Forum: Crystal Tokyo
Type: Advanced

Plot Summary:
Late Crystal Tokyo, the world is mostly at peace. The senshi have lowered their guard down a little, letting Princess Lady Serenity and the Sailor Quartet take up their mantle while they help mentor the next generation.

One day, strange activity was detected a couple miles outside the city limits. It's probably nothing, Mercury said, but worth checking out. Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus were sent to investigate. It was supposed to just be a scouting mission, a quick look. A half day trip at best.

But when they reached the place, they realized they had stumbled into something big. There was an entire army of strange-looking aliens waiting beyond the veil that cloaked their presence. Mars and Venus heard enough chatter that revealed their plan; to mobilize into Crystal Tokyo and decimate it.

Someone noticed their presence, and the alarm was sounded. Venus got seriously injured before they managed to do an emergency Sailor Teleport. With only two senshi and one badly injured one, they didn't get more than three miles away from the enemy camp. Their communicators were destroyed in the scuffle, and now only a barren desert lay between them and Crystal Tokyo. There was no way to alert the city of what was to come short of running back home.

But Venus' injury slowed them down considerably. If Mars ran on her own, she could still make it to save everyone. But will Mars be able to leave Venus to certain death? As the life of one dear friend and the rest of the world hung in the balance, Rei must make the hardest decision in her very long life.

Details on any necessary information: This storyline takes place in the late Crystal Tokyo era.

Restrictions: Only playable characters will be Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus.

Source: N/A

OOC Thread: N/A

Characters:
Rei Hino/Sailor Mars - Played by Sailor Mercury
Minako Aino/Sailor Venus - Played by Sailor Pluto

Mars pocketed the device that Mercury gave her, the one showing her the location they were supposed to investigate. She wasn’t particularly worried about this mission. But she still looked forward to getting out of the palace. These days, they so rarely had to do senshi duties anymore, and though she’d always thought she would enjoy the change, she actually kind of missed it a little. When she became senshi, she had given her everything into it and embraced it so completely that letting go wasn’t as easy as she imagined. She had dreams, too, she supposed. At some point there were even a lot of them. But as time went by and she got the chance to try it all, she felt as if nothing could ever beat the sense of accomplishment she got by being a senshi.

She stood near the teleporter that would take them where they needed to go, waiting for Venus to show up. Maybe once they made sure everything was alright, they could take the scenic route back. It was going to be a long walk, but at least they’d be able to talk. Rei had come to enjoy alone times with Minako, even if she might not like to broadcast that fact. They had always been close, but even more so in these late years. Honestly, Rei would have expected Minako to at least get married a few times by now. She was always chasing after boys, which was why she was surprised her friend ended up celibate. Perhaps, like Rei, she had finally decided men weren’t good enough.

And then, somehow, things changed between them. It seemed as if Minako got tired of not being able to find the love she so needed and wanted from anyone else. One night they were talking, about nothing and everything, and then when they lay quietly side by side so late at night, and the only noise left was their breathing, Minako told her that maybe she’d been looking for love in all the wrong places. When Rei was about to ask her what she meant by that, Minako silenced her with a kiss. And Rei found herself kissing her back. And it had felt right.

Minako made her promise never to let their relationship get in the way of their duty, and Rei had wholeheartedly agreed. As always, Usagi would come first. But the world was safe now. Their days of making hard choices were behind them. She felt safe when she made that promise, quite certain that she could keep it without much difficulty.

Excited to go on a journey with Mars, Venus walked with purpose to the palace teleporter where they had arranged to meet. Her orange heels clicked on the floors, the sound bouncing off of the crystal walls as she went. It made her feel happy, and not as tense, for some reason. This mission didn't concern her too much. With Mars by her side, they were sure to cancel out whatever small threat was detected.

The thought of maybe getting to have a nice, private talk with Mars sounded rather appealing. It wasn't often they got time to themselves, what with their patrols around the palace and whatnot. And even if they did talk, it was always in the presence of others. 

In all her life, Mars had been the only person who had truly given her butterflies. Ever since the night Venus had taken the final step and kissed Rei, just thinking of the raven-haired psychic made her heart skip a beat. She had her dabble of relationships with men in the past, but none had ever made her feel the way Rei did. All of those men were selfish and disgusting and disrespectful. They didn't know how a woman deserved to be treated. But Rei? Not only was she independent, but she was strong and beautiful and caring. And she was a good friend - someone Minako knew she could always depend on and expect to never let her down. 

