Up In Flames by ViperInferno

Part III

Up In Flames
By Viper Inferno
Part III

Hikawa Jinja...
 
Rei had walked back home after her encounter with Usagi and Makoto. And since then, the same feelings of hate and anguish have been dominating her mind once again. Despite her peace from being outside, these feelings of hate had become more and more familiar to her, and comforting at the same time. However, they also troubled her as something else from her previous encounter stuck in her mind.
 
‘I could care less what happens to Usagi, but she’s gone and dragged Mako-chan into our affair as well,’ Rei pondered, ‘I’d hate to end up fighting Mako-chan as well. It’s supposed to be between me and that idiot Usagi. God, if I lose the others because of that useless bitch...’
 
Suddenly, Rei’s communicator sounded, interrupting her thoughts. “Damn,” she swore to herself as she reached into her pocket and extracted her communicator. “I hope it’s not Mako-chan wanting to have a few more words with me over that worthless excuse for a Sailor Senshi,” she muttered under her breath as she pressed the button. However, it wasn’t Makoto’s face that showed itself on the screen, but rather Luna’s.
 
“Everyone, there’s trouble in Roppongi. A powerful youma is attacking the people there. Please help them,” Luna said over Rei’s communicator. After hearing of the danger in the Roppongi District, Rei shut off her communicator without so much as a reply. ‘A battle, huh?’ Rei thought to herself as she slipped her communicator back into her pocket, ‘That means I have to fight alongside that little crybaby.’
 
“Yes, now is your chance to prove yourself to be better than her,” the cloaked man’s voice said in her mind, “It’s your chance to prove your superiority once and for all.”
 
As great as it sounded to Rei, she only frowned at the cloaked man’s words as her recent encounter lingered in her mind. ‘Yeah, but what if I alienate the others in the process? I’ve already got Mako-chan wanting to fight me,’ she thought to herself.
 
“Don’t worry about them,” the cloaked man’s voice replied, “Once you prove yourself as superior and the more suitable leader, they’ll follow you rather than her.”
 
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Rei replied in thought. Just as she replied, an aura of hatred overtook her. She felt the heat from it flowing in her veins, fueling her hatred toward Usagi. She smiled at the rather relieving feeling as it erased all doubt from her mind. “Humph, so I have to fight with her. Big deal. I hope that crybaby little bitch gets killed,” Rei muttered under her breath.
 
“Go out there and fight,” the cloaked man’s words echoed in her mind.
 
Rei smiled at both her and the cloaked man’s words as she grabbed her henshin pen and ran out her front door.
 
 
Roppongi District, 20 minutes later...
 
Having already transformed, Sailor Mars arrived in the Roppongi District in one of the bustling restaurant areas. There, she witnessed the other senshi locked in battle against an ugly demi-human youma. Many vines and spokes covered its body, both of which it used quite liberally in its battle with the Sailor Senshi.
 
In an instant, the youma extended its vines and batted Sailor Venus aside. It then grabbed a hold of Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter and began to squeeze them. It then extended another vine and started swinging it at Sailor Moon. She squeaked, yelped, and whined as she narrowly dodged every attack.
 
Seeing her friends in trouble, Sailor Mars clasped her hands together. ‘I may not give a shit about Usagi anymore, but if I’m to become the rightful leader, then I need to act like one and save the others,’ she thought to herself as she charged her attack. “Fire Soul!”
 
Sailor Mars fired a large ball of fire at the youma, striking it dead in its vine and spike-covered chest. It yelled in pain and staggered backward, releasing Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter and stopping its assault on Sailor Moon.
 
Saved, the 4 senshi turned to find their fiery companion staring the youma down. While Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus felt grateful for her help, Sailor Moon only sneered. “It’s nice of you to finally show up, Sailor Mars,” Sailor Moon said sarcastically, “And you’re always nagging me for always being late.”
 
“Oh shut up, you swine. I wasn’t doing it for your sake,” Sailor Mars shot back, “Maybe next time I’ll let it grab you and squeeze the living shit out of you, you ungrateful bitch.”
 
“Fine, I don’t need your help anyway, you selfish...” Sailor Moon yelled.
 
“Sailor Moon, enough!” Sailor Jupiter yelled, cutting her off, “Forget about her and focus on the youma.”
 
“Thank you, Sailor Jupiter,” said Sailor Mars in response to her friend’s interference.
 
Sailor Jupiter, however, only shot her a quick glare, “Don’t thank me. Just help us fight this thing.”
 
