Day 29/30: 54905 Words.
Makoto's face sobered, and in return, so did Akuma's.
“I miss her.”
Makoto suddenly felt as if she shouldn't have been there to hear his innermost thoughts and feelings, and yet there was no way at this point that she could have turned away from him. She wanted to reach out and reassure him, hold him in her arms, but she was unsure if he would just see it as her attempt to be some pitiful substitute for the absence of the woman he loved.
“Even if there was anything left to salvage from the ship, our technology here isn't advanced enough to be able to put an interstellar pod together, much less make it fly. We have...our own means of traversing our System.” Makoto stopped herself short and looked down. “I'm...I'm sorry, I know how much it would mean to you if you could go home again, and I wish there were more that I could do...”
“Makoto-san, it is not your responsibility for everyone's happiness and well-being. I'm sure that if there was something you could have done, you would have done it but it makes no sense to look back on the things we can't change. I will make the best of my time here. Right?” Makoto tried to smile, if not a bit half-heartedly, and nodded. It was then that several explosions off in the distance rattled the windows of the MedUnit.
“Great Jove's Beard...” Makoto ran to the window, which by now was cracked, and looked outside - she could feel underneath of her feet the thudding of the Mechanoids as they approached the Castle. “They're here, they're--”
Her next words were cut off by the explosion that destroyed the MedUnit.
“MAKOTO!” Usagi was screaming as she saw the part of the Castle where she believed the MedUnit was explode and crumble. The Mechanoids had broken through the barrier and the Outer Senshi had fallen back to regroup with the Inner Senshi. Meanwhile, the Queen Senshi were readying themselves for one last attack. Princess Uranus picked up Usagi and leapt away, out of the path of a stray plasma cannon shot.
“We've got to buy them time. We can't worry about Makoto right now, we've got to keep fighting and we've got to keep hoping for Eric and we will hope for Makoto.”
“Burning Mandala!” Streaking triangles of fire took out the legs of at least a dozen approaching Mechanoid Brutes while Usagi, from her new perch atop a pile of rubble, finished them off with Rainbow Moon Heart Ache, the blinding pink of the attack taking on a deeper, almost reddish hue.
And still the Mechanoids trampled onward.
“I see him! I see Eric!” Nobody could hear Princess Pluto in the din of the explosions and the fighting, but it warmed her heart with hope. She could look into the Garnet of her Rod and see Eric. He and not even 10 percent of the Guard he took with him had made it to the Oracle, and still they fought onward. At this point, it wasn't a matter of whether Eric had gotten there, it would be a matter of Eric getting back.
Eric was certainly disheartened, but he was far from giving up. He had lost a good number of the people he came with to the Mechanoids that were steadfastly guarding the Oracle. From what he could see, it was definitely the nerve center of this operation, allright. And the monsters guarding it were stronger than any of the reports he had read had even mentioned. But he had been fortunate, and he had made it this far. All he had to do was target his attack on the head, the forces he had left with him would target the rest of the body, and it would interrupt the chain of command just long enough for the rest of the Mechanoids to be wiped out in a wide area attack from the Castle. Eric saw his target, and he saw the Mechanoids closing in on him. For Eric, it was now or never, and it was at that moment, he pressed onward, his speed turning him into a bright green streak heading straight for the Oracle.
“Final...Mystic...STRIKE!” With those words, the green streak grew and intensified, and at that moment, the Mechanoids guarding the Oracle fired back, the red of their Wave Motion Plasma Cannons a stark contrast to the green of Eric's attack. The two beams met and collided , the ensuing explosion seen from miles away. However, as the red of the Cannons died down, the green streak
It was then that three things happened at once.
The first thing was that there was a momentary silence from the approaching Mechanoids as they all seemed to stop moving as if someone had hit a large 'PAUSE' button. It was in that moment, in the space of someone inhaling and exhaling, that the second thing occurred. From the highest point of light where the Queens had focused their power, a new and brighter light shone, the images of angel's feathers interspersed in the beam.
“SAILOR...PLANET...ATTACK!”
