Only slightly overdue, here's the latest chapter of GTP. If you haven't
been keeping up with the story so far, now is the perfect time to catch
up due to the nature of this chapter. The previous chapters are at
http://nidoking.anifics.com/Paradox.html
Special thanks to my prereaders for helping me feel more confident about
the content of the chapter. I could but wouldn't do it without you guys.
^_^

SO FAR: Ranma, Lina, and Ryoko are taking a break from their mission to
kill the Sailor Scouts, while Cell takes care of that mission for them.
Cell has absorbed Tuxedo Mask and most of the Scouts already,
integrating them into his body and acquiring their elemental powers.
Sailor Moon, however, succumbed not to his tail but to a pit of
quicksand formed by combining the powers of earth and water. We rejoin
the battle as Cell prepares to finish absorbing Sailor Venus, ignoring
the paradox that threatens to destroy the universe should he complete
his task.


A General Time Paradox
Chapter 19: One on One with the Evil One

    She was a horrible person.
    She couldn't believe how useless she had turned out to be when her
friends had needed her the most. She'd given everything she had to keep
them safe, but one by one, they'd been taken from her. And now she, too,
was going to die. Not only that, but she was going to die in the most
ignominious way imaginable. But it was all she deserved after her
failure. She wasn't worthy of the title of Sailor Scout.
    No, that was wrong. She couldn't blame herself. She'd done her best.
It was the fault of Cell and his monstrous power. She'd learned long
before that she couldn't hold herself accountable for the destruction
caused by Queen Beryl and her minions. They were the bad guys... she and
her friends were doing everything they could to stop it, but they were
only human. Well, more than human, but still far from infallible.
Obviously, given that she was dying....
    Was she dead yet? Clearly not, if she was still thinking. Then
again, maybe this was what death was like... complete senselessness,
with nothing to do but think for all eternity. It certainly wasn't what
she'd expected, but not many things she'd encountered were. She hadn't
expected to become a Sailor Scout either, and since then, her life had
been nothing but a succession of surprises. In that light, her death was
just the latest surprise in the nearly interminable list - one more
hurdle to get over, even if it was the last.
    But was it really the end? If she could still think, there might
still be hope! If she could just do something... anything! She pushed
her arm upward with all her might against the anticipated resistance,
but it moved easily as if through nothing but air. Her shoulder blade
rubbed against the ground as she moved, and for the first time, she
considered the possibility that she had ended up in a new place
altogether. The air was not cold, and the temperature of the ground
matched her body's heat so well that she hadn't even felt it until she'd
tried to move. It was perfectly flat, as well, not the rough texture of
the blacktop she'd been on while fighting Cell. So she wasn't in a
senseless void after all... just a place with very little to sense. No
sound or smells, anyway, and not much to feel. As for sight... well,
having her eyes tightly closed made it difficult to judge. There
certainly didn't seem to be much light filtering through her eyelids.
But it probably wasn't completely dark out there either, and seeing
where she was might give her some clue as to what had happened. It was
probably either heaven or hell, though. She certainly hadn't been
reincarnated into a full-grown body. Everyone knew that when you were
reincarnated, you had to start from birth. Or was she an exception due
to the Planet Power within her? No, that couldn't be. She'd been
reincarnated once already, and had had to be born just like any other
girl.
    Still, all the pondering was just delaying the inevitable moment
when she would have to stop wondering where she was and just open her
eyes. Whatever fate lay in store for her was unlikely to get any more
desirable as she waited. Not to mention that she had no idea whether
this new body would get hungry or sleepy or need to use the restroom,
and she would have to find places to take care of those needs before
they arose. And what did she have to be scared of, anyway? Anything that
happened to her from this point was bound to happen sooner or later
anyway, now that she was in this afterlife. It was about time she faced
her fate.
    A brilliant starlit sky greeted her as she opened her eyes. The
stars shone clearly, without the twinkling she'd grown accustomed to
from her time in the living world. This world had no clouds to distort
the starlight. But the stars alone couldn't account for the soft glow
that surrounded her. She sat up to get a better view of her environment.
Everything she saw - the broken columns of crystal, the ornate fountains
that no longer sprayed water, the fallen statues of both humans and
creatures she'd never seen before, even the tiled ground itself - still
emitted a faint light that belied the ruined condition of the place. It
probably wasn't hell... but if it was heaven, it had recently fallen to
some dark power. Still, there was an eerie familiarity to the place. It
wasn't quite as if she'd been there before, but in some way, she felt
incredibly safe, as if an aura of magic protected anyone who entered
from harm. As she surveyed the decrepit splendor, the fear she'd felt
before quickly vanished.
    Newly emboldened, she stood up and brushed off the skirt of her
fuku, even though there was no dust on the ground to collect on her
clothes. The soft sound of her hands brushing the cloth stood out in the
silence, reminding her that even though she had overcome her fear, she
was still alone in this place. "Hello?" she called out. She waited for a
while, but there was no reply - not even the echo of her own voice. She
spun around, searching for any sign of life other than herself... and
that's when she saw the palace. Well, what remained of the palace,
anyway. It was mostly the length of the base of the shattered walls, and
the places where what remained of the ancient towers stood, that
suggested the form of a crystal palace there. That, and a lingering
memory in the back of her mind that, when she had last been here, the
palace had stood tall and beautiful. The crystal portcullis used to be
right there, and the watchtowers to either side of it, there and there.
Above that, the automatic weapons Mercury had built, poised to ward off
any who dared attack... the Moon Palace.
    "Serena," announced a familiar woman's voice from behind one of the
crystal pillars. Sailor Moon whirled to face the woman who had been her
mother in a former life. Queen Serenity smiled and bowed slightly. "I've
been waiting for you."
*************************************************
    "... and then he turned the ground under me into quicksand," said
Sailor Moon, bringing the story of the battle with Cell to its
conclusion as the two women walked through the former halls of the once
great Moon Palace. "I tried to use my tiara to save Venus, but I dropped
it and it sank. And I tried to get out, but I couldn't. I thought I was
dead, but instead, I woke up here."
