THE FLASH POINT

(A blue, yellow and silver mist swirls and out of it steps the 
reviewers Flashman, Sakura and Trident.)

Sakura:(Sarcasticaly) Didn't take you TOO long to conform.
Flashman: Hey.  If God-Boy and Lurker are doing it, why can't I?
Trident: But why blue, yellow and silver?
Flashman:(Shrugs) They're my colors.  Anywho, we got a fic to review. 
 The final chapter of God-Boy's Shieldman Epic.


______________________________
In the streets of Crystal Tokyo, darkness met light and war raged.

[Trident:(Seriously) Welcome to my existance.]

Blood stood wearily but proudly as black flame wreathed his body and 
coalesced into the shield on his left arm.  Like a star shed light 
and heat, he shed darkness and cold.  "Very good, Apollo," he panted. 
"For someone who's new to this hero business, you're doing well."

[Trident: Hmmmm....
Flashman: Oh boy, here we go with the serious C&C right away.
Trident: If he is panting, should there not be a "..." between every 
few words?]

"For someone who's losing, you're awfully confident," Apollo retorted 
from his knees.  He grunted as he worked himself to his feet.  He 
stood and the silver aura Serenity had imbued in him flared back into 
being.  Leaping high into the air to avoid another disk from Blood, 
he flew down towards his opponent, his sword held high.  As he 
approached, his sword flew in a sweeping overhanded blow.  "HAAA!!"

Roaring incoherently, Blood blasted Apollo with a gout of flame from 
his other hand.  Apollo flew back and impacted a building, the wall 
cracking under his impact.  "Did you really think I'd not be able to 
stop such an amateurish attack?"  The black flame that wreathed his 
body grew higher and darker, and flowed from his hands, bathing 
Apollo in the chilling fire.  Apollo held his sword in front of him, 
and the flame split in twain, the two streams striking the wall 
behind him, both freezing and burning it.

[Sakura:(Snorts) "TWAIN"??? Do people acctualy use the word "twain" 
anymore?
Trident:(Scowls) *I* do.]

Blood poured on more and more flame, and the two halves of the attack 
started to move together as Apollo's aura grew fainter.  "Stop," 
Apollo grunted between clenched teeth.  

>From the sidelines, Mars screamed out to them.  "ARES, STOP!"

"You could never beat me, Apollo,"  Blood taunted, his aura flaring 
as he sent spurt after spurt of dark fire at the silver man.  "I was 
always better than you.  You always lost to me, and you're going to 
lose again now!"

[Flashman: Boy, what a shmuck.
Sakura: Be careful, if he lives through this, Crimson will be 
reviewing your fics in God-Boys next C&C.
Flashman:-_- I meant Blood.]

The burning darkness was mere inches from Apollo's sides, and he 
could feel the heat and coldness on his skin.  "You're right," he 
hissed in pain as he felt the flame lick at his skin, and he knew the 
power that had protected him was almost gone.  "I could never beat 
Ares."  Sudden realization hit him, and with it, a resolve he had 
never known before. Like a dam bursting, he felt power flow into his 
veins.  Apollo straightened, and silver lightning crackled across his 
skin.

[Jupiter:(Dreamily) Wow... he really IS a hunk, isn't he?
Trident: How did SHE get in here?
Sakura:(grumbling) Oh great, now we're doing cameos.
Flashman: Gotta get that door fixed...]

"What are you doing?" Blood demanded as Apollo's aura began to shine 
like a star, forcing the point at which the flame split back towards 
Blood.  He concentrated, and a huge torrent of flames flew from his 
hands to envelop Apollo.  He growled in anger as the flames danced 
around Apollo, never touching him as it was driven back by the silver 
lightning that flowed across Apollo's skin.

"I could never beat Ares," Apollo said through clenched teeth, and 
the lightning seemed to fill a sphere around him, so that he was 
painful to look at.  "BUT YOU ARE NOT HIM!" he roared.  He charged at 
Blood, cutting through the dark flame like it was nothing.  He swung 
his sword in a deadly diagonal cut, the blade driving deep into the 
space between Blood's shoulder and neck.