A singular white beam of light broke through and parted the Mechanoids in a swath of destruction none had ever seen before. Mechanoid shells littered the landscape where the beam had passed in a wide circle. Ami pointed back towards the gates and noted that there were a few strays still approaching the castle.
“This way! There's still a few trying to break through!” The remaining Inner and Outer Senshi, reenergized, began picking off the stray Mechanoids. It seemed that the Mechanoids weren't interested in surrendering, even if the leader of this particular Operation had gone down in a green blaze of glory. Their only mission was to destroy everything on two legs, regardless of whether their leader was destroyed or not.
The battle raged on. The last few Mechanoids were still plodding forward, but at this point, it had been a matter of at most, a few hundred that were still obeying their orders. The Inner and Outer Senshi were still fighting the leftover Mechanoids when a nearby rumbling caught everyone's attention.
Another explosion, this time from the pile of rubble where the MedUnit had been when it was hit by the plasma cannon blast. A dark red streak flew straight up from it, and for a moment, there was silence on the battlefield as everyone turned to see what it was, friend or foe.
Akuma hovered over them all, his dark hair red not only from the streaks in it but from blood, his body surrounded in that dark red aura, and in his arms was Makoto's unconscious form. Her hair was loose from its ponytail, and she was as limp as a ragdoll in his arms.
“MAKO-CHAAAAN!” The Inner Senshi all squealed at the same time as Akuma landed. “Is she...?” Minako was the first one to get to them both while Rei, Ami, and Usagi kept firing at the stray Mechanoids. To answer Minako's question, Akuma shook his head no.
“We were buried under a lot of debris from the MedUnit ceiling caving in. The doctors and the nurses made it out okay - they were on the other end of the wing when it happened. I needed to get her out of there. Where can I take her...?”
“Go to the Throne Room. I think we've pretty much got it in hand here. Eric...” She paused, remembering the big beam battle that seemed to be so many miles away and yet so close at the same time. “I think Eric took care of their leader, and we're just waiting on Eric to return. That's all.” Minako nodded optimistically but the hopefulness in her voice didn't reach her eyes. “Anyway, the two of you should be safe there, now go!” She smiled and returned to her comrades' side. Akuma stood up slowly and tossed Makoto over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He took a look at the battlefield in front of him - the burned Mechanoid shells, the bodies upon bodies of the Royal Jovian Guard lying in between the burned Mechanoid shells, the valiant Senshi defending the Castle still. He tilted his head towards them in a quiet salute as he ran as best he could back towards the Throne Room.
He was thoroughly unprepared for what greeted his eyes next.
All of the older Inner Senshi lie on the ground, motionless. The only one unaccounted for was Queen Serenity, and it could only be assumed that like the others, she had given her very life to hold back the threat. It was then that Makoto began to awaken.
“Ooooh...ow...what was the number of that air bus...” She opened her eyes and looked around. “Hey, where are we, what happen--” She tried to raise herself out of Akuma's arms to look around, and the second she caught sight of the Queens lying there dead, the scream rose in her throat and got stuck there. Her eyes watered with tears and she began to struggle to get out of Akuma's arms.
“No, no...” She continued squirming. “They didn't...Momma...? MOMMAAAAA!!!” Makoto hadn't called her mother that since she was a very small child, no more than three or four. It felt as if someone was digging an unfillable hole in her heart with a spoon. Akuma pulled Makoto closer, her cheek resting against his chest. He put his chin atop hers and closed his eyes as she shook.
“I didn't want you to see that in your current condition - I didn't think you were ready for it. I tried...when the explosion hit the MedUnit, I did my best to protect you from the falling debris, but some of it seemed to have caught you on the head. You might have a mild concussion, so I would advise that you not move a whole lot until I get some sort of medical attention for you. I do know that the doctors and the nurses are allright, they were on the other end of the wing when the ceiling caved in.”
Makoto didn't move in his arms, her eyes still wide from shock and sorrow. Although neither one of the realized it in the heat of the trauma that they had both endured, they were now united by a common emotion - loss.
