Here comes another chapter.  All comments are welcome.  The previous
chapters of the revision are as yet unarchived, but are available on
request.

           Aaron Nowack
"Never let reality get in the way of a good hypothesis."
http://www.geocities.com/anowack/ (for now)


Shades of Gray
A Sailor Moon Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack

Chapter 11:  Collision Course

        "What is the Way of the Warrior?"
        "The Way of the Warrior is Death."
                - seventeenth-century Japanese proverb

***********************************************************************
Disclaimer:  Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi, whose creative
talents far exceed my most humble own.  Distribution and other rights to
Sailor Moon belong to lots of different companies that I do not own.  I
make or imply no claim to ownership of Sailor Moon or its characters.
However, the text of this fanfic is mine, and should not be used without
permission. Thank you.
***********************************************************************


        Jadeite frowned as he entered his chambers.  Something was
amiss... there was a foul scent in the air, a corruption even greater
than usual.  The shadows seemed alive, moving and whispering in the
dimly lit room.  The former general whirled around, certain he that
heard someone sneaking up on him, but no intruder was revealed.
        Another sound.  Jadeite stilled himself, all his perception bent
on determining the source of his discomfort.  He could feel no presence
in his room.  Yet the half-familiar sounds continued.  The dark lord
extended his search, his magic feeling throughout his palace for
anything out of place.
        Nothing.  All was as it should be.  For a moment, Jadeite opened
his eyes, glancing about his chamber warily.  If all was well, what then
caused the terrible sense of oncoming doom?  Flames gathered in
Jadeite's hand, and the ever-present shadows retreated under the fire's
assault.
        Jadeite's scowl deepened.  Not a single item was out of place.
Everything remained as it had been when he had first journeyed to the
front almost a week ago.  Yet, the dark lord was not comforted by this.
His instincts rarely let him down, and they were screaming out in utter
panic.  Something was happening.
        The flames died out as Jadeite once again closed his eyes and
extended his more unnatural senses.  His probes entered every nook and
cranny of his palace, carelessly shoving aside the wards that most
Overlords placed around their private chambers.  There would be time to
smooth over ruffled feelings later.
        Jadeite collapsed, his senses overwhelmed.  They had been
straining, focusing on even the slightest imperfection, yet finding
nothing.  But now... now they were reeling under a powerful wave of
energy.  Familiar energy.
        "The Flame Diamond," Jadeite muttered as he struggled to his
knees, clutching his wounded shoulder, which pulsed in time to the waves
of energy.  "How?"
        Jadeite never completed his thought, as he finally felt the
source of all his problems.  Good arm grasping at a nearby table,
Jadeite slowly pulled himself up.  "By all the Ten," he muttered,
ignoring the anachronism of the ancient oath.
        Even as he came to this realization, the dark lord trembled
under a new assault.  Chillingly familiar energies swirled throughout
the palace and beyond.  Jadeite could feel the mental touch battering
against his protections.  Forcing himself fully to his feet, ignoring
the rising pain in his shoulder and his shaking legs, Jadeite began to
quietly chant a ward of protection.
        The ward was never completed.  As Jadeite rolled around on the
floor, body spasming under the next assault, he had the presence of mind
to activate the protections on his door, sealing off his private
chambers with nearly unbreakable shields.  Then, blessed darkness came,
obliterating the pain.
        Outside the palace, the skies opened up and spewed forth
millennia of pent-up wrath.  Rain lashed against the dark castle walls,
leaving shallow, steaming pits where it struck.  When the storm cleared,
the low clouds did as well, revealing to one and all the blazing sky
known as Metallia's Eye.
        And on Earth, in a small cafe on the outskirts of Tokyo, a pale
Meiou Setsuna dropped a 2000 yen note next to her unfinished coffee and
vanished, uncaring of whether she was seen.

***********************************************************************

        "Ami's late."  Rei worriedly glanced out the window onto the
rapidly darkening twilight.  "I hope -" She left the sentence
unfinished.  She didn't even know what to hope for.  What was Ami doing
that was so dangerous?
        Across the room, Haruka pulled the Mercury Computer out from her
pocket and gingerly put it on the table.  With a frown, she flipped it
open.  "Ami said there was a message on here for if she," Haruka trailed
off, then continued, "couldn't make it."
        Silence greeted her pronouncement.  Frown deepening, Haruka
reached to activate the message.  However, her hand stopped at the sound
of four beeps.  As one, the Inner Senshi reached for their
communicators.
        "I'm sorry, everyone," Ami's voice could be heard emanating from
the devices.  "I'm going to be just a little bit longer.  I need to make
sure I'm not followed."
        The mood in the room lightened noticeably, though not entirely.
At least they knew Ami was all right... but why would she be worried
about being followed?
        It was half an hour before Ami arrived and those questions would
be answered.  After the obligatory displays of relief at her appearance
had been dealt with, Ami reclaimed her computer and began to relate the
meeting that had taken up most of her day.
        This would take quite some time, and the sun had finished
setting by the time Ami reached Juno.  At this point, Ami halted her
narrative a moment, trying to sort out how to relate the next phase of
the story.  Obviously what she had heard was filtered through the biases
of the teller, but how much did that bias twist the facts?  With a
sideways glance at Hotaru and a sigh, Ami made her decision.  "I think
it would be best to just let you hear the same thing I heard about the
next event."  A moment's work on her computer, and the recording she had
made began to play from the appropriate point.
        "It was the largest cultist strike ever.  Almost three hundred
irregular soldiers, a handful of sorcerers, and two dozen youma - almost
four times more than had ever been used in a single strike before.  The
last report we got out of Juno before everything went to hell was that
strange energy surges had been detected deep below the planet's surface,
and that Gaia and Senshi Terra were investigating.  We never found out
exactly what happened below."
        "But we can guess.  Somehow, the cultists were trying to summon
Metallia.  Gaia... Gaia died.  She used her true power, and sacrificed
herself in an attempt to save us.  We could feel the darkness below, and
could do nothing to stop it.  And Iris... Saturn." The venom in Hermes's
voice was obvious.  "Saturn went berserk.  She attacked us, tried to
kill us all.  And then... and then that bitch destroyed Juno! She
murdered Hera... and billions of others.  And your precious Queen
Serenity saved Iris's worthless life! Her life, and no others!"
        Ami's own voice was then heard.  "Enough with the dramatics."
        There was a long moment of silence, then Hermes spoke.  "It's
hard to talk calmly about what happened.  I don't really think I can..."
        At that, Ami stopped the recording, and risked a glance around
the room.  It was obvious that most of the Senshi did not know what to
think- not that she did herself. Ami knew there had to be another side
to the story... but how to get it?  Hotaru did not, could not remember.
        Hotaru muffled a sob and raced out of the room.  Barely a second
later, Haruka and Michiru followed.  Usagi was not far behind.

