Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Brooch ❯ Chapter 24

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

The Brooch
By Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 24


Lower Grounds, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 7:39 P.M.


"They're starting to descend!" Sailor Moon warned as she removed the tiara from her forehead once again and
took aim at the nearest flying Youma. As she prepared the rune for her attack, she could hear rifle fire
echoing off the walls of the buildings on either side of them, giving the impression of far more defenders
than she estimated they had. "If they start attacking the barrier, it'll only last a few minutes before it
collapses again!"

"It's up?" Haruka exclaimed, glancing back at the blonde Senshi just as she flung her magically charged
tiara at a cluster of Youma off to her left, shouting the name of her attack in the process. "It's about
damn time!"

The nascent Blade flung her gaze back in front of her, locking onto a small trio of Youma beginning a rapid
dive off to her right. Following their flight path with her eyes, she found that her view was obstructed by
a row of buildings used for living quarters. There was a gap between the buildings that they were fast
approaching, so once they were past the last building, she would have a clear shot at them.

Sailor Moon's tiara clipped off the wings of a pair of Youma and beheaded a third as it started its return
arc back to her waiting hand. Just as she caught the tiara, the pair made it through the gap and turned
hard right, coming to a startled halt as they saw the Youma's target.

'Nessa?' Sailor Moon thought as she took aim and prepared to fire off another Moon Tiara Action.

Haruka was faster as she whipped her rifle up to firing position without a moment's thought; the muzzle of
her weapon pointed in the general direction of her targets. "Michiru!" she screamed as she opened fire,
concern for her companion overriding other concerns, such as aiming and ammunition conservation. The
hailstorm of bullets mostly missed their mark, but they did scatter them, forcing them to break off their
attack moments before they could reach their intended victim.

The moment Haruka had opened fire, Michiru dove for the ground while Sailor Moon rushed forward, her tiara
glowing in her hand. "Moon tiara action!" the Senshi leader shouted, releasing her attack as she ran. It
rocketed straight ahead, bursting through the chest of the lead Youma while ripping through the upper-right
side of the second one, taking off its right arm, wing, and a good part of its chest on the return flight.
The third ducked out of the tiara's return path, only to take a bullet in the chest and a second one in the
head in rapid succession.

A loud click accompanied by her rifle's trigger refusing to move alerted Haruka to the fact that her clip
was empty. "Michiru!" she shouted again as she lowered her weapon and rushed to Michiru's side just as
Sailor Moon was helping her to her feet. "What the hell are you doing out here?" she demanded, her voice
frantic. "Why aren't you at the jinja with everyone else? Don't you know you could've gotten yourself
killed out here? What were you thinking? Why-"

"Calm down, Ten'ou-san!" Sailor Moon interrupted as Michiru fought to calm herself and catch her breath.
"We need to get Ne- Michiru-san to safety first!" She quickly whirled around and flung her tiara at another
cluster of Youma as if to accentuate her point.

Haruka scowled at Sailor Moon for a moment, but did not argue the point as she reached into a pocket for a
new ammo clip. "Right," she agreed, ejecting her empty clip and slipping it into a different pocket before
replacing it with a full one.

"Haruka," Michiru gasped once she was able to speak again, "the barrier-"

"It's up," she cut her off as she pulled back on her rifle's lever, chambering a bullet. "I know."

Michiru stared at her, eyes wide open as she realized that she might have risked her life for nothing. "The
barrier is up... but it's only big enough... to cover Sendai Hill," she told her as her breathing slowed to
a more normal pace. "The Lower Grounds are still completely exposed."

"And if the barrier is as weak as it is...," Sailor Moon said, trailing off as she returned her attention
to her tiara as it returned to her hand after taking out two more Youma.

"Ten'ou-sama!" a voice shouted as a group of twelve defenders ran up to her, half of them firing at a
cluster of Youma as they ran.

"Where's the rest of the unit?" Haruka demanded as she started firing again. "Over half of you are missing!"

"We split up a short ways back," the young man who had called out to her explained. "The Youma were
spreading out. We tried to herd them back together, but it was all we could do to keep them from
overrunning us. We took some casualties, but we managed to slow them down. However, if we don't do
something soon, they're going to break through and reach Sendai Hill."

"About how many do you think are left?" Sailor Moon inquired.

The defender's brow furrowed as he ran a quick mental estimate. "Probably a couple dozen. No more than
forty at the most, I'd say."

"The barrier isn't as strong as it usually is, so it's not going to last long against the Youma," she told
him, taking a moment to glance up at the Youma darting about in the air, dodging bullets with ease. Every
so often, a Youma or two would dive at the defenders and swoop back into the sky, sometimes with claws
stained with a little bit of blood. "That is the only thing standing between the Youma and the people of
Hiwaka Jinja. If they break though-"

"They won't," Haruka cut in as she lowered her rifle, her voice firm and unyielding as she stared at the
Senshi leader. "We're going to stop them before that happens."

"How?" one of the other defenders asked, his gaze darting from Haruka to Sailor Moon to Michiru and back to
Haruka again. If he had been surprised to see a non-combatant, such as Michiru, in the middle of a Youma
battle, he wasn't showing it. "The Youma are fast and difficult to hit. Besides, we're starting to run low
on ammo."

"Shit," Haruka seethed, finding herself with very limited options. "We'd better regroup for now. Keeping
the Youma away from the barrier is our main priority." She turned to Michiru with a concerned look on her
face. "As for you, it's too dangerous to let you go back to the jinja without an escort, so-"

"I'm not going back."

"-I'll just have-" Haruka cut off as Michiru's words finally penetrated. "What the hell did you just say?"

Michiru blinked in surprise at the words that had left her mouth almost unbidden. It was ludicrous for her
to stay back. She wasn't a fighter; she'd just get in Haruka's way. She started to tell her to forget that
she had said anything, but she couldn't bring herself to utter the words. As reckless and foolish those
words she said had been, they were her true feelings. Now that she was by Haruka's side, she didn't want to
leave it, no matter how dangerous it was.

'Now who's the reckless one of us?' she thought with a sheepish sigh as she closed her eyes and smiled
ruefully to herself. 'Since I've gone this far, I might as well stay till the end.'

"I'm not going back," Michiru repeated, opening her eyes. Her gaze was clear and resolute, forestalling
whatever argument Haruka had to give. "It doesn't matter if I need an escort or not, I'm not leaving your
side, Haruka."

"It's too dangerous for you to be here!" Haruka insisted, gesturing toward the Youma overhead. "These
aren't like the Youma we fought when we escaped from the Palace! You could get seriously hurt or even
killed out here! Just leave this to me and go back to the jinja!"

"I won't," Michiru stated. "I will fight with you."

"Be reasonable, Michiru!" she pleaded, a desperate cast to her eyes. "You don't even have a weapon. How can
you...?" Haruka trailed off as Michiru approached her, reached out and drew her sword from her belt. "Hey!"

"Ten'ou-san, we're getting nowhere with this," Sailor Moon said, shaking her head. "We don't have a lot of
time to waste. We need to start falling back toward Sendai Hill so we can regroup."

Haruka clenched her teeth and scowled as she nodded in full reluctance. "Fine," she growled. "Michiru,
you'd better not leave my sight. You understand?"

Michiru lifted the sword and tried a few swings, testing out the weight of the blade. It wasn't too heavy,
but she would probably need to use both hands to control it. "The same goes for you, too."

Haruka's right eye twitched slightly as she nodded. "All right, let's head for Sendai Hill!" she shouted
loud enough for the others to hear. "You two, find the rest of your unit and tell them to regroup at the
foot of the stairway entrance to the jinja! Hurry!"

"Yes, Ten'ou-sama!" the two indicated defenders acknowledged and took off at a sprint.

"As for the rest of us, move out!"


_________________________________________________________________


Lower Grounds - Sendai Hill, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 7:40 P.M.


"Are you scared, Ami-chan?"

Ami turned from listening to Yashiki-sensei giving out instructions for the individual Medical teams and
gave Fumika a thin smile before writing on her notepad. 'A little bit, Fumika-senpai, but I'm a little
excited, too.'

"You, too, huh?" the short-haired nurse said with a faint smile. "Well, it is our first time out in the
field. I just hope that they're doing all right out there."

The mute nurse-in-training nodded as she let her gaze return to where Yashiki-sensei was finishing with one
team and moving to the next. The team he had finished with picked up their gear and headed out in the
direction of the battlefield while he gave the next team their instructions.

'Are they doing all right out there?' she wondered as the next team gathered their gear and prepared to
depart as well. 'I wish I could help, too.' Her right hand brushed against the trouser pocket of her
nurse-in-training uniform, feeling the slight, yet mostly unnoticeable bulge that her transformation wand
made. 'But, without my voice, I'm useless to them.' She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, banishing
the thought from her mind. 'No, not completely useless. I am still a nurse-in-training. Even if I can't be
a Sailor Senshi, I can still do this much to help.'

Seeing that Yashiki-sensei had reached the group before hers, Ami returned her notepad and pencil to a
small pouch that she wore at her hip. It was a specialized pouch she had made when she first became a
nurse-in-training for going out into the field. She had never expected to need it until she had become a
full-fledged nurse, but her mother had told her that there was always the possibility that a great
emergency could occur and nurses-in-training like her would need to be called into action as well. The
pouch at her hip wasn't normally authorized as part of the uniform that all Medical personnel wore. She was
granted special permission to wear it, but only during emergencies and only if the nurses-in-training were
called into active duty, such as now.

After returning her notepad and pencil to her pouch, she looked back up to see that Fumika's eyes were
fixed on Yashiki-sensei, the same as with the others on her small team of five. Sagara Fumika and Ikagi
Wakana were both full nurses, thus allowed to wear the white cap and tunic. As a nurse-in-training, her
nurse cap and tunic were pink in color, which stood out easily with the white trousers that made up the
other half of the nurse uniform. Kobayashi Hideo and Noto Ayaka were the doctors of her team, but while
they both wore the midnight blue trousers of the doctor uniform, only Kobayashi-sensei had the midnight
blue tunic that marked him as a full-fledged doctor, while Noto's tunic was the light-blue of an intern.

"Kobayashi-san," Yashiki-sensei said as he came up to the group and glanced down at a clipboard in his
hand. "Your unit designator is Combat Medic Team Nine. You are to deploy to Section 313 where a small
makeshift field hospital is being set up as we speak. From there, you are to make your way to the front
lines to provide first aid until your medevac team, Stretcher Team Nine, can arrive to evacuate the
casualties. Any questions?"

"None," Kobayashi-sensei replied with slight shake of his head.

"Very well. Good luck." With that, he left to go address the final team.

"Well, you heard him," Kobayashi-sensei said as he turned to address his team. "Let's get going."

Without a word, everyone began gathering up their medical supplies. Ami's supplies consisted of a large
satchel filled with common first aid equipment like gauze, antiseptic, saline, Claw Hunter poison antidote,
tourniquets, and so on. It was a single strap satchel, designed to wear over the shoulder. Fortunately for
her, the satchel was designed to be worn over her right shoulder, so the bag rested on her left side,
opposite of her waist pouch, which was worn in front of her right hip. The satchel was large enough to
provide first aid for an average of ten patients, but after that, she would have to change it out for a new
one while a team in the field hospital would go to work refilling the used up one.

Ami grimaced for a short second as she slung the satchel's strap over her head and rested it on her
shoulder, adjusting it so that it sat as comfortably on her shoulder as possible. She was used to working
the logistics side of emergencies. This would be the first time she would have to use her first aid skills
in a combat situation. All nurses-in-training were given instruction in battlefield medicine, but few
actually specialized in it. As such, most nurses-in-training - and a good number of full nurses - only had
rudimentary skill in that particular field, herself included. It was fortunate that Noto was a battlefield
medicine specialist, but for her, realizing that she was lacking in an important medical field rankled,
even if the reason behind her lack of skill was a lack of experience.

As she was preparing to depart, she took a brief glance over her shoulder toward the top of the stone steps
leading to the Hikawa Jinja Proper where her mother was watching the teams leave for the battlefield. 'I
wonder if she can see me?' she mused as she started to leave as well. On an impulse, she gave her mother a
quick wave before turning and jogging after her team, who had already started to leave without her.

"What are you doing, Ami-chan?" Fumika said in a chiding tone as Ami caught up with them. "You've got to
get it together. You could get killed out there if you don't pay attention."

Ami gave her a quick apologetic nod just before glancing back one last time to see her mother's hand lower
to her side. Had she waved back while she was catching up with her team?

A faint smile curved her lips as she readjusted the strap on her shoulder once again and turned her focus
toward the task ahead.


_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds - Section 314, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 7:46 P.M.


Saturn gasped for breath as she held a Silence Wall in place. Beside her, Jupiter was on hands and knees,
breathing raggedly as well. They were on their last legs; she could feel it. Even worse, there were plenty
of Youma outside of her small barrier, waiting for her to falter.

The youngest Sailor Senshi cast a frantic gaze out, searching for anyone who could help them. Off a short
distance to her right, Venus was snapping her Love-Me Chain at a pack of Hunters that had managed to close
in on her, limiting her sniping abilities and forcing her to use close-in tactics. Farther out and to her
left, Mars was having similar problems keeping the Youma from overrunning her. Unlike Venus, who seemed to
prefer using her Crescent Beam to take down Youma at a distance, Mars didn't mind closing in with them for
one-on-one melee attacks, such as kicking them in the head for instance. Though the vicious look on Mars'
face when she did close in with one did worry her.