    Serenity nodded sagely. "Yes, I know why you've come here." She
motioned for Sailor Moon to stop, while she turned around and took her
seat in the crystal throne that had miraculously remained intact amidst
the rubble. "Sailor Pluto told me this day would come."
    "She did?" queried Sailor Moon.
    "Indeed. Sailor Pluto knows all that happens in past, present, and
future. When I gave up my life to send you and the Sailor Scouts into
the future, Pluto preserved my spirit for this very purpose. She told me
that, after you had defeated Beryl, you would face more difficult
opponents, fiends with greater power than you were capable of fighting
with the power you would possess at the time. One of them would pull you
into the ground, and that would trigger the spell of destiny that Sailor
Pluto placed upon your soul. Instead of dying, you would awaken here,
where I would present you with the power you need to defeat your new
enemies."
    Sailor Moon gasped in wonder. "Really? You can help me beat Cell?"
    "I believe I can," Serenity replied with a smile. She reached behind
the throne and withdrew an ornate golden scepter. Its handle was
decorated with three embossed stars, ending with an ornament in the
shape of a heart, which was attached to a ruby-set crescent moon framing
a large red orb and topped with a jeweled crown. "This is the Moon
Scepter. Its power is far greater than that of the Moon Crescent Wand."
    "The Moon Scepter..." Sailor Moon repeated as she reached for the
scepter. "It's beautiful. Is it really powerful enough to beat Cell?"
    "It must be," replied Serenity. "Pluto would not have spent the
effort to create the destiny spell if it were not the key to your
victory."
    "Then I'll take it!" said Sailor Moon. "With this, defeating Cell
and Beryl will be no problem!"
    Serenity quickly pulled back the scepter before Sailor Moon's
fingers could close around it. "Did you say Beryl? I thought you had
already defeated her!"
    Sailor Moon shook her head. "No... she's the one sending these new
enemies after us."
    Serenity's face darkened. "But that's impossible. Pluto told me that
you would come here after defeating Beryl. If this is too soon,
then...." Her eyes fell to the Moon Scepter.
    "What is it?" asked Sailor Moon. "What's wrong?"
    "I - I don't think I can give this to you now," said Serenity. "I'm
sorry. You're not ready for it yet."
    "But I need it!" protested Sailor Moon. "There's no way I can beat
Cell without it!"
    "The Moon Scepter is not merely more powerful than the weapons you
wield already," explained Serenity. "It also draws much more of your
spirit to produce that power. If your spirit is not strong enough to
withstand that drain, the power of the Moon Scepter will tear you
apart."
    "But you said if," Sailor Moon pointed out. "Does that mean I might
be strong enough already?"
    "You could be," admitted Serenity. "There is no absolute answer, no
criterion which will determine when your body and spirit are capable of
handling this power. It will be up to you to judge that." Her hands
twisted on the shaft of the Moon Scepter. "In the meantime... I suppose
I must leave the decision up to you." She held the scepter up to Sailor
Moon. "If you think you are ready, then take it."
    Sailor Moon hesitantly reached for the scepter. "I don't know if I'm
ready or not. But if it's the only way to save my friends, I have to
try."
    Serenity pulled the scepter back again. "Serena... there is one more
thing I must warn you."
    Sailor Moon's hand quickly returned to her side. "What is it?"
    "This power... it is not a healing power, like that of the Moon
Crescent Wand. The power of the Moon Scepter is pure destruction. It
will utterly obliterate anything it touches."
    "But the Sailor Scouts are part of Cell! If I destroy Cell while
they're still inside him...."
    Serenity nodded sadly. "The Sailor Scouts will be destroyed as
well."
    "Then I can't possibly take it!" Sailor Moon backed away from the
throne. "There must be another way!"
    "I do not know of another," replied Serenity. "If your power is
indeed too weak, then this is the only way I know of to increase it."
    "But what about the power I have now?" Sailor Moon asked
determinedly. "Isn't there some way I can save the Sailor Scouts?"
    "I don't know," repeated Serenity. "The Moon Scepter is the only
sure way to defeat Cell... if you can use it."
    "But I don't want to destroy my friends...."
    "They gave their lives to protect you," Serenity reminded her. "You
must not let that sacrifice be in vain. If you allow Cell to overcome
you again, then their lives will be wasted."
    Sailor Moon nodded ruefully. "When you put it that way...." She
stepped back to the throne and reached for the Moon Scepter again. "I
guess I have no choice."
    "There is always a choice," Serenity corrected her. "Some choices
are just more clear-cut than others." She lifted the Moon Scepter into
Sailor Moon's hand.
    As Sailor Moon's fingers closed around the handle of the Moon
Scepter, the air shuddered and familiar cracks split the sky apart.
Sailor Moon gasped, frozen in place as the universe teetered on the edge
of shattering. "Oh, no! Not this again!"
    "What is happening?" asked Serenity, staring into the sky in horror.
"Sailor Pluto never mentioned anything about this!"
    "No, but Uranus and Neptune told me about it," replied Sailor Moon.
"This is a paradox. It means that something's messing with the future,
and if we don't fix it, the universe will be torn apart!"
    "Then you don't have much time," said Serenity. "You must choose
quickly whether or not to accept the Moon Scepter and return to your own
time to battle Cell."
    "I have to defeat him, or we're all doomed," reflected Sailor Moon.
"No matter what the cost, I have to win, even if my friends have to die,
right?" She shook her head adamantly and let go of the scepter. "What am
I saying? I can't let my friends be destroyed just so I can take the
easy way out!"
    The cracks in the universe closed, restoring the world to unity.
Serenity smiled. "Then your decision is made. Your friends are most
important to you, even when your own life is at stake. You will not
accept victory at the cost of human lives."
    "Is that wrong?" asked Sailor Moon, her voice tinged with worry. "If
I throw my life away to save my friends...."
    "That very sacrifice is the reason you live," Serenity reminded her.
"And the reason I do not."
    It took a few moments for the meaning of Serenity's words to hit
home. "Huh? Oh...."
    "Do not apologize, Serena. I have never regretted my decision, nor
would I take it back if given the chance. Pluto tells me that you have
grown up into a wonderful girl, and now I've seen it with my own eyes.