***********************************************************************

        Sailor Pluto was not scared.  She refused to be scared, even if
the timestream had shuddered and fractured, splitting into a thousand
times a thousand paths.  In one, a critical battle went wrong, and one
by one the Senshi fell, her last of all.  In another, a sudden change of
heart brought new allies to their side, and victory was seemingly near
assured- but far too soon, and at great cost.  In a third, betrayal
shattered the Senshi, the hope of ten thousand years lost to an ill-
advised romance.  Another path showed that same romance saving them all
from horrible defeat.  Pluto saw herself fall prey to foolish choices,
and damn all who depended on her with her failure.
        Pluto shuddered as wave after wave of the images poured into her
supernatural senses.  This was impossible - she hadn't seen uncertainty
like this since the final days of the Silver Millenium.  Each potential
timeline was multiplying, as each brought its own crisis points, which
branched out even further.
        The Senshi of Time relentlessly sought out Crystal Tokyo - the
timeline that had to occur, the one true future.  But it was buried
under countless infinities, and whenever she thought she had the proper
strand, it slipped away.  Pluto paused and waited, and slowly the
timelines began to thin out, the more improbable vanishing, though far
too many remained for comfort.
        Slowly and painstakingly, she found what she sought, and saw
what must occur.  And with a sudden crash, her staff fell to the ground,
nerveless fingers no longer holding it in a firm grasp.
        The sound echoed throughout Castle Charon's dark and silent
halls.  Sailor Pluto slowly stooped over and retrieved her weapon.  This
was not good.  There was no way she could ensure everything would occur
as it must.  She could only hope and pray.
        An ancient curse on her lips, Pluto slowly approached the Great
Seal.  She stared for a moment at the ten concentric circles surrounding
the intricate mural of the Sun.  With a sigh she forced her staff into a
small hole in the outermost, black circle.  Cautiously, she extended her
senses, determined to confirm or deny her worst fears.
        Pluto's already pale face whitened even more as she observed the
wounded barrier that separated the Dark Kingdom from the universe.  It
was weak, too weak, and deteriorating quickly.  Even as she watched, a
patch of frayed barrier dropped away entirely, revealing what lay
beyond.
        Sailor Pluto recoiled, malicious laughter echoing in her head. A
blazing red eye, a horrible, familiar eye, half-remembered from her
earliest nightmares, bored into her mind, piercing the shadows of her
innermost thoughts.  With a scream, Pluto forced her staff out of the
hole, but the terrible eye remained, and the laughter redoubled in
strength.
        "Foolish little girl, treading where she should not dare look,"
a far too familiar voice crooned.  "I remember you, little one.  I
remember you from Juno.  'Sailor' Pluto, Senshi of Time."  The voice
laughed.  "What a disgrace.  You know that this is not the calling you
are best suited for."
        An image formed in Sailor Pluto's mind, superimposing itself on
the crimson eye.  She stood triumphantly atop a pile of bloody, broken
bodies, her staff at her side.  Her eyes unwillingly dropped to examine
the bodies, to find the faces of the other Senshi staring up at her,
lifeless eyes a silent rebuke.  Her doppelganger moved, and with a
sinking feeling she realized it was not the Time Staff it wielded.
        As the voice's laughter sounded once again, Sailor Pluto watched
as she spun the Silence Glaive in a threatening arc, strands of energy
gathering around it.  The simulacrum smiled, looking the true Sailor
Pluto in the eye, then slowly dropped the Glaive.  Pluto could hear her
own voice, uttered from the mimic's lips.  "Death Reborn Revolution."
Pluto screamed as the frighteningly real seeming energies washed over
her.
        The image mercifully vanished, and Sailor Pluto dropped to her
knees, sobbing.  She could somehow feel the voice smirking, and soon it
spoke once again.  "But alas, that is not to be, is it?  Instead it is
another who will serve me in your place.  What was her name?  Iris?" The
voice paused.  "Actually, I agree, little one. I like the name Hotaru
better."
        "No," Pluto found the voice to whisper.  Her thoughts had
already betrayed Saturn.  She could not allow this demon to find the
others through her.
        "I have no need for the 'others', little girl."  The voice was
now harsh as steel, playful mocking left behind.  "The Senshi of Silence
will not escape me this time.  I know what blood she carries, and I am
prepared.  Your little Princess died facing the merest fraction of my
true power, wielded by a half-sane sorceress.  What will she do when I
return in full glory?"
        "She... we will stop you."
        "Foolish little girl.  Time has turned back on itself, and the
strength of the ninety Pharaohs has been broken.  The One of Fire has
emerged from Ice, the bull has fallen.  The sky is as flame, and the
dead will walk.  I, Metallia, will reign forever, as I always should
have!"
        Sailor Pluto smiled grimly, rising to her feet, gathering her
power for a counterstrike.  "We will stop you, demon.  Begone!"  And as
suddenly as it had arrived, the presence vanished before Pluto's mental
attack, forced back for the time being.
        But not for long.  Not for long.  Her face calming, Pluto headed
across the shadowed courtyard to the Gates of Time, her stride long and
purposeful.  There was work to be done.

***********************************************************************

        Hotaru paused as she reached Haruka's car.  She did not know why
she had run to it - the doors were locked, and she did not have a key.
But she had to get away, get away from the others.  From those glances,
trying to avoid her notice, eyes filled with fear and pity.  She had to
get away.
        Not that she had succeeded.  She heard the three pairs of
footsteps rapidly following her, and she could guess who they were.
Hotaru clenched her fists, nails biting into the skin of her palms.
"Stay away."
        "Hotaru?" Haruka's voice was unusually quiet.  "Are you all
right?"
        "No.  I'm not."  Hotaru laughed bitterly.  "Why should I be?
Didn't you hear?  I'm the biggest mass murderer in history.  I don't
deserve to be 'all right'."
        "Hotaru."  Usagi's voice was quiet and commanding, filled with
an ancient power, yet tinged with sadness and understanding.
        Hotaru spun around.  "Serenity," she said flatly.
        "Hotaru, please.  Come back inside.  Let us help you."
        "Help me?" Hotaru spat out angrily, driven by churning feelings
she barely understood.   Her small hands clenched into fists, and
Silence filled her ears.  "I don't need your help.  Just... leave me
alone."  She could see the other Senshi slowly approaching, and she took
a step backward, stumbling slightly at the sudden drop from the curb to
the street.
        "We can't leave you alone, Hotaru," Usagi stated.  "We're your
friends.  We care about you."  Usagi took a few steps forward.
        Something inside Hotaru snapped, and the Silence roared.  Power
flowed through her, the power that defined who she was.  The ground fell
away beneath her feat, and she rose into the air.  She could feel the
sigil burning on her forehead, the image that named her as the harbinger
of destruction.  "Stay away!" Hotaru screamed, power arcing away from
her.
        The energy struck Usagi, sending her stumbling back.  The other
Senshi surrounded her, and Hotaru winced at the anger some of them
showed. As suddenly as it had come, the power left her, and she
collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
        "I'm sorry," she gasped out between sobs.  "I'm -"
        Michiru knelt by her side, comforting her.  "It's alright. Usagi
isn't hurt."  Hotaru clutched to the one she sometimes considered a
mother or a sister, now longer struggling to control her tears.
Eventually, she calmed herself.
        "I think we should probably head home," Haruka said.  Hotaru
nodded, relieved at the prospect of not having to face the others for
another day.
        "We'll hear the rest of the story tomorrow," Haruka told Ami,
and shortly thereafter the three were speeding to the questionable
comfort of their home.

***********************************************************************

"It has begun," Ishamanar repeated, as he gazed upon the half-formed
chrysalis that was the culmination of all his hopes and dreams, and
though they did not yet know it, of the hopes and dreams of all his
species.
        Nyxan glanced around the small chamber, as though he feared some
sudden assault.  "So it has," the dark-skinned General muttered,
nervously extending and retracting his claws repeatedly.  After a
moment, he continued, "How long?"  He did not need to clarify the
question.
        Ishamanar smiled widely.  "Three weeks, at the most.  Shorter if
Asphara fetches energy faster.  Three weeks, and the dream of ten
thousand years will at last be fulfilled.  Three weeks!"
        "That short?" Nyxan asked.  "I've done the calculations myself,
but to see it happening before my eyes -"
        "It will be shorter."  The deep yet obviously female voice was
not a voice at all, instead resounding solely in the minds of the two
conspirators.  As one, the two Generals' eyes returned to the cocoon, in
which foul liquids had begun to churn and boil as they did their work.
"It must be shorter," the voice continued.
        Nyxan and Ishamanar dropped to their knees in awe.  "Great
Metallia," Nyxan breathed, while his companion trembled wordlessly.
        A soft chuckle emanated from the cocoon.  "Rise, my children,"
Metallia said.  "You have served me well.  When my reign comes, you
shall rule at my right hand.  Your names will be exalted over all my
servants, and feared by my foes."
        Nyxan stumbled to his feet, followed an instant later by
Ishamanar.  The two bowed deeply, and Nyxan spoke.  "We are unworthy of
the honors you grant to us, Great Metallia."
        "No, my children.  You are more than worthy.  What you will
accomplish is unmatched in all of history.  You will be remembered for a
thousand generations."
        Nyxan bowed a second time.  "You are too kind to your servants,
Great One.  Tell us your desire, and we will fulfil it."
        "The time is upon us.  We must strike now, while our foes are
blind and divided.  You will go to Terra, and you will go as conquerors.
I have foreseen what will occur."
        And Metallia told her worshippers what was required of them.
        Ishamanar spoke. "You... your will, Great Metallia."
        For a third time, Nyxan bowed.  "Great Metallia, as you command,
we will do.  I fear, however, that usage of portals to Terra will bring
unwanted attention to us."
        Metallia laughed, not at all pleasantly.  "Jadeite has been
dealt with.  My servants no longer need fear his gaze.  Now, go, and
carry out my word."  And with that, Metallia's presence lifted from the
chamber.
        Ishamanar blinked several times.  "Glorious."
        Slowly, Nyxan nodded.  "Let us plan.  We have much to prepare
for, if our Great Leader's will is to prevail."
        "Yes," Ishamanar responded.  "I will travel to my domain, and
prepare a legion of my finest troops to cross over to Terra.  Search
Beryl's summoning chamber, and find what Great Metallia desires."
        In a brief burst of flame, Ishamanar vanished, voyaging across
the long miles to his realm, Alkoden.  Nyxan smiled, then exited the
chamber, resealing the wards behind him.  This would be a very
interesting day.

