"RARRRRRNOOOOOOO!!" screamed the youma in a bestial howl of mixed disbelief and rage while it collapsed heavily to its knees. "I cannot be defeated yet! Not by the likes of *you*!!" Sailor Mars dropped her outstretched hands to her sides as lingering wisps of smoke wafted off of the tips of her two index fingers. The Fire Senshi, protectively positioned behind a toppled shelf, had just launched a fireball at the bellowing creature from where she crouched a short distance away from it. It was about time the youma fell in the miko's opinion; it had seemed like it would never go down despite the barrage of attacks she and her fellow Sailor Senshi had pummelled its body with. The evil creature had been spotted, of all places, breaking into a fashionable clothing store that had closed for the night... for exactly what reason; Mars had no idea. It had been sheer luck that the five Inner Sailor Senshi had been nearby. Minako had insisted on dragging the group to see a late night screening of the latest Sailor V movie and they were en route to their homes when the incident occurred. Naturally, the Sailor Senshi had immediately sprung into action, the girls all pulling their Henshin pens out and transforming into their well-known alter egos in a fraction of a second before chasing after the sighted monster. The youma was large and humanoid... at least twice Sailor Mars' height... and with the bulging, thick corded muscles to match. Its hairless skin was a putrid blue and had a wolf-like head sitting atop its broad shoulders, its jowls with rows of rather nasty looking teeth; but that was not where the creature's primary weapon lay. It possessed a strange biomechanical weapon grafted onto each of its forearms that was capable of firing off some sort of violet energy beam. The beams were particularly dangerous, as the Sailors had unfortunately learned first-hand. While they caused a tolerable burning sensation wherever they hit, it was the subsequent effect of paralysis that posed the real threat. Currently, Sailor Venus was crouched behind some low standing shelves, holding a hand to her right shoulder while the arm dangled limply by her side. Sailor Mercury was leaning heavily against a clothes rack with a shot to her left hip making her effectively immobile from the waist down on that side. Sailor Mars had not escaped from being struck by one of the many purple rays fired by the youma either; the muscles in her calf still occasionally twinged where one had winged her. Sailor Moon snatched her tiara out of the air as the weapon returned to her from where she stood a couple of feet in front of Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter, having dealt the mortal blow to the blue creature. The glowing disc had ripped a deep gouge in the flesh on its side, exposing its rib bones and innards obscenely for all to see. "That's what... all you... things think!" panted Sailor Moon out of breath from her exertions in the fierce battle. "When will... you learn that... the champions of justice will always win!" She then stood in what she must have thought was a heroic victory stance with one hand on her hip while the other slotted her tiara back into place on her forehead with slow deliberate precision. Mars frowned irritably at the sight as the image shared many similarities with the store's mannequins. However, as she continued to look at the blonde odango atama, her frown faded. It was getting harder and harder for her to keep how she felt about Sailor Moon in check when she was around her. But that wasn't the worst part of it; it was seeing her princess with... *him*. Sailor Mars knew she should be content that the girl was happy with Mamoru, but seeing them together always cut her up inside; the pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced. The fire senshi was jealous of the prince to the point where she had come to simply despise him on sight. She knew that she was being unreasonable, and the jealousy that motivated her hatred towards Sailor Moon's boyfriend was unwarranted, but she just couldn't help it. Mars' greatest fear was that she would one day come to even resent Sailor Moon, too... or worse; she would come to hate the blonde outright because of her apparent total disregard for how her bodyguard felt about her. It seemed impossible that there could even be the remotest chance of it ever coming to that... since the love Mars had for her princess filled her to the point of bursting... but then, she had never thought that she would ever look upon Mamoru with a cold hate-filled scowl, either. Something had to give, and soon. She couldn't take even being in the same room with Sailor Moon and the prince anymore. Seeing them together was a constant reminder of the hopeless love she had for her princess... a love that was certain to be forever unrequited.... "...You have only delayed the inevitable," the