Title: Seals of Heart and Space Author: E. Cypher E-Mail: LunarEB2@aol.com Rating: PG Hey All!! Guess what, I got it out!! Well, maybe not as much as I'd hope, but some at least. I really hope you enjoy it, and I hope it'll sate those nasty letters about Chap 5 :). Anyway, here we go, the fate of the scout team!! Chapter 6: Emergency ::Darian:: A large flash lights sky. Fear overwhelms me...I know that light. "Sailor Moon!!!" Running heedlessly through the demons, I come within an inch of my life more then once, but push onward. Please, please be okay... Upon reaching the clearing, I stop, dead in my tracks. Lying mere feet from the floating form of Malachite is a vision from my nightmares. Serena, lying in the arms of one wounded Lina Inverse, blank eyes staring at nothing and with a shattered brooch upon her chest. Lina's cheeks are streaked with tears and she looks up at the sound of my entrance. "She...she saved my life..." Lina looks back down to the crumpled form before her. Hardly breathing, I rush over and take the young girl from her arms. Lina flinches as I do so and I notice gashes in her side. Much as it may shame me, I barely pay her any attention as I cradle my Meatball Head in my arms. "No...Serena..." I so thought she was safe. Out of the way, out of harm, but no, Serena would never abandon her friends, and now, she lies dead for her actions. "So ends the interference of Sailor Moon. Her foolish caring brought about her end. Good riddance I say." Malachite's evil voice brings me out of my reverie. I stand up in a flash, pure rage shining in my eyes. "How DARE you!!" A ripple comes over my tux, changing the black cloth to that of armor. With fire in my eyes, I, now Prince Darian, stride forward. "For this, you shall not survive!" My hand goes to my hilt, but another hand stops me. My head spins, glaring at this newcomer in anger. Gourry never flinches from the gaze. Instead, he holds up his glowing sword. "Use this." Placing it in my hand, he backs off. Pure power flows down my arm and I look back to Malachite. He meets my glare with his own confident look. "You truly think you can defeat me alone?" Lowering himself to the ground and dropping his shield, he forms a blade of pure darkness in his hand. "Come then, try your luck." Without hesitation, I charge him. Over and over, we clash swords, giving and taking ground. Sparks and flashes fly from the contact of two opposite forces such as these. Even still, the sword of light is a permanent relic, where as his blade is merely one of temporary magic. With a scream of rage, I slash towards him, and he once again blocks. This time however, white light flashes around the contact, and the ebony sword, with one final shudder, shatters into oblivion. Anger and triumph radiates from me. "Now you pay for your crimes Malachite!!" I say through gritted teeth. "No, I'm too close, I can't be defeated now!!" He stands up from the wall I've backed him against. "Queen Beryl, help me! Lend me your power!" A dark glow surrounds Malachite while a picture slowly forms in the sky. Beryl's evil face appears out of the air. "As you wish Malachite. But I warn you, show yourself worthy of such a bestowment, for this is your last chance. Fail me and die." With a howl of wind, the form disappears and the darkness around Malachite coalesces, blocking out the sight of him for a mere moment. When the darkness fades, he stands there still, but transformed. An armor so black as to steal the very light from the area encompasses him, and a blade of swirling grey mist resides in his hand. He lets out an insane laugh. "Now none can defeat me! With Beryl's power at my command, you shall fall before me!!" With a charge barely seen, he rushes me, barely giving me time to bring up my sword. A clash resounds through the air, throwing me backwards. Once I regain my feet, I look to see him standing where I was, glowering down at me. "There now little princeling, do you still think to defeat me?" I meet his stare with one of equal hatred. "I swore you shall not survive the day, and by all that's holy, you shall not." He laughs again, a sound that so flows with evil it almost hurts the ears. "So be it. Come at me then!" Both charging, we clash, sending shockwaves flying... ::Lina:: Hopelessly, I watch the battle unfold before me, and I know, no matter how desperately Darian fights, this is one battle he'll lose. With Malachite combined with that witches power, even Gourry's sword of light is no match alone. Calling Gourry over, I hand him Serena's limp form. "Take care of her Gourry." Grunting in pain, I struggle to stand, almost blacking out from the effort. "Lina relax! You're in no condition to be going anywhere!" Gourry looks up to me worriedly. I spare him only a glance. "I don't have..time to concentrate on a healing spell," I gasp with each breath. "I have to help him...now." Gourry settles back into silence. I stand tentatively, watching the battle and trying hard to breathe slowly and steadily. A