Some distance behind her, Ryo-niichan and Mamoru-san were also frantically trying to keep the horde of
Youma from overrunning them, the same as with the other Blades and defenders. There were already several
casualties; some heavily wounded, some dead. Medical teams were slowly starting to make their way onto the
battlefield, but without protection, they couldn't reach the casualties lying deep inside the battlefield -
the ones who needed their help the most.

The first time she saw a defender die, she had a brief flashback to when her father had died protecting her
from a Youma, and froze in fear. If Jupiter hadn't been there to snap her back to reality, she could've
died as well. However, the situation they were in now was almost identical to the one she had been in with
Sailor Venus during her first battle. But this time, they were out in the open. There was nowhere to escape
to out here.

"Saturn! Jupiter!" she heard Pluto's voice yell. Saturn whipped her eyes straight ahead to where Pluto was
desperately trying to fight her way to her side. Beside her was one of the Blades; a Recruit Blade judging
from the lack of rank insignia on his left sleeve.

"Hurry!" Saturn croaked as she fought to keep the Silence Wall up. "I can't... hold this... much longer!"

Jupiter struggled to push herself back to her feet. "I'm... not done yet...," she breathed as she started
drawing a rune. "I can still fight! Supreme thunder!" A bolt of lightning shot out from a raised miniature
lightning rod that had emerged from her tiara and slammed into one of the pursuing Hunter Youma, knocking
it back into the other Youma behind it. Jupiter followed up her attack with a second Supreme Thunder,
repeating the process with the Youma on Pluto's opposite side, clearing the way for them.

"There...," she gasped as she sank to her knees again, completely drained. "That should help."

"Oda-sama, I'll need you to help me take these two to safety," Pluto requested as Saturn finally dropped
her Silence Wall and collapsed beside Jupiter, her Silence Glaive still clenched in her right hand.

"Understood," Oda nodded as he knelt down next to Saturn. "Hey, can you climb on my back?" he asked her as
he turned away from her and jerked his thumb toward his back. "Just mind the rifle, all right?"

"O-Okay...," Saturn said as she put her arms around his neck. She adjusted her hold on the Silence Glaive
so that the bottom tip didn't extend past his left knee and the bladed end went over his left shoulder. If
the situation warranted it, she could swing her glaive and cut down any Youma in front of him, but she
would have to warn him before doing so, lest she hamper the movement of his right arm. "Is this all right?"

"Yeah, that's fine," he told her as he started to stand up. "Just try to hold onto me with your legs. Just
remember that I still need my right arm free to swing my sword around."

"Are you all right, Oda-sama?" Saturn asked with some concern as she tried to keep her grip around his neck
as loose as possible while keeping her head away from his rifle's muzzle. "I'm not too heavy, am I?"

"You're all right," he said, his tone reassuring. "You're about the same size as my youngest sister and I
used to carry her around like this all the time for strength training. Although, if you ask me," he added
in a pretend conspiratorial whisper, "I think she just wanted me to carry her around everywhere because she
was lazy. But don't tell her I told you that."

Saturn giggled, imagining Oda's sister riding him piggyback and ordering him to take her this way and that
with a haughty look on her face. She gave a short yelp of surprise as Oda started running.

"Sorry about that," he apologized as he held onto her legs with his free hand. "Shoulda told you we were
going now. Could you loosen up your legs just a tiny bit?"

"Oh, sorry!" she said, not realizing that she had tightened her grip on his neck and around his waist.

"'s all right," he said as he ducked to the left to avoid a sentry, swinging his blade at it as he dodged.
"How're they doing back there?"

Saturn glanced over her left shoulder. Behind them, Pluto had Jupiter in a similar piggyback carry and was
running not too far behind them. "They're okay, Oda-sama."

"Yuichi's fine," he corrected.

"...Yuichi-sama."

"-san."

"...Yuichi-san."

"That's better," Oda said with some humor in his voice. "Sorry, you just remind me of my youngest sister,
so it sounds weird hearing you call me 'Oda-sama.'"

"Oh," Saturn said, wondering what kind of girl Oda's youngest sister was like.

After a couple minutes of running, they had broken past the rear line and had cleared the battlefield.

"Hey!" Oda called out as he slowed to a stop, letting Pluto catch up with him. "Where're we taking them?"

"Considering the size of the Medical teams I've seen and the equipment they were carrying, I'd say that
they've set up, or are in the process of setting up, a field hospital nearby," Pluto explained as she
halted and scanned the area.

"Field hospital?" Oda repeated. "They didn't set up one during the last couple of battles we had."

"We still had a barrier then," she replied. "And a full complement of Medical personnel. Now that over half
of Medical is dedicated toward the recovery of our religious personnel, and consequently, the restoration
of the barrier, Medical's emergency response time is less than it should be. That is why the field hospital
is being put into effect, although it's more of a staging area, rather than an actual hospital."

"Oh," he said, nodding. "You know a lot about how Medical works, huh?"

"You could say that," Pluto replied, then pointed off toward her right. "There. I can see a stretcher team
leaving the battlefield. Follow me."

"Got it," he acknowledged as returned his sword to its sheath and adjusted his hold on Saturn. "I got you
now, so you don't have to hold on so tight with your legs anymore."

"All right," Saturn said as she let her legs dangle naturally in a normal piggyback carry.

"That's better. Now, ready?"

"Yeah," Saturn nodded.

"All right, lead the way, then," he said, nodding to Pluto. The elder Senshi nodded in return as she turned
and started running with Oda close behind her.


_________________________________________________________________


Lower Grounds - Sendai Hill, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 7:54 P.M.


"Where the hell are they?" Haruka demanded as she ejected the empty clip from her rifle and exchanged it
for a new one. Her scowl tightened and she let out an irritated growl upon discovering that she only had
one full clip remaining. "Dammit!" she bellowed as she slammed the lever back hard on her rifle and took
aim at yet another flying Youma from her cover behind one of the living quarters nearest to the entrance to
Sendai Hill.

Beside her, Michiru glanced back up the stairway to the Hikawa Jinja Proper. Halfway up those steps was the
trailing edge of the barrier. If she wanted to, she could easily run up those steps and reach relative
safety inside the barrier. Haruka had even suggested she do so when they had first arrived. She glanced
down at Haruka's Shishu-issued sword as her grip tightened against the hilt. No, she would not be going up
those steps. Her place was here, beside Haruka. She was sure of it.

Michiru turned her gaze to the living quarters across from them, where Sailor Moon was taking cover from a
trio of flying Youma that had dove at her from three different directions. Her tiara had taken out the one
closest to her, but she couldn't make it maneuver fast enough to get the other ones before they could get
to her. Rifle shots sounded from farther down the path leading away from Sendai Hill, a couple of
well-aimed shots taking down one of the two remaining Youma as the third one continued on to ram itself
against the barrier, raking its claws against it as the Youma climbed back up into the air.