It was another three days before the last Mechanoid was eliminated from Jupiter and its moons. Two more days after that, Princess Pluto committed one of the Forbidden Acts of her office and created a time-space hole that would place the Mechanoids in a dimension devoid of any human life. She was aware of two things, however - one, that she would have her powers taken from her for an indeterminate amount of time for allowing herself to do such a thing, and two, with the infinite amount of computing resources that they had, that the would figure out a way to come back through the hole that she had put them in. However, she was comforted to know that her actions were not in vain, and that they kept her charges out of danger for the immediate future. Goddess knew that they had suffered enough tragedy for this battle as it was. Five days out from the battle, and Eric still had not been heard from. Rei had retreated into herself by not speaking to anyone and generally keeping to herself. Minako was fidgety, trying to get news from whatever source she could, which at the moment consisted of Ami and her communicator - Titan Net was the first thing to go down when the Mechanoids arrived, and at the moment, there weren't enough people alive left to fix it. Out of four hundred thousand Royal Jovian Guards, less than eight thousand survived. Both Jade and Forrest survived, but Forrest had to undergo extensive surgery to repair her left arm, which had been burned most of the way through by a stray plasma beam blast. Jade had broken both legs when the structure they had taken shelter under collapsed on them. They were found by other members of the Guard who were doing cleanup duty after the initial Sailor Planet Attack had wiped out a good majority of the Mechanoids attacking them. It had taken them a while to get back - there were few air cars and buses left to go around, so finding one was a real job unto itself.
“Still no word from Eric?” Jade wheeled herself into the Throne Room. Dr. Yakazari had offered to wheel her down there, but in her usual style, she tersely declined, stating that she wasn't cripple and that as long as neither one of her arms were broken, she was perfectly capable of wheeling herself down there.
The Inner Senshi shook their heads - all except Makoto, her head bandaged with enough room made for her upswept ponytail, who sat at the foot of her mother's Throne, not moving. Jade wheeled herself over to Makoto and tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. Jade generally wasn't one for any show of emotions, and certainly not always towards Makoto, whom in her mind was pampered and spoiled and had no idea how the world worked. However, Jade could relate to how it felt to lose a mother - she was five when she lost hers and came to Castle Io to live.
“Makoto, I wanted you to know...” Makoto looked at Jade with hollowed eyes still red from crying. “...I know what it's like to lose a mother. And it's not easy. It's not going to be easy for any of us, not for a while yet.” Jade looked off to one side and continued. “I don't know if anyone's said anything about Eric...”
Makoto bit her lip and narrowed her suddenly watering eyes. Rei had come to her a day earlier and stoically let her know that Eric had gone missing after the Oracle was destroyed, and that they were all waiting hopefully for Eric to come home.
“Eric's gonna come home. I'd know it if he were dead.” Her chin rested on her chest as she looked down at her hands, the hands that she believed couldn't do anything to save her mother.
“I'd like to think that I would too, you know. I'm not...as distant as you would think. I just don't have the luxury of always feeling the things you do. Anyway...” Jade straightened herself up in her chair. “Dr. Yakazari might have to come after me if I don't get back to bed soon. But I just wanted to let you know that...” Jade stopped short, the tiniest trace of a smirk turning up the right corner of her mouth. “Meh. You know what I'm trying to say. I'll see you later.” Jade turned her wheelchair around and left Makoto sitting there to let the words of...comfort?...sink into her mind and into her heart.
Six months passed. Memorials were held, all except one. Eric did not have a memorial service. Both Makoto and Rei, and to a quieter extent, Minako, all believed that Eric was alive. Even Jade believed so, but she was so focused on her rehabilitation that she had no time to even give it much thought - she believed what she believed and for whatever that was worth, that was going to have to be enough for whomever it was that wanted to know. After the Memorials, the cloud of the Mechanoid battle began to lift, and things at the Castle began to return to some semblance of normal, save for one thing - the Elders were now in charge of running the day to day affairs of the planet, considering that Makoto was still under the legal age of 21 to be Queen. She still had another year and a few months left to go. Her word would come under advisement, and the Elders would make it final law. However, the one thing that managed to take Makoto's mind off of her sorrows and bring a little joy to her life was the planning of the Promethean Ball.
