Things couldn’t get any worse for Usagi. Her dear friends and fellow Sailor Scouts had all been captured by Rubeus and were being held in his floating black crystal spaceship. Overhead, Rubeus was gloating as he stared down at her, Tuxedo Kamen and Chibiusa.
“Sailor Moon,” he shouted down to the street below, “I’m disappointed in you for not appearing! Now that you’ve lost the other Sailor Soldiers, you have no chance of winning, do you? If you want the other Sailor Soldiers to live, you’ll surrender yourself.
“Anyway, I’ll give you some time to think about it,” he said condescendingly. “Three hours. I’ll be back here in three hours. You have that long to make up your mind.” After issuing his ultimatum, he disappeared back into his spaceship, which then began to ascend back into the clouds.
“Everyone….,” Usagi cried out desperately as she came out from hiding. Chibiusa and Tuxedo Kamen followed her out and stared up at the retreating spaceship. Chibiusa guiltily stared down at her Luna Sphere and hugged it sadly.
As the spaceship rose out of the atmosphere and into Outer Space, Rubeus stared out at the view of Earth through one of the mirrors with a very satisfied grin on his face.
She’ll come, he thought with smug certainty. She has to. She’d never abandon her precious friends. The Silver Crystal is as good as mine.
A familiar and unwelcome shrieking laughter interrupted his thoughts and caused the view to fade from the mirror. Rubeus growled irritably to himself as each of the mirrors started to glow, announcing Emerald’s arrival.
“Why aren’t you rushing them, Rubeus?” she asked as she flipped open her fan. “You should’ve already caught Sailor Moon and the Rabbit by now, right?”
Rubeus snorted derisively as he turned away from her. “You know nothing, woman. I don’t feel comfortable if I get her that easily!” he exclaimed as he flung an arm out in vexation, then started to walk away.
“Oh?” she asked as she turned, following him with her eyes.
Rubeus raised a hand and held it, palm outward, toward the darkness surrounding the center of the chamber and the ring of mirrors. The darkness illuminated, displaying near the end of the room and below, five black, crystalline crucifixes. A single Sailor Scout hung from each of the crosses, each one bound with their hands embedded inside the black crystal.
“While I’m keeping these hostages, Sailor Moon can do nothing. And before their eyes, I’ll torture Sailor Moon to death, bit by bit.”
“Well, I hope your plan goes well,” Emerald said as she snapped her fan closed. “Good luck.”
Without turning his head, Rubeus watched out of the corner of his eye as the mirrors glowed again and Emerald disappeared.
“Emerald…,” he said darkly. “I’ll show you my power…. More than you expect….”
Chibiusa stared miserably out into the dark sky. She had screwed up badly. She should’ve never taken Usagi’s brooch. Beside her, her Luna Sphere quietly kept her company.
“Chibiusa,” Mamoru called out as he joined her out on the balcony to his apartment. He stood next to her and gazed silently down at her.
“Mamo-chan…,” she said as a thought came to her mind, “…you’re Tuxedo Kamen, aren’t you?”
“Well…,” he began hesitantly with a sheepish grin, “…yeah.”
“I’m not really surprised anymore…,” she continued with hardly a pause as she turned her gaze back down to the city below. “I know now that Usagi is Sailor Moon.”
“I see,” he said quietly. “Chibiusa, did you give Usagi back her brooch?”
She nodded silently, then pulled out her key from inside her shirt and stared at it contemplatively. “But, why didn’t it work properly?” she asked herself in bewilderment.
“If it did, then you could’ve brought it with you to the future, right?” Mamoru asked as he frowned thoughtfully.
Chibiusa whirled toward him, staring at him in shock. How could he know…?
“Chibiusa, let’s not keep secrets between us,” he continued in a serious voice as he bent down toward her. “What were you going to do with the Silver Crystal?”
“My mama…,” she began as she gazed down toward the ground. “I need the Silver Crystal to save my mama.”
“Please, tell me, Chibiusa…,” he asked urgently as he knelt down and put his hands on her shoulders so she would look him in the eyes. “What happens in the future?”
Chibiusa turned away with an uncertain expression on her face. “I don’t know.”
Mamoru impatiently shook her once. “Chibiusa!” he entreated.
Tears started to well up in her eyes. “I really don’t know…,” she said as she stared down at the ground in front of her as she tried her best to remember. “They appeared so suddenly….”
For a long time, they stood like that as Mamoru tried to comfort the young girl.
”The enormous UFO that appeared over the Juuban district has now vanished, but many residents of the area remain alarmed about possible effects.”
Luna and Artemis sat side by side on Mamoru’s bed watching the news report on TV. Usagi was still seated on Mamoru’s couch, staring morosely at the brooch in her hand. Chibiusa had finally returned it to her, but she was still upset at her. That was why Mamoru had gone out to her instead of herself. A decision had yet to be made and her time was running short….
“In thirty minutes…,” Artemis said as the two cats turned to see how Usagi was holding up. She had been sitting on that couch and staring at that brooch of hers for a long time.
“Usagi-chan, what happened to Chibiusa-chan and Mamoru-san?” Luna asked.
“They’re on the roof,” Usagi replied quietly without looking up from her brooch. “I guess he’s watching over her.”
Her hands suddenly clenched tightly in anger; her right hand squeezing her brooch angrily. Her eyes squeezed shut as she fought the urge to just scream out in pure frustration.
“I can’t stand it anymore!” she cried out. “Even though the enemy is after her… I don’t want to protect such a horrible girl anymore!”
“Usagi-chan!” Artemis exclaimed in shock, as both cats stared at her in disbelief.
“I want to get my friends back, even if it means I have to give up the Silver Crystal and Chibiusa!” she said in utter seriousness, her body quivering with the intensity of her emotions. “If she hadn’t shown up, the city would still have been peaceful.”
“Do you really mean that, Usagi-chan?” Luna asked incredulously.
Usagi slowly began to sob as she stared down at her lap; her hands still clutched in frustration over her knees. “No, I don’t mean it.” Her voice suddenly became very tight and choked up as she looked up at the two cats. “But, I’m not mature enough to keep being strong under these circumstances.” She tried to smile at them, but her eyes wouldn’t stop tearing up. Her voice was so strained that it was obvious how hard she was fighting the urge to completely break down right then and there. There was a desolate look in her eyes that was totally heartbreaking to witness.
“Usagi-chan…,” Luna said consolingly. Her dearest friend was going through so much hurt and there was hardly anything she or Artemis could do to help. It hurt her badly to see her like that.
“Sorry,” Usagi said as she wiped away her tears and put a hand to her head, “…I must be very tired.”
Artemis nodded understandingly. “Okay,” he told her. “We’ll think of a good idea. You go and rest for a while, Usagi-chan.”
“Thanks,” she replied, her voice now fully under control, as she stood up. “I'll go out to the veranda for some fresh air.” The two cats watched as she walked past them and stepped out onto the veranda, then closed the glass door behind her.
Usagi stared out toward the city, gazing at nothing in particular as she continued to worry about her friends. She loved them all like family; she didn’t want to lose them.
A determined expression settled onto her face as she realized what she must do. There was no way she’d let her friends die. There was no other choice.
“I have to surrender myself, after all,” she said finally. “It might throw his guard off if I bring the Silver Crystal. I can’t have Chibiusa be exposed to any more danger.”
She suddenly smiled as a thought crossed her mind. “In the past, I would’ve said, ‘I’m sleepy! I’m scared!’ or ‘I don’t wanna go by myself!’… and I would’ve been careless….” She paused as she wiped the tears from her eyes again, then stared up toward the sky in fierce determination.
“Wait for me, everyone! I’m coming to save you!”
Inside, Luna and Artemis were busy brainstorming over possible ideas that would save the others without putting either Chibiusa or the Silver Crystal at risk.
“The only way is to give a fake Silver Crystal to Rubeus to gain some time,” Luna said.
“Then, we enter the spaceship and get everyone out,” Artemis continued. “But, what about Chibiusa-chan?”
Both cats closed their eyes in concentrated hard on thinking of a solution for their problem. As the two cats were deep in thought, Usagi quietly slipped past them without making a sound.
Luna’s expression brightened as she came up with an idea. “Why don’t we disguised ourselves as her?” Both cats began to get a mental picture of how they’d pull the disguise off, then grimaced. Likely, they’d lose their balance and fall flat on both their faces. Cats weren’t exactly meant to stand on two legs….
“Seems a bit hard, doesn’t it?” Artemis asked dryly. Luna merely nodded.
“The front door was left open!” Mamoru shouted urgently as he dashed into the room. “Where is Usagi?!?”
Both cats gasped as they ran over to the veranda. “She’s not here!” Artemis exclaimed.
“That explains it…,” Mamoru murmured half to himself.
“No way!” Luna exclaimed. “She’s gone all by herself to go get them back?”
“It appears so,” Artemis replied. Chibiusa stared at Mamoru and the cats in shock, not believing what she was hearing.
“How reckless of her!” Luna said worriedly. “She might get killed!”
Mamoru heard the sounds of footsteps rapidly hitting the floor. When he spun around, he saw that Chibiusa was now gone as well. “Chibiusa? Chibiusa?!?
“She must’ve left to go follow Usagi!” he said as the two cats padded over to his side. “They must be thinking of the same thing!” he grumbled irritably to himself in vexation. “Those two think so much alike, it’s almost like they were twins!” He then rushed out of his apartment, chasing after her with the two cats close behind him.
Usagi ran as fast as she could back to the spot where her friends were taken from. She only had a few minutes left, so she couldn’t waste any time. As she ran, she thrust her brooch into the air and shouted her transformation phrase.
“Moon crystal power, make up!” Within moments, she became Sailor Moon.
Sorry about this, Mamo-chan, Luna, Artemis…, she thought as she ran, …but I don’t want anyone else to be put in any danger. This time, I’m going alone.
Sailor Moon came to a stop as she noticed the sky suddenly growing darker. The streetlamps around her suddenly began to grow dark, followed by the entire city. Seconds later, Rubeus’ spaceship descended from the parting clouds overhead. Sailor Moon watched and waited in determined anticipation. This time, it would be only her.
“Welcome…,” Rubeus’ voice boomed out laughingly, “…Sailor Moon and Rabbit!”
Sailor Moon blinked in surprise. “Rabbit?” she repeated questioningly, then turned around. There she was, standing behind her with her Luna Sphere floating by her side. “Chibiusa, what are you doing here?”
“I’m going with you!” she said firmly. “It’s my fault that Rei-chan, Ami-chan, Ryo-oniichan, Mako-chan and Minako-chan were all captured by him!”
“You fool!” Sailor Moon shouted in annoyance and worry. “If you come with me, we’ll both fall into his trap!”
As a pillar of light surrounded them and lifted them off their feet, Sailor Moon realized that it was already too late. The two were pulled up toward Rubeus’ spaceship, just like the others.
Mamoru, Luna and Artemis ran up to the spot where Sailor Moon and Chibiusa had stood and stared up at the spaceship, aware that they had arrived too late.
“Damn!” Mamoru growled fiercely in frustration.
“Too late…,” Artemis murmured quietly.
“Usagi-chan!” Luna called up at Sailor Moon as she and Chibiusa were pulled up into the spaceship.
Mamoru just stared up at the spaceship, his expression one of apprehension, worry, and frustration. There was nothing he could do. They were on their own.
The sound of heavy footsteps approaching caught Sailor Moon’s attention. She slowly lifted her head up, looking up from her position lying face down on the floor. The trip through the outer walls of the spaceship combined with being lifted up hundreds of thousands of feet into the air was enough to knock her out. Beside her, Chibiusa was now just beginning to stir.
The footfalls stopped just a few feet ahead of her. Her eyes widened as she recognized who was now standing in front of her. When she and Chibiusa pushed themselves up to their knees, they both gasped in shock simultaneously at what they saw.
Behind Rubeus, their five friends hung by their arms in a line of crucifixes.
“Everyone!” Sailor Moon shouted in anguish. All of her friends were hanging limply from their bindings, unconscious.
“Welcome, Sailor Moon!” Rubeus greeted with a smug laugh. “I’m really pleased that you have brought the Rabbit.”
“Rubeus…,” Sailor Moon growled angrily. Beside her, Chibiusa grabbed her Luna Sphere and held it tightly as she looked apprehensively at Rubeus from behind it.
Sailor Moon then sat up and crossed her legs as she laughed mockingly at him. Chibiusa looked at her with a bewildered expression as she tried to figure out what was going on.
“You’ve been fooled!” she announced derisively. “She’s not the Rabbit. She’s my cousin, Chibiusa!” For emphasis, she picked Chibiusa up and set her on her lap, then started to pat her on the head… just a little too hard.
“What?” he said disbelievingly.
“Did you think I would bring the Rabbit right into your hands?” she asked, raising a cool, condescending eyebrow. “How stupid of you!” she said as she laughed at him. “You’ve fallen for my trick!”
Instead of being upset, Rubeus just smirked as he stood with his arms akimbo. “I’ll have time to find out the truth later,” he replied coolly. “But first, I will destroy you!”
Sailor Moon blinked in bewilderment. This wasn’t exactly what I was going for.… “Fine!” she retorted with a slight grimace, then turned to Chibiusa. “Chibiusa, go find someplace safe to hide,” she urged her.
The young girl looked up at her with a worried expression on her face. “Okay…,” she said quietly. “I understand.” She quickly got to her feet and ran off to find a place to hide. Rubeus merely watched her with his eyes as he kept most of his attention on Sailor Moon as she got to her feet.
“Now, come on!” she challenged as she stood in a defensive fighting stance.
Outside, Mamoru, Luna and Artemis watched in extreme worry as the spaceship went back up into the clouds again.
“What'll we do?” Luna said anxiously. “If they're carried into space, there's no way to escape!”
Mamoru continued to stare up at the spot where the spaceship vanished. His concern and anxiety continued to grow by the second and there was no way for him to help.
Usako.…
Sailor Moon landed hard on the floor after being blasted away by Rubeus. She quickly pushed herself up to her knees and faced him again. That last attack of his had caught her by surprise. She knew she had to do better.
“You’ve got to expect worse than this,” he said as he glared down at her. “You’ve given me enough bitter experiences.”
She had had enough. She brought out her Moon Scepter and raised it overhead, then pointed it straight at him. Rubeus brought his arm up and braced himself for her attack.
“Moon princess halation!” she shouted as a blast of energy issued forth from the scepter.
Rubeus countered by waving his arm toward a huge black crystal sitting at one end of the room. The dark crystal started to glow with a bright violet light. As Sailor Moon’s attack reached Rubeus, it started to fizzle and fade out before it could hit him.
“Oh, no!” she gasped as she started at her scepter incredulously. “It didn’t work!”
Suddenly, a strong force started pulling on her entire body, causing her to slowly fall to her knees under the tremendous weight. “I feel… so heavy…,” she gasped as she strained to keep herself from being pulled down to the floor.
Rubeus laughed triumphantly at her. “Want to know what’s happening?” he asked with a sneering grin. “This ship has the capability to boost my power many times over! Including this intense gravity,” he added with a smirk. “Of course, I can also reverse it.” He raised his hand above his head. “There!”
As he reversed the ship’s gravity around Sailor Moon, the dark crystal once again shone with a bright violet light.
Chibiusa stared at the crystal as it glowed, then stopped. There was something about that crystal….
Sailor Moon’s eyes widened as she gasped in surprise when her body started floating upward. She yelled until she impacted against a black crystal structure jutting out from overhead, knocking the wind out of her. As she tried to get her bearings, she looked over towards the wall at the far side of the room… and gasped again.
Outside the huge window near the top of the wall, she could see a view of the entire Earth… from space.
“No way!” she breathed in astonishment.
“Now you see?” Rubeus gloated arrogantly. “If you even try to leave, we’re tens of kilometers up in space! There’s no way for you to escape!”
Sailor Moon stared down at him, fully understanding the danger she and the others were all in. Her worries were interrupted when she spotted Chibiusa running towards her friends, hoping to be able to save them while Rubeus was busy. When she came within a few meters of reaching her friends, she ran smack into a field of intense dark electricity. Arcs of black electricity went through her as she cried out in pain. Upon her forehead, her crescent moon reappeared and began to emit bright golden energy, betraying her true identity to Rubeus.
“Chibiusa!” Sailor Moon screamed in concern for the young girl.
Rubeus glanced over his shoulder at the girl and grinned devilishly. “So, she was the Rabbit after all….” He looked up at Sailor Moon and grinned smugly. So much for her little… trick.
Sailor Moon merely stared back at Rubeus. He knows. Now, what can I do?
As soon as the golden energy subsided, Chibiusa pushed herself back up off the floor.
“You’d better give up your pathetic struggling!” Rubeus warned. “The is a barrier of high electrical pressure around them.”
Chibiusa ignored him as she stood up and tried to break through the barrier again. Just as before, she received a nasty electrical shock as soon as she touched the barrier. She was pushed back yet again, but not before noticing that the black crystal behind her was glowing as she was being electrocuted.
“Chibiusa!” Sailor Moon shouted out again in concern.
Rubeus smiled at the young girl before he turned his attention back to Sailor Moon. “Now…,” he began as he put one hand on his waist and smirked arrogantly again, “…it’s time to put you to death.” Sailor Moon’s eyes widened in fear as he raised his hand over his head.
Instantly, the gravity around her was reversed back to the intense gravity it had been before. “I’ll crush you as flat as an insect on the floor!” he shouted as he raised both hands toward her, intensifying the gravity further.
The gravity became so intense that she was making the floor collapse upon itself. She could feel her insides being pulled downward as well. There was a feeling of intense pressure on her heart and lungs; she was finding it harder to breathe. If she wasn’t transformed into Sailor Moon, then her body would’ve collapsed upon itself, killing her. As it was, she was being strained to her maximum.
“Die…,” he growled as his grin widened and he chuckled softly to himself. His laughing cut off abruptly as he noticed that she had managed to push herself upward by a few inches. His eyes widened and his jaw fell as she pushed herself up further.
“I won’t forgive you!” she growled as she pushed herself up on one knee. “I will…,” she continued as she pushed herself up further into a semi-crouching position, “…never forgive you!” She slowly made herself stand up in the fierce pull of the gravitational field. “For the things you’ve done… there can be no forgiveness!”
“Impossible!” Rubeus whispered in disbelief. “This girl is standing up in hyper-gravity….”
Sailor Moon stared defiantly at Rubeus, even as her legs trembled from the tremendous strain the gravity field was putting on her. “For my friends and for Chibiusa, I’ll do my best. I, Sailor Moon, will not be beaten!” she stated firmly.
Rubeus’ shocked expression faded and was replaced by his normal superior smirk. “I have underestimated you,” he said quietly. Sailor Moon was thrown off balance as the gravity field was turned off. “Now, I’ll show you my full power!” He prepared to fire his attack as Sailor Moon took the opportunity to ready hers.
“Moon princess halation!”
Dark power met light energy as the two attacks collided between the two. Each one concentrated their full efforts into trying to best the other, resulting in a stalemate.
“Sailor Moon!” Chibiusa shouted as she watched the struggle. She turned her gaze toward the crystal she had noticed before. It was flashing now…. “This one!” she said as she jumped up onto the small platform holding it. “This one must be the one increasing his powers!” She grabbed onto the crystal and pulled as hard as she could, trying her best to dislodge it. Before she could make the crystal budge, she received an electrical shock, similar to the one she got from the barrier surrounding the other Sailor Scouts.
“It’s my fault everyone’s in this situation,” she lamented as she stopped pulling. Her mind set, she tried once again to remove the crystal from its setting. She received the same shock as before, but this time she wasn’t going to stop for anything. She started to scream as the pain became intense.
Rubeus failed to hear Chibiusa’s scream as he was solely occupied in his fight with Sailor Moon. “Die, Sailor Moon!” he growled as he put all of his power into a single blast which broke through her attack and slammed into her stomach, sending her flying backward into the wall behind her. The wall cracked from the force as she slid down to the ground.
Behind him, Chibiusa was still trying to pull out the crystal. “Damn Rabbit,” he growled in annoyance. “She’s found the power amplifier.” He turned around and leaped into the air, hovering over the girl.
“You are also going to die!” he shouted as he prepared to fire at her. “Ready?”
“Moon princess halation!”
Rubeus had barely enough time to knock away the first shot with a quick backhand. He hurriedly fired the same attack as before, halting her attack mere inches before it could strike him. “What?!? Still alive?” he grunted as he fought to keep the blast from reaching him.
“Chibiusa!” Sailor Moon cried out urgently. “Quickly!”
Chibiusa heaved with all her might, but could barely manage to budge it. Suddenly, the crescent moon on her forehead appeared again, giving off its energy as she broke the crystal from its base. When the crystal broke free, she went flying backward with it, until it the ground and shattered into smaller shards.
With the destruction of the power amplifier, Rubeus’ power diminished enough so that Sailor Moon’s attack broke through his own, sending him flying into the wall behind him. The force of the hit was enough to knock the earring off his ear.
“Damn…,” he grunted in frustration.
With the power amplifier gone, the gravity field holding up the ring of mirrors vanished, letting the platform plummet to the ground and smash to rubble. All of the mirrors struck the floor and shattered. The five Sailor Scouts suddenly snapped wide awake as the crucifixes vanished, allowing them to fall to the floor.
“Where are we?” Venus asked as they landed on their feet.
“We were caught by Rubeus and…,” Jupiter began as she and the others glanced around at their surroundings.
“Is everyone all right?” Chibiusa asked as she crawled over to them.
“Kiddo?” Knight exclaimed as he quickly bent down and scooped her up in his arms.
“Chibiusa-chan!” the other four exclaimed as they crowded around Chibiusa and Knight.
Sailor Moon weakly stepped over to where her friends had gathered and smiled in relief. “What a relief… everyone.”
“Sailor Moon!” Mercury called out as they all turned to look at their friend and leader.
A cackling laughter caught everyone’s attention. “You think you’ve won, you stupid girls!” he spat fiercely. “Without the power control, this ship is going to explode! You’re going to be reduced to space dust!”
“What?!?” Mars exclaimed in shock. “If you do that, you’ll die, too!”
Rubeus laughed again. “That’s right!” he admitted. “I cannot go back to the future, now.” For emphasis, he stomped down on the earring that had fallen from his ear, crushing it. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea to die with you!”
From underneath the floor, an explosion accompanied by a huge plume of flame burst out, enveloping Rubeus.
“Rubeus!” Sailor Moon shouted after him, but there was no reply. More explosions and more fire erupted from below, surrounding them.
“We’d better get away quickly or else we will die along with Rubeus,” Mars stated urgently.
“How do we do that?” Jupiter asked.
“There is only one way,” Mercury stated calmly.
“I see…,” Venus said. “We have to use the Sailor Teleport.” Mercury nodded her agreement.
“Are you sure?” Knight asked carefully as he shifted Chibiusa so that she was now sitting on his shoulders. “Sailor Moon’s exhausted from that battle. Besides, we also have kiddo, here.” He nodded up toward the girl on his shoulders. “Can we do it?”
“If we put our hearts and minds together, I think we can do it,” Mercury replied. “There’s no other way.”
Knight nodded. “Then, we’d best get started.”
“I can do it,” Sailor Moon said firmly, then turned to look up at Chibiusa. “Chibiusa, do you trust me?”
“Yes, I trust you,” she replied with a nod.
“Good girl,” she said with a smile. “I’ll give you a reward later.”
“Well, I want pancakes,” Chibiusa said with an impish smile.
“All right,” Sailor Moon agreed.
“Believe me now, kiddo?” Knight asked as he looked up at Chibiusa.
She remembered what he was talking about. He and the others were trying to convince her that Usagi wasn’t as bad a person as she had concluded that she was. He had asked her if he had ever lied to her, even once, and she said that she didn’t believe him.
“I believe you,” she replied as she looked down at him. “I should’ve known that you’d never lie to me… Sailor Knight.”
Knight nodded with a half-grin. “Never,” he agreed, then turned to Mercury and nodded.
“Now, let’s begin,” she said as everyone took their places. The five female Scouts stood in their ring, holding hands, as Knight took his place in the center with Chibiusa. Her Luna Sphere was floating gently next to its owner.
“Hold tight, kiddo,” he cautioned her, “…and don’t let go.” Chibiusa nodded her compliance as the others began the Sailor Teleport.
“Moon crystal power!”
“Mercury star power!”
“Mars star power!”
“Jupiter star power!”
“Venus star power!”
“Knight star sword power!”
“Sailor teleport!” all six shouted at once as Knight thrust his sword skyward. Instantly, they all vanished in a blinding white flash.
“Damn,” Rubeus growled as he managed to roll out of the fire. He was then greeted by a pair of emerald green boots and a cackling laughter overhead. He looked up to see Emerald standing above him.
“How pathetic you look, Rubeus,” she laughed as she held her fan in front of her mouth.
“Emerald!” he said as he stood up. “I’m saved! Let’s go back to the future,” he suggested as he held out his hand for assistance. “This ship is going to explode in two minutes.”
“Oh, is it?” she asked, then swatted his hand away with her fan, leaving him to stare at her in shock.
“What?” he gasped as she pointed her fan directly at his eyes, holding it a short distance