Even though the focus of the flying Youma's attack shifted away from being solely on them, it was still
difficult to bring those agile creatures down. Worse still, they were still taking casualties. They had
lost two more defenders before finally reaching the base of Sendai Hill. Both Haruka and Sailor Moon had
taken some hits from the Youma's claws, long gashes dripping blood from their arms and legs. Michiru had a
few cuts on her as well, but not as many or as deep as the others.

Another pack of Youma swept down from the skies and collided with the barrier, raking their claws against
it viciously before climbing back up again. The barrier seemed to become almost visible at the point of
impact, a pale, wipsy, somewhat ghostly glow that seemed to writhe and distort in the brief few seconds
that Michiru could see before it faded away.

One of the Youma that had collided with the barrier suddenly veered off from the others and dove straight
for Michiru. Startled, she reflexively raised the sword in her hands with one hand on the flat of the blade
in order to block the Youma's strike before she could think to call out to Haruka. The Youma's claws struck
against the sword, knocking Michiru back into the living quarters. The blow made her bang her head against
the building, dazing her for a moment. The Youma, which had several ravenlike features, reared back its
head to stab her in the eye with its beak.

"Look out!" she heard Haruka's voice yell as a shot rang out and the Youma's head reeled violently to the
right. Michiru took the opportunity to grab hold of the sword's hilt firmly with both hands and swung the
blade in an overhead arc, slashing the Youma diagonally from shoulder to waist. Another shot to the Youma's
head dropped the demon as Michiru hurried back to Haruka's side.

"Are you all right?" Haruka asked as she switched targets to another airborne Youma.

"I'm fine," Michiru replied, shaking her head to clear it.

Haruka was about to say something else when some movement down the path leading away from Sendai Hill made
her turn her head to get a better look. "That had better be the others," she grumbled, watching as some of
the Youma split off in that direction.

"I think it is," Michiru observed as she pointed at the Youma flying off to attack. "See how those Youma
are breaking off?"

"Shit," Haruka cursed upon spotting several more Youma already engaged with the advancing defenders. With
the constant aerial harassment, their forward progress was limited to advancing slowly from cover to cover.
"Concentrate fire upon those Youma breaking off! They've got their backs to us so you've got an advantage!"

"What about the Youma that are still trying to break down the barrier?" Michiru asked as the defenders
changed their targets.

Haruka glanced over at Michiru for a moment before turning to Sailor Moon. "Hey, Sailor Moon!" she shouted,
trying to grab the Senshi leader's attention.

The blonde Senshi paused after catching her tiara on its return flight. "What?"

"You got anything else besides flinging that thing around?" she asked. "If you got something else, now
would be a good time to use it." She pointed toward the departing Youma to make her point.

"I've got something," she said as she returned her tiara to her forehead, "but I'm going to need you both
to watch my back while I use it."

The female Blade glanced to her companion, who gave her a brief nod, and turned back to Sailor Moon. "Got
it."

Sailor Moon nodded, closed her eyes, and brought her scepter back into existence, holding it out in front
of her as she started gathering energy into it. Haruka and Michiru darted across the path running between
the two living quarters, weapons at the ready and minding the skies for a possible attack.

A trio of Youma rammed into the barrier just before they suddenly dove at the exposed pair, using the speed
of their previous strike and the angle at which they were deflected to make their attack harder to avoid.

"Haruka, look out!" Michiru warned, spotting the incoming Youma first.

"Keep going!" Haruka ordered as she halted and brought up her rifle.

"But-!" Michiru hesitated.

"I'll be fine! Go now!" she insisted as she opened fire. "Guard Sailor Moon!"

It was at that moment when Michiru realized it. It wasn't just Haruka trying to protect her anymore. Even
if Haruka didn't realize it, even if was just for this battle, Haruka had accepted her as a partner and not
just someone she had to protect.

"Okay," she nodded and continued running.

Behind her, Haruka dived to her left, the claws of the flying Youma tearing into the cloth of her uniform
and grazing her midsection, leaving a shallow set of gashes across her waist. She hit the ground and
tumbled, scrambling to her knees in order to fire at the Youma's backs as they ascended into the air again.

"Hey, aren't you ready ye-!" she yelled over her shoulder at Sailor Moon, but cut off as she saw that the
scepter was now glowing with a brilliant light.

Sailor Moon leapt from her cover behind the living quarters and landed in the middle of the first step
leading up to the Hikawa Jinja Proper. "We went to all this trouble to bring back our barrier!" she yelled
as she waved the wand in front of her, drawing the rune for her attack. "There's no way I'm going to let
you bastards tear it down again! I'm the Sailor Warrior fighting for justice and vengeance, Sailor Moon! On
behalf of my dead kingdom, I'll destroy you!" The rune completed, she raised the wand in front of her at an
angle, pointing it toward the pack of Youma that were now descending upon the second group of defenders.

"Moon princess halation!" she shouted as a stream of light issued forth, punching through several
unsuspecting Youma, causing the rest to break off and scatter. Sailor Moon slowly swung the scepter up,
moving it back and forth in order to intercept other Youma as they scrambled to avoid the beam of energy.
Youma burnt into ash as the attack claimed one after the other, ending when the Senshi leader held the
scepter pointing straight up over her head.

"Damn...," Haruka breathed, mouth agape as she lowered her rifle. "How come you didn't do that sooner?"

"Takes a long of energy out of me," Sailor Moon replied, slightly winded. "If I'm going to use it, then I
want to make sure I can take out as many of those bastards as I can. Besides, I'm defenseless while I'm
gathering the energy to use it."

"Well, either way, that took most of them out," Michiru pointed out as the remaining defenders made a break
for them, running for the jinja steps while the others provided cover fire. "There's only a handful left."

"Ten'ou-sama!" one of the defenders called out as his group rejoined with the rest of the unit. "Is the
barrier still up?"

"It still stands," she affirmed with a nod as she looked over the rest of the unit that had just arrived.

"Sorry we took so long in getting here, but we had to keep the Youma away from the Medical teams as they
left the Lower Grounds," he reported. "The last team should be exiting the Lower Grounds as we speak."

"Right, good job holding up your end, all of you! We've only got a few left! Don't let up!" As the entire
unit concentrated their fire on the remaining flying Youma, Haruka turned to Sailor Moon and gave her a
grateful look. "You really saved our asses out here. Thanks."

"The battle's not over yet," Sailor Moon replied as she let her scepter disappear. "I need to get back to
the others."

"We've got things under control here," Haruka said as she jerked her head in the general direction of the
main battlefield. "Go on. They need you out there."

Sailor Moon glanced toward the battlefield for a moment before returning her gaze to Haruka. "You two be
careful, all right? I'll see you later." With that, she took off running down the path leading away from
the jinja.

"Yeah," Haruka said as she lifted her rifle and took aim at the nearest flying Youma. "Later."


_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds - Near Section 314/Section 323 Border, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 7:54 P.M.


Mars dived out of the way as an Axe Hunter brought its weapon down in a vertical strike, just barely
missing her head as she tumbled back to her feet, her hands drawing a rune as she rose. "Burning mandala!"
she shouted, flinging several fiery rings toward her adversary, as well as several lesser Youma behind it.

The dark-haired Senshi's lips curled into a savage grin as her attack claimed yet several more foes, while
her eyes scanned the battlefield for more victims. "Hey, which one of you bastards want to die next?" she
challenged, her fingers poised to draw a Fire Soul. As if in reply, a pack of sentries growled and charged
at her, weapons raised. "Fine. Fire soul!" A ball of flame flew from her fingertips and smashed into the
sentries, knocking them off their feet backward, their bodies burning away from the intense heat as they
fell to the ground and crumbled to ash.

"Mars!" Venus called out as she ran up to her, striking down a Claw Hunter with her Love-Me Chain on the
way there. "We have to pull back! We're taking too many casualties to hold our position!"

"What?" she exclaimed, whirling around to face her. "Weren't we holding them back just fine just a while
ago?"

"Saturn and Jupiter don't have any more strength left to fight," Venus told her, shaking her head. "Pluto
and one of the Recruit Blades took them off the battlefield and over to a field hospital that Medical set
up a while ago. But now that we're down three more Senshi, the Youma are using this opportunity to press
forward. Mamoru-san's trying to regroup near the Section 321/Section 323 border. We have to hurry!"

"Damn," Mars seethed, her lips tightening as she grimaced. "Which way?"

"Follow me," she said as she took off at a run with Mars right behind her, drawing a rune in the air as she
ran. "Crescent beam!" she shouted, firing her attack at a couple of the new type of Youma, destroying one
while the other dodged and started charging at them.

"Fire soul!" Mars responded, completely engulfing the Youma in flame until it crumbled to dust. "Those new
Youma just keep coming!" she growled as she turned her attention back to following Venus. "It almost seems
like there are more of them now than there was before!"

"I hope not," Venus said, worry palpable in her tone of voice. "Things are bad enough without the Youma
getting reinforcements. I just hope Sailor Moon and Pluto come back soon."


_________________________________________________________________


Hibiya Koen Ruins - Southern Entrance, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 7:57 P.M.


Titus smirked as she ripped out the throat of one of the last Hybrid Youmas and let the now lifeless body
drop to the ground with a meaty thud.

"Ahh...," she purred as she reveled in the absolute carnage she had partaken in, squishing the Hybrid's
throat in her right hand and playing with it as if it was a piece of dough or clay. "I haven't let loose
like this in a long time. Stamping down rebellious humans just isn't the same."

She let the Youma bit drop to the ground as she looked around for another victim. She frowned upon seeing
that there weren't any other Youma around save for those belonging to Jadeite. "What, is it over already?"
she pouted and pointed to the closest Mage. "You. What is the status of the enemy forces?"

The Mage bowed and started muttering something at a near-inaudible volume. A faint, sickly green glow
flickered at its fingertips as they bent, curved and arched in complex and almost random-seeming patterns.
Once the glow faded completely, the Mage turned to Titus. "Mistress, almost half of the enemy has retreated
while the rest have been destroyed," it reported with another bow. "We are victorious."

"Retreated?" Titus frowned. "They better not have tried to bolster the attack on the Hikawa Jinja." The
Elite Youma turned her gaze in the direction of the jinja and considered. "On second though, who cares if
they do? The Sailor Senshi can take care of the rest of those bastards. And on the slight chance that the
Senshi fail...."

Titus gave an indifferent shrug as she turned back to the Mage Youma and issued orders to return to the
Palace. As the Mage started barking orders to the other Youma, a sly grin spread across her face as she
started making her way back to the Palace.

'Even if the Senshi fail, I can always swoop in and finish off whomever's left. No matter who wins, my
job's done for me and I can take care of the rest. Jadeite-sama will be pleased once I give him the news.'
A shiver of anticipation ran up her spine as the ruins of the Imperial Palace came into view. However, in
her excitement, the Elite Youma failed to notice a small group of shadows steadily sneaking away from the
Palace.


_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds - Near Section 321/Section 323 Border, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 8:06 P.M.


"Everyone, make sure you keep your eyes open," Kobayashi-sensei warned as they left the field hospital.
"This isn't going to be like that first big battle a few days ago where we're merely going to skirt the
outsides of the battlefield."

Ami glanced down at her right side where her hand brushed against the holstered pistol she the personnel
manning the field hospital had issued her, now resting just behind her hip pouch. They had given her a
quick overview of how to operate it as far as firing, reloading, and general safety was concerned. However,
it still felt like a foreign weight hanging there; a chunk of cold, frightening, black metal strapped to
her waist. Just feeling it there made her feel uneasy. She prayed she didn't have to draw it.

Medical rarely broke out their side arms unless there was a danger of their medical teams being overrun by
Youma. A lot of personnel weren't trained in their use - especially the newer ones - so the current policy
was for Medical to go unarmed and avoid getting too close to the battlefield unless escorted by Blades.
The risk of nurses and doctors accidentally shooting a human while aiming at a Youma was too high to allow
the issuance of side arms unless in a dire emergency.

In the first battle, they had over five thousand defenders. After that battle, over a thousand died with
twice as many wounded and incapable of fighting. With just barely one and a half-thousand left to defend
the Hikawa Jinja, the situation was more than just 'dire.'

It was closer to 'desperate.'

"You know, carrying these things around, it almost feels like we're going out there to fight, too," Fumika
observed.

"It's just for personal protection," Ikagi pointed out. "Please don't try to use it thoughtlessly. Just
remember that you can kill someone with it by accident if you're not careful."

"I know that," Fumika complained. "Man, Wakana, I'm not stupid, you know."

Ikagi ignored her as she turned her gaze to Ami. "That pouch of yours isn't going to get in the way, is it?"

Ami shook her head and turned slightly so that the pouch and holster were in her view.

Seeing that there was a small gap between the pouch and holster, Ikagi nodded and returned her gaze out in
front of her.

"Kobayashi-sensei!" The group stopped and turned in the direction of the hail as another group of six
jogged up to them. Between the six, half of them carried folded-up scoop stretchers on their backs. The
leader, a man in a midnight blue doctor's uniform with a folded stretcher on his back, nodded to
Kobayashi-sensei. "Maeda, Stretcher Team Nine. I thought your team would've been on the battlefield
already?"

"Some of the pistol clips we were given were empty and we had to spend a couple of minutes filling them,"
he explained. "I don't blame them, though. We haven't had to break out the side arms in years and the
Blades need the bullets more than we do."