[Flashman:(Shao Khan laugh)]

As the blade entered Blood's body, the black flames winked out and 
his eyes cleared.  "Apollo," Ares hissed as the sword was removed.  
"Quickly, finish it.  Kill me before he takes control again."  Apollo 
raised his weapon, his aura flaring brighter, and then he looked into 
Ares' eyes.  His aura flickered out, and Ares shook his head in 
negation.  "Do it!"

[Sakura: FINISH HIM!]

"I...I'm sorry," Apollo stammered, lowering the sword a bit, then 
raising it again.

"NO!!!" Mars cried, and ran toward the two men, placing herself 
between Ares and Apollo.   She awkwardly held up Crimson's shield as 
she tried to ward off the blow, and tears streamed down her face.  
"No!  I just got him back, Apollo.  I can't lose him again.  I just 
can't!"

[Flashman: Ooooh... BIG mistake!
Sakura: Law of Anime #52: In a situation where a person is asking a 
friend to kill them, The Lover will get in the way and...]

"Rei," Ares said, his voice hoarse.  "Move out of the way.  It's the 
only way."  He reached up his arm and tried to push her out of the 
way, but before he could touch her, his eyes began to mist over with 
redness.  "I can't hold him much longer, Rei."

The woman turned and looked at him, and she violently shook her head. 
"Fight him Ares. Please, for me, fight him.  I love you too much to 
lose you again!"

[Sakura: ...they will beg for the person to "fight it" and...]

"I know," Ares whispered, and his eyes suddenly misted over 
completely.  

The burning dark aura exploded back into being.  "That's why you have 
to die," Blood finished.  He held out his hands, and blackness burst 
from them and plowed into both Mars and Apollo, throwing them back 
dozens of meters. They crumpled to the ground and lay very still.  
"Fools!  You handed me victory," Blood laughed into the streets of 
the city.  "This body is mine!  This city will be mine!  This world 
will be mine!"  He walked a few steps and sneered down at Crimson's 
shield.

[Sakura: ...it will end badly for The Lover.]

*Rei*  In front of him, the shield pulsed with a bright red light.

Blood screamed as a stabbing pain streaked through his head.  "It 
can't be," he said to himself disbelievingly.  "He should be gone, 
shattered by what I did."  He took a couple steps back.  "He should 
be dead!"

[Sakura: Law of Anime #53: When the villian kills The Lover, the 
possesed person, who the villian thinks is dead, will come back and 
kick ass.]

*Rei's dead you bastard I'll kill you*

Once again, pain burned in Blood's head, and he looked in horror as 
he took a step towards the shield, then another.  "NO!  You can't do 
this!  I won! She's dead!  I WON!"  Another two steps, and Blood fell 
to his knees.  His arms shook as he fought for dominance.

*Ten thousand years you bastard three lifetimes I've loved her I'm 
gonna kill you*

[Sakura:(Blue ki gathering around her) If you say ANYTHING about a 
frustrated sex life...
Flashman:(Fingers crossed behind his back and sweatdroping) Thought 
never entered my mind.]

With each flash of pain, Blood felt himself losing control.  His arms 
shot forward, grabbing the shield, and it was like he was holding a 
hot iron in his hands.  He could almost feel the flesh blister.  Yet 
as much as he fought, he could not stop the shield from being hugged 
to his chest.  White hot pain streaked through every muscle of his 
being. 

*You bastard get out you hear me GET OUT!!!*

[Flashman:(Singing) And don't ya come back no more, NO MORE...
Sakura: HADOKEN!
Trident: Plazma Bolt.
(BOOOOOOM!)
Flashman: Ow....ie.]

Blood's universe was the pure, seething agony that came from the 
shield he was being forced to hold, and the blinding, staggering pain 
that Ares inflicted on him from within their shared mind.  Seconds 
felt like eons as he tried to fight off Ares's regained control, and 
he felt himself come under attack from those twin fronts.

*GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!*

With every motion, every breath, the pain just grew more blinding, 
more encompassing.  All Blood could think of was getting away from 
the agony, that bright burning pain that was destroying his very 
existence.  He released his hold and left Crimson's body, anxious to 
flee that burning, that maddening, blinding agony.  Darkness boiled 
out of Crimson's every pore, and formed into a great cloud that hung 
over the wrecked young man. The cloud watched as Crimson turned back 
into Ares.

[F/S: HORAAAAAAAY!!!!
Trident:(Small nod of the head) Good.  He is free.]

Ares blinked his eyes, and searched his mind for the intruder.  *He's 
gone,* he thought to himself, and suppressed his body's desire to 
throw up.  His thoughts turned to Rei.  "Oh god, what have I done?" 
he cried to himself, and pushed himself off of the ground, and 
stumbled over to Mars' side.  

He lifted her body up, and held her in his lap.  "Rei?" he whispered, 
shaking her slightly.  She moved like a manikin, every muscle limp, 
and tears formed in his eyes.  "I'm sorry, Rei, I failed you again."  
He hugged her body to his chest, and rocked her back and forth.  "I 
failed you again," he repeated, and cried.  After a minute, a scream 
tore from his throat and echoed through the city streets.  
"REEEEEEIIIIIII!!!!!!!"

[Flashman: Did you just sniffle?
Sakura: Wasn't me.
(They both look at Trident.)
Trident:(Rubbing his eye with his fingers) Do not act surprised, it 
is a sad scene.]

***

"Dammit, stupid idiot lone-wolf amateurs!" Sailor Uranus cursed for 
the tenth time.  "Why couldn't Apollo wait for us?"  She, Neptune, 
and Jupiter stood on the roof of one of the few skyscrapers in 
Crystal Tokyo.  "We'll never find him in this city!"

"Do what we always did," Jupiter suggested.  At Uranus's inquisitive 
look, she elaborated. "Listen for the screams."

[F/S: ....
Tridnet:(A small grin) Heh.]

Neptune blinked, then smiled.  "I suppose that would work.  That Naru 
girl had a rather distinctive scream, didn't she?"

[F/S:BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
!!!!
Trident: If memory serves, they even made a mention of that in the 
original Japanese version of the first episode of Sailor Moon R.  
However, they changed it in the DIC version.]

Jupiter nodded sagely.  "You could pick it up in the middle of a 
hurricane," Jupiter said, and then shouted in surprise as a brilliant 
flash came from the city.  "What the-?"

"Where the hell did that came from?" Uranus demanded.  "Did anyone 
see?" She looked to Sailor Neptune, but the woman was merely looking 
in shock at the city below.  "What is it?"  She tried to follow 
Neptune's line of vision, and gasped.  "Oh, shit."

Over one of streets in the city, a black cloud hung.  As they watched,
 it grew bigger, and larger, boiling and rolling as it expanded.  It 
seemed to shift and move until it was a vaguely humaniod shape.

[Flashman: Funny, when I try to visualise this, I keep getting a 
mental image of the blob thingy from the first Mega Man game that 
they brought back in Mega Man 8 as a Sub Boss in Wileys castle.]

They were brought out of their trance by a loud cry. 
"REEEEEEIIIIIII!!!!!!!"  By unspoken agreement, they leapt off the 
building in the direction of the cloud.  A few seconds later, they 
landed on the ground and took off in a sprint.

The first thing that greeted the three Senshi's eyes was the 
devastation the battle had wrought.  The street and sidewalks were 
cracked with craters and littered with debris.  The walls of the 
nearby buildings were caved in or scorched.  In the center of all 
this wreckage, a twenty foot tall humanoid cloud stood, its black 
form furiously boiling and writhing.

Near them, his back to the cloud, Ares sat on the ground, hugging 
Sailor Mars to his chest.  He rocked her back and forth, oblivious to 
the threat behind him or the recent arrivals.  Sailor Jupiter looked 
around the carnage, and caught sight of Apollo crumpled on the ground.
  She went to his side and checked him out.

[Flashman: I thought she did that already at the party.
(Sakura and Trident both wack Flashman on the back of the head.)
Flashman: OW! (Grumbling) I don't get any respect.]