“The youma is quite powerful,” said Sailor Mercury, having already donned her goggles, “It’ll take all of us to defeat it.”
 
“I understand,” Sailor Mars replied, “Let’s split up and try a coordinated attack. That should make it harder for the youma to take all of us out.”
 
“That sounds like a plan,” said Sailor Mercury as she split away from the rest of the group.
 
‘Yeah, I just hope Usagi doesn’t screw it up like she usually does,’ Sailor Mars thought to herself as she too split away from the group.
 
“You’re already proving to be a great leader,” the cloaked man’s voice said to her, “Let that desire and your natural ability drive you in this battle, and they’ll be certain to follow you and not her.”
 
“Right,” Sailor Mars said to no one in particular as she took her battle stance.
 
The youma recovered from Sailor Mars’ vicious fire attack, only to receive a wicked jolt from Sailor Jupiter. The youma ended up seeing stars from Sailor Jupiter’s rather powerful attack. However, despite being a little dazed, the youma still stood on its feet. Sailor Mars saw this opportunity and seized it. “Everyone, coordinated attack, now!” she ordered.
 
“Right,” the other senshi replied, nodding to Sailor Mars.
 
“Humph,” Sailor Moon scoffed. ‘Who the hell does she think she is, ordering us around like that? Possessed or not, it still pisses me off every time she bosses us around,’ she thought to herself as she removed her tiara and charged her attack, ‘We’ll help her later. For now, we have to fight.’
 
“Shabon Spray!”
“Supreme Thunder!”
 
Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter joined their attacks first. They fired an electrically-charged volley of bubbled and mist, striking the youma in the chest. The force of the attack caused it to stumble backward and yelp in pain. But yet, it still stood on its feet.
 
“Fire Soul!”
“Crescent Beam!”
 
Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus launched their simultaneous attacks from different angles, yet struck the youma in the same spot on its back. That attack send the youma staggering forward, yet failed to knock it down.
 
‘This youma’s tough,” Sailor Moon thought to herself. “Moon Tiara Action!” she yelled as she hurled her tiara at the staggering youma.
 
But as the tiara flew near the youma’s face, it quickly recovered from its daze and quickly batted the tiara away. All 5 senshi’s eyes popped wide open in awe as the youma easily withstood their coordinated attack and deflected Sailor Moon’s tiara. And before they could react, the youma quickly extended a large number of vines from its body and toward the awestruck senshi.
 
In one swift blow, its massive vines knocked Sailor Venus to the ground rather hard. It struck Sailor Mercury in the chest and sent her flying into the side of a building. Sailor Jupiter tried to jump out of the way, only to trip over one of the youma’s vines. It quickly grabbed a hold of her and bound her in its vines before she could even hit the ground. Sailor Mars, however, fared better than her friends as the vines merely grazed her, causing her to stumble to the ground.
 
With the other 4 senshi down, the youma turned its attention to Sailor Moon. It launched another volley of vines at her. Sailor Moon screamed as she jumped out of the way, narrowly escaping the onslaught. She then turned and ran from the youma, jumping away from and dodging every attack thrown at her.
 
Meanwhile, Sailor Mars stood back up from her near miss and witnessed Sailor Moon yelping and whining like a scared puppy as she ran from the youma’s attacks.
 
“Humph! That idiot Usagi,” Sailor Mars muttered under her breath as she crossed her arms and shook her head in disappointment.
 
“You see? She is nothing but a bumbling crybaby who can’t fight on her own, as you so pointed out to her,” the cloaked man’s voice said in her mind, “How can someone like her be worthy of the title as Princess and the leader of the Sailor Team?”
 
“Yeah, I know,” Sailor Mars said to herself.
 
Suddenly, as Sailor Moon dodged another attack, she tripped over a piece of debris in the road. And as she went airborne, the youma caught her in its vines and entangled her. “I have you now, Princess,” the youma taunted in a monster-like voice as it squeezed her like a vice.
 
“Sailor... Moon...,” Sailor Mercury grunted as she struggled to push herself to her feet.
 
“Sailor Mars... help her...,” Sailor Venus barely muttered above a whisper, knowing her weak pleas wouldn’t reach her.
 
Sailor Mars, however, just watched on as the youma continued to squeeze her. She was not only awestruck at the speed of the youma’s attack, but also uncertain about what to do. But suddenly, a group of vines behind the youma gathered to form a long and extremely sharp spike.
 