"Still, that's no excuse for poor inventory management," Ikagi remarked with a frown. "We'll have to speak
with whoever's in charge of supplies when this is over."

Maeda-sensei shrugged as he adjusted the straps on his shoulders, resettling the stretcher's weight against
his back. "Well, that's for later. We should...."

"Something wrong, Maeda-sensei?" Noto inquired, concerned at the way the doctor had trailed off and turned
to look in the direction of his gaze.

Ami followed Maeda-sensei's gaze as well, stopping as her eyes fell upon the sight of defenders falling
back while heading in their direction.

"Ah, shit," Maeda muttered under his breath once Youma became visible as well.

"Dear God...," Noto whispered in fear as she crossed herself.

"What's going on?" one of the stretcher team asked of no one in particular. "They're not losing, are they?
Don't tell me we have to go into THAT?"

"Everyone, load a clip into your side arms," Kobayashi-sensei ordered. "Once that is done, pull back on the
top of the pistol to load a bullet into the chamber of your pistol. Make sure that the safety is on while
you do this; if you see a red dot on the side of your gun where the safety is, it's off."

Ami stared down at the pistol at her hip again, hesitating as she heard the metallic scraping and clicking
sounds of the others loading and readying their weapons. Taking a deep breath to bolster her courage, she
quickly slid the firearm out and removed a clip from the side of the holster with her free hand. As she
aimed the gun toward the ground and slid the clip into the pistol, she tilted the weapon so that she could
check the safety. 'No red; it's safe,' she thought to herself as the clip clicked into place. With a single
motion, she pulled back on the slide of the pistol, chambering a bullet before deftly sliding the weapon
back into its holster.

"All right," Kobayashi-sensei continued, seeing that everyone was ready. "Watch yourselves and watch each
other. Let's go."

The mute nurse-in-training swallowed as she steeled her nerves and followed the others forward. Her friends
were fighting out there. It was time for her to join them.


_________________________________________________________________


Outside Hikawa Jinja Proper, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 8:06 P.M.


It was difficult finding a place to hide with so many people milling about the jinja grounds. The chances
of being discovered were way too high should a casual passerby just happen upon whatever she was doing.
Discovery at this point would extremely dangerous, especially considering the tense anxiety of the people
waiting for news of the battle between the defenders and the invading Youma. Death would be the least of
what could be expected. However, with the return of the barrier and the invasion force from one of the
Southern Generals, all of this had to be reported.

'Everyone thinks these flying Youma are Jadeite's.' A snort. 'Jadeite doesn't have the resources to make a
flying breed and I know for a fact that Nephrite-sama doesn't have any. Besides, Nephrite-sama wouldn't
make a move against Jadeite unless he made one first. These Youma have to belong to either Zoisite or
Kunzite.'

A moment was taken in order to clear the mind and to make sure that no one would show up unexpectedly. In
the handful of minutes that was spent hiding deep amongst the trees and brushes near the outer edge of
Sendai Hill, there had been scarcely anyone that came close enough to find this hiding spot, so it was
assumed that it was safe. But still, caution was warranted; especially if she was trying to hide the fact
that she was a spy.

The spy pulled out a necklace and slipped it around her neck. 'Nephrite-sama,' she mentally called out
as
she closed her eyes and grasped the dark green stone that dangled from the golden chain around her neck. It
was the first gift he had ever given her, modified so that she could use it to contact him no matter where
he sent her.

At first, she didn't really want to spy against her fellow humans. However, Nephrite-sama had promised that
if she acted as a spy for him, he would grant her family immunity and let them live in his Harem Dormitory.
Considering the amount of flak that her family received just because their eldest daughter was one of
'Nephrite's Whores,' the offer made it an easy choice, even if her family didn't really see it that way.

'Nephrite-sama,' the spy called out again, waiting for a reply.

'You have something to report?' the General's voice echoed in her mind. It almost felt like she could hear
it coming from everywhere at once instead of coming from inside her head.

'Yes, Nephrite-sama. First of all, the barrier surrounding the Hikawa Jinja has been restored. However, the
barrier is very small and weak since most of the personnel who maintain the barrier are still recovering.

'Second, we're being invaded, but I seriously doubt that it's Jadeite that's doing it.'

'Oh?' came the interested reply. 'What makes you think this?'

'Last I saw, Jadeite didn't have any Youma that could fly. He certainly didn't have any a couple days ago.'

There was a slight pause. 'Flying Youma?'

'Yes, Nephrite-sama. In addition to the Youma that's fighting against our main defending forces, there were
several flying Youma that came to attack the barrier. They were all destroyed by the ones that stayed
behind to guard Sendai Hill with help from Sailor Moon.'

'Hybrids,' Nephrite said, disgust plain in his tone.

'Hybrids, Nephrite-sama?'

There was a long pause. Nephrite was probably talking to someone, maybe issuing orders or something.

'Is there anything else?'

'Nephrite-sama, what will happen to me if the Youma manage to break into Sendai Hill?'

'Don't worry,' the General's voice replied, his tone comforting. 'I doubt that Jadeite would let anyone
take his territory. Keep me informed.'

"But...," she whispered to herself as she felt the contact terminate, "...you didn't say what would happen
to me...."


_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds - Section 321, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 8:12 P.M.


The defenders had managed to push the Youma back again, much to Ami's relief, as she administered a
pressure bandage over long gashes on a young man's right arm and leg. The damage wasn't too extensive and
he would be able to walk again, but returning to battle was out of the question. Once she had finished, she
gave him directions to return to the jinja. Once he read the instructions, he nodded and apologized before
leaving the battlefield, a slight limp in his walk.

'I would prefer he be taken off the battlefield by stretcher, but we just don't have the resources at the
moment,' she thought to herself as she put her pad away and slung her satchel back over her shoulder.

It was fortunate that both Mars and Venus arrived when they did, as well as Pluto and a Recruit Blade she
didn't recognize right away. With those combined reinforcements, the Youma advance was halted for the
moment. However, it was still too dangerous to relax their guard.

Coming across the dead bodies of one of the Medical teams that had gone before her was sobering, to say the
least. It was hard to get the image of her own body lying there, lifeless, out of her mind. It still popped
up from time to time if she wasn't concentrating on a casualty.

"Ami-chan! Gimme a hand here!"

The mute nurse-in-training whipped her head toward the voice where Fumika and Ikagi were working to
stabilize a pair of casualties with severe injuries. Ikagi had out a vial of Claw Hunter poison antidote
and was injecting it into the her patient's arm, which was already completely bandaged. Fumika's casualty
had deep cuts on both legs and his right arm was partly detached above the elbow. His lower arm was just
hanging on by skin, sinew, and sleeve with the bone visible, completely covered in dark red blood. His left
arm was hanging onto his lower arm, hand locked in a tight grip on his forearm, nails almost piercing the
skin as he repeated in a pained, delirious whimper that he couldn't feel his arm.

