^.^
Sorry for the spam everyone. I got way too excited about having my fic
reviewed and I forgot how finicky the system is about attachments and
formats.
SO, what I will do is posy the entire 15-story series as it is now, in
TXT format, attached to this message as an inline text. Hopefully, you
should be able to break off the individual chapters in your email and
save them as different files if you wish...
Ok...let's try this again...
Sailor X #1 Manhattan Project
By: John Brengman
The windows of the room let in the star-speckled night. The light
of the stars paled however to the light of the nearby planet, it's
light reflecting blues and whites to anything nearby, and that included
the lunar base that was home to the Luna Foundation and the operational
center for the Sailor Scouts.
The light from Earth pooled brilliantly in shafts of light shining
through the windows that dominated the far wall of the control room.
The rest of the room was lined with various computer stations that
monitored Earth, the solar system, and various other things. No one
manned the control room at this hour of the night, so the computers
seemed content to hum and beep and whir to themselves.
All of this pleased Luna, who was basking purrfully in the
throbbing of the top of one of the control stations. "Oh, there are
times when it is good to be a cat," was a thought that drifted lazily
through her mind as she soaked in the rhythmic pulsing.
The lights on the control panel changed to various shades of red
and began flashing insistently. An alarm began clamoring for attention,
and this awoke the sleeping cat. Taking one look at the control panel
that had betrayed her, Luna jumped down and headed for the hallway to
the residence quarters.
Reaching Brandy's room, Luna rushed in, reaching the sleeping girl
with a quick hop from the floor to the nightstand to the bed. Quickly
the cat pawed at the covers. "Wake up, sleepy-head!" Luna thought, only
to be met with a hand that lightly batted her away. "Not now, Cat,"
Brandy said sleepily.
Luna growled at Brandy's use of her 'pet name' and bit her on the
ear.
"Hey!" Brandy yelped as she jolted awake, "what was that for?"
However, by the time she had asked that question, Luna was already
bolting for the door on her way to rouse the next sleeping Sailor.
"Darn it, Cat," Brandy muttered as she began to dress.
==> * * * <==
"How could this happen?" Bethany inquired, her blue eyes looking
worriedly toward the windows.
"I don't know just yet," Melissa replied, her gaze intently tied
to the computer monitors and the information they were feeding her.
"I'm not even quite sure where to start."
"Ask Artemis to check for weird energy readings," chimed in a
hollow voice from the windows.
Bethany nodded and leaned against Melissa's chair. "Yes, ask that."
Bethany checked the computer and fed in the question. The response
was not promising?
"Infinity particles?" Melissa gasped. "What are those?"
"They are rare, dangerous, and unstable," Vanessa answered as she
entered the control room while combing her long white hair. As the
guardian of the Timegate, Vanessa was considered the know-it-all of the
group. "Infinity particles are combined with a chemical reaction and
they perpetuate that reaction. Since the reaction also generates more
infinity particles, the original reaction chain-reacts."
The others looked at each other as if Vanessa had explained it
perfectly.
Cassandra was the first to react. "Oh yeah," she quipped. "I buy
it."
An offended Vanessa was quick to go on the counter-attack. "Well,
you would understand it better if you would pay attention more in
physics class."
Cassandra was not to be mollified however. She shook her long wavy
red hair and her eyes angrily flashed as she growled, "The TEACHER goes
too fast! I can't keep up!"
Melissa was about to chime in and remind Cassandra that 'Aunt Amy'
had volunteered to help them out with the more difficult areas of
advanced physics when Luna stopped the conversation with a loud whistle
and, "Let's stay focused, girls!"
The voice from the windows replied, "What can we do about it?"
Vanessa went to a secondary control panel and started entering
inquiries into the computer. After a minute where all attention in the
room was on her, Vanessa straightened up and turned for face her fellow
senshi. "Artemis says that whatever happened did not happen within the
past day."
"I could've told ya that," Cassandra grumbled.
"In fact," Vanessa continued, "the decay of the infinity particles
suggests that the accident took place more than fifty years ago."
Dead silence filled the room as the implications of Vanessa's
statement became clear. At about that time, raven-haired Rachel entered
the room. "Unless the galaxy's going to explode, someone's in big
trouble!" Bethany glanced uncomfortably over at Rachel. Although the
group did not know each other that well, one thing was etched in stone:
never disturb Rachel's sleep.
The circumstances in this case were different.
Sandra stepped forward from the shadows near the window into the
light provided by the control room lights. "Be careful what you wish
for," she said, her face somber as she pointed toward the window.
The planet Earth was gone.
==> * * * <==
The conversation continued as the girls and Luna neared the
chamber containing the massive Timegate.
"Do we have any idea who's behind this?" Sandra asked.
"No," Vanessa replied, "but very few people have had access to
Infinity particles. Queen Serenity forbade anyone in the kingdom from
having Infinity particles, and even the rulers of the Negaverse were
never insane enough to use the particles they supposedly had."
"So, let me get this straight," Brandy said with an angry toss of
her long blonde mane, "we don't even know who has these particles?"
"You have the rather annoying knack," Luna stated, "of being
absolutely correct at the most unfortunate times."
Not liking the verbal jousting between Luna and Brandy, Rachel
broke in, "Ok! So, we go back in time and stop whatever happened from
happening again. Sounds straight enough. My question is, if Earth was
blown away fifty years ago, why are we still here?"
The girls reached a set of metal double doors and stopped. "You
may thank the Timegate for that," Vanessa replied. "It generates a
field which protects us from the timestream."
"Oh!" Cassandra exclaimed. "Sort of like those thingamajiggies of
yours."
Vanessa sighed. "Exactly." She pushed a few buttons on the door
panel and the metal doors separated. The room beyond the doors was
dominated by a huge translucent dome-like structure built into the
floor. While the others watched, Vanessa stepped forward, raised her
right hand in the air and shouted, "TIMEGATE ACTIVATION!" The ring she
wore on her right ring finger pulsed then shot a green beam of light
into the dome. The light washed over the dome, then shot back and
enveloped Vanessa. The group waited while the portal and the senshi
communicated mentally. When Vanessa broke the link, the green light
continued to splash about in the dome as the portal waited for further
commands.
Vanessa went over to a table along one side of the room and pulled
several devices from the storage lockers there. When she returned, she
glanced at the group. "Are we ready?"
Sandra stepped forward. "Someone needs to stick around here in
case something else happens while we are not here. Brandy, Beth, keep
track of us. The rest of you," she gestured toward the portal, "let's
go." With that, the four senshi stepped into the portal, and into the
past.
==> * * * <==
Tinian Island August 4, 1945 7:15 pm
"One scientist bet on the chances that the
blast would ignite the atmosphere. He offered
a side wager on whether it would destroy the
entire world or only New Mexico."
- Peter Jennings, "Hiroshima: Why the
Bomb was Dropped" (ABC News, 1995)
The staging area for a secret operation against the Japanese
homeland was a small cluster of buildings grouped around an airfield on
an scrap of land amidst the blue waters of the Pacific. One prefab
corrugated metal building stood near the end of the airstrip, and the
building was under heavy guard.
Within the building stood a large number of storage cases, neatly
stacked in columns that reached halfway to the ceiling. The cases
dominated one half of the building. The other half of the building was
empty except for a single bay-loaded bomb that sat upon its storage
stand in an area roped off from the rest of the building.
A dark figure kneeled next to the cylindrical device. He had
opened an access panel and had inserted a flat circular object about
the size of a wristwatch. The device's magnetic bottom easily attached
to the inside of the skin of the bomb. The figure replaced the access
panel, stood and looked over to two prone forms laying nearby.
With a slight bow to the unconscious guards, the dark-robed man
murmured, "May your aim be true, although that is not really necessary.
Either way, my plan will succeed."
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" The robed man looked
around franticly for the source of the voice, and found the group of
senshi standing just inside the huge doors of the building.
"MOON PRISM POWER!" Sandra shouted as Vanessa placed a small
star-shaped device on one of the boxes and activated it.. Sandra's
shout was followed by, "MERCURY POWER!", "MARS POWER!", and "PLUTO
POWER!" as the senshi began their transformations.
Sailor Moon brought her fist down from the finish of her
transformation with a flourish and said, "I am Sailor Moon, Vanguard of
Justice! I will right wrongs and vanquish evil!" The light from the
pyrotechnic display of the transformations faded, and a voice called
menacingly from the darkness, "and you, my friend, are moondust!"
"I am sorry I do not have an equally impressive display to greet
you with," the dark-robed man said. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am
Scaramanga, Master of Darkness. Now ladies, I will depart, and leave
you to your doom."
"Not so fast!" Sailor Mars shouted from nearby a stack of crates.
"MARS FIREBOLT BLAST!" A searing firebolt erupted from Mars'
outstretched hand and shot angrily toward the villain. Scaramanga
quickly dodged the blast that slammed into the far wall.
"Careful now, Scaramanga scolded, "You wouldn't want to damage
such an important part of history, would you?"
"I hate to admit it," Sailor Moon mentally said to the Scouts,
"but he's right. No beam attacks directed near that bomb."
"Yeah," Mercury growled, "well, direct THIS! MERCURY SHARD!" A
thick crystal shard appeared in Mercury's hand as she called upon the
power of her patron planet. "Eat this, jerk!" she yelled as she hurled
the shard at Scaramanga, who caught it with a grunt and crushed it in
one hand.
"You are trying my patience." Scaramanga stated. "DARKFORCE
ATTACK!" Wisps of dark energy burst forth from Scaramanga, slamming
into the stacks of crates, showering them down upon the senshi who
tried to scurry out of the way.
As Sailor Moon picked herself up from under a pile of debris with
the help of Sailor Mars, she mentally called out, "Pluto, are those
devices still working?"
"Yes," Pluto replied. "We are still outside the timeline."
"But I am afraid you are out of time," quipped Scaramanga, who was
now floating above the bomb. "ZAI" With that command, a scorching
energy bolt erupted from his fingers and stabbed Mercury who screamed
and fell to the floor.
"Mars", Sailor Moon mentally ordered, "See to Sailor Mercury."
Glancing at Scaramanga, Sailor Moon noted that the villain was hovering
above the bomb, but also beneath a heavy-looking utility hook. With a
mental "Ah!", she pulled her tiara from her forehead. "MOON TIARA
MAGIC!"
The tiara activated with a flash which illuminated Sailor Moon's
face with a pale light. "Screwball in the side packet," she said as she
threw the tiara at the chain holding the hook.. It ricocheted off the
chain and returned to Sailor Moon who caught it triumphantly. The hook
crashed down upon Scaramanga, who was driven upon the bomb. The hook
was deflected by Scaramanga and landed a few feet in front of the bomb.