“I miss her.”
Makoto suddenly felt as if she shouldn't have been there to hear his innermost thoughts and feelings, and yet there was no way at this point that she could have turned away from him. She wanted to reach out and reassure him, hold him in her arms, but she was unsure if he would just see it as her attempt to be some pitiful substitute for the absence of the woman he loved.
“Even if there was anything left to salvage from the ship, our technology here isn't advanced enough to be able to put an interstellar pod together, much less make it fly. We have...our own means of traversing our System.” Makoto stopped herself short and looked down. “I'm...I'm sorry, I know how much it would mean to you if you could go home again, and I wish there were more that I could do...”
“Makoto-san, it is not your responsibility for everyone's happiness and well-being. I'm sure that if there was something you could have done, you would have done it but it makes no sense to look back on the things we can't change. I will make the best of my time here. Right?” Makoto tried to smile, if not a bit half-heartedly, and nodded. It was then that several explosions off in the distance rattled the windows of the MedUnit.
“Great Jove's Beard...” Makoto ran to the window, which by now was cracked, and looked outside - she could feel underneath of her feet the thudding of the Mechanoids as they approached the Castle. “They're here, they're--”
Her next words were cut off by the explosion that destroyed the MedUnit.
“MAKOTO!” Usagi was screaming as she saw the part of the Castle where she believed the MedUnit was explode and crumble. The Mechanoids had broken through the barrier and the Outer Senshi had fallen back to regroup with the Inner Senshi. Meanwhile, the Queen Senshi were readying themselves for one last attack. Princess Uranus picked up Usagi and leapt away, out of the path of a stray plasma cannon shot.
“We've got to buy them time. We can't worry about Makoto right now, we've got to keep fighting and we've got to keep hoping for Eric and we will hope for Makoto.”
“Burning Mandala!” Streaking triangles of fire took out the legs of at least a dozen approaching Mechanoid Brutes while Usagi, from her new perch atop a pile of rubble, finished them off with Rainbow Moon Heart Ache, the blinding pink of the attack taking on a deeper, almost reddish hue.
And still the Mechanoids trampled onward.
“I see him! I see Eric!” Nobody could hear Princess Pluto in the din of the explosions and the fighting, but it warmed her heart with hope. She could look into the Garnet of her Rod and see Eric. He and not even 10 percent of the Guard he took with him had made it to the Oracle, and still they fought onward. At this point, it wasn't a matter of whether Eric had gotten there, it would be a matter of Eric getting back.
Eric was certainly disheartened, but he was far from giving up. He had lost a good number of the people he came with to the Mechanoids that were steadfastly guarding the Oracle. From what he could see, it was definitely the nerve center of this operation, allright. And the monsters guarding it were stronger than any of the reports he had read had even mentioned. But he had been fortunate, and he had made it this far. All he had to do was target his attack on the head, the forces he had left with him would target the rest of the body, and it would interrupt the chain of command just long enough for the rest of the Mechanoids to be wiped out in a wide area attack from the Castle. Eric saw his target, and he saw the Mechanoids closing in on him. For Eric, it was now or never, and it was at that moment, he pressed onward, his speed turning him into a bright green streak heading straight for the Oracle.
“Final...Mystic...STRIKE!” With those words, the green streak grew and intensified, and at that moment, the Mechanoids guarding the Oracle fired back, the red of their Wave Motion Plasma Cannons a stark contrast to the green of Eric's attack. The two beams met and collided , the ensuing explosion seen from miles away. However, as the red of the Cannons died down, the green streak
It was then that three things happened at once.
The first thing was that there was a momentary silence from the approaching Mechanoids as they all seemed to stop moving as if someone had hit a large 'PAUSE' button. It was in that moment, in the space of someone inhaling and exhaling, that the second thing occurred. From the highest point of light where the Queens had focused their power, a new and brighter light shone, the images of angel's feathers interspersed in the beam.
“SAILOR...PLANET...ATTACK!”
