Fic: On Razor's Edge - Chapter 13
Title: On Razor’s Edge - Chapter 13
Summary: Crystal Tokyo has arrived. So has Ando Tanaka.
Warnings: This one is intense. Swearing, violence, some of it more graphic than the rest. All warnings apply, rated R to NC-17.
A/N: As always, thanks to the amazing Charlie for her editorial and personal support. You’re a sweetheart! And to darling Spirit, too!
The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard.
~ verse in the Katha-Upanishad
Ando had had a rather sleepless night. Having felt something, anything, in the air, he had finally abandoned his futile attempt to fall asleep and got up around four, slipping into heavy winter clothing and snuck out of the palace through one of its many secret passages. He’d aimlessly begun to walk around Tokyo, letting his mind drift.
Rei had become more distant lately; he knew why, of course. The midnight sessions on the rooftop had begun to take their toll on her. She saw less than Michiru and Hiromasa, and suffered because of it. Even though it had been over a decade ago, the decision to abandon her life as a miko still held her in its grasp. She (and everyone else around her, himself included) had only understood that her powers stemmed from her devotion to her belief as much as from her magical heritage, and once the devotion was lost, so were her powers. Well, some of them. Ando believed that the gift of the second sight would return sooner rather than later, but because of the rising threat of Wiseman, time was a commodity they could no longer trade in.
Burrowing his nose deeper into the folds of his red scarf, he swallowed. It still made him nervous, having to face a strange enemy, one whose powers and attacks manifested differently because the shitennou had returned and the shape of the future had thus been altered. Setsuna was useless as ever, not willing to divulge any information that might help them prevent a catastrophe, and of course Takeshi was backing her every step of the way, uptight moron that he was. Ando had grown to respect brash Haruka and ruthless Michiru, simply because they, much like him, were willing to do everything in their power to keep Mamoru and Usagi safe. They refused to play by the rules if the rules meant that the risks were exponentially higher. Setsuna however… well, there was no way Ando could respect someone who had all the powers of the world in her hands and refused to use them for her loved ones. And the Minako thing might be a factor, too, he had to admit grudgingly. He checked his watch; it was almost six in the morning. He decided to go home; perhaps Rei was awake or Minako was just returning, and one of them might surely keep him company for breakfast.
Turning a corner, Ando noticed that the sun was ever so slowly rising over the palace, casting the crystal in a fiery red light. There was a plane in the sky, probably taking people on their well-earned holidays. He’d have to take Rei to New York soon, show her the city and all his favourite haunts.
But then the colour spread, and something dropped out of the plane, and with beating heart, Ando realised that it wasn’t the sunrise after all.
It was fire.
***
Takeshi had barked orders at the phone, called for help and military and ambulances, all while dressing himself and making for the door. He didn’t wait for Setsuna.
As the door slammed behind him, Setsuna drew the blankets around her. Her skin was all goosebumps.
“And so it begins,” she whispered, and closed her eyes.
***
“What do we do?” Usagi cried, clinging to Mamoru’s hand. She was a fighter, but not a warrior. One enemy she could face, she could convince, she could redeem, but against these depersonified masses, she was helpless.
“Are these… tanks?” Hiromasa asked, stepping closer to the window. Looking up, his eyes widened in shock. “Fuck, and planes. Fuck fuck fuck.”
“Hiro, not that close,” Mamoru called out, and his large friend stepped back.
Umino was walking up and down the windows, touching each one and murmuring words in the long forgotten language of Elysion. Finally, he turned to his friends. “The wards will hold, as long as it’s only normal fire. But if Wiseman uses magic, we’re screwed. I don’t know what he’ll throw at us, so I can’t prepare the palace for it.”
“Makoto and Ami aren’t answering the phone,” Rei said quietly, sitting at the edge of the bed, phone in hand. She was dialing again, punching in Minako’s number this time. There was a brief beeping sound before the line went dead. “Phone lines are down. I’ll go get my communicator from my room, be right back.” She got up and slid from the bedroom, each step silent and certain.
Mamoru swallowed. “I should call Takeshi.”
Hiro nodded.
“And Ando,” Umino added, kneeling down and touching the crystal floor. The volcano’s fire, buried underneath the palace, sealed away, was pulsing under his hand. “This isn’t good,” he murmured.
Then the floor began to shake.
***
Ando raced around a corner just as the East Wing exploded into a million little pieces.
Finally.
The word was just a whisper in his mind, an itch at the edge of his consciousness, but Ando caught the thought anyway. And there could be only person from whose mind it had sprung. Ando frantically looked around. He must be here.
“WISEMAN!” he hollered, hoping to draw him out. If he could only find out where Wiseman was, he’d take care of it. He’d take care of it, and Rei and Usagi and Umino and Mamoru would be fine. They’d be fine. “WISEMAN!” If they had any luck, any whatsoever, Minako hadn’t yet returned home, wasn’t in the east wing, wasn’t buried amidst thousands of little diamonds raining from the blood red sky.
***
Tyres screeching, Takeshi pushed his foot down harder, taking the corner of the pedestrian zone with 130 km/h. Time was of the essence; and unlike the senshi, the shitennou could not teleport as easily. He had to make his way to the palace the ordinary, the slow way, and it was absolutely infuriating. He’d overtaken at least three camera crews in their bulky vans. They were like vultures circling a carcass.
The phone connection was still not working, there was no telling whether Mamoru and Usagi were even still alive. And Minako---
Takeshi brushed the thought from his mind. There was no use in panicking. He had a plan, and the first step of the plan was to get to the palace as quickly as possible.
***
The shaking stopped after a minute.
“What the fuck was that?” Hiro shouted, panic in his voice.
