Eclipse of the Moon

~*Chapter Two*~

"Haven't we passed this place three times already?" Michiru asked.

"Well, she could be anywhere." Haruka said. "We'll search for a little while more, and then we'll turn back."

The sun was just setting, and as they circled the long, winding mountain roads they could watch the sun, a large orange ball of fire, sink lower and lower until it had disappeared below the horizon.

"Its a beautiful night." Michiru commented as Haruka switched on the headlights and they turned another corner. The road was literally cut out through the middle of the forest. Limbs of the trees hung out, far into the middle of the road, blocking the deep, moon-less sky. They swayed in the evening breeze rustling quietly.

"Look here. That sign ahead says that road leads down to the town." Haruka pointed out.

"That town is miles away. You don't think she would have tried to walk there do you?" Michiru asked.

"Maybe. She was pretty mad, and she left a long time ago. She obviously isn't on the mountain road. Should we try it?"

"Sure." Michiru consented, and Haruka turned sharply down the larger road. "It's very cold out for a summer night." Michiru observed. The wind had picked up and the branches of the trees were beginning to jump and swing quicker than before.

"It is, isn't it-Look! Look, up ahead. Someone's walking up there!" Haruka cried. Michiru looked up and saw, just above the reach of the headlights, a figure, walking slowly down the side of the road.

"Do you think its her?" Michiru asked.

"Who else could it be?" Haruka replied. She began to speed up as they neared the sluggish figure, to pull up beside it. But, suddenly it was the middle of the street standing perfectly still. It was now facing Haruka and Michiru, its blue eyes glowing with a strange iridescent quality. There it stood, staring into the face of the car that was speeding into it.

"Haruka!" Michiru shrieked and pointed to the figure in their path. Fear racing through her mind, Haruka slammed her foot onto the breaks. The car began to skid, creating a horrible high pitched squeal. Her arms curved with the steering wheel, trying desperately to avoid hitting the person on the road. Her eyes went foggy and her mind was racing. Night filled the car and the sound of the screeching pounded through her head. She began to scream-and then everything went black.

She felt a bump under the front wheel, and then the back. The car tipped onto two wheels, and then fell onto its side with a crash. It slid a few feet and then came to rest on the side of the road near a tree.

How it hurt to move. She wished she could just stay where she was, but there was something more important at stake-Michiru. Haruka slowly opened her eyes. Her face was cold, and she found that she was laying with her cheek pressed to the driver's side window, which now lay parallel to the ground.

"Michiru?" She managed to groan. "Are you all right?" She tried to sit up, but she was still strapped to her seat, which was now sideways. She fumbled for the buckle, and unhooked it, causing herself to fall down onto the ground.

"Michiru?" She groaned again. She looked up towards the passenger seat where Michiru had been. Nothing. It was empty. The now vacant seat belt was still buckled, the passenger side door closed and locked and the roof of the car was unscathed. And yet Michiru was not there. Haruka's heavy eyes shot open. "Michiru!" She cried. Her head hurt terribly. She stood up, in a panic. She unlocked the passenger door and opened it. Frantically she climbed out onto the side of the car and jumped to the ground, cringing as her feet hit the ground. She lifted up her shirt and found a large bruise on her lower stomach. Carefully, she put her hand over it and turned around. Some distance behind her lay the person, unmoving and crumpled on the asphalt.

Her mind was racing. What had that person been doing in the middle of the street? She had tried to avoid them. It wasn't her fault. Where was Michiru? How could she have disappeared?

"Are you all right?" She called out as she limped toward the figure. She knew very well they weren't, but she didn't know what else to do. She was at a loss. She fell to the ground beside them, and lightly put her hand on their shoulder, and rolled them over onto their back. At first she blinked. Then looked again in disbelief.

She must be seeing things. She must. There was no other way. But then the figure whispered in that familiar, helpless whisper. "Haruka." It was Michiru who lay on the ground before her; her faint voice breezing from from her mouth like a feeble gust of wind. Her eyes were half closed, and a drop of blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth.

Haruka jerked back and shut her eyes. She didn't want to see it. She couldn't look. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't real, but she knew it was. She knew it. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked again. Nothing. Just road before her. glistening with a strange glittering gold light. No one was there.

Haruka's eyes widened, and she blinked her eyes once more. Nothing. She staggered backward a few steps. "Michiru." She gasped. "*MICHIRU!*" She now cried out frantically and turned. She didn't know what to do. Her world had just blown up before her eyes in a display of utter impossibility. There was no way that could have happened. If Michiru had been lying there, where was she now? If she hadn't, what had happened to her? How could she have gotten out of the car? How could she have been hit? Where had that other person gone? What? How? Why? The questions raced through her head, but she couldn't answer any of them. The only thing she decided was that Michiru had been there, and it was her fault.

After a few seconds of shock she began to search around frantically for any sign of Michiru. Her head hurt terribly. It was warm and throbbing. Lifting her hand to her forehead, blood ran down the tips of fingers. She tried wiping the cut with her shirt, but she really didn't care. The wound meant nothing to her at all. It was meaningless now. Everything was. She had to get away: to leave that place behind her. She turned and ran off into the darkness of the trees, soon loosing her way. And yet being lost is meaningless when you have no destination.

* * * * * *

"Usagi-chan! Wake up Usagi!" Makoto hovered over her head, shaking her shoulders frantically. As she opened her eyes Usagi realized she had never seen Makoto so undone. She was literally shaking. "I don't know how that happened," Mako gasped, "but Mamoru is gone."

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi gasped as she stood up.

"He’s simply gone," Mako said shakily. "It swallowed him over there," She pointed, "and the mound is there, but he’s not! He’s, gone...."

"Mamo-chan..." Usagi cried. "He's strong! I know he's safe..." She trailed off.

"Usagi-chan, listen. I can hear something strange. I felt like someone else is here."

They stood now in a small circular section of the forest where the earthquake had knocked down the trees. In fact, it seemed that outside of the sixty foot diameter of the circle, the earthquake had done no damage at all. A chill wind swept through the section of destruction where they stood and made the leaves of the trees dance. The only sound was the rustling of the leaves, and then it began to mix with another sound. That soft glittering giggle that had been present during the earthquake. It came from the direction of a large group of trees nearby. Hard as they tried, it was too dark to see what was there. The giggling grew louder and then fizzled down to nothing.

"Let's get out of here Usagi." Mako whispered. “We’ve got to find the others.”

"But-" Usagi protested quietly, still not believing what had happened, but Makoto grabbed her wrist and pulled her. They turned and ran back down the path.

* * * * * *

"What have I done? What have I done?" Haruka's mind was racing. She was drenched in sweat and running wildly. She had lost all sense of the outside world. She was now consumed by her mind; eating away at herself. She was constantly tripping and falling, but she didn't even notice. The wound on her head had stopped hurting and a complete numbness had set over her. She felt no pain outside, as she was so consumed with pain from within.

"How did this happen!?!" She shrieked as she fell to the ground once more; bitter tears falling from her eyes as she screamed angrily.

"What *have* you done Haruka?" An eerily familiar voice came softly out of nowhere.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't do anything!" She cried back, trying with every ounce of strength to convince herself of this statement's truth.

"But you did, didn't you?" It asked again, calmly, as a chorus of similar voices began giggling in the background.

"No. No...." Haruka trailed off.

"Then where is she?!" It asked threateningly.

Haruka shot up from the ground and began to run again in an attempt to ignore the voice.

Don't deny it, and don't try to get away. You know what you did. You know it was you. Your car hit her."

Haruka stumbled in the darkness. "STOP IT!! I didn't hit her! She was in the car next to me the whole time!" She screamed. "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" she screamed through the stream of giggles that rang louder and louder every moment.

"Really?" It asked. Haruka stopped and stood still, her hands clenched into fists of anger. A cold breeze blew behind her. Someone was there. She whipped her head around just in time to see the figure of a person jump over her head. Quickly, she drew out her transformation wand and put it above her head, but the person just hit it out of her grasp and it flew off into the darkness.

"What do you want!?" Haruka shrieked.

The giggling grew louder and the low, feminine voice hissed, "Oh, you'll know soon enough."

As it finished speaking something swiped across Haruka's shoulder, quickly and sharply. It was the blade of a sword. It left a tiny scratch across her shoulder that now felt as though it were on fire. She lost it. With a cry of anger she spun around and lunged at the figure, but nothing was there. She desperately fought invisible enemies that she somehow knew were all around. There could have been one, or twenty, she couldn't tell. The second she would attack, it would dash away. With one final effort she jumped at one of the figures, but it vanished instantly, and she soon crashing to the forest floor, sliding through the carpet of leaves, arms out in front of her.

Her body was numb now. There was no pain, no anger, no feeling at all throughout her whole being. She looked up and her eyes met the coldest, blank eyes she had ever seen. It was like looking into mucky water. They were clear and empty, yet filled with a dirty mist. They seemed to be hanging in mid air, as though they were their own entity.

"There is no way out for you now you know. You have lost. You have no hope. It’s all over." The eyes became tiny slits as the creature that existed somewhere around them began to cackle softly.

Haruka merely lay her head on the cold, hard ground. She glimpsed a flash of a glistening silver blade as it whipped through the air. She closed her eyes and waited. There was no laughter now. All was completely silent. The air was heavy and foggy around her. She waited for it to happen. The silence was broken by the crack of the blade and a blood curdling scream that rang throughout the mountains.

* * * * * *

“What was that?” Usagi stopped in her tracks.

“Screaming...” Mako gasped. The terror she was feeling was becoming rapidly more visible. The horrible, shrieking scream had died now, yet its echo continued to ring through their minds.

“Who was it?” Usagi whimpered. Makoto didn’t answer, but continued to walk quickly through the woods, searching for the cabin.

“Usagi-chan!” Mako pointed ahead. Through the trees, you could see the flickering of a fire. It looked extremely large, even from a distance. They stepped out into the clearing and looked upin horror at their cabin, now smoldering under a mountain of thick flames.

“What happened here!?” Makoto gasped as Setsuna ran to meet them, Hotaru sobbing and hanging close behind her. They were followed closely by Shin and Minako both looking shaky.

“Did you find her?” They all said simultaneously, followed shorty by a chorus of, “where’s Mamoru-san?” , “Where’s Ami-chan?” and “Where are Haruka and Michiru?”

Usagi’s eyes welled up with tears, and Makoto replied solemnly, “They’re gone. Rei-chan...” Her voice cracked and she quickly hid her face.

Usagi began to sob, “Where’s Ami-chan? Where is she!?”

“She- she wandered off alone.” Shin said grimly, trying to comfort Makoto as he did. “Said she had traced something on her computer. We heard a scream, but all we could find was this.” He held out Ami’s computer. It was scratched and dirty, and splattered with a dark reddish substance that looked terribly like blood. Usagi took it slowly from him and clutched it tightly.

“Ami-chan.” She whispered. Her face cringed and she fell to the ground in a burst of tears and cries. “What about Haruka-san and Michiru-san...” She trailed off. The look of sorrow on Setsuna’s face told her that they had not returned. “What are we going to do...” She managed to cry out through her sobs.

“We have to look around for them. Something must be done. No matter who has taken them, we will find them.” Setsuna spoke out. Though the lack of optimism in her voice was not at all encouraging, without a word, they helped Usagi to her feet and pulled out their transformation wands. With a new look of hope on her tear stained face, Usagi lifted her brooch high and Shouted, “Moon Prism Power, Make-”

She and the others gasped as an enormous wind picked up and blew the brooch from her hand. The wind whipped around her for a moment, knocking her to the ground, then stole the wands from each one of the others, in one strong blast. The silvery gale flew high into the air and strait into the hands of a dark figure standing, silhouetted, as still as a statue, on the roof of the cabin. She held them in her hand for a moment, her long hair hanging limply behind her, flames licking at her body. Four more figures stood behind her, all just as still and eerie. It was as though their shapes had all been cut out of the flames, so that their outlines reflected the foggy night sky behind them.

“Not this time.” Her disembodied voice hissed down at them. "For once, you will fight fair.” She held out her hand that held their wands, and Usagi’s brooch. She turned her clenched fist palm down and released its contents into the fire. All five silhouettes giggled with glee. She turned her head slightly, “Kaze, if you would.” She said simply.

One of the tallest of the figures stepped forward slightly, raised her arm and snapped her fingers. Instantly a strong wind picked up and swooped down upon them. It picked up both cars and flung them around in circles. They rose into the air, higher and higher, finally stopping completely and plummeting fifty feet through the air. They crashed through the roof of the cabin, who’s flames erupted even higher, engulfing the five stone-like figures.

“Run!” Shin bellowed at the top of his lungs. He grabbed Makoto and Usagi by their wrists and pulled them sharply along with him into the woods, followed closely by Minako and Setsuna. Hotaru however was frozen. Her eyes wide with fear, she opened her mouth to scream, but nothing would come out. There was a deep rumbling from within the cabin. Sparks flew out from every inch of its exterior.

Setsuna darted back into the clearing, “Hotaru!” She shrieked. “Now!, Hotaru, hayaku!" Her face was red with distress. She looked at Hotaru’s face. The fear had melted from her eyes, though the tears remained, no longer from fear, but from deep sorrow.

“I will miss you, Setsuna-mama.” Hotaru whispered. Setsuna looked at her in dismay. “Keep the princess alive.” With these last words, Hotaru turned, Setsuna shrieking at her all the way. A ball of light emerged on her forehead. It grew and grew, until it had completely surrounded her whole body. She walked quickly towards the cabin and stopped, five feet from the flames. She put both of her arms strait above her head, hands out flat. Instantly, a beam of the same golden light burst out of her palms. It rose high in the air, and then rained down around her creating a second the ball of light so large that it completely encompassed the whole of the cabin as well.

“Hotaru!” Setsuna screamed as she ran to towards her, but it was too late. Hotaru had sealed herself in with the burning wreckage. Setsuna cringed as a muffled “boom” sounded from inside. The deep red of the flames became a blinding white for a moment or two, and then everything went dark. The dome of light flickered, and then dissipated into billions of sparkling bubbles that floated up softly into the night air.

Usagi had fought her way back to the clearing, accompanied by Minako, Makoto and Shin, refusing to leave without Setsuna and Hotaru. She took one look at the abominable sight before her and tried to cry out, but found only enough strength to emit a soft squeak. Setsuna sat staring wide eyed strait ahead, unable to move. A few charred pieces of wood was all that remained of the cabin, and they lay steaming on the edge of a huge crater, as deep as a lake and as wide as a house. “She wanted to save us.” Setsuna muttered. “She blocked the explosion...”

Usagi looked from the crater to Setsuna and back again, finally running forward and peering into its depths. Hotaru’s slightly blackened body lay sprawled on the ground at the bottom, the flickering remainder of the first, and smaller light dome feebly surrounding her. It too, soon gave up and burst into countless bubbles of light that drifted high into the air, leaving behind forever the remnant of the girl they had so recently been defending. A girl who now lay perfectly still on the cold ground, surrounded by destruction, devastation and death. Carrying the remnant of a life, forever upward, out of sight.

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