Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Road to Hell ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

After making a quick stop at the temple to pick up Luna, the group arrived at the hospital and with a little help from Ami's handy dandy computer, they were able to determine that Serena was in room 406. Stuffing Luna in Ami's bag, they quickly made their way to the fourth floor. Just as they were about to open Serena's door, a hand reached out and stopped them.

"Just where do you think you're going?" the voice belonging to the hand asked Mamoru who was in the process of turning the doorknob. He and the girls turned around and found themselves face to face with a stern looking police officer.

"Oh, good afternoon officer. My name is Chiba Mamoru and I just heard about what happened to my girlfriend. I rushed right over as soon as I heard. Have you found the bastard who did this to her yet?"

"Well, that depends. Where were you last night?" the cop questioned, looking Mamoru up and down.

"What? I was with these girls pretty much the whole evening. Wait a minute. Why do you want to know?"

"Well it seems that Usagi-san was out last night heading to your apartment but never made it. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" the cop narrowed his eyes at Mamoru.

Meanwhile, Mamoru was just beginning to catch on to the officer's line of questioning. "Of course not! I would never harm Usako in any way. I love her with all my heart."

"Riiiight. So what were you doing with four girls all night?"

"It's true, officer. He was with us at the Hiwaka Jinga all night. My grandfather and Kumada Yuuichiro could verify that fact because they saw everyone leaving the temple at quarter after midnight," Rei butted in.

"That doesn't explain what you were doing there."

"I don't really believe that's any of your business, officer. Why don't you check with my friend's grandfather and Kumada-san if you don't believe me?" Mamoru challenged.

"You can be sure I will, Chiba-san. But if I were you, I would be getting my story straight-"

"Sato-san! Why don't you just let these poor kids see their friend. I'm sure the poor girl would love to see them right now, especially her boyfriend. Besides, Chiba-san here doesn't match the description of her rapist," another officer interrupted, smiling kindly at Mamoru and the girls. With a defeated sigh, Officer Sato glared at Mamoru before turning on his heels and walking down the corridor, his shoes making squeaking sounds on the sterile floor. "Don't mind him, kids. He just wants to get this bastard who did this to her. Now, when you go inside, try not to let her appearance shock you too much. She really took a beating and she doesn't look too good right now. Try to keep your visit short; she's still fragile, physically and emotionally. Just remember that her physical scars will eventually heal but her emotional ones will take a while longer. Support her through this difficult time." And with that bit of advice, the kind officer patted Mamoru on the shoulder and stepped aside to let them through the door.

Mamoru gave the officer a grateful look before steeling himself for what lay ahead beyond the door. Stepping inside, he saw Usagi laying in the bed, facing away from him, gazing out the window while making slow circles on her abdomen. She seemed to be saying "I'm sorry" over and over, chanting it like a mantra. Mamoru drew a shaky breath and said, "Usako?"

Usagi snapped out of her reverie and turned towards the sound of Mamoru's voice. Despite the officer's warning about her appearance, Mamoru and the girls couldn't help but gasp at the ghastly sight in front of them. Usagi's right eye was almost swollen shut, her upper lip was split and multiple cuts and bruises tainted the parts of her body that her thin hospital gown didn't cover. Mamoru felt tears prick his eyes and by the sniffles he heard from the girls behind him, he guessed that they felt the same.

"Mamo-chan?" was Usagi's shaky question.

"Oh Usako. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I should have stopped it...I should have been there..." Mamoru whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"Mamo-chan, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known this was going to happen to me. It was horrible, Mamo-chan. I was on my way to your apartment when I felt someone grab me. I managed to fight him off and hide. I transformed but just when it was almost finished, the transformation reversed. Do you guys know what happened? Do you think the enemy found out my true identity and found a way to stop me from transforming?" Usagi asked the senshi. The girls squirmed guiltily but Usagi didn't notice it.

Before anyone could confess to what they did, Rei said, "no Usa-chan. We don't know what happened." The other girls, Mamoru and even Luna, who was still hidden in the depths of Ami's bag opened their mouths in silent protest. Rei glared at them before looking at the floor.

"Well, if the enemy did find out who I was, chances are they know yours as well. I want you guys to promise to be careful and watch your families," continued Usagi looking out the window once again before breaking out into sobs. "I feel so dirty right now. I'm sorry Mamo-chan, I understand if you hate me right now."

"No Usako, I could never hate you. If anything, you should hate me, this is all my fault." The real meaning behind Mamoru's words was totally lost on Usagi.

"Don't you see? I didn't even try to fight him off after I found out I couldn't transform! I let him do these horrible things to me and worse of all, I let him kill something precious that we created." With that, Usagi broke down into heart-wrenching sobs.

The girls, understanding the meaning of Usagi's last statement gasped. Mamoru turned to them and pleaded silently for them to give Usagi and himself some privacy. The girls nodded in understanding and left the room single file, closing the door softly behind them. When the girls were gone, Mamoru turned his attention back to his girlfriend and asked softly, "Usako, what did you mean by that?"