youma was choking out in response to Sailor Moon's speech. A gout of green blood accompanied its words, spouting out of its mouth each time it opened and splattering down its chest onto the floor. "There will be other times, other gates. You cannot be everywhere at once!" The creature then laughed in a grotesque, hoarse timbre, its voice having been ruined earlier by a well-placed crescent beam courtesy of Sailor Venus. "Ehh... wha...?" Sailor Moon replied in obvious confusion, blinking at the critically injured monster blankly. "Besides..." continued the doomed youma, ignoring Sailor Moon's less than intelligent response, "none of you will leave this place alive!!" The badly scorched and bleeding creature rose up to its full height, and then roared out a sound as only the dying could. The racket rattled the remaining unbroken windows of the clothing store and dislodged dust motes from the ceiling that cascaded languidly down upon the Sailor Senshi. The blue youma then raised its weapons and caused Sailor Mars' muscles to tense as the girl watched the monster warily. She was ready to move and defend her princess at a moment's notice. The youma then turned sharply to its right and fired dual energy beams towards a pale, peach painted, pillar that supported the second floor of the building. The pillar was hit solidly in its middle section that crumbled to the floor in a pile of rubble around its base. Mars and the rest of the Sailor Senshi were surprised. All of them had been expecting a direct attack against them. "He's trying to bring the whole building down on us!" Sailor Jupiter cried out in horror from her defensive position behind a checkout counter to the right of the miko. She looked up with alarm as the ceiling creaked disturbingly. Then furniture and other heavy objects from the second floor began to fall from widening cracks above the senshi as the youma blasted wildly at other supports. The riotous monster cackled madly, its foul, distorted voice booming all the while he shot the beams... which frequently missed the supports and punched numerous holes into the walls and ceiling instead. Sailor Mars nimbly dodged out of the way of a falling crate as it crashed onto the floor beside her, spilling out a multitude of assorted socks. She swore under her breath as more and more objects rained down and smashed apart on the floor, obscuring the creature responsible for the devastation from her view, which in turn, denied a clear shot from her fire-based attacks. "The building won't last long without those supports!" Sailor Mercury warned in a yell rising above the clamour of showering debris from where she still rested against the clothes rack. "We have to get out of here *now*!!" "Right! Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars; quick let's go!" Venus called out to the two other senshi a short distance in front of her. The pair were located the closest to the youma, and hence, were in the most immediate danger. Sailor Venus then proceeded to climb to her feet and run as fast as she could towards the double door entrance/exit, a hand firmly clasped over the wound that had paralysed her right arm. Sailor Mercury tried to flee also, but started to panic when she realised that her legs weren't reacting to her brain's fervent wishes. "Ah..." the blue-haired girl squeaked out, rapidly becoming flustered as she looked around frantically for some assistance. "Need a lift?" said Jupiter with a smirk, scooping the surprised Mercury up into her strong arms as she ran by the shorter girl. Sailor Mercury breathed a sigh of relief and leaned close to Sailor Jupiter as she was carried in the tall girl's arms. More masonry and furniture from the second floor fell about them and forced the brunette to weave a staggered path to avoid being clobbered. Meanwhile, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars had already started to beat a hasty retreat towards the front exit, but were still a good deal behind their friends. The other girls could hardly be made out now through the hail of raining debris. "Move it, odango atama!" ordered Mars, trying to urge her princess into a faster pace as she turned to look at the blonde lagging slightly behind her. "This is what happens when you pig out all of the time!" Sailor Moon opened her mouth to retaliate, her expression an odd combination of indignation at her best friend's insult, and fear at what was occurring around her. Suddenly, she cried out and fell flat on her face, landing on top of broken bits of wood and strewn articles of clothing. Just the absolute perfect time to klutz out in Mars' opinion. The Fire Senshi changed the direction of her sprint without hesitation and went back to where Sailor Moon had fallen, her mental sarcastic remarks quickly forgotten. Her mind was now fully focused on getting to, and protecting, her blonde love. "On your feet, we