harsh breath almost takes me to my knees, but arms grab me from behind, holding me up. "You look like you could use a hand." Glancing over my shoulder, I see Raye holding me up, with the others gathered around. Tears stain all their faces. Forcing a smile, I nod and stand up alone again. "I know... that you're all worried about Sai..." I glance back at the girl, now only that, "..Serena, but right now Darian needs your help to end this battle and avenge her loss." They all nod in silence and I take a deep breath. "Here we go..." Closing my eyes, I concentrate and begin chanting my spell as the four sailors join hands and form a half circle around my back. I so hope I can pull this off... "Heed me now thou who is darker then dusk..." the power surges through me, forcing me to strengthen my concentration as it threatens to overwhelm my weakened body. I push out all sound of the fight, hearing nothing but myself and the scouts. "Heed thou which is more red than blood..." my side flares anew, the stress making the pain worse. "In the name of that which has been buried in the bottomless abyss of time eternal..." Gritting my teeth, I try to remember how long it's been since I've pushed myself so. Probably not since the fight with Chabranigdo, and then I did it all at once, not step by step like this. Come on, just one more spell... "Mercury Power!" Amy screams above the noise as my voice too raises from a chant to a shout. "I summon thee, master of the ultimate darkness!" My mind begins to swim. Black out threatens. "Mars Power!" comes Raye's voice. "Infuse me with power, let your strength become mine!" Just a few more seconds... "Jupiter Power!" Lita yells. "To wipe it from the face of this earth!" Becoming...hard to think, don't screw up now... "Venus Power!" Mina completes their summon, surprisingly feeding the strength and power to me instead of straight to Darian. My mind clears in an instant, but maybe not for long. "To deliver unto them the ultimate doom!" With crystal clarity, full strength, and diehard determination, my eyes fly open and lock on my target, the legendary sword of light. "DRAGON SLAVE!!" Flinging forth all the power I can muster, along with the power imparted to me by the scouts, I smile to myself as it rockets along and my vision fades. No one messes with me or my friends... Collapsing, I hear nothing more. ::Darian:: Panting, I desperately block the quick blows made by the newly made dark knight, while trying to get in some shots of my own. The sight of Serena lying there, possibly dead, burns in my mind, pushing my body harder. Suddenly, Malachite stops and stares past me. "She wouldn't...." Sparing a quick glance, I look to see a bolt of pure energy fly from Lina directly towards us. "She'll blow up the whole city!!" I step to the side, away from my enemy, but surprisingly, it still looks to be headed towards me, not him. He laughs loudly. "It seems your friends aim is a little off. Not only will she destroy your home and all it's people, but I shall live as well!" No, I can't believe that she'd do this... Waiting for the impact, I bring up the sword as a meager defense. Surprisingly, a slight, jarring impact and a bright flash is all that occurs. Looking up I see the sword glowing even more brightly then before and with a light reddish color. I grin broadly to myself. Smart little girl, so that's how she planned to control the spell. Turning back to Malachite, I point the sword at him. "Now then, let's see what we can do." The shock on his face returns to rage as he stances once more. "This changes nothing!! You shall die!" He charges, but his movements are much easier to keep track of, the sword's light almost seems to clarify his very edges. In a short matter of minutes, the battle has turned. Once again, he stands pinned against the wall with no more ground to lose. A final sideways slice sends the sword spinning from his hand and I have my sword at his throat. "It's over Malachite." He glares up at me. "Never!" The armor and even air around him begin to glow black. The light coalesces around him, blocking him from my sight. I leap back just as the ball of darkness separates from him. I hold the sword sideways out in front of me, left hand on blade and right hand on hilt. Just as the ball reaches me, it confronts the sword. The clash of light and dark forces me to squint my eyes, but I can clearly see the two forces fighting for dominance. Finally, the ebony ball grows light and takes on a reddish hue. At that point, I grip the hilt tightly and swing the sword in an outward arc, the orb flows along the blade, at last releasing it's grip at the point, and fly's back along it's original path. Malachite, now returned to his grey uniform, stares in fury. "No! How can this beeeee!!!" the light, no longer his own, collides with him, engulfing and finally dissipating. Of Beryl's henchman, there is no sign. "It's over." Sighing deeply, I turn back to the others. ::Mina:: This can't be happening... Serena