Being the leader of the sailor senshi had impeded their relationship a bit. Every now and then, Venus would second-guess herself and wonder whether or not her feelings for Rei were appropriate. But then she would look at the senshi of passion and immediately forget about all of that insecurity. Sure, Rei deserved better than her and sure, they had duties as senshi, but Minako knew Rei understood. She understood that when push came to shove, their duty came first.

Venus turned the corner, seeing Mars standing by the teleporter. As soon as their eyes met, Venus smiled broadly. "Ready to go?" she asked, her voice chipper and full of energy. She hadn't been this excited for a mission in a long time.

Mars smiled as she saw Venus approach, looking excited to go on the mission. She had to wonder if Venus was excited because they finally got to do something action-related or if—did she dare to think that Venus was excited to be alone with her too? What a strange feeling; Mars never really felt like this towards anyone. But it kind of made sense for her to finally find that in a friend. Someone who’d been with her since the beginning of time, since their previous lives, and whose goals were always exactly the same as hers. They had always seen eye to eye more than anyone else.

“Yeah, the coordinates are set. Just get your perky self in here,” Mars said with a grin as she stepped inside. She prepared the machine for departure and casually asked, “By the way, I was thinking… if this gets solved quickly, maybe we could take the scenic route back? I mean, it’s pretty far outside the city, but there are some pretty scenery between here and there.”

Mars felt a little awkward, totally not used to this kind of thing. She was never a particularly touchy-feely person and she hoped Venus wouldn’t suddenly expect her to be one now that they were together.

ooc:

Without a moment's hesitation, Venus stepped into the teleporter and took Mars's hand, squeezing it. "That would be wonderful," she replied, tapping the button to activate the machine. The thought of a nice, long, nature-filled walk with Mars back to the palace made Venus's stomach flip. She was only more eager to finish this mission.

The two ended up in the middle of what seemed to be a desert-like area. The sun beat down on them, already forming sweat on Venus's brow. She looked down, whining when she noticed her shoes sinking into the sandy ground. "I'm going to get sand all in my shoes," she complained, pushing her hair behind her shoulder.

Looking around, Venus didn't spot anything suspicious right away. It just seemed like a wide, empty area. Why had there been reports of strange activity then? Venus was about to say something when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she just barely saw a cloaked figure darting behind a large rock jutting out of the sand. Nudging Mars, she tilted her head towards the rock and began to walk forward.

"Alright, come out with your hands up! We are Sailors Venus and Mars, sailor senshi under Neo Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo! Surrender now, or pay the consequences later!"

Mars was surprised when Venus grabbed her hand, and blushed slightly. Yep, she was definitely not used to this whole touchy-feely thing. But she was glad Venus wanted to take that walk. They hadn’t had a lot of alone time around the Crystal Palace.

As the teleporter took them outside the city limits, Mars frowned at their surroundings. Was this really the place? It was just an open, empty desert. She snorted at Venus’ complain about getting sand in her shoes. Minako could be such a child sometimes.

But then she seemed to have spotted something, and Mars followed her gaze. She didn’t see anything, though she had a bad feeling about this place. Really bad. She felt uneasy as her psychic senses began to go crazy. What was going on here? She tried to stop Venus from moving, but the other senshi had already challenged whoever it was to come out. Mars’ heart thumped in her chest. She wished they had been a bit more discreet.

At first nothing happened. But then, she noticed an irregularity in her vision. Something in front of them shifted. The landscape fizzled like a TV channel getting its signal interrupted. Frowning, she took a couple of careful steps closer, and she felt herself entering something. Her body moved through an invisible wall, creating a small ripple in the air.

And then she was beyond the wall. Mars clamped her hand onto her mouth when all at once, the world changed. Now that she was beyond the veil, everything looked very different. Suddenly there was an entire army of strange looking aliens in front of them. They were creatures of odd shapes and sizes, their skin glinting metallic under the sun. And among them were scary looking weapons and even some big machines that looked like really advanced tanks. “Oh my god,” Mars pulled Venus backwards. “It’s an ambush.”

Some of the creatures’ eyes were trained on them, and one of them hit a button. An alarm sounded, alerting every single alien creature in the vicinity, all of whom immediately turned toward the two senshi. A couple of them began to speak at once in an alien language. Mars pulled out Mercury’s language decryption tool and the small recorder-like gadget repeated the chilling message back to them in their language.

They’ve found us. Kill them. And move up the plan. We’re mobilizing into Crystal Tokyo today.