don't have time for this!" commanded Sailor Mars once again as she reached down for Sailor Moon's arm, about to drag her princess upright. "I can't..." whimpered the blonde, tears starting to build up in her blue eyes as she gazed fretfully up at the Senshi of Fire. "I-I can't feel my leg... I think it was h-hit by one of those things...." "Damn it," Mars cursed through clenched teeth, sparing a fleeting look over to the raging youma as it continued going about demolishing the store with its energy weapons. "Rahahahahaaa!!" the blue skinned creature laughed uproariously, "You fools are finished! Never have I lost a battle! Never! I'm taking you to-- GARK!!" The youma's tirade was cut short as a large cement block crashed down on its head, followed by the entire contents of the second floor the block had been supporting. The enemy's life was finally snuffed out as its skull and most of its body was pulverised into a sickly green paste. So much for Mr. or Ms. 'Never have I lost a battle'. "Hurry!!" Sailor Mars glanced at the double door entrance/exit of the store ten metres or so away where Sailor Venus waved to Sailor Moon and herself anxiously with her good arm. Her expression practically plead for them to flee. However, the ominous groaning from above didn't sound too encouraging. "Mars..." Sailor Moon whispered apprehensively, having heard the creaking sound too. It was clear to Mars that she and her princess were not going to make it to the Senshi of Love. The portentous noise from above got louder until the whole front part of the ceiling began to cave in. A tremendous crash resounded which hurt Sailor Mars' eardrums and shook the very foundation of the building as debris totally blocked her view of the front of the store... and of the sight of Sailor Venus. The raven-haired girl reacted quickly. Picking Sailor Moon up into her arms with some difficulty, she ran as best as she could deeper into the store. Half the second floor now took up residence in the front part of the store behind them, bringing with it a plumb of dust. "I hope... the others are... okay..." choked out Sailor Moon from her bodyguard's arms as she coughed up inhaled dust particles, waving at the grey cloud swirling about Mars and herself with one hand as she did so. In relative safety for the moment, the Senshi of Fire set Sailor Moon gently down on a mound of fallen blue jeans, and then squinted while she attempted to identify the dark shapes she saw in the fog of dust. There had to be another exit. "Come on, it's a clothing store for the gods' sakes! It's supposed to have a lot of display windows!" Sailor Mars snarled to herself, frustrated with her inability to find a suitable escape route. Finally, the miko spotted a doorway on the back wall of the store that had had its top frame partially crushed downwards, causing the door to be forced open. She surmised that it must lead outside to a loading area or something similar, but it didn't appear to be very stable. Then again, the whole second floor above Mars and Sailor Moon wasn't very stable. As if to prove her point, there was yet another groan from what remained of the ceiling over the Fire Senshi and her crippled love. The raven-haired girl looked down at her princess and stated, "Look alive, odango atama; I may have found us an exit!" Sailor Moon looked up at the Inner Senshi with watery blue eyes. The dust, coupled with her bout of coughing, having irritated them. She wiped her eyes, then reached her arms out to Mars and made grabbing motions with her hands to indicate to the miko that she needed to be carried again. Sailor Mars rolled her eyes, and then dutifully gathered her princess into her arms once more, straining only marginally under the weight of the slight girl. The Fire Senshi hoped the odango atama wouldn't get used to being carried around by her, but it did feel rather... pleasant holding her love that close to her body. Sailor Moon felt so delicate, so fragile, in her grasp, it made the fire senshi feel even more protective over her true love. Mars blushed a little at the feelings she was experiencing and hoped that the churning dust motes would hide it. Sailor Mars' thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Sailor Moon squirming and yelling out, "We're gonna be pancakes!!" towards the now rapidly crumbling ceiling. Mars immediately burst into motion and made a mad dash towards the previously sighted doorway, while all sorts of debris ranging from bricks to underwear, showered down around them. Many of the more solid objects clipped the Fire Senshi's body, but the small bumps did little to deter her progress to get her princess to safety. They were going to make it; there was no way Sailor Mars was going to get killed by a bombardment of clothes! She hotly refused to go out in such a lame way. Besides, failure to protect Sailor Moon was simply not an