"Sailor Moon:  Quest For Marius" By Daryll Pung

Go to Previous Page - Part  10 - 11 - 12 

or Go Back to the Stories

    Note:  This particular story is set in a fantasy realm based on Advanced Dungeons And Dragons 2nd Edition, which is owned by TSR and Wizards Of The Coast.  All characters are based on actual role-playing characters from a group I used to DM for!

Sailor Moon: Quest for Marius

By Daryll Pung

Part 10: Out Of The Frying Pan

PG13

      Sailor Moon was aware of but one thing as the great wyrm red dragon carrying Marius swooped closer, preparing to breathe its powerful breath upon them.

      There was nowhere to run, dodge, or hide.

      They were all going to die.

      As the red prepared to exhale, Derrelli rode up, noting the situation.

      "Derrelli!" said Siko sadly.  "Come to die with us?"

      "I think not," stated Derrelli with utter calm.  "I brought some friends."

      "Huh?" blinked Moon. 

      At that precise second a golden blur dropped out of the overcast sky and slammed into the red.  Marius was jolted loose and tumbled to the ground near them as the red dragon was fighting for its life against... a great wyrm gold dragon.  The gold suddenly used the plummeting red to launch itself upwards.  The red struggled to regain itself and pull out of the dive it was in, but couldn't.  It slammed into the ground with awesome force, shaking the ground under their feet, even though it was miles away.  The gold swooped low and breathed, and a cloud of chlorine gas impacted the red with physical force.  The gold swooped around for another pass.

      Marius struggled to her feet.  The sword in her hands pulsed as she mentally commanded the other dragons.  The green was the first to respond.  It charged the gold.  The gold dragon saw it coming and smiled to herself.

      The green swooped, preparing to unleash a spell barrage.

      The gold turned away, giving the green a clear shot.

      The green began casting.

      A bolt of lightning arced from above, ripping into and electrocuting the green dragon, destroying its wing membranes.  As it faltered in flight, a great wyrm bronze dragon dropped into the green, claws raking.  As soon as it made contact, the two began brawling.  The white moved to the rescue of the green.  As it did, a cone of pure heat and sand nailed it, staggering it.  A brass great wyrm dragon flew in from above, distracting the white.  As the white looked up, the gold came around.  Blazing hot dragonfire raged from the gold*, which finished the job of the brass.  The white was the first to die.  Its smoldering body, spiraling, trailing smoke, smashed into the ground just outside of town, near the team.  It didn't move.

      At the same time, a cone of freezing cold smashed into the green, right as the bronze launched himself clear.  Another bolt of lightning slammed into the green, finishing the job.  The blue didn't even react noticeably.  It had missed its target.  The bronze swung around, as the green's corpse crunched into the burning seafront, smashing into the burning ship hulks, coming to rest on the docks.

      Marius watched the battle, but not who was near her.  She raised Dragonsbane, an evil grin on her face.  She reached out with Dragonsbane, attempting to seize control of the good dragons as well.

      Derrelli frowned.  He raised his staff, chanting.  Flames swirled around him, and launched out into a spiral of fire.  The impact visibly staggered Marius, who gasped, concentration broken, and spun around.  Moon leveled her staff.

      "MOON EVIL ELIMINATION!"  With those words, pure silvery moon power blasted from the staff into Marius.  Her goodness disrupted Marius' evil aura for a few seconds.

      It was all Dragonsbane needed.

      The dark aura faded from the sword, and electricity ripped through Marius.  With a loud gasp, she dropped the fabled weapon.

      Mask heard a voice in his mind.

      Huh? he thought.

      Tuxedo Mask, I am Dragonsbane.  You are to be my wielder for this fight!  You possess the necessary skills, and the necessary outlook.  Pick me up!  Take me in your hands and smite the evil! the sword said telepathically.

      Heedless of Marius, Mask dodged in.  Marius swiped at him as he ducked low, snatching up the blade as he rolled to his feet.  He blocked her blow with Dragonsbane. He could hear the sword's laughter, as Marius was electrocuted again.

      Meanwhile, the fight in the overcast skies above raged on.  The blue aimed himself at the bronze, still in the vestiges of control of Marius, as was the other two.  The black was flying in, charging the group.  The blue exhaled.

      "No!" gasped Venus, as everyone looked up to see the lightning impact on the bronze.  The nimbus faded, and the bronze dived beneath the blue, unleashing a Fireball spell.  The billowing explosion rocked the blue.

      "How?" asked Jupiter.

      "Dragons are immune to their own breath weapons!" snapped Derrelli.  He drew their attention back to the fight.  "That applies to all similar energies!"

      Marius blinked in dismay, then mentally commanded her dragons to different targets.  The red was even now beginning to rise, extending its battered wings.

      The blue swung around.  Following Marius' instruction, it charged the gold.  The gold dragon rolled its eyes.  Marius had forgotten the other good dragons.  A stream of the most deadly, concentrated, corrosive acid nailed the blue, disintegrating one wing and scorching its side, mortally wounding the beast.  The copper great wyrm swooped in, jaws still dripping with acid.  The gold sensed the movement beneath it, heard the intake of breath.  She swooped in front of the copper that had just saved her, absorbing the raging dragonfire from the red.  She viciously twisted and raked the red with her claws as it flew up past her, drawing its attention and its blood, which fell on the wind as burning droplets.  Another gust of pure cold slammed into the red, as the silver great wyrm that had been hiding in the clouds revealed itself.  Even as the red was trying to defend itself against the onslaught, the brass smashed the blue a final time with its cone of sandblasting hot air.  The blue fell from the sky, narrowly missing the diving black dragon as it plummeted into the heart of the destroyed buildings.  The body of the blue crumpled on impact, in accompaniment to the cloud of dust and smoke that arose.

      As Omega and the Scouts scattered from the oncoming black dragon, Marius grinned.  Then she saw Mask take a defiant stance as the black opened its dripping jaws and spewed a stream of deadly acid.  He held up the sword, which pulsed with power.  The stream of acid slammed into and temporarily obscured Tuxedo Mask and Dragonsbane, smashing them backwards.

      "Tuxedo Mask!" gasped Moon.  Then the acid finished splattering, sizzling on the ground.  Mask grinned at the black's surprise, and allowed the sword's power to pulse through him as the black swooped overhead.  A blur of white-silver energy consumed the sword, leaving a light trail as Darien launched himself upwards, spiraling and slashing with the sword.  The power of the sword flashed on impact, releasing a small shockwave.  The black screamed hoarsely as its right wing was broken, shredded, and very much destroyed.  Its momentum was much too fast, as it was trying to pull out from a dive.  The wing hung limply against the side of the dragon as it spiraled out of control.  Its impact shot shockwaves through the ground, almost knocking everyone of their feet.  The black, while not dead, was extremely badly wounded, trying to get up.  Moon's eyes were wide as saucers as she eyed the impact trench, half a mile long, of the black.  She glanced at Mask, who was holding Dragonsbane high as he charged the black to finish the job.

      He didn't have to.

      The bronze dived in, like an airplane, pulling up just short and exhaling.  Its powerful lightning cracked into the hulk of the black with explosive force.  Smoke poured into the sky from the dead black as the bronze performed a victory spiral and climbed for the last enemy.

      Marius gritted her teeth as the Scouts and Omega redeployed themselves around her.  Mercury already had her planar phaser in hand.  She glanced at the sky, where the red was fighting a hopeless battle against five uninjured good dragons.  She grimaced as she realized her lack of foresight and planning had caused this devastating defeat.  Oh well, time to find something else to use against them, she thought, shrugging it off.  Shame I'm not ready to transfer yet.  I'll just teleport and find something else to batter them with.

      Mercury frowned as dark energy crackled around Marius, dropping her phaser and whipping out her computer while activating her visor.  Mars saw what Marius was trying to do.  

      "No, I don't think so!  MARS SEARING INFERNO!"

      "JUPITER CHAIN LIGHNING BURST!"

      "VENUS SHINING LOVE FORCE!"

      "Mere's wrath descend!  Flamestrike!"

      "Woslak Draneth... Magic Missile!"

      "Gosklah Ulasmiz Karimij... Thirty Feet!  Fireball!"

      Marius screamed in agony, sill gathering her power to teleport, as a column of fire slammed on her from above, and another charred her from the front, and a billowing explosion rocked her from her feet.  As she stood back up, a wall of golden love energy smashed into her, and electricity once again surged through her.  She dropped to her knees, and glanced up as five glowing green spheres hit her, lifting her off her feet.  Her energy gathered, she managed to teleport in midair, writhing in pain.  As she did, the red blinked and regained his mind.  As he faltered in his fighting, the good dragons struck with vehement force.  A cloud of chlorine gas hit him from the gold, which exploded as the bronze exhaled a bolt of lightning into him.  The copper and silver made a pass simultaneously, freezing his wings and corroding his underside enough for a blast of superheated air and sand to rip into his guts.  The red lost flight capability, trailing smoke and flaming blood, and slammed with concussive force into the water.  A twenty-foot wave slammed ashore as a cloud of steam rose into the air.  The five good dragons formed up, and made a victory pass above the applauding survivors of the town.  They swooped low, back winging above the group, throwing up clouds of dust.  Everyone was forced to shield his or her face as the wind passed.

      "Damn!" cursed Mars.  "She got away again!"

      "It's okay," soothed Mercury.  She was tapping on her keyboard.  "I have a fix on her location.  It'll be a cinch to track her down and finish the job."

      Moon gazed at the dragons in wonder, then shook her head and glanced at Mercury.  "You go, Sailor Mercury!"

      Lord Armen Viaradi surveyed the repair efforts.  The fires had been quenched, mostly through the efforts of the silver dragon, and the magic of Omega and the "Sailor Scouts", as Derrelli had told him was their name.  They really didn't look like any sailors he had ever seen, but that wasn't important anyway.  He lowered his spyglass.  He was standing on the hill that was the entryway into Placid, near the ruined inn.  Many civilians had died, but it was unanimous that for the efforts of the three, allied forces- the dragons, Omega, and the Scouts- Placid would be a complete ruin, and casualties would have been much higher.  He looked over at the group, just outside of town.  The sun was shining now, and it was almost painful to the eyes to look at the metallic dragons, particularly the silver, considering the light reflection off their hides.  They were deep in discussion.  He was curious as to the topic.  He wandered over.

      "So that's why that fight was so easy," murmured Auris, the gold.

      "Mind control with Dragonsbane, huh?" grinned Tranyth, the silver.

      "Didn't know you had it in ya, D-bane," chuckled Ferriyn, the copper.

      Hmph.  I tried to fight it, but it was a little too strong for me, the sword said indignantly.  You should really be grateful to Omega Adventuring Company and their companions, the Sailor Scouts.  Marius was about to use me to capture you as well.

      "To suffer such stupidity and be forced to do evil, that would have been nasty," sniffed Glaryisan haughtily.  The brass shifted her wings, then relaxed and got comfortable again.

      "We are indeed grateful," agreed Morys, the bronze.  The huge dragons were loosely arrayed in a semicircle, with Omega and the Scouts in front of them.  The size comparison would have been hilarious in any other world, but the smallest of the good dragons, Glaryisan, was herself almost two hundred and fifty feet long.  Auris was near four hundred feet long.  One generally didn't laugh at something that could inhale you on accident.

      Lord Viaradi nodded.  "All of Placid is extremely grateful to all of you.  Especially you, lordships," he said, bowing to the dragons.

      Tranyth shook his head.  "Say no more, Lord Viaradi.  It was a pleasure.  We," and he indicated the good dragons with a huge, clawed hand, "couldn't very well allow such death and devastation.  We may not always agree with humanoids, or even take them seriously, but such rampant murder and destruction will not be tolerated from other dragons for no reason.  It simply isn't right."

      Venus blinked.  "You mean, under certain conditions you would allow such atrocities?"

      Tranyth narrowed his eyes at her.  "Some of us.  It depends on the situation.  For example, if a group of adventurers from a town raided a dragon's lair and killed its hatchlings, the dragon is well within its rights to retaliate.  Even if it were a red."

      Auris continued.  "Or if an army of, say, orcs, were to attack a town, well, that's none of our business.  That's not to say that one or two of us wouldn't help behind the scenes, or repay a debt of honor by making a few passes.  But generally, we allow humanoids to go about their daily lives."

      "Most dragonkind will not affect the environment around them on a day-to-day basis," explained Morys.  "It is bad for us.  We like comfortable places to live.  Drawing too much attention to us has all kinds of undesirable effects.  Which is why we prefer to remain in the background."  With that, Morys relaxed, and a spiral of power morphed him into a regal half-elf, albeit with bronze-colored eyes.  He stretched.

      Moon blinked.  Auris and Tranyth had followed Morys' lead, and were now a beautiful gold-haired elven woman and a silver-bearded human wizard respectively. 

      Mars blinked.  Before she could react, Ferriyn snorted. 

      "Show-offs.  We actually have to use a spell to do that!"  Glaryisan chuckled, and both chanted.  Ferriyn became a dwarf with copper hair, and Glarisyn became a halfling with brass-colored eyes.

      "Wait a minute!" gasped Mars, eyeing Auris.  "You were the bard in the inn!"

      Auris nodded.  "You are correct, Sailor Mars.  Derrelli had explained his suspicions to us, and we agreed that the situation was sufficiently serious to warrant our attention."

      "How do you think we got here so fast?" smiled Tranyth.  "Not everyone can instantly teleport, you know!"

      "We were in various locations throughout the town, betting on where each chromatic's powers would be used.  Once the attack began, we each cast Invisibility on ourselves, again guessing that with Marius in control, she wouldn't think to use the chromatic dragon's innate invisibility detection, or any of their more subtle abilities.  We then went to our normal forms and took off," explained Glaryisan.

      "You were the bartender's assistant!" said Jupiter.  Glaryisan nodded smugly.

      Lord Viaradi shook his head with a smile.  "So, Lord Tranyth was with the ballistae forces, right?  And Lord Morys was...?"

      "I was a dockhand, and Ferriyn mimicked a shopkeeper in the residential district," explained Morys.  "We guessed the various attack locations, and took up positions there."

      "How did Lady Auris and Lady Glaryisan know to be at the inn?" asked Emilie.

      "Us," guessed Moon.  "Marius would naturally send her most powerful recruit after us."

      "Correct, Sailor Moon," nodded Auris.  "Simple deduction.  Obsessed individuals are sometimes so easy to outthink."

      "So what now?" asked Mask.  He still proudly held Dragonsbane.

      "First and foremost," began Derrelli, withdrawing from his cloak a beautifully jeweled scabbard.  "Good job with Dragonsbane, but since the threat is over, it is time to restore Dragonsbane to the Repository.  If you would..."

      Mask held the sword aloft, catching the reflections of the sun, admiring the sword one final time.  "It was a pleasure, Dragonsbane," he said.

      Indeed, and you were an excellent wielder.  Perhaps another time, Tuxedo Mask, Dragonsbane answered.  Well done, everyone.

      With that, Mask slid the fabled weapon into its scabbard, and Derrelli very carefully stowed the weapon under his cloak.  He nodded.

      "Okay.  Now, we track the Locust down," he said.  He glanced at Mercury.

      "She's still here.  As a matter of fact, as she teleported, I detected a loss in the background of her energy potential for planar transferring.  She could take even longer to build up the necessary potential than usual.  I think this is due to the damage she suffered just prior to teleport," Mercury commented.  "It should be remarkably easy to track her down, considering I have her energy signature recorded."

      "So, we follow Sailor Mercury's lead and track down Marius, and finish this," smiled Siko.  "Where do we start?"

      Mercury glanced at the dragons.  "Well...."

      Marius grinned as she surveyed the carnage.  It had been tough at first, but now she had one of the fire-breathing dogs under her control.  She glanced at the... what was it called?  Oh yes… a hellhound.  It wasn't a very powerful creature, but it served as a minion until she could figure out what to do next.  She gave it instructions, then proceeded on her way...

      Marius frowned.  Her journey across these plains was arduous, but to conserve her powers for a planar transfer she had to resort to mundane methods of transport such as walking.  Damn those cursed scouts!  Marius was so caught up in her dark, evil thoughts that she didn't catch the early glimpses that may have warned her of her fate. She never noticed as the Scouts and Omega landed behind her.  She never noticed as the dragons swooped higher into the sky.  She didn't notice her enemies spreading out to surround her.

      Most importantly, she didn't notice Mars charging her attack. 

      "MARS SEARING INFERNO!"

      The blast smashed into Marius, who fought to resist the searing heat and flames even as she was knocked off her feet.  As the fires passed, she staggered upright.  Then she blinked, and looked around her.

      She was surrounded.

      Hmm, she thought.  Looks like I have to absorb some energy to survive this...  She moved towards Consis.

      "VENUS SHINING LOVE FORCE!"

      As the wall of love energy smashed into Marius, she was knocked down again.  It was then how she saw how they had found her so quickly.  The good dragons still spiraled overhead, circling like vultures.  She grunted and staggered to her feet again.  She looked up in time, and just barely threw up her defenses to block the determined physical assault from seven directions at once.  She generated a negative power wave, and released it.  All seven of her attackers flew backwards.  She grinned, taking some of their energy from the impact of the wave.

      "MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!"

      The silver blast of Moon power crunched into her, throwing her towards the ones at her back.  It had hurt far more than...

      Than any previous attack in recent memory...

      That's it! she realized as she recovered her balance.  Get rid of her, and killing the Scouts would be easy!  She had been utilizing her powers wrong!  She called to her hellhound as Jupiter charged in and punched.  She stumbled forward...

      "NOW!" shouted Artemis.

      "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" called Venus, as the golden links rose around her and looped around Marius, ensnaring her and holding her still.  Marius didn't even struggle, merely grinned as Mercury stepped forward and raised her phaser.

      She pushed the button, and white energy lashed out.  The impact jolted Marius, and ripped most of the power from her, leaving just enough for the final transfer.  White energy surrounded her, and she was banished back to the Negaverse. 

      They hoped.

      They glanced at Derrelli.

      He nodded affirmative, quickly replacing his microcomputer into his robes.

      "YES!" shouted Jupiter as Venus threw up a "V" for victory.

      "We did it!" shouted Mars and Moon, hugging excitedly.  Mercury grinned.  Perhaps only Derrelli and Consis, who were exchanging looks, wondered what Marius was up to, why she was smiling.  Why did she not resist at the end?  Derrelli shrugged, and they joined in the celebration.

      It was lush, peaceful, and resounded with the calls of various birds.  The light filtered through the trees, highlighting the path as the Scouts followed Derrelli and Mirk.  They broke into an open clearing, filled with exotic flowers.  Derrelli stopped, and turned.  The Scouts stopped behind him.  He glanced at the sky, then pulled out his microcomputer and pressed the screen.  After a moment, he looked up.

      "We are currently standing in the middle of a natural node.  In exactly fifty-seven minutes it will activate.  The destination?  Your prime, in the middle of the night," Derrelli explained.  He put his microcomputer away.  He grinned.  "Scouts, it's been a pleasure.  While I hope such a situation never arises again, maybe this won't be the last we see of each other.  Oh, and Sailor Mars, keep on burnin'!"

      "Farewell," smiled Mirk.  "It was... fun."

      "Indeed," grinned Moon.  She glanced over at Mercury, who had her computer out, with a timer counting down.  "Well, this has been one screwed-up trip.  At least things worked out in the end."  She hugged Mask.  The two companions gave their final goodbyes, and set off through the woods.

      The Scouts sat down and got comfortable.  The flowers around them moved gently in the cool breeze.  The breeze carried the lovely scents of the forest, although Moon thought she smelled something else.

      The scent reminded her of the aftermath of Mars' attacks.  An unpleasant reek of charred... something.  She couldn't place it.  She shrugged, rejoining the conversation.

      "Back to the daily grind," sighed Jupiter.

      "Not quite," said Mercury.  "Things were changing, remember?  We are going back to our own brave new world."

      "Speaking of which," said Moon.  She pressed the button on her communicator.

      Amara, Michelle, and Hotaru weaved their way amongst the shops, heading to the food court to link up with Trista, Sam, Mel, and Reeni.  They had just entered the area and arrived at the table with the other four when all seven communicators beeped simultaneously.  As one, they blinked, and activated them.  They were hardly surprised as the place became dead silent.  Every eye in the mall was upon them.

      They were getting used to it already, though. 

      Amara glanced down at the screen to see Sailor Moon, with a bunch of... flowers?

      "Hey everybody," Moon's voice said from the communicators.  "Its just us."

      "Of course," chuckled Amara.  "Who else would it be?  What's happening, Moonface?"

      "What time is it there?" asked Moon.

      Amara blinked at the question.  "It's, uh, five thirty-seven, p.m.," she answered.  "Why?"

      Moon smiled broadly.  "Because... Mission Accomplished!  Marius is already back in the Negaverse, stripped of most, if not all, of her planar powers, with the Order planning to check on her as soon as they can and make sure.  I understand the soonest they can is in about five weeks.  At any rate, we stomped her and sent her packing!  We'll be arriving back there later tonight."

      Amara's smile matched those on the other's faces.  "All right!  Where and when?"

      "The park, sometime after dark," answered Moon.  "He wasn't very precise."

      "We'll be there," promised Amara.

      "See ya then!" Moon grinned.  The screen went dark.  Amara looked up.

      The seven friends, soon to be fifteen, shared a high five, all the while forgetting one thing.

      The Negaverse had a funny way of screwing things up when least expected.

      "It's almost time," said Mercury.  She stretched, and stood up.  All around her, everyone else followed suit.  Mercury glanced at her computer.  It was running down from two minutes.

      Moon finished her stretch, thinking happily about her bed.  It was then she caught another whiff of the same smell she remembered almost an hour ago.  What is that? she wondered.  She noticed Luna sniffing, too.

      The sun was almost directly overhead now, and the plants around them began to glow.  Suddenly, a dark blur, growling all the while, launched itself from the woods.

      "What the!" snapped Jupiter.  Her tiara shot up as the thing slammed into Moon, breathing fire.  Luna went flying, to be caught by Mask as the thing and Moon hit the ground, rolling...

      Right out of the node.

      "Sailor Moon!" called Venus, running towards her...

      A white flash blossomed as Moon, badly burnt, kicked the hellhound off of her and sent it flying into a nearby tree.  She staggered to her feet, and her hand went to her already glowing tiara.

      "MOON TIARA DEVASTATION!"

      The white disk blazed right into the thing's grinning jaws before exploding.

      It disintegrated instantly.

      The shockwave passed her, and she dropped to her knees as she glanced back at the node.

      She was alone.  Moon's head dropped as she concentrated, ignoring the pain of the burns and calling upon the Imperium Silver Crystal.  She sighed as the pain went away, even though it left her slightly drained.

      She sat there for a bit, feeling utterly alone, dejected, and disappointed.  Tears trickled down her cheek as she held herself, sobbing. 

      Before long, however, her innate optimism, coupled with the bright sun and cheerful surroundings, made her brighten up.

      Is this any way for a leader to act? she mentally kicked herself.  Think, Serena.  Derrelli is still here.  You just have to find him.  Let's see, the nearest town was...  She got to her feet, wiped away her tears, brushed herself off, and stood tall.  I am Sailor Moon, she thought to herself.  So simple a thing as this will not beat me!

      She set off.  She followed the trail, and before long began whistling to herself.

      She was soon hiking across the grassy, rolling hills she remembered.  She was heading up a hill, when she glanced up and realized someone was already at the summit.  She recognized the robes and broke into a run.

      "Derrelli!" she shouted as she drew close.

      "Hello again, Sailor Moon," he said.  "I'm sorry about that."

      "Not your fault," sighed Moon.  She remembered the discussion.  "Maybe that's what Marius was smiling about."

      "Possibly, though I would have figured something else," he shrugged.  "Well, you have a decision to make."

      She blinked.  "How so?"

      "You can either stay here seven weeks and three days and jump to the precise moment they arrived, or jump immediately at the time lapse of one month in your home plane," Derrelli explained, leaning on his staff.

      She closed her eyes.

      "I'll jump now," she said.

      She had no clue she had just made a huge miscalculation, in her anxiety forgetting that the Order couldn't be sure for five weeks, sealing her fate.

      Derrelli grinned, and a swirl of flame rose around them, culminating in a flash.  When it faded, they were at his tower.  Within minutes, Derrelli had configured the node.  The O-ring began rotating, and white energy filled it.

      Derrelli glanced at her.

      Moon took a deep breath, and then leapt.

      Everything went white...     

*For those who are unfamiliar with AD&D Second Edition, Metallic dragons have two breath weapons, although only the gold does damage with both.  The others have various effects, such as stunning; sleep gas, paralyzation, etc.

Back to Top

Sailor Moon: Quest for Marius

By Daryll Pung

Part 11: Lunar Eclipse

PG13

      Sailor Uranus yawned.  After all, a crowd and the local media were watching, and all the Scouts had learned to put a little show and style into their fighting.  It impressed the public that much more.

      A crackling purple blast flew towards her.  She dropped to her belly, and as it passed she kicked off viciously, flipping through the air behind the monster.  She landed gracefully, and spun around to face the youma.  Her hand swung up in its usual style, energy already gathering to it.

      "URANUS WORLD SHAKING!"

      The blast blew the youma off its feet, and it tumbled backwards.  Tuxedo Mask was waiting, his cane in hand, and he dealt a mighty blow to the creature, sending it flying right back towards Uranus, who already had her sword at the ready.  She swung in a vicious arc, and both halves of the monster tumbled past her, already disintegrating into dust.  Sword in hand, she turned to face the rest of the fray as Mask came up beside her and the crowd applauded.  The others had things well in hand, as there were only a few enemies left.  Even as she watched, Mars and Jupiter closed in on one of them.

      "JUPITER CHAIN LIGHTNING BURST!"

      "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

      Fire and lightning ripped into the unfortunate creature, instantly reducing it into dust.  As it blew away in the wind, a shout came from behind the two.

      "Heads up!" called Venus.  She dropped low, and swept the youma that had been sneaking up on the two from behind.  It tumbled forward, and she rolled out of the way.

      She tried to, anyway.  It fell almost right on top of her, and the wicked claws dug deep into her midsection, causing her to scream in pain as hot blood ran down her side.  She gritted her teeth and delivered a vicious punch to the creature's face, and its head jerked back.  She was about to punch again when a thorny vine wrapped around it and pulled it off of her.  A white-gloved hand reached down and helped her to her feet.  It was Sailor Earth-Anger.  She turned her head fractionally, and her eyes assumed a vacant look as Mercury leapt into a flying kick, her foot plunging right through the monster's head, and it burst into dust, causing the vines to fall limply to the ground and disappear as she landed.  She promptly ducked as the last one swung at her.  She glanced up to see the claws of the other hand coming right at her face.

      They never made it.  A glaive blocked, and Saturn gazed steadily at the youma.

      "Trying to get away?" she asked calmly.  She dropped the tip of her glaive, letting the thing regain its balance, and then sliced upward.  It recoiled, black fluid gushing down its chest.  As Saturn readied another strike, wind howled around her.

      "NEPTUNE DEEP SUBMERGE!"

      "PLUTO FINAL SAY!"

      The simultaneous attacks smashed into the youma, sending it to meet its maker.  Saturn glanced around, and gasped slightly as she saw Earth-Love arrive by a badly bleeding Venus.  Uranus and Mask had joined the others as Mercury helped Venus relax, lowering her to the ground.  Earth-Love exhaled softly and let her powers flow.

      "EARTH LOVE REFRESH!"

      The silvery, misty swirls of her power spiraled around everyone, and Venus sighed as the wounds closed and healed.  The aura faded, and the crowd burst into cheers as the lights flashed.  Mini-Moon helped Venus to her feet.  She winked.

      "After all," she mumbled, "you're the best with the press!"

      Venus nodded slightly, and smiled her brilliant smile as she stepped to the forefront of the Scouts.  Her ripped bodysuit made her look that much more dramatic, she thought. 

      As the questions began flying at Venus, Mercury noticed Stryfe in the branches of a nearby tree.  He pointed to his microcomputer, then her.  She narrowed her eyes, and then produced her computer from her pocketspace.  Has it only been a week? she thought as she activated it.  Seems we've fought every day.  Then she blinked, and read the message Stryfe had just sent her.  She quickly tapped her keyboard, and sent her reply.

      MEET US AT THE C. H. TEMPLE IN AN HOUR.

      He nodded, and dropped out of sight.  Mercury pushed her way forward to Venus.

      "Do the Scouts have any explanation for these recent attacks?" asked a reporter.

      "We're investigating the recent rash of attacks, but at this point we're uncertain of the exact cause.  Rest assured we're doing everything in our power to get to the bottom of this," Venus replied confidently.

      "Sailor Venus!" shouted another reporter.  "The one question everyone wants answered...  Where is Sailor Moon?"

      Venus' confident smile faltered momentarily, and she hesitated.  Mercury seized her chance, and leaned over to her ear, whispering rapidly.  Venus nodded, and blinked.

      "Well, we've just had some new developments, and we have to go check on some things.  So, I'm sorry, but we're going to have to cut this one short!" Venus smiled for the cameras.  Saved by the alarm, she thought.  Wait, that's not it...

      With that, the Scouts leapt to the nearby rooftops, and raced over them, heading to the one place they were guaranteed privacy.  Fifteen minutes later, they dropped into the courtyard of the Cherry Hill temple.  Energy swirled, and the Scouts were gone, replaced by eleven weary girls and one weary guy.  Raye opened the doors, and they all followed her inside.

      By the time Chad escorted Stryfe into the room, they were in much better spirits.  Everyone was lounging comfortably around the room, drinking soda and munching on refreshments.  The buzz of conversation died as they entered. 

      "That'll be all, Chad," said Raye, setting down her soda.  "Make sure we're not interrupted."

      He nodded as he departed, closing the doors.  He took up position on the other side of the doors.

      "Well, you certainly got my attention," Amy said, sitting up as she produced her computer.  She activated it and turned the computer around so everyone could read the message on the screen.

      HAVE NEWS ABOUT MOON, VERY IMPORTANT.

      "So, what's the news?" asked Luna from the pillow she was curled up on.

      "I've recently spoken to Derrelli.  Apparently, Marius had a few tricks up her sleeve.  She saved a corrupted hellhound, which attacked as the node was activating.  It knocked Moon out of the node, where she promptly turned it into a pile of dust.  He intercepted her as she was heading back along the trail.  She decided to leap right away, at a time lapse here of one month.  So, in thirty days, Sailor Moon will be back," Stryfe began.  He paused as they exchanged sighs of relief.

      "However, this may be ill advised," he continued.  He frowned.  "Admittedly, I may be worrying about nothing.  But, we can't send someone to check and make sure Marius has been stripped of her power for five weeks, and she may be holding other surprises."

      "So, to summarize," began Amy.  "Moon is on her way back, due in four weeks, and we should be on our toes as far as Marius is concerned, for at least a week after Moon returns."

      "That also tells us why there's been a rash of attacks recently," said Artemis.  "Marius is trying to distract us."

      Stryfe nodded slowly.  "A possibility."

      Lita frowned.  "All right, Mr. Genius!  What do you think is going on, since you're such a damn expert?"

      "Clam down, girlfriend," said Mina.  "We're all feeling the pressure."  She turned and looked at Stryfe.  "We're all on edge," she said.  "The news you've given us makes it easier, but things have been rough as of late."

      "That's what I'm afraid of," Stryfe said.  "Derrelli should've made her wait.  Because of the time differential, there is no way to really protect Sailor Moon while she is in transit.  And what with the recent goings-on, I believe more than ever that Marius has an awful trick up her sleeve."

      "How so?" asked Trista.

      "She's not distracting you... she's wearing you down.  She is trying to exhaust you, exhaust your reserves, and dull your reactions.  She's trying to break apart the cohesiveness of your team.  And the worst part is..." Stryfe trailed off, gazing out of the window.  He felt the glares and wondering looks at his back.

      He sighed.  He turned.

      "This group needs Sailor Moon more than ever.  Marius is beginning to succeed.  And that's what frightens me more than anything.  For I firmly believe Marius is planning for something to happen to Sailor Moon."

      "Like what?" asked Michelle quietly, as the Scouts exchanged looks.

      Stryfe turned, raised his eyebrow, and sighed.  He moved towards the door.  As he opened it to leave, he paused for a second.

      "I wish I knew."

      Amy closed the door quietly behind her.  As she tiptoed across the dark living room, heading towards her room, a shape moved away from the window.

      "Amy?" a voice called softly.

      She stopped.  The shape moved to turn on the light.

      "You're still up, mother?" she asked quietly as the light clicked on.  Her mother was dressed in a nightgown and robe.

      "I've been worried about you," she said, quietly.  "You haven't been yourself lately."

      Amy sighed.  "A lot of bad things have been happening.  Not to mention, I no longer have to hide the truth.  It makes things easier."

      Her mother smiled faintly as she sat down on the sofa.  She patted the seat next to her.  "It's not just that, Amy.  I won't pretend to totally know you anymore, but a mother does know certain things about her daughter, even if she is a reincarnated Sailor Scout.  Something happened on your trip.  It hurt you.  I want to know what it was."

      Amy sat down slowly, and sighed.  She felt her eyes moisten as the deep well of pain began to rise in her.  She held out her right arm and stared at it, still certain she could see the line in her flesh where it had been severed.  She noticed her mother looking at her with concern.  Amy curled up against her mother and slowly began to recant her tale, noting the look of horror on her mother's face as she told it.  Amy couldn't know that across the city, in a dozen households, each Scout was doing something similar with their families....

      The sun shone brightly in the sky.  Its rays cut through the cloud cover, chasing away the darkness.  A cool breeze blew gently through the city.  As the day warmed up, the technicians setting up a platform in front of the palace smiled.  The day's turnout would have been impressive anyway, but the sun guaranteed the events to follow would be remembered for a long time to come.

      They were naturally right, of course.  Even before noon, a huge crowd was already beginning to gather, and the media were already setting up.  A senior tech stood and wiped the sweat off his brow.  The attention was to be expected, of course.  He glanced at the agents of the Emperor and Prime Minister's security details.  To him, it was only natural all of Japan, and even the world, would have their eyes on this event.

      After all, it involved the Sailor Scouts.  Then he spun, eyes narrowing as he spied a girl stepping across the barricades.  He noted the security detail didn't move, and as the blue-haired teen came closer, he stood and bowed.  She inclined her head politely.

      "Greetings, Miss Anderson," he said.  She had already produced her computer.

      "And to you, Mr. -?" she began, raising her blue eyes to him.  She was dressed conservatively in a white blouse with a blue skirt and a blue vest.

      "Hirito," he supplied politely.   She nodded.

      "I hope you don't mind, but I've come to assist in the preparations," she said.  She smiled.  "So where are we?" she asked.

      He grinned.  "Right this way," he said with a sweep of his arms.

      "And so, from this day forward, we, the citizens of Japan, and the world hereby recognize the Sailor Scouts as an organization... an organization devoted to preserving our way of life, to protecting us from the supernatural.  Everyone here appreciates their sacrifices.  To top it off, we are introducing into the United Nations a resolution to recognize them as an international peace preservation force!" the Prime Minister said with a sweep of his arms.  The applause was tremendous.

      "And by order of the Emperor and myself, we hereby make today Lunar Day, in honor of the leader of their team, who sadly could not be with us today.  This will be a national holiday, recognized by all government services!" he continued.  As the applause died down a bit, he motioned the Scouts forward.  Venus stepped up to the microphone.  The gathered crowd was the biggest crowd she had ever seen, and although it was approaching dusk, one couldn't tell due to all the TV lights, cameras, and reporters.

      "And now ladies and gentlemen, Sailor Venus, temporary leader of the Sailor Scouts!" intoned the Emperor.  The response was deafening.

      It was nearly five minutes before the noise of the cheering and applause died down enough for Venus to make herself heard.  She cleared her throat.

      "Thank you, everyone!" she began.  The cheers increased.  "This is truly an honor.  We have always held to the beliefs of goodness, of making the world a safe place for everyone.  I can tell you right now that the official motto of the Scouts will be 'For Love And Justice', since that is what we live our lives by.  We devoutly hope that we will be able to help usher in a new era of peace and tranquility, and everyone only has to remember one thing.  We will always be there to help!  Oh, and for those who are wondering, Sailor Moon's official business will be concluded soon, and she will rejoin us at that time!"

      "Thank you, Sailor Venus!  All of you!  But for your hard work, we would not be here today.  The world is indeed a safer place with you around!" the Prime Minister shouted over the crowd.  As if to give lie to that statement, an explosion roared over the night air, and everyone turned to see an expanding cloud of gas and flame, oddly purple in color.  Mercury stepped forward, visor sliding into place as she activated her computer.  A quick glance was enough, and she nodded to Venus.

      "If you'll excuse us," Venus said in the mike.  She dropped back a step, and then charged the edge of the stage, jumping as she got there, immediately followed by the others.  Luna and Artemis were already in Jupiter and Mars' hands as they leapt.  The stunned crowd applauded as the Scouts jumped over their heads, and moved to follow.  Twin black limousines, carrying the two leaders, were already disappearing into the palace gates as the gates closed.  Only the news helicopters were able to follow the Scouts as they hopped from roof to roof, and they circled the smoking crater as the Scouts arrived, cameras rolling.

      The Scouts landed calmly on their feet.  The crater was nearly an acre in size.  Around its edge, the plant life was wilted, as if from an energy drain. 

The Scouts slowly spread out, and half a second later the cause burst from the trees.  They dropped into battle stance as more than a dozen youma attacked.      The first one ran right at Venus.  She held her pose until it was on top of her, then ducked and swept it off its feet.  Jupiter's fist then made contact with its face, and it flew into one of the trees, stunned and temporarily incapacitated as the tree cracked from the impact.

      Now all the youma were at close range, so the Scouts kicked into high gear, forced to separate.  As they dropped back, dodging the blows, the crowds began to gather at a safe distance, and the media were watching raptly.  The helicopters orbited as the Scouts fought, spotlights sweeping the battlefield.

      Time to turn the tide, thought Mask, blocking the blows with his cane.  He dropped, kicking the nearest creature in the knee.  It staggered, and he viciously struck it in the head, and flung half dozen roses into it.  It collapsed into a pile of dust.  Another rushed at him, and he tripped it up with his cane before planting the tip into its skull, followed by another salvo of roses.  It, too, disintegrated.

      Mars and Jupiter were back to back, blocking the blows, and fighting back as much as possible.  As Jupiter threw a punch, Mars threw a kick, and then both rolled in between the legs of their enemies, coming to their feet on the outside as the two monsters staggered together.  Dark clouds gathered overhead as a nimbus of fire rose around Mars.

      "JUPITER SUMPREME THUNDER!"

      "MARS FIRE IGNITE!"

      As the fireball burst between the two, lightning crackled out of the sky, striking Jupiter before she redirected it to her enemies.  They crumbled to dust under the shocking lightning that raged through them.  The smell of burnt ozone permeated the air as Mars grinned at Jupiter.

      "Old school.  That was fun," Mars said, eyeing their handiwork.  She glanced at Jupiter, and noted the alarm in her eyes.

      "Pyro, look-" gasped Jupiter.

      "MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"

      A torrent of freezing water smashed into the youma charging Mars from behind.  It slammed into the same tree as the previously stunned one, and both were encased in ice.

      "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"

      Twin rays of burning light sliced through the air, sweeping the frozen shapes, shattering them.  The shards quickly dissolved into nothingness.  Mars and Jupiter turned to see Mercury and Venus sharing a high five.  They gave thumbs up, and all four returned their attention to the battlefield.

      The outers had six in the middle of them, keeping them at bay with weak attacks.  It seemed to be degenerating into a standoff, as the youma were too quick to allow the Scouts to charge their higher powers.  The four, joined by Mask, raced to assist.  Suddenly, a youma leaped from the bush at them, only to strike an energy field inches from Jupiter's head.  A glance to the right showed Earth-Love maintaining her shield as Mini-Moon readied her attack.

      "PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!"

      The exploding hearts slammed into the monster with devastating force, lifting it off its feet and slamming it into a light pole, which cracked under the impact as the creature disintegrated.

      Venus smiled at the both of them, and as they looked back, vines snaked around the six contained enemies, bursting out of the ground.  As they tightened their chokehold, the outers unleashed their powers.  As wind, ocean, time, and death energy flew, Earth-Anger unleashed her attack, joining in.

      "EARTH ANGER SWARM!"

      The combined attacks not only scorched the ground, but also instantly reduced the attackers into piles of dust, which quickly dissolved in the breeze.  The Scouts formed up, and the crowd cheered.  As the cheers slowly died to applause, Mercury frowned.  She noticed Stryfe nearby, scanning with his computer.  He glanced up, gave her thumbs up, and disappeared.  The Scouts shrugged, and wearily turned to finish their business. 

      Cameras flashed as they moved towards the reporters.  Luna and Artemis ran up as they stopped.  Venus smiled, and struck her trademark victory pose, throwing up a "V" for victory.

      "MOONDUSTED!"

      "Its almost time," yawned Amy.  The Scouts, dressed in civilian clothes, were lazing around in front of the Tokyo Museum of Natural History, which was where Stryfe had directed them, telling them the node was in the museum.  He was even now working his computer, hacking into the museum security systems and shutting them down.  He looked up.

      "Okay, doors unlocked and intruder alarms disarmed.  Let's go," he said, leading the way.  Luna was right next to him as he opened the door.  He glanced at her with a slight smile.

      "Miss her?" he asked.

      Luna simply nodded.  Artemis was draped over Mina's shoulder, and she wanted Serena back as much as the rest, with the possible exception of Darien.  It had been a difficult time for him as of late.

      Amy paused in the doorway.  She was bringing up the rear, and she glanced back over her shoulder.  She could barely see the construction several blocks away, where Sailor Scout Plaza was being built.

      Sailor Moon will be so proud, she thought.  She turned and entered the darkness. She walked briskly, drawing near the others, reflecting.  The museum was dead silent.  It was quiet... too quiet.

      Uh oh, she thought.  There haven't been any attacks in the past two weeks!  Is Stryfe right?  Is Marius planning something?  As she puzzled over that question, they moved into the Egyptian exhibit. 

      A clatter interrupted their progress. 

      The Scouts froze, glancing in the direction of the noise.  The lights were minimal, lending a spooky atmosphere.  Luna slowly moved towards the source of the noise.  A table was lying on its side, the artifacts that had been on it spread all over the floor.  Then she spotted the source, a crouching youma.  She blinked in shock.

      Amy frowned as she summoned her computer.  She turned it on, scanning the area.  She picked up Luna, and then...

      "Guys, its a negacreep!" she hissed.

      "What!?" gasped Lita.

      "Transform!" called Mina, raising her hand, golden energy already gathering.

      "You got it!" snapped Raye.  "MARS COSMIC POWER!"

      "VENUS COSMIC POWER!"

      "JUPITER COSMIC POWER!"

      "MERCURY COSMIC POWER!"

      "MINI-MOON HEAVENLY POWER!"

      "EARTH COSMIC POWER!"

      "SATURN COSMIC POWER!"

      "URANUS COSMIC POWER!"

      "NEPTUNE COSMIC POWER!"

      "PLUTO COSMIC POWER!"

      Luna hurriedly rejoined Artemis behind Mask as he finished his transformation.  She glanced at the youma.  It scrambled to its feet, hissing at the Scouts as the energy of their transformations faded.  As they slowly moved to surround it, the creature took off running, its clawed feet echoing off the hard marble floor.  Its sudden departure caused the Scouts to stand for a moment, confused.

      "That's different," said Neptune.

      "I've got a bad feeling about this," frowned Stryfe.

      "What are we waiting for?" asked Mars angrily.  "Let's go toast that thing!"

      "Maybe it was sent to try and assassinate Sailor Moon?" asked Artemis.

      "Maybe," said Luna hesitantly.  The group moved cautiously down the hall, with Mercury scanning with both visor and computer.  They moved into the dinosaur exhibit.

      "Welcome," hissed a low, evil feminine voice.  Marius stepped forward, surrounded by youma.

      "Uh oh," said Earth-Anger quietly.  "Marius!"

      "Bitch!" raged Jupiter.  "Let's get her!"

      "Hell yeah!" shouted Mars.  "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

      The fiery rings flashed into the youma, knocking several back onto the floor, where they writhed in pain.  The other Scouts quickly followed suit, trying to weaken the immense number of creatures before they were overtaken. 

      The monsters were crumbling to dust, and more kept coming.  The Scouts were slowly being forced back into a hallway.  The sheer numbers of youma threatened to overwhelm them. 

      Stryfe leapt up onto the Tyrannosaur skeleton, hiding as he scanned the area.  He noticed abnormally high concentrations of negative energy.  What is going on? he thought.

      The tide of youma thinned.  By forcing the Scouts into close quarters, the Scouts were able to layer their attacks for increased potency.  The combined assault slowed, and finally halted the advance of the things, and the Scouts, who were becoming quite efficient at dusting their enemies, now dictated the flow of the fighting.  Outside, it was quite obvious there was a fight inside, from the dark clouds overhead, and the occasional lightning bolt that streaked into the museum without damaging it.  That, and the police cordon due to the massed fire trucks.  Apparently Mars' attacks had set off the fire alarms.  Fortunately, due to a little rerouting of the video feed from the security cameras, the police had kept the masses from getting inside, and everyone could see what was going on.

      The lines of youma buckled, and collapsed, and the Scouts, barely even touched, finished off the last enemies with a flourish.  Unfortunately, much of the museum was now in ruins.

      "Whose idea was it to put a node here anyway?" sniffed Uranus as the team arrived back in the mostly intact dinosaur exhibit.  Stryfe was well hidden, still perched on the Tyrannosaur skeleton, scanning away.  He noticed that the energy seemed to be all over everything, even as the node began to build up its charge.

      "Well, well.  The Sailor Scouts, fighting in hopes of seeing their precious princess again, defeat my army of youma," Marius said silkily.  Her voice had a dangerous, dark undertone to it.  "Fortunately, I have a few tricks up my sleeves."

      Stryfe was extremely surprised to feel the skeleton shake, and even more surprised when the big head swung around, red dots of light shining where the eyes once were, anchoring cables snapping.  The toothy maw opened, and the roar that followed startled him off, causing him to hit the ground hard.  A quick glance showed every dinosaur skeleton in the place was coming alive, as he rolled out of the way.

      This, needless to say, stunned the Scouts.  They quickly recovered as a Dienonychus skeleton leapt at them.  Mask batted it aside with his cane.  Mars jumped to her feet as the team scattered.

      "MARS SEARING INFERNO!"

      The fiery column raged into the skeletal dinosaur, and it exploded, shards of bone flying everywhere.

      "Great, now we're in the middle of Jurassic Fucking Park!" snapped Jupiter as she dodged the horns of a rampaging Triceratops skeleton.  She jumped aside, grabbing a still hanging section of support rail.  She noticed the Triceratops move towards lower prey, and relaxed fractionally, even as she saw the Tyrannosaur coming at her, bony jaws opening wide with a loud roar.  She smiled as the rod on her tiara rose, crackling with electricity.  Outside, lightning again flashed out of the sky, rippling into the museum.  Sparks flew as the lightning crackled into the girder she was on.  The Tyrannosaur skeleton approached, and as it made contact with the hanging girder, it closed the circuit and allowed the stored potential to rip through it.  The Tyrannosaur exploded, shards of fossilized bone going in all directions.  Stryfe rolled out of the way of the falling ribcage pieces, and noted Marius in a corner, concentrating hard.

      What the hell is she doing? he thought.  He glanced around to insure he was safe, and opened his computer.

      Jupiter stood, and was about to jump down and attack when a loud screech caught her attention.  She whirled to see a Pteranadon skeleton streaking towards her, wings spread wide.  Even as she moved to dodge, she heard a shout.

      "MERCURY FREEZING WAVE SMASH!"

      The Pteranadon skeleton was suddenly encased in ice, and it lost flight capability, crunching into the ground and shattering into thousands of pieces.  Jupiter waved her thanks, then gasped as the Triceratops charged Mercury from behind.  Jupiter leapt, and hit Mercury, knocking them both to the ground, rolling out of the way.  The Triceratops skidded, trying to stop, as the Earth twins combined their potential.

      "EARTH ANGER PETRIFY!"

      Soon the Triceratops skeleton was once again nothing more than an unmoving, stone skeleton.  The twins concentrated on the others still moving, such as the Stegosaurus skeleton stalking Saturn.

      "EARTH ANGER PURIFY!"

      Her white globe flew out, rippling towards the Stegosaur.  It made contact with a white flash, and the Stegosaur stopped moving, eyes now glowing blue.  At Earth-Love's mental command, it turned around and moved towards the Allosaurus skeleton attacking Neptune.

      Venus gasped as she noticed the petrification wearing off of the Triceratops.

      "No way!  VENUS SHINING LOVE FORCE!"

      As the wall of golden energy struck the Triceratops, it shattered, again sending flying bone in all directions.  Mercury winced.

      "It's a shame, all these historical treasures," she sighed.  "Damn that bitch!"    

"Amen, sister!" said Jupiter, pulling Mercury to her feet.

      "Thanks, by the way," said Mercury.

      "No prob," grinned Jupiter, running back into the fight.  Mercury quickly followed.

      Neptune gasped as the skeleton of the carnivore above her backed her into a corner.  It roared, and the stony jaws came at her.  Just then, there was a whipping sound, followed by a loud crack as the Allosaur skeleton was knocked away from her, off its feet.  The Stegosaur followed, resuming a battle well over a hundred million years old.  As the two titans clashed, she glanced over to see Pluto and Uranus trying to protect Mini-Moon from an Ankylosaurus skeleton and a Diplodocus skeleton.  She glanced at Saturn.  They shared a nod, and a fierce grin.

      "NEPTUNE STUNNING TSUNAMI!"

      "SATURN SILENCE RUSH!"

      A wave of water slammed into the Diplodocus skeleton, smashing it into the walls behind, cracking them with awesome force as the skeletal dinosaur was crushed from the force of the water.  The panzer-like armored dinosaur skeleton didn't fare much better, shattering from the crackling death energy constructs.

      Grins thanked them, grins that turned into gasps as Uranus and Pluto saw the charging shape behind Saturn and Neptune.  Mini-Moon raced forward.

      "Look out!" she shouted, waving her hands.

      The two Scouts turned and flinched as the spike-thumbed Iguanadon skeleton charged them.  Suddenly, a hail of roses nailed it, shredding it into so many bone fragments.  Both Outer Scouts threw up their arms to block the hail of bone.

      The battle of titans continued in the background as Mini-Moon spotted another coming in from behind Mask.  He noticed too, and even as the ostrich dinosaur skeleton raced at him, he dropped and tripped it with his cane.

      "PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!"

      The Ornithosuchus skeleton stumbled right into the exploding hearts, getting tossed back into a cement wall, where it shattered.  Luna and Artemis scrambled out of the way of the flying bone, skidding to a stop, and panting hard.  Both glanced up to see a Celiosaurus skeleton open its jaws and snap at them.

      "Yikes!" shouted Artemis as he butted Luna clear.  His tail was caught in the thing's mouth, and he was picked up by it, yowling all the while.

      Jupiter grinned at the small dinosaur skeleton.  "Excuse me," she said, rearing back her fist.  It turned, and its jaw shattered as she struck.  She punched again and again, smashing the skeleton to bits.

      "Thanks," said a shaken Artemis as the remnants of the skeletal dinosaur hit the ground.  His eyes widened, and Jupiter turned.

      The Allosaurus skeleton chucked the Stegosaurus skeleton, sending it flying across the exhibit hall.  It smashed into the opposite doorway, shattering on impact.

      "Damn!  URANANUS GALACTIC COLLISION!"

      "PLUTO FINAL SAY!"

      Nine blasts of time energy ripped into the Allosaurus, which was roaring in victory.  At the same time, the glass dome above shattered, a fiery meteor streaking in from above, highlighting the dark clouds.  The impact rocked the ground with howling wind.  The Allosaurus skeleton quite naturally exploded from the impacts.  As the winds died down, the Scouts could hear cheering from outside.  They shared a few quick grins.

      "All right!" smiled Venus.

      "Now let's get that bitch!" said Uranus.

      "NO!" shouted Stryfe, catching their attention.  Things were already glowing silver-white.  He charged Marius, already knowing it too late.  "DAMN YOU!"

      The white flash came and went, and Stryfe skidded to a stop as Tuxedo Mask dropped to his knees, clutching his head.

      "No!" rasped Mask.  They were all stunned, and even more so as Mini-Moon gasped, drawing their attention.

      "What's happening to me?!" snapped the panicked Scout.  She was fading in and out from view.

      "Damn damn damn damn!" said Stryfe, feeling utterly useless.  "She had enough power left to utilize the potential of the node!"

      "Meaning?" asked Venus.

      Stryfe gritted his teeth as Marius cackled.

      "Well, Scouts, I'll be seeing you.  If I weren't so tired I'd finish this now, but I'll save that for another time," she grinned evilly.  Dark energy flashed, and she was gone.

      "Stryfe?" asked Mars.  She balled her fists.  "What's going on?  Where's Sailor Moon?"

      "She's gone," said Mask.  He staggered to his feet, a haunted look on his face.

      "What!?" blinked the Scouts.

      "I, I," began Stryfe, dropping to his knees.  "Shit.  The bitch used the last remnants of her power to deflect Sailor Moon while she was in transit," he said miserably.  He glanced at Pluto.  "Get the little one out of here."

      "Yes.  She should be protected in the Gateway," said Pluto, activating the Garnet Orb.  "Go, Small Lady.  We'll figure this out and save Sailor Moon.  Besides, you can still watch."

      "O, Okay," said a visibly frightened Mini-Moon.  She jumped into the opening doorway.  As it closed, Pluto turned to face Stryfe.  She crossed her arms as he furiously worked his computer.

      "Well?" she asked as the Scouts supported Mask.  Stryfe finally stopped, frustration on his face.

      "I'm sorry," he said; voice a mere whisper, cockiness gone completely.  He was a picture of dejection.  "Your future is now in jeopardy, and your leader is gone."

      "Bullshit!" snapped Jupiter.  "You know where she went!"  Stryfe shook his head sadly.

      "She's out of the Order-controlled planes.  We're not all-powerful, you know.  Even we have our limitations, and Marius just took advantage of that," he said.

      "You can't get her back?" asked Venus in shock.

      "Not without her help," said Stryfe.  "She'd have to let us know, and its doubtful she knows how to do that.  The worst part is Marius knows exactly where she is.  There is nothing to stop Marius from hunting her down."

      "Oh, no," breathed Mercury, tears evident in her eyes.  "Sailor Moon...."

      Sailor Moon blinked as the white light, well, staggered.  It finally faded, after an indescribably long time.  She came to rest on her knees, and as she looked up, the first thing she saw was skulls.  She was on a pile of human skulls.  She stood up in shock.  The world around her was dismally dark, with cloudless skies.  Rusting, destroyed, twisted metal and skeletons of humans surrounded her as far as the eye could see.  An explosion echoed in the distance, with fire reaching into the black, scorched sky.  A huge flying robot streaked overhead, spotlight highlighting her.  Laser fire streaked towards her, and she dodged as flaming skulls flew everywhere.  A rocket streaked skyward, and the thing exploded as a bloodied hand roughly yanked her to her feet.  She was spun around to face a human in rough clothing, blood on his face.  He held a futuristic gun, and had a look of desperation on his face.

      "Who are you?  Don't you know there are Terminators about?" he shouted over the sounds of fighting.

      "Terminators?" she asked, confused.  "Where the hell am I?"

      He blinked at her as if she was insane, then his eyes widened.  He shoved her roughly.  She hit the ground hard, and was about to protest when he started firing wildly over her head, lasers flying out.  Suddenly, lasers raked him, and he burst into flames.  As his body fell backwards, she rolled over to her belly, staring in shock as a skull in front of her was crushed by a cold, metallic foot.  She raised her eyes to examine the robot.  It was black in color, and skeletal in nature, giving it a menacing look.  It held two huge guns, one in each hand.  Its head was the most frightening, however.  It was a metallic skull, with an evil grin and glowing red eyes.

      Which were focused on her.  The guns pointed at her, and her blue eyes stared into the red ones for what seemed like an eternity. 

      Then it pulled the trigger. 

Back to Top

Sailor Moon: Quest for Marius

By Daryll Pung

Part 12: New Moon Rising

PG13

      She strolled down the dark, damp cavern hallway with a sneer on her pretty face.  Her hair was blonde, cut stylishly short.  She had a nice figure, clearly visible in the dark gray uniform, with knee-high black boots.  But the biggest reason the youma scattered out of her way was the look of pure malice and hatred in her blue eyes.  She marched with a purpose, with a sinister swagger.  She was on her way to see Queen Marius, and perhaps that also served to clear a path for her.  That and her tendency to blast anyone who got in her way...

      Marius gazed thoughtfully in her ball.  She rotated it slowly in its stand, remembering.  The past ten years had not been without a few victories over the hated Scouts.  The major setbacks had resulted in whole square miles of devastation.  She grinned fiercely.  A lot of energy had been gathered, and quite an army now waited for the conquest of the Scouts' world.  That and a few other side projects...

      Perhaps the crowning moment had been her defeat of Sailor Moon.  She had waited three years, until a weak moment, and struck.  It was one of the highlights of a lengthy conflict that would soon be at end.  She had been long in training a worthy general for the command of her armies, investing a lot of time and power into her. 

      A purplish-black explosion caught her vision, at the entrance to her throne room.  A youma was blasted back into a wall and disintegrated, and she walked in, a fierce grin on her face.

      She strode arrogantly up to the throne, where she suddenly adopted a respectful demeanor, kneeling before her, head bowed.  Marius grinned.

      "Ah, rarin' to go, are we?" smiled Marius.

      "Indeed, my Queen," she said in a silky, dark tone.  It promised bad things, and Marius shivered in delight.

      "Very well.  Your mission is to infiltrate and befriend the Sailor Scouts," Marius began, her ball lighting with the images of the Scouts.  "You will use the name Rhonda Thompson, acting as an American abroad, as you have been training for.  I've provided you with the necessary information and powers to carve a niche for yourself to look legitimate.  When the time comes, we will turn the tables on the Scouts, and you will have the glory of killing them all."

      "What of Sailor Mars?" asked her protégé.

      "Your innate talents will prevent her from discovering you," smiled Marius, pointed teeth showing at the irony.

      "I am honored, my Queen," she smiled back.  It was particularly evil.

      "Go, and make me proud," ordered Marius.

      "Of course, my Queen," grinned 'Rhonda'.  She stood, executed a sharp spin on her stiletto heels, and promptly disappeared in a dark flash of energy.

      "And soon," smirked Marius, "my revenge will be complete."

      The chamber suddenly was filled with evil laughter....

      Raye gazed tiredly out of the window, holding the drapes aside with one hand.  Things were bleak.  Just over the hill from where she stood was one of the desolated areas.  They couldn't be restored, except by one person.  If she ever returns, Raye thought dismally.  She turned back around.  The smell of Lita's cooking wafted to her nostrils and she mentally kicked herself for her pessimism.  She could hear the cheerful laugh of their friend, Rhonda, a legal historian.  Still, for some reason Raye always kept her guard up around Rhonda.  There was simply something about her.

      The Scouts had first met Rhonda several months before, when Amy had called a prestigious law firm about some information for one of the receptionists downstairs.  Her infectious smile and ready laugh immediately cheered the Scouts, and they quickly grew close.  Only Raye didn't trust her completely.  Raye banished such thoughts from her mind as she turned from the window, surveying her intricately decorated quarters, reflecting her priestess origins.

      She had left the preparations for a little peace and quite, and to think about their new enemy, besides Marius, of course.  A new general had made life quite difficult for them as of late.  They had only caught shadowy glimpses of her, and as of yet had no concrete information... always a worry.  It had been decided to forget about things for the time being and simply enjoy a night of fun.  She moved towards the door, gazing one last time over her shoulder out of the window, on the eighth floor of Sailor Scout Plaza.  She exited, securing the door behind her, and moving to the ornate staircase that led to the common areas.  Raye generally avoided the elevators unless she was in a hurry.

      "Finally clear your head?" asked Mina with a smile as Raye rejoined the group.

      "Yeah," nodded Raye.  "Not that it really helped."

      "Aw, cheer up, Raye!" laughed Rhonda.  "You guys are too awesome for such a drab mood!  Let's see that winning smile!"

      Raye couldn't help but to grin at that.  Just then, the door to the kitchen opened, with Lita carrying a heaping platter to the table.  The Scouts set down to serious business, namely, eating.  There was just one sad note.

      An extra plate, at the head of the table; gleaming, empty, as usual.

      Amara sighed, gazing at the busy crowds moving through the mall, two days later.  She was waiting for Michelle and Hotaru, who were in one of the nearby stores.  She was still amused by the attention she and the others got.  Despite the difficulties of the past ten years, their popularity worldwide was rising.  A little girl came up to her.

      "Sailor Uranus?" she asked tentatively.  She held a picture of her.

      Amara smiled.  "Yes, little one?"

      "Can I have your autograph?" the girl asked.

      Amara grinned, and held open her hand.  She willed a black marker to appear from her pocketspace, causing the little girl's eyes to open wider, if that was possible.  All of the Scouts had learned to carry a marker on them in their pocketspaces.  She took the picture and signed it with a flourish, the handed it back to the grateful little girl.  She half expected to be swarmed, but she wasn't Sailor Venus, thankfully.  That, and Michelle and Hotaru approached, done with their shopping.  They exited the mall, into the broad parking lot, where they ran into a crowd being restrained by Security.

      "Oh, geez," murmured Amara.  Michelle grinned, finding the humor in the situation.  Hotaru just shook her head, trying to keep a straight face and mostly failing.  All three produced markers and moved towards the crowd.  Soon, all three were fully engaged signing autographs.

      Suddenly, the ground shook, and the rumbling echoes of an explosion reached their ears.  All around them, people stopped, glanced at the dark black cloud even now drifting skyward, and spun their gazes around to rest on the three women.  They blinked as just then, their communicators beeped.

      "Amara here, go ahead."

      "Michelle here."

      "Hotaru here."

      "Scouts, this is Dispatch.  We have a negative energy event at the location of the old Cherry Hill Temple, possible invasion by the Negaverse.  All other Scouts enroute," came the slightly rushed voice of Luna, running dispatch on this day.

      "So are we," said Amara.  She sighed.  "So are we.  Out."

      "Let's do it!" said Hotaru.

      Three hands rose simultaneously towards the sky.

      The Scouts arrived, with Rhonda discretely trailing.  They cautiously moved up the steps, with Mars getting increasingly angry.  As they cleared the top step, they could plainly see the temple was no more.

      "Dammit!" screamed Mars as Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn arrived.  The team surveyed what used to be their home away from home with varying degrees of sadness.  Mars dropped to her knees.

      "Damn," she said, fists clenched.  "Marius will pay for this!"

      "Oh no," breathed Venus, drawing their attention as she pointed upwards.  The Scouts were used to the helicopters that were even now flying overhead, filming.  What they weren't used to was the pitch-black clouds gathering in the sky.  They returned their focus to the task at hand, searching for the source of the darkness. It was then they realized they were not alone.

      As a matter of fact, they were surrounded.

      Marius stepped out of the smoke, behind a line of her youmas.  It was then they saw Rhonda right next to her.

      "Rhonda!" shouted Jupiter.  "Let her go, Marius!"

      "She's an innocent bystander!" snapped Uranus.  "Leave her out of this!"

      "Oh really?" asked Marius, an evil smile plastered on her face.

      "Bitch!  We'll rip your heart out!" snapped a very pissed Mars.

      "Tell you what," said Marius.  "I'll let her pick.  Rhonda?"

      "Hmph," snorted Rhonda, an evil grin spreading on her face.  "Can I share something with you, my friends?"

      The Scouts blinked collectively as Rhonda was briefly surrounded by dark energy, replacing her clothes with a Negaverse uniform.

      "I am General Rhodite, of the Negaforce!  And today, Sailor Scouts," she paused, grinning as her eyes began to glow, and the youma moved forward.

      "Today, you shall die!"

      The youma charged.  The Scouts hesitated for the briefest of moments, despair clutching them.

      "Damn," murmured Jupiter.  She shook it off.  The rod on her tiara rose as rage overtook her.  "Fine!  If that's how it's going to happen, that's fine!  Time to die, punks!  JUPITER CHAIN LIGHTNING BURST!"

      Lightning charged down from the sky, dancing about her raised tiara and body, before launching straight into the mass of charging youma, electrocuting and destroying a dozen of them.  The first shot broke the moment.  The Scouts shared a collective glance, and then leapt into combat mode.

      "MARS SEARING INFERNO!"

      As Mars' thumbs touched, the nimbus of flame that surrounded her spiraled between her hands and burst forth in an immense horizontal column of fire.  She swept it, incinerating a vast arc of youmas.

      "VENUS SHINING LOVE FORCE!"

      Venus hugged herself, arms glowing, and suddenly threw her arms outward, unleashing a virtual wall of love energy.  It smashed through the oncoming lines, obliterating a large amount of the enemies.

      Mercury blinked as she scanned.  "Guys!  There's a portal, freshly created, behind Marius!  I'm not sure we can collapse it!  And there's more!  We're facing THOUSANDS of youmas!  All around us!"

      "Then it looks like we'd better crush as many as we can before they get close!" shouted Uranus, brandishing her sword.  She made a downward swipe as she shouted.  "URANUS GALACTIC COLLISION!"

      Suddenly, a blazing shape blasted out of the dark clouds, whizzing past a helicopter, highlighting the bottom of the clouds as it plummeted towards the battlefield.  The impact decimated dozens of youmas.

      Mercury turned as a group rushed right at her.  She held her arms perpendicular to the ground, with ice energy flowing from her fingertips.  She swung her arms forward. "MERCURY FREEZING WAVE SMASH!"

      The expanding circular field of ice energy instantly shattered the oncoming enemies into piles of ice cubes.

      The Scouts had now arrayed themselves in a circle, backs to each other, blasting the incoming.  Neptune brandished her mirror.

      "NEPTUNE STUNNING TSUNAMI!"

      The image appeared in the mirror, an image of a wall of water threatening a small coastal village.  As the water crashed down in the mirror, it burst forth and smashed into the enemies, drowning and pulverizing a vast quantity.

      The twins were by each other, as usual.  Over the years, Tuxedo Mask and they had developed an interesting combination.  The twins had learned to link powers without physical contact.  Even now, Earth-Love stood behind her twin, index fingers placed on either side of the gem on her tiara, which was glowing brightly.  Her twin was busily attacking several enemies at once.

      "EARTH ANGER PETRIFY!"

      As the enemies became stoned, Mask hurled his roses to deadly effect, shattering the statues in twos and threes.  It was, outsiders agreed, a very lethal combination.

      "PLUTO FINAL SAY!"

      The winds of time and eternity whistled around Pluto and the Garnet Orb, gathering strength before coalescing into a bright ball of power.  Pluto raised her staff above her head, nine energy balls rotating around it.  She dropped the end of her staff so it was pointing at the enemy, and unleashed the balls, each of which struck a separate target and destroyed it.

      Saturn lowered the Silence Glaive, rippling with death energy, which crackled into ghost shapes of the tip of her glaive, rotating rapidly around it.  She closed her eyes briefly, before opening them and shouting.

      "SATURN SILENCE RUSH!"

      The attack looked for all the world like an attack helicopter firing off rockets, as each shape fired in rapid succession, leaving a dark trail of energy.  She steered them each into a youma, disintegrating them.  She looked up.  No Scout had been touched as of yet, but the beasts were reforming.  Their "friend" looked pissed.

      "What now?" asked Venus, defacto leader of the team.

      "And we go now to our very own Mari, orbiting the battlefield in our chopper, which, moments ago, caught a very close view of Sailor Uranus' meteoric attack.  Mari?"

      "Thanks, Juni," the female reporter answered, gazing out of the windows in rapt fascination.  "The Sailor Scouts are busy fending off this latest incursion by the Negaverse, which looks like the largest yet.  We have just learned the name of the mystery General that has garnered such public hatred over the past few months.  Apparently, she goes by General Rhodite, and has tricked and betrayed the Scouts.  We're zooming in now to get a better view."

      The image on the screen closed in on the enemy general, showing her with her arm outstretched, a look of concentration on her face.  Artemis blinked, and shook his head, drawing Luna's attention.  The two cats were in the high-tech control center of Sailor Scout Plaza, which resembled something from NASA.  It was bustling with men and women.  Most of the screens were various news channels, while some were the display screens of satellites, and the newly established Scout Detection Network (SDN), which spanned the globe.  This network had been established after a few Negaverse attacks in America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.  While most of the enemy activity was still focused in Japan (Mercury had theorized a thin Ethereal planar boundary), the Negaverse had been trying to throw the Scouts for a loop as of late.

      That's not to say all of this ran through Artemis' head, but he gazed very carefully at the screen.  Finally Luna spoke up.

      "What is it?" she asked.

      "Just something familiar about this scene," he said.  His head angled thoughtfully.  "I can't place it, but I'm getting a sense of deja vu."  This, in turn, caused Luna to slowly study the screen.

      "Hmmm...."

      "So, you wanna play rough?" Rhodite demanded.  "Fine!"  Her hand crackled, and black electricity surged through the ranks of her army.  Marius was now lounging nearby, cackling in enjoyment.  The empowered army of monsters leapt forward.

      "Oh, shit!" said Jupiter.  "JUPITER CHAIN LIGHTNING BURST!"

      Even the powerful lightning blasting through their ranks barely slowed the oncoming mass.

      "All at once!" called Venus.  When the enemy had reformed, they had redeployed along one axis of attack, allowing the Scouts to concentrate their fire.  "Rapid Fire!"

      "You got it, girlfriend!" shouted Mars.  "MARS SEARING INFERNO!"

      "MERCURY FREEZING WAVE SMASH!"

      "VENUS SHINING LOVE FORCE!"

      "EARTH ANGER PETRIFY!"

      "SATURN SILENCE RUSH!"

      "URANUS GALACTIC COLLISION!"

      "NEPTUNE STUNNING TSUNAMI!"

      "PLUTO FINAL SAY!"

      The multitude of powerful attacks ripped into the ranks of the Negaarmy, accompanied by a swarm of roses.  It smashed the ranks, but not nearly enough, as the creatures closed to melee range.  Then, Rhodite closed her fist.  As the Scouts clubbed the first enemies, black electricity raged through the ranks, discharging into them.  She let out a battle cry; to be answered by boos from the crowd that was watching at a safe distance.  Rhodite grinned evilly as the Scouts struggled to their feet, fighting back against the onslaught.  Several were already gushing blood from the raking claws of the youmas.  She watched in delight as two grabbed Jupiter.  Lightning crackled out of the sky, and Jupiter unleashed her powers at point-blank range.  Fortunately, over the years, she had learned tighter control of her powers, and didn't harm herself too badly-

      -and the lightning she summoned spasmed through both Jupiter and the tentacles that held her, electrocuting both thoroughly.

      "Sailor Jupiter!" she screamed, restrained by Mars and Venus.  Even as the creature gave off a final scream and turned into a pile of ash, Jupiter's badly burnt body dropped to the ice-

      -What the hell? thought Rhodite, wondering where that had come from.  She shrugged it off and returned her attention to the battle.  She mentally commanded the youmas to weaken the Scouts further with claw swipes and blood loss.  It seemed far more effective.

      The Scouts were getting torn up.  Even as Earth-Love attempted to keep them healed and fresh, it had long ago been determined that her powers, except for her Purify, only healed minor injuries, although they did keep the team optimistic and determined to fight.  She also had to defend herself, and there was just too many of them!

      Mercury screamed as she was raked thrice, in close succession.  The nearest beast grabbed her, and she realized one arm was broken.  She needed more force to free herself.  As it picked her up, Rhodite practically cheered.  Goodbye, Sailor Mercury, she thought, a fierce grin on her face.  She was surprised to see Mercury summon her computer to her good hand, and the she dealt a mighty blow to her captor, driving the computer deep into-

      -and she drove her computer deep into the creature's skull, even as her

lifeforce was leached out of her by the tentacles that were wrapped around her.  The thing holding her screamed one final time before disintegrating, dropping her broken body to the ice.  Mercury coughed one final time, and her breathing stopped as she died.

      She dropped to the ice.  Mars and Venus had let her go, grimly glancing at one another.  She felt colder than ever, as sadness for losing a second friend overcame her.

      "Sailor Mercury!" she screamed mournfully.

      "Let it go!" snapped Mars.  "She did her job, what we've all sworn to do!  Both of them did!"

      "As you have a job to do!" added Venus-

      -Huh? blinked Rhodite, a lump in her throat.

      Mercury dropped to the ground, computer coated in black ichor.  She noticed now that the only light now was man-made; streetlamps, houselights, and the spotlights of the helicopters overhead.  The sky was really dark.  It took her and the others a second to realize the attack had slacked off, that the army of youmas was suddenly without direction.  They glanced over at Rhodite.

      She was clutching her head, on her knees. 

Marius seemed to suddenly take notice, busy as she was spreading the darkness.  She blinked, and gritted her teeth.  What had those cursed Scouts done to her general?  She strode toward her.

      "Rhodite!" she snapped.

      Images flashed before her, moving so rapidly it hardly seemed plausible she could remember them all.  But she did.  She remembered every little detail-

      -As the laser guns flashed, she pushed off the ground, spinning through the air with blinding quickness, landing on her feet.  As she landed, she launched off again, zigzagging too rapidly for the machine to track her, coming behind it and smashing its skull in with one vicious punch, followed by a vicious kick to its chest area.  She figured she hit something critical as she dived behind a nearby piece of blackened, twisted metal, hearing the fragments of the exploding robot ping off the metal, to the accompaniment of the flying skulls-

      -What is this?-

      -An army threatened her.  She was already weary, having fought so many, beat up and bleeding from numerous cuts, that she realized to survive, she had one last option.  She called upon her greatest power, and in a flash, she was alone, in severe pain... am I dying?

      No.

      I won't die!  I won't give up!

      She heard a voice.  She weakly opened her eyes.  It was-

      -"Rhodite!" snapped Marius.

      "Back off!" she screamed.  "Leave me alone!"-

      -it was... her. 

      "Alone, are we?" her voice crooned evilly.  "You've been a lot of trouble, destroying my army like that.  Oh, but it's okay... because now, I've got you!"

      "Go to hell, Marius," she rasped weakly.  Evil laughter answered her-

      -Rhodite's eyes snapped open as the scenes replayed themselves in her mind.  She staggered to her feet, aware that all attention was on them.  She glared at Marius.

      "Get back to it!" snapped Marius.  "You've got them weakened; finish them off!  Use those armies and your powers!"

      "Very well," agreed an angry Rhodite.  "Attack!"  Everyone was extremely surprised to see the army of youmas turn and begin attacking Marius.  The Scouts blinked.

      "Whatever!" shouted Venus.  "Now's our chance!  Fry 'em!"

      As the Scouts opened up, Marius struggled to regain control of her minions.  Nobody really noticed as Rhodite leaned against a tree.

      Who am I? she thought.  Who am I really?  One thing's for sure; all this dark power in me is masking some things!

      Marius realized she had done it.  She hadn't felt one raking claw... but the casualties...

      "MARS SEARING INFERNO!"  The last of the youmas fried into a crisp and burst into ashes, blowing away on the breeze.

      ...were total.  Marius gritted her teeth, and turned her attention on Rhodite.  The surrounding area was now quite clear, with charred ground bordering on soaked or frozen sections.  The fire, and for that matter, the temple, was now completely gone.  The Scouts, Marius, and Rhodite were now the only things standing.

      "You little wench!  I'm going to..." Marius trailed off, realizing what was happening.  "Destroy you!"

      Rhodite fell to her knees, the inverted black moon on her forehead cracking as her hair blew back in the sudden conflux of power.  She screamed as black energy blasted outward.

      "Juni, I'm not sure what's happening here, but it appears Rhodite is, is, well, I don't know.  As I'm sure you saw, she turned on Marius, and now this!"

      Perhaps only the two cats in the control center at Sailor Scout Plaza, whose vision was sharper, then most, noticed as the black inverted moon blew away into dust, briefly replaced by something else as the woman, now free of the dark energy, collapsed.  The cats shared an astonished smile.

      The Scouts blinked as the final flash cleared the area.  Then they looked closer at Rhonda.  She was back in her clothing, breathing slowly, in a heap.

      "Did Marius take control of her, or is she still evil?" asked Saturn.

      "Sailor Mercury?" asked Venus.  Mercury already had her ichor-coated computer open and scanning, even as Marius stalked up to the form of Rhonda.  She stretched her hand towards her, and dark energy blazed forth, surrounding the blonde, and lifting her off the ground.  The energy began ripping through her, and she screamed in agony.  Marius threw her viciously.  Rhonda smashed through the trunk of a tree that had thus far survived, and she disappeared from view as it crashed down upon her.

      Marius turned.  She was still fresh, and the Scouts were all badly wounded, and near exhausted.  It didn't look good for the good guys.

      "You're next!" she said, outstretched hand pointing at them.  Energy blasted towards them as they scattered.

      "Light her up!" shouted Venus.  "VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"

      "JUPITER OAK EVOULUTION!"

      The kinetic blasts from Jupiter's attack knocked Marius off balance as Venus' power smashed into her from behind.  Marius picked up Venus, grasping her by the throat.

      "Prepare to die, Sailor Venus!" roared Marius.  An energy field surrounded the two, preventing the others from intervening.

      "Damn!" cursed Mercury.  "That field's too strong!  There's nothing we can do!"  She glared at her computer readouts in sadness and frustration.

      "That's right!" cackled Marius.  "I win!  And now-"

      "Stop."

      Marius blinked at the voice.  She turned her head fractionally, and Venus used the distraction to kick her viciously, causing her to let go.  Venus tumbled away, and came to her feet, ready to fight before she realized Marius was still staring at...

      Rhonda.

      She stood there, looking disheveled, bruised, bloody, and...

      Defiant.  Determined.  At peace.

      "That's that, Marius.  This is over.  There will be no more vicious attacks that devastate whole sections of the city.  There will be no more hurting my friends.  There will be no more manipulation of me," she said in a straightforward, level voice.

      "That's what you think!" Marius growled, unleashing a bolt of dark energy.  It streaked towards Rhonda...

      And was blocked by a silvery field.  Mercury gasped at the readouts as she scanned Rhonda.

      "Guys..." she trailed off in astonishment, unable to speak.  Her mouth moved, but nothing came out.

      "Is that all you have to say, Rhonda?" sneered Marius, building up to another attack.  "Or is there something else you want to add?"

      "As a matter of fact, I do," Rhonda began.  She twirled, in a highly popular move, coming to rest, legs straight, left hand pointing toward the sky and right hand pointing at Marius, head tilted just so.  At that very moment, the clouds above parted, and a ray of silvery light lanced down to highlight her as she continued.

      "In the name of the Moon, you will be punished!" 'Rhonda' shouted as an upturned, golden crescent moon appeared on her forehead.

      "Serena!" Mercury finally managed to get out.  All the others were stunned, speechless.

      "That's right!  Although, the hair kinda throws it off, don't ya think?" she said, smiling.  "Let's fix that!"  Her hands spread out as a silvery glow bathed her, starting at the moon on her forehead and spreading out.  The glow moved faster, and her hair gained the distinct "meatballs" and long ponytails.  As the glow moved down, her wounds healed, and as it faded, she raised one hand to the sky.

      "I am Serena Tsukino!  But more importantly, I am the champion of love and justice!  I am... Sailor Moon!  MOON HEAVENLY POWER!"

      White light burst from her hand, dropping to surround her in silvery ribbons as she called upon her inner strength.  When it faded, Sailor Moon stood there, arms crossed.

      "And now, Marius... you're Moondust!" Moon shouted, charging.  Marius sidestepped, and as Moon adjusted course, launched a purple bolt at her.  Moon leapt over it, extending her leg and nailing Marius with a vicious kick.  Marius saw stars as Moon dropped low, sweeping her off her feet.  Moon back-flipped clear, and held out her hand, allowing her staff to materialize in it.

      "Surely you remember some of the new techniques I picked up fighting your armies?" Moon asked, as she twirled her staff and pointed it at Marius.  The tip glowed as Moon charged it.  She jumped at Marius, striking hard with her staff.  A blinding flash rose as Moon struck her repeatedly, frenetically, hitting her hard enough to send her flying upwards.  Moon followed, hovering for what seemed like forever, a hundred feet in the air, spinning her staff above her head, which gave the appearance of a solid white disc.  As Marius' body fell and impacted on the ground, Moon dropped, supercharged, in a white blur.  The ground shook with the force of the blow, and the energy release blasted the sky clear of blackness, once again allowing the rays of the sun to shine on everyone.  Moon staggered to her feet, and resolutely prepared to unleash a final assault.  Marius unsteadily climbed to her feet and saw what Moon was doing, and her eyes widened.

      I will not die like my mother!  Damn, I underestimated her!  I should have destroyed her years ago while I had the chance!  Too cocky!  Damn!  Who would've thought she could fight that off!  She glanced around, spied the portal, and called upon the last of her strength to make a dash for it.  Moon noticed.

      "Marius!" Moon shouted, chasing after her.  She, too, made a mad dash for the portal, to be restrained just shy of it as Marius jumped through and it closed.

      She shook off the arms holding her, and turned to face her friends, and was promptly almost crushed in a powerful group hug.

      "She can wait!  You beat her down!" called Jupiter, tears flowing.

      "We just got you back, we aren't losing you again!" sniffed Venus.

      Mask didn't say a word, just holding her as their mindlink once again burst full force.

      "Besides," said Mercury.  "I've got very in-depth readings on the portal."

      "How?" asked Earth-Love.  Mercury pointed to a nearby building.

      "The SDN, remember?  I can open a portal when we're all strong enough to go get her!" exclaimed Mercury.  Her face was also streaked with tears.

      Actually, everyone's face was streaked with tears of joy, and all were smiling through them.

      "Besides," Moon said quietly, as the sky overhead streaked with the color of the impending sunset, "I want to look into options of confirming and permanently destroying the Negaverse.  We'll have to talk with the Order."  The others nodded as they began walking, whole once again, to their home.

      As the tears dried, and the applause started, Moon realized she had a bit of catching up to do, especially as they approached the modern structure, which bore a large sign on the front of it.

      The sign was white in color, and centered on the top was a golden, upturned crescent moon.  Beneath it, in bold letters, it proudly proclaimed: 

SAILOR SCOUT PLAZA

"For Love And Justice"

       Moon smiled as the sun went down.  She was back.  She knew she had a lot of work ahead of her, but none of that mattered right now, as she basked in the happiness of her friends.

      Above her, the new moon slowly increased in brightness, as day became night, and the soft glow caressed the city.  Stars began to twinkle.

      "I'm home."

 The End

(Of this series, anyway!)

 Back to Top

Go Back to the Stories