Rei crouched next to Umino, running her hand softly over the crystal and the flames that licked at it from underneath while simultaneously steadying herself. She drew in a sharp breath. “The stones are warm.”
“What?” Hiro burst out. “But the volcano has been contained by the Silver Crystal. Umino, you said so! What the fuck is going on here?”
Umino closed his eyes and spread his palm on the floors, pressing it down with all his weight. Sweat began to rise on his forehead, and he bit down on his lips.
“There’s…. they’ve--- they’ve begun their magical assault.”
Usagi reached for Mamoru’s hand. She looked outside, getting as close to the window as Mamoru would let her. “It’s raining,” she muttered. “It’s raining… glitter?”
Hiro moved next to her, getting paler by the second. This lifetime, he was a father, a husband, a handyman. The kind of man you asked to fix your creaky door, your dripping tap. Not the kind of man you’d ask to defend your palace. “They’re throwing bombs,” he said without inflection. “All over the city, look.” He pointed to the distance, where rays of fire shot up in the sky, glimmering like the stars at night. “They’re targeting the crystals all over the city. They must have hit the palace. That’s why it shook.”
Usagi swallowed and put her other hand in Hiro’s. “It’s a good thing then that Aiko and Yoshi and Makoto are in the countryside. Let’s count our blessings. Makoto and the children are safe, Hiro, and we will survive. We always do, don’t we?” She gave him a small smile, her blue eyes as hopeful as ever. “We’ll be fine.”
Across the room, Mamoru sought Umino’s eyes.
There were no words necessary.
Umino shook his head.
***
When the whole world explodes around you, there are only two things you can do. You can fight like hell, or you can give up.
Minako Aino was a fighter. Unfortunately, so was the man who had revealed himself to be Ace.
Sobbing, she threw the bloody kitchen knife as far away as possible and got up. It hit the walls with a dull noise and clattered to the floor. Her legs were shaky, and her clothes were where she’d left them last night, in a pile next to the couch. Stripped off in excitement, forgotten in a little heap. Exactly as they’d been a few hours ago. Except that now, they were sprayed with blood.
Looking everywhere but at the naked dead man sprawled out on the floor, lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, she stepped through the ever-expanding puddle of blood, pulled on her soiled dress and reached for her purse. She was pretty sure she had at least two broken ribs and a fractured wrist, but Ami would take care of that later.
Oh God, how could she explain this to Ami? How could she explain that the man she’d been oh so casually sleeping with was a minion of the Dark Kingdom? That her informant was actually one of their enemies? That she’d had to fight him naked, in his studio apartment, because he refused to let her out? Minako drew in a sharp breath. Oh God. Forget Ami. How could ever explain this to Takeshi? She’d failed, failed completely. Feeling the world swim around her, she reached out and steadied herself against the wall.
It was no use. She had to go on. She always had to. No matter what. She had to find a way.
She hadn’t been able to make it to the henshin pen in her purse when the fight broke out, but she had made it to the knife they’d cut yesterday’s pizza with.
Letting go of the wall, she began to dig in her purse for her henshin pen. Time to transform, time to go to the palace.
As the magic enveloped her, Minako looked straight ahead, her vision swimming with tears.
But even so, she could see it clearly enough.
The red handprint she’d left on the wall.
***
More…
Ando whipped around. He was in one of the little alleys closest to the palace. There were a few souvenir shops in here, a bakery, a deli. Other than that, it was only residential houses. Or rather, there had been.
He gulped.
He was sure he’d seen a torn up arm just a minute ago, lifelessly peaking out of the ruins. The bomb that had taken out the east wing had found it’s bloody path to this small, nothing out of the ordinary, completely non-magical street and made it look like a war zone.
The East Wing. The part of the palace in which Minako had her rooms. In which he had his rooms. The wing Rei occasionally snuck into in the early hours of the morning, when she wanted to doze with the sunlight on her face. It was an extravagance she’d never admit to Usagi or Minako, but which she’d told him about, once. She’d blushed so prettily that he had to kiss her. That had lead to the first time they’d---
Ando stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t do this. Deface his memories of Rei amidst this wreckage. He had to find Wiseman. Had to find him and take him out and then go looking for Rei and Minako and Mamoru and the rest.
Somewhere, this bastard was hiding, letting bombs rain down on the city. And he was doing something else, too, something magical. Ando could feel it, no, taste it in the air.
Edging closer to the palace, Ando closed his eyes. In the distance, sirens were wailing, and unless he was mistaken, someone was honking his car’s horn as if there was no tomorrow. Which might have been closer to the truth than anyone would guess. Trying to shut the sounds out, he cast his thoughts into the distance, trying to locate Wiseman. But there was silence. No more sinister thoughts, no voices. Nothing.
No way of finding him.
***
The floors were pulsing; large red spots spreading underneath the crystal.
“It’s getting warmer in here, isn’t it?” Usagi asked, unsure of whether or not to take off her big fluffy robe.
Mamoru nodded. “I think we should evacuate. I can take you all to Elysion. It’ll be safe there.”
Hiro nodded his assent. “And let’s get Mako and the kids there too. Just to be on the safe side. Who knows how long the palace can withhold the attack. If things go wrong, I don’t want anyone near the madman running the attack or the volcano erupting all over the city.”
“I can take care of this,” Rei said quietly. “I’ll go into the catacombs and whisper the volcano to sleep again. We just need to counter whatever Wiseman is doing. I can do it.”
“Rei,” Umino said quietly, “it’s too dangerous. I cannot guarantee that the wards will hold against an extended air assault, magical or not. We need to leave.” He turned to Hiro. “We need to get Ami, too. She’s at work.”
“I’ve left my home behind once,” Rei interrupted, her voice shaking. “I’m not doing it again.” Getting to her feet, she brushed a few specks of dust off. Her eyes flickered red, a sign of Mars pushing at the edges of Rei’s consciousness.
“Oh Rei,” Usagi whispered and went to reach out to her friend, but Rei stepped away from the Queen’s touch. “Just give me an hour. I command fire, I can control this.”
Mamoru ran a hand over his face. “I’m taking everyone else to Elysion in ten minutes, unless something happens. Then it’s sooner rather than later. I’ll come back for you and Umino.” Umino swallowed. Of course. For a second, he’d thought he’d leave to go Elysion with everyone else, but it was his powers keeping the palace’s wards running, so he couldn’t leave. If he stepped outside the palace (particularly into another dimension), he’d leave the palace wide open for attack. Finding the necessary resolve, he nodded and got up.
“Good. I’ll call Ami and let her know about the pick-up. Can you teleport into the hospital to fetch her?”
“What do you mean ‘good’?” Usagi asked, a note of panic creeping into her voice. “There’s nothing good about this! Rei, I absolutely refuse to leave you here all alone. Nu-uh. Not going to happen. I’ll go with you. And Umino, you can’t stay here on your own! And what about the people? What’ll happen to them while we run to Elysion?”
Everyone fell silent.
Everyone except for Hiro. He was looking at the sky, red with fire and light, helicopters circling. There were a few from news stations, but there were some that must belong to the attack.They were waiting for them.
“They die. Or they survive, because we’re no longer around. We’re their bait.”
***
Near the remains of the former southeast secret entrance, a swirl of golden glitter announced the arrival of Sailor Venus. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Minako detransformed.
“Oh my God,” Minako said under her breath, unable to take in the level of destruction around her. The east wing was gone. They was rubble everywhere. In the distance, explosions tore the city asunder. “Oh God.” Her bedroom, gone. Ando’s room, gone. She turned on the spot, trying to process the information.
East Wing, gone.
Secret passage, blocked.
Rest of palace, still standing.
What else, what else?
She squinted her eyes. The palace was shimmering…. red?
Flames near the South Wing.
Behind her, a car screeched to a halt.
“Minako!”
She blinked.
“MINAKO!”
Slowly turning around, she saw Takeshi running towards her. Around them, the world was falling apart, and yet here he was, dressed in a black suit and an impeccably ironed white shirt. His only concession to the current circumstances was his lack of a tie. A detached part of her managed to smile at how ridiculous it all was.
“GET AWAY!” he shouted. When he reached her, he pulled her away from the rubble and back towards the car. “Get in, Minako. Damn it, get in the car.” When he grabbed her wrist, she winced. Definitely fractured. But the pain served to focus her attention again, letting the shock fade away. Somewhere, something exploded.
“No, Takeshi, we need to go in. We need to see whether everyone is okay!”
Gearing the car to reverse, Takeshi hit the accelerator. “Are you hurt?”
Minako didn’t bother checking her appearance. She knew very well what she must look like. Bloodied dress, body covered in bruises. “Nothing too bad. Ami will fix me up. I’ll call her--- damn.”
Her phone was on mute. And on Ace’s bedside table. Fuck.
“Give me your phone.”
He pulled his phone from the inner pocket of his jacket and tossed it at her. She caught it with her left.
He noticed, of course. “What’s wrong with your hand?”
“I think it’s broken,” she replied while dialling Ami’s number. “Where are we going?”
He opened his mouth to answer and closed it again.
“Takeshi? Where are we going?”
“I don’t know. There are two tanks in front of the main entrance, a helicopter circling the West entrance, and masked armed guards in most streets leading to the palace. And news teams all over the place. I’d hoped we could get in via the secret passage, but not only do I think it’s blocked, it’s far too visible. We’d be guiding them right to them.” He paused for a moment as he shifted gears, and took them down the alley that would eventually lead them to Makoto’s café. “You were standing there with a big red x painted on your back, Minako.”
She brushed his comment away, not having the time to analyse whether it is a reproach or an expression of worry.
You have reached Ami Mizuno’s phone. Leave a message after the----
Minako hung up, and dialled Rei’s number instead.
The person you have called is temporarily unavail---
Makoto.
Hi, it’s Mako, we’re currently busy, please leave a message---
Usagi.
The person you have called is temporarily unavail---
“They’re not answering,” Minako said, her mind flipping through possible scenarios as if they were a stack of cards. It was Ando’s number she dialled next, heart beginning to hammer in her chest. Please pick up, please please please.
But there’s nothing, and the call doesn’t go through.
The person you have called is temporarily unavail---
Not bothering with the red light, he pushed his foot on the accelerator. They sped over the crossing, past the barrage of news vehicles and ambulances and police cars heading towards the palace.
“Takeshi. Where. Are. We. Going?”
He clenched his jaw.
“To safety.”
And then, suddenly, she knew.
***
It was hot underneath the palace. Hot, pulsing, dangerous.
It was where Sailor Mars belonged.
Rei took a deep breath. Mamoru would take them all away to Elysion now. Everyone but her and Umino. That was good. Umino was powerful, far more powerful than he’d ever let on, and as for herself… well, she was perfectly safe down here. Who to better deal with fire than the senshi who commanded it?
Reaching deep inside her soul, Rei Hino unlocked the secret door to her second self, and without the help of her henshin pen or Usagi, transformed. Her eyes as red as the lava in front of her, she stepped right into its fiery folds.
***
It had taken more power than he would have believed possible, and a significant portion of it had been drained away by his wife, who had resisted the teleportation to Elysion with every ounce of her body. But now at least Usagi and Hiro were safe. It was a beginning.
Staggering, Mamoru reached out, and his arm found Hiro, who steadied him. “You can’t go back yet,” Hiro murmured. “You need a minute.”
Mamoru looked up and his eyes met his wife’s. More than any other person he knew, Usagi looked like she belonged in this magical realm with its evergreen meadows, smiling flowers, and sweet air. But there were tears in her eyes; and she looked torn. Oh, he didn’t need to be a mindreader to know what she was thinking. She wanted him to be safe, but she also wished for Ami to be plucked from the hospital and deposited into safety. She worried over Minako, Takeshi, and Setsuna, over Ando and Umino and Rei, and over every single inhabitant of Tokyo. If Makoto and the kids weren’t in the countryside, she’d probably have clawed his eyes out rather than let him transport her here. Inwardly, Mamoru cursed, despairing over his own ineptitude and his wife’s generous heart. She wanted to fight, to make everything better, and instead, he’d made her leave everything and everyone behind. A tear trickled down her cheek, and unseen by any of them, the flowers near the little pond began to wilt.
“Ami first?” he asked, feeling like a monster, especially with Hiro standing next to him, father of two, friend of all. They were running out of time, and for the first time since donning the mask and the top hat with his wife by his side, Mamoru knew that they would not all reunite. This time, it was different.
In a moment of grace, it was his bear-like friend who answered, doling out absolution, making the decision. “Ami first.”
***
They were like magpies, these former colleagues of his. Amidst death and destruction, reporters ran, filming broken buildings and spilt blood, the wounded and the dead, and the attacks that kept on coming. They snuck behind tanks, bold as brass. He could feel their looks trailing him; he’d been recognized as someone in the Queen’s employ. More than once, people had called him. Tanaka, they called, Tanaka! Hoping to draw his attention, get a statement, preferably with tears running down his face. Of course, they didn’t know a thing more than his name and position, didn’t know that this attack was brought on by the shitennous’ reincarnation. Didn’t know he was every bit as magical as the crystals currently being blown to pieces all over the city. Fuck fuck fuck.
It was pandemonium, and somewhere in this mess, Usagi and Rei and Umino and Minako and Mamoru, of course, Mamoru, were hidden, and hopefully safer than those monsters in plain sight. A part of himself, detached and shocked at the same time, noted that on this list of people he worried over, his prince was a mere afterthought.
Yessss
There, that was it. Where, where, where?
Revenge. Power. Mine.
Closer.
Ando closed his eyes, blindly moving towards the thought. He stumbled over something, some rubble on the floor, but didn’t stop. God, he hoped it was rubble. Hoped it wasn’t a corpse. He had to go on, on and on until he----
Finally. Today, they die. They all die.
He opened his eyes. Behind the news van to his right. The thought had vibrated in his mind, that’s how strong it was. It had made his hands tingle. So much anger, so much hate. Ando exhaled. He could end this. He could end this right now. Stop the creature who stopped short of nothing. Wiseman was the head of this operation; with him gone, the attack would fall apart, and they could go back to being safe and dysfunctional and as happy as people with two lifetimes worth of bloody baggage could be.
And it was just like lighting a cigarette out of thin air, just like reading a stray thought. He could do this, had done this a thousand times. Jadeite, former master of the flames. Former master of magic.
Drawing on the power of the crystal, the palace, and the volcano underneath, he closed his eyes, called on the fire, and with all his might, hurled it in the direction of the van.
***
There was dust on every surface, and not a single soul inside. If she was surprised that he still carried the key in his pocket, after all this time, she didn’t show it. Even under these circumstances, the absence of Attila in these walls was like a blow to the chest. He hoped that at some point in the future, he would get to tell Mamoru about the moment the world was falling apart and Takeshi Nakamura had nothing better to do than mourn his dead dog. The story might be good enough to get his prince to smile. But as it was, there was precious little to smile about now, and perhaps never again.
Michiru and Haruka hadn’t answered their phones either. Minako had tried to contact Hotaru, too, but the call didn’t go through. It was the same with Hiro and Umino. This only left one of them and both of them were painfully aware of who this was. Even in the circumstance, dire as they were, things were achingly awkward. Leaning against the dusty kitchen counter, he watched as Minako closed her eyes.
“You need to call Setsuna. Tell her to come here.”
For a second, he wanted to protest. But this was the bed that he had made for himself, and now he had to lay in it. She held out his mobile, a fake olive branch to get them through this moment.
Of course, Setsuna answered her phone on the second ring.
“Yes?” Sometimes, he wondered whether there was a single question in the world his girlfriend did not know the answer to already. It was her omniscience he counted on now.
“Usagi and Mamoru?” he asked, trying to sound calm, but feeling anything but, especially with Minako opposite him, blood-stained, broken-boned, in what used to be their home. He had to take her into safety. Had he not met her there, in front of the palace, looking half dead, he’d have gone in, would have searched the premises. Had he paid for Minako’s safety with that of his prince?
He had had a plan. A plan that he abandoned for the woman he--- He stopped himself. This was neither the time nor the place. It was the house that made him sentimental, that made him lose sight of what was important. “Alive,” Setsuna whispered and Takeshi sagged against the counter.
“You need to come to my old house.” Resolve had returned to him. They needed to regroup. Get Setsuna here, get Ami and Makoto here, and then find a way to save everyone else from inside the palace.
There was a moment of silence.
“Setsuna?”
When she spoke again, Takeshi thought she sounded surprised. “I… I would have thought you’d be elsewhere now.”
Minako looked up, a spark returning to her eyes. He met her gaze unflinchingly.
And just like that, the future had changed once more.
*** End of Chapter 13 ***
Summary: Crystal Tokyo has arrived. So has Ando Tanaka.
Warnings: This one is intense. Swearing, violence, some of it more graphic than the rest. All warnings apply, rated R to NC-17.
A/N: As always, thanks to the amazing Charlie for her editorial and personal support. You’re a sweetheart! And to darling Spirit, too!
The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard.
~ verse in the Katha-Upanishad
Ando had had a rather sleepless night. Having felt something, anything, in the air, he had finally abandoned his futile attempt to fall asleep and got up around four, slipping into heavy winter clothing and snuck out of the palace through one of its many secret passages. He’d aimlessly begun to walk around Tokyo, letting his mind drift.
Rei had become more distant lately; he knew why, of course. The midnight sessions on the rooftop had begun to take their toll on her. She saw less than Michiru and Hiromasa, and suffered because of it. Even though it had been over a decade ago, the decision to abandon her life as a miko still held her in its grasp. She (and everyone else around her, himself included) had only understood that her powers stemmed from her devotion to her belief as much as from her magical heritage, and once the devotion was lost, so were her powers. Well, some of them. Ando believed that the gift of the second sight would return sooner rather than later, but because of the rising threat of Wiseman, time was a commodity they could no longer trade in.
Burrowing his nose deeper into the folds of his red scarf, he swallowed. It still made him nervous, having to face a strange enemy, one whose powers and attacks manifested differently because the shitennou had returned and the shape of the future had thus been altered. Setsuna was useless as ever, not willing to divulge any information that might help them prevent a catastrophe, and of course Takeshi was backing her every step of the way, uptight moron that he was. Ando had grown to respect brash Haruka and ruthless Michiru, simply because they, much like him, were willing to do everything in their power to keep Mamoru and Usagi safe. They refused to play by the rules if the rules meant that the risks were exponentially higher. Setsuna however… well, there was no way Ando could respect someone who had all the powers of the world in her hands and refused to use them for her loved ones. And the Minako thing might be a factor, too, he had to admit grudgingly. He checked his watch; it was almost six in the morning. He decided to go home; perhaps Rei was awake or Minako was just returning, and one of them might surely keep him company for breakfast.
Turning a corner, Ando noticed that the sun was ever so slowly rising over the palace, casting the crystal in a fiery red light. There was a plane in the sky, probably taking people on their well-earned holidays. He’d have to take Rei to New York soon, show her the city and all his favourite haunts.
But then the colour spread, and something dropped out of the plane, and with beating heart, Ando realised that it wasn’t the sunrise after all.
It was fire.
***
Takeshi had barked orders at the phone, called for help and military and ambulances, all while dressing himself and making for the door. He didn’t wait for Setsuna.
As the door slammed behind him, Setsuna drew the blankets around her. Her skin was all goosebumps.
“And so it begins,” she whispered, and closed her eyes.
***
“What do we do?” Usagi cried, clinging to Mamoru’s hand. She was a fighter, but not a warrior. One enemy she could face, she could convince, she could redeem, but against these depersonified masses, she was helpless.
“Are these… tanks?” Hiromasa asked, stepping closer to the window. Looking up, his eyes widened in shock. “Fuck, and planes. Fuck fuck fuck.”
“Hiro, not that close,” Mamoru called out, and his large friend stepped back.
Umino was walking up and down the windows, touching each one and murmuring words in the long forgotten language of Elysion. Finally, he turned to his friends. “The wards will hold, as long as it’s only normal fire. But if Wiseman uses magic, we’re screwed. I don’t know what he’ll throw at us, so I can’t prepare the palace for it.”
“Makoto and Ami aren’t answering the phone,” Rei said quietly, sitting at the edge of the bed, phone in hand. She was dialing again, punching in Minako’s number this time. There was a brief beeping sound before the line went dead. “Phone lines are down. I’ll go get my communicator from my room, be right back.” She got up and slid from the bedroom, each step silent and certain.
Mamoru swallowed. “I should call Takeshi.”
Hiro nodded.
“And Ando,” Umino added, kneeling down and touching the crystal floor. The volcano’s fire, buried underneath the palace, sealed away, was pulsing under his hand. “This isn’t good,” he murmured.
Then the floor began to shake.
***
Ando raced around a corner just as the East Wing exploded into a million little pieces.
Finally.
The word was just a whisper in his mind, an itch at the edge of his consciousness, but Ando caught the thought anyway. And there could be only person from whose mind it had sprung. Ando frantically looked around. He must be here.
“WISEMAN!” he hollered, hoping to draw him out. If he could only find out where Wiseman was, he’d take care of it. He’d take care of it, and Rei and Usagi and Umino and Mamoru would be fine. They’d be fine. “WISEMAN!” If they had any luck, any whatsoever, Minako hadn’t yet returned home, wasn’t in the east wing, wasn’t buried amidst thousands of little diamonds raining from the blood red sky.
***
Tyres screeching, Takeshi pushed his foot down harder, taking the corner of the pedestrian zone with 130 km/h. Time was of the essence; and unlike the senshi, the shitennou could not teleport as easily. He had to make his way to the palace the ordinary, the slow way, and it was absolutely infuriating. He’d overtaken at least three camera crews in their bulky vans. They were like vultures circling a carcass.
The phone connection was still not working, there was no telling whether Mamoru and Usagi were even still alive. And Minako---
Takeshi brushed the thought from his mind. There was no use in panicking. He had a plan, and the first step of the plan was to get to the palace as quickly as possible.
***
The shaking stopped after a minute.
“What the fuck was that?” Hiro shouted, panic in his voice.
Rei crouched next to Umino, running her hand softly over the crystal and the flames that licked at it from underneath while simultaneously steadying herself. She drew in a sharp breath. “The stones are warm.”
“What?” Hiro burst out. “But the volcano has been contained by the Silver Crystal. Umino, you said so! What the fuck is going on here?”
Umino closed his eyes and spread his palm on the floors, pressing it down with all his weight. Sweat began to rise on his forehead, and he bit down on his lips.
“There’s…. they’ve--- they’ve begun their magical assault.”
Usagi reached for Mamoru’s hand. She looked outside, getting as close to the window as Mamoru would let her. “It’s raining,” she muttered. “It’s raining… glitter?”
Hiro moved next to her, getting paler by the second. This lifetime, he was a father, a husband, a handyman. The kind of man you asked to fix your creaky door, your dripping tap. Not the kind of man you’d ask to defend your palace. “They’re throwing bombs,” he said without inflection. “All over the city, look.” He pointed to the distance, where rays of fire shot up in the sky, glimmering like the stars at night. “They’re targeting the crystals all over the city. They must have hit the palace. That’s why it shook.”
Usagi swallowed and put her other hand in Hiro’s. “It’s a good thing then that Aiko and Yoshi and Makoto are in the countryside. Let’s count our blessings. Makoto and the children are safe, Hiro, and we will survive. We always do, don’t we?” She gave him a small smile, her blue eyes as hopeful as ever. “We’ll be fine.”
Across the room, Mamoru sought Umino’s eyes.
There were no words necessary.
Umino shook his head.
***
When the whole world explodes around you, there are only two things you can do. You can fight like hell, or you can give up.
Minako Aino was a fighter. Unfortunately, so was the man who had revealed himself to be Ace.
Sobbing, she threw the bloody kitchen knife as far away as possible and got up. It hit the walls with a dull noise and clattered to the floor. Her legs were shaky, and her clothes were where she’d left them last night, in a pile next to the couch. Stripped off in excitement, forgotten in a little heap. Exactly as they’d been a few hours ago. Except that now, they were sprayed with blood.
Looking everywhere but at the naked dead man sprawled out on the floor, lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, she stepped through the ever-expanding puddle of blood, pulled on her soiled dress and reached for her purse. She was pretty sure she had at least two broken ribs and a fractured wrist, but Ami would take care of that later.
Oh God, how could she explain this to Ami? How could she explain that the man she’d been oh so casually sleeping with was a minion of the Dark Kingdom? That her informant was actually one of their enemies? That she’d had to fight him naked, in his studio apartment, because he refused to let her out? Minako drew in a sharp breath. Oh God. Forget Ami. How could ever explain this to Takeshi? She’d failed, failed completely. Feeling the world swim around her, she reached out and steadied herself against the wall.
It was no use. She had to go on. She always had to. No matter what. She had to find a way.
She hadn’t been able to make it to the henshin pen in her purse when the fight broke out, but she had made it to the knife they’d cut yesterday’s pizza with.
Letting go of the wall, she began to dig in her purse for her henshin pen. Time to transform, time to go to the palace.
As the magic enveloped her, Minako looked straight ahead, her vision swimming with tears.
But even so, she could see it clearly enough.
The red handprint she’d left on the wall.
***
More…
Ando whipped around. He was in one of the little alleys closest to the palace. There were a few souvenir shops in here, a bakery, a deli. Other than that, it was only residential houses. Or rather, there had been.
He gulped.
He was sure he’d seen a torn up arm just a minute ago, lifelessly peaking out of the ruins. The bomb that had taken out the east wing had found it’s bloody path to this small, nothing out of the ordinary, completely non-magical street and made it look like a war zone.
The East Wing. The part of the palace in which Minako had her rooms. In which he had his rooms. The wing Rei occasionally snuck into in the early hours of the morning, when she wanted to doze with the sunlight on her face. It was an extravagance she’d never admit to Usagi or Minako, but which she’d told him about, once. She’d blushed so prettily that he had to kiss her. That had lead to the first time they’d---
Ando stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t do this. Deface his memories of Rei amidst this wreckage. He had to find Wiseman. Had to find him and take him out and then go looking for Rei and Minako and Mamoru and the rest.
Somewhere, this bastard was hiding, letting bombs rain down on the city. And he was doing something else, too, something magical. Ando could feel it, no, taste it in the air.
Edging closer to the palace, Ando closed his eyes. In the distance, sirens were wailing, and unless he was mistaken, someone was honking his car’s horn as if there was no tomorrow. Which might have been closer to the truth than anyone would guess. Trying to shut the sounds out, he cast his thoughts into the distance, trying to locate Wiseman. But there was silence. No more sinister thoughts, no voices. Nothing.
No way of finding him.
***
The floors were pulsing; large red spots spreading underneath the crystal.
“It’s getting warmer in here, isn’t it?” Usagi asked, unsure of whether or not to take off her big fluffy robe.
Mamoru nodded. “I think we should evacuate. I can take you all to Elysion. It’ll be safe there.”
Hiro nodded his assent. “And let’s get Mako and the kids there too. Just to be on the safe side. Who knows how long the palace can withhold the attack. If things go wrong, I don’t want anyone near the madman running the attack or the volcano erupting all over the city.”
“I can take care of this,” Rei said quietly. “I’ll go into the catacombs and whisper the volcano to sleep again. We just need to counter whatever Wiseman is doing. I can do it.”
“Rei,” Umino said quietly, “it’s too dangerous. I cannot guarantee that the wards will hold against an extended air assault, magical or not. We need to leave.” He turned to Hiro. “We need to get Ami, too. She’s at work.”
