fear, much like there was the other day, when she had last tried to transform.
However, the fear she was feeling now wasn't quite as strong as what she had felt then, which had been
strong enough to all but paralyze her.

Ever since she had felt that change in the brooch, she had been brooding over it. Every time she had
touched it, it had invoked anger within her. Sure, there were other emotions as well, but the one that
stood out the most was anger. Always anger.

Feeling that fear then, and even now, brought to mind that conversation she had with Ami the night that
Setsuna had collapsed after holding her brooch. If Ami was right and the brooch did draw out the emotions
that she wanted to keep hidden and buried deep inside her, how was she supposed to use the damn thing to
transform if she was too terrified to even invoke its powers? It seemed counterproductive to her to make
the very thing she needed to save humanity practically unusable.

Briefly, she tried to think back to how she had managed to force herself to switch consciousness with
Serenity. From what she had heard of her, she seemed to have no trouble handling that accursed trinket. If
she was unable to transform, she would more than likely have to resort to summoning her again. The only
thing was that she wasn't exactly sure how she managed to bring about the change. All she could remember
was calling out to her in her mind, but she had tried that before with no results. What had she done
differently?

"I think we're far enough away from everyone to be safe," Rei said as she stood up, brushed the dirt and
dust off her hakama, and brought out her transformation wand again. "I'm doing it."

"Maybe we should wait until-" Setsuna started to say. However, Rei wasn't listening.

"Mars star power, make-up!"

Minako sighed at her friend's overeagerness and brought out her transformation wand. "I guess we might as
well do it now, then," she muttered as she raised her wand over her head. "Venus star power, make-up!"

Hotaru and Setsuna exchanged glances for a moment. Setsuna shrugged fatalistically and brought out her
transformation wand, prompting Hotaru to bring out hers as well.

"Pluto star power, make-up!"

"Saturn star power, make-up!"

Usagi swallowed as she found everyone's eyes now upon her. "I... I guess... it's my turn now... right?"
she said nervously.

"Yeah, so hurry up and transform so we can take those Youma bastards out, already!" Mars prodded
impatiently.

"Y-Yeah...," Usagi said hesitantly as she slowly reached up for her brooch. As her hand drew closer to the
brooch, it began to tremble. The closer it came, the more noticeable the trembling grew until her hand
finally clasped around it. Her eyes clamped shut as she removed the brooch from her blouse, her hand still
quivering as she tried to fight her fear.

"Usagi-chan, are you all right?" Venus asked as she approached her friend and reached out to her with a
worried hand.

"She's struggling with herself," Pluto said in a quiet, understanding voice.

Mars turned to look at her with a perplexed expression on her face. "What are you talking about?"

"That brooch is what she uses to transform," Pluto explained. "However, whenever someone holds it, it
draws out whatever emotions the holder has buried inside, no matter how deep they try to hide it... even
if it's buried so deep the holder had completely forgotten they were there at all." She stared down at her
hands, recalling the time she had held it in her hands. "The brooch draws them out... and forces them onto
the holder."

Venus looked down on the brooch with a little fear toward the offending bauble. "I've seen you transform
before, Usagi-chan," she said as she put a comforting hand on Usagi's shoulder. "You don't have to hold
the brooch to transform. Just don't touch the thing, all right? Don't touch it and you'll be fine."

Usagi weakly shook her head. "You... You d-don't... understand...," she murmured weakly as she stared into
her friend's eyes. "Even if I don't touch it..., when I try to transform..., the same thing happens. It...
It doesn't matter. I...." She stopped and slumped down onto a waist-high piece of rubble. "Y-You should
just go on without me. I'd... just get in your way right now...."

"You...."

Everyone turned toward Mars, who had just walked up to Usagi and was now glaring down at her. "Don't start
complaining about being scared when you came out here with us!" she yelled angrily as Usagi closed her
eyes and winced under the harsh harangue. "Nobody forced you to come out here! You came on your own free
will! You came because you want to help us! You came because you want to get back at those bastards who
killed your family! You came because it's what you wanted to do!"

"Mars-" Venus began, but was silenced by her hard glare.

"Listen," Mars continued in a lighter tone of voice after turning back to Usagi. The blonde still had her
eyes closed, but she wasn't flinching away any more. "I know you're scared. We all are. But you have to
get over it. We need you out there."

"I know you do. That's why I'm here."

Mars blinked at the calmness in Usagi's voice as the blonde opened her eyes. The firm, resolute gaze that
stared back at her belied the quivering and whimpering she had heard from her mere moments ago.

Realization clicked into place as Saturn walked up to Usagi and peered into her eyes. "Serenity?"

Serenity nodded and smiled. "Looks like Usagi's getting better at summoning me, or something like that."
She stood up and brushed the dust and dirt off her clothes. "Okay, I guess I'd better get to- oh! Well,
look who's come to join us," she said, folding her arms expectantly. The other Senshi followed her gaze to
where Sailor Jupiter and Ryoku were running toward them.

"So... everyone's... ready to go?" Ryoku asked as he and Jupiter caught their breath.

"We just transformed a short time ago," Venus reported.

Serenity stared at Jupiter for a moment before turning to Ryoku. "It's a good thing you've got those
communicators. We'll need them in the future." She paused as she gave him a thoughtful look. "That reminds
me... after this battle's over, I want to take a look at that communicator of yours, Ryoku. There's
something about the symbol on the back that puzzles me."

Ryoku blinked. "Um... sure, I guess."

She nodded and glanced down at the brooch in her hand. "Time to get to work." She thrust her brooch into
the air overhead. "Moon prism power, make-up!"

"All right, everyone!" Ryoku called out after Sailor Moon's transformation ended. "Word from Shishu is
that they're counting on you to bring down as much of the enemy as possible before they reach this place,
where Shishu is planning to meet them. Hopefully, this will help limit the number of casualties that they
will inevitably suffer. Also, remember that the enemy has a new type of flying Youma. Be especially on
your guard and watch each other's backs.

"I will be accompanying you as you go out. My main priority will be to gather information on those new
flying Youma and to report it to Shishu. Does anyone have questions?"

"That about covers it, Ryoku," Sailor Moon told him, then turned to the others. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Ready!" everyone replied at once.

"Let's go."


_________________________________________________________________


Seventeen Kilometers West of Hikawa Jinja, Komae-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:28 P.M.


Titus dove out of the way of another diving attack from one of the flying Hybrids as she flung another
charged sphere of water at a cluster of sentries and Hunters. The sphere exploded as it hit the ground,
shards of icicles speeding off in random directions, impaling Youma left and right. As she rolled back to
her feet, she lashed out at a reptilian Hybrid, her claws slicing through a patchwork of scales and flesh,
before leaping away again lest the other remaining Youma catch up with her and overpower her.

It had been a steady drive eastward once the battle began. It had been easy at first as she flung water
spheres at small groups of their most powerful Hybrids and whipped watery tendrils at the smaller ones.
However, as the battle dragged on, she had begun to grow weary after using so many high-powered attacks,
one after the other. Also, the enemy had begun to form a plan that involved surrounding her in order to
cut off any means of evading their attacks.

She had taken out well over three hundred Youma by herself; however, it wouldn't mean anything if she got
herself killed.

She was beginning to consider retreating for the moment when she felt the first energy spike several
kilometers to the east, followed by a couple more.

'The Sailor Senshi!' Titus thought to herself as her mind raced to come up with a new plan. Obviously,
they had mobilized due to Zoisite's invasion threat. They would be coming to meet the invasion soon; she
was sure of it. The only problem was that once they met the invasion force, the Senshi would see her and
automatically assume that she was not only part of it, they would assume that she was leading it. She
would have attacks coming at her in both directions.