Ami rushed to the opposite side of Fumika's patient, dropped her satchel, and pulled out a clean pair of
sterile gloves while Fumika brought out a tourniquet from her own satchel.

"Ami-chan, tie this around his arm and mark the time," Fumika ordered, handing Ami the tourniquet. "I'll
dress the arm. As soon as you're done tying it off, dress the wounds on his legs."

She nodded and went to work tying off the arm. As she twisted the bar on the tourniquet, the strap
tightened, cutting off blood flow below the strap.

"Wakana, can you cover this guy's eyes for a moment?" Fumika asked over her shoulder.

Ikagi glanced back at Fumika's patient and then nodded. "All right. I'm done here, anyway." She glanced
down at her patient. "You rest here. When you see a stretcher team, call out to them and they'll evac you
to the field hospital." Once the man nodded, she stood up and walked over to Fumika's side, placing a hand
over the patient's eyes. "There."

Fumika nodded and picked up a sword lying next to the patient. She used a piece of gauze soaked in hydrogen
peroxide to clean off the blade and used it to cut off the remaining part of the arm in order to better
dress the wound. "I'm sorry I had to do that," she said, setting the now severed arm in the man's lap as
Ikagi tried to soothe his pained cries. "But there was no way to save it and it would've only gotten in the
way."

"You can be really brutal sometimes, Sagara-san," Ikagi remarked as Fumika brought a new roll of gauze and
proceeded to wrap up the man's stump.

"That's the way it is in war," she replied in a tone more sober than Ami could ever remember hearing from
the young nurse. "It may not be pleasant, but if it'll keep them alive and help them to recover, then I'll
be as brutal as it takes." She tied off the bandage and glanced over to Ami. "I'm done here. How about you,
Ami-chan?"

Ami nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Then, all he needs is for a stretcher team to haul him out of here," Fumika said with a pleased smile. "If
all goes well, then he should be fine once he gets to the field hospital."

"Speaking of which," Ikagi said, turning back from where she had been waving at someone, "I've just flagged
down a stretcher team. They should be here in a minute or two."

"Great!" Fumika said with a smile. "Well, we'd better get to our next patients, then. Ri-?" Her sentence
was cut short as a crossbow bolt struck her in her right eye at an angle, the point striking with enough
force to pierce through the left part of the back of her skull about a centimeter and a half. Fumika
collapsed to the ground with the same lifelessness as a puppet with its strings cut. Her remaining eye
remained open, its dead stare gazing up into the barely illuminated, dark, nighttime sky.

"Sagara-san!" Ikagi screamed as her eyes flew wide open in shock. She then forced herself to rip her gaze
away from her slain friend to trace the path of the fatal arrow to its source.

Ami followed the arrow's path as well and sprung to her feet once she saw that the Youma were beginning yet
another push in their direction. Her eyes also happened to fall upon the body of Kobayashi-sensei, who had
several deep gashes across his chest from what looked like a Claw Hunter's doing. His pistol was resting in
his right hand, his finger still inside the trigger guard. A quick glance showed no sign of Noto.

"Kobayashi-sensei, too...?" Ikagi choked as she stood up, gritted her teeth, and drew her pistol. "Damn
you!" she screamed as she fired at the nearest Youma, a sentry. Her first shot missed, but her second one
struck the sentry in the chest, making it stagger. "Damn you all to Hell!"

As the infuriated nurse brought down the sentry, and then another one with a well-placed shot to the head,
Ami drew her weapon as well. She quickly looked around for any sign of defenders, Blades, or Senshi that
could help them before the advancing Youma could overrun them. There wasn't anyone around who wasn't either
already busy fighting Youma, wounded and unable to help, or dead. Seeing no other choice, Ami raised her
pistol, took aim, and commenced firing.


_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds - Near Section 312/Section 321 Border, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 8:13 P.M.


Mamoru turned from pulling his sword out from the chest of a dead reptilian Youma and swept his gaze along
the battlefield. The Youma had spread out greatly and there almost seemed to be no end to them. In fact,
there now seemed to be more of these new Youma types that had both animal and human characteristics to
them than there were when they had first started.

'Reinforcements?' he wondered as he looked around. He had lost track of Ryoku quite some time ago, as well
as the other two Senshi that remained after Pluto and Oda had escorted Jupiter and Saturn off the
battlefield. Pluto had returned a while ago, but had parted ways with Oda, who got caught up in the
fighting over in Section 321. Of his other Blades, only Yamada and Andou were there, with the others
scattered around. He could see Sanzou and Takei a short distance away as they were taking care of a small
group of sentries and Hunters with their group of defenders, but that was about it.

"Shit, how many of these fucking freaks are left?" Yamada growled as he took advantage of a lull in the
fighting to reload his rifle.

"I really wish you would reign in that foul mouth of yours, Yamada-sama," Pluto remarked with some distaste.

"What?" the gruff Blade blinked as he looked up from his weapon. Seeing the frown on Pluto's face, he had
the grace to look a little sheepish. "Oh. Sorry 'bout that. Stress, you know?"

"I'm more worried about OUR numbers," Mamoru said, deeply concerned. "If things keep going as they are, we
aren't going to last more than three or four hours at the most."

"Probably less than that," Andou remarked as he surveyed the area. "I mean, did you notice that there are
more of those weird Youma around than before?"

"So, you noticed, too," Mamoru said with a frown. "I had hoped I was mistaken." He glanced in the direction
of the Hikawa Jinja. "I just hope things are going well at the jinja. The barrier's still up, so that's a
good sign, but it's been a while since Sailor Moon left to help defend it against the flying Youma."

"Chiba, more Youma advancing to the south!" Andou warned as he pointed in the indicated direction.

"Ready to go," Yamada stated as he raised his reloaded rifle and held it at the ready.

"Yamada, Pluto, fire at will," Mamoru said as he stepped out of their way. "Everyone else, hold until the
Youma close in to about fifty meters, then charge."

"Understood," Pluto acknowledged, drawing her attack rune as Yamada took aim and started firing. "Dead
scream."

A pale sphere of energy slammed into the lead Hunter, blowing it away as Yamada's rifle shots took down
smaller sentries around it. Pluto followed her Dead Scream with another one, taking down a small pack of
sentries in one shot.

"Forward!" Mamoru ordered as he charged with the defenders close behind him.

"Moon princess halation!"

Mamoru's group slowed to a halt as a beam of light energy shot past them from behind, eliminating most of
the charging Youma while causing the rest to scatter and fall back to regroup.

"About damn time that girl showed up!" Yamada grumbled. However, his usual scowl that always accompanied
his complaints wasn't nearly as severe as it usually was.