***********************************************************************

        At long last, it had come.  Ikawa had been dreaming of this
moment since his Awakening, and now it had finally arrived.  The final
Champions had been Awakened.  Against the odds, he had succeeded in the
task he had set himself not too long ago, though it seemed sometimes as
though years had passed since that fateful day.
        Yet, this reunion was bittersweet.  There were no more Champions
to be found, which made the absences even more evident.  Gaia, Champion
of Terra, skilled in the arts of war and peace alike.  Hera, Champion of
Juno, strong and steadfast as the stone she commanded.  For eight
thousand years they had survived, but on one day they both fell for the
final time.
        And unlike those gathered here today, Serenity's magic had not
granted them a chance to cheat death once again, one last spin on the
wheel of life.  They were already gone forever, the fate which now
awaited their comrades.
        There would be no more incarnations, no more new lives to live.
They had all sacrificed that, in one glorious, futile effort to avert
disaster.  They did not talk about that fact.  To dwell too much on what
awaited them was to give in to despair.  And there was much to do before
they went into oblivion.
        Ikawa's musings were interrupted when Motoki finally spoke.
"Well, we're all here.  I think we'd all like to hear what Meno has to
say."  There was a general chorus of agreement, and all eyes turned to
the Champion of Mercury.
        The retelling took quite some time, and when Meno finished the
tale of the Dark Kingdom's first return, it was closer to midnight than
to sunfall.  The tale of an incident involving two aliens was much
shorter.  When he reached this point, Meno paused, and pondered what to
say next.
        With a sigh, Meno turned to Tamori.  "I'm afraid your daughter
has been meddling with the timestream."  As Tamori stirred, Meno quickly
summarized what he knew of Crystal Tokyo and the Dark Moon Family.
        Tamori settled back into his seat.  "I had feared something
similar.  If what you say is true, and there has been time travel
involving this 'Crystal Tokyo', in both directions even," Tamori trailed
off for a moment.  "I fear we may already defeated."
        "What?" The cry came from quite of few of the Champions.
        "We've never really understood what the Gates of Time do,"
Tamori began.  "Do they show possible futures?  Likely ones?  Or is
there only one true future, and thousand paths the timestream takes mere
shadows of what might, but never will, be?  My daughter is toying with
things best left undisturbed. We have to stop her!"  Tamori frowned as
he finished.  Why would his daughter become that which she had spent a
hundred lifetimes fighting?
        "But if we stop Pluto... if we can stop this abomination at all,
but Crystal Tokyo has already influenced the present, won't that be a
paradox?" Meno asked, face twisting into an unpleasant expression.
        It took Tamori a moment, distracted as he was, to realize the
others were looking at him for an answer.  "I doubt it," he said as he
shook his head.  "If the future she deals with is true, then all our
efforts could not change it in the slightest.  If it is one of many,
then no paradox would occur."
        "How can that be?" Meno asked curiously.
        Tamori sighed.  "It is hard to put into to words." He paused a
moment.  "I believe... that if we can change the future at all, the
timestream will remain coherent so long as the particular future
exists... is sufficiently probable to allow travel to it, at the moment
of the travel.  Whether it actually becomes the future would be
irrelevant."  Tamori smiled slightly.  "Were it as easy as you fear to
cause a paradox, surely somewhere, somewhen in the vast universe it
would have already occurred."
        Ikawa rose, frowning.  "To get back to the point, what we need
to do is do something that knocks the course of history away from
Pluto's path.  If we can do that, we will be free to make our own
destinies, rather than suffer the fate Pluto has in store for us.  Am I
correct?"
        At Tamori's nod, Ikawa opened his mouth to continue, it was
interrupted when Motoki spoke, knowing what Ikawa was about to say.
"Wait a minute, Ikawa.  I have a question.  What did you do to get
Sailor Mercury to tell you this, Meno?"
        Meno grimaced.  "It was a fair trade.  She told me this, and I
told her... about the war."
        "But they already," Ikawa began, then faltered.
        "You can't mean," Motoki said, but he too was unable to finish
the sentence.
        Unazuki cursed quietly, and then for a moment no one spoke.
Then her brother let out a much louder curse.  After a further moment's
silence, Motoki repeated himself, then continued.  "If only we had
seen," he began, then trailed off with another curse.  "We might have
finally been able to end this war!"
        "No." It was Ikawa who spoke, and all eyes turned to him.  "Have
you already forgotten Saturn?  Have you already forgotten what we were
just told?  These might not be the Senshi of our time, but they are
still the same.  The threat we fight to eliminate, they still protect.
Tamori can tell you more than I what his daughter does, but I understand
enough.  I remember what the Senshi of Time did with those cursed Gates
when we were born.  It is far past time that we dealt with that threat
as well."
        Motoki nodded. "You are right."
        Ikawa smiled grimly.  "I wish I weren't.  Well... what now?"
        "Kill the Senshi," Uji stated quietly.
        "We can't count on being in a position to do that though," Ikawa
replied.  "We haven't exactly been holding back in our little fights,
and they've all been stalemates.  We need something else."
        Sachiko was the first to reply.  "We need a threat.  Something
so terrible that it will force them to agree to whatever terms we ask."
        Ikawa nodded.  "I see.  But how can we muster such a threat?"
        Meno bit his lip, then spoke.  "I think... I think I might have
a plan."
        The Champions did not adjourn the meeting until midnight was
long past.

***********************************************************************

        Tamori sighed as he let himself into the Tomoe house.  It had to
be past four in the morning.  Tamori removed his shoes and headed into
the kitchen, and began the process of searching the still unfamiliar
room for something to eat.  He had missed dinner, and his stomach was
loudly communicating its displeasure at it having been half a day since
it had received any sustenance.
        This took several minutes, and Tamori then seated himself at the
table and began to ravenously consume the motley collection of leftovers
he had assembled.  It took him a moment to realize that he had all this
in near-pitch darkness.  Tamori shook his head, glad that no one was
around to spot his display of supernatural nightvision.  He rose and
flipped on the light.  Better safe than sorry, even though he was sure
that the rest of the house's inhabitants were long since asleep.
        Tamori's thoughts returned to the meeting that had recently
concluded.  He was not sure that he, or any of the other Champions, had
truly thought through the implications of Meno's revelations.  Some of
them were rather disturbing.
        The Senshi did not remember the Silver Millenium.  It had been
obvious that their recollection was poor, but Tamori had never even
considered that it might be that bad.  Until today... yesterday now,
they had not even known what the Champions were fighting for.  Iris was
gone.  The Sailor Saturn of today did not even know that Juno had
existed.  The vengeance that he longed for had been stolen away without
him noticing.
        Tamori frowned as a sudden thought came to him.  Why had his
daughter not told the Senshi of the past?  She surely remembered it
well.  What possible reason could she have for denying her sisters that
information?  The frown deepened to a grimace.  His daughter, he was now
sure, had stopped time, and most likely more.  He had thought her
incapable of such feats.  After all, that had been the point of the
compromise with Serenity the Peacemaker.  By making Sailor Pluto, rather
than Senshi Saturn, the Senshi of Time, the forbidden powers that had
wiped away the Golden Millenium would be forever lost.
        It seemed as though their hopes had been mistaken that long-ago
day, and not just with the Senshi of Time.  The incident with the Death
Busters clearly indicated that the Senshi of Silence was not safe from
domination by dark powers.  And if one power was aware of the Senshi, it
was only a matter of time until others were as well.
        Sailor Saturn was far to dangerous to be allowed to continue to
exist.  Even if by some chance the deadliest powers of the Golden
Millenium's Senshi of Death were truly lost, the ability to destroy
worlds was terrible enough, even without the risk of falling into the
hands of a being like Pharaoh 90.
        Tamori found his thoughts returning to his daughter.  Why had
she abandoned her oaths?  Why had she unsealed the Gates of Time?  She
knew the horrors that could result.  Why seek to play goddess, and deny
mankind the right to choose its own future?
        Tamori shook his head.  These questions could not be answered
for the moment, but one had been.  There were enough reasons to continue
the fight, even with vengeance stolen from him.  Sailor Saturn must be
destroyed, and the abomination his daughter worked had to be stopped.
        With a start, Tamori realized that he had finished his meal.  He
quickly cleaned up after himself, turned out the lights, and crept
upstairs.  He firmly put all thoughts of his daughter out of his mind
for the moment.  He knew that if he let them, they would keep him up for
what little remained of the night.
        Tamori had opened his door when he realized that he heard
footsteps in the adjacent room... Hotaru's.  Who could it be?  Tamori
quietly walked over to the next door.  When he heard a voice that did
not belong to any of his housemates, he slowly cracked the door open,
careful not to make any noise.  When he realized who was in the room, he
let out a gasp of amazement.
        Sailor Pluto whirled around.  "You?!  How did you -"  Pluto's
eyes went distant for a moment.  "Something's obscuring the timestream."
A gasp of her own escaped Pluto's lips.  "You?"  Her tone of voice was
different then when she had last uttered that word, no longer puzzled
but instead filled with venom.
        Tamori nodded, letting the door swing fully open.  "Hello,
daughter.  Care to explain what you're doing with Hotaru?" he asked,
sword appearing in his hands.  He couldn't let Pluto hurt her.
        Sailor Pluto laughed harshly.  "This is too rich, Chronus.  One
would think I would have to protect her from you."
        Tamori took a step back.  "What do you want with Hotaru?"
        "Want?  I want nothing more than for her to have a long, happy
life.  Unfortunately, I have responsibilities that are more important
than my wants." Pluto laughed harshly.  "You taught me that, Champion."
And with that, Pluto vanished.
        For a moment, Tamori considered following her, but instead
walked over to the bed and made sure that Hotaru still slumbered
undisturbed.  Then he shakily left the room and tried to go to sleep.

***********************************************************************

        Orinas was a veteran.  Of course, to a certain extent all youma
who survived for a significant length of time were veterans, but Orinas
was moreso.  He had been a guard at the D-point base.  He had survived
the deadliest fighting of the wars following the destruction of that
base.  He had been on the front lines of the war against Mordrangar.
        And now, at the command of his lord Ishamanar, he had taken on
the most dangerous job of his long career.  Orinas shook his head,
seeking to clear the disorientation from his journey.  He glanced around
at the place where he had arrived.  Humans scurried about, screaming and
cowering.  His face settling into a fanged grin, Orinas turned to
address his troops, almost a hundred of the finest soldiers Ishamanar
could muster.
        "You know what to do!  Secure the area, then drain the humans.
For Metallia!"  At the name of their goddess, the youma let out a roar
and hurried to fulfil their assigned tasks.  Orinas's smile widened as
he watched his followers expertly scour the area for the humans,
smashing open the glass doors of the stores that lined the busy road.
The road would not be busy for long, as two of Orinas's youma were
turning some of the strange metal and glass contraptions that traveled
along it sideways to block it.  The screams of those humans inside the
selected vehicles were particularly delicious.
        Meanwhile, energy was flowing freely - far more energy than
Orinas had ever seen in his long life. Most of it went through the
connection to the Dark Kingdom, but a small fraction was spent to
strengthen Orinas's followers.
        The youma leader smiled as the energy flow continued to
strengthen.  There were hundreds of humans in this place - a take that
far exceeded any that Beryl's Generals had brought in.  A glorious
victory, fit to herald the return of Great Metallia.  Orinas had hardly
believed Lord Ishamanar when he had been given that news, but the
evidence was hard to refute - every youma in the Dark Kingdom had surely
felt the goddess's rebirth.
        Orinas grunted as a small piece of metal hit him in the side
with enough force to cause him to stumble momentarily.  The youma turned
with surprising alacrity in the direction the projectile had originated
from, and his mouth settled into a fanged grin as he observed a human
waving an odd wand threateningly.
        This should be fun.

***********************************************************************

        Ares frowned as he watched the commotion.  This was no clumsy,
random attack.  This was a well trained and likely just as well led
strike force.  The youma were securing a perimeter, and Ares had little
doubt that he would be in dire straits if he tried to cross that line
alone.
        The Champion couldn't tell exactly how many youma were present,
not from his present, cautious distance.  However, he could count at
least nine in his field of vision.  Those were bulky beasts, roughly
humanoid but vastly larger than any human.  Ares felt he could safely
assume that their obvious strength would be offset by lack of speed.
        Ares looked up at a new sound.  A gunshot!  He watched with a
sinking feeling in his gut as a police officer approached one of the
larger youma.  He knew that the man's efforts would be worse than
futile.
        Muttering an old Martian curse under his breath, Ares carefully
inched closer to the confrontation that was beginning.  He couldn't wait
for backup any longer.  If he let the situation continue as it had
begun, the policeman would most likely die.  Allowing another curse to
escape his lips, Ares pointed his sword at the youma.  "Flame Strike!"
        Flames poured from the blade, a torrent of white fire washing
over the youma, leaving it scorched but undaunted.  A fanged grin
settled on its face as it observed the now revealed Champion.  "I was
wondering when one of you would show up." The youma extended one arm,
flames gathering around it.  "Let's see how well you take your own
element, Champion.  Storm of Wrath!"
        A hellish conflagration erupted around the Champion of Mars.
The asphalt beneath his feet bubbled from the sudden heat, but he merely
gritted his teeth and rolled out of the worst of the blast. Before he
could recover, however, a half-dozen weaker blasts strafed the area, as
the other youma made their presence known.  Ares rose from the attacks,
and the youma were soon upon him.
        As the melee began, the policeman backed away, taking an
occasional ineffective potshot.  When he ran out of ammunition, he fled,
glad that the youma were more concerned with dealing with the Champion
than slaying an impudent human.
        Atop a nearby rooftop, Sailor Uranus observed the combat.
"There's too many youma.  He'll surely be overwhelmed."  She wasn't sure
how she should feel about that.
        Sailor Neptune nodded once.  "There's got to be at least forty
of them.  Probably more that we can't see from here."
        "What should we do?" Sailor Saturn's voice was flat, almost
inhuman.  When there was no reply, she continued.  "I can take out at
least thirty of them in one strike."
        "No!" Uranus said harshly.  "There're civilians down there,
remember?"
        "Right," Saturn responded quietly, shrinking back.  Neptune laid
a comforting hand on Saturn's shoulder, but she quickly wormed out from
under it.
        Giving her young companion a worried glance, Neptune spoke.  "I
don't think we have many options right now."
        Uranus nodded, frowning.  "We'll have to wait for the others to
arrive."