On the other hand, their arrival could become a momentous opportunity. Not only could she use them to stop
Zoisite's invasion, she could also finish the Senshi off once the battle was over, eliminating all of
Jadeite's opposition in one fell swoop! The only problem here was that she knew that this was only a
preliminary strike force. She wasn't stupid; she knew that Zoisite wouldn't concentrate all of his forces
in one group. Zoisite was a sneaky bastard; he probably had another army lurking around somewhere,
probably getting into position for an ambush, or a sneak attack, or something similar. Killing off the
Senshi now would leave her with just herself and Jadeite's forces to deal with this invasion force. While
she was confident in her ability to destroy the invasion forces, she would rather not leave herself open
to an attack from another General immediately afterward, although that kind of tactic was not what she
would expect from Kunzite based on what Jadeite had told her of the warmongering General.

'What would Jadeite do in this kind of a situation?' she pondered to herself as she dropped down in the
midst of a small group of sentries and spun around with both claws out, easily shredding them all. She
then darted forward and grabbed an Axe Hunter by its weapon arm and flung it up toward a pack of bird-like
Hybrids, knocking them out of the sky. She lobbed another icy sphere bomb at the grounded pile of Youma
and sped out of the way as a burst of icicles exploded outward, mercilessly impaling several Youma nearby.

Another energy spike flared up again in the same area as the previous ones had. From the power level of
this one, she was quite certain that this one had to be the leader. A smirk crossed her lips as a plan
began to coalesce in her mind. Now that the Sailor Senshi would be joining the battle, there was no reason
for her to hang around here. There was more than likely another invasion army lurking about somewhere and
she had to find it. Jadeite would forgive her for temporarily abandoning her assignment, considering the
circumstances. She'd have to go back to the Palace and mobilize the Youma; not to mention reporting the
invasion attempt to Jadeite, as well.

Titus lobbed another sphere of water at a group of ground-based Hybrids as she let loose with a roundhouse
kick that took off the head of a sentry Youma. Once the sentry was down, she darted forward, not bothering
to check and see how much damage her water blast had done, and leapt up on top of the ruins of an office
building, using smaller buildings and broken husks of taller ones as stepping stones. Once she reached the
top of the tallest building in the area, broken or whole, she took a quick assessment of the havoc she had
wreaked upon Zoisite's invasion force.

'Hmm.... Several hundred dead, mostly smaller Youma,' she determined. 'Only a small handful of Hybrids
dead. Those Hybrids are a little tougher than I thought they were. I'll have to relay that to Jadeite for
certain. Fortunately, our Mages are still more than a match for them.'

A glance over her shoulder revealed that the Senshi were just about to meet the first wave of the invasion
force. 'I wish I could stay and see how they'd do, but I have to get to the Palace. Sailor Senshi, I leave
the rest to you. For now.'

With that, the Elite Youma dove off the building, claws out, raking several flying Hybrid Youma on the way
down. Once she hit the ground, she sprinted straight for the Imperial Palace, her claws tearing down any
Youma that stood in her way. A few Youma gave chase after her, but most were content to turn their
attention toward the humans that had just arrived. Eager grins accompanied bared claws, fangs, blades, and
other such weaponry.

Those grins lasted only until the first Fire Soul was thrown. After that, all was chaos.


_________________________________________________________________


Hikawa Jinja Proper, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:31 P.M.


The main ceremonial grounds of the Hikawa Jinja were bustling with frantic movement. Throngs of onlookers
were herded out of the way as the senior members of the various clergies started preparing the grounds for
the reestablishment of the barrier. There was a hesitant, yet hopeful murmur through the crowd as they
speculated whether the barrier would go up in time for them to be safe or not. Here and there, mentions of
the Blades of Shishu, their volunteer defense force, and Sailor Moon and her Sailor Senshi were brought up
to remind themselves that they had protectors out there, as well as to bolster their already battered
spirits.

From her vantage point near the top of the stone steps leading down to the Lower Grounds, Michiru ignored
most of the goings-on, preferring to keep her attention focused outward where the defender units were
gathering. She had a good view from where she sat, but marking out individual people in the large crowd
was all but impossible. Fortunately, she had already found the person she was looking for.

It was easy to spot Haruka, seeing that she was the only blonde Blade in Shishu; the distance from Michiru
and the defenders below was too great to determine gender at a glance, not to mention that Haruka wasn't
exactly well-endowed (not that she was complaining). It was a great relief to see that she was all right,
but seeing her in her Shishu uniform served to remind Michiru that that could change very soon.