"Ares?" Neptune asked tentatively.  She knelt beside the sobbing man 
and placed her arm on his shoulder.  Uranus looked after her partner 
for a moment, then placed herself between Neptune and the black cloud.
  She summoned the Space Sword and waited for the first sign of 
trouble as she listened to the events behind her.  "Ares?" 

He looked up, and stared blankly at her for a moment.  "Michiru?  I 
killed her!  She's dead!"  He hugged Mars' body to his chest tightly, 
and began to sob again.

Neptune felt a tightness in her chest, but ignored it.  She reached 
for Ares' arms and gently pried them away from the limp woman.  "Let 
me see, Ares."  He weakly fought her, but his wounds made him unable 
to resist. Eventually she worked Mars out of his arms, and checked 
her over.  She sighed with relief as she noticed the weak but steady 
pulse and her shallow breathing.  "Idiot," she murmured.  Ares seemed 
to collapse in shock at that, and she slapped him to bring him out of 
it.  "IDIOT!  She's alive!"

[(Trident slaps his forehead.)
F/S:(Imitating mutted trumpets) Whah whah whaaaaaah.]

"She's alive?" Ares whispered, and looked down at her.  She 
tentatively put his hand to her throat, and noticed the pulse.  He 
yelped with joy and hugged Neptune tightly.  "She's ALIVE!"  He 
cheered, and this time the tears that fell from his face were of joy, 
not sorrow.

"SPACE SWORD BLASTER!"  Neptune pushed Ares away, and turned to look 
at Uranus and the humanoid cloud.  Uranus was preparing for another 
attack while trying to dodge the wildly swinging enemy.  As she 
watched, the cloud stopped its charge and turned to look at Ares and 
Mars.  With a roar like the winds of a typhoon, it charged at them.

"CRIMSON BRILLIANCE!"  Ares stabbed his fist at the ground, and 
brilliant red light burst from the impact.  First, red light washed 
over him, turning him into a silhouette of a man wearing armor.  He 
stood, and silver light exploded from his bracers, washing away the 
red light and revealing the red and silver armor Serenity had gifted 
him with.  Red and orange flame danced over his body, swarming at the 
locations of his wounds and burning them away.  "All right, you 
bastard, let's go,"  Crimson growled.

[Flashman: ALL RIGHT!!!! (Starts humming the Outer Senshi Theme)
Sakura: Crimson's back and ready to kick Tutt.
Trident: Kick... "Tutt"? (Looks up) Are you truely serious?
Voice: Sorry, couldn't get that line out of my head.]

The monster pulled its arm back, and made a wild sweeping punch at 
Crimson, which the man caught on his shield.  Grunting with exertion, 
he held the fist back, and bowed his head under his shield as the 
shadow rained blow after blow on him.  "Michiru," he yelled.  "Get 
Rei out of here, and then back me up!"  He rolled out of the way as a 
World Shaking from Uranus plowed through the area where Crimson had 
stood.  "And watch where you're shooting, Haruka!"

He jumped high into the air, and came down behind the giant shadow, 
his shield passing through one of the creature's arms, which 
dissipated into the air.  Roaring in pain, it reformed the arm, 
growing slightly shorter as it did so.  The monster whirled on 
Crimson and sent a flurry of blows after him, which he jumped, rolled,
 and weaved around, lopping off its hand in the process.

[Flashman: Now THAT'S how you "disarm" an opponent!
Sakura: Saw that one coming?
(S&T raise their hands.)]

Off to the side, Uranus watched and tried to help as best she could, 
throwing in attacks every time there was a clear shot.  Out of the 
corner of her eye, she saw a silver light flash as Apollo ran back 
into the battle, lightning crackling across his skin.  His first blow 
took off an arm, and then he had to pull out as the monster made a 
series of counterattacks.  "Nice to have you back, bro," Apollo 
shouted.  The two men jumped out of the fray as Uranus, Neptune and 
Jupiter blasted the shadow, stunning it, and then leapt back to 
attack.

"Ares?" Mars groaned, and Neptune helped her to stand.  She gasped as 
she saw Crimson and Apollo battling the shadow, and reminders of the 
last time Crimson had fought coming back to her.  Swaying on her feet,
 she summoned her powers, and a flaming bow appeared in her hands.  
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"  The bolt of flame shot from her hands towards 
the combat.