“This is it,” the cloaked man said to Sailor Mars, “Her carelessness has once again brought you and your team down, and now she’s about to pay the ultimate price for it. This is what you desire. This is what you’ve been held back from. Let that bumbling bitch die and take your rightful place as their leader.”
 
As those words resonated in her mind, another wave of hate and fury rushed through her body, bringing with it another sense of comfort.
 
But suddenly, as the youma lifted its huge spike, a completely different feeling of anxiety struck her like a bolt of lightning, sending quite a disturbing burning sensation surging from her chest and throughout her body. Then, images of her dream from last night began to flash in her mind: images of their battle with a powerful youma and Sailor Moon’s foolish actions. But what really beckoned her was the horrifying image of Sailor Moon being impaled from behind by the scorpion’s spiky tail.
 
And without second thought, Sailor Mars engulfed her hands in flames and charged at the youma. She then hurled powerful balls of fire at it, striking both the huge spike and the vines bound Sailor Moon, thus severing them both. She then gracefully waved her arms like a beautiful dancer, forming a massive ball of fire in front of her.
 
“Fire... Soul!”
 
And with all her strength, she launched that ball of fire at the awestruck and pain-stricken youma. It struck with such force, that it not only put the youma in a daze, but also knocked it to the ground with earth-shattering force.
 
“What the hell are you doing?!” the cloaked man’s voice scolded, “You were supposed to let her die.”
 
Sailor Moon, freed from the clutches of the youma, only stomped over to Sailor Mars with fury burning in her eyes. “What the hell are you doing?” she scorned, “I was just about to make my move. Are you trying to get all the glory by bossing me around and interfering? Why don’t you just back off...”
 
“Enough!” Sailor Mars snapped. But then, she stopped herself and gave in to reason. “Just shut up and kill the damned thing,” she more calmly ordered.
 
“Huh?” Sailor Moon replied, perplexed at Sailor Mars’ unexpected response, “Umm... okay.” So she turned back to the youma, who was barely struggling to get to its feet, and drew her Moon Stick.
 
“Moon Healing Escalation!” She showered the struggling youma in the power of the Silver Crystal. In moments, the youma screamed “Refresh” before disintegrating into dust.
 
And then, all of a sudden, a powerful wave of fear, jealousy, and hate hit Sailor Mars all at once. They hit her so hard that they brought her to her knees and inflicted her with an overwhelming migraine.
 
“What the hell were you thinking?” the cloaked man’s voice scolded again, “It was all yours for the taking. It was what you desired.”
 
‘No,’ Sailor Mars thought to herself, ‘That dream... it was a premonition. It had nothing to do with any desire to take her place... because I screamed and cried when she died in my dream.’
 
“But it was your destiny, yet you threw it away and once again surrendered your superiority to her. You’re not going to get this chance again,” the cloaked man continued. And as he said those words, Sailor Mars’ headache grew more powerful, drawing a few groans from her.
 
Sailor Moon noticed Sailor Mars’ distress and an up to her. Despite all their earlier arguments, even to the point where there friendship was seemingly over, Sailor Moon still showed a lot of concern for her friend. “Sailor Mars, are you alright? What’s happening to...” she said, before Sailor Mars held her open palm out, stopping her dead in her tracks.
 
“Please... Sailor Moon...,” Sailor Mars grunted, “Just... back off...”
 
Sailor Moon reluctantly obeyed, worried about her friend and wondering what was happening to her. “Rei-chan,” she gasped under her breath.
 
“You can’t be surrendering to her,” the cloaked man continued, “It’s holding you back from what you desire, holding you back from your destiny.”
 
‘Destiny? Don’t make me laugh,’ Sailor Mars thought to herself, ‘If this destiny involves seeing Usagi dead, then I want no part of it.’
 
And just as she argued back, another wave of wrath struck her, bringing her to her hands and knees as her entire body burned with hate. ‘Damn you. These aren’t my feelings,’ Sailor Mars thought, ‘These feelings of hate were yours all along.’
 
The other 3 senshi, having recovered from their beatings, saw Sailor Mars dropping to her hands and knees in pain. “Oh my God, Sailor Mars,” Sailor Mercury exclaimed as she and Sailor Venus ran toward their friend in distress.
 
“Stop!” Sailor Jupiter barked as she threw her arm in from of them to stop them.
 
“What are you doing? Let us through,” Sailor Venus protested as she pushed and struggled against her friend’s outstretched arm, “Can’t you see she’s in pain?”
 