"Sailor Moon!" the Shishu leader exclaimed in relief as the blonde Senshi joined them. "Is everything at
the jinja all right?"

"The flying Youma... were taken care of," she reported with a confident grin as she caught her breath.
"Ten'ou-san had everything in control when I left."

"That's good to hear," he said with a small nod. "I'm glad you came when you did. It looks like some
reinforcements have shown up. If we don't end this battle soon, we won't be able to defend against another
invasion."

Sailor Moon turned to Pluto. "Where are the others, Pluto? I didn't see them on my way here."

"Venus and Mars are in Section 321," the elder Senshi explained. "Jupiter and Saturn were taken to a field
hospital because they ran out of energy to continue fighting, but are otherwise mostly fine. I doubt either
one will be able to rejoin the battle any time soon."

The Senshi leader nodded as she took in the information. "Mamoru-san, what's your suggestion?" she
inquired, turning to the dark-haired Blade.

Mamoru took a quick scan of the area, then turned back to the others. "Most of the Youma that remain are in
Section 321. If we can drive the remaining Youma here east into Section 321, we can hit the other Youma in
their flank, hopefully confusing them enough to turn the tide of this battle back in our favor." He pointed
to his two Blades each in turn. "Andou, Yamada, round up the remaining defenders. Once we're done here,
we're pushing east."

"Roger," Andou acknowledged and took off running.

"Got it," Yamada nodded and turned to Sailor Moon. "Thanks for not screwing up, girl," he said before
taking off as well.

Sailor Moon blinked as she watched the two Blades leave. "...Should I take that as a sign of gratitude?"
she asked sardonically as she raised a single eyebrow.

Mamoru merely smirked in amusement as he turned toward the regrouping Youma and raised his sword. "Let's
take them down before they have a chance to attack again!" he shouted as he pointed the blade toward the
enemy, signaling another charge. As the defenders began the charge, he took off as well, Sailor Moon close
at his side.

"Don't worry," she said as she removed the tiara from her forehead. "We'll survive this." Her tiara began
to glow as it changed into a glowing disc. "I'll make sure of it."

"So will I," Mamoru replied as his eyes narrowed and took on a determined cast.


_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds - Section 321 Border, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 9, 1992. 8:21 P.M.


Ami fell back as the Youma drew closer, firing her pistol whenever she was certain she had a good shot. In
contrast, Ikagi continued to fire wildly, anger over the deaths of her friend and her mentor clouding her
judgment.

Several defenders had jumped into the path of the advancing Youma, slowing several of them down.
Unfortunately, that simply reduced the number that were after them, instead of stopping them altogether.
Between Ikagi and herself, they had brought down a small number of Youma - mostly sentries, although a
lucky shot on her part managed to take down a Whip Hunter when she shot it in the eye. Ikagi was already on
her last pistol clip while she only had to reload once. She had two clips remaining and didn't want to
think about what would happen to her once those were gone.

A loud click over to her left announced that Ikagi had just ran out of bullets. A quick glance showed that,
indeed, she had ran out as the slide of her pistol was locked in the rearward position. Ikagi fumbled a
hand over her holster, feeling for another clip as she continued to back away from the advancing Youma.

"I'm out?" she gasped as her gaze shot down to her holster, looking to confirm her fears. As she looked
down, her left foot stepped on the arm of a dead body, causing her to lose her footing and stumble
backward, her arms windmilling in a hopeless attempt to keep her balance before she fell flat on her back.
She lost her grip on her pistol as it flew out of her hand and landed a short distance behind her.

Seeing a human fall to the ground, defenseless, the Youma picked up their pace, raising their weapons in
order to engage in merciless slaughter once again.

Ami shifted her aim to the Youma closest to Ikagi and started firing in order to give Ikagi enough time to
get back to her feet and get away. However, as the nurse was rising to her feet, she stopped as she
recognized the face of the woman in the dark and light blue uniform of a Medical intern lying prone on the
cold ground.

"Noto-san...," she murmured as she finally broke her stare. She grabbed an unused clip from Noto's holster
and pushed herself to her feet, scooping her pistol from off the ground as she fled.

As Ikagi ejected the empty clip from her pistol and shoved in the new one, her gaze fell upon a trio of
sentries that were approaching from the side, out of Ami's field of view. "Mizuno-san! To your right!" she
warned as she pulled back on the slide to disengage the lock and allow the slide to return forward. As Ami
swung her pistol toward the new threat, Ikagi took aim and opened fire as well, easily taking down the
three sentries between them.

Once the threat was neutralized, Ikagi started to run, but was stopped as a blade pierced her through the
back, coming out through her stomach.

"Mizuno-san.... Run...!" she managed to choke out before another blade erupted from the middle of her
chest. Blood gurgled out from Ikagi's mouth as her legs gave out and she tumbled to the ground on her side,
her pistol clattering to the ground beside her.

Ami's breath caught in her throat as the Youma turned their gazes in her direction. Now that she was the
last of her team left alive, her earlier resolve started to crumble under the oppressive weight of her
fear. With a roar, the Youma started to charge straight at her.

Ami turned and ran, returning her pistol to its holster as she tried to keep as much distance between her
and the Youma as possible until she could find some help. Standing her ground alone was certain death,
especially once the first Youma finally reached her. There was no way she could survive a close-in battle,
not with a pistol as her only weapon.

As she ran, she desperately tried to figure out what her options were. Running for the field hospital was
out of the question. Not only wouldn't she lead the enemy to such an important location, she'd be overtaken
well before she could reach it. Her only option was to flee deeper into the battlefield and hope that some
Blades or defenders could intercept her pursuers. Her path now set, she began to veer off to her left in
order to make her way back to the heart of the battlefield, all the while hearing the snarling of the
pursuing Youma growing closer.

The mute nurse-in-training weaved through the fighting humans and Youma, her eyes seeking any assistance
she could find. Somewhere in the back of her heart, she hoped that she would run into one of the Senshi.
Or, Ryoku. One of them would certainly be able to save her.

A prickling sensation at the back her neck spurred her on, pushing her to run faster, although she was
already running as fast as she could go. It almost felt like the claws of the Youma were reaching out to
grab her and bring her down. It felt like death was about to reach out and yank the life straight out of
her.

If she had the ability to speak, she would've screamed in absolute terror.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell for help.

She opened her mouth to call for help, but nothing would come out.

'Please...,' she cried out in her mind, tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes. 'Someone help
me....

'Save me.... Ryoku-san....'

Up ahead, the light of a fire drew her attention to a figure in red and white. Ami swerved toward the
light, only to blindsided by something tackling her from behind.


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


Author's Note: Here it is! The latest chapter of The Brooch! So much is going on all at once, it's hard to
keep track of everything! Will the main forces be able to hold on now that Sailor Moon is back? Who is the
spy hiding in Hikawa Jinja? And what will happen to Ami? 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.