Following a reflex he couldn't understand, Crimson caught the bolt on 
his shield, which seemed to transform into pure fire.  Whirling on 
his feet, he threw the shield straight at the monster, the burning 
disk flying from his hands and passing right through the creature's 
chest, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.

(Flashman:(Imitating Crimson) Captain America, Human Torch, EAT YOUR 
HEARTS OUT!!!
Sakura: Didn't you do a Captain America joke LAST chapter?]

With a pitiful whimper, the cloud of shadow faded out of existence.

"It's over," Crimson said, and caught his shield as it flew back to 
him. He turned to Mars, and she ran over and hugged him, weeping in 
his arms. Tears of joy falling from his own eyes, he held her as he 
transformed back into Ares.  "Never again."

***

Rei struggled to stand, and winced as she felt a twinge in her back. 
"Owww," she groaned, "my back is killing me."

A pair of strong arms caught her from behind and helped her up.  She 
smiled as they wrapped around her and drew her into a firm embrace.  
"Hello, Ares." She giggled as the man grunted and started kissing the 
back of her neck.  "Stop that," she commanded halfheartedly.  "Don't 
you have work to do?"

[Sakura: Say ANYTHING...
Trident: ... and you will suffer.
Flashman:(Gulps) I'll be good.]

Ares stopped his ministrations and sighed.  "Do I have to?  I'm 
really not up to dealing with the marriage crew right now."  He 
groaned inwardly as Rei turned and gave him a wide-eyed look.

"Don't you WANT to marry me?" she asked, and set her lower lip 
trembling. "I thought-" she was cut off as Ares kissed her firmly.

[Flashman: And so another falls for the "Sad Puppy Face" technique.]

"Dummy," he scolded her good-naturedly.  "Of COURSE I want to marry 
you."  He paused.  "But did we have to let Minako plan the wedding?"

[Flashman: O_O
Trident: The mental image that raises is unsettling.]

"It was either her or Serenity, and she wanted to make it a public 
event, complete with a national holiday.  I refuse to have reporters 
at my wedding," she insisted darkly.  "Let them annoy her and 
Endymion, I want us to be left alone."

Ares chuckled, and kissed her on the nose before heading to the door. 
"Couldn't we just elope?"

"I'm going to have a wedding," Rei said in a dangerous tone of voice. 
"It's going to be beautiful and impressive, and you're going to be 
happy about it."

"I am, Rei, trust me," he assured her quickly while opening the door, 
and grinned at his brother who was waiting in the hall.  "Morning, 
Apollo, you look..." he struggled for words.  "...tired."

Apollo shook his head in negation.  "Don't go there, bro.  Just don't 
go there."

[F/S: ROTFL!
Tridnet: I do not understand.]

***

In a private room in Crystal Tokyo, a child was born.  The mother 
held her child in her arms and beamed up at her grinning husband.  
"He's beautiful," she whispered.

"Have you two decided on a name?" the doctor asked her friends.

The man looked at his family and smiled.   He opened his mouth to 
speak, but was struck dumb as the boy's eyes opened and shone with a 
golden light. The symbol for Uranus pulsed for a moment of his 
forehead.

Rei looked up from her child and smiled sheepishly at the stunned 
Ares. "His name is Auric," she told Ami.  "A Shieldsman."

[All: Here we go again!]

THE END
_______________________________

Flashman: Good story God-Boy.
Sakura: Yeah, now get to work on Oh! My Brother! or else Tri and I 
are gonna pay you a little visit.
Flashman: Uhhh... you're joking... right?
(Trident begins to laugh... and it is a very UNNERVING and sinister 
sounding one.)
Flashman: Ulp.  Oh well, like I said, a great conclusion to a great 
story.  After reading this, I may have to go easier in my opion of 
Sailor Mars.  I once said I was her version of Blade to Ranma... now 
I'm just her version of Zen to Akane... that IS an improvement, isn't 
it?

The Flashman

May The Spirit Preserve You!