'I should be down there, fighting with her....'

She blinked at that stray thought and almost dismissed it outright. Haruka was the fighter, not her. Even
when their home was overrun and they were about to surrender to the Youma, Haruka wanted to fight, rather
than give up. It was just like Haruka. Her, on the other hand....

She shook her head, dismissing such thoughts. Haruka seemed a natural for Shishu, but she could hardly see
herself as a Blade. Sure, she had fought against Youma before, but that was when she was fighting for her
life in order to reach the Hikawa Jinja. Now that she was here, she didn't need to fight anymore. However,
as she stared down at where Haruka was conversing with Mizuno-hakase on some matter or another, the
feeling that she should be fighting by her side would not go away.

'For now...,' she thought to herself as she continued her vigil at the top of the stone steps of Sendai
Hill. 'For now... I'll just watch over her. This is all I can do.'


_________________________________________________________________


Near Shimokitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:32 P.M.


"We're almost there," Venus announced as they ran down the broken, crack-riddled street. "The enemy is
just up ahead."

Sailor Moon glanced back at Jupiter without slowing down. "I know you just got your Senshi powers and all,
but have you learned how to use them yet?"

"Yeah," Jupiter confirmed confidently. "Ryo-chan told me about how you guys have to draw runes and such.
I figured out how to use Supreme Thunder and Sparkling Wide Pressure on the way here."

"That fast?" Venus said, eyes wide in surprise as she glanced from Jupiter to Ryoku, and then back to the
desolate road in front of her.

"I remembered a few things from that training session with Venus and Pluto," Ryoku mentioned by way of an
explanation. "It's just a good thing that she was able to pick up on it so quickly."

"Anyway," Sailor Moon said as she came to a stop and returned her attention to the approaching Youma
horde, "we need to figure out our battle plan." Everyone else came to a stop as well, except for Mars, who
just sped on by without giving anyone else a second glance.

"What's to figure out?" Mars said as her right hand began to trace out a rune. "We just go out there and
kill Youma until there aren't any more left! Fire...."

"H-Hey, wait!" Sailor Moon shouted as she started to out her scepter. "Don't be so hasty, dammit!"

"...soul!"

A large ball of flame shout out from Mars' fingertips, blazing toward the Youma front line until it struck
one of the sentries, where it then burst into a small explosion of heat and fire, burning several Youma
into ashes within seconds. The rest of the Youma simply barreled through the ashes, unfazed by the attack.

"Oh, hell!" Ryoku growled as he unslung his rifle and took aim. "I'll cover Mars!"

"All right," Sailor Moon nodded and turned to the others. "Pluto, you're with Saturn. Jupiter, help Ryoku
cover Mars. Venus, you're with me. Watch each other's backs and be careful!"

"Right!" everyone acknowledged as they split up accordingly.

Jupiter ran forward until she reached Mars' side, drawing a rune as she ran. "Supreme thunder!" she yelled
just as she reached her fellow Senshi's side, unleashing a bolt of lightning from a rod that had emerged
from the top of the tiara on her forehead. The bolt slammed into a Hunter, knocking it off its feet and
into small group of sentries and Hunters as she drew a follow-up rune. "Sparkling wide pressure!" she
shouted as she flung a ball of lightning at the pile of Youma, electrocuting them. Once the attack
dissipated, none of the Youma continued to move.

"What the hell are you doing, running off by yourself like that, Mars?" Ryoku hissed as he met up with the
two Senshi while continuing to shoot at most of the airborne Youma. "Are you trying to get yourself
killed?"

"Shut up and keep firing!" she shot back as she drew another rune, drawing in a tremendous amount of
energy in front of her. "Burning mandala!" she shouted, flinging a storm of flaming rings at a small pack
of approaching Youma. Most of the smaller sentry Youma were burned away by the attack, but most of the
Hunter and other Youma dove out of the way of the attack. More Youma continued to stomp past or through
the ashes of their incinerated comrades, intent on reaching their enemies.

"Sparkling wide pressure!" Jupiter yelled, following up Mars' attack, electrocuting half of the dodging
Youma as Ryoku opened fire on the other half.

"They're closing in on us!" Ryoku warned. "We're going to have to fall back if they get too close!"

"There's no way I'm running from these bastards!" Mars snarled. "Fire soul!" Another burst of flame flew
out from Mars' fingertips like a giant flamethrower as it burned away several Youma in its path.

"Then, we'll just have to stop them before they reach us," Jupiter replied with a determined cast to her
eyes as she dug in her heels and prepared another attack. "Sparkling wide pressure!" Her ball of lightning
cut through the wall of flame and smashed into another group of Hunters, knocking the entire pack off
their feet. The whole pack hit the ground, spasming for a few moments before they finally stopped moving.

"Easier said than done," Ryoku muttered as he ejected an empty clip from his rifle and reached for another
one. "Let's just hope they all don't suddenly decide to try to overrun one of our groups or we're in
trouble. Still... I'm surprised we haven't seen any Mages. Usually, they'd be out flinging stuff at us by
now...."

Nearby, Pluto and Saturn were having similar difficulties keeping the Youma horde back. "Dead scream,"
Pluto murmured as she let loose another ball of energy. The ball hurtled toward the nearest advancing
Hunter Youma and plowed into it, knocking it backward off its feet and into its fellow Youma, knocking
them down as well.

"Silence glaive surprise!" Saturn shouted, spinning her glaive in a particular pattern before aiming it
toward the pile of tumbled Youma, causing claws of dark violet energy to tear along the ground until it
reached them. The attack slammed into the Youma, ripping them to shreds within moments.

Their pattern of attack was simple and effective; Pluto would blast the Youma first and Saturn would
follow up with her own attack, finishing off whatever Youma remained. The strategy was effective, but it
took too long to set up and only took out a single group at a time. The other Youma were advancing too
fast for them to keep up with.

"Pluto!" Saturn called out, her voice tinged with fear.

"I know," Pluto replied, her own voice calm. However, her expression was one of anxious concern. "We've
got to start pulling back for now."

"Moon tiara action!" Sailor Moon shouted, flinging her tiara once again into the throng of Youma, her
attack punching through each one it struck, whether sentry or Hunter or those other Youma, including the
flying ones.

It was difficult finding an opportunity to use either the crescent wand or the scepter. At this point, the
wand would be a better option considering its shorter charge time and the fact that she had her Senshi to
protect her while she was vulnerable. Unfortunately, all of her Senshi except for Venus were tied up in
breaking up the invading horde in three directions, thus limiting their combined effectiveness. Worse
still, eventually the Youma would catch on and concentrate their forces eastward again. If that happened,
they would swarm over the group in their path - Mars, Jupiter, and Ryoku.

"Crescent beam!" Venus shouted as she shot a beam of energy at yet another flying Youma. The flying ones
were hard to pick off since they had so much room to maneuver in and were pretty agile, as well. Still,
Venus had managed to snipe a few out of the sky.

A small swarm of sentries ran out from behind the last Hunter Youma that Venus had sniped with her
Crescent Beam and started rushing Venus. "Look out!" Sailor Moon warned as her tiara hadn't finished its
return flight yet.

Venus whirled toward the advancing pack and quickly drew a rune. "Venus love-me chain!" A chain of energy
shot out from her fingertips and lashed out at the Youma, striking one down right after the other.

"Got it!" Sailor Moon said as her tiara finally returned to her. "Moon tiara action!" The tiara was flung
again, this time, tearing through a pack of those new Youma that weren't sentries or Hunters.

Now that they had engaged the Youma and had taken out several sentries and Hunters, they were beginning to
see more and more of this new type of Youma in addition to the flying Youma that were constantly
harassing them from the skies. Where the sentries were merely identical copies of the same demon-faced
Youma and Hunters were just stronger and taller versions of sentries with a weapon in place of one arm,
the new breed of Youma had practically no two Youma exactly the same. Not only that, but the new Youma,
oddly enough, had a near-human appearance. Some looked more human than others, but each one had physical
characteristics that looked way too human for her liking.