A singular white beam of light broke through and parted the Mechanoids in a swath of destruction none had ever seen before. Mechanoid shells littered the landscape where the beam had passed in a wide circle. Ami pointed back towards the gates and noted that there were a few strays still approaching the castle.
“This way! There's still a few trying to break through!” The remaining Inner and Outer Senshi, reenergized, began picking off the stray Mechanoids. It seemed that the Mechanoids weren't interested in surrendering, even if the leader of this particular Operation had gone down in a green blaze of glory. Their only mission was to destroy everything on two legs, regardless of whether their leader was destroyed or not.
The battle raged on. The last few Mechanoids were still plodding forward, but at this point, it had been a matter of at most, a few hundred that were still obeying their orders. The Inner and Outer Senshi were still fighting the leftover Mechanoids when a nearby rumbling caught everyone's attention.
Another explosion, this time from the pile of rubble where the MedUnit had been when it was hit by the plasma cannon blast. A dark red streak flew straight up from it, and for a moment, there was silence on the battlefield as everyone turned to see what it was, friend or foe.
Akuma hovered over them all, his dark hair red not only from the streaks in it but from blood, his body surrounded in that dark red aura, and in his arms was Makoto's unconscious form. Her hair was loose from its ponytail, and she was as limp as a ragdoll in his arms.
“MAKO-CHAAAAN!” The Inner Senshi all squealed at the same time as Akuma landed. “Is she...?” Minako was the first one to get to them both while Rei, Ami, and Usagi kept firing at the stray Mechanoids. To answer Minako's question, Akuma shook his head no.
“We were buried under a lot of debris from the MedUnit ceiling caving in. The doctors and the nurses made it out okay - they were on the other end of the wing when it happened. I needed to get her out of there. Where can I take her...?”
“Go to the Throne Room. I think we've pretty much got it in hand here. Eric...” She paused, remembering the big beam battle that seemed to be so many miles away and yet so close at the same time. “I think Eric took care of their leader, and we're just waiting on Eric to return. That's all.” Minako nodded optimistically but the hopefulness in her voice didn't reach her eyes. “Anyway, the two of you should be safe there, now go!” She smiled and returned to her comrades' side. Akuma stood up slowly and tossed Makoto over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He took a look at the battlefield in front of him - the burned Mechanoid shells, the bodies upon bodies of the Royal Jovian Guard lying in between the burned Mechanoid shells, the valiant Senshi defending the Castle still. He tilted his head towards them in a quiet salute as he ran as best he could back towards the Throne Room.
He was thoroughly unprepared for what greeted his eyes next.
All of the older Inner Senshi lie on the ground, motionless. The only one unaccounted for was Queen Serenity, and it could only be assumed that like the others, she had given her very life to hold back the threat. It was then that Makoto began to awaken.
“Ooooh...ow...what was the number of that air bus...” She opened her eyes and looked around. “Hey, where are we, what happen--” She tried to raise herself out of Akuma's arms to look around, and the second she caught sight of the Queens lying there dead, the scream rose in her throat and got stuck there. Her eyes watered with tears and she began to struggle to get out of Akuma's arms.
“No, no...” She continued squirming. “They didn't...Momma...? MOMMAAAAA!!!” Makoto hadn't called her mother that since she was a very small child, no more than three or four. It felt as if someone was digging an unfillable hole in her heart with a spoon. Akuma pulled Makoto closer, her cheek resting against his chest. He put his chin atop hers and closed his eyes as she shook.
“I didn't want you to see that in your current condition - I didn't think you were ready for it. I tried...when the explosion hit the MedUnit, I did my best to protect you from the falling debris, but some of it seemed to have caught you on the head. You might have a mild concussion, so I would advise that you not move a whole lot until I get some sort of medical attention for you. I do know that the doctors and the nurses are allright, they were on the other end of the wing when the ceiling caved in.”
Makoto didn't move in his arms, her eyes still wide from shock and sorrow. Although neither one of the realized it in the heat of the trauma that they had both endured, they were now united by a common emotion - loss.