I'm so proud of you, my daughter."
    Sailor Moon felt her face growing warm under the stream of praise.
"Well, I'm not really that great... I screw things up all the time, and
I'm a real klutz."
    "Everyone has moments of clumsiness. You'll grow out of it."
    "I sure hope so."
    "I KNOW so," Serenity replied with a reassuring smile.
    Hope dawned on Sailor Moon's face for the first time since being
told of the Moon Scepter's full power. "Then... you really think I can
win?"
    "You have chosen a difficult path, Serena. Trying to prevent others
from making sacrifices will require you to make many of your own, and
they will be painful. But it is also a noble path, and it will lead to
your truest friends. Always remember that if a leader values her
followers as you do, her kindness may bury them... but that kindness can
also be the foundation of victory. The universe seems to have faith in
you," Serenity added, her smile not diminishing in the slightest. "And I
have faith in you as well. All that remains is for you to have faith in
yourself."
    "Yes," agreed Sailor Moon. "I will save my friends, I know it!"
    "Good. Go make me proud," commanded Serenity. "I wish you good
fortune and all the love I can give. There is nothing more I can do for
you. Until we meet again...." She raised her fingers to her lips and
kissed them, then blew the kiss to her daughter. Sailor Moon barely had
time to notice it before the floor under her feet opened into a pool of
light and swallowed her in an instant. Serenity continued to stare until
the light had shrunk to a point and vanished. It was then that she could
no longer hold back her tears. "I'm sorry I lied to you, my daughter. I
knew the power of the Moon Scepter was beyond your ability, but the
choice not to use it had to be yours. Only with the determination to
defeat Cell without its power can you succeed. But that determination
alone will not be nearly enough."
    Sniffling daintily, she returned the Moon Scepter to its place
behind her throne and stood up, clasping her hands together in
supplication. "Fight well, Sailor Moon. Your future... the future of the
universe itself... is in your hands now."
*************************************************
    Cell stared in horror into the fragmented sky while Venus' arms
grasped blindly for some hope of survival. "Wwhhaatt iiss tthhiiss?" he
asked. "Wwhhaatt iiss ggooiinngg oonn?"
    Ryoko slowly shivered, every would-be rapid movement accentuated by
the time dilation. "Nnoott tthhiiss tthhiinngg aaggaaiinn... iitt
ggiivveess mmee tthhee ccrreeeeppss."
    "Ii tthhiinnkk tthhiiss iiss wwhhaatt Ssaaiilloorr Pplluuttoo wwaass
ttaallkkiinngg aabboouutt," said Lina. "Aa ppaarraaddooxx."
    The blood began to drain from Ranma's face. "Yyoouu mmeeaann...."
    Lina stepped up to the edge of the roof and cupped her hands over
her mouth. "Cceellll!" she shouted, drawing attention to the rooftop for
the first time since the battle had begun. "Ddoonn'tt kkiillll tthhee
llaasstt Ssaaiilloorr Ssccoouutt! Iitt'llll ddeessttrrooyy tthhiiss
eennttiirree uunniivveerrssee!"
    Cell's shocked expression softened. "Ooff ccoouurrssee. Tthhiiss
uunniivveerrssee... hhooww ccoonnvveenniieenntt tthhaatt Ii wwoonn'tt
bbee hheerree ttoo mmiissss iitt." He pulled Sailor Venus the rest of
the way into his tail until her arms vanished from sight.
    Lina growled quietly. "Ddiiddnn'tt hhee hheeaarr wwhhaatt Ii
ssaaiidd?"
    Suddenly, the tip of Cell's tail bulged like a balloon, then
exploded in a blinding flash of light and the loud clap of thunder. The
watchers on the roof had to wait several seconds for their vision to
return before they could see Venus' hands poking out of what remained of
Cell's tail in the courtyard below.
    Cell smirked. "I was expecting you to try that again. Why do you
think I swallowed your hands last?" His tail regrew around Venus' hands,
and he resumed pulling her in.
    "Wait... the paradox is over," noted Lina. "But Venus didn't
escape... so what's going on?"
    "She's not the one who's escaping," replied Ranma. "Take a look over
there."
    Lina followed Ranma's pointing finger to see the surface of the
quicksand that had swallowed Sailor Moon bubbling furiously as if
boiling. "What the heck is going on?" she asked.
    "She can't possibly still be alive," said Ryoko. "She's been under
there for over a minute, and that's not counting the time dilation from
the paradox."
    "Well, she's not under anymore," said Ranma, as two bright yellow
spots appeared in the center of the pit. They grew quickly into tiny
round balls the size of meatballs, joined by a curved dome, as the top
of Sailor Moon's head continued to rise out of the ground.
    "Think we should warn Cell?" asked Lina.
    "Like he'd listen to you," retorted Ryoko. "He'll just kill her
again anyway, sooner or later. Why not give the girl a few more minutes
to live?"
    "Does anyone else think it's weird that she's coming up clean?"
asked Ranma.
    "What do you mean?" asked Lina.
    "There's no mud left on her at all," remarked Ranma. "You'd expect
her to be filthy after swimming in that muck. It was all over her the
last time. But now...." He trailed off as her shoulders broke the
surface. "Hey, that's not what she was wearing before!"
    "What are you talking about?" asked Ryoko. "She couldn't have
changed clothes." But even as she finished her sentence, she noticed
what Ranma had already observed. Sailor Moon was indeed no longer
wearing her fuku. Instead, her clothes appeared to be made of pure white
lace, with frills around the neck and shoulders. She'd gained a crescent
moon necklace as well as an ornate jeweled tiara and ruby earrings
during her time beneath the surface. But it was still her face that had
changed the most. Even from the rooftop, they could see the newfound
maturity and strength in her eyes.
    As Sailor Moon rose to waist-depth, Cell's ears twitched. "Something
is happening," he muttered. He turned around and gasped at the sight of
the opponent he'd left for dead, very much alive and rising from her
grave as he watched. "You!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger.
"How did you escape my trap! You can't possibly have the power to do
that!"