'Then again,' she thought to herself as she caught her tiara again, 'Jadeite looks like a human, too,
doesn't he? Still, a General and a Youma are two different things; I really shouldn't compare the two.'
She cocked her arm back and took aim at another group of rushing Youma. 'But even saying that, seeing
human-like faces on Youma is very disturbing.'

"Sailor Moon!" Venus shouted as she pointed toward a small group of three flying Youma. "Look! All the
flying Youma are heading for the same place!"

The Senshi leader glanced up and frowned. Sure enough, the Youma Venus had pointed to, as well as all the
other flying Youma, were all converging onto the same group, as she had feared would eventually happen.
Even the other ground-based Youma were shifting their attention. Still, as bad as this was, there was an
opportunity here that she couldn't overlook.

"Venus!" Sailor Moon called out as she began to concentrate. Hopefully, Pluto and Saturn would notice the
change in strategy and act accordingly. "I'm going for my scepter!" As long as she had the chance, she
might as well go for her strongest weapon. "I need you to cover me while I summon it!"

"Okay, got it," Venus nodded as she settled into a defensive posture and drew a rune. "Crescent beam!" she
shouted, sniping away at several Youma as they tried to rush the other Senshi. It was hard to resist the
urge to run to her friends' aid, especially now that she had noticed that Ryoku's rifle had ceased firing
for quite a while, but Sailor Moon needed her. She had to be Sailor Moon's shield so that she could draw
her most powerful weapon. Her fellow Senshi had their powers to protect them, but Ryoku didn't have
anything except his rifle, which had gone silent, and his sword.

'Please be all right,' she prayed as she prepared another Crescent Beam. 'Ryoku-sama, please don't die.'


_________________________________________________________________


Lower Grounds - Sendai Hill, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:32 P.M.


"It's time," Konno said as he turned to Atsuko and Haruka. "Mizuno-hakase, Ten'ou, the units are ready.
We're moving out to Section 314."

Atsuko nodded. "Understood. The medical teams are almost ready to deploy. The first teams should be ready
to deploy in approximately five minutes."

Konno nodded and looked at Haruka. "How're you holding up, Ten'ou?"

"I'm fine," she replied bluntly. "I can take care of things here."

He blinked a couple of times. "Pretty confident for your first battle as a Blade, hm?"

She gave him a flat look. "I've fought Youma before. I'm not scared."

If her words seemed flippant or arrogant, Konno didn't seem to mind. He merely shook his head and sighed.
"You sound like a lot of young Blades I've seen over the years."

"Really?" she asked, glancing askance at him. That didn't exactly sound like praise.

"Yes. Young boys eager to do battle with the demons that took their family or their friends from them. You
could see the lust for vengeance in their eyes sometimes. Always demanding to fight on the front line."

"And?" she asked curtly.

"Blades who seek battle are usually claimed by it," he said as if quoting someone. "The same with glory or
vengeance." He shook his head and turned to leave. "But, it seems to me that you've already set your mind,
so I won't say anything further."

"What about you?" Haruka shot back as he started to leave. "Haven't the Youma taken anyone you love from
you?"

"Ten'ou-san!" Atsuko said, her tone reproachful, as Konno paused in mid-stride.

"No, no," he shook his head without turning around. "It's all right, Mizuno-hakase. It's a fair question.

"Yes, Ten'ou, I've lost people I've loved to the Youma. My eldest and second sons joined up with Shishu
before I did. Hiroshi joined because his best friend Daisuke joined and died in his first battle and he
wanted vengeance. He died within his first year as a Blade. Kyosuke joined to avenge his older brother. He
also died within his first year.

"After that, wrought with grief, I also chose to join up with Shishu. Not because I want vengeance, but
because I don't want my last and only remaining son, Hiro, to follow his elder brothers' fate. I want him
to live. I fight to protect my remaining son, as well as my wife and daughters. I won't deny that I want
vengeance for my sons, but the protection and well-being of my family takes priority. And that means that
I must remain alive for their sake."

He glanced back at Haruka over his shoulder without turning back and gave her a weak smile. "I know I
don't sound like a model Blade, but in truth, I like to think that I follow the true meaning of what it is
to be a Blade. I fight, not to destroy, but to protect. The longer you remain a Blade, the more you begin
to understand this concept. To do otherwise, is to eventually die." He returned his gaze to his
destination. "At least, that's what I've come to believe. You are free to come to your own conclusions,
Ten'ou. I certainly hope you survive long enough to do so. I look forward to hearing them." With that, he
started jogging toward one of the defender units and started giving orders.

"Humph," Haruka snorted under her breath as she folded her arms. "He didn't have to say all that. I know
what I'm fighting for."


_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds - Section 313, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:38 P.M.


"Chiba!" Sanzou shouted as he lowered his binoculars. "The Youma are approaching! They'll be in range
within seven minutes!"

"Any sign of Kino?" Mamoru inquired.

"None yet," he told him.

"Estimate of enemy complement?"

"Well, from what I can see right now, I'd estimate around six or seven hundred, maybe more," Sanzou
reported.

"How many flying Youma do you estimate there are?"

"I'd say there are about a hundred of them."

"Mostly ground troops, huh?" Mamoru said as he considered his options. "Well, until we get our advance
report from Kino, we'd better concentrate our attention on the ground troops. Their numbers will overrun
us until Konno arrives with our reinforcements. If the flying Youma serve to be a greater threat, then
we'll change our target priority."

"Understood," Sanzou acknowledged as he put his binoculars away. "I will pass the word."

"Make sure you also emphasize ammo conservation," he added. "Our supplies are getting low and we haven't
gone on a brass scavenging expedition in weeks. The Armory is almost out of material for our bullets."

"Maybe we should schedule an expedition to the Meiji Jinja once the barrier's back up? There's probably
some material still there that Armory can use."

"I'll get in touch with them after this is over," Mamoru agreed. Sanzou nodded and left. "What the hell is
taking you so long, Kino?" he muttered under his breath.


_________________________________________________________________


Near Tokyo Daigaku, Komaba Campus Ruins, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 6:42 P.M.


Ryoku dove out of the way as a pair of flying Youma swooped down on him. He rolled back to his feet and
swung his sword at them, but they had already flew out of his range. He quickly readjusted the rifle slung
across his back and rushed onward, slashing at Hunters and sentries as he passed. Occasionally, he'd cut
one down, but for the most part, he just wanted them out of his way.

The Youma had pushed them back steadily with their numbers, making it hard to continue long range tactics.
Sailor Moon had ordered the Senshi to regroup, giving him the opportunity to break away and give his
report to Mamoru before the Youma could reach Minato ward, let alone the border of the Hikawa Jinja.
However, as soon as he had broken free, a small pack of sentries, Hunters, and flying Youma all started
hounding him. The sentries and Hunters weren't too much of a problem to evade, but the constant
harassment from the flying Youma made it near impossible to reach his destination without stopping to
fight or, more often than not, hitting and running. In fact, he knew that if he were to actually stop and
stand his ground, the Youma would overwhelm him within a few minutes.

To stop for too long would be to die.

From what he had seen, the flying Youma were really nothing more than flying versions of those other new
Youma he had seen with the sentries and Hunters. It was odd, though; where the sentries and Hunters had
some humanoid characteristics, such as being bipedal, having two arms (or an arm and a weapon arm in the
Hunters' case), and a roughly human-shaped figure, their heads were often shaped similar to that of what
one would see in an old painting of oni from ancient times. Their faces were similarly demonic. It was
what they were used to seeing. It was the face of evil and thus, must be destroyed.

However, with the new breed of Youma, many of them had additional human-like features as well, making them
look like a sick, twisted fusion of a Youma and a human. Furthermore, unlike the Youma they were
accustomed to, these Youma differed in appearance just like humans did. With sentries and Hunters, they
were all the same. There were no individually identifiable marks or characteristics. Each Youma was the
same as the next, as if they were mass-produced. With the new Youma, he had yet to see two Youma that
looked the same.