“Yes, I know,” Sailor Jupiter replied, “But this is a battle we can’t fight. She has to fight this one alone.”
 
“What do you mean?” Sailor Venus snapped.
 
‘That’s right, I remember now,” Sailor Mercury thought to herself, “She really is possessed. She’s fighting something in her mind. That explains everything,” she explained.
 
“We have to help her,” Sailor Venus proclaimed.
 
“What are we going to do, blast her?” said Sailor Jupiter, “Face it, there’s nothing we can do except pray that she overcomes this evil.”
 
Meanwhile, Sailor Mars continued to struggle with the cloaked man and the overwhelming headache and negative emotions within her.
 
“Why? Why do you continue to serve a weak and clumsy little crybaby like her? You’re better than her in every way. You feel that you’re the more suitable leader. So why did you throw away your one chance to take what is rightfully yours?” said the cloaked man.
 
‘I know she’s a klutz,’ Sailor Mars thought to herself, ‘I know she’s a crybaby. I know she’s dense as a mule sometimes. That’s why I have to be strong. I not only protect her from evil like that youma, but I also protect her from her own carelessness.’
 
“But why do you use your powers to protect such a pathetic excuse for a princess?” the cloaked man demanded.
 
‘She may be a crybaby and a bit of a klutz, but she’s a girl who’s filled with love and joy,’ she thought in response, ‘She has a heart as pure as snow, one that’s worth protecting.’
 
“But you two hate each other,” the cloaked man argued, “You’re always poking fun at her. You’re always bickering, at times harshly, over everything. You’re the one who’s always pointing out her flaws. It’s you who thinks she’s inferior.”
 
‘I only want what’s best for her, and you know it,’ Sailor Mars responded with her thoughts, ‘I want her to be strong. I want her to be the best. She may annoy the hell out of me sometimes, but I enjoy her company. Usagi was the first real friend I had since Mother died and Father left me at the temple. We may not have gotten along at first, but her love and joy made me warm up to her. It’s her spirit that keeps me going and keeps me happy. The truth is... I couldn’t live life very well without Usagi.’
 
“Then you’re weak,” the cloaked man’s voice scolded, “You’re spending your potential and your life submitting to someone who’s only going to continue holding you back.”
 
‘I’m not weak,’ she thought to herself, ‘She doesn’t hold me back. In fact, she only makes me work harder and become stronger. She shares with me her love and joy, and I share my spirit, my desires, and my friendship. It’s something that evil spirits like you will never understand. I’m care a lot about Usagi. I’m there for her when she needs a friend. If something were to happen to her, like in my dream last night, I just wouldn’t know what to do. Usagi’s my friend, I love her, and she means a lot to me. And I won’t let evil nightmares like you turn me against her and hurt her.”
 
And then, despite her body burning inside and splitting headache pounding away, Sailor Mars slowly and painfully pushed herself back to her feet. She other Senshi could only watch as she pulled out one of her ofuda. ‘In the name of Mars, and for my friend, Usagi, I’ll punish you,” she thought to herself as she held her ofuda in front of her and closed her eyes.
 
“Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen,” she chanted, empowering her ofuda, “Akuryou Taisan!”
 
To everyone’s surprise, Sailor Mars slammed the ofuda against her own face. And as she did, the cloaked man let out a deep, resonant, horrifying scream to where even the other senshi heard. As he screamed, a dark purple mist began to escape from Sailor Mars’ body and mind.
 
“So that’s what made Rei-chan so strong that she could so effortlessly hurl a heavy table,” said Sailor Venus.
 
Sailor Moon, however, only fell to her knees. “So that’s what’s gotten into Rei-chan and made her so hateful,” she gasped, remembering her meeting at Makoto’s.
 
Once the dark mist left Sailor Mars, it faded away into nothingness. Hino Rei had won the battle and overcome the evil nightmare. The splitting migraine and burning sensation were both gone, but the battle had left her exhausted as she fell to her knees.
 
“Sailor Mars!” Sailor Moon exclaimed as jumped up and ran over to her, “Sailor Mars... Rei-chan, are you alright?”
 
Sailor Mars sat there, not even turning to her meet her friend’s eyes as she replied, “Yes Usagi. I am now.” After that, there was nothing but silence between them as the other senshi watched on anxiously; wondering what was going to happen next.
 
Finally, Sailor Mars spoke up first, “Usagi... I’m so sorry.” A single tear rolled down her cheek, although Sailor Moon was oblivious to it as Sailor Mars didn’t even bear to look at her.
 
