Drops of Starlight

Chapter 36: Insecurity

💫 Drops of Starlight 💫
By Strawberry Moon Rose
🍓🌙🌹

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Chapter 36: Insecurity
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"Tuxedo Mask...?" Sailor Moon blinked at the crimson flower that struck the ground. It can't be...

"I will not allow you to bring your tasteless evil to our planet," a male voice hailed from the shadows. The silhouette of a long cape billowed dramatically in the winter wind. With a graceful leap from a nearby vantage point, a mysterious man emerged, his presence commanding. He was accompanied by a tanned-skinned guardian wielding a garnet rod.

"Pluto?" Saturn lowered her glaive. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked them to return," Uranus said. Her eyes sliced at Fighter then shifted back to Xenon.

Sailor Moon pressed her lips together. She sensed Fighter watching her, surely trying to gauge her reaction. 

The last she had seen of Mamoru, he was lingering in the threshold of their apartment, his bags and suitcases packed, his belongings stripped of the place. Her hand was on her pregnant belly, fighting back tears as she realized she would have to go through it all alone, despite knowing it was for the best.

She swallowed hard, reminding herself that she wasn't supposed to care. Mamoru and Setsuna were together, but she was with Seiya now. None of that mattered at that moment though. Why did they have to come? They could handle this without them.

Betrayal burned in her core - Michiru promised she wouldn't drag them into this! One stolen glance in Uranus and Neptune's direction and she knew the decision to call them back to Japan went beyond supplemental protection. No, this was punishment for the Starlights being connected to the enemy. Punishment for Fighter.

Xenon looked furious about the additional opponents. Her eyes darted around like a cornered animal. Even with her compounded power, she was outnumbered and now wounded, thanks to Pluto's attack.

"This isn't the last of me," Xenon spat. She hurled her hands in the air, releasing another barrage of raining bombs. Amid everyone clamoring for cover, violet smoke whisked her away.

The attack subsided, leaving an eerie stillness in its wake. So much had transpired in the past hour. Suddenly, Seiya meeting Usagi's father didn't seem so awful in comparison.

Sailor Moon felt Fighter step close and touch her arm, almost territorially. Sailor Moon stared at her white boots, feeling the weight of a hundred emotions at once. Everyone remained frozen, too nervous to move, waiting for the atmosphere to settle.

"Hello? Could use a little help here!" Healer snapped. The tension broke.

Mercury and Maker helped Healer get Venus to her feet. Meanwhile, Sailor Moon joined Mars in checking on Naru, who still lay unconscious on the cold hard ground.

Mars carefully searched for a pulse at Naru's wrist and then leaned closer, listening for any signs of breathing. After an agonizingly long moment, Mars brushed a strand of her black hair back and stood up.

"I think she'll be okay," said Mars. "But we need to get her out of here. There's no saying what state she'll be in when she wakes."

"She passed out when Nephrite... when he vanished," Sailor Moon mumbled, the mere mention of his name forming a lump in her throat. Had he really been tricked into this mess? Sailor Moon glanced at the orange cloth strewn on the cement before picking it up. She gingerly folded it and tucked it into Naru's coat pocket. Whatever was going on, she couldn't leave it behind in the snow.