    Sailor Moon finally moved for the first time since her reappearance,
raising her head to stare into Cell's eyes. The fury of her glare made
Cell take a reflexive step backward in fear. "Wherever evil is found,
there you will find me. I am Serena daughter of Serenity, Princess of
the Moon Kingdom, and I am the defender of the innocent. Strength, size,
weapons - they mean nothing to me, for I fight with my pride and my
courage. My power will strike down all of my enemies, for I am Sailor
Moon! And in the name of the Moon..." She kicked her leg up, causing the
tiara that had landed on her foot to jump up into her hand, and she
caught it firmly. "... I will destroy you and save my friends!"
    "It's too late for your friends," replied Cell. The bulge in his
tail finally merged with his body, and the familiar glow of evolution
covered him. This time, however, the light didn't completely fade, but
collected within his body, illuminating him brightly from the inside.
The peals of electricity and fire that leapt across his skin cast eerie
shadows in the pool of light that surrounded him. "Ah," he sighed
contentedly. "The one power that could harm me, mine at last. Nothing
stands in my way now."
    Princess Serena's cold stare didn't waver in the slightest. "Moon
Tiara Magic," she said darkly, not even bothering to shout the name of
her signature attack. The tiara in her hand became a glowing discus.
    "I've seen that before," Cell reminded her. "You don't honestly
think it's going to work any better now just because you're in a dress,
do you?"
    "Your heart contains nothing but evil," said Princess Serena. "That
is why I will strike you down! Enemy of mankind, prepare to be moon
dust! YAH!" She pulled her arm back and hurled the discus in a blinding
flash of light. The spectators on the roof had to shut their eyes, but
the afterimage of the discus' trail remained in their vision long after
the thunderous sonic boom of its flight had faded to silence. The light
took a few seconds more to die down, finally allowing them to open their
eyes and survey the destruction.
    Cell stood exactly where he had been before, holding the discus
disdainfully at arm's length. "Not bad," he conceded. "That almost hit
me. But you still can't match my speed and power. Allow me to
demonstrate." He wound up and threw the tiara back at Princess Serena
with such speed that she couldn't get out of its path in time. She
barely managed to twist in the air, leaving only her right side exposed
to the projectile. It tore a chunk out of her abdomen as it flew past,
throwing her backward beyond the edge of the quicksand below to land on
the solid asphalt. Her dress shimmered and became the familiar fuku of
Sailor Moon as she skidded to a halt. Blood quickly coated the fabric
that covered her wound, instantly rendering her right half as dark as
the blacktop beneath her.
    Cell took his time in crossing the distance to Sailor Moon's side,
while she pressed her left hand to her bleeding side in a vain effort to
hold her insides in place. Sweat poured from her forehead as she fought
a losing battle to stay awake. However, her heart lurched with each step
that Cell took, and her breath quickened, adding even more blood to the
pool forming around her. As he drew close, she weakly kicked her legs at
the ground, trying to crawl away, but she didn't have the strength left
to budge herself.
    The sky was swimming before her eyes by the time Cell drew to a halt
beside her, his toes sending tiny ripples through the puddle of blood.
"I suppose it doesn't really matter how you survived my trap," he said.
"All the more energy for me to absorb." He raised his tail and thrust it
downward, aiming for Sailor Moon's stomach. Summoning all the strength
that remained to her, Sailor Moon rolled aside, leaving only the empty
space from the discus wound in the tail's path. The deadly point stabbed
through the fabric and ended up embedded harmlessly in the asphalt.
    Cell reached down and wrapped his fingers around Sailor Moon's
throat, pulling her up to his face as he extracted his tail from her
leotard. "So, you think you have some fight left in you?" he snarled.
    "I'll never give up until I'm dead," croaked Sailor Moon.
    "I believe that can be arranged," Cell replied calmly. He quickly
brought his knee up, jamming it into Sailor Moon's stomach once, twice,
thrice in quick succession. Her head slumped forward, and a thin stream
of blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth. "Let's see you fight
back now," he taunted.
    Sailor Moon tried to respond, but the only thing that came out of
her mouth was a thick glob of blood and mucus.
    Cell tossed Sailor Moon to the ground, where she landed in a bloody
heap. "Humans. Always trying to delay the inevitable." He raised his
tail and prepared to stab her again while she was too weak to dodge.
    A quiet whisper in his ear stopped him in mid-motion. "Pluto Deadly
Scream." Before he knew what was happening, the Time Key that Pluto was
holding at his side disgorged a powerful force that threw him clear
across the courtyard. With the monster out of the way, Pluto quickly
fell to her knees at Sailor Moon's side and rolled the girl onto her
back.
    Sailor Moon's eyes fluttered open to gaze glassily upon her rescuer.
"Sailor... Pluto?"
    Pluto nodded carefully, mindful of the dark patch of blood that
covered most of her throat. "I wish I could do more for you, but all I
have is this." She opened her hand to reveal a tiny bean between her
fingers. "It is called a Senzu Bean... it comes from Cell's world, and
it has the power to rejuvenate you. Eat it quickly so that you can
defend yourself."
    Pluto pressed the bean to Sailor Moon's lips, but Sailor Moon turned
her head to avoid it. "But you need that bean. You're dying too...."
    "But you are the one who can defeat Cell," said Pluto, forcing the
Senzu Bean into Sailor Moon's mouth.
    Sailor Moon chewed the bean a few times, then swallowed it. "No, I
can't. I didn't take the Moon Scepter."
    "You don't need it," Pluto assured her. "Just believe in the power
you have, and it will -" The air in front of Sailor Moon's face exploded
in a bright flash, sending Pluto flying. Sailor Moon quickly sat up and
turned to face Cell as he lowered his arm.
    "What an idiot," he said condescendingly. "If she could only gather
one Senzu Bean, she should have used it herself. She, at least, was a
worthy opponent." A smile crossed his lips. "Then again, it will be easy
to absorb her power while she can't defend herself."
    Sailor Moon leapt to her feet and spread her arms wide, not even
noticing that the pain she'd felt before was gone. "If you want to get
to Sailor Pluto, you'll have to fight me first!"
    Cell smirked. "I believe we've already done that and seen the
result. But if you insist...."
    Undaunted, Sailor Moon reached behind her back and withdrew the Moon
Crescent Wand. "I'm not going to lose this time!"
    Cell opened his mouth wide, but instead of speaking, he spewed a
wave of flames at Sailor Moon. The Scout stood firm, holding the Moon
Crescent Wand in front of herself. The flames turned aside as they
approached her, repelled by a curved barrier inches in front of the
wand. Sailor Moon flinched from the heat of the flames, but the barrier
held firm, preventing the fire from touching her.
    Cell closed his mouth and straightened up to assess his opponent's
new defense. "So, you've been holding back all this time. But it doesn't
matter how much power you have. I will break it!" He raised a hand and
let fly with a powerful jet of water. Sailor Moon's feet slid across the
wet ground as the force of the water pushed her back, but the shield
kept her completely dry.
    "Give up, Cell!" warned Sailor Moon as the torrent stopped. "The
power of the Moon Kingdom protects me!"
    "Oh dear," Cell said mockingly. "Whatever shall I do?" Electricity
crackled across his body, and Sailor Moon tightened her grip on the Moon
Crescent Wand. However, when Cell unleashed his attack, the arc of
electricity didn't even come close to her. Instead, it shot straight
into the puddle of water at her feet, electrocuting the entire puddle
with a high voltage charge - and Sailor Moon's body with it. The Sailor
Scout screamed as the shock shot through her, throwing her backward. She
landed on dry ground, barely keeping her grip on the wand, and
immediately rolled aside as Cell's fist smashed into the ground where
her head had been. She ended up on her feet, still twitching as the last
of the electricity worked its way through her muscles.
    "I'm impressed," scoffed Cell. "Most humans wouldn't be able to
stand after an attack like that."
    "Defending myself isn't going to be enough," said Sailor Moon. She
aimed the Moon Crescent Wand at Cell. "COSMIC MOON POWER!" A thin beam
of golden light shot forth from the Imperium Silver Crystal and hit Cell
in the chest before he could dodge, carrying him with it as in radiated
along its narrow path.
    Cell quickly recovered his senses and dug his feet into the ground,
blocking the beam with one hand. "You think this is enough to stop me?"
he shouted, charging his palm with energy. He threw his arm up,
redirecting the beam into the night sky. He took a few heavy breaths
while he composed himself, then restored the confident smirk to his
face. "That was more power than I was expecting from a human... but it
still won't be enough!"
    Sailor Moon winced as the combined effects of the electricity and
the exertion of her attack hit her in a wave of pain. "It's no good,"
she whispered. "I just don't have enough power to damage him." She
closed her eyes and prayed silently. "Mother, please.... I know you
believe in me, but I can't do this alone. I need your strength, Mother.
I need to feel your power within me."
    "What are you doing over there?" asked Cell. "Waiting for the end?"
He fired a large ball of energy at her, but she didn't flinch as it
exploded against her shield.
    "Please, Mother," continued Sailor Moon, her fingers clutching the
wand in a deathgrip. "Give me the power to defeat this enemy and save my
friends!"
    It was a tiny sensation in the pit of her stomach at first, but the
comforting warmth quickly spread to fill her entire body. As it flowed
through her, every aching muscle it touched instantly relaxed, leaving
only delicious relief in its wake. The warmth reminded her of the woman
who had taken care of her since the day of her birth, but there was a
familiar strength in it as well. It took her a few seconds to realize
what the sensation was, because she hadn't expected such a powerful
answer to her prayer. But that was what it was... the full,
unadulterated power of a mother's love. Somehow, Queen Serenity had
found a way to send her energy into the future, to the moment when her
daughter would most need it.
    Sailor Moon reached deep down inside herself and embraced the energy
within, focusing it into the Moon Crescent Wand. It was going to be the
most powerful attack she'd ever used, an all-or-nothing blast that would
either destroy Cell or leave her powerless to defend herself. All the
energy of the Moon Kingdom was in her hands now. She opened her eyes,
raised the wand, and took aim. "COSMIC MOON -"
    "That's it!" shouted Cell. His eyes narrowed to slits, and a pair of
thin beams shot forth from them straight at Sailor Moon's heart. She
barely had enough time to return the Moon Crescent Wand to the defensive
position before the beams reached the shield. However, the invisible
barrier merely bent the beams at an angle as they passed through,
diverting one of them harmlessly past her left ear while the other shot
right through her left shoulder, sending a spray of blood from the exit
wound. Her arm fell limply to her side, and she dropped to her knees,
pressing her right fist to the injured shoulder in an attempt to stem
the blood flow. Her left hand rested on the hard ground, but she
couldn't feel it. The entire arm was numb.
    Cell cracked a smile. "As I expected. Your shield can block most of
my attacks, but the pure love energy of the Crescent Beam passes through
easily, even when tainted with my own energy." He shot another Twin
Crescent Beam at Sailor Moon, who quickly raised the Moon Crescent Wand
to block the beams. One beam struck the handle of the wand and fizzled,
while the other refracted downward and just grazed her right knee.
    Sailor Moon gritted her teeth against the pain in her leg and
shoulder, focusing on the power of her mother's love within her. But the
energy wasn't there. Somehow, in the shock of Cell's attack, she'd lost
her link to the precious energy of the Moon Kingdom, and with it, her
last hope. What little of her own energy remained wouldn't even make a
dent in her opponent's defenses, let alone defeat him completely. She
let the hand that still held the Moon Crescent Wand fall to the ground
in despair as Cell's third attack struck her squarely in the forehead.
Her tiara took most of the impact and broke into three pieces. The
center piece landed on the ground in front of her with the inset jewel
facing up, still softly glowing.
    "I'm sorry, Mother," whispered Sailor Moon. "I wasted the energy you
gave me."
    "Nothing is wasted unless you allow it to be," Serenity's voice
whispered back. "You can only truly be defeated if you give up."
    "But there's no way I can win. I'm not strong enough."
    "There is more to victory than strength," Serenity reminded her.
"Cell relies entirely on his power to fight, and that is his weakness.
You must defeat him with your intelligence, your courage, and your love.
Those are your greatest weapons."
    "My love?" repeated Sailor Moon. But the jewel's glow had faded, and
her mother's voice was silent. Sailor Moon raised her eyes to her
opponent, who was preparing to finish her off with a final Twin Crescent
Beam. She had no love for that monster. But what other love could
Serenity have meant? No matter. There was always intelligence and
courage to fall back on, and what she lacked in the former, she more
than made up for in the latter. Summoning all the courage she had, she
raised the Moon Crescent Wand to block the incoming attack, positioning
it carefully so that the beams would pass to either side of the Imperium
Silver Crystal.
    Cell smiled in anticipation as the beams hit the invisible shield,
bending as they passed through. However, instead of turning outward as
they had before, the beams curved inward and struck the crystal, which
shone brilliantly as it absorbed them. Fueled by the energy of her
opponent's own attack, Sailor Moon pushed herself to her feet, favoring
her left leg. Ignoring the pounding of her heartbeat echoing in her
head, she aimed the wand at Cell with her only functioning arm. "MOON
CRESCENT BEAM ANNIHILATION!" she shouted, returning the energy in a beam
that tore a gaping hole in Cell's chest.
    Cell gasped and spat out a mouthful of purple ooze. "Impossible! It
wasn't that powerful before!"
    Sailor Moon allowed herself a sigh of relief. "It worked!" But as
the blood running down her forehead seeped into her eyes, casting her
vision into dark shades of red, she realized that it wasn't going to be
enough. And she barely had enough energy left to stand, let alone
continue to defend herself.
    The sides of Cell's wound throbbed like an animal trying to break
through a thick plastic sheet, spurting the purple blood in all
directions. "I don't understand! You're just a human girl! You can't
have this much power!" His lips curled into a devious grin. "Yes, of
course. It's some kind of trick. You're not that strong! You can't
defeat me!" With that, the wound repaired itself, and Cell launched
himself at Sailor Moon, barely giving her time to raise the Moon
Crescent Wand. He stopped short and spun around, swinging the rock-hard
tip of his tail into the side of her head with bone-crushing force. She
collapsed to the ground, covering the right side of her face with a hand
while blood poured from between her fingers.
    Cell took a few labored breaths and glared at the fallen Sailor
Scout. "Wait.... Do you mean to tell me that all this time, while you
blocked every technique I absorbed, you couldn't stop a basic physical
attack? Is that all it takes to bring down the mighty Sailor Moon?" He
coughed angrily, which became an enraged chuckle, and finally gave way
to deep belly laughter.
    "He's lost it," Ryoko said dryly.
    Sailor Moon slowly sat up, using her blood-covered right hand to
support herself. Her right eye could barely open a tiny crack, and all
she could see through that crack was her own blood. But she kept her
good eye on Cell while she struggled to her feet, wary of his apparent
lapse of sanity. His fist lashed out before she could finish rising,
pounding her in the stomach, but as she stumbled back, he pressed
forward, punching her again and again so quickly that she didn't even
have time to fall down between blows.
    "Try to make a fool of me, will you?" shouted Cell indignantly. "Now
who's impossible to damage?" He brought his foot up swiftly between her
legs, sending her on a vertical ride into the sky at just under escape
velocity. Sailor Moon squeezed her legs together, trying to hold back
the pain in her crotch, but it was the sharp, shooting pain in her chest
that worried her most. She tried to inhale, but none of the thin air of
the upper atmosphere entered her lungs. She brought her hand up to her
breasts and pressed lightly, hoping to clear the airway, but her touch
felt like a knife sliding between her ribs. She could feel something
shifting beneath her fingers - her ribs were either broken or completely
crushed. She finally managed a startled gasp, which she immediately
exhaled in a weak cough. The jagged edges of what remained of her
ribcage were starting to scratch her insides, making her itch in a place
she couldn't possibly scratch. And she was only now slowing down to
begin her plummet back to Earth.
    Breathe in, cough, cough, cough. Breathe in, cough, cough, cough. It
was becoming a regular pattern now, making her compacted chest burn
without pause. But at least it was getting air through her body, staving
off the worst of the dizziness. It was also causing her to cough up more
blood with each mile she fell. Even if she had enough to last until she
hit the ground, the terminal velocity impact would surely kill her, and
there were no more Senzu Beans waiting for her. She had to focus on
something other than death, some kind of plan that would save her, and
possibly even help her defeat Cell... but one thing at a time. She had
to get her feet back on the ground first.
    An image popped into her desperate mind - a scene from a spy movie,
where the hero had used his jacket as a parachute to survive a normally
fatal fall. Unfortunately, the sailor fuku once again proved to be
completely impractical for such an application. The damn thing wasn't
good for anything except eye candy for male opponents. Scratch that
idea... but there was something else that might work instead of a
parachute. She carefully twisted until she was facing the ground and
held the Moon Crescent Wand in front of her, concentrating all of her
energy into the shield that had protected her from so many of Cell's
attacks. The air beneath her quickly became hot enough to burn her skin
as the shield provided a bit of drag, slowing her down before impact.
    It wasn't nearly enough. She slammed into the asphalt face first
with a noise that was halfway between CRUNCH and SPLAT, then bounced
higher than the top of Cell's head and flipped over before landing hard
enough to bounce a second time, finally flopping onto her stomach as she
came to rest in a giant pool of blood. She couldn't feel her legs at all
anymore, but since the only sensation in the rest of her body was
incredible pain, she was thankful for small favors.
    "So, you survived that, too," observed Cell as he waded through the
blood toward her prone form. "I'm not surprised anymore. You've got more
energy than I thought it was possible for a human to possess. With that
much energy, no power in all the universe could ever stand against me!"
    Sailor Moon felt a twinge in her back as Cell stabbed her with his
tail, barely missing her spine. She fought to raise her one good arm to
pull it out, but her limb refused to respond to her command. She weakly
opened her eye to see the bulges traveling up the length of his tail as
he sucked the life out of her. Adrenaline pumped through her body as she
watched her arm begin to wither away, but she was helpless to save
herself. The most she could do in her defense was throw up, and she
hoped to spare herself the effort.
    Suddenly, the needle slipped out of its hole, and Cell spun around
to face the dark shape that loomed behind him. "Nice try, Sailor Pluto.
But you can't catch me by surprise twice."
    Even with her ears filled with blood, Sailor Moon could hear Pluto's
nervous swallow. "Cell, I will only ask you once more. You must
cooperate with me or this universe will be destroyed, and it will take
you with it!"
    "And I suppose you have the power to prevent this cataclysm?" Cell
remarked snidely.
    "I do," said Pluto.
    "Then I will have it, once I absorb you," replied Cell. "Problem
solved."
    "No, that's not -!" began Pluto, before Cell cut her off with a
violent blow. Sailor Moon couldn't see what was happening, but judging
from Sailor Pluto's cries of pain, Cell had the upper hand despite her
threats. A few quick strikes later, and Pluto collapsed to the ground.
    Tears filled Sailor Moon's eyes as the last echoes of the fight died
away, leaving only her own pulse to break the silence. She wanted it to
stop. Queen Serenity had given her a second chance after she'd failed to
save her friends, and she'd blown it. Pluto had given her another
chance, and she'd blown that too. Everyone had believed in her and put
their lives on the line to protect her, and now what little remained of
her body was lying in a pool of its own blood, powerless to prevent the
ultimate destruction of the universe.
    "Sailor Moon!"
    Sailor Moon gasped at the sound, coughing almost immediately. It was
Sailor Pluto's voice! "Sai-"
    "Don't try to speak!" warned Sailor Pluto. "I'm only pretending to
be unconscious. I'm speaking directly into your mind so that Cell can't
hear me. Please, listen carefully. This is the only chance we have to
set the timeline right. I must tell you something that you won't like to
hear, but I must explain myself quickly.
    "It is written that you will defeat Beryl by merging your power with
that of the other Sailor Scouts - and that they must sacrifice their
lives to bring that about. Don't say anything!" she snapped, as Sailor
Moon was about to do just that. "It is history, and that must not
change. The universe depends on it!
    "The Sailor Scouts have already sacrificed their lives by becoming
part of Cell. There is only one way to turn that sacrifice into a
victory now. You must lure Cell into the Negaverse, where he will use
that power to defeat Queen Beryl in your stead. It is not exactly
according to history, but it will have to be close enough. It is the
only way that the rightful timeline can be restored. Do not worry... you
and the other Scouts will be resurrected once Beryl is dead. I will see
to it.
    "I'm using the last of my power to open the portal beside you.
Summon whatever strength you can and get through it. Once you're on the
far side, I'll return to the Gate of Time, where Cell can't reach me.
He'll have to follow you, and the portal will close behind him."
    Sailor Moon's body shivered, and a chill filled her withered bones.
Something felt very wrong with the world.
    "The paradox has begun! Quickly, before I become one with Cell!"
    She could feel the evil seeping from the portal, and the cracks in
the universe that heralded the impending breakdown of the fabric of
space and time. The Negaverse was so close to her, the hatred that
filled the place washing over her like surf as the portal disgorged its
intangible contents. If she could just roll over, she'd pass through it
out of the crumbling world, and she could die in peace, her last heroic
act the one that saved the world once and for all.
    But her friends would remain dead. Being resurrected wasn't the same
as not dying in the first place. She could tell in Pluto's tone that
there was something Pluto had failed to tell her, something important
that they would lose in the transition. She couldn't let that happen!
She'd come back to save her friends, not sacrifice them!
    "Please," she begged, ignoring Pluto's admonition against speaking
aloud. "Somebody... give me the power to save my friends."
    With that, she lay down to die, the plea her last vestige in the
living world. There was nobody left to respond. But then she felt it
flowing into her body - warm energy that reminded her of how great it
felt to be near her friends, studying or playing video games or even
just hanging out. She could feel the presence of the Sailor Scouts in
her, somehow. They were still alive inside Cell, and they were sending
her all the energy they could to fuel her last effort to save them. This
time, she couldn't waste it. There would be no more chances. She pushed
herself up to her knees, her entire body aching but able to move once
again.
    Cell turned to face her with Sailor Pluto halfway up his tail. He
groaned and put a palm to his forehead. "Again? What are you, a Saiyan?"
    Ignoring Cell's incomprehensible taunt, she rose to her feet, her
legs shaking violently under her weight, and raised the Moon Crescent
Wand over her head. If the Sailor Scouts were indeed alive, there was
one thing that might save them, and she had to try it, even if it killed
her. She slowly traced a vertical circle around herself with the tip of
the crescent. "Moon... Healing... Activation!" she called out with as
much force as she could, barely more than a whisper.
    Cell laughed as the golden light washed over and through him.
"Healing? Now I've heard everything. What exactly do you intend to do by
healing m-" He retched and quickly covered his mouth as if trying to
prevent himself from throwing up. His gut began to expand like a rapidly
inflating basketball. "No! What are you doing to me!" he shouted. "This
can't be! I can't control the energy!"
    Sailor Pluto popped out of Cell's tail and fell to the ground,
quickly rolling to a safe distance as Cell grew to the size of a
minivan. His skin began to bulge in places, as if something inside were
trying to force its way out. Then, with a final scream of agony and
despair and a bright flash, he exploded, showering the entire courtyard
with purple ooze.
    Ranma wiped as much of the gook from his face as he could. "So much
for him," he noted dryly.
    "What the hell happened?" demanded Ryoko. "I thought we had that one
in the bag!"
    "I think Cell bit off more than he could chew... literally," said
Lina. She pointed to the large pile of Sailor Scouts that now occupied
the space where Cell had stood.
    Sailor Venus, on the top of the stack, was the first one to wake up.
"Huh? What's going on? Am I dead or something?"
    "I don't think so," Mercury groaned from the bottom of the pile. "I
wouldn't be in this much pain if I were. Would you all mind getting off
my back now?"
    "Yeah, somebody up there needs to lose some weight!" complained
Uranus.
    Venus quickly slid off to the ground. "Is everyone okay?"
    Mars sat up and rubbed her stomach. "Yeah, I'm fine. I can't even
feel where Cell stabbed me."
    Venus reached up to help Mars to the ground and found herself
staring at her own arm. She rubbed the purple muck from her forearm in
amazement. "Hey! My scar's gone!"
    Jupiter rolled off the pile and took a look for herself. "Yeah,
you're right. I think my knee's back to normal, too."
    "I'm feeling perfectly fine again," announced Neptune as Uranus rose
and helped her to her feet. "It seems we've all been healed completely."
    "But how?" asked Mars. "What happened to us? And what happened to
Cell?"
    "I'd say it looks like he blew himself up," said Uranus, brushing
the drying ooze from her body.
    "Or someone else blew him up," suggested Mercury, as she finally
stood up. She blushed and quickly turned away from the naked man at the
bottom of the pile, wiping her hand on her leotard. "But where's Sailor
Moon?"
    Venus shook her head sadly. "She wasn't absorbed by Cell, like the
rest of us. She just... died."
    Mars' eyes widened. "No! Not Sailor Moon!" She stepped back from the
group and looked around, searching for any sign of their leader. "Look!
There's someone there!"
    The Sailor Scouts started to move toward the human-shaped mound of
purple slime, but the form of the Time Key rose from it, and Sailor
Pluto sat up.
    "Pluto! You're all right!" Uranus cried joyously, while the Inner
Scouts tried not to look as disappointed as they were.
    Pluto disgustedly spat out a mouthful of Cell and chuckled under her
breath. "She did it. She found a way to beat the paradox. I swear, I
will never understand that girl."
    "Who did it?" asked Mars, anticipating the answer she knew couldn't
possibly come.
    "Sailor Moon," replied Pluto, pointing past the Sailor Scouts to the
other girl hidden under the thick layer of slime. She wasn't moving, but
Venus ran to her side anyway, hauling her up out of the murk and
cradling her.
    At first, it appeared that she was just tired from the effort of
fighting Cell, but as the ooze dripped from her body, the bloodstains
and wounds began to show clearly, and Venus had to fight to avoid
vomiting for the third time that night. Had it been the first, she
wouldn't have been able to hold back. She wiped the slime off Sailor
Moon's face and pushed her head up. "Sailor Moon? Are you okay?"
    For several moments, it appeared that Sailor Moon's silence would be
the only answer. Then, her left eye fluttered open and focused on Venus,
and a smile crossed her lips. "You're... alive...!"
    Venus returned the smile as best she could without bursting into
tears. "Yeah. We're all just fine."
    "I'm... so glad," said Sailor Moon. With that, her body went limp,
and her uniform smoothly transformed into her casual outfit.
    This time, Venus cried openly. "Sailor Moon! No! Don't die!"
    "Hold on!" said Mercury, taking her knees at Serena's other side.
She carefully pressed two fingers to Serena's throat and her ear to the
girl's mouth. "She's still alive," Mercury announced. "But we have to
get her to a hospital right away!"
    "I'll take her," announced Tuxedo Mask. He stepped past Sailor
Mercury and bent down to pick up his future wife, holding her as gently
as a newborn baby.
    "Hurry!" urged Mercury. "She doesn't have much time left!"
    "Wait!" Pluto called out as she got to her feet, using the butt of
the Time Key as a cane. "Go through the Gate of Time. It's the quickest
way."
    Uranus watched Pluto wobble unsteadily. "Are you sure you should be
doing that?" she asked. "You look like you need to get to the hospital
yourself!"
    "I'm immortal," Pluto reminded her. "A little thing like a throat
wound won't kill me." She raised the Time Key, and the dark portal
opened beside Tuxedo Mask. "Take care of her well. She must survive!"
    Tuxedo Mask nodded wordlessly and leapt through the portal, which
closed behind him.
    Mars sighed. "This is bad, you guys. Sailor Moon's going to be out
of battle for who knows how long, and our enemies could attack again at
any time?"
    "It will be soon," Pluto announced darkly. "Very soon. Cell will
return."
    "But I thought Sailor Moon blew him up!" argued Uranus. "Are you
saying he can come back from THAT?"
    Pluto nodded. "Even the goo covering this courtyard is enough to
reconstruct his entire body. It will take some time, but he will return
as powerful as before."
    "Then what can we do?" asked Jupiter. "How can we beat him without
Sailor Moon?"
    "You can't," replied Pluto. "Your power simply isn't enough. I
should have interceded sooner last time, but I was afraid of the
consequences of taking action. This time, I know the danger of not
acting quickly enough. I will be ready for his return."
    "What are you going to do?" asked Neptune.
    "I must summon another warrior to fight beside you," said Pluto. "I
can only hope that she will agree to help us."
    "Another warrior?" asked Neptune. "You don't mean... the one you
were going to bring if Uranus and I refused?"
    "Yes, our last resort. A warrior more powerful than any of you, but
that much more unstable. And because of her situation, her presence in
this timeline will make a paradox that much more likely. But without her
help, the paradox is certain."
    "Who is she?" asked Uranus. "Is she someone we know?"
    "Yes, and no," replied Pluto. "You will know her soon enough... it
would be folly to bring her here while you know nothing of her. I will
grant you the memory of her past - and your future." She took a deep
breath and clasped the Time Key in both hands. "There. The story will be
told - it will be part of the One True Timeline soon enough."
    "What do you mean?" asked Mars. "One True Timeline?"
    "It's complicated," said Uranus. "It's something to do with trees
and books and probably noodles."
    Pluto smirked and shook her head. "I will return soon, Sailor
Scouts. Pray that I am not alone when I do." With that, she opened the
Gate of Time and stepped inside.
    "So, what do we do now?" asked Jupiter as the portal closed.
    "We wait," replied Uranus.
    Up on the rooftop, Ranma sat back and considered what he'd seen.
"That girl who was Sailor Moon..." he mused. "I know her."
    And then the flood of memories came, and for several minutes, they
could focus on nothing else.

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