SailorsPathfinder : Love and Without By : Erin Flynn – fanfic@mjade.com Episode 7 : Plans "Usagi, dear." "Mom?" Her door opened, "What are you doing sleeping on the floor!" Usagi sat up and rubbed her neck, "Getting a really bad stiff neck. What do you want?" "Well, you have some guests..." her mother stepped out of the doorway as Rei, Ami, Minako, and Makoto stepped in. Makoto closed the door behind her. The five sat in silence for a moment. The four recognized the shirt she wore. She recognized their recognition. Mako started first, "Hi, Usagi. We thought it might be fun to do something today." "Guys, I..." Rei interrupted, "Look, we know you haven't wanted to do anything for the past who knows how many times we've asked you to do things, but you need to do... well, we need you to come with us." "Why?" "Because I need a new dress for a Sailor V promotional dinner I have to go to, and with only four votes, we can't make a decision on a dress, you can be the tie-breaker!" Minako smiled at her. "Look... I-" "Please!" Ami smiled at Usagi. Usagi looked at each of them in turn, "Whatever." "ALL Right!" Makoto grinned as she helped Usagi up, "this is going to be fun!" Usagi mumbled to herself as she moved at her closet. She stared at all of her clothes. She hadn't been out of her house at all except for school, and for that she had worn her uniform. What to wear, what to wear? She finally selected an outfit. Her friends talked excitedly across the room from her as she dressed. What was wrong with them? They all seemed so happy at times, how could they feel like that after what had happened? She moved to her dresser, put up her hair and put on a pair of earrings, then turned to her friends. "Okay, let's go." Her friends turned, all talking and smiles to go, and suddenly quieted. "You're wearing THaT?" Rei asked. "Yes." Usagi replied staring directly back into Rei's eyes. Rei started to protest, but Ami cut in before she could, "All right then, let's go." * * * Minako had linked elbows with Usagi and had begun to talk to her excitedly. The two were a few steps ahead of Makoto, Rei and Ami. "But, guys, she is wearing ALL BLACK!!," Rei whispered to Ami and Makoto. "Black shoes, black shirt, black jeans, black socks, black earrings, black hairties... there's something wrong here!" "Rei," Ami started, "she's still grieving-" "But, she's been grieving for-" "Rei! Shh!" Makoto quieted her friend. "Sorry, but I just think she shouldn't be doing that, it's not healthy, she needs to be... I don't know... but it's just not right..." Makoto touched her arm, "Hey, I agree, but I think we need to let her do what she wants to-" Usagi had stopped walking, yet did not turn around as she spoke, "You know, I just hate it when people talk about other people right behind their backs, don't you Minako?" Ami and Makoto blushed as they looked at their shoes. Rei clenched her fist. "Ummm, c'mon Usagi, the store is just around the corner," Minako glanced back at the others as she pulled Usagi around the corner. Ami and Mako looked at Rei. "WHAT?!?!" * * * Minako ran through the dress section of the store. "Look at all of them! Oh, I just love getting new clothes!" The others sat down to watch as she began to try dresses on. As she came out, they each gave their criticisms. Except for Usagi. Every time Minako came out dressed in any color, 'You look ugly in that'... however for some reason, every time Minako came out in a black dress, she looked 'perfect'. And each time she declared this Ami glanced at Rei, and watched the red grow in her face. After trying on practically every dress in the store, and driving the manager up the wall, Minako had somehow narrowed it down to two. "Well, which do you like, the green or the blue?" Ami eyed both of the dresses Minako held, "Personally, the blue, but then, almost everything I own is blue..." "Go for the green one!! But then.. I do like green a whole lot..." Makoto smiled, "What do you think Rei?" "Ah, well, I actually liked the green one too... what do you think Usagi-chan?" Ami watched Rei turn to Usagi who was seated in a chair behind her. "Usagi-chan?" "Black." Ami cringed as she heard Rei growl, "Usagi! Come on. We're looking at two dresses, green and blue, which one does Minako look better in, try not to be so difficult!" "I'm not being difficult! She looks ugly in those colors. Black would look much better on everyone, everything... all the time," Usagi said in a huffy voice. "USAGI!" Rei yelled. "Rei, please we don't need to have a fight in the middle of the store. Look, I'll just get the green one, I liked it a little bit more too-" "STOP," Rei yelled, "Stop! I'm tired of this!! Tsukino Usagi- you went through a terrible tragedy, we know this- but you have to be getting, we can't keep treating you-" "YOU ALL FEEL NO EMOTION DO YOU!!! NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND!!!" Usagi screamed at them and fled the building. Makoto, Ami, and Minako looked at Rei. Ami reached out to touch Rei's arm, "Rei, I think you should-" "No." Ami drew back at the chill in Rei's voice. She saw a tear escape her eye. "No. I'll be damned if I go apologize to that little self-centered brat. You all do what you want to." Rei turned and briskly walked off in the opposite direction Usagi had run in. "Um, will that be cash or charge?" Minako, Makoto, and Ami gaped at the manager. * * * Rei was all out crying by the time she hit the street. She began to jog, unnoticing everything she blurrily passed. She just wanted to get away, far away; from that girl... that horrible little brat who had the gall to tell her that _SHE_ didn't understand... When she looked up she discovered she was in the park. She found a tree and sat down facing away from all of the people she saw and sobbed. For once in her life she let her emotions loose. Ever since that fateful day, when she had heard of Mamoru's fate, she had been strong, let Usagi grieve, 'she's the one who should be, not me'. She tried to lower her head into her hands but another sob made her entire body quake. She banged her head against the trunk of the tree and stared up into it's branches. "Damn the world!" She cried. * * * Usagi ran through the streets crying. She turned a corner and found herself at one of the entrances to the park. She ran to a bench and sat down, hugging herself. She ripped the black hairties off, pulled off the earrings, kicked off her shoes and socks and threw them all away from her. She stood and slowly walked away from the bench. She followed the trail and thought about everything that was running through her mind. She reached a bridge and stared into the water. She could almost make out Mamoru's face. "Mamo-chan, why is this all happening? I'm so confused, and I hurt inside still, and I'm acting awful to my friends... I'm not me anymore without you... I need you..." "Damn the world!" Usagi spun to look for the source of the cry. It sounded like Rei... She saw a mop of dark hair behind a tree not too far off. She jogged quickly over to it and after hesitating a moment moved around to the other side so that the girl sitting there could see her. Rei hiccuped and gasped, and then forced herself to her feet. She had been crying it looked like... "GO AWAY FROM ME!!" she screamed and tried to move away, but Usagi reached out and grabbed her arm. "Rei! Rei, please... I- I'm sorry. Please forgive me for yelling and acting so bad this morning... I-" she stopped as Rei looked at her. She looked terrible. Suddenly it occurred to Usagi that she had never seen Rei crying. Moreover, Rei would not be crying because of their fight, she would normally be mad... but then why- Suddenly Rei hugged Usagi and sobbed. "I'm sorry!! Pl-Please forgive me, I-I sh-shouldn't be," she stopped talking and simply cried. Usagi returned the hug and held her, desperately trying to understand. Rei suddenly began again, "Y-you are th-the only one with any right t-to grieve, not m-me, but I-" she stopped again and breathed and continued to cry. Usagi thought, "Oh Rei, I'm so sorry... for everything. You're wrong, you can grieve just as much as I, please forgive me for saying all these horrible things... for a long time I have been thinking of only myself and I'm sorry..." "I'm sorry, t-too... I mean, I know you still are grieving, it's just that for some reason, I thought that if everything got back to normal, the pain would go away, and-" "I know. I wish it would go away too... It seems that with this pain, I keep changing, becoming a person I don't want to be... I just wish with all my being that none of this had ever happened." they both stood in semi-silence for a short while, the only sound being Rei's sniffles. "I had so many plans too," Rei said as she pulled herself out of Usagi's hug. She began to wipe her nose and eyes and sat down in the grass. Usagi sat down in the grass a little bit away from her. "Plans?" Rei looked up at her smirking, "Yeah, of how I was gonna steal him away from you." Usagi grinned and then brought on a display of unbelief, "Oh, yeah right! And exactly how were you going to do this?" "Well, for starters, I'd..." * * * "And then he would once again see-" "The utter error in his ways and fall in love with the beautiful, elegant, wondrous Sailor Mars, I know, I know..." Usagi laughed. "Well, let's put off the telling of 'How Rei's gonna get Mamoru to fall for her : Episode 27' until later, huh? We should probably go find our friends." "Sure, use the old 'Gotta go find our friends excuse', huh? You just can't admit that some of these might work..." Rei stopped. "Might have worked..." Usagi felt a pang of pain in her heart. "We both miss him, and no one is here to judge who more than who. But let's just remember that we both are still hurting, K?" Rei smiled and nodded. "Well, when we do find those friends of ours, let's not tell them that, um, that I was, well." "Rei! Wow, nice to see you in the park! Hey, are you sorry you yelled this morning? Me too. Friends? Friends." Usagi smiled, "Crying? Rei? When?" Rei smiled, "Thanks, meatball brains. But, we'd better go find your shoes first, you'd have a time explaining to your mom why you need some more. 'Oh I threw them away in the park' just doesn't sound promising as an excuse." As the two turned, a scream ripped through the air. They spun to see a woman dragging a child behind her as she fled from the park. They looked at each other and then ran in the direction the woman had come from. Both skidded to a stop at the sight that met them. Usagi gave one of her classic "YEE-YIII!!"'s as Rei gaped. A humongous black cloud was growing and a youma was hovering beneath it. Usagi turned to flee and stepped on a large tree root that jutted out of the ground and began bouncing around in pain yelling. Rei shook her head . She quickly pulled her communicator out. "Ami, Minako, Mako! Get to the park, NOW!!" She turned to Usagi who was sitting on the ground moaning about her foot, "Transform already!" Then she turned to face the cloud as she thrust her transformation pen into the air. "MARS POWER... MAKE-UP!!" * * * The DarkNite scanned the city. "You there, what do you think you're doing, scaring the innocent citizens of this city? I stand for Love and Justice, and on behalf of the planet Mars, I demand to know what you are doing!" The DarkNite turned and then stared in disbelief. Bingo. This was going to be easier than he had thought. He smiled and then said, "Are there any more like you my dear?" "You bet, you youma, and we'll destroy you if you mean harm to this city!" "I am no youma!" he snarled back, "I am a DarkNite, and I mean no harm to this city, I mean harm to you!" He threw a crystal at her. She hesitated for a moment and that was all he needed. He activated it, it sucked her within and then it shattered. * * * Usagi gaped in disbelief. The nightmare suddenly had replayed, only this youma had suddenly given it a horrible, twisted, new ending. It suddenly occurred to her that the others were coming and that the same thing would happen to them if she didn't stop it. She thrust her brooch into the air in her hands and called "MOON CRYSTAL POWER... MAKE-UP!!!" Nothing happened. * * * * * * "It's around here somewhere..." she pushed away another small shrub. "There." she pointed. Ann jumped towards it and picked the tree up tenderly. It was still very young, just a sapling. "Oh," she turned to Sage, "Thank-you! If it had still been in the Fortress, it would've been killed!" "And I would have lost Ann," Alan stood behind Ann, "Thank-you for thinking ahead." "Uh-huh," Sage mumbled. "Oh, Sage, if only... It's not your fault, you couldn't have been lugging around one of those crystals. You can't blame yourself." "I don't- I mean, even if I had brought one, which I couldn't have, since they're all- were all in stasis, I can't do a thing but stare at it without a computer, they aren't magic things...they are simply machines..." she sighed and stood up walking a bit away from them, and then turned back, tears in her eyes, "I feel so bad because right now, I don't even care what happens to Mamoru." She slammed her fist into a tree. "Oh Signa... I built him... it took me so long... and-and he was a friend... shouldn't have left the Fortress wide open... Oh Signa..." * * * Leeota stumbled through the wreckage of what was once the Outpost Fortress. Every once in awhile she would come across a body. It no longer shocked her, she had steeled herself for it. She simply picked up the once person and carried them to the large burning funeral pyre she had created. She suddenly hear a moan. She called out, "Hello, I'm here, talk louder, so that I can find you." For a moment there was silence, and then she made out the location of the voice as it weakly spoke, "What do you want me to say?" As Leeota pushed away debris and found herself face to face with one of the other Pathfinders she smiled, "That was good enough." The other girl smiled weakly, "Just get me and my friends out of here, quickly." "Your friends?" Leeota suddenly discovered two children who were clinging to the girl. "We tried to fight, but there was a shield around them, and the bomb, so I grabbed the nearest two people and shielded them and myself with my power, and that's the last thing I remember... I think Kalea did the same thing... she's around here somewhere. We were the only two Sailors Sage left here, if there had been more, we might have been able to punch through the shield, but-" "Shh. What's done is done, now here," Leeota had succeeded in freeing the trio, "You go over there where that fire is. Risa and a few other survivors are over there. She has a med kit, she'll patch you up right good, all right?" The Pathfinder nodded, "Thanks, Leeota." She turned and began walking towards the campfire. Leeota sighed, She stood up and began calling for the other Pathfinder, "Kalea! Kalea!" * * * Risa slapped a self-heal patch over a minor wound and then looked at the little girl. "All, done! Why don't you go over there and play with all of the other children, all right?" The little one smiled and then ran off. It was lucky for her that she had been protected by a Pathfinder, or she never would have survived. She looked around at the other people sitting around. She had immediately had the Pathfinder teleport to one of the Fortresses. All military people had just left in the direction of the nearest Fortress. The people who still sat here now were just that, people, and people with no place to go. Risa sighed, Suddenly she saw a figure off in the distance. She stood, preparing herself for whatever this person may call upon her to do, when she suddenly recognized the person and ran towards them. "Tuxedo Mask!" she ran right up to him, and would have hugged him had not she stopped herself. "Where did you go? You screamed and then ran off so suddenly, and then you've been away so long and I... I..." He was staring off in the distance. "Tuxedo Mask?" "We need to attack, we need to have a plan and to attack back quickly." "Wha- but we are weak right now, we're cleaning up, we-" As he looked down at her, his eyes stopped her in mid-sentence. "How are we weak? You still have armies, right? You still have Senshi, right?" "Well, one Senshi is still unaccounted for-" "One!! You have seventy-six to your side then still. Many DarkNites were killed in that battle, right now there side is weak, and we must attack while we can surprise them." "But- where are we going to attack?" Risa asked slowly. "Wherever Hydrazite is." "The CASTLE!?!?" "Yes, then, the castle." End Ep. 7