"I thought you said no attacks near the bomb." Pluto remarked
wryly as she approached the bomb. As she reached it, Scaramanga faded
and disappeared.
"Hey," Sailor Moon remarked aloud for the first time, "I was being
careful., unlike some people we could mention."
Sailor Mars just looked at Sailor Moon and smiled wickedly.
"Finished," Pluto said as she removed the Infinity Device from the
bomb. "Mission accomplished."
"Is it?" Mars asked.
"What do you mean?" Sailor Moon asked as she attended to Sailor
Mercury.
"What do we do about that?" Mars asked, pointing to the bomb.
"We do NOTHING about it." Sailor Moon stated.
"But what about the people who will die when that thing is
dropped?" Mars asked.
"What about the people who died before and after this bomb was,
and I repeat WAS dropped?" Sailor Moon replied.
"We can not pick and choose here, and we certainly can not tamper
with history ourselves!" Pluto insisted.
"She's right," Sailor Moon said.
"Yeah, I know," Mars replied. "It just doesn't feel good, that's
all."
"I understand," Pluto smiled. "Doing what is right often does not
feel good."
"Yes," Sailor Moon said. "But doing what is right when it doesn't
feel good is what separates normal people from heroes." Putting her
hands around her comrades, she smiled. "Let's go home."
==> * * * <==
Hiroshima August 6, 1945 8:02 am
A silver phoenix soared through the clouds over the southern end
of Honshu. Upon the signal from the pilot, the bombardier released a
single bomb which fell toward its target.
From the future, Cassandra watched transfixed through the Timegate
as the ground exploded and the atomic reaction sent its plume upward as
the silver phoenix flew into the morning sun.
==> * * * <==
A sleepy Sandra stood by the window of her bedroom and gazed out
at the lunar landscape. Illuminating the dark gray of the nearby hills,
the blue ball of Earth glistened innocently. Squinting to look closer,
Sandra saw that Japan was emerging from night, about to start another
day. With that, Sandra quietly disrobed and prepared to return to bed.
** FINI **
Fanfic c 1999 - John Brengman and Artemis Publishing
Sailor X series inspired by Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, c 1992 by Toei
Animation Co Ltd. and based on Kodansha's manga production of "Sailor
Moon", written by Naoko Takeuchi
This fanfic is freely distributed. Release date: August, 1998
---
Sailor X #2 Hellfire
By: John Brengman
Neo-Queen Serenity stood on the balcony overlooking the grand
ballroom in the Crystal Palace. Light from the chandeliers softly
bathed the dancing couples and assorted party-goers and reflected
gently off the silvery-gray marble floor. Soft music wafted into the
air from the orchestra pit at the left end of the room,
while a sitting area dominated the opposite end, providing a polite
alternative to those lacking the energy or courage to brave the dance
floor. Judging from the continuous gentle pulse of activity in the
room, the first formal dance held in the Crystal Palace since the
ballroom was rebuilt was a complete success.
From her vantage point, Serenity sighed and leaned against a
nearby column. Seeing this un-royal-like posture, Luna quietly but
quickly jumped to the banister and somehow managed to appear graceful
as she rushed to her queen's side. Once she was perched comfortably
upon a shoulder, she purred quietly.
"You are tired?" She asked.
"No," Serenity replied lazily.
"Ah! You are bored," Luna stated. "Well, bored or not, your
posture is most appalling."
"Serenity gazed at Luna with a weary smile and seated herself in a
nearby chair. "You know," she said. "You are about the only one around
here who can still get away with lecturing me." Serenity paused
thoughtfully. "Raye can too, I suppose...and Amy sometimes..."
"What is the problem?" Luna demanded.
"I'm tired," Serenity replied. "I am tired of being a queen, of
running a kingdom, of having people on pins and needles around me. I
never do anything for myself, or by myself.
"Yes, my queen," Luna replied. She received a stern glare from
Serenity.
"And no one ever calls me 'Serena' anymore...or even...'meatball
head'." Luna thought she heard a lonely sigh at the mention of her old,
hated nickname.
Luna jumped gracefully to the banister, seated herself and looked
over the crowd that was oblivious to their queen's inner turmoil.
Turning her head back to Serenity, she said, "You may be lonely and
bored, but the people down there don't and shouldn't see it. They see a
young queen that they respect and love...and they need to keep seeing
that."
"Perhaps," the queen replied glumly as she arose, "but that
doesn't make me feel any better."
Luna watched as Serenity proceeded to the double doors at the back
of the room, nodding politely to the few courtiers she passed along the
way.
"This," Luna sighed to herself, "is going to be a problem."
==> * SM * <==
Raye and Cassandra were returning to the Crystal Palace from the
dedication ceremonies of the Prometheus Colony on Titan. Since the
confines of the spaceplane did not lend themselves to conversation,
both women took the opportunity to sleep during the flight between
Saturn and Jupiter.
Their sleep was disturbed when a sensor contact alarm sounded.
Raye quickly tied into the sensors and queried the computer for
information. Cassandra, who was not quite awake yet, grumbled sleepily
at the disturbance and tried in vain to retreat into slumber.
Failing to fall asleep, Cass growled, "Shut that off!"
"Sorry," came the reply from the pilot's chair in front of her.
"No can do. You have to tie into the system before that alarm will
stop."
Cass quickly donned her flight helmet and tied its sensory net
into the plane's computer. A visor slid down over her eyes and the
ship's cockpit disappeared as the helmet fed information from the
ship's sensors directly into her brain.
"Ok," Cass said. "I'm tied in." The alarm stopped almost as if on
cue. "What are we picking up?"
"I don't know yet," Raye replied. "It's off somewhere at about
eleven o'clock according to the sensors."
Cass looked in that direction and noticed a band of debris in the
distance. "We're getting close to the asteroid belt," she noted.
"Uhm hmm," Raye murmured. "Our contact is in there."
Cass scanned the area. "I don't see it."
"I'll increase the magnification," Raye replied as she turned a
small knob on a control panel to her left. Cass watched as the asteroid
field that drifted between Sol's fourth and fifth planets seemed to
jump out at her. A small mote of flame seemed to float amid all of the
asteroids. "Oh no," Cass muttered as Raye increased the magnification
again, bringing the object into better focus.
The object appeared to be a human-shaped being sheathed entirely
in an orange-red aura of fire. Even from this distance, Cass could see
heavy body armor, bulky gauntlets, and a spiked helmet.
"Not him again," Cass moaned.
"Fraid so," Raye replied. "It looks like Hellfire's back.
==> * SM * <==
Honolulu, HI Two weeks earlier
"This guy is tough," Sailor Moon muttered as she dodged out of the
way of a fireball thrown by the nine-foot tall villain who was
surrounded by flames. From somewhere nearby, Jupiter stepped up.
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" Lightning bolts spiraled down to Jupiter, who
collected them. Turning, she shot a fierce bolt of electricity at the
villain. The lightning flared around the monster, then faded with no
effect.
"You call that power?" the villain scoffed. "THIS is power!" With
that, he summoned a fireball into the palm of his hand and threw it at
Jupiter, who managed to get out of the way but was blown to the ground
by the force of the blast.
The Sailors had fought a ragged running battle and was now backed
against the premises of a local orphanage. Sailor Moon was determined
that the fight would proceed no further...the villain had to be stopped
here.
Venus launched a Crescent Beam attack, which did little to phase
the monster. "Nothing you wimps have can stop the power of Hellfire!"
The monster shouted as the remnants of Venus' attack faded.
"Group together," Sailor Moon ordered mentally. "I'll fire a tiara
shard attack, then we'll finish him off with a combined attack."
The Sailors evaded Hellfire's firebolts long enough to group
together in front of the stone wall bordering the orphanage. Sailor
Moon pulled the tiara from her forehead and shouted, "MOON TIARA SHARD
MAGIC!" The tiara activated with a flash that illuminated Sailor Moon's
face with a pale light. Sailor Moon threw her tiara toward Hellfire. As
it arced toward the villain, an angry red light pulsed from the tiara
as shuriken-like projectiles appeared on the tiara. The projectiles
then were spun off the tiara and shot toward Hellfire, who raised the
gauntlet on his left hand as a defense.
The projectiles from the tiara impacted upon Hellfire's gauntlet
but were deflected back at the unsuspecting Sailors, who were now
showered with a rain of razor-sharp blades. Hellfire simply batted the
tiara away with the gauntlet and laughed hysterically at the chaos he
had caused.
"I'll come back when you've grown up!" He shouted. "Perhaps then
you'll be more of a challenge." With that, the villain disappeared in a
ball of fire, leaving five severely injured Sailors to wonder what
went wrong.
==> * SM * <==
"Speak to me
Of those days I won't forget.
Your worst dream
Has now returned to pay you back!
I'm still laughing.
There's not much else I can do
But one thing's certain,
I'm coming back for you!"
"Have you got a gun?
Do you remember well?
Who'd ya use it on
You're going to burn in Hell!"
- Judas Priest, "Burn In Hell" (1997)
Near the asteroid belt Present day
"He's coming at us, Raye," Cass exclaimed, the concern evident in
her voice. She and Sandra had been the least injured in their last
battle with Hellfire, and were thus the only active members of the new
group of Sailors. Mina, Raye, and Lita had volunteered to return to
active duty until the rest of the group could heal.
"I see him," Raye murmured as she put the spaceplane into a dive
in an attempt to escape from Hellfire. They were close enough to the
asteroid field that they were encountering solitary rock fragments as
they flew. Raye rolled the plane lazily to avoid one rather large chunk
of rock.
"I think we lost him," Cass sighed with relief.
"Nope," Raye replied. "He's out there waiting for us." She sighed.
"But we have no choice. We've got at try to get past the asteroid belt
and make a run for the palace."
Raye started the plane into a gradual climb back through the
scattered debris, hoping that it would mask their presence. They got to
the vicinity of the asteroid belt before the ship shook with the impact
of plasma bolts on the neosteel hull.
"He's got us," Cass stated. She was nearly panicked.
"I see that," Raye replied, looking out the cockpit at the
asteroid belt below.
"What do we do now?"
Raye nodded in the direction of the asteroid field. "We go in."
"You're not serious," Cass stated bluntly.
"I am," Raye said. "I heard a line in a movie once. 'They'd be
crazy to follow us.'" *
"Yeah," Cass answered back. "I'd hate to think what that says
about you."
Raye said nothing as she banked the plane into the asteroid
field.. Soon Raye was dodging both the asteroids and plasma bolts as
Hellfire barraged the plane as he chased it.