Seeing Mars step in front of her, Venus watched with curiosity as her friend seemed to disappear behind an invisible curtain. The air seemed to...ripple, almost. It suddenly clicked in Venus's brain and she eagerly followed Mars. Whoever had thought cloaking their hideout was a good idea had another thing coming.

Venus was suddenly shocked by everything that was laid out in front of her. Machines, weapons, aliens...the whole nine yards. Her jaw dropped, her brain unable to form any comprehensible sentences. Mars's words floated through her ears, only barely registering. Her friend's hand on her arm pulling her backwards snapped Venus out of her stupor and ignited the fire of action inside of her. There was no way she would let these guys harm her city or her queen. 

Yes, they were outnumbered. But that hadn't stopped them before.

"Attack!" she shouted, pulling her chain off of her waist. In one strong flourish, Venus maneuvered her chain so that it wrapped around the nearest creature and flung it to the side. She continued to swing her arm, whipping anything that tried to come near. But they had guns. Guns were not something Venus could protect herself from. But she could at least try. If anything, she couldn't let Mars get hurt. 

Over her dead body.

"Crescent Beam Shower!" Venus shouted, sending dozens of beams of light shooting towards the enemies. She watched in triumph as her beams destroyed the oncoming assault of bullets and even shot down some of the aliens. Her eyes scanned the 'battlefield' for the nearest threat. She got sight of Mars, who was passionately shooting flames left and right. The sight of her closest companion in the heat of battle was always reassuring and inspiring. Did Venus look that beautiful when she kicked ass?

Out of the corner of her eye, Venus noticed one lone alien on all fours, shakily raising its gun and pointing it at Mars. It had been hit by one of Venus's beams, but was still conscious. Venus knew there wasn't enough time to call an attack or run towards the alien to stop him.

The world around her began to slow. A scream escaped Venus's lips, but it was lost in the chaos. Images of herself and Mars on their best days and on their worst flashed through her mind, and she knew she had to do whatever it took to protect her senshi.

To protect the woman she loved.

Without another moment of hesitation, Venus dived, throwing her body in front of Mars in a dramatic attempt of saving her life. The gunshot rang through the air, and all was silent. The battle ceased for the briefest of moments as all of the aliens' eyes watched the blonde soldier fall to the ground. 

Pain. White hot, agonizing pain. Venus couldn't move, couldn't register what was happening. She was entering a state of shock, hoping and praying that none of this was real and that there wasn't a bullet lodged in her abdomen. She began to gasp, getting in as much air as she could as her arms wrapped around her torso. Blood seeped through her fuku and onto her fingers, staining them to match the red of Mars's own fuku. 

She knew it was only a matter of time until the aliens realized that Mars was still alive and standing and started the assault again. Turning her body as much as she could, Venus looked up at her best friend.

"Run, dammit."

The message was chilling. And sobering. Despite the fact they were clearly outnumbered, Venus clearly thought attacking was the right strategy. Though confused, Mars followed her leader and partner as always. She sent waves of flames to incinerate the aliens and some of their machinery. She shot arrows of fire toward the far-off enemies, but she knew no matter how strong they were now compared to when they first became senshi, there was no way they could both take on all of them alone.

They needed to retreat. And warn Crystal Tokyo of the impending attack.

“Venus, we need to—”

She turned to see Venus, and that was when the world seemed to slow to a crawl. She heard Venus’ scream. Saw the gun pointed at herself. Knew immediately what was about to happen—didn’t even need to be a psychic.

The shot was deafening, and in the split second where everything seemed to stop, Mars cursed Venus for her ability to create this dramatic moment. This was probably how she’d always dreamed to die. Diving heroically in front of a bullet for someone she loved. And damn if that person had to be Mars.

Damn Venus and her stupid heroism, her penchant for drama, and her stupid selfless act. Damn it all to hell.

She had never found the color red to be so terrifying before.

It felt like yet another stab of betrayal. She dropped to the ground, shaking as she grabbed Venus’ shoulders. She needed to do something. Anything. But there was nothing. Mercury wasn’t here, and she was the only one who could fix this.

She knew the momentary pause would not last much longer. They needed to get out of there. Still shaking with shock, grief, and anger, Mars turned back to the group of enemies standing before her. Without a word, she raised her hands, erecting tall walls of flames that immediately scorched everything in its path.

She wanted to burn this place to the ground. Burn all of them for hurting the one she loved.

The wall of flame created a momentary division between them and the aliens, and shakily, she dragged Venus to her feet, slinging one of her arms around her own shoulder.

“Get up,” she hissed, practically carrying her friend’s entire weight as she began stumbling back into the desert. She purposefully ignored Venus’ order to run, had already erased it from her mind before she even heard the entire sentence. “We have to teleport back to Crystal Tokyo. Venus. Can you hear me?” she fought so hard to stay steady, to sound in control and firm. “Do you think you have enough energy to teleport?”

Sailor Teleport worked best with all five of them, but it had been done with less. Mars didn’t know if she could do it alone, but so help her God she would try if she had to.

Even if it killed her.

Venus cried out in pain, the wound in her abdomen burning tremendously. "No, Mars stop, I-" Venus paused in her plea, meeting her best friend's eyes. She knew that Mars wouldn't leave her here if Neo Queen Serenity ordered it herself.

Her vision was surrounded in darkness as her brain fought unconsciousness. She moaned as Mars pulled her to her feet, leaning all of her weight on the senshi of fire. Venus tried to move, tried to at least make her weight a little less, but she could only stumble and make things worse. One of her arms was slung around Mars's shoulders, while her other arm was wrapped tightly around her abdomen. Mars's question echoed in the back of her mind, but it registered just barely. Nodding her head, Venus struggled to push out, "Venus...Crystal Power." She knew there wouldn't be much of her energy to offer, but it was better than nothing.

If they made it home alive, Venus was going to kill Mars for risking her life for her.

Mars knew she was making Venus hurt worse, but they had to get out of there. She wasn’t just going to leave Venus to lie down and die. That wasn’t the Venus she knew—not when Crystal Tokyo still needed protecting.

Every painful moan from Venus hurt Mars a thousand times more inside, but she kept going. “Just lean on me,” she insisted, knowing that Venus would try to ease the burden because she was stubborn like that.

She felt Venus’ body glow with her energy, though much dimmer than usual, and she put just that much more from her own to make up for it. “Mars Crystal Power! Sailor Teleport!” she called out, just when the aliens burst out from behind them. She closed her eyes and thought hard about the safety of the palace.

The two of them disappeared from view in time to escape the ambush.

Unfortunately, they did not make it back to the Crystal Palace.

They ended up halfway there, and Mars knew neither of them had no more energy reserves to bring them further. She fished out her communicator and cursed when she found it had been damaged in the altercation.

“Venus. We’re halfway there, but we’re going to have to walk the rest of the way. We need to get back and warn Crystal Tokyo. You have to make it there. Serenity needs us. I will carry you if I have to, I swear to god. Don’t you dare give up on me. She needs us.” She knew invoking the queen’s name would spur Venus on, because Serenity was the most important person for both of them.

She didn’t mention how it didn’t take two people to do the job.

Venus felt her hopes crash down when she realized they had not landed at the castle, but rather halfway there. She moaned again, the temptation to just close her eyes and take a nap was becoming to much for her to fight back. But Mars's words pushed her to keep going, to resist the darkness creeping in and continue onward. She had to get back to Serenity. She couldn't break Serenity's heart by sending Mars back alone.

But what was the point? There was no way she could make it in time to warn Serenity in her state. It would all be so much easier if Mars just left her here. She was dead weight.

She struggled to take steps forward, each one sending a searing pain up her torso. Before Venus knew what happened, her knees buckled and she was sent tumbling to the ground.

Mars swore when Venus fell to the ground, seemingly unable to go even another step. Was she going to have to carry her friend after all?

“Okay, let’s… take a look at that wound. Maybe there’s something I could do to help…”

Mars really wasn’t an expert on medical situations, but she had learned enough in the many years she had been a senshi. There had been a lot of battle wounds, after all, even though a gunshot was definitely new.

She lay Venus carefully on the ground and inspected the injury. It looked bad. It looked really, really bad, and Mars had to do her best not to panic. She turned Venus’ body slowly and hoped to God there was an identical hole on the back—Yes. Yes, there was. Thank goodness, that meant she didn’t have to go digging around in her friend’s body for the bullet.

“There’s an exit wound,” she told Venus. “Good. It means we just have to stop this bleeding. Once we do, you should be—relatively—okay. And I think I know how.” She looked her friend in the eye. “I can cauterize the wound with my flames. That would seal it completely, and you’re not going to die. Okay?”

Obviously, it would be painful, but it was better than leaving Venus to die out here on her own.

As per the rules, this thread will now be moved to the Graveyard with its adjacent OOC thread (if one).