Usagi cried a few more minutes before turning around to face Mamoru, who had tears in his eyes. "Mamo-chan, the reason I was going to your apartment last night was so that I could tell you I was six weeks pregnant. I've known for two weeks but I just couldn't find the right way to tell you. That's why I've been taking it easy during the youma battles. I didn't know what the effects of being Sailor Moon and using the crystal while I was pregnant would be so I didn't use it unless I absolutely had to. But now, our baby is gone and it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been out so late at night but I couldn't keep this secret from you anymore. Kami, I'm so stupid."

Mamoru cursed himself mentally while a few tears slipped from his eyes. 'I shouldn't have doubted her. I should have asked her what was bothering her instead of just assuming she was shirking her responsibilities.'

While Mamoru was busily berating himself, he didn't notice Usagi gazing up at him, waiting anxiously for any kind of reaction. 'Dammit Usagi. Now you've done it. He hates you for killing his child. Can you blame him? What sane person goes out at that hour without asking for trouble? But that's what you are, Usagi. A walking rescue mission. Always expecting someone to bail you out of trouble.' Usagi reached up to touch his hand. "I'm sorry, Mamo-chan. I'm sorry for killing our child."

Mamoru's heart broke at her statement. 'Oh Usako, you didn't kill our child. I did, with my doubts.' He picked up her small hand and kissed it. "Don't worry, Usako. We can always have more children," he soothed. To his astonishment, Usagi sobbed even harder than before.

"Oh Mamo-chan, I'm so sorry. The...the man w..who raped me ddd...id so much ddda..mmage dddown there that the dddoctors have sssaid I probably won't be aaable to have anymore childddren," she stuttered through her tears. Mamoru felt his heart stop when he finally understood what she said. Numbly, he held her shaking form in his arms and kissed her forehead tenderly, reassuring her that she was the last person in the world to be blamed for the loss of their child. He felt her sobs lessen and saw that she had cried herself to sleep. With a last kiss on her forehead, he eased her body into a more comfortable position on the bed, pulled the thin blanket up to her chin and exited to room.

Outside, he found the senshi drilling Rei as to why she stopped them from telling Usagi the truth. The priestess remained silent through the barrage of questions being hurtled her way before finally bursting out, "because she's still too fragile to handle the fact that her best friends betrayed her! You happy? We'll tell her when she's more emotionally stable."

Feeling the need to lash out at somebody to ease his guilt, Mamoru marched right up to Rei. "You bitch. It's your fault she's in there in the first place. Because of you, Usako was raped and lost our child. Did you hear that, you power-hungry bitch? She wasn't being irresponsible during battles. Far from it. She wanted to protect the baby from any harmful side effects using the crystal may have. And because that no-good son of a bitch raped her, she can't have anymore children!"

The senshi were stunned speechless. Then Rei, who was never one to let anybody insult her in such a manner, especially when that person was right, spat out, "oh yeah, Mamoru-SAN? I didn't see you sticking up for Usagi either. As far as I'm concerned, you're as much to blame as I am. Maybe even more so! You are her soul mate, you should have known she was pregnant! So don't lay all of the blame on me cuz you went along with everything that was said by everybody, not just me!"

"Damn you, Rei. I've always known you wanted to be leader but I never thought you could ever do this-" Mamoru bit out but was interrupted by Minako, "SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU! We're all equally to blame for this. We shouldn't have doubted Usagi-chan. But turning on each other now when she needs us the most is only going to cause more problems, for Usagi and us."

"She's right, minna. Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's me," Luna said, staring shamefacedly at the floor. For a while, no one said anything, empathizing with the guilt-ridden feline advisor. "I should have known what she was going through. For Kami's sake, I live with her! I spend almost every part of my day with her. Queen Serenity entrusted the guardianship of her daughter to me and what did I do? Take away the legacy her mother left her so that she may continue to protect those she loved! Well who protected her from us? Or that bastard who did this to her?" Luna's questions were left unanswered as they all pondered what she said.

"Rei, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just lashed out at the first person I happened to see. Truce?" Rei looked at Mamoru's outstretched hand before she shook it gruffly. Despite the friendly picture Rei and Mamoru made, both knew that their friendship would never be the same again.

4 days later:

Usagi had been released from the hospital the day before and was now at home resting. Her wounds were healing quickly due to the healing powers of the Silver Crystal. Thank goodness she at least still had control over that. Her right eye was no longer swollen although there was still some bruising around that area. Her cuts have developed scabs and the bruises on her face and arms have started to fade. But there was nothing she could to about the damage done to her reproductive system. 'I wonder what everyone is doing right now. The girls must be out of school by now, Mamo-chan too. I feel terrible every time I see their faces. I know they feel guilty for letting this happen to me. I wish I could tell them that what happened to me wasn't their fault. They're not responsible for me twenty-four hours a day.'

Making up her mind to soothe her friends and boyfriend's guilty consciences, she managed to convince her mom to drive her to Rei's temple. Although Ikuko was hesitant about letting her daughter out into the evil world again so soon after what happened to her, she knew that Usagi valued the companionship of her friends and love. 'Perhaps letting her see them again would help her recover faster. Besides, it's only the temple and I am going to drive her there and pick her up.'

Usagi waved to her mom who was sitting in the car from the temple steps. 'Finally, I hope everyone's here.' She made her way through the empty temple grounds and walked up to the part of the building that was Rei's room. Pausing outside the slightly opened door, Usagi wondered whether she should knock when she thought she heard Mamoru's voice. Curious as to what he was doing in Rei's room, she peered inside through the crack in the door and discovered all of her friends sitting around Rei's room.

"When are we going to tell her that we were responsible for taking away her powers?" Mamoru asked. Usagi had to bite her lip to keep from gasping out loud. 'WHAT? Did I hear him right? I can't believe they were to ones who...' Usagi lost her train of thought as she heard Luna answer.

"I don't know, Mamoru. She just came home yesterday. Let's give her some more time to recover before we tell her what we did."

"I for one, solemnly wish we could turn back time and never have done it in the first place," Rei lamented. "Maybe we shouldn't tell her. If we tell her, she might end up hurting herself more."

"Hell no, Rei. I've listened to you far too much and look where that's gotten us. I'm telling Usako as soon as she's emotionally stable to hear it."

"Is this what you meant by calling a truce? Some future King of Crystal Tokyo you're gonna turn out to be," sneered Rei.

"Rei, Mamoru's right. We can't keep this a secret from Usagi any longer. It's barely even a week since Usagi-chan was raped and we're already tearing ourselves apart. We have to tell her," reasoned Makoto.

At that point, Usagi couldn't keep her anger and hurt bottled up anymore. 'How dare they take away my powers without consulting me?' With that thought running through her mind, she slid the door open, causing startled gasps from the occupants within. The second they saw Usagi at the door, they all knew that she had heard what had been said and she was furious. Usagi's appearance frightened them even more than when they saw her at the hospital. Her once blue eyes have turned pure black-even the whites were gone-her moon symbol was red and flashing and her hair was flowing wildly behind her despite the fact that she was indoors and there was no breeze. Had they not been so frightened they would have been awe-inspired.

Without a word to anyone, Usagi sent a shockwave towards the group that blasted them to the walls. Taking the opportunity of the senshi, the cats and Mamoru being dazed from the blast, Usagi forced her way into their minds and saw their memories from the night of her rape. She heard every hurtful word they said against her and knew what actions had transpired that led to her powers being torn from her.

"You BASTARDS! I trusted you and you did this to me. You look me in the eye at the hospital and lied to me when I asked if you guys knew what happened to my powers."

"Usagi-chan, I know we were wrong to do that, and Kami knows that we'll regret it for the rest of our lives, but I swear we were gonna tell you-" Rei was interrupted by another blast of energy sent her way by Usagi.

"SILENCE! I did not ask you to speak. I heard everything you said outside, including the fact that you wished to never tell me of what you did. I swear upon my life as the Moon Princess, I will make you suffer for the rest of your lives for what you have cost me." With that, Usagi walked up to Mamoru, and waved her hand in the air. Out of nowhere, a silver dagger appeared in her hand. Seeing this, the senshi immediately started begging Usagi not to take Mamoru's life, even Rei. Mamoru, however, bent his head in quiet acceptance of his fate.

Ignoring the senshi's pleas, Usagi began to chant some ancient Lunarian words and drew the dagger across her own palm. She formed a fist and squeezed the blood, letting the red liquid fall to the floor. Everyone watched in morbid fascination as the blood stopped in mid air and formed a silver chord that spanned from Usagi's heart to Mamoru's. With great deliberation, Usagi jerked Mamoru's head so that he faced her and looked into his eyes. What she saw was regret and sorrow, emotions that were mirrored in her own. Then, without warning, she took the dagger and slashed through the chord, effectively breaking their soul bond forever. Mamoru cried out in pain, both physical and emotional while Usagi didn't even flinch.

After a few seconds, she turned toward the senshi , and waved her hand causing their henshin pens to appear. With another blast of energy, she destroyed the pens and said, "I don't think you knew what you were up against when you decided to cross me. I curse you all with eternal life, so that you may feel a bit of the pain that you have bestowed upon me. Don't think that killing yourselves will release you from my wrath, far from it. I have linked all your souls together, including Mamoru and Luna's, so that if one feels pain, everyone feels pain. If one of you tries to commit suicide, you will come back to life within minutes of your heart stopping. Furthermore, you will never have true love. You will always be alone in each other's company.

"As for you, Luna, you can forget about coming back into my life. As Princess of the Moon, I forever banish you from my services and home, on earth and the moon. Your name will be stricken from the histories of the Silver Millennium. Be grateful banishment is the only punishment you have gotten.

"I have taken away from you everything you have taken away from me. I have taken your powers, dignity and future. Do not think that you have tasted all of my wrath for I can assure you, there is plenty more. I could kill you all everyday for a thousand years and still you would not know even a quarter of the pain your betrayal caused me. You all might as well have been the ones who raped me and killed my child. Artemis, let's go."

And with a brilliant flash of light, she and Artemis teleported right out of Rei's room and out of their lives.