Title: The chakram flies at moonlight Chapter: 8 Authors: Eike (josecar@erols.com) and Jagz (lunacyo@hotmail.com) --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hope." Hope smiled evilly. She had the satisfaction of watching the color drain out of Gabrielle's face, knowing that her dear mother was deathly afraid of her. "Who are you? What do you want?" Sailor Moon asked. Hope now looked amused. Poor little innocent Usagi. Did she really think she would be able to keep her friends? As soon as possible, they would be turned to Dahak's side again, this time making it virtually impossible to turn them back. Then she and Dahak could *FINALLY* be rid of the Olympian gods. "I am Hope, child of darkness, daughter of Dahak. Gabrielle, why don't you tell Usagi what else I am?" Gabrielle opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came. Hope was supposed to be dead! She herself had led her to her doom! But now, her daughter, identical to herself, stood standing in front of her, trying to bring shame to her. Xena spoke for her. "Endymion, Usagi... Hope is Gabrielle's daughter..." A look of shock passed through the their faces. Usagi clutched Endymion, as if trying to keep herself from falling. "Hope... you're the one that took the senshi from Tokyo in the first place!?" a female voice came from ground level. "No. That was Eizu. He was expendable... perhaps getting rid of him weakened the spell he cast..." Hope was thoughtful for a moment... but quickly shook it off. Xena tried to compose herself. Hope was supposed to be dead! Even with her immense powers she wasn't immortal! Which led to other problems. She was sure that she and her group (as well as the 'sailors') could hold their own, but for how long? Aries was a god, Hope had godlike powers, and they had plenty of those monsters to throw around... and she was sure that Aries had gotten the help of Discord. All in all, it didn't look good for them. "You're Gabrielle's daughter... yet you're so full of evil... didn't she teach you the path of good?" Usagi asked so innocently, but didn't realize the hidden meaning. "How could she have? She abandoned me, left me to float down a river when I was only a day old! I'm surprised I didn't die. If those centaurs hadn't tooken me in, I don't know what would have happened to me," the voice was harsh and cold. Hope seemed to blame Gabrielle for that incident. "NO! That wasn't my fault! I was trying to save you! But had I known that you were so evil, I would have let Xena kill you!" Gabrielle cried out. Usagi looked from Gabrielle to Hope, and back again. Finally, she said, "Then I pity you Hope. For not knowing what it is like to have a mother, for having the pain of being alone. But most of all I pity you for not being able to know any better, only knowing what the darkness is. Perhaps if you had been raised by Gabrielle, you would be able to share the joy of feeling love. But because she didn't, you veered unto the path of evil. I feel sorry for you." Xena smiled. Hope was getting very angry. Usagi probably didn't realize what she had done, or if she did, she did a good job. Hope was boiling with rage. "Enough! I'm going to be rid of you, Serenity!" saying so, Hope shot a beam of power at her. Endymion pushed Usagi out of the way, causing the beam to hit his shoulder instead. "Mamo-chan! Daijobou ka?" "Daijobou, Usako, daijobou," Endymion lied. No, it was obvious that his shoulder was burnt badly, if not severely damaged. Xena rushed over, ripping the shirt to look at the wound. "This is bad. We have to treat it right away. I think I have the ingredients to treat him, but I might be low. Gabrielle, could you..." Xena looked up, only to find Gabrielle missing. Hope and Aries were gone too. "NOOO!!!!!!! Those bastards took Gabrielle!!!!!" Xena screamed her fury. She didn't care if she was scaring the others. She didn't care if Endymion might get worse. Her best friend was GONE! "Xena, calm down!" Autolycus tried to be calm himself. However, that was hard with Xena so mad, she seemed ready to kill the next person that crossed her. "No, I will not calm down! It was bad enough that that bitch is alive, but she had to take Gabrielle as well! And when I get my hands on Aries, I will personally make sure that he won't ever try to cross me again!" "Usako... where's Usako?" Endymion tried to sit up, but winced in pain at the movement. It was only then that they realized that Usagi was missing as well. "What! Usagi! They took her as well!?" Autolycus looked around in anguish. "We need to find them. Xena, tend to Endymion's wound. Iolas, go out and find something to eat. Autolycus... how good a cook are you?" Hercules took charge. Soon enough everyone was doing somethinng useful. --- Gabrielle felt the tingle that happened whenever the gods teleported her. She hadn't seen Hope creep up on her until the hand was on her shoulder. Now they were probably far away, far enough that it would take at least a couple of days for Xena to find her. IF she could find her. "Let go of me!" Gabrielle's heart stopped for an instant... They had taken Usagi as well! She turned around, ready to run in the direction of the voice, but something stopped her. Hope was standing in the doorway. "Hope... let Usagi go," Gabrielle tried to keep her voice steady. "No." "No?! What has Usagi done!? She's an innocent, I doubt she'd ever hurt..." Gabrielle's voice trailed off, as she realized what they were planning. "Leave Usagi alone! Don't you dare make her go through the hell that I did!" Gabrielle felt tears of anger forming. They were trying to create a second Hope! Make Usagi kill someone, have Dahak put the child in her... "Now, why would I want to do that? Usagi is so pure! I'm quite sure that her child will be equal to myself. Of course, there are chances that things go wrong... there is a legend that a child of peace will be born in that way... should that happen, then the child dies." "No! Leave Usagi alone!" Gabrielle ran towards the doorway, hoping she could get passed Hope. Hope dodged Gabrielle, giving her an easy way out. She realized this to late, and Gabrielle was already running through the hallways. --- "Let go of me!" Usagi yelled. Aries had a strong hold on her, and not nearly as gentle as Endymion's. "You're going to be very useful. Not only can Dahak get another child, but Xena would do anything for you." "No! Leave Xena and Mamo-chan out of this!" Usagi had started crying. Aries knew he was hurting her, but he really hadn't expected this from her. She was supposed to be a warrior, even if one that worked with magic. She wasn't supposed to be weak! "Quit your whining. You aren't going to die just yet." "I don't care if I die! Just don't hurt my friends!" at her words, the ginzuishou began to eminate a strong light, blinding Aries. He released her, and she ran into the hallways. --- Gabrielle was frustrated. It was like a maze in here. She couldn't tell where she came from or where she was supposed to be going. At least she had time to think. First, she had to tell Usagi NOT to kill. That was a definate first. If Usagi did, she was sure Hope and Aries would waste no time and take her to Dahak's altar. Next she had to find a way out. Xena would come, she knew, but she didn't know when. So now it was up to her to rescue Usagi and herself. The only question was: how? She didn't have her fighting staff, and although she didn't doubt Usagi could hold her own, Hope had to be killed to stop her. So all she needed was a weapon... but did she really want to kill again? The feeling was awful, and seeing the blood of a person... even Hope... on her hands made her extremely sick. She tried to shake it off. If it made HER feel terrible, she didn't want to wonder how it would make poor Usagi feel. Gabrielle was deep in thought, no longer paying attention to where she was going. Which resulted with a painful bump into something. "Ouch!" Gabrielle looked up, surprised. She had bumped into Usagi! "Usagi! Are you all right? Aries didn't hurt you did he? If he did I'm gonna..." "No, Aries didn't hurt me. But he was threatening Xena and Mamo-chan! He's going to hurt them, I know he is!" "He isn't. Xena is a very good warrior. She and Hercules have fought off Aries for a long time. Iolas is almost equal to Hercules, and from what I've seen Endymion is strong too. Don't worry too much about them. It's you I'm worried about." "Me? If they kill me, I don't care. What big a difference will it do anyway? I can't do much, I'm lazy, I'm a crybaby, I'm a klutz, I'm dumb, and I just let my friends down. Just as long as they don't hurt my friends, it doesn't matter." "Why are you so negative on yourself? You aren't nearly as bad as you make yourself sound. Besides, It wouldn't be nearly as bad if they just killed you. No, that might even be a relief. What I'm talking about is your blood innocence," Gabrielle explained. "My what?" Usagi was confused. So far she only understood... nothing. "Usagi, don't kill anyone. If you do, Hope and Aries will take you to Dahak and have him put a child in you. Like he did me," Gabrielle tried to be patient. It wasn't easy, when Usagi's innocence at stake. "A child... like Hope?" Usagi looked up questioningly. "Exactly like Hope. Just as evil, just as powerful... unless, it should be the child of peace. Then it would be killed, so no matter what, we can't take chances," Gabrielle warned. Usagi nodded, comprehending slightly. Gabrielle grabbed her hand and they starting running through the maze again. --- "Xena?" "Yes Endymion?" she answered. "I think... I think I can track Usako," Endymion said. Xena looked up in surprise. "What do you mean, you can track Usagi?" "Well... Usako and I share a link... I've always been able to follow it to her, especially when she's in danger. And I would be able to sense if she's in pain... if she were to die," Endymion lowered his head. "So, let me get this straight: We could have found them by now!! Why didn't you tell us earlier! Everyone, pack up, we're going to find Gabrielle and Usagi," Xena was a little mad that Endymion hadn't said anything earlier, but too glad to finally be on the way to finding Gabrielle. After a couple of minutes everyone was ready to go. Endymion rode Argo (the horse, remember?) and started telling them where to go. --- Gabrielle felt Usagi tug on her hand. "What's wrong?" she asked. Usagi was looking around, as if trying to find something. "Somebody's watching us. I felt it. And I saw a shadow following us," Usagi explained. "Really? Let me see if I can find him..." Gabrielle searched the area. There were four corridors, each one covered in shadows. Although... that one had something sparkling... Gabrielle walked closer to it. Yes, she could see a faint outline of a person... 'I can do this. Xena's done it lots of times, so can I.' She leaped for the person, and kicked. She was surprised that whoever it was, didn't even try to defend himself. She grabbed him by the shoulders... and realized that hair was brushing against her fingers. She through him out towards the light, so she could see who their stalker was. Gabrielle was surprised to see that _she_ was dressed as a 'sailor' person. Her dark green hair was put up in a bun, and flowed to her knees. Her uniform was in a dark purple color, with a dark red bow. Her eyes were also a dark red, as were her earrings. She was carrying a large staff, resembling a key. "SETSUNA!!" Usagi cried and flung herself into the womans arms. Gabrielle stood there, slightly... alright, totally confused. This person was stalking them, and now Usagi acted as if she were her best friend. "Serenity-sama, please. There isn't time for this. The other senshi are in danger, and it will take a while for Xena and her group to get here." Gabrielle watched, still confused. "Who are you? And why were you stalking us? And how does Usagi know you? Or does she?" "I am Sailor Pluto, guardian of time. I was making sure the princess was alright. As to the other questions, ask Serenity-sama," Setsuna answered. "I... I don't know how I remembered her. I saw her, and knew who she was..." Usagi lost herself in her thoughts. "Guardian of time, what's that? How can you guard time?" Gabrielle's confusion only grew. "I guard time. It is possible to travel through time, by using special elements, or by going through the time door. I guard the time door. Should someone use a special element, I can't do anything about it. Don't worry Gabrielle, it's nothing important. Ask Hercules the dangers of traveling through time if you really want to know," Setsuna smiled slightly, an amused smile. She had an air of mystery around her, and seemed to know more than Gabrielle could ever hope to discover. "Setsuna-san, can you help Gabrielle-san and me find the other senshi? And... and maybe you could help us stop Hope? If it's not too much trouble, staying away from the Gates of Time..." Usagi looked up at Sailor Pluto. Setsuna smiled in amusement. "Don't worry," she said, "I have your future self watching the gates for me. I'll help you find the senshi... but we have to be very careful. If Dahak gets a hold of you, it could alter time in a way that... well, you don't want to know. So it is absolutely vital that you don't kill. Use your magic against youmas, kill them, use your magic against Hope, but DO NOT kill her." "Oh. Gabrielle told me something like that earlier. I don't totally understand what you're talkin about..." Usagi looked dowm, seemingly ashamed of herself. "Don't worry Serenity-sama, just as long as you don't kill, it doesn't matter whether or not you understand why," Setsuna reassured her. Gabrielle cleared her throat. They had been ignoring her for the past five minutes, and she didn't like it much... even if she WAS used to it. "Oh, I'm sorry Gabrielle. Let's get going, and try to find the senshi, alright?" Usagi answered. Gabrielle nodded, and the three followed Setsuna down the corridors. --- Autolycus looked backed at Endymion. He seemed to be doing fine, even though his shoulder was seriously hurt. Endymion had a grim look on his face, and seemed to be concentrating on something. "Autolycus, are you all right?" Iolas asked him. "Hmm? Oh, yes, I was just thinking, that's all," he replied. Xena gave a smug smile. "Thinking? That's a first." "What do you mean? I never do anything without thinking first!" Autolycus complained. Xena laughed. "I was just joking, alright?" Autolycus gave a weak smile, and gave up trying to understand Xena. Sometimes, she was far too serious, other times, she was relaxed, made jokes, had fun (alright, those times were faaaar too rare, but they did exist). *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* Xena stopped walking. Endymion got off Argo (the horse. you still know, right?) and walked over to a cliff, barely wincing as his shoulder got scraped on Argo (yes, the horse again). "She's in there... I can feel it... she's scared... but she has some hope left..." Endymion said, staring at the cliff. Suddenly, he just walked right through it. Autolycus rubbed his eyes. No, the wall was still there... Xena quickly followed, and she too, dissappeared into the cliff. Autolycus walked over, placing his hand over the spot where Xena and Endymion had dissappeared.... it wasn't there. His hand went through it. 'An illusion! Hope and Ares are resorting to resort to cheap tricks!' he realized. He quickly stepped through and joined Endymion and Xena, closely followed by Hercules and Iolas. Autolycus looked around. They were in a strange chamber, a ship like thing on the left of the room. Looking to the right, he saw the senshi, attached to crosses. "Quickly, get them down!" Hercules said. Xena nodded, and let her chackram fly, cutting all ropes at once (ok, ok. let's just say, she cut the ones on the arms first, it bounce off a wall, and cut the ropes round their legs). The senshi dropped to the floor, all of them still knocked out. "Quick, check if any of them are wounded!" Xena ordered. The other complied, and soon knew that except for a few cuts here and their, and the marks caused by the ropes, the senshi were fine. "Try to wake them up." Xena started to shake Uranus. She moaned, and placed a hand over her head. She blinked slightly, and started to sit up. "What happened?" She managed to mumble. Xena quickly replied, retelling the events since Hope and Ares arrived. After several minutes, all of the senshi were awake and knew what was going on. ---- "Setsuna-san, do you know where we're going?" Usagi asked. Gabrielle noticed she looked tired and confused. "Yes princess, I do," Setsuna replied. She glanced at Usagi and then added, "Is something wrong, Serenity-sama?" Usagi looked up. "No... yes... I don't know. I feel strange. Like I'm supposed to be concerned for someone. But I'm not! I'm terrified of Hope and Ares, I'm feeling better now that you came to help us... but I'm not concerned!!" Setsuna gave a small chuckle. "I see. Perhaps you should ask the prince about that..." Gabrielle was a bit confused too. What did Endymion have to do with Usagi's emotions? "Why would he know?" Usagi apperantly had the same question. "He just does. I'm sure he's feeling a bit scared and relieved about something himself." "Why would Mamoru be scared?? He's so brave... he took danger for me..." "For the same reason that your feeling concerned. Don't worry about it. When you get your memories back, you'll know." "Alright." Gabrielle sighed. She really hated these conversations where she didn't understand what was going on. At least Xena had the decency to exlpain... sometimes. But they talked about things she couldn't hope to comprehend. "Come on, let's keep going!" Gabrielle muttered impatiently. Pluto nodded, and they continued down the hall