Seeing a lot of similarities between this new Youma breed and humankind was very discomforting, to say the
least. It was like Jadeite was mocking them by creating this Youma parody of humanity.

Ducking past another swipe by yet another flying Youma, Ryoku ducked into a broken building and broke into
a nearby stairwell. Stopping partway up the stairs, he glanced over to his side and noticed that the
building next to his had outside emergency stairs running right across from the stairwell he was in. A
quick smash from his sword hilt proved the stairwell's windows were breakable. The windows were big enough
for him to climb through if he was careful about where he put his hands after breaking the glass, but not
big enough to jump through. Since the stairwell still had its roof, he was safe from the flying Youma for
the moment; however, he still had the ground troops to worry about.

"I guess... I can... catch my breath... for the moment," he said, breathing hard. He grabbed his rifle
from his back and took aim at the entrance of the stairwell. The first Youma to show its face, a sentry,
took a bullet to its forehead as it looked up at him. The second Youma, another sentry, received the same
treatment. The third Youma, an Axe Hunter, took a bullet to the chest as well as the head.

Ryoku took down another Axe Hunter and two more sentries before his clip ran out. "Damn!" he growled to
himself as he slung his rifle again, grabbed his sword, and started clambering up the stairs before
pushing himself upright and dashing up the steps, two at a time. Once he reached the top, he quickly
smashed out the top window and started climbing through it. Below him, the sounds of Youma scrambling up
the stairs echoed upward as their feet pounded on each step. The distance between the buildings and from
his window to the ground gave him pause for a moment, but the sounds of the Youma growing closer were
enough to spur him onward. He took a single deep breath to steady himself... and jumped.

His hands caught the railing of the stairs as he slammed into it, but the collision dazed him enough so
that he didn't get a good enough grip and slid off. He came back to his senses quickly and grabbed for the
next floor's railing, this time bracing himself for the collision. As the fall wasn't as far as the first
one, this time he managed to keep himself from falling again. Instead, he swung and dropped onto the
landing of the floor below him, diving out of the way just in time for the flying Youma that had spotted
him in mid-tumble to miss. He lashed out with his blade, lopping off the Youma's head, and barreled down
the emergency stairs while keeping an eye out for more flying Youma.

Once he had reached the second floor, instead of sliding down the last ladder into the alleyway, he leapt
off the landing and landed on the hood of a rusted-out car, causing some parts of it to shatter as he
tried to roll to his feet, but ended up falling on his back on top of his rifle. The pain was enough to
stall him enough for the other Youma to start closing in on him again as he tried to get back to his feet.
Glancing behind him, he saw that more Youma had arrived and closed off his escape route.

He was surrounded.

Even worse, he had dropped his sword a short distance away, where he had crashed onto the car hood.

Ryoku sighed inwardly. It was looking less and less likely that he would be able to keep that promise to
Ami.

With a yell, he ran and dove toward his sword, intending to grab it and slash upward while rolling to his
feet, knowing that the flying Youma would try to swoop down on him as he did so. The moment his hand
grasped the hilt of his blade, something impacted hard against his left shoulder, causing a fierce
stabbing pain.

'An arrow?' he realized as he struggled to regain his momentum and strike out, only to feel several more
blade-like appendages rake into his back.


=================================================================


Author's Note: Here you are, my friends! A new chapter of The Brooch has arrived! I hope you enjoy this
chapter as the first battle of the Dark Kingdom Civil War gets underway. As the fighting draws ever closer
to the Blade's first line of defense, will the reenforcements arrive in time to give them a much needed
boost to their forces? And what of Titus and the other half of Zoisite's army? And what about the barrier?
Will it be reestablished on time? The answer to some of these questions and more in the next chapter of
The Brooch!


Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko
Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended.

Questions? Comments? Anything?
Email: jasonulloa (at) hotmail (dot) com

Copyright© 2004, 2007 Jason C. Ulloa
All Rights Reserved.