and Lina now lay side by side on the ground, with the lot of us gathered around. We've managed to wrap Lina's side so the bleeding is blocked off, still, she already lost a lot of blood. None of us no for sure what can be done for Serena. Her body seems unharmed, but her brooch is beyond our repair... As Darian returns from the fight, he surveys our scene and despair floods over his features. Looking back from one to the other, he walks over to Serena, takes her in his arms, and puts a hand to her neck. Licking his dry lips, he tests his speech. "Well...her pulse is steady." "She must be in some kind of coma." Raye helps break the silence. "In that case we need to get her somewhere safe." He looks up to us. "You girls get her away from here. Take her home or anywhere that you can close by." Sadly, he glances over to the limp form of Lina with Gourry beside her. "Gourry and I will get Lina to a hospital, they should be able to help her there.." his voice is barely above a whisper, but we all hear him, including Gourry. We nod as he hands Serena to Lita, who can support her better then any of us, and he stands up. "Now go scouts, take her, I'll catch up later." Speech is something none of us seem capable of, therefore with another nod, we all take off, leaving this horrid alley behind us. "So where should we take her?" I hope my voice sounds stronger then I feel. Silence reigns for a moment, but then Amy speaks out. "Well, we can't take her home, we could never explain this to her parents, much as they may be worried." No further comment is made for the time being, and after a minute, a black form leaps in front of us. We all gasp as one, but then relax as the recognition takes hold. "Scouts, what's happened here?" Luna asks in a near panic. Gulping, I, as second in command, take the initiative. "We were attacked by the negaverse. Malachite led an all out assault against us, with Lina being his prime target." Hesitantly, I look over at Serena and nearly choke on uncried tears. "Sailor Moon was injured saving her life. Her brooch is destroyed and she's.." I swallow to moisten my dry mouth,"..she's in a coma now." Luna gasps. "Well..hurry scouts! To the temple, we'll try and help her there!" Immediately, Luna turns and races off, with us hot on her heels. The temple, our designated meeting place. That does seem the best option. In a cloud, we follow our mentor on ahead. ::Darian:: As the scouts race off, I turn back to our other injured party. Lina Inverse, very much still an enigma too us, but also a friend of Serena's and seemingly our new comrad. She's a good hearted soul, and at the moment in more noticeable danger than Serena. Hardening my mind to the task, I walk over. Gourry looks up at me, tears threatening, but not overwhelming him. "Come on, pick her up carefully and get her to the hospital. I know the way." Nodding, he does what I ask as quickly as possible. A quick glance at her face shows little time, so I take off at a quick jog, him right behind me. Once out of the alley, we race down the street. Lights pass by overhead in strobe flashes. At this time of night, and after all that has happened, no cars seem to be out. Just in case, I transform into Tux for now, leaving my armor behind. After a few minutes of running, and about ten left, a car appears coming over the hill. Desperately, I race out into the middle of the street, trying quickly to flag it down. Mere feet from me, the car stops and the driver gets out. "Hey you crazy kid! Get out of the way!" I run up to him. "We need to use your car! Now!" He looks me up and down. "Just who do you think you are? Running around in a tuxedo and demanding people's cars, why I ought to have you arrested!" I clench my fists, trying to maintain patience. "Hey Tux! Come on!" Looking up, I see Gourry setting Lina in the car's back seat. The guy turns around as well. "What?? Who're you, and what are you doing in my car!" He stomps up to Gourry. Gourry stands up to full height, he's not real short, and he glares the man right in the eyes. "My friend is hurt, badly, and we have to get her to the hospital." The man glances into the car, then back up, I can't see his face. Gourry leans over him. "Now if you will please MOVE we'll get the car back to you later!" The guy backs up, looking absolutely stupified. Grinning, I jump into the front seat as Gourry climbs into the back with Lina. Slamming the gas, I take off down the street without hesitation. Rounding corners and watching street signs, I slow only long enough to make sure Lina doesn't bounce around too much. Within a few minutes, we pull up to the hospital emergency entrance and I swing the car up, hitting the brakes simultaneously and bumping the car against the curb. Barely after we stop, Gourry leaps out, Lina in his arms and me right beside him. Running ahead, I push through the doors and immediately look around for anyone able to help. A nurse looks up from the desk, openly surprised at seeing us bust in. "Excuse me