***********************************************************************

        Sailor Jupiter cursed as she took in the latest youma attack.
"There's got to be at least forty of them!"
        "My computer is picking up over ninety-five... no, ninety-four
distinct energy signatures."  With a sigh, Sailor Mercury returned her
computer to subspace.  "From my readings, they are all quite powerful."
        "Lovely," commented Sailor Mars.  "So, what are we waiting for?"
        As one the five Inner Senshi leapt into the conflict, almost
immediately drawing fire away from Ares.  The first wave of attacks were
ineffective, save Sailor Moon's Moon Spiral Heart Attack, which slew two
youma.
        "We'll have to concentrate our attacks!" Mercury called out, and
with that bit of tactical advice the Senshi began to make progress
against the youma horde.
        Nearby, Ares continued to fight his way through the youma,
intent on removing the leader.  A youma fireball knocked him back, and
he was quickly surrounded.  A grim look on his face, the Champion
plunged his sword into the asphalt.  "Raging Inferno!"
        The firestorm only killed a single youma, but succeeded in
forcing them out of his path.  Ares raced forward, but his charge came
to a halt as another group of youma confronted him.
        "Ice Storm!"  As shards of ice assailed the youma, Hermes joined
his brother, joined shortly thereafter by Medea and Chronus.
        "That one's the leader.  If we take him out, this whole attack
might fall apart."  Ares took his own advice and resumed his charge. The
other three Champions quickly followed.
        This time the youma moved out of the way, allowing a clear path
between the Champions and their commander.  Orinas smiled as he faced
the oncoming warriors.  "Storm of Wrath!"  The flames sent most of the
Champions flying, leaving only Ares to face the youma commander.
        Nearby, the Senshi were slowly being overwhelmed.  Sailor Venus
dodged a fireball for what seemed like the hundredth time.  "Venus Love-
Me Chain!"  She used the chain as a whip, forcing the youma back from
the embattled Senshi.
        Seeing her chance, Sailor Moon acted.  "Moon Spiral Heart
Attack!"  Eight youma perished in the blast, and three more from the
Senshi's other attacks, but only a few moments later more youma arrived
to fight the Senshi.
        Hermes stumbled to his feet, using another Ice Storm to cover
Chronus and Medea as they rose as well.  "This isn't looking good," he
commented.
        "When the others arrive things will be a bit more even," Chronus
replied.
        Medea snorted.  "If they don't get here soon, the question will
be academic."  After that there was no more time for speech, as the
Champions were forced to concentrate on thinning their foe's numbers as
best they could.
        Across the battlefield, Ares narrowly dodged one of Orinas's
massive fists before delivering a sword blow that succeeded only in
scratching the youma's tough hide.  A moment later he leapt above a
powerful roundhouse kick, then scored a wound on his opponent's arm.
        "You'll have to do better than that, little Champion," Orinas
said as he assailed Ares with flame.
        Ares smiled nastily as he blocked the flames and sent them back
on their summoner.  "Maybe you should try something stronger, youma."
Ares didn't give Orinas a chance to do so, pressing his attack and
forcing the youma onto the defensive.
        A moment later, the initiative switched again as a lucky blow
nearly knocked Ares from his feet.  Orinas followed up with a series of
devastating blows as the Champion struggled to regain his balance.  "For
Metallia!" the youma roared as he raised his fist for the finishing
blow.
        "Tidal Wave!"  The water sent Orinas flying through a store
window.  Poseidon smiled as lesser youma raced forward to replace their
leader.  "You've gotten rusty over the last ten thousand years, Deinas.
Maybe we should send you back to Castle Charon for more training."
        Ares laughed as he swung his flaming weapon around to neatly
separate an overconfident youma's head from the remainder of his body.
"Good to see you too, Aqoran."

***********************************************************************

        The Dark Kingdom was a very large place.  Though its area was
dwarfed by that of Terra, it was slightly larger than Luna.  Over the
ten millennia of their imprisonment, the youma had spread out from the
desolate wasteland in which Beryl's palace stood to every corner of this
realm.  To the north they settled first hills and mountains, then a vast
plain that slowly gave way to the northern tundra.  To the east they
found little more than windswept isles, but these too were added to
their growing empire.  Across the vast western sea the youma discovered
and colonized a second continent, large and relatively fertile.  Moving
south from Beryl's palace, the youma crossed a narrow, shallow sea to
settle a large island.  This island was frequently visited by violent
storms from the endless ocean of the utter south, and these storms gave
birth to the nearly impenetrable jungles that covered the island.
        It was on this island, sheltered by the bulk of an extinct
volcano and not far from the ancient pile of rocks and ash that had long
ago been Jadeite's estate, that Scalae, the Dragon of the South, made
her home.  From this domicile, she ruled the entire island absolutely.
Those few who had ever sought to challenge that rule in the countless
years since Jadeite had fled her wrath had all met their doom at
Scalae's flame or claws.
        From the outside, there was little to suggest that the keep was
home to a beast as large as a Dragon.  The vast majority of the building
was designed for the comfort of the mostly human-sized youma who Scalae
ruled.  Only a few rooms were even large enough to contain the Dragon,
and even fewer to do so comfortably.
        The council chamber was not one of those rooms, much to Scalae's
present irritation.  She was hungry, but eating in human form would only
satisfy her until she returned to her true body.  But for the moment, it
would have to do, as she needed to speak to her councilors.  Her
featureless red eyes swept the gathering, and she nodded.  "I'm sure you
know why I have called on you to attend me now."
        Chresk, one of Scalae's Overlords, spoke.  "Of course, my lady."
Chresk was a reptilian beast, with dull red scales. "The entire world
rang like a bell."
        This statement met with general agreement from Scalae's
counselors.  Chresk continued, "My lady, do you know what caused this
magical surge."
        Scalae was silent for a moment.  "I am unsure, but whatever it
was it is a cause for great concern.  Anything that could cause so great
a disturbance is something whose power could only be matched by Metallia
herself."
        It took a moment for the statement to sink in, and then the
meeting dissolved into pandemonium.  "Quiet!" Scalae demanded in a loud
voice that seemed incongruous emerging from her small form.  "Gather all
my armies.  I want them ready to head north in two days!"

***********************************************************************

        "Youma!" Aphrodite called out.  And indeed, four youma blocked
the way to the greater melee.
        "I see them," Zeus replied.  "Thunder Bolt!"  The lightning
knocked a youma down, and for a moment Zeus thought the beast dead.
However, the youma quickly regained his feet.
        "Blazing Light!" Aphrodite's attack targeted the same youma as
her brother's, and this time the youma did die, much to her relief.
        A moment later, the three surviving youma were upon them,
fireballs exploding and fists swinging.  Zeus leapt over the first youma
to reach him, delivering a perfect backstab that left the youma a
disintegrating pile of dust.  However, another youma tackled the
Champion, sending his blade spinning across the street.
        Aphrodite flowed through and around the remaining youma's
attacks, striking out at will with her glowing blade.  A fireball forced
her back briefly, but she soon resumed her assault, and shortly
thereafter the youma was dead.
        The sole surviving youma smiled as he lifted his foe in one
fist.  The Champion of Venus would not be able to reach him before her
brother died at his hands.
        A rose hit the youma's hand with surprising force, forcing him
to drop the shaken Champion.  A second hit an instant later and sent him
to the ground to join his foe.  A third followed, and the Champion now
lay beside a vanishing pile of dust.
        Zeus rose to his feet, retrieving his sword.  A wordless glance
passed between him and Aphrodite, and then the two Champions' attention
returned to his savior.  Tuxedo Kamen was alone.  If they could take him
out, they would destroy one of the cornerstones of the so-called Crystal
Tokyo.  Yet -
        Before they could reach any decision, three figures landed
before them from atop a neighboring building.  Almost instantly the
Champions refocused their attentions on Sailor Saturn.
        "Hold it," Uranus stated calmly.  "I think we have more pressing
concerns at the moment."  She gestured toward the sounds of the ongoing
fighting.
        Zeus and Aphrodite relaxed slightly.  "All right," the Champion
of Jupiter replied.  "A truce for the moment, then."
        Uranus nodded, and the six warriors all turned and raced towards
the battle.