“I’ve left my home behind once,” Rei interrupted, her voice shaking. “I’m not doing it again.” Getting to her feet, she brushed a few specks of dust off. Her eyes flickered red, a sign of Mars pushing at the edges of Rei’s consciousness.
“Oh Rei,” Usagi whispered and went to reach out to her friend, but Rei stepped away from the Queen’s touch. “Just give me an hour. I command fire, I can control this.”
Mamoru ran a hand over his face. “I’m taking everyone else to Elysion in ten minutes, unless something happens. Then it’s sooner rather than later. I’ll come back for you and Umino.” Umino swallowed. Of course. For a second, he’d thought he’d leave to go Elysion with everyone else, but it was his powers keeping the palace’s wards running, so he couldn’t leave. If he stepped outside the palace (particularly into another dimension), he’d leave the palace wide open for attack. Finding the necessary resolve, he nodded and got up.
“Good. I’ll call Ami and let her know about the pick-up. Can you teleport into the hospital to fetch her?”
“What do you mean ‘good’?” Usagi asked, a note of panic creeping into her voice. “There’s nothing good about this! Rei, I absolutely refuse to leave you here all alone. Nu-uh. Not going to happen. I’ll go with you. And Umino, you can’t stay here on your own! And what about the people? What’ll happen to them while we run to Elysion?”
Everyone fell silent.
Everyone except for Hiro. He was looking at the sky, red with fire and light, helicopters circling. There were a few from news stations, but there were some that must belong to the attack.They were waiting for them.
“They die. Or they survive, because we’re no longer around. We’re their bait.”
***
Near the remains of the former southeast secret entrance, a swirl of golden glitter announced the arrival of Sailor Venus. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Minako detransformed.
“Oh my God,” Minako said under her breath, unable to take in the level of destruction around her. The east wing was gone. They was rubble everywhere. In the distance, explosions tore the city asunder. “Oh God.” Her bedroom, gone. Ando’s room, gone. She turned on the spot, trying to process the information.
East Wing, gone.
Secret passage, blocked.
Rest of palace, still standing.
What else, what else?
She squinted her eyes. The palace was shimmering…. red?
Flames near the South Wing.
Behind her, a car screeched to a halt.
“Minako!”
She blinked.
“MINAKO!”
Slowly turning around, she saw Takeshi running towards her. Around them, the world was falling apart, and yet here he was, dressed in a black suit and an impeccably ironed white shirt. His only concession to the current circumstances was his lack of a tie. A detached part of her managed to smile at how ridiculous it all was.
“GET AWAY!” he shouted. When he reached her, he pulled her away from the rubble and back towards the car. “Get in, Minako. Damn it, get in the car.” When he grabbed her wrist, she winced. Definitely fractured. But the pain served to focus her attention again, letting the shock fade away. Somewhere, something exploded.
“No, Takeshi, we need to go in. We need to see whether everyone is okay!”
Gearing the car to reverse, Takeshi hit the accelerator. “Are you hurt?”
Minako didn’t bother checking her appearance. She knew very well what she must look like. Bloodied dress, body covered in bruises. “Nothing too bad. Ami will fix me up. I’ll call her--- damn.”
Her phone was on mute. And on Ace’s bedside table. Fuck.
“Give me your phone.”
He pulled his phone from the inner pocket of his jacket and tossed it at her. She caught it with her left.
He noticed, of course. “What’s wrong with your hand?”
“I think it’s broken,” she replied while dialling Ami’s number. “Where are we going?”
He opened his mouth to answer and closed it again.
“Takeshi? Where are we going?”
“I don’t know. There are two tanks in front of the main entrance, a helicopter circling the West entrance, and masked armed guards in most streets leading to the palace. And news teams all over the place. I’d hoped we could get in via the secret passage, but not only do I think it’s blocked, it’s far too visible. We’d be guiding them right to them.” He paused for a moment as he shifted gears, and took them down the alley that would eventually lead them to Makoto’s café. “You were standing there with a big red x painted on your back, Minako.”
She brushed his comment away, not having the time to analyse whether it is a reproach or an expression of worry.
You have reached Ami Mizuno’s phone. Leave a message after the----
Minako hung up, and dialled Rei’s number instead.
The person you have called is temporarily unavail---
Makoto.
Hi, it’s Mako, we’re currently busy, please leave a message---
Usagi.
The person you have called is temporarily unavail---
“They’re not answering,” Minako said, her mind flipping through possible scenarios as if they were a stack of cards. It was Ando’s number she dialled next, heart beginning to hammer in her chest. Please pick up, please please please.
But there’s nothing, and the call doesn’t go through.
The person you have called is temporarily unavail---
Not bothering with the red light, he pushed his foot on the accelerator. They sped over the crossing, past the barrage of news vehicles and ambulances and police cars heading towards the palace.
“Takeshi. Where. Are. We. Going?”
He clenched his jaw.
“To safety.”
And then, suddenly, she knew.
***
It was hot underneath the palace. Hot, pulsing, dangerous.
It was where Sailor Mars belonged.
Rei took a deep breath. Mamoru would take them all away to Elysion now. Everyone but her and Umino. That was good. Umino was powerful, far more powerful than he’d ever let on, and as for herself… well, she was perfectly safe down here. Who to better deal with fire than the senshi who commanded it?
Reaching deep inside her soul, Rei Hino unlocked the secret door to her second self, and without the help of her henshin pen or Usagi, transformed. Her eyes as red as the lava in front of her, she stepped right into its fiery folds.
***
It had taken more power than he would have believed possible, and a significant portion of it had been drained away by his wife, who had resisted the teleportation to Elysion with every ounce of her body. But now at least Usagi and Hiro were safe. It was a beginning.
Staggering, Mamoru reached out, and his arm found Hiro, who steadied him. “You can’t go back yet,” Hiro murmured. “You need a minute.”
Mamoru looked up and his eyes met his wife’s. More than any other person he knew, Usagi looked like she belonged in this magical realm with its evergreen meadows, smiling flowers, and sweet air. But there were tears in her eyes; and she looked torn. Oh, he didn’t need to be a mindreader to know what she was thinking. She wanted him to be safe, but she also wished for Ami to be plucked from the hospital and deposited into safety. She worried over Minako, Takeshi, and Setsuna, over Ando and Umino and Rei, and over every single inhabitant of Tokyo. If Makoto and the kids weren’t in the countryside, she’d probably have clawed his eyes out rather than let him transport her here. Inwardly, Mamoru cursed, despairing over his own ineptitude and his wife’s generous heart. She wanted to fight, to make everything better, and instead, he’d made her leave everything and everyone behind. A tear trickled down her cheek, and unseen by any of them, the flowers near the little pond began to wilt.
“Ami first?” he asked, feeling like a monster, especially with Hiro standing next to him, father of two, friend of all. They were running out of time, and for the first time since donning the mask and the top hat with his wife by his side, Mamoru knew that they would not all reunite. This time, it was different.
In a moment of grace, it was his bear-like friend who answered, doling out absolution, making the decision. “Ami first.”
***
They were like magpies, these former colleagues of his. Amidst death and destruction, reporters ran, filming broken buildings and spilt blood, the wounded and the dead, and the attacks that kept on coming. They snuck behind tanks, bold as brass. He could feel their looks trailing him; he’d been recognized as someone in the Queen’s employ. More than once, people had called him. Tanaka, they called, Tanaka! Hoping to draw his attention, get a statement, preferably with tears running down his face. Of course, they didn’t know a thing more than his name and position, didn’t know that this attack was brought on by the shitennous’ reincarnation. Didn’t know he was every bit as magical as the crystals currently being blown to pieces all over the city. Fuck fuck fuck.
It was pandemonium, and somewhere in this mess, Usagi and Rei and Umino and Minako and Mamoru, of course, Mamoru, were hidden, and hopefully safer than those monsters in plain sight. A part of himself, detached and shocked at the same time, noted that on this list of people he worried over, his prince was a mere afterthought.
Yessss
There, that was it. Where, where, where?
Revenge. Power. Mine.
Closer.
Ando closed his eyes, blindly moving towards the thought. He stumbled over something, some rubble on the floor, but didn’t stop. God, he hoped it was rubble. Hoped it wasn’t a corpse. He had to go on, on and on until he----
Finally. Today, they die. They all die.
He opened his eyes. Behind the news van to his right. The thought had vibrated in his mind, that’s how strong it was. It had made his hands tingle. So much anger, so much hate. Ando exhaled. He could end this. He could end this right now. Stop the creature who stopped short of nothing. Wiseman was the head of this operation; with him gone, the attack would fall apart, and they could go back to being safe and dysfunctional and as happy as people with two lifetimes worth of bloody baggage could be.
And it was just like lighting a cigarette out of thin air, just like reading a stray thought. He could do this, had done this a thousand times. Jadeite, former master of the flames. Former master of magic.
Drawing on the power of the crystal, the palace, and the volcano underneath, he closed his eyes, called on the fire, and with all his might, hurled it in the direction of the van.
***
There was dust on every surface, and not a single soul inside. If she was surprised that he still carried the key in his pocket, after all this time, she didn’t show it. Even under these circumstances, the absence of Attila in these walls was like a blow to the chest. He hoped that at some point in the future, he would get to tell Mamoru about the moment the world was falling apart and Takeshi Nakamura had nothing better to do than mourn his dead dog. The story might be good enough to get his prince to smile. But as it was, there was precious little to smile about now, and perhaps never again.
Michiru and Haruka hadn’t answered their phones either. Minako had tried to contact Hotaru, too, but the call didn’t go through. It was the same with Hiro and Umino. This only left one of them and both of them were painfully aware of who this was. Even in the circumstance, dire as they were, things were achingly awkward. Leaning against the dusty kitchen counter, he watched as Minako closed her eyes.
“You need to call Setsuna. Tell her to come here.”
For a second, he wanted to protest. But this was the bed that he had made for himself, and now he had to lay in it. She held out his mobile, a fake olive branch to get them through this moment.
Of course, Setsuna answered her phone on the second ring.
“Yes?” Sometimes, he wondered whether there was a single question in the world his girlfriend did not know the answer to already. It was her omniscience he counted on now.
“Usagi and Mamoru?” he asked, trying to sound calm, but feeling anything but, especially with Minako opposite him, blood-stained, broken-boned, in what used to be their home. He had to take her into safety. Had he not met her there, in front of the palace, looking half dead, he’d have gone in, would have searched the premises. Had he paid for Minako’s safety with that of his prince?
He had had a plan. A plan that he abandoned for the woman he--- He stopped himself. This was neither the time nor the place. It was the house that made him sentimental, that made him lose sight of what was important. “Alive,” Setsuna whispered and Takeshi sagged against the counter.
“You need to come to my old house.” Resolve had returned to him. They needed to regroup. Get Setsuna here, get Ami and Makoto here, and then find a way to save everyone else from inside the palace.
There was a moment of silence.
“Setsuna?”
When she spoke again, Takeshi thought she sounded surprised. “I… I would have thought you’d be elsewhere now.”
Minako looked up, a spark returning to her eyes. He met her gaze unflinchingly.
And just like that, the future had changed once more.
*** End of Chapter 13 ***