Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Revolution Prophecy ❯ Friends... Or Enemies? Part One ( Chapter 15 )

Friends. . . Or Enemies?

 

Hiro stood in front of the Shrine in which he had lived for four years, his grip on the Mars Star Wand turning his knuckles ghostly white. What was left of the burned holy place had been demolished in the recent fight against what seemed like one of the leaders of the new Enemy. And all this happened while he was unconscious and not protecting his Princess. He grunted and kicked the wall.

Usagi came up behind him silently and laid a hand on his shoulder. She winced as bruises all over her body voiced their discomfort at her movement. She managed to smile as he turned to face her. She watched confused as he looked around for a moment, and then gathered that he was looking for the others.

He faced her again. "Where are the others?", he inquired.

She shrugged slightly, wincing again. Hiro noted that silently and cursed himself more. His anger at himself and the others for not ensuring her safety raged inside him, barely kept in check. The other hand that held his staff clenched the weapon tightly, the runes etched into it glowing red.

He got down on his knees in front of her. "I am sorry, Usa...", he said, unable to make eye contact with her. "I should have been there to protect you, Princess."

She smiled. "Yeah, you should have. But I think I can forgive you this once. It appears that you had other things going on.", she replied.

He nodded. "Now I can protect you. It's about time. I've felt so useless to you."

She laughed. "Whatever you want to believe. Have you said your goodbyes? We probably won't see this place again for a long time.", she said simply.

He turned back towards the Shrine. "I'm ready to go.", he said. "We should catch up with the others anyhow. Lead the way, Sailor Moon. I'll follow you wherever you go."

She nodded. "Alyssa told me that there are lot of storms concentrated over a specific point in the western mountain range. That would support Jamin's hypothesis that Mako-chan left the key to unlocking his powers where she trained so many years ago."

Hiro looked puzzled. "Mako-chan? You refer to his mother so casually??"

Usagi blushed. "Well, I trained with her when she was young. It just seemed like right way to talk to her...", she said. Composing herself, she began again. "Anyways, we need to get going before Alyssa and Jamin get too far ahead of us."

Hiro nodded. "You're right, Usa. We shouldn't leave them alone.", he said as they started walking.

It was an overcast day in the area as they began to travel. The first few hours went by quietly as they entered the slightly rolling hills before they arrived at the base of the mountain range. There was a small cluster of homes in the area, so they decided to stop for a while and rest before venturing up towards their destination.

Their silence continued for a few minutes as Usagi sat and watched Hiro look over his wooden staff, seemingly mesmerized by it. He turned it slowly in his hands, looking over every inch. "You know, Hiro, it's not going anywhere...", she said quietly.

Hiro looked up for the first time in a while, and then laughed in light embarrassment. "Gomen nasai, Usa...", he said with a smile. "What's on your mind?"

She smiled in return and began to talk. "You know, I had to pay a little bit extra for Alyssa and Jamin's room, right?", she asked, continuing as he nodded. "Well, I caught them through their window this morning."

He merely nodded. "And?", he replied.

"What do you mean, 'and'??", she asked incredulously. "You don't understand what I'm saying?"

"They were having sex. And?", he asked.

"That doesn't bother you at all? I mean... we're just teenaged...", she said, pausing before saying anything else.

Hiro set his staff down. "Usa, in the time you've been gone, our whole world has changed. Many of us do not expect to live more than 10 years at the most. Many social aspects that were separated by age barriers fell apart with the kingdom.", he explained, lowering his eyes as he continued. "Even me... I started to drink alcohol a little bit two years ago, not a lot, but to help me sleep."

"Nobody cares. The people of this world walk around without dreams anymore. No goals, no desires. Few struggle to stay alive anymore. I don't know how many I've talked to who would just let themselves die than live in our world now.", he finished.

Usagi shed a tear. "I remember fighting so hard in the past with Sailor Moon, fighting to protect people's beautiful dreams. I can remember their screams as their dreams were violated, the pain of their privacy being invaded... now people just let their dreams die...", she said quietly.

Hiro laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, Usa...", he said, trying to cheer her up. "It's not as though the people are just giving up their dreams. Their dreams are being stolen by this dark world that haunts all of us. I even lost my dream to the darkness here."

Usagi looked up at him. "What was your dream?", she asked.

Hiro looked away. "You shouldn't ask me things like that, Usa-chan. Besides... we REALLY need to get going.", he said quickly to change the subject.

He stood up and offered Usagi his hand. She pulled herself to her feet. She pushed herself to her toes and kissed his cheek, asking quietly, "...but you'll tell me sometime anyway, I hope?".

Hiro blushed deeply and began the long trek up the mountain with Usagi in tow.

~~~~~~~~~~

Further up the mountain, Alyssa stopped and bent over, gasping for breath. Jamin turned to face her. "Do we need to take a short break?", he asked, getting down on his knees so he could peer into her face.

"I... just for a... few minutes...", Alyssa gasped, sucking her breath in quickly.

"Take it easy on the breathing there, kiddo.", Jamin said with a smile, laying his hand on her shoulder. "Don't hyperventilate up here. The air is thinner up here, enough to make you pass out."

Alyssa nodded, desperately trying to slow down her breathing rate. After a few moments, she looked up at her love. "How much farther to this place? Do you remember?", she asked quietly, her breathing slightly more regular.

"We can relax. We actually made really good time, better than I expected. We can take it easy for the last mile and a half now.", he said. "Shouldn't be more than two hours."

"Two hours??", she asked. "How is it two hours to travel only a mile and a half? I'm pretty sure I'm not THAT slow...".

"We are making our way uphill, hon. Takes a little bit more effort.", he replied.

"Oh...", she said. "Well, I guess you're right. Let's rest here for 20 minutes and then keep going, okay?", she asked, smiling and sitting down. She set her things down and looked at Jamin.

He was staring off into the distance, watching the storm that perpetually seemed to batter the flat peak. His brown eyes still, he stood completely motionless, unaware of Alyssa approaching him. He looked down quickly at her when she slipped one of her arms around him and cuddled herself close.

"What are you thinking about, love?", she asked, smiling at the word love.

He shifted his gaze back to the peak. "I can feel it. Up there is my destiny. Once we arrive there, my future is permanently set, no backing out.", he murmured. "For a long time now, all I have cared about was you, and your safety. Once up there, everything changes. The weight of our world will rest on my shoulders."

"Not just your shoulders. Hiro and Usa-hime bear the weight with you, as will I.", she replied softly. "You don't always have to do everything alone. We're all here for you... I am here for you... I always will be, until wherever the end finds us."

"There is also that matter of that stranger. I want to know who she is... I want to know why Krista has turned her back to us... there are so many things that we don't know. We don't even know all of what is happening around us... nor do we know the enemy we will be fighting.

"I am sure that everything will unfold as we go.", Alyssa said. "Whatever happens, we can win. I'm sure that we can."

Jamin looked back at her. "How can you be so sure? Did you see how easily that fiend bested us, bested even Usagi, who is trained to fight as a Sailor Guardian? How can you be so sure?"

Upon her lack of response, he continued. "Don't you realize that we might die doing this? How close Usagi just came to dying herself? We don't know what we are doing!"

Alyssa shot a look back at him. "So then don't take the power!", she responded. "Leave it where it is. We won't be as powerful, but we will still fight. Usagi will continue to fight, and I will follow her, and you know in your heart that you will follow her as well. And you will wish you had the power to protect her."

"And what about me, Jamin? When I am in danger, won't you want the power to protect me? Because, in the end, I would rather die trying than to live in this joyless world, stripped of its beauty.", she finished. "I will make a difference."

Jamin stood quietly. "I just miss having my whole world centered on you alone. Now it is spread out across the entire world.", he said slowly.

Alyssa hugged him fiercely. "I just want to restore our world so I can be everything to you, to not have to worry about hiding from things that would rip us apart.", she replied. "I've followed you too far to lose you now."

Jamin nodded. "I think we should get going towards the top. No time like the present..."

They gathered their things and continued their trek to the top.

~~~~~~~~~~

"They've made it to the base of the mountain range, Altima.", a male voice said.

The silver-haired Sailor Senshi nodded. "I figured they would arrive around now. There is a possibility that we will have to protect them until the boy receives the Jupiter essence."

A dark cloud appeared besides the male, whose clothing revealed his identity as a Sailor Warrior. From the cloud, a third Senshi appeared, a female. "Won't we be having to protect them AFTER they receive the final essence? They have no training at all."

Altima nodded. "It is up to us to train them. How receptive they will be to us remains a mystery. Venus certainly doesn't seem to like us all that much."

The male laughed. "She certainly seems to get along with with Polaris."

Altima turned her gaze to him. "What do you mean by that?", she asked.

"You know how powerful Polaris is, yet when she fought him, she managed to get her blade near his throat. Do you really think he would have lost so easily?", he asked in reply.

Altima nodded. "They DO have a habit of working together whenever they are around each other. Well, no matter.", she said, lifting her crystalline staff from the ground. "Make sure they are safe. Gemini might come seeking revenge, and I know for a fact that Leo prefers solitude in places like this. If they encounter her alone, Leo will kill them. If Leo is up here, retreat with them. That is an order. I am off."

The pair nodded. The female retreated back into the dark cloud from whence she arrived as the male disappeared in a flash of light.

~~~~~~~~~~

The mountain was dark and foreboding.

As Alyssa and Jamin kept their pace along the narrow trails that led to the tabletop peak of the mountain, the storm that continuously kept vigil across the cliffs began to wane. The clouds retreated away from the area, leaving a clear view of the sky, now blanketed by the cover of night. Light from the full moon and stars were dim at best, making the travel slow going.

Alyssa followed close behind Jamin, giving silent thanks that she had forced herself to stay in an athletic physique with him. All that hard work was certainly paying off now, and even being in good shape, it was a tough hike. She spoke a silent prayer for Usagi and Hiro. If she was the same she had been so long ago, she and Hiro were in for a rough climb.

They strode silently for what seemed like hours before they finally reached the stone steps that provided access to the peak of the mountain. Jamin stood silently at the base of the steps, his gaze staring up the last leg of the path.

Alyssa stood silently beside him. After a time, she held out her hands and took one of his within hers. She marveled at how large his hand seemed within hers. She smiled and leaned in against him. Feeling her cuddle closer, Jamin pulled his hand from her grasp and wrapped his arm about her instead.

"I wonder how Usagi and her guardian are faring…" Jamin said after a period of silence.

"I'm sure they are fine… it will just take them a bit longer to get up here…" Alyssa replied softly. "Who knows? You might have gotten your mother's power before they get up here and we can just meet them on the way down."

Jamin nodded in reply. "We should get going then… destiny awaits."

Alyssa looked at him. "I'll always love you, and Usagi will never hate you if you don't do this, Jamin. You shouldn't feel forced to be a savior for the world. It's a huge responsibility…"

He looked back up to the mountaintop. "I'm not doing this for our world. I'm doing this for you. It's about time I started being able to protect you again…" he said simply.

"Arrogant as ever…" she mused to herself before speaking up. "Let's be on our way then."

He nodded and took her hand in his, and they started towards the peak.

~~~~~~~~~~

A pair of shadows looked down upon them as they climbed toward the peak. Standing at the top of the peak, the light of the moon shifted slightly to shine down upon the shadows, revealing two Sailor Senshi.

One of them was male. His fuku was saturated with various shades of yellow, and he wore similar short pants as Hiro's new fuku in place of the traditional female Senshi skirt. The light from the moon seemed to gravitate toward him in a way, wrapping him in a soft aura. He was tall, six feet at least, with blue eyes and sandy-blond hair. He was fair-skinned, and his mouth was set in a small smile.

Standing beside him was a dark-haired female Senshi. Unlike her counterpart, the light from the moon and stars seemed to retreat from around her, leaving her darker features nearly indistinguishable. She only came up her partner's shoulders in height, and her pale skin was contrasted by her dark makeup.

"Do you think that they will listen to us?", the female asked. "Leo hasn't awakened, but Gemini has stolen the power of Jupiter. He was dangerous before… but now he wields the power of lightning. I'm not sure that even we could defeat him."

The male stood silently for a moment, watching the approaching figures of Jamin and Alyssa. "If they are truly who Altima thinks they are, he's going to have to take the Jupiter power. She told us not to interfere, but I'm done watching the carnage from afar. I think we should help him. Besides, the Princess is on her way. I think we could take Gemini."

"Solaris, you would put us in a difficult position. If Gemini defeats them, this world is done for, and the Astral Warriors will solidify their power here and spread. I think we should wait until more of us are here…" she said.

Solaris shrugged. "They are going to have to fight eventually. Now is as good a time as any, Lunaris. Today is a good day to die if that is our destiny."

Lunaris looked up at him and sighed. "We should let them encounter Gemini and assist only when we are needed, then."

Solaris nodded and disappeared in a flash of light. Lunaris stayed a bit longer to stare down at the two climbing up the steps before retreating into her own shadow.

~~~~~~~~~~

Usagi and Hiro were halfway up the mountain when they noticed the storm that had been raging constantly for the last four years cease. The hairs on the back of Hiro's neck stood up straight as an uncomfortable feeling washed over his spirit. "Usa, we should hurry up… I have a bad feeling…" he said softly.

Usagi looked towards the peak of the mountain and barely made out the figures of Alyssa and Jamin climbing the steps that lead to the peak. She saw a flash of light at the peak that disappeared as soon as it had appeared. "I think you're right, and we're still probably about 30 minutes away from the peak…"

Usagi broke out into a trot before Hiro stopped her. "Save your endurance, Usa… we can't be exhausted when we reach the top if we want to be ready for what will be waiting for us there."

She nodded. "Let's walk fast, at least…" she replied. He replied by quickening his pace.

The two traveled at their accelerated pace for about 15 minutes before Usagi finally gave out and asked to take a break. Hiro nodded and they sat on a mossy rock near the path together. Usagi was huffing and puffing while Hiro merely sat and watched her.

He was falling more in love with her with every moment that passed. As the days went by, he had to remind himself more and more to not stare at her, at least to restrict himself to doing it when he was sure that she wouldn't have a chance to catch him doing it. He marveled at her flushed cheeks, rosy in color. He steepled his fingers and waited for her to catch her breath.

She was distracted by her lack of breath, and the groaning of her muscles, not used to this amount of exertion, but she did not miss his furtive glances at her. She was inwardly amused at his apparent lack of subtlety when it came to girls. Then she considered the fact that he probably lead a pretty sheltered life, even more so after the Holocaust. She couldn't get over the fact that she was developing a fondness for him as well, but it was not time for that. She had to save the world.

She finally was able to breathe normally, so she stood up and turned to Hiro. "Let's keep going," she said. "We're almost to the top."

He nodded and got to his feet and they continued up the mountain. Hiro's uneasy feeling still nagged at him. "Usa… I've lived within sight of this peak for four years, and the storm has always been strong enough to see from the distance, and it has never let up until tonight."

"What are you saying, Hiro?" Usagi asked quietly.

"Something isn't right at the top of the mountain. The constant storm suddenly made sense considering that the essence of Jupiter was hidden at the peak, but now for it to suddenly stop? Alyssa and Jamin were still heading up the peak when the storm let up, so he couldn't have taken it." Hiro replied.

"But who else could take the Jupiter power?" Usagi questioned further.

"If it was exclusive to Lady Makoto's family, why would she have hidden it? She could have left it with him for fear that nobody else could use it. Besides, I have a really bad feeling about this…" he said quietly. "I think we should transform."

Usagi nodded. "At least we'll be able to get up the mountain faster."

"Moon Crisis Power… Make Up!"

"Mars Star Power… Transform!"

The etched runes into Hiro's wooden staff erupted in flames, rings of fire surrounding his body and absorbing into his clothes, morphing them into his Senshi fuku. A golden circlet wrapped around his forehead, the ruby in the middle emblazoned with the symbol of Mars.

Usagi held the Silver Crystal up and was surrounded by a flash of rainbow-hued light. She placed the Silver Crystal upon her chest and the ribbons burst from it, wrapping around her and forming the outline of her outfit. Her tiara slipped around her forehead and pink jewels attached themselves to her odangos. The transformation ended quickly.

Sailors Moon and Mars began to run up the path. After a few moments, they reached the base of the steps that led to the peak of the mountain…

~~~~~~~~~~

Jamin and Alyssa reached the peak of the mountain and stepped onto the smooth surface. The tabletop peak was not very wide, a quarter of a mile at best, therefore it was easy to see Gemini standing in front of a stone monument that had been erected near the edge of the peak.

"Mercury Star Power, Make Up!!"

Small ribbons of water surrounded Alyssa and wrapped themselves around her body. Her bluish fuku appeared as the water faded, and her tiara wrapped around her forehead. A sapphire appeared in the middle of her forehead, the symbol of Mercury engraved on the surface.

Gemini turned around, holding the Star Wand of Jupiter. "Looking for this, children?" the warrior asked with a sneer.