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. "Whatever it is, it's
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
dove 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 as
she got to her feet. "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 right 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; she 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 the 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.
     "Oh," Hellfire commented, "I'm really scared
now....why don't you lay some more 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 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 had been during the reign of her mother.
      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 Lita 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
nearby," 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.
"My most powerful attacks 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 the phoenix attack?"
     "No."
     "I'm not surprised," Raye nodded. "You are a bit
too inexperienced yet for that attack. You'll need
help to use it, and it will be painful, but with help
you can master the pain, then master the power you'll
need"
     "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. "Do it!"
     Still seeing the flaming phoenix in her mind, the
younger Mars shouted, "MARS PHOENIX!" 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 to get 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, her voice still quivering
from the pain she had gone through.
     "It won't hurt at all once you learn to control
the power," 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

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