"I just hope I can keep us together until we reach the break-off
point for Mars," Raye thought, "because if I can't, we're going to be
nothing but a cloud of space dust."
==> * SM * <==
Crystal Palace
"I don't like this, Luna," Serenity scolded as she and the cat
walked down the hallway toward the palace's gymnasium. "Usually I like
surprises, but I'm not in the mood right now."
"Oh lighten up, Serena," Luna replied. "I think you'll find this
surprise quite enjoyable."
"And you keep calling me Serena!" Serenity exclaimed. "Not that I
mind...too much...but that's all you've called me since the dance."
"It's part of the surprise."
"Oh," Serenity murmured. The two walked the rest of the way to the
gym in silence.
The doors to the gymnasium opened and Serenity was greeted by the
sight of the brightly-lit room. Various gymnastics equipment stood
silently to one side of the gym floor, which had been cleared and
replaced with a standard gymnast's dance floor. A control room was
located above the floor, its lit windows looking out on the gym from
the south.
Mina was busy putting the finishing touches on her dress and
straightening the red bow in her hair. Lita could be seen up in the
control room.
"Hey you two," Mina exclaimed seeing Serenity and Luna approach.
Mina scanned Serenity for a moment. "Oh Serena, that dress is too
formal. Here," she said as she picked up a bundle of clothes, "put
these on."
Lita came down the stairs from the control booth just as Serenity
was finished changing. Serenity now wore a reprinted Sailor V cutoff,
denim shorts, and tennis shoes. It had taken her more time to remove
her gown than it had to completely re-dress. Both Lita and Mina nodded
their approval.
"You look good," Lita stated.
"Yes, doesn't it feel good to be out of that thing?" Mina nodded
toward the gown hanging by a hook on the wall.
"I guess," Serenity replied. "I feel a bit naked though.
Mina approached Serenity and gave her a friendly hug. "That's
because you spend too much time with court duties and other stuff and
you never leave time for yourself."
Lita added, "this about a girl who nearly failed out of school."
Serenity blushed. Shaking her head to banish the embarrassment,
she asked, "So, what are we doing here?"
Lita did a twirl that made her dress billow out prettily. "Dancing
lessons!" She exclaimed.
"Aren't you afraid I'll be a klutz?" Serenity asked, sounding a
bit concerned.
"Nope," Mina replied happily. "And if you do klutz out, so what.
You need to let your hair down and forget about being queen for a
while."
With that, Lita picked up a small remote, pointed it at a wall
sensor and pressed a button. Soft music began to waft from the gym
speakers. "Let the dance lessons begin," she said happily.
Luna contented herself with simply curling up nearby and watching
the proceedings.
==> * SM * <==
"Say my name.
I can hear you whisper.
Not to blame?
You are going to blister!"
- Judas Priest, "Burn In Hell" (1997)
Mars
Raye would later proclaim the landing of the spaceplane on Mars as
one of her best landings. The plane was neatly tucked just inside the
entrance to a canyon. Cass had objected to landing on Mars, but Raye
had said that once they were outside, Hellfire would have a harder time
outgunning them. After another attempt to call the palace on the
plane's comm system had failed, Raye had sent Cass off to plant a
marker beacon that would make any search for them easier.
When Cass returned, Raye looked over at her from where she was
inspecting the damage to the plane. She tore off a piece of neosteel
which had curled into more of a cylindrical shape during the flight
through the atmosphere. It had originally been damaged from one of
Hellfire's attacks.
"The marker is set." Cass said.
"Good." Raye replied. "Once they start looking for us, we'll be
easy to find."
"Won't we be leaving before the others get worried enough to
search?"
"I hope so," Raye said., "but if we go, we have to do so soon."
She pointed to the plane's mid-section, where the fuel for the plane's
engines was stored. "The plasma that feeds the engines is beginning to
go inert. If it goes completely, we won't be able to re-start the
engines."
"How long will it take for the fuel to go completely inert?"
"I don't know exactly," Raye answered. "Not long, though." Both
women continued their work on the plane in silence for a while after
that pronouncement of doom.
The women were so focused on the job of repairing the plane that
they were caught off guard when Hellfire landed with a roar.
"I thought I'd find you here," Hellfire said with a smirk. "Now I
will get a chance to finish what I started the last time!"
Both women jumped down from the plane and approached the villain.
"Not if we have anything to say about it," Raye replied. Almost in
unison, both women shouted "MARS POWER!" and began their
transformations into Sailor Mars.
"Wonderful," Hellfire exclaimed upon seeing the two Sailors emerge
from their transformations. "Two fiery Sailors to scrag. Such fun!"
"Wishful thinking, charcoal-brain!" the younger Mars shouted,
"MARS FIREBOLT POWER!" A ball of fire coalesced in her right hand and
she flung it at Hellfire. The blast hit the villain but seemed to have
little effect.
The elder Mars, seeing this, shouted, "MARS STAR POWER!" and
transformed into her more powerful form.
"Oh," Hellfire commented, "I'm really scared now...why don't you
lay some of that fire magic on me."
"If you insist...MARS FIRESTORM FLASH!" An angry stream of fire
shot from the elder Sailor Mars and surrounded Hellfire with a
scorching inferno. Mars continued to pour energy into the fire blast
for several seconds longer, waiting for Hellfire to collapse under the
barrage. Finally, Mars discontinued the blast and Hellfire simply
waited for it to subside.
"And you call yourselves "super" heroes," Hellfire said dryly. "Is
that the best you can do? Here...try this!" And with that, he blew a
gust of fire that scorched the nearby canyon walls and anything in
between. Rocks were picked up by the strength of the blast and hurled
at the two Sailors who gradually grew weaker under the punishment.
After both women were unconscious, Hellfire ceased his attack.
Standing over the Sailors, he sneered. "Pathetic! I don't know why I
waste my time." He then flew off.
==> * SM * <==
Serenity could not remember the last time she had had so much fun.
The worries, cares, and responsibilities of running the Moon Kingdom
had melted away with the joy of having fun with a couple of close
friends. After getting her dance feet going, Serenity glided over the
dance floor like the premier dancer she was during the reign of her
mother.
A pleased Lita and Mina watched as Serenity swooped over the
floor in time to the music and responding to her invisible partner.
"Thank you girls," Luna said. "The queen definitely needed
something like this."
"We know," Mina said. "I noticed it during the dance, but Mina
came up with the idea of 'dance lessons.'"
As they continued to watch Serenity waltz across the dance floor,
one of her feet caught the other and she tumbled into a heap on the
floor. She flopped over onto her back and shook her head angrily.
"I am such a meatball head!" She screamed. Lita, Mina, and Luna
burst out laughing at this. Seeing this, Serenity began to laugh too as
she arose and went to join them on the bench.
"Thanks, you guys," Serenity said as she sat down. "This was
great."
"Even the klutz out?" Lita asked.
Serenity blushed. "Yes," she replied. "Even the klutz out. I've
got to do this more often."
"Consider it done," Luna said, "Klutz outs and all."
Everyone giggled, then got up and went out to the dance floor.
Lita started the music and they began to dance. Not long after that,
Serenity tripped again and all three women fell to the floor, which
sent up another burst of raucous laughter.
==> * SM * <==
"Scream in the night!
I've been counting the days.
It's so amusing
To see you again"
"Have you got a gun?
Do you remember well?
Who'd ya use it on
You're going to burn in Hell!"
- Judas Priest, "Burn In Hell" (1997)
Cass awoke to the sight of Raye looking down at her.
"How long?"
"You've been out for about two hours," Raye replied. She had moved
Cass to a spot near the plane once she had regained consciousness.
"Hellfire?"
"He's probably still around, but he's not in the area," Raye said.
"What do we do now?" Cass asked. "We can't seem to do anything to
the guy. He eats up any energy we throw at him."
"I know," Raye said as she gazed at the plane. "I was using some
of my most powerful attacks, and they weren't phasing him.
"So how do we stop him?" Cass inquired? "None of our attacks
worked. Jupiter's thunder attack failed. Sailor Moon's tiara attack
didn't work."
"Hold it!" Raye exclaimed, her eyes glistening. "I've got it!" She
quickly got up and went to the plane to retrieve the tortured strip of
neosteel she had discarded earlier.
"This is going to be a bit dangerous," Raye said. "Are you
familiar with your Super form?"
"No."
"I'm not surprised," Raye nodded. "You are a bit too inexperienced
yet for that level of power. You'll need help to get to that level, and
it will be painful. Once there, you will have access to all of the
attacks I use in the Super form plus anything you can discipline your
mind to attain."
"Yes," Cass said. "You've taught me that the powers of Mars are as
much a matter of mental discipline as they are anything else. But, what
are you planning?"
Raye knelt and began to shape the neosteel strip to make it more
aerodynamic. "I need you to provide a distraction, and the only thing I
can think of that will do the trick is the firestorm attack. I need
Hellfire to be completely occupied with your attack."
"You said the transformation was going to be painful," Cass
stated. "What do you mean?"
"It's better that you not know," Raye replied. "But, I will be
here to help you, and the pain will go away once you transform.
Now...close your eyes...and imagine the form of a flaming phoenix..."
Cass looked up in the Martian sky at the distant sun and slowly
closed her eyes. In her mind's eye, she still could see the sun, which
slowly warped to form the shape of a fire-sheathed phoenix...
"Ah!" Hellfire said, "I see you're ready for more punishment. He
then launched a fireball at Cass, who had transformed into Sailor Mars
along with Raye when the villain was first spotted heading their way.
She hit the deck quickly to avoid the blistering attack. Raye glanced
to the ground at her left where she had laid the neosteel shard. She
had sharpened the forward tip and smoothed the sides. Glaring at
Hellfire, she shouted, "MARS FIRE..IGNITE!" and blasted Hellfire with a
bolt of flame that was ineffective against the gloating monster.
"You are weak, pathetic fools!" He shouted. "Your powers are
nothing compared to the mighty forces of primal fire I command!" Almost
as an after-thought, he batted away a fire ball generated by the
younger Mars. "Bah! How weak! See how I dispose of your energy! You are
nothing!"
The elder Mars looked toward the younger, who was standing a few
feet away on a small hill. "Now," she shouted. "Transform!"
Still seeing the flaming phoenix in her mind, the younger Mars
shouted, "MARS STAR POWER!" and was sheathed in an angry field of fire.
She screamed in agony as the fire scorched her skin.
"Focus!" The elder Mars shouted. "Feel the strength of the
phoenix!" She thought. "Let the purity of the phoenix come through!" At
the appropriate time, the elder Mars raised her hands and pointed at
the younger Mars. "MARS FIRE..IGNITE!" The fireball shot forward and
slammed into the younger Mars, who now seemed to be transfixed by the
pain of the flames. The added fire quickly carbonized the young woman
and she was enclosed in a cocoon of gray charcoal.
"That was certainly interesting," Hellfire stated as he shot
razor-sharp claws at the elder Mars who back-flipped over the neosteel
shard out of the way.
A brilliant light began to shine through the carbon shroud that
enclosed the younger Mars. The light quickly began to consume the
carbon until the younger Mars stepped away.
"I am Sailor Mars! In the name of the Moon Kingdom, I will fight
evil and defend the innocent! I will vanquish villains, and that means
you!"
"You go girl," The elder Mars thought.
"MARS FIRESTORM FLASH!" The torrent of fire erupted from the
younger Mars who was surrounded by a brilliant aura. The fire splashed
on Hellfire and seemed to devour him. The young Sailor continued the
attack for several seconds before it became evident that the attack was
going to have no effect on the villain, who started laughing
hysterically.
"All that pain, all those special effects, and all you can do is
THAT?" Hellfire continued to laugh as the young Mars looked over
questioningly.
"Keep going!" The elder Sailor shouted.
"MARS FIRE..IGNITE!" Another fireball welled up from the hands of
the younger Sailor. She held it a bit longer than usual, as if doing so
would increase it's strength. Finally, she let it loose and it spiraled
to Hellfire, bathing him once again in a bath of primal energy. He
started laughing even before the attack's effect had died, totally
unaware that the elder Sailor had stooped down to pick up the neosteel
shard.
Hefting the metal shard lightly, the elder Sailor Mars readied
herself, reached back her throwing arm, and shot the crude spear at the
villain. "Laugh at this!" She shouted.
Just in time, Hellfire turned at the sound of the elder Sailor's
voice. He raised his gauntlet to reflect the incoming missile. The
shard hit the upper portion of the gauntlet heavily and deflected
forward and upward. The villain screamed as he realized his fatal
mistake one second before the neosteel shard slammed into his head,
piercing his eye, driving into his brain and shattering his skull. As
the monster died, the primal energies that had surrounded him faded and
his smoking body toppled backward to the ground.
The younger Sailor bounded down the hill and met her mentor near
the feet of the villain and practically flew into her arms.
"We did it!" Cass shouted happily. "We did it! We did it!" She
looked at the corpse of Hellfire as it to say "HA!"
"How do you feel?" Raye asked.
"Ok," Cass replied thoughtfully, "although transforming into Super
Mars was painful."
"It won't hurt at all once you learn to control the
transformation," Raye said. She then noticed a streak of light across
the sky. "It looks like someone at the palace noticed our beacon."
Together, the two women watched the sun set behind the Martian
horizon while they waited for their friends to arrive to take them
home.
FINI
FOOTNOTES AND EXPLANATIONS
* "He'd be crazy to follow us." Was taken from "The Empire Strikes
Back", where Han Solo used a
derivative of the same phrase.
Explanation: Raye realized that the shuriken attack used against
Hellfire in the first battle had failed because the shurikens were too
light. Thus, she came up with the idea of the neosteel shard, which was
light enough to throw, yet heavy enough to deflect forward, instead of
backward.
PREVIEW: SX3: DARK SAILOR
Sailor Moon stood upon a steep cliff overlooking portion of the
Negaverse. All she saw below her, in all directions was deserted and
wrecked buildings, punctuated by fires of various sizes. Buildings
which in their heyday had been possibly beautiful were now twisted in
agony. The entire view looked like the worst ideas of a
post-apocalyptic horror. Queen Beryl's evil seemed to reach across from
the realm of the dead to continue to torment the populace, those which
still survived.
"My god," Sailor Moon murmured aloud.
"You are standing amidst the ruins," Scaramanga said, "of a place
that God has forsaken. If He were ever here at all." The master villain
nodded a silent greeting to the other Sailors, all of whom had turned
at the sound of his voice.
Fanfic c 1999 - John Brengman and Artemis Publishing
Sailor X series inspired by Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, c 1992 by Toei
Animation Co Ltd. and based on Kodansha's manga production of "Sailor
Moon", written by Naoko Takeuchi
This fanfic is freely distributed. Release date: August, 1998
Sailor X #3 Dark Sailor
By: John Brengman
Scaramanga looked over the desolate landscape of the Negaverse from a
spot atop the Ghora Cliffs. The bulk of the Negaverse�what little there
was left, could be seen from this vantage point. Everything below the
cliffs was shrouded in a sullen darkness, as if waiting for some evil
force to return and reclaim the glory that the Negaverse had been.
No overpowering force of evil had returned to claim the Negaverse
after the downfall of Queen Beryl, and the Tree of Life�s attempt to
revive the evil dimension had failed almost before it began. The
shadowy Doom Tree now lurked in the mists of the Negaverse far to the
north of the Ghora Cliffs.
The Black Moon hung in the sky to the east, a silent witness to
the ravages below. Shards of darkforce energy showered the battered
city below like meteors, leveling whatever they hit.
The forsaken people who called the Negaverse home were in a
pathetic state. They lived below ground, the only place safe from the
darkforce that rained from the sky. They had been used as soldiers in
the conquering armies of Queen Beryl, or as energy sources for evils
that fed on lifeforce. Now, with Beryl and
Her minions gone, they were useless in a dimension gone mad.
�Why do you insist on looking at this hideousness?� A voice
inquired from the darkness.
�It reminds me of what was,� Scaramanga replied. �It reminds me of
where I came from, and if I am not careful, where I may end up.�
A woman clad in a black and gray version of a Sailor uniform
approached Scaramanga�s side and looked out over the blasted remains of
the city.
�I doubt you�d ever allow yourself to fall the way the peons here
have fallen,� she said. �Your pride would kill you first.�
�You�re probably right,� Scaramanga stated. �I didn�t work my way
up from Beryl�s army just to become another forgotten soul in this
waste land.�
�I hope you didn�t summon me for this dose of cheeriness,� Dark
Sailor said dryly.
�No, I asked you here because I thought you would be interested in
my new, and if I do say so myself, brilliant plan to steal much-needed
energy from Earth and get rid of the Sailor Scouts once and for all.�
�Two birds with one stone, hmm�sounds interesting,� Dark Sailor
said. �Fill me in.�
Scaramanga nodded and continued. �Humans have a knack for
stumbling blindly upon important universal truths. Many of these appear
in their cultural literature. One such universal truth is �The star
that shines the shortest, shines the brightest.��
�I don�t understand,� Dark Sailor said.
�What matters is that I do,� Scaramanga replied impatiently. �in
any event, look at the human lifespan. When they are young, humans have
so much energy that most of it is wasted in frivolity. As they get
older, humans lose vital energy until they grow old, run out of energy,
and die. Thus, the universal truth: �The star that shines the shortest
shines the brightest.��
�Keep going,� Dark Sailor said. �This is beginning to sound
interesting.�
�I called you here because of your abilities and weapons. They are
perfectly suited for this mission. We will steal children from Earth.
This will draw the Sailors to the Negaverse, where we will attack and
destroy them. At the moment of their death, you will drain their
energy.� Scaramanga smiled. �Even if we fail to eliminate the Sailors,
we will still have the children to drain.�
�Sounds like a plan,� Dark Sailor remarked wryly.
�Before we begin,� the elder villain said, �I need to obtain my
powers.� Scaramanga raised his hands in the air and shouted �DARKFORCE
POWER! Give me the power to destroy my enemies!� A hail of lightning
bolts descended upon Scaramanga who endured the arcing waves of energy
in silence. The bolts then splashed to a spot in front in front of him
and quickly coalesced into the form of another villain.
�Ah!� Dark Sailor said when she saw the outline. �Mimic. This
should prove entertaining.� Scaramanga stepped forward and let the
outline envelop him. Once he was done merging with the energy outline,
Scaramanga turned to Dark Sailor and clenched his fist triumphantly.
�It�s time to get some kids!�
==> * SM * <==
Ginza Field, in Tokyo�s Ginza District 4:02 PM
�It�s the bottom of the second inning as the hometown Tokyo Ryoken
come to bat,� an announcer squawked over the small radio Raye had
propped in the seat next to her. Surrounding it, and watching the
action on the field below was Cass, Rachel, Mina, and Victoria. The
Luna Foundation always sent someone
to the home games of the baseball team that they owned, but this was
one of the largest contingents that
had attended a game in recent months.
The reason the five women attended the game was simple. The group
had taken quite a beating at the hands of Hellfire a few weeks ago, and
Queen Serenity had noticed that the group�s morale was sagging. Luna
had told the group, both active sailors and reserves that the queen did
not want to have to order them to find something fun to do, so a group
of the girls had become regular visitors to Ginza Field.
�First up to the plate for the Tokyo Ryoken,� the radio announcer
said, �shortstop Adam Miller!� After two pitches, Miller belted a curve
ball, sending it shooting out into left field for a base hit.
�How can you watch this? Raye asked quietly so as not to offend
the fans near her.
�I think it�s interesting!� Cass replied, her eyes glued to the
action as the next batter took position in the batters� box.
�You just like the men,� Mina scolded with a wink.
�I do NOT!� Cass yelled.
�Will you guys keep it down?� Rachel asked. �I�m trying to watch
this.�
�What does our yelling have to do with whether you can see the
game?� Raye asked, but any further comment was stifled by a glare from
Rachel, who then turned her attention back to the game with a low
growl. Victoria just sat through this argument and watched everything.
She then sat back in her seat, made sure her long, braided black hair
was neatly settled over her right shoulder, its tip laying on her
chest. Every so often, Mina would hand her the bag of popcorn and try
to include her�but it was hard since Victoria was almost a carbon copy
of her introverted mentor. She had the additional crucible of muteness
to bear, and she carried out her role as Sailor Saturn with a grim
efficiency that made the others shudder.
By the time things had quieted down, the Ryoken had two men on
base, two outs, and the fifth batter was at the plate. Mariko Katsuragi
squared to bunt at the first pitch, then suddenly drew back and swung
hard at the incoming shot from the opposing pitcher. With a CRACK,
Katsuragi sent the baseball high into the air. The ball soared out of
the area of play and into the crowd. With a thud, it ricocheted off the
cement steps near Raye, who ducked just in time to avoid being hit. The
ball flew into Mina�s lap, showering her and Victoria with popcorn.
Mina then stood up and dumped the rest of the popcorn on Rachel as she
held up the ball and bowed to the nearby spectators.
�Admit it Raye,� Cass said during all the commotion, �you like
baseball.�
�Perhaps,� Raye murmured, hoping that her answer got lost ion the
roar of the crowd as Katsuragi slammed a ball out of the park.
==> * SM * <==
Downtown Tokyo, near the Imperial Palace 4:10 PM
Bus 49 proceeded along a major boulevard in central Tokyo, heading
home from a picnic outing. The bus was filled with children who were
acting as though it were eight in the morning. Only their seat belts
kept them from playing in the aisle. The teacher sat in the front seat
behind the driver and waited for the school to come into view around
the next corner�.which would not happen for some time. Molly sat in the
mid-section of the ship looking as if she were about to be engulfed in
a tidal wave of kids. At the back of the bus, Jordan Winston sat in the
only area that was relatively calm�the eye in the hurricane of
kindergarten youngsters. Seated next to her was Karyn Anderson, nearly
the very essence of calmness.
While Molly attempted to play rock-scissors-paper with about five
kids, Jordan and Karyn talked about various things�at least Jordan
tried to.
�So, Karyn,� he said, �you�re good in school?�
�Yes,� the girl replied, her deep-blue eyes looking at the teenage
boy. �Not as good as mom, though.�
�Do you want to be as good as mom?� Jordan asked. He wasn�t
expecting the answer he got.
�No,� Karyn replied simply. �I�m good at playing and ball and
stuff�mom�s good at other things.�
It was at about this point that a dark-clothed figure appeared at
the front of the bus. The figure turned and waved her hand over the
steering wheel as the driver tried ineffectively to get her to go away.
The woman grabbed the driver�s shoulder and a dark aura quickly
surrounded him. He moaned tiredly as his lifeforce was drained away.
Seeing the demise of the bus driver, the children attempted to get
as far away as they could, nearly trampling Molly, who was on her way
forward with a grim look on her face. Jordan looked around helplessly
as Karyn scanned the situation calmly.
�Stay out of my way and no one gets hurt!� Dark Sailor yelled as
she waved her hand over the steering wheel again. The bus started to
lift away from the ground.
�What do you think you�re doing?� Molly demanded.
�I�m warning you,� Dark Sailor said sternly. �Stay out of my way!�
This didn�t deter Molly, who advanced upon the villain and grabbed
her arm. The steering wheel continued to move by itself as if the bus
were driving through the air. Dark Sailor grabbed her axe from her back
with her left hand and bashed Molly with the flat of the weapon. She
went down in a heap at the bottom of the stairs across from the
driver�s seat. Grinning wickedly, Dark Sailor opened the doors of the
bus and Molly flew out. She grabbed the metal bar attached to the door
at the last moment to prevent herself from falling to her death. It did
not prevent her from letting out a terrified scream which rippled
through the children as they saw what happened.
Karyn saw Molly fly out of the bus and tossed her book onto the
seat. Since most of the kids were standing on their seats to get a
better view, Karyn made her way to the front of the bus quickly by
crawling under the seats.
Dark Sailor�s attention was focused on Molly and she did not see
the little girl approaching the front of the bus. Her axe whirled again
and the metal attachment between the door lever and the door itself was
shattered. Molly screamed again as she nearly slipped from her hold on
what remained of the metal connecting rod.
When she reached the stairway, Karyn tightly grasped the metal
railing on the other side of the stairs from the door mechanism and
descended toward the shattered door. The little girl reached the base
of the stairs and yelled out, �Molly!� as she reached out to her
friend.
�Karyn!� Molly screamed. �Get back, it�s too dangerous!�
�I know,� Karyn replied, tightening her grip on the railing. �Grab
my hand!�
�I can�t reach! Get back before you fall!�
�No!� Karyn shouted. �I don�t want you to fall!�
At that point, a gust of wind caught the door and pushed it toward
the bus. Molly grabbed Karyn�s hand and pulled herself back aboard the
bus.
Molly glared at the villain, who had watched the whole rescue with
a dispassionate gaze. �What now?�
Dark Sailor growled, �Get back with the others and leave me
alone�or I�ll bash you again!� The two girls obediently headed toward
the back half of the bus, where the rest of the kids had gathered along
with their adult protectors. All of them were now prisoners.
==> * SM * <==
Crystal Palace 6:35 PM
The royal court had just finished dinner and returned to the
throne room to commence what had become known as �the evening hour�
which was when various guests of the court could petition for aid of
some sort or another. Although the Moon Kingdom was not recognized by
any government on Earth, the Luna Foundation secretly contributed to
charitable interests across the globe. In return for permission for
secret access to the Luna Foundations rather vast resources and a visit
to the court to petition the queen or princesses directly, the
Foundation was given certain privileges or authority in some things in
which its interests were at stake.
Although Neo-Queen Serenity realized that all of this was
necessary for the continuation of the work the Luna Foundation was
doing, she still hated all of the groveling and posturing that went
along with it. Presently, she was listening to an environmental group
who wanted the Luna Foundation to step in to prevent further drilling
for oil in northern Alaska. Part of the process was that the person
making the petition defend his or her position before the queen�against
another member of the royal court�and the environmentalist had the
misfortune of having to square off against Princess Pluto.
The argument went something along the lines of:
�Enough damage has been done to this region of the world,� the
environmentalist stated. �This has to stop and stop now!�
�First off,� Pluto replied, �you discount the recuperative powers
of Nature. Nature has repaired all sorts of damage caused by people,
and it will continue to do so. Secondly, you come here asking for our
support,
yet you give us no reason to believe that the Foundation�s involvement
will remain a secret.�
Serenity decided she�d heard enough and stopped the proceeding
with a slight wave of her hand. �We�ll contact you when we�ve made a
decision. Princess,� she nodded toward Pluto, �please show our guest to
his ship, then return.� With that, Serenity arose from the throne and
approached Mina, Raye, and the others who had just returned from Tokyo.
�Well,� she said, feigning delight. She REALLY hated this part of the
royal schedule. �How was the game?�
�It was fun!� Cass said, bringing a smile to Rachel�s face. �I had
a blast!�
Raye yawned.
�So who won?� Serenity asked.
Rachel�s smile widened. �Our team!�
�Although you could barely concentrate on the game with the way
these two were yammering,� Raye said, pointing at Cass and Mina.
Victoria stood back as far as she could while remaining a part of the
group. Being in public, even while in the castle, was not comfortable
for her.
�Cass was gawking at the guys,� Mina said with mock sternness.
Cass turned to Mina with shock on her face. �I was NOT!�
Mina continued, �I saw you! Your tongue was practically on the
floor.�
Cass growled menacingly.
�Please children,� Sandra said as she joined the gathering. That
phrase seemed to lighten everyone�s mood, coming as it did from a
teenager, and directed toward at least one adult.
�See what I mean?� Raye asked.
The conversation was interrupted by a commotion outside the doors
of the throne room. The doors burst open and a distraught Amy entered
the room. The door person approached her, as was his duty when someone
enters the throne room without the royal announcer or the queen. The
princesses, of course were an exception, but anyone would attempt to
stop a person, even a princess from entering the throne room and making
a scene there.
�Princess,� the doorman murmured nervously, �perhaps it would be
better�� Amy looked at him with a look that could freeze Hell. �Don�t
try to stop me,� she growled.
Not knowing Amy�s intent, and only seeing her obvious distress,
the doorman continued to attempt to fulfill his duties. �Madam, I must
insist��
�Randall,� Sandra said as she approached. �It�s OK. I�ll escort
her.� Randall was about to protest, but a raised eyebrow from Sandra
dared him to press the issue with a princess who obviously was not
distraught.
Once the two women had joined the group, Sandra looked at her
mother. �I don�t think the people should see a princess in this state.�
�You�re right,� Serenity replied quickly. �In fact, have all but
our personnel removed from the grounds. If they protest, tell them that
whatever they came to petition about can afford to wait.� Sandra
relayed this order to Randall and returned. As the people filed out of
the throne room, Raye approached Amy and hugged her. Once Randall
closed the throne room doors, the group turned to Amy.
�What is the matter?� Serenity asked.
Amy gathered herself up from Raye�s shoulder which she had been
leaning on and said with a voice quavering with fear and anger, �The
Negaverse has kidnapped my daughter!� Amid the gasps of disbelief,
Serenity turned and walked back to her throne. Once she was seated, the
others joined her again, sitting themselves in a circle on the carpeted
floor on the low stairs in front of the throne.
�How could this happen?� Serenity asked.
�The school bus she was riding never made it to the school from
their outing today,� Amy replied steadily regaining her composure.
�And you�re sure it was the Negaverse?� Sandra asked.
�Yes. Greg and I retraced the route the bus was supposed to take.
We found traces of Negaverse energy all over an area of downtown where
people said they saw the bus simply float into the sky.�
�How strong were the readings?� Mina inquired.
�Off the scale,� Amy stated. �My computer stopped reading them
after a short bit.�
�Nothing like leaving a really BIG bread crumb,� Rachel stated
bluntly. �They�re leading us on�and they know we�ll fall for it.�
�And we will fall for it,� Raye said, �because we have no choice
but to try to rescue the children.�
�Yes,� Serenity replied. �I agree.�
�Good!� Amy said, standing, �I�ll get the rest of the Sailors.�
�Excuse me,� Sandra said quietly. �That�s my job.�
�What?� Amy said, confused. �What about Lita and the others?�
�You forget,� Sandra stated, �you and the rest of the princesses
are no longer active Sailors. You are
a reserve that we call on if we need to, not before.�
�But I want to help,� Amy protested. �I must help my daughter!�
�And you have,� Sandra replied slowly with emphasis on each word.
�I mean no disrespect, but let us do our jobs.�
�Amy,� Raye said, �we selected them to be our successors as
Sailors. If we jump into everything that comes along ourselves, then
why did we bother giving the power to the new Sailors?�
Seeing she was outnumbered, Amy turned to Serenity for support. It
was not there.
�I agree with Sandra and Raye,� she said. �The Sailors will go to
the Negaverse and rescue the children.� Turning to Amy and Raye, she
continued. �You and Raye, gather the other princesses and be ready to
go to the Negaverse if the Scouts should need you.� The women gathered
before Serenity nodded their agreement and started about the task of
preparing to go.
Serenity approached Sandra before she left the throne room.
�Sandra, could you have Vanessa see me before you leave.�
The queen�s daughter looked at her mother. �We�ll be ready in ten
minutes.�
�I won�t take long,� the queen replied.
Turning back to the throne, Serenity again approached Amy. Placing
her hands on the princess� shoulders, she gazed comfortingly into her
eyes. �Don�t worry, Amy. We�ll get Karyn back.�
==> * SM * <==
The Ghora Cliffs,
in the Negaverse The Young Sailors
�So,� Mars quipped, looking around nervously, �where is the
welcoming committee?�
�Like if ya knock really nice they�ll come out and ask ya to fry
em,� Mercury remarked.
�Cut the chatter,� Sailor Moon ordered. �We don�t have time.� She
walked forward to gaze from the cliff at the desolation beyond. The
only buildings remaining standing besides the huge castle that Beryl
inhabited seemed to be other castles erected in other areas of the
Negaverse. Aside from the castles and a bizarre church-like building,
which had been damaged but not destroyed, the picture in front of the
Sailors looked like something out of an old war movie.
�How did this happen?� Sailor Uranus asked.
�Evil usually turns upon itself when defeat is near.� Pluto
replied. �This was no doubt the result of the death of Queen Beryl.
With no new evil stepping in to fill the power vacuum, the Negaverse
has torn itself apart.�
A silence fell over the group and the only sound that could be
heard was a hollow wind as it rustled by them. In the distance to the
north, a darkforce shower pounded the area near a castle far to the
northeast. �I wonder who lived there,� Mars said quietly.
�That would be the castle belonging to Lord Malachite.� Turning to
Mars, Pluto said, �You really should try harder in history. Castle
Malahrand is prominent in the history of the Negaverse.�
The darkforce shower continued and grew worse. A huge piece of
darkforce energy slammed into the area south of Malahrand, pulverizing
an area the size of a city block.
�My god�� Sailor Moon murmured aloud.
�You are standing amidst the ruins,� Scaramanga said from behind
them, �of a place that God has forsaken. If He were ever here at all.�
The master villain nodded a silent greeting to the other Sailors, all
of whom had turned at the sound of his voice.
�Welcome to the Negaverse,� Scaramanga said. �I hope you enjoy
your stay, because you will be staying for a long while.�
Sailor Moon stepped forward and calmly said: �I�m going to tell
you this only once. Return the children you stole, and do it now.�
�Oh?� The master villain replied, �and if I don�t?�
�Then I intend to see that you don�t walk away from this encounter
alive.�
�I�m afraid it won�t be that easy, Sailor Moon,� Scaramanga
replied. �You�re in the Negaverse now, and your threats mean nothing
here, but I do thank you for trying. Anyway, now to the business of
your deaths�ZAI!� A stream of darkforce bolts swarmed from the villain.
The Sailors easily dodged the negative energy as the bulk of it
assaulted the ground in front of them. It proved to be reason enough
for some of the Scouts to retaliate, however.
�VENUS CRESCENT BEAM�.BLAST!� was quickly followed by: �MERCURY
SHARD!, MARS FIRE�.IGNITE!, DEEP SUBMERGE! and MOON TIARA MAGIC!�
Scaramanga took the brunt of most of these attacks, batting away
the tiara and the ice shard, and absorbing the force of the crescent
beam, primal fire, and water funnel. He had been brought to one knee by
the attacks, and when they subsided, his head was bowed as if in
defeat.
Sailor Moon stepped forward and angrily said, �I don�t like having
to repeat myself! Return the children!�
Scaramanga looked up with an evil gleam in his eye. �You are in
for a rude surprise, Sailor Moon.� He stood up, somehow looking non the
worse for wear after absorbing some of the best attacks that the
Sailors could throw at him. He held out a hand and said: �DARKFORCE
TIARA MAGIC!� A black replica of Sailor Moon�s tiara appeared in his
hand, its green gemstone gleaming hideously. Scaramanga threw the tiara
at Sailor Mars with a flourish. The evil tiara screeched through the
air and only Mars� timely dodge prevented her demise. Instead the tiara
slammed into her right shoulder, pitching her roughly to the ground.
�Dark Sailor! Where are you?� Scaramanga yelled.
The Dark Sailor appeared at the villain�s side. Instead of her
black and gray sailor uniform, she was wearing a full suit of body
armor. �I was waiting until you needed me.�
�I need you now,� Scaramanga replied. �Attack the Sailors!�
With a nod, Dark Sailor turned to the heroic women. �Get a load of
this!� She shouted as she threw globs of darkforce energy at Sailors
Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. The darkforce hit the ground near its
targets and exploded into a sticky mess, entangling the Sailors. The
evil force then started to drain the Sailors of their energy.
�SILENCE GLAIVE SURPRISE� echoed hauntingly through Sailor Moon�s
mind as Sailor Saturn called forth her weapon. With a sinister whisper,
a six-foot tall glaive with a thin, black handle appeared in her hands.
�You challenge me?� Dark Sailor said with astonishment.
Brandishing her axe, she approached the silent warrior. �Fine! I�ll cut
ya to ribbons!� She raised her axe and brought it down in a fierce arc,
which Saturn deflected with the glaive. The axe thudded to the ground
with a loud clang.
�You were lucky!� Dark Sailor roared as she pulled her axe out of
the ground, �but not this time!� She swung her axe horizontally,
forcing Saturn to retreat. With a yell, Dark Sailor raised her axe and
brought it down toward Sailor Saturn again. Grasping her glaive with
both hands, Saturn quickly raised its handle to meet the attack. The
handle of the glaive, which looked like it would snap in two under this
assault, instead held off the attack without so much as a scratch. The
two combatants seemed to realize they were equally matched, and neither
wanted to stop long enough to launch another attack. So, Dark Sailor
kept pressing her axe into the handle of Saturn�s glaive, and Saturn
kept pushing the glaive up to meet the attack.
Meanwhile, the other Sailors had grouped around Sailor Moon, who
had been knocked out by a DARKFORCE SHARD attack. Mars stepped forward.
�I�m taking you down!� She growled.
�Oh really,� came the villain�s reply, �this should be
interesting.� Mars rushed toward Scaramanga and threw a left hook at
him. The villain took the blow and grinned. �I hope you can do better
than that.�
�How�s this?� Mars shouted as she slammed a upper-cut into his
jaw. .Scaramanga staggered back out of range of the angry Sailor.
�THAT�S IT!� He roared. �DARKFORCE FIRE IGNITE!� A ball of swirling
darkforce energy appeared in Scaramanga�s hand and he hurled it at
Mars. The chaotic energy cascaded around both her and Sailor Pluto, who
had rushed forward to assist. Both women struggled to remain standing
under the onslaught.
�There�s more where that came from,� Scaramanga stated flatly.
�DARKFORCE CRESCENT BEAM!�
The beam crashed into the two women, who collapsed.
�That�s enough!� Sailor Venus shouted angrily. �VENUS LOVE CHAIN
ENCIRCLE!� This attack however was met with �DARKFORCE DEEP SUBMERGE!�
and was extinguished. Venus herself was drowned into unconsciousness by
the blast.
With a roar, Sailor Mercury rushed toward Scaramanga. She threw a
punch at him and missed. �I grow tired of this,� he growled as he drew
his left hand forward. With a yell, he slammed it back and hit Mercury
in the face. With satisfaction he heard the crushing of bones and a
line of blood spurted from Mercury�s mouth as she was thrown away from
the villain. She landed in a tangled heap and laid very still.
Saturn could feel that Dark sailor had committed herself to
pressing her attack. Almost all of her weight was on the axe. Knowing
it was either now or never, Sailor Saturn shifted her weight slightly,
then dropped the hand nearest the head of the glaive. This time, the
Dark Sailor joined her axe on the ground. Before she could recover,
Saturn back-swung her glaive into the air. Once it was over her head,
she grasped the deadly weapon with both hands and brought it down with
full-force upon Dark Sailor�s back. The armor protecting Dark Sailor�s
back shattered under the impact of the glaive, but no real damage was
done. As Saturn again raised the glaive above her head, the evil
villain could see that she intended to change that.
Scaramanga heard the cry of �Help me!� off to his right and
quickly shouted �DARKFORCE FIRE IGNITE!� releasing a dark primal attack
which downed the silent Sailor. He approached Dark Sailor and roughly
hoisted her to her feet.
�You couldn�t even take out one frail girl!� Scaramanga yelled. �I
am almost out of energy!�
�Stop your complaining,� Dark Sailor replied through her teeth.
�There�s plenty of energy laying around.� Turning to the downed
Sailors, she winked. �Pick a Sailor, any Sailor.�
�Aren�t you being a bit premature?� asked a voice from behind
them. �You still haven�t beaten us yet.�
The villains turned and saw yet more Sailors. One stepped forward,
�I am Sailor Venus, and I will fight for my friends! On behalf of the
planet Venus, I will punish you!�
Seeing that they were seriously outnumbered by the eight new
Sailors, Scaramanga shook his head and
replied, �Sorry, but we really must be going.� With that, both he and
Dark Sailor vanished.
==> * SM * <==
Sailor Moon awoke to the sight of a concerned elder Sailor Venus
staring at her closely. Relief swept over Venus when she realized that
Sailor moon was okay. �What happened?� Sailor Moon asked.
�The Queen sent us after she sensed you were in trouble,� Venus
relied. �most of the others are okay too.� The look on Venus� face told
a slightly different tale.
�What about the more serious injuries?� Sailor Moon asked as she
got to her feet.
Concern again crept into Venus� face as she replied, �Mercury and
Saturn were hit bad, but we�ll have them back to normal in no time.� A
light smile crossed her face as if even she had yet to be convinced.
Sailor Moon looked around at her friends. Sailor Mars was standing
near the edge of the cliffs talking quietly with her mentor. The elder
Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus were assisting the younger Sailors who had
been trapped and drained by the cocoon-like darkforce. Sailor Moon
noted with concern that the two women representing the planet Uranus
stayed well away from each other, as if they knew that now was not the
time to get into an argument over personal issues.
The elder Jupiter was helping out the younger Venus, and both
elder Mercury and Saturn were attending to the young Mercury.
After a few minutes, the group assisting Mercury broke up, and
with a sigh of relief, Sandra saw that her young partner was fully
recovered. All of the Sailors, young and old formed a loose group in
front of Sailor Moon.
�As Sailor Moon, and because you are the crown princess of the
moon,� the elder Venus said, �you are the leader here.�
�Thank you,� Sailor Moon said with a nod. Looking north over the
expanse of the Negaverse, she asked, �Where do we start?�
�Well,� the elder Mercury said, �If I know Karyn, she will have
activated the tracking device in her watch.� She pulled her computer
from its storage place and activated it. She quickly picked up a signal
and reported, �The children are over that way,� as she pointed toward
the huge skull-like structure that was Castle Beryl.
�I spotted a path down the cliffs,� the elder Mars said. �it�s
narrow, but it should do.�
�This is going to be way too confusing,� Sailor Moon stated. �I�ll
talk to the elders naturally, and talk to the younger Sailors mentally
while we are together. Let�s get going. Keep your eyes open. We�re not
out of this yet.�
==> * SM * <==
Outside the Astra Chapel
The group of heroes reached a shattered chapel-like building near
the center of the city at the bas of the Ghora Cliffs with little
interference from the natives. Most of those that the Sailor did see
quickly scurried away. Those who were in a mind to be more aggressive
quickly thought again when they discovered who it was they were facing.
�Puff up! Puff up! They hate that,� was a quote that came unbidden to
Cassandra�s mind after once such encounter.
The younger Sailors took up the lead, while the elders brought up
the rear. Not much idle chatting went on amongst the group�all seemed
preoccupied with the eerie haunted look of the places and people. One
small child straggled forth from the rubble of a nearby house and with
curiosity enough to kill nine cats, she approached Victoria, who with a
smile picked her up. She walked a short way with the child in her arms,
doing her best to wipe the soot away from her face. The other Sailors
didn�t seem to mind this, although Sandra had to remind Victoria that
she could not take the child too far from her home.
After seeing the child safely off, Victoria rejoined the group,
this time a bit further back, near her mentor Hotaru, who was wielding
her glaive at the rear of the group and scanning the area forward
vigilantly for any signs of the enemy.
Death however came from the rear. With a near-silent hiss, Dark
Sailor appeared behind Sailor Saturn, her axe unsheathed, its blade
much more wicked than before. With a scream of triumph, Dark Sailor
slammed the blade of her weapon into Sailor Saturn�s back. With an
agonized scream, Saturn was driven forward. Blood splattered from her
mouth as ribs were shattered and organs obliterated. Her frail body was
lifeless before it hit the ground.
Victoria was the first to see what had happened. She turned in
time to see Dark Sailor rip her axe roughly from the body of her
beloved mentor. Victoria�s anger turned into rage as she realized that
the vile villain was about to hack at Sailor Saturn again. With a
mental shout that dripped vengeance, Victoria screamed, �DEATH RIBBON
DEVASTATION!!� Razor-sharp ribbons of deadly energy erupted from
Victoria and surged toward Dark Sailor.
�Oh damn,� Dark Sailor muttered as she realized she had attacked
the wrong Sailor. Just after that, the fury of the younger Saturn�s
attack slammed into her. Within a minute, the screaming villain was
reduced to a mass of bleeding fleshy pulp as the ribbons scoured her
flesh from her bones. After expending that much energy, Victoria
collapsed, her right hand outstretched to clasp the hand of her fallen
friend.
�Well, that was a waste.� Scaramanga said as he solidified near
Victoria�s prone form. �My partner in crime had so much potential. At
least she took one of you brats out before she was killed.�
�I will see you dead for this, if it�s the last thing I ever do!�
Venus shouted, her voice quivering with rage. The other elders either
echoed Venus� sentiments in some form or launched attacks at the
villain. The elder Mercury noticed that the younger Sailors were about
to join the fray and hurriedly waved them off. �No,� she said. �You
must find the children. We�ll deal with this creep!�
�But you�ll need our help,� Sailor Moon protested.
�If someone can not find the children, then Hotaru�s death will
mean nothing,� the elder Mercury replied. �Now go. We can handle this.�
Sailor Moon nodded to the rest of the young Sailors as the elder
Mars blasted at Scaramanga. �You heard her, let�s go!� The younger
Sailors headed off in the direction of Castle Beryl.
==> * SM * <==
The Young Sailors
The Sailors were keeping an eye out for any other surprises as
they headed to Castle Beryl, located not far to the northwest of the
chapel. As they went, each Sailor tried to keep the visions of Hotaru�s
brutal death from their minds. Most were doing a good job of it,
despite the difficulties. A friend had died, but unless they were
successful in their task, innocent children would die�and that had to
be prevented at any cost.
Everyone was focused on their objective except for Sailor Mars,
whose sobbing caused Sailor Moon and the rest of the women to stop.
�What�s wrong?� Sailor Moon asked, though she knew the answer.
�I can�t get Hotaru out of my mind,� Mars replied through her
tears.
�Well, get over it.� Sailor Moon said coldly. �We have people
depending on us, and we can�t afford this now.�
�But what if we could have done something to save her?� Mars
wailed.
Sailor Moon grabbed Mars and shook her. �Knock it off! We can
mourn later. Right now, I need you, and I need you straight!� That
seemed to silence the distraught Sailor. After a moment, she looked at
Sailor Moon with a glare that could kill. �I�m ready.�
�Good,� Sailor Moon replied sternly. �Let�s go.� With that she
walked off and the group continued on their way.
==> * SM * <==
The Elder Sailors
�WORLD SHAKING!�
Scaramanga shook off the amber attack as it splashed against him
and replied with, �DEEP SUBMERGE�, sending a torrent of water at Sailor
Uranus. �Your pathetic attacks are getting better,� Scaramanga taunted,
�but you are still no match for me!�
Undaunted, Sailor Neptune stepped forward. After a quick concerned
look at her partner, who was trying to shake off the effects of the
villain�s attack, she shouted, �Why are you doing this?�
�Why?� Scaramanga said with surprise as if the Sailors didn�t
already know, �because I want to show you just how pathetic you really
are! You pass yourselves off as the �champions of justice� yet you
can�t even save yourselves from the throes of my power! All of your
attacks are useless! Anything you throw at me, I can reflect back! I am
impervious to your attacks, unaffected by your pleas�in short, I AM
INVINCIBLE!�
Mars still remained to be convinced, however her MARS FIREBIRD
STRIKE did little to harm the villain. �You seem to have a hearing
problem, woman,� he taunted. �You can not hurt me with your attacks!�
Mercury had taken cover behind a scorched wall of a nearby hovel
along with Venus. �He�s right,� Mercury said. �Nothing we throw at him
is working, and he turns our attacks against us.� Venus nodded her
agreement. �Do you mind if I try something?�
�Go ahead,� Venus replied. �I think we are running out of ideas.
Pretty soon I�m going to start throwing rocks at this joker.�
�Wish me luck,� Mercury said with a wink. She then approached the
battlefield. Scaramanga was busy easily fending off attacks from
Sailors Uranus, Neptune, and Jupiter. In response, he sent punishing
attacks at the heroes, one of which brought Jupiter to her knees.
�This has gone on long enough!� Mercury shouted.
Turning, Scaramanga spotted the Sailor. �Oh really, and I am
supposed to be scared of your small attacks?�
�I�ll give you small,� Mercury muttered. �MERCURY BUBBLES�.BLAST!�
A thick fog shrouded the area around the evil villain.
�Now,� Mercury growled as she aimed at the ground at the villain�s
feet, �Let�s see you absorb this: �MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!� Swirling
ice quickly froze the ground, then worked upward until Scaramanga was
frozen in a block of ice. Seeing her handiwork, Mercury sighed in
satisfaction, then went to attend to Victoria, who was already being
helped by Sailor Venus. Sailors Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto however,
pressed their attack on the villain. Pluto shattered the ice block with
a DEAD SCREAM attack, which was quickly followed by WORLD SHAKING and
SUPREME THUNDER DRAGON. Under these battering attacks, Scaramanga was
forced to retreat.
As he fell back, Scaramanga tripped and fell onto his back. Seeing
the Sailors looming menacingly over him, he quipped, �Well, it looks
like you have bested me this time�.� He started to fade away and the
Sailors tried in vain to grab him. �But there�s always next time!� With
a sinister laugh, the villain vanished.
�Well, I guess that takes care of him,� Jupiter murmured.
�Yes,� Pluto replied bitterly, �for now.� With that, she turned
and went to assist the other Sailors.
==> * SM * <==
Castle Beryl The Young Sailors
�I�ve never been here before,� Sailor Moon said calmly while
entering the Throne Room from the adjoining chamber with Sailor Pluto.,
�but I�ve heard stories from the elder scouts.�
�I�ve heard stories as well,� Pluto replied as she approached the
throne. �None of them were good.� Pluto pulled a small device from her
breast pocket. Brushing the dust off a murky softball-sized ball, she
placed the device atop it.
Seeing this, Mars asked, �Don�t ya feel like your grave robbing?�
�Neo-Queen Serenity gave me direct orders to recover the
conversion bed and the scrying orb specifically. They are too valuable
to leave here where anyone has access to them.� Any further comment
from Pluto was stopped when Mars collapsed. The Sailors rushed to her.
�I�m picking up the children,� Mars said, �but they�re in danger!�
�I�ll check it,� Sailor Moon said. �You guys keep a lookout here.�
�That will not be necessary,� an angry voice hissed from the
shadows.
A sinister laugh followed, and a female voice said, �Yes. Why go
looking for trouble when it is so eager to find you?� With that, the
ghostly figures of Malachite and Zoisite stepped into view.
�You thought you could defeat me,� another voice whispered from
the shadows near the throne, �You should know it takes more than a
single attack from a weakling little girl to defeat me.�
Queen Beryl appeared from the blackness and took her seat on her
throne.
Sailor Mercury was the first to recover from the surprise at
seeing these relics from the past. �I don�t know where you came from,�
she growled, �but I am definitely not in the mood for this!�
�Yes,� Beryl said, �and I sympathize. I know it�s been a terrible
day for you.� Beryl�s hand flicked Pluto�s device from the top of her
scrying orb as she activated it with a quick gesture. With a tap, the
queen forced the orb to project its contents into the space between her
and the Sailors. The image projected were the agonizingly brutal last
moments of Hotaru�s life.
Beryl smiled cruelly. �That axe had to hurt.�
�You are SO dead!� Mercury screamed. �MERCURY SHARD!� A jagged
spear of ice formed in Sailor Mercury�s hand and she launched it toward
the former mistress of the Negaverse. The attack was foiled when
Malachite imposed himself between the shard and its target. Malachite
absorbed the ice shard within the folds of his cape. �I believe you
have forgotten someone,� he said.
�Yes,� Zoisite agreed. �ZOI!� Zoisite�s darkforce attack stabbed
toward Sailor Neptune�s back. The Sailor shuddered as the hideous
energy assaulted her. Sailor Jupiter turned and hurled a lightning
attack at the villain, which she dodged.
Events after this became fuzzy as each side traded attack after
attack�
==> * SM * <==
Outside Castle Beryl
Jedite laughed triumphantly as he watched the bus filled with
screaming children fall slowly into the chasm that the castle
overlooked. The balcony-like ledge that the bus had been on was
shattered, a result of numerous blasts of darkforce energy.
As Jedite leaned forward to further inspect his handiwork, a voice
behind him said, �You always were a self-centered jerk, Jedite!�
Jedite turned and faced the newcomer. �And you always were a weak
fool, Nephrite!
With that, a battle to the death ensued.
==> * SM * <==
The Young Sailors
From a kneeling position, Sailor Jupiter shouted �JUPITER THUNDER
DRAGON!� Her attack was aimed high and missed Zoisite. The attack
screamed by and crashed into the wall, showering the villain with a
fine powder of soot.
Zoisite however, acted according to the Sailor�s plan�she landed
lightly on the ground. Jupiter launched herself and slammed into her.
Sailor Mars glared at Malachite. �Feel the fire, Flyboy!� She
yelled. �MARS CELESTIAL FIRE�SURROUND!� The swirling bolts of primal
fire pelted Malachite and he thudded to the ground. He looked up to the
Sailor with rage in his eyes. �I�ll rip your heart out for that!� He
launched darkforce bolts which enveloped Mars, who screamed, but held
her ground. Mercury came to her defense and threw up a field of fog
that forced Malachite to break off his attack.
Sailor Uranus hacked at Beryl with her sword with no effect. Beryl
simply grinned. �I am not affected by your useless attacks!� She said.
�You can not hurt me!�
�Then you�ll have to kill me,� Uranus replied grimly, �and the
others.�
�That�s fine with me,� Beryl replied as she raked her sharp
fingernails across the face of the Sailor who fell to the floor in
agony. �Taking you out will be too easy!�
==> * SM * <==
The Elder Sailors
Jedite slammed his hand into Nephrite�s chest, easily penetrating
his body. Nephrite screamed and tried to pull away.
�Don�t bother, Nephrite.� Jedite smiled, �Give in! Let your death
come quickly!�
�Ha!� Nephrite muttered through the pain. �You are as stupid as
you are selfish! We ARE dead!�
�Mind if we join this party?�
Both combatants glanced in the direction of the voice. The elder
Sailors stood there defiantly.
�Certainly!� Jedite replied as he resumed his attack on Nephrite.
�You will all have an equal opportunity to die!�
Nephrite however growled in agony. �Sailors! Help me! The children
are in danger!�
Mercury yelled in anger as Venus stepped forward and delivered a
crescent beam that knocked Jedite back and away from Nephrite. Mercury
then stepped forward. �MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!� Jedite was soon frozen
in a thick block of primal ice.
The Sailors approached Nephrite as he stepped to the edge of the
chasm. �Where are the children?� Mercury asked. Nephrite pointed into
the darkness.
�Down there.�
==> * SM * <==
The Young Sailors
�Enough with the pleasantries,� Beryl snarled. �Time to die!�
Spikes of darkforce energy shot out and splattered into the Sailors. As
the vile energy shimmered with negative energy, the Sailors collapsed.
Beryl roared in victory.
�I believe you�re celebrating a bit early,� Sailor Moon muttered
as she fought to a standing position. �It�s time to take you down a
notch or two. I stand for love, justice, and my friends! In the name of
the moon, I will punish you!�
Sailors Mars and Venus looked at each other and then: �MARS FIRE
IGNITE!� and �VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!� The twinned attacks snaked forward
and exploded around Malachite and Zoisite. As they realized that they
would not survive the combined attack, they turned to each other.
Fighting through the agony of the flaming attack,. Zoisite smiled
at her mate. �I love you.� She said quietly.
�And I love you,� Malachite replied. They then faded from view
with a wisp of black smoke.
As the smoke died away, Beryl descended from her dais and stood
proudly before her throne. �You still haven�t won! You have not beaten
me!�
�An oversight,� Sailor Moon replied, �that we mean to correct!�
Sailor Mars stepped froward. She shouted �MARS STAR POWER!� and
was sheathed in an angry field of fire. The primal fire coalesced
around the young woman and transformed her into a fiery phoenix-like
being. Shafts of brilliant light stabbed out in all directions,
blinding everyone in the room and lighting up all of the shadows.
Once her painful transformation was complete, Sailor Mars charged
toward Queen Beryl, who tried to flee into the next chamber. Mars
grabbed Beryl and embraced her in a bear hug!
Beryl screamed horribly in agony as the primal fire of the phoenix
scorched her. She soon became enveloped in an angry sheath of flames.
Her body wracked with pain, Beryl clawed at the young woman and tried
to dislodge her. Mars simply gritted her teeth and endured the assault.
Mars backed up and turned until Beryl�s back was facing the rest
of the Sailors. �Sailor Moon!� She screamed. �Throw your tiara!�
Sailor Moon did not immediately react.
�What are you waiting for?� Mars yelled as Beryl slashed at her
head.
�I might hit you!� Sailor Moon replied.
�Yeah, yeah! And you head is really made of green cheese! Throw the
damned tiara!�
�No!� Sailor Moon replied. Instead, she waved her hand in the air
and shouted, �MOON STAFF!�
A flash of light splashed the room and the Moon Staff, a longer version
of the Moon Scepter appeared in Sailor Moon�s hands.
Beryl wrenched herself free and turned around. An exhausted Sailor
Mars dropped to the floor.
�MOON ZERO MAGIC!� A disk of destructive magic appeared at the tip
of the staff and floated outward until it reached the queen. Beryl
roared as the energy consumed her.
A wraithlike entity floated up from the spot that Beryl occupied
only moments before. With an evil laugh, the shadow-form swirled around
the room. Beryl�s voice boomed, �You still have not defeated me!�
The wraith then slammed into Sailor Mercury, knocking her to the ground
before vanishing into the floor.
�She�s gone!� Sailor Neptune shouted as she hugged Sailor Moon.
Sailor Jupiter and the others hurriedly checked on Mars and Mercury,
both of whom seemed to be recovering quickly.
The castle shook suddenly, throwing most of the women to the stone
floor. �What the�,� Sailor Uranus murmured.
Nephrite burst into the room. �Sailors! You must leave quickly!
Beryl has set up a reaction within the darkforce stored under the
castle. It�s going to explode!�
�What happens then?� Neptune asked quietly.
�Most of the Negaverse goes away,� Pluto answered.
�What about the children?� Sailor Moon shouted.
�There�s no time!� Nephrite yelled. �That darkforce will explode
any minute!�
�No!� Sailor Moon rushed past Nephrite and out onto the ledge
where she saw the other Sailors, who
were looking into the chasm in search of the children.
�Where are the children?� Sailor Moon demanded.
�They�re somewhere down there,� the elder Mercury sobbed.
After a moment of searching, Sailor Moon muttered, �We don�t have
time for this�� However, she didn�t know what to do next. She seemed to
reach out to the innocent children trapped in the darkness of the
chasm�knowing that there was no way to save them from what was to come.
==> * SM * <==
The Crystal Palace
�Sandra,� Serenity murmured to herself. She then shook herself
back to alertness.
�She�s in danger,� the queen announced aloud to the empty room.
She turned and approached the crystal throne. She ascended to the
throne and pressed a small button on the right arm. A hidden door was
revealed in the wall behind the throne.
Neo-Queen Serenity entered a small circular room. Its walls were
made from quartz-like crystal and lighted by a large circle of nine
clear crystals. One crystal represented one of the planets dedicated to
the defense of the Moon Kingdom. The queen entered the circle and stood
at its center.
�May the use of this power bring you all home safely,� Serenity
said quietly. Then, �PLANET POWER!� All of the planet crystals flared
to life, bathing the room in a warm glow. Serenity raised her royal
scepter in the air and shouted, �MOON REJUVINATION MAGIC!�
A bright beam of intense light bloomed in the chamber and arose
through the glass ceiling. Travelling through space, the magical energy
crossed the dimensional barrier and disappeared.
==> * SM * <==
The Negaverse
In the pools under Castle Beryl, the darkforce bubbled and frothed
with the infusion of energy from the extinction of Beryl.
The dimensional barrier was pierced by the magic from the Crystal
Palace.
The nether magic neared the boiling point and continued to build
up.
The magic produced from love cascaded down and lit up the sky over
the Negaverse.
The darkforce exploded�and Serenity�s magic enshrouded Castle
Beryl at the exact same time.
The deadly energy, which should have obliterated most of the
Negaverse and killed the people living there, rained gently down upon
the dimension and gently transformed it. The blasted buildings melted
away and were replaced by spacious cabins and stately mansions. The
castles dotting once-horrid landscape were transmuted into posh villas.
The somber, darkforce-soaked sky turned to a crystal clear blue. In
short,
The Negaverse became Elysium.
Just before the moon energy took Molly back home, she stood atop
the flower-speckled cliffs above the city and looked out over the
now-thriving expanse. �Oh Nephrite,� she said to the tall man next to
her, �Isn�t this great? It�s so beautiful!�
�Yes,� Nephrite agreed, �it is.�
�All except for that,� Molly said, pointing into the sky to the
northeast, where the Dark Moon still hung. �Why hasn�t that changed?�
�The Dark Moon was originally populated by exiles from the far
future. Because part of its creation involved the forces of good, those
same forces can not erase the evil they created.�
�What good is light without darkness��
�What?� Nephrite asked.
�Oh nothing�just rambling,� Molly replied.
==> * SM * <==
The Crystal Palace
Once the initial celebrations had died down, the Sailors and the
staff and workers at the palace gathered on the grounds to pay their
respects to a departed friend. Far above, in the depths of space, the
elder Uranus led the palace�s lone fighter wing on a flight path that
would take them over the palace.
As they came approached the palace, one wingman dropped out of
formation, and the fighter wing passed over the gathered crowd in the
�Missing Man� salute to Sailor Saturn.
Despite the fact that the children they had been sent to rescue
were now safely at home, the mood of the
Crowd, especially the Sailors, was one of sorrow and deep loss.
Although she knew it to be wishful thinking, Serenity silently
bowed her head and prayed that no more of her friends would ever fail
to return from a mission.
FINI
FOOTNOTES AND EXPLANATIONS
Quotes:
�Puff up. Puff up. They hate that�
- Batty, �Fern Gully�
�What good is light without darkness?� � I believe the bad guy in
�Legend� said something along this line as he was being killed.
Notes:
- Sorry about the mixing of Japanese and NA names, but in the case
of the outer Sailors / senshi, they do
not have names that everyone can agree on. Apologies also to all of the
other things which would fall
into this category.
Fanfic c 1999 � John Brengman and Artemis Publishing
Sailor X series inspired by Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, c 1992 by Toei
Animation Co Ltd. and based on Kodansha�s manga production of �Sailor
Moon�, written by Naoko Takeuchi
This fanfic is freely distributed. Release date: August 26, 1998
(more in a bit)
John B.
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