“Rei-chan,” Sailor Moon gasped, not knowing what to say.
 
“I know everything I said to you,” Sailor Mars explained, with her voice cracking a bit, “I remember every bit of it as clear as day. I said some very mean and hateful things to you, things I would never have thought about you, let alone said.”
 
“It wasn’t your fault, Rei-chan,” Sailor Moon replied, “You were possessed. That evil spirit was making you say those things.”
 
“Sailor Mars shook her head in response, “That doesn’t excuse it. I acted on those feelings of hate and said those things for the sole purpose of hurting you. I’ve caused you so much emotional pain and suffering and even dragged everyone else into it.” Sailor Mars then turned to her friend to show her the tears that were cascading down both cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Usagi,” she weakly gasped, “If you can’t forgive me and even hate me for it, I understand.”
 
“Rei-chan!” Sailor Moon snapped as she leaped over to Sailor Mars and threw her arms around her in a tight embrace. “I could never hold a grudge against you, especially when it wasn’t your fault,” said Sailor Moon, “We’re friends, and friends forgive each other when they do wrong. Besides, it’s part of the love and justice that we fight for. Of course I forgive you, Rei-chan. Don’t ever think such silly things, okay?”
 
“Oh Usagi,” Sailor Mars gasped, tightening their embrace as she silently shed her tears into her friend’s shoulder. ‘That’s another thing I love about Usagi,’ Sailor Mars thought to herself, ‘She cares greatly for her friends and will always love them and be for them, no matter what their short-comings. As a Sailor Senshi, no... as her friend, I would gladly lay my life down to protect her and everything about her.’
 
As they embraced, the other 3 senshi ran up to them and joined in their joyous reunion.
 
“I’m glad it’s all over now,” said Sailor Venus.
 
“Me too,” Sailor Jupiter added, “I’m glad that Rei-chan’s back to her old self again.”
 
“And I’m glad you two made up,” said Sailor Mercury, “I really thought your friendship was over for sure.”
 
Sailor Moon, with Sailor Mars still in her arms, turned to her friends with a tear rolling down her cheeks. “Thank you, everyone,” she gasped, “Thank you for helping us.”
 
“You’re welcome, Usagi-chan,” Sailor Mercury replied.
 
“Hey, that’s what we’re here for, right?” Sailor Venus added.
 
After their joyous reunion, Sailor Venus backed away from the rest of the group. “Hey everyone, I really need to start getting home,” she said, “Mother’s going to kill me if I’m out too long.”
 
“I need to be going too,” said Sailor Mercury, “I have to finish studying from where we left off this morning. Do you want to come over, Mako-chan?”
 
That sudden question surprised Sailor Jupiter, with her eyes doubling in size, “Umm... Ami-chan, all you ever do is study.”
 
“That’s not true,” said Sailor Moon, “She’s actually great company when she’s not in her books.”
 
“Well, we can study a little bit, and then you can make one of your fine dinners afterward,” suggested Sailor Mercury before she looked at the ground and drew circles with the toe of her boot, “I could use some company since Mother’s on call at the hospital.”
 
“Okay, I’ll join you,” said Sailor Jupiter, “But what about Usagi-chan and Rei-chan?”
 
Before Sailor Mercury could answer, Sailor Mars spoke up, “I think it’s just going to be me and Usagi tonight.” She then turned to Sailor Moon, “Is that okay with you?”
 
“Mmhmm,” Sailor Moon nodded.
 
“If you want, you can stay the night,” Sailor Mars offered.
 
“Really?!” Sailor Moon squealed, her face perking up at that offer.
 
“Sure. I’d love to have you over,” Sailor Mars replied, “We’re friends, right?”
 
“Yes,” Sailor Moon replied before tightening her embrace around Sailor Mars.
 
“We can even read some of my manga too,” said Sailor Mars.
 
“All right, Rei-chan’s manga,” Sailor Moon said gleefully, tightening her embrace again.
 
After that, they all left Roppongi and made their separate ways home. Ami and Makoto got together and enjoyed some of Makoto’s fine cooking. And Usagi and Rei enjoyed each other’s company throughout their sleepover at the Hikawa Jinja.
 
Rei’s nightmare had failed to destroy her friendship with Usagi. In the end, it only made their bond stronger.
 

The End
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Russell Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anythang but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,
Viper Inferno (Y2V)
 
 
 

Back to Summary Page