option. At that moment the youma had the last laugh. Mars felt her calf cramp up from the energy beam blast she had suffered earlier and stumbled forwards, nearly dropping Sailor Moon onto the floor. "Gaa! Mars!" Sailor Moon cried out in fright, hastily wrapping her arms around her bodyguard's neck and holding on to her for dear life. The muscles in the Senshi of Fire's leg seized up again and a numb sensation began to spread out from the source of the cramp, travelling swiftly up her leg to her hip. No... not yet. Mars couldn't falter yet. Not when she still had to evacuate her love from danger. Silently, Sailor Mars made her choice. Shaking her neck free of Sailor Moon's hands, she hobbled towards the doorway as fast as she could, ignoring the icy cold tendrils of numbness creeping up her body and injecting its paralysis into her muscles. "Mars, what...?" Sailor Moon started to question, glancing up into her Fire Senshi's amethyst eyes with worried blue ones. "I hope you're... lighter in flight... than you... are now, odango atama," Mars interrupted, panting between breaths. She then winced as her leg started to buckle and wordlessly prayed to the gods to grant her the strength to continue just a few moments longer. "What? Sailor Mars, what do you... no wait! Oh Rei... don't!" Sailor Moon pleaded her bodyguard with wide, panic stricken eyes rapidly pooling with tears. She realised, now, what the fire senshi intended to do. "I won't leave you behind!!" Mars' life was worthless when compared to Sailor Moon's; there was nothing the blonde could say that would change her best friend's mind. Sailor Mars looked at Sailor Moon and flashed her a swaggering smile accompanied by a wink in an attempt to humour her princess. "I'll be... right behind you!" Then, using what little strength she had left, Sailor Mars threw her true love in the direction of the doorway, not even having enough energy to grunt as she did so. Sailor Moon cried out as her shoulders scraped past the doorframe. Unfortunately, the movement caused the weakened structure to give way and a torrent of bricks collapsed inward, filling the only exit to capacity. At least the blonde was thankfully unharmed on the other side. Sailor Mars dropped to her knees and toppled forwards with her forearms hitting the floor as her wounded leg gave out. Her muscles burned and her limbs felt like lead weights. Sailor Moon had been heavier than the miko had originally thought, and hurling the girl had required everything she had. With the ceiling caving in around her, it looked like it was the end for Sailor Mars. Looking on the bright side, though, it did solve the problem she had with Mamoru being her princess' lover. She wondered idly if Sailor Moon would shed a tear or two for her untimely demise. Stupid; of course the blonde would. She had compassion for everyone... even for a weird, short-tempered, psychic miko like Mars who constantly picked on her. Sailor Mars' self-pity was interrupted as a large cement block, along with a crate, fell through the ceiling and crashed through the floor in front of her. The fire senshi felt the floorboards wobble, then slide at an angle towards the new hole in the floor, taking the despairing girl with them. Raising her forearms across her face for protection, Mars was plunged into the jagged hole. She landed heavily on top of the splintered remains of the crate that had come to rest on the floor below, the impact knocking the wind out of her. "Ugh..." Sailor Mars groaned as she lay half-stunned, face down on her stomach. The pain of her fall was dulled, thankfully, due to the fact her body was now completely numbed and paralysed from the chest down courtesy of the now slain youma’s energy bolt. Judging by her surroundings it looked like she was in the basement. Mars flipped over onto her back with difficultly and looked to the side. Her addled mind noted ridiculously that she owned one of the skirts that had spilled out of the destroyed crate she had landed on. Her exploration, however, was short-lived. Looking upwards at the hole she had fallen through, Sailor Mars saw the second floor... and what was left of its contents... plummeting towards her. Sailor Mars' last thoughts were of Sailor Moon... her unrequited love, as she raised her arms over her head one last time in a feeble attempt to protect herself from an entire building crashing down upon her. ****** To be continued.... Author's ramblings: And so ends the first chapter. How long is this story going to be? I have no idea. I hope it's good so far... As you saw, there is some violence and some bad language. Expect more of each. ^_^ Expect more bad guys too... and hopefully a half-decent plot. Hope my grammar was okay, I have a real problem with that... odango atama = dumpling head senshi = soldier miko = Shinto priestess
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