It was another three days before the last Mechanoid was eliminated from Jupiter and its moons. Two more days after that, Princess Pluto committed one of the Forbidden Acts of her office and created a time-space hole that would place the Mechanoids in a dimension devoid of any human life. She was aware of two things, however - one, that she would have her powers taken from her for an indeterminate amount of time for allowing herself to do such a thing, and two, with the infinite amount of computing resources that they had, that the would figure out a way to come back through the hole that she had put them in. However, she was comforted to know that her actions were not in vain, and that they kept her charges out of danger for the immediate future. Goddess knew that they had suffered enough tragedy for this battle as it was. Five days out from the battle, and Eric still had not been heard from. Rei had retreated into herself by not speaking to anyone and generally keeping to herself. Minako was fidgety, trying to get news from whatever source she could, which at the moment consisted of Ami and her communicator - Titan Net was the first thing to go down when the Mechanoids arrived, and at the moment, there weren't enough people alive left to fix it. Out of four hundred thousand Royal Jovian Guards, less than eight thousand survived. Both Jade and Forrest survived, but Forrest had to undergo extensive surgery to repair her left arm, which had been burned most of the way through by a stray plasma beam blast. Jade had broken both legs when the structure they had taken shelter under collapsed on them. They were found by other members of the Guard who were doing cleanup duty after the initial Sailor Planet Attack had wiped out a good majority of the Mechanoids attacking them. It had taken them a while to get back - there were few air cars and buses left to go around, so finding one was a real job unto itself.
“Still no word from Eric?” Jade wheeled herself into the Throne Room. Dr. Yakazari had offered to wheel her down there, but in her usual style, she tersely declined, stating that she wasn't cripple and that as long as neither one of her arms were broken, she was perfectly capable of wheeling herself down there.
The Inner Senshi shook their heads - all except Makoto, her head bandaged with enough room made for her upswept ponytail, who sat at the foot of her mother's Throne, not moving. Jade wheeled herself over to Makoto and tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. Jade generally wasn't one for any show of emotions, and certainly not always towards Makoto, whom in her mind was pampered and spoiled and had no idea how the world worked. However, Jade could relate to how it felt to lose a mother - she was five when she lost hers and came to Castle Io to live.
“Makoto, I wanted you to know...” Makoto looked at Jade with hollowed eyes still red from crying. “...I know what it's like to lose a mother. And it's not easy. It's not going to be easy for any of us, not for a while yet.” Jade looked off to one side and continued. “I don't know if anyone's said anything about Eric...”
Makoto bit her lip and narrowed her suddenly watering eyes. Rei had come to her a day earlier and stoically let her know that Eric had gone missing after the Oracle was destroyed, and that they were all waiting hopefully for Eric to come home.
“Eric's gonna come home. I'd know it if he were dead.” Her chin rested on her chest as she looked down at her hands, the hands that she believed couldn't do anything to save her mother.
“I'd like to think that I would too, you know. I'm not...as distant as you would think. I just don't have the luxury of always feeling the things you do. Anyway...” Jade straightened herself up in her chair. “Dr. Yakazari might have to come after me if I don't get back to bed soon. But I just wanted to let you know that...” Jade stopped short, the tiniest trace of a smirk turning up the right corner of her mouth. “Meh. You know what I'm trying to say. I'll see you later.” Jade turned her wheelchair around and left Makoto sitting there to let the words of...comfort?...sink into her mind and into her heart.
Six months passed. Memorials were held, all except one. Eric did not have a memorial service. Both Makoto and Rei, and to a quieter extent, Minako, all believed that Eric was alive. Even Jade believed so, but she was so focused on her rehabilitation that she had no time to even give it much thought - she believed what she believed and for whatever that was worth, that was going to have to be enough for whomever it was that wanted to know. After the Memorials, the cloud of the Mechanoid battle began to lift, and things at the Castle began to return to some semblance of normal, save for one thing - the Elders were now in charge of running the day to day affairs of the planet, considering that Makoto was still under the legal age of 21 to be Queen. She still had another year and a few months left to go. Her word would come under advisement, and the Elders would make it final law. However, the one thing that managed to take Makoto's mind off of her sorrows and bring a little joy to her life was the planning of the Promethean Ball.