BRIAREUS... an echo from the past Rei's communicator went off at around 2:00 in the morning. Ami appeared when Rei answered. "Juuban central park, hurry! You call Mamoru, and I'll call the outers!" Ami blipped off. Rei propped Usagi up with pillows and prayed she would be all right. She phoned Mamoru, and slipped silently downstairs. She hadn't wanted to leave Usagi's window open. She disabled the house alarm the way Usagi had showed her, and left the door unlocked. She darted behind some bushes and transformed. Mars arrived at the same time as Tuxedo Kamen and Jupiter. Venus and Mercury had already gotten there, and faced a very confused hecatoncheires. He identified himself as Briareus and demanded to see 'The Fair One who holds the power of justice'. Venus approached the huge monstrosity with 50 heads and one hundred arms. Only with the aid of Ami's computer were they able to translate the ancient tongue, though. Venus spoke and asked him to state his intentions. His many voices boomed. "The Fair One will free my brothers Cottus and Gyges imprisoned in Tartarus, so that we can exact our revenge against the Titan Uranus. I have captured some of the Titans as hostages and demand a trade." Mercury stepped forward and explained gently that the one he sought existed in spirit only, as did all the other Titans. Their children, the Olympians whom were their allies, ruled the planets and stars... also in spirit. The senshi were the last remnants of the immortals left to champion their world in physical form. As he could see, the one he sought was not there. They could not possibly go back in time and help him fight his war in Tartarus! Venus spoke again then. "Go back to your realm, if you can, in peace. We have no quarrel with you, and do not wish to fight you and start a war no one can win. We can not aid you in your quest to free your brothers, for which we are truly sorry. Neither can we help you in your vendetta against the Titans." The monster was enraged, and screamed aloud in his many voices. "Then I will destroy those who protect the Titans in the name of our mother, Gaea!" He began to unleash his fury upon the Senshi. The outer senshi arrived just as the first blasts from the inner senshi hit the giant from all sides unannounced. The outer senshi added their greatest attacks into the fray, except Saturn, who used a lesser attack. When the dust settled, the monster sat on the ground stunned. He blinked a few times and slowly stood, completely intact. Mercury quickly analyzed his make up and instructed everyone to switch to Kendo versus magical attacks. The monster howled as the senshi quickly began to sever arms and heads with their swords. Venus was sent flying, but excelling in gymnastics, she gracefully did a flip and landed on her feet, sword swinging. Rei threw her ofudas in a fire soul attack to paralyze the monster, but he merely blinked... long enough for her to hack eleven heads off single-handedly, her countenance terrible to behold. Blood sprayed everywhere. Tuxedo Kamen wielded his sword mightily at the monster's midsection in an attempt to find his heart. Uranus had dispatched about twenty something arms with the same alacrity as Rei. Jupiter had meanwhile discovered, to her delight, the monster was not exactly immune to electricity. She repeatedly electrocuted his torso, between sword thrusts. When his heart quivered in arrhythmia, Briareus screamed in agony. Mercury sprayed her fog, and blinded him temporarily. This allowed Tuxedo Kamen enough time to finish his attack. The monster's torso was cut in half, which severed the lower half from the top. Briareus gave up his soul to Gaea, and died. The senshi used their powers to clean up the area. Rei burned the bloody remains, and its stench filled the air. Uranus controlled the wind to dispel the odor. Neptune and Mercury washed all the blood away. The senshi de-transformed, and began to leave the area. Mamoru laid a hand on Rei's shoulder. "Where's Usagi?" Rei shrugged his hand off with disgust and turned to face him. "I think if you truly cared, you would have bothered to call or visit her house. If you had, you would know she is desperately sick from some infections inflicted on her by a certain someone, and didn't have enough resistance left to fight off a simple cold. It moved right into her chest. When I left her, she had a fever of 103°." Rei backed away. "I would call, but she told me not to. She said she would call me." Mamoru defended himself. "I don't blame her. If you did to me what you did to her, you would be ashes right now. You don't deserve to breathe the same air she does!" Rei hissed at him, "but as it happens, some of the last intelligible words she uttered were to request that you and Setsuna pay her a visit together when her mother would allow it. It was important, and she seemed anxious about it. I suggest you find Setsuna and be prepared to make a house call." Rei turned an icy glare at Mamoru. "By the way, while she may graciously forgive you and absolve you from any wrong-doing, I cannot. I promised, in deference to her I would not punish you. But I swear, if you lay one false hand on her, and I find out about it, I will hunt you down and I will incinerate you where you stand. Don't ever touch me again, Mamoru. You sicken me." Rei turned on her heel, and sped back to the Tsukino's. She left behind a perplexed and slightly embarrassed Mamoru. When he looked around, he found himself alone. It seemed Rei had become his rival, after all. He wished he hadn't obeyed that flat inner voice that had lured him to the Hikawa Shrine the day Rei had sought her soul mate in the fire. He had seen the vision of Usagi adorned in her most regal attire. Rei had been faced away from the fire at the time, as she fought with a demon that resembled herself. He had thrown his rose at the vision and wasn't sure Rei had seen it before it had dissipated. He wished he hadn't teased her. Mamoru was miserable. He had driven Usagi away, alienated himself from Rei, and had generally made a mess of his life. He wanted to curse his new power, but realized that while power was a part of him, it wasn't who he was. Just as the ginsuishou was not Usagi, and if she could learn to control and live with her power, so could he. So he blamed himself for his troubles. Alcohol wasn't the answer, but it sure sounded good. Mamoru set out to find Setsuna. Meanwhile, Rei let herself back into the Tsukino's home, locked the door, and turned the house alarm back on. She went upstairs to refresh the ice bags and hoped Usagi still breathed. Rei tentatively stretched her hand forth to touch Usagi's forehead, afraid she had gotten worse while she was away. She seemed about the same, and Rei heaved a sigh of relief. She went downstairs to refill the ice bags. As she returned, Ikuko stuck her head out from her bedroom door and asked if everything was all right. Rei replied that she needed to stretch and refresh the ice bags... that was all. Usagi was the same. Ikuko seemed satisfied. Rei dragged herself tiredly to the bed. She held her princess close to her chest and leaned upright against the pillows once more. She placed the ice bags under Usagi's arm pits and between her legs. Rei closed her eyes and passed out with exhaustion.
Back to Of Demons and Love Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction