Sailor Moon: Snippets - Twelve

(Sailor Moon timeline ??)

Rei, Makoto, and Ami walked back from the shopping district, carrying their bags and boxes. Rei could barely see over her pile. Ami could barely carry the heavy load of books. Makoto laughed at them and swung her single bag lightly.

"Hi girls."

Makoto and Ami looked up while Rei tried to peer around her boxes, "Mamoru-san!"

"Can I help you carry some of those?"

Ami and Rei were appropriately grateful. Mako laughed, and kept them from giving them all to him.

They were just entering the Fire Shrine, when Mamoru stopped dead and dropped all the packages he was carrying. Reaching out, a rose appeared in his hand.

"Mamoru!" Rei knelt to retrieve some of the boxes. Then she looked up as a shadow seemed to fold over Mamoru. When it had cleared, he was Tuxedo Mask. Then he disappeared.

Ami and Mako looked at each other and nodded, bringing out their power sticks. "Mercury Power." "Jupiter Power."

"Hey, don't leave me out!" Rei stood up and also took out her stick. She muttered under her breath, "Not that I know what's happening..." "Mars Power!"

"We don't know either, Rei."

"But something's up, for Tuxedo Mask to appear."

"And something serious, for him to disappear." Sailor Mercury activated her computer. The others waited for her.

Sailor Mars turned to look south, "I feel... We need to go that way."

The VR goggles folded away, and Sailor Mercury looked up, "I can't get a single reading. We need to put a tracking device on Usagi. If you feel we should go that way, we'll follow you, Mars."

They started running.

Sailor Jupiter stopped. The others nearly ran into her. "What?"

She pointed up, "Smoke."

Sailor Mars looked at it. "That's it." She felt the need associated with it and knew that that was where the trouble was.

The three Senshi ran faster now, with a specific site to get to.

They stopped in front of a three-story building engulfed in flames. There were firemen out all around the building, training their firehoses on it. The heat was intense.

Sailor Jupiter stared at it, "Sailor Moon is inside there."

The others looked at her, then at the burning building. They could feel she was right.

"Sailor Senshi!" A fireman came up to them. "I'm so glad you're here! We can't get inside the building, and there are still four children in there. Your friend Sailor Moon got most of them out, but we haven't seen her for awhile now."

The Senshi looked at each other. "Right."

Mars looked to the building. "Fire cannot harm me."

"But it can the children." Sailor Mercury closed her eyes and reached within herself for all the power her sponsor planet could give her, "Bubble Spray." The house was covered in a mist that sank down, carrying the flames with it. The flames flickered, not extinguished, but contained.

"Go, quickly." Sailor Mercury stood there, sweat appearing on her forehead.

Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter ran inside. "Which way?"

"Sailor Moon is that way!" Sailor Jupiter pointed up and to the left. They ran, but the nearest stairwell was completely burned out. They looked at each other and headed for the back of the building, where things were more intact.

"Aaaa!" Sailor Mars fell through a burned section of the floor, but Sailor Jupiter caught her and pulled her up.

"Thank you!"

Sailor Jupiter looked around, concerned, "The place is falling apart."

"Can there be anybody left alive?"

"Sailor Moon is."

They glanced at each other and kept running. But suddenly the flames around them sprang up hot and furious.

"Aaaa!" Sailor Jupiter flinched and tried to find a non-flaming spot. Sailor Mars grabbed her and held her close. "Sailor Mercury!"

Just as suddenly as they'd sprung up, the flames died back down again, becoming glittering embers on the floor and walls.

The two Senshi didn't even look at each other, they just ran.

They went through the next burned-out door and stopped dead in their tracks. Sailor Moon looked up at them, "Oh, good. You're here."

"Sailor Moon!" Jupiter dropped to her knees before her and hefted tentatively at the wooden beam pinning her to the floor.

"No time for that."

Jupiter's mouth fell open. Mars looked at her in disbelief.

"The children are trapped over in that corner. You will have to grab them and get out of here as quickly as you can."

Jupiter and Mars looked in the direction she indicated, then back at her. There was nothing in that corner of the room. Nothing at all. "Sailor Moon..."

Sailor Moon shook her head. "They're displaced. It was the only way to save them. But Tuxedo Mask can't hold it back much longer. The ceiling is falling in."

For the first time, Jupiter and Mars saw Tuxedo Mask standing next to Sailor Moon. He was unnaturally still, and they could flickers of light through his body. The only thing that appeared solid and real about him was the sweat drops on his head.

Mars looked to the corner of the room again and saw the ceiling flickering with an incandescent light that was different than the flames around them. "Oh... Spirits..." She looked at Jupiter, who nodded. She braced herself to run, "We're ready."

Sailor Moon placed a hand on Tuxedo Mask's leg and a shudder swept through his body. Images of children flickered into view and then solidified. The ceiling started to fall. Mars and Jupiter ran as fast as they could and swept up the children in their arms. They ran beyond and out the door and down the stairs. Behind them, they heard the crash as the room they'd been in collapsed.

"Usagi-chan..." Jupiter sobbed as she ran.

"She's not there anymore." Mars didn't look back, but her face was grim, "I can't feel her."

They got outside with the children and firefighters came to take them. The paramedics gathered around, and Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter walked slowly to where they'd left Mercury.

Sailor Mercury was in the same spot, and Sailor Venus was standing behind her, hands on her shoulders.

"Mercury." "Venus."

The two Senshi's eyes opened and they looked upon their friends. With a sigh of exhaustion and relief, Venus' hands fell off Mercury's shoulders and Mercury lowered her arms. Instantly, the building went up in a whoosh of fire. They could feel the heat, and Jupiter and Mars turned back to gaze at the inferno.

The firefighters and other people were starting to notice them.

"Time to go." The Senshi faded into the background as well as they could and made their way back to the Shrine.

"Oh." Rei knelt and gathered up the boxes that had fallen earlier. The morning they'd spent together seemed so unreal now. Minako and Makoto also gathered the packages. Ami stood there, too tired to help.

Rei paused as she was putting on box on top of another and turned her head. Her two crows were sitting on the ground watching her. As soon as Rei noticed them, they took off, flying into the trees. Rei followed them, leaving the boxes. The others followed her.

The crows stopped next to one of the small ponds. Rei stood in shock for a moment, then ran forward, "Usagi-chan!" She knelt down to hug her friend.

"Ow!" Usagi tried to return the embrace, but shrank back.

"Oh, Usagi..." Mako paused before repeating Rei's gesture. Minako walked to the pond and dipped her scarf in the water and brought it back. She laid it over Usagi's arm and Usagi gave a sigh of relief.

"Usagi, where's Mamoru?"

Usagi blinked, then looked around. "He was here a moment ago -- Tuxedo Mask brought me out of the building."

The others looked at her, at the empty woods, at each other, then shrugged and helped Usagi to her feet. They all went back to the Shrine, together.