***********************************************************************

        The sudden flank assault relieved some of the pressure on the
Inner Senshi's embattled position.  Mercury took advantage of the lull
to finish off the closest youma with a Shine Aqua Illusion, but another
soon confronted her.  A second attack was countered by the youma's
fireball.  Mercury took a step back and used her Shabon Spray to buy
herself some time.
        As the magical fog spread out, the Senshi made the best of their
momentary advantage.  Venus fired one Crescent Beam after another at the
temporarily blinded youma, while Jupiter used her Sparkling Wide
Pressure to great effect.  Mars raked the youma with her Burning
Mandala, slaying two more of the demons.
        However, the fog soon lifted and the youma were then able to
respond in force.  Fireballs were used to open holes in the Senshi's
line, and wedges of youma stormed into these breaks, forcing the Senshi
apart.  Sailor Moon barely had time to use her tiara to slay the first
youma to approach her, and no time at all to attack the second.  The
beast reared back to deliver a fierce blow, only to be obliterated by a
ball of purple energy.  "Are you all right?" Sailor Pluto asked her
princess.
        Sailor Moon nodded, but Pluto had not waited for the answer,
instead moving forward to eliminate exactly the youma that blocked the
Inner Senshi's lines of retreat.  The Senshi quickly took advantage of
this relief, forming a new defensive line with their backs to a wall
only a moment before another wave of youma charged them.
        Elsewhere, Hades had arrived, and he strode unconcerned through
the battlefield, blade striking out at any youma that presented itself.
Each sword blow was fatal, and soon the youma gave the Champion of Pluto
a wide berth.
        Orinas emerged from the shattered storefront into which he had
been flung and quickly surveyed the battlefield.  It took him only a
moment to decide his course of action.  "Retreat!" he bellowed before
returning to the Dark Kingdom.  The surviving youma followed his advice,
breaking off and vanishing themselves.

***********************************************************************

        Ares smiled grimly.  As soon as the youma had vanished, the two
opposing groups of warriors had gathered into their respective forces,
the temporary truce that always prevailed in the middle of a youma
attack forgotten.
        Another mass battle was not exactly what Ares had hoped for, but
he could not pass up the opportunity.  By his estimate the Senshi were
more worn than his brethren, and if they were lucky one or two Senshi
might be eliminated this day.  Though that would not win the war, it
would certainly make future battles easier.  Of course, if they were
unlucky it could be them which suffered casualties, but Ares felt that a
risk worth taking.
        A quick glance assured the Champion of Mars that his companions
were of much the same mind as him.  He nodded once and raised his sword.
Seven other blades followed a moment later.  In the distance, the wail
of a police siren could be heard, but the Champions ignored it.
        "Wait!" Sailor Uranus stepped forward.  "Stop this insanity!
What reason is there for us to fight?"
        Ares sneered.  "You've changed, Cyrene.  I'm impressed.  You
never used to be one for diplomacy."
        Uranus frowned, then replied.  "I see no point in fighting each
other while the youma strike with impunity."
        "Then stand aside, Cyrene," Ares replied.  "This war will end
swifter if you do."
        "You think I'll sit by while you kill my friends?" Uranus asked.
"Be reasonable.  Surely we can reach some agreement."
        Hades smiled.  "Oh, I think we can be reasonable.  Give us Iris,
and then we will have something to talk about."
        Chronus frowned, but spoke.  "And my daughter.  She has
abandoned her oaths by creating this 'Crystal Tokyo'.  We will not allow
that abomination to become reality.  So long as you defend Pluto and
Saturn, there can be no peace."
        Pluto grimaced.  "Dead Scream!"  Chronus blurred, and the energy
ball passed by harmlessly.
        "The time for talk is over," Ares said, then charged directly
for Uranus.  "Let's see whether you've improved any, Cyrene."
        Sailor Saturn watched as Ares began to cross the distance
between the two battle lines.  She gestured with her glaive, and a
Silence Wall stopped the Champion dead in his tracks.  She would not
allow this battle to break up into another futile collection of duels.
        The Champions wanted to kill her.  No, want was an insufficient
word, she knew.  She had been able to feel the hatred in Hades' voice.
Hatred and fear.  Familiar emotions to her.  It seemed as though all
through her two lives, those had been nearly all that she had
encountered.  But these were deeper.  In many ways, she realized, the
Champions lived merely to kill her.  They hated her for Juno, and they
feared a reprise.  That was the primary reason for this war.  Crystal
Tokyo was a recent, secondary concern.
        For a single, terrible moment, Saturn considered letting the
Champions have their way, surrendering herself to them.  The peaceful
oblivion of death beckoned to her, but she forced her thoughts away from
that.  She would not die, and the Champions were determined that they
would kill her or die trying.
        Very well then.  They would have their wish.  The Silence Glaive
quivered in her hands, alert to her thoughts.  The Silence sang to her,
seducing her, confirming her decision.  As Saturn prepared herself, it
seemed as though she could feel the whole universe trembling, as though
it was but a single string that had been recently plucked.
        Saturn wordlessly dropped the Silence Wall, allowing the
Champions to resume their charge.  No matter.  They would not complete
it.  A grim smile on her face, Saturn leveled the Silence Glaive and
began to gather power.
        "Silence..."
        The Champions' charge faltered as they realized their mistake.
Some hurled themselves to the ground, while others broke to one side or
the other.  The Senshi all took a step back, nearly trembling from the
power in the air.
        Saturn's smile deepened. The Champions could not escape.  With
one blow she would end this conflict.  The Silence's song deepened, and
all other sound faded from Saturn's ears.  The Glaive's pulses quickened
as power flowed into it.  The power that could obliterate whole planets,
crack open their mana wells and shatter them like eggshells.  The power
that waited at the final heat death of the universe, the absolute
unmaking of all that existed.
        "Glaive..."  Saturn could not hear her own voice, but she could
feel it.
        The other Senshi had by now taking several more steps back, and
even Pluto had a look of equal parts fear and awe on her face.  A most
appropriate look.  Saturn was about to unleash a full-strength Silence
Glaive Surprise, a power surpassed only by that of the Death Reborn
Revolution.
        This would be the end.  The Champions would no longer be able to
threaten her... or the princess.  Crystal Tokyo would arrive unimpeded,
and with it her only friend -
        The song of the Silence redoubled its strength, driving the
stray thoughts from her mind.  There was no time for such distractions,
as her full concentration was required to constrain the Silence, to
force it to reveal itself in the way she desired, in the way which would
destroy her enemies.  Saturn's lips opened to utter the final word.
        A purple blur slammed into her, bringing with it sharp, piercing
pain in her side.  The Glaive was forced upwards from its level position
by the force of the impact.  Saturn had enough time to recognize Chronus
before the word escaped her in a weak gasp.
        "...surprise."
        Most of the force was directed harmlessly upwards, destroying
only air.  However, the edge of the blast was more than enough to
shatter Chronus's breastplate, driving shards of metal deep into the
Champion's chest.
        Saturn found herself looking her counterpart eye to eye, and
Chronus's eyes seemed to stare into her very soul - and beyond.  The
Champion started as though surprised, then spoke, though weakly.  "You?
The future you seek... will not come to pass."  Each word obviously
brought Chronus great pain, but he continued.  "I will finish this."
        The pain in Saturn's side intensified as Chronus began to twist
his sword.  Before he could complete the move, his strength left him,
and the Champion collapsed, leaving Saturn impaled on his blade.
        Saturn took a stumbling step back, then started herself as the
Champion's armor faded away and she recognized the man's face. "Tamori?"
she asked weakly, then collapsed, the Silence Glaive falling from limp
hands.  As her world faded to darkness, all Sailor Saturn could hear was
the Silence's triumphant song.

***********************************************************************

        The battlefield was nearly as silent as it had been before
Saturn's attack.  The only sound was that of the rapidly approaching
police cars.  Both Champions and Senshi were still, too shocked to move.
The whole of Saturn's strike had taken only a few seconds, but those
seconds seemed far longer to those who had survived them.
        Ishamanar smiled as he observed all this from one of the many
destroyed storefronts.  His Queen's prophecy had been correct, as it had
to be.  It was a grand victory.  The energy take from this raid more
than paid for the effort of sending so many powerful youma across- a not
insignificant amount, even with the barrier as permeable as it was now.
        The Senshi and Champions were beginning to stir from their shock
and approach the bodies.  That simply would not do.  It would be nearly
impossible for them to save the two casualties, but the Senshi had a
nasty habit of pulling off the nearly impossible, and Ishamanar did not
doubt that, given the opportunity, the Champions would demonstrate a
similar tendency.  Ishamanar extended one arm and concentrated for an
instant.
        Flames scoured the ground where Saturn and Chronus lay, driving
back the closest warriors.  When Ishamanar allowed the fire to die out,
all that remained was a thin layer of ash.  Ishamanar's work on Terra
was now complete.
        The Senshi and Champions were looking about wildly, seeking to
determine the source of the fire.  Ishamanar knew the smart thing to do
would be to leave now, but he could not resist the temptation to gloat.
Nyxan would not do such a thing, but Ishamanar was not Nyxan.  A fierce
grin on his face, Ishamanar strode into view.
        "I am Ishamanar, General of the Dark Kingdom."  Ishamanar paused
a moment, forming balls of flame in each of his four arms.  "Consider
this a foretaste of your fate!"  The general hurled the fireballs: two
at the Champions and two at the Senshi.  As his targets recovered,
Ishamanar spoke once more.  "We shall meet again."
        And with that, Ishamanar returned to the Dark Kingdom.

***********************************************************************

        The darkness was nearly absolute.  It was like a physical thing,
an oppressive weight that even Nyxan, a creature of the darkness
himself, felt.  The only sounds were Nyxan's own breathing and the
continual churning and boiling of the fluids in the chrysalis suspended
above the altar that was the sanctum's only furniture.
        Nyxan gave a nervous glance towards that which now lay upon the
altar before turning his eyes up to the cocoon and bowing.  "My Queen,
as you have commanded, it has been done."  Silence was his only
response.
        A flare of light appeared as the chamber's only door briefly
opened and admitted Ishamanar.  The four-armed general laughed harshly
as he walked to stand beside Nyxan, then bowed deeply toward the
chrysalis.  "A fine day, and an even finer victory."
        Nyxan nodded.  "So it is.  Your legion acquitted itself well."
        "Aye."  Ishamanar smiled, allowing a globe of energy to form in
his hands.  "This is almost enough by itself.  With Asphara's
contributions and one or two more raids, the final hour is closer than
we dared dream."  The energy globe illuminated the dark room with a
pale, flickering light.
        With another bow, Ishamanar channeled the energy into the
chrysalis, and was rewarded with a burst of renewed activity inside the
cocoon.  An instant later, the two generals felt the return of their
Queen's awareness to the chamber, and heard the voice that was not a
voice.  "You have done well, my servants."
        Both generals bowed even deeper than before.  "Thank you, my
Queen," Nyxan said as he straightened.  An instant later Ishamanar
followed suit.
        The two youma could feel Metallia's will focusing on the altar.
"Very good," Metallia stated.  "I will not be denied again."  A low hum
filled the room as the dark queen set to work, dark energy flowing
freely.
        With a cough, Ishamanar spoke.  "My queen... what do you desire
for me to do about -"
        "Do as you will," Metallia interrupted before returning her
attention to her work.  Ishamanar nodded and left the chamber, followed
shortly by Nyxan.  And behind them, the hum of dark energy rose and fell
as Metallia forged her ultimate weapon.

***********************************************************************

Author's Random Revised Ramblings

1) Another revision bites the dust, possibly the darkest chapter in the
entire story, and the second chapter to take half a year to finish.
The main changes this time are to the Champions' meeting.

2) Angus MacSpon preread and Brian Randall and Michael Chase commented
on the first version of this chapter.  My thanks to them all.

3) As always, all comments, positive or negative, from readers old and
new, are most welcome.

4) The previous chapters of this revision are not yet archived anywhere,
but are available upon request.

5) And, in other news, the Prologue to Shades of Darkness, the sequel to
Shades of Gray, is finished.  The first chapter has been outlined, and I
hope to work on it concurrently with the remaining revisions.

Released: October 22, 2002
Revised: October 26, 2003

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