sir, can I help you?" A pair of guards in the corner look up, as well as some emergency units gathered around a stretcher. We run up to the desk, speaking as I go. "We need a doctor quickly! Our friend is badly hurt!" She glances over at the girl and hurriedly grabbed the phone, punching numbers. Spinning around, I attempt to head for the paramedics, but see them already heading towards us. Taking the girl from Gourry, they lay her on the stretcher and head off down the hall. When we move to follow, the guards step in our way. "I'm sorry sir, you'll have to wait here." Gourry scowls and his hand goes to his hilt, but I quickly block it off. "How will she know if she's alright?" I gaze meaninglfully into Gourry's eyes. "We should know her condition before tomorrow. If you'd like you can stay here or leave a way for us to contact you." With a grunt of frustration, Gourry backs off. "I'll stay." He says and with that, he turns and walks off. Nodding to the guards, I turn to find my new friend. The task doesn't prove hard. Near where we came in, I find him standing around looking at pictures. "She'll be okay. I'll be here with you." I try to make my voice soothing, but inside I'm dieing to find out the fate of one dearer to me. "No you won't." His plain voice startles me and he turns around with a stern face. "You're going to go find out how Serena's faring. There's nothing more you can do here." I blink at him and shed a small smile. "Are you sure?" Now his face softens. "Of course. I'll be fine here. As soon as I find out Lina's condition I'll let you know. For now, go see how our other friend is doing." Nodding, I bolt for the door without hesitation. "Thanks Gourry! We'll meet again!" He nods and raises his hand in farewell as I clear the doors. Once outside I head for the car..but stop. This isn't my car and most likely the guy will come here to look for it. Anyway, I don't even know where they took her. Most likely they wouldn't want to take her home, be far too much trouble trying to explain her condition, but where else could they go? Pausing a moment to think, I decide to merely trust my insticts. I've always been able to find her before, let's see how well that works now. Picking a direction as best I can, I head off into the night.. ::Mina:: "What can we do for her Luna?" I ask desperately. Once again Luna just sighs and shakes her head. All our heads are drooped in despair. We finally managed to get her to the temple and we've been trying everything we can think of to help her. Raye tried consulting the fire and using her charms, while Amy checked her over for physical injuries or ailments. None of our attemps have turned up anything useful. Fatigue threatens to overwhelm me, and I'm sure the others feel about the same, but no one is willing to leave her. The whole day has been rough, and to end like this? "I hate feeling helpless!" Lite cries, slamming her fist into the floor. "I know Lita," Amy says, "but what more can we do? We don't even know what is wrong with her." "How is she?" We all look up quickly to see Tuxedo Mask enter the room. Returning our gazes to her, I shake my head. "There's no change I'm afraid. What's more, we can't seem to figure out how to help her." He sighs and kneels on the floor by us. "I was afraid that might be the case." Silence pervades the area. "So..how's Lina?" Raye wonders. He shakes his head. "I don't know, we got her to the hospital and they wheeled her in, but they couldn't tell us anything at the time. Gourry stayed there to wait for news." "So, the day comes to an end." Lita whispers, barely loud enough for us to hear. "Let's hope the sun bears more hope." I reply softly. None of us leave the temple room that night. Still, we're not completely uncaring and we all call home to assure our parents that we're safe and tell them that we're spending the night at Raye's. Even Darian, as we now know him, never leaves the area at all. Before falling asleep, I see him sitting by the door, staring into the night sky. I cry myself to sleep this night. Thinking of how well things had been going. Thinking of all the new friends I have, all thanks to her. And lastly thinking of how I should've been there to help her when she was in trouble. She means so much to all of us, as much as we may complain about her leadership or fighting, this group will fall apart without her. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I fall asleep, replaying that one moment over and over again in my mind until I begin to think that only in death will I find relief... All Done! Sorry I didn't finish the crisis, I barely got this much done in time. I did my best to get some out though, especially after the e-mail's I got about my last ending :). I'm really glad that you all like my story, I'll get the next part out next week if all goes well. Oh yeah, and for all those reading An Uneggspected Discovery, I have started on the next chapter and it should be out next week. There ya go. Take Care all! Ja ne!