Not Yet Black Rose Ladynorose@hotmail.com ~**~ Usagi trudged down the sidewalk, ponytails dragging the dirty grey cement. A look of utter misery was on her usually bright face. Her bag hung from one limp hand as she dragged herself into the Crown Arcade and sat on one of the stools. Her head fell down onto the counter. A tear trailed down her fce. Motoki turned away from his other customers to see the girl, just sitting there like that. 'What has that idiot said now?' He wondered. He began to fix a triple fudge milkshake with extra chocolate and sat it down in front of her. She didn't even look up at the smell of it. Her blue eyes were lifeless. "Usagi-chan! Here's a shake, just the way you like em, on the house!" He said brightly. No response. "Usagi-chan? Are you alright?" He asked. Maybe she was dead or something. "It's not a dream, Motoki-san." She whispered. He didn't catch it. "What?" "Nothing. I just found out something the hard way." She looked up. He was shocked at the sight of her sad face. This was not his Usagi- chan. "Motoki-kun! Odango Atama!" An all too familar voice approached. Usagi didn't even hear him. She was off in some nightmarish world of her own. He sat down beside her and ordered a coffee, black. Motoki turned to get it. Mamoru fixed his attentions on the blonde beside him. Her head was on the counter, away from his view. "Mamoru-kun, don't!" Motoki hissed, setting down the coffee. Mamoru acted like he didn't hear him. "Heyyas, Odango Atama! Failed any tests lately?" Mamoru asked, in that slight mocking tone of voice he had perfected. He expected the usual reaction. All he got was a long, heartfelt sigh. "Huh?" He asked himself. "I can't deal with you, Mamoru-san." Came her hushed whisper. He look quizzicly at Motoki, who shrugged. Usagi stood up. Mamoru leaned over, ever so slightly, to see her face. He got an even bigger shock than Motoki did, for along Usagi's creamy neck, was a huge burn mark that began right under her small chin and disappeared under neath her shirt. He had no doubt that it went even further. She had been turned so that it was hidden by her hair from Motoki, but Mamoru saw this quite clearly. His gasp of shock was heard throughout the arcade manifestly. "Usagi, what has happened to your neck?!" e asked. Her hand flew up and covered part of it quickly. "No-nothing." She said, and practicly ran from the Crown. "What was wrong?" Motoki asked, worried. Mamoru looked up at him, emotions flying through his face and eyes. "Her neck. It was burned-- all around." "BUt how?" "That's what I'd like to know." ~*~*~*~*~*~ A winter's day In a deep and dark December I am alone Gazing from my window To the streets below On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow ~*~*~*~*~*~ 'They don't know me! I may fall a lot, but I'm not a fool! Not even that blasted cat knows me, although according to Her Feliness, I'm nothing but a lazy, whiny, klutzy, ditz. Rei's opinion isn't far from that.' Usagi though, running through the crowds with an agileness that only she knew she had. If Rei had seen her dodging and running as well and as fast as she was, Rei would most definatly have nothing short of an heart attack. 'The ditz can't fight. The ditz can't be leader. The ditz. The ditz. The ditz.' Tears blurred her vision. 'I am nothing to them but something to finish off those god-forsaken DNA rejects they call monsters! They didn't even notice I got burned. They never notice when I get thrashed. But Rei takes it up to herself to whine when she gets scraped, but what about me, who gets kicked around, and battered, and...' A sob escaped from her throat. She stopped running. With the back of one scarred hand she wiped the tears from her eyes and took a look at her surroundings. She was in the middle of the Rose Gardens. But she had never seen this part before. White roses filled the air with their delicate aroma. They soothed her somewhat. Her bag dropped to the ground, un-noticed by it's owner. "It's so pretty." She said softly. It really was. The setting sun cast it's rainbow coloured rays over the lake and the roses, tinting them hues that no artist or painter dare to try and capture. It was a scene from a child's dreamland. Enough for Usagi's troubles to be forgotten momentarily as she flitted from rose to rose, adoring them with avid curiousity. So what if Zoisite had almost all the crystals? So what if Tucedo Kamen still ignored her? So what if Rei's last attempt to mutiny had almost worked? All she knew were the flowers. Until the one thing she hated most had to interupt it. Screams filled the silence. Usagi looked around with a vengance in her eyes that was of a such hatred a full grown lion would have backed away without a single thought. Her hand crushed the pale rose she had been cradling. The throns pierced her skin but went unobserved. The other went in the air. She uttered the words that deemed her a warrior. "Moon. Prism. Power. Make. Up." She said, biting off each word. The transformation took place, faster than normal. The Moon Wand in her hand before the last light died. She hit the all call button on the communicator and took a deep breath. Youma, you picked a very, very rotton time. ~*~*~*~*~*~ I am a rock I am an island ~*~*~*~*~*~ "Damn youma." She muttered, and went to face it. She didn't have to walk very far. It was big. It was bad. It was ugly-- BEYOND ugly. It was hideious. It had shaggy, coarse, black hair that covered it's whole body. It had no hands, instead two sharp dagger-like things were at the ends of it's arms. Drool dripped from it's fangs. The couple it was terrorizing were, well, scared. Past scared. Time to cut in, pardon the pun. "Hold it!" Sailor Moon called. She didn't have to yell. It turned, quickly. A smile with no trace of warmth covered it's face, that only a mother could love. She gave an involuntary shudder. Bad day, day time, and this was one ugly youma. "Okay, Mr. Nasty, you chose a VERY bad time and place for your little escapade. You know the drill. I, the extremely pissed Sailor Moon, will punish you. And that doesn't mean you get to sit in the corner." She said. Her eyes narrowed. She didn't have much of a chance by herself. But, fear + anger = strength. And she had plenty of both. "DIE!!" The youma screeched. "Isn't your one word vocabulary terrific?" Sailor Moon smirked, before deftly jumping out of the way. With no senshi in sight, she could do this HER way. Not Ami's 'Sailor-Moon-you-keep- back-and-we'll-blast-it-and--then-you-can-fight' plan. The youma couldn't stop in time to avoid-- BAMM!! The big, old, thick, tall, maple tree. Ouchies, it'll feel that in the morning! Sailor Moon giggled as the creature picked itself up. She turned her head. "Run!" She hissed to the couple. The shook themselves out of their shock and nodded, taking off like all of hell were on their heels. Back to Ugly. "DIE!!" It screamed again, rushing at her in the same way. She rolled her eyes and jumped again. Youma: Some assembly required, brain sold seperatly. Pick them up at you local Hell-R-Us today! While Sailor Moon was immagining her commercial, the youma had recovered and took full advantage of her distracted state. Without screaming it's favourite word, it ran at her again. Sailor Moon turned half-way at the last second, and her rection was too slow. The youma grabbed her injured neck and pinned her up against the tree, squeezing and squeezing. Blood ran in torrents down her front, turning her white fuku a dark red. She struggled, but it only worstened the pain. The pain. But beyond it-- a welcoming darkness existed, and just past that, was a gentle white light with a siren's sweet voice singing-- NO! "Can't die--" She muttered. "Hahahaha!" Zoisite's irratating laugh sounded somewhere. "I have you now, Sailor Moon!" He called tauntingly. "DIE!!" Tne youma screeched happily, squuezing harder. It began to dawn on it that it wasn't working. Sailor Moon was climbing up out of the inky darkness that was death. It took it's free hand, and slashed her, once, twice. The first blow went deep and hard across her legs, the second went lighter, on her stomach. MOre blood. All of it, draining away-- life going-- "FIRE SOUL!!" The youma was knocked back, but kept it's hold. It hid Sailor Moon from the senshi's view. "SUPREME THUNDER!!" The youma's hold vanished. It was blown back. Sailor Moon fell, drenched in blood. "Oh!" Mars yelled. A pool of the red liquid was slowly drenching the ground. Surely, no one could have that much blood-- "Dear God--" Was the last thing Sailor Moon heard before the Siren's enchanting call was too much. She feel back into the painless dark abyss. ~*~*~*~*~*~ I've built walls A fortress deep and mighty That none may penetrate I have no need for friendship Friendship causes pain It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. ~*~*~*~*~*~ "No....." Mars whispered. "This cannot be--" Mercury cried. She whipped out her computer. Jupiter and Mars went to find and kill the monster that had done this. With all their anger and power, they managed to do it, just barely. Mercury was kneeling on the ground, typing with a furiousity that outdid a hurricane. They came back, solemn. "Nooo...." Mercury whispered. She looked up at the two senshi, tears in her eyes. "DAMMIT!" Jupiter threw a thunderbolt at a tree, desentigrating it. Mars fell to her knees. "Senshi! I felt the call.... what's wrong?" Luna came running, breathless. Jupiter stepped aside. Luna gasped. Mars leaned over and cradled Sailor Mon's head in her arms. "Usagi, if you wake up, I'll never call you Odango Atama; I'll never yell at you-- I swear...." "Sailor Moon, you just have to wake up! We need you!" ~*~*~*~*~*~ Don't talk of love Well, I've heard the word before It's sleeping in my memory I won't disturb the slumber Of feelings that have died If I'd never loved, I never would have cried ~*~*~*~*~*~ >Usagi-chan... wake up... it's not yet time for you to leave this realm....< A hauntingly familar voice called. Usagi opened her eyes. She was floating in a black void. A fuzzy bright light was ahead, and dark one behind. She reached for the fuzzy one, but a purpleish figure blocked her way. >Usagi, reach for the other light.... your friends need you.< "That's a joke." She said bitterly. >Come come.< "No! You listen! I am fed up with this! I get hurt worse than any of them and I get nothing! I have to put up with that obnoxious freak, a transvestive Nega-general, DNA mistakes, and on top of that, SCHOOL. I want to go for the nice light--" >When you are at the bottom, there is no place to go but up.< "Then I've got a shovel or something, cuz I just keep going down." >Okay, then. If you're too weak--< "WEAK?! I'm not weak!" >Are you so sure? Winners don't give up.< "I am strong." >Then go back< "One condition. I want an ice cream." >There are no ice creams over there.< Th light said. Usagi's eyes widened in shock and she jumped and turned around. The pruple light took form of a person, one with dark hair and red eyes. ~*~*~*~*~*~ I am a rock I am an island And the rock feels no pain And an island never cries ~*~*~*~*~*~ "Usagi-chan, please! I'll do your homework!" Mercury cried. Luna was sitting off, crying. Jupiter was blasting random trees. Mars was still holding Sailor Moon, and Mercury was doing CPR, cleaning the wounds, anythig to try and get her friend back. "DO you mean it?" Usagi whispered. Mars almost jumped up with surprise. Mercury stopped cleaning the cuts on Usagi's legs. "YES!" She jumped up, and began dancing. Luna bounded over, and Jupiter spared the elm tree. "Damn you, don't ever scare me like that again." Mars whispered, huging her friend. Everything would be okay, from now now. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Thats it, I suppose. The song was 'I am a Rock, by Simon & Garfunkel: I Am a Rock by Simon & Garfunkel A winter's day In a deep and dark December I am alone Gazing from my window To the streets below On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow I am a rock I am an island I've built walls A fortress deep and mighty That none may penetrate I have no need for friendship Friendship causes pain It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. I am a rock I am an island Don't talk of love Well, I've heard the word before It's sleeping in my memory I won't disturb the slumber Of feelings that have died If I'd never loved, I never would have cried I am a rock I am an island I have my books And my poetry to protect me I am shielded in my armor Hiding in my room Safe within my womb I touch no-one and no-one touches me I am a rock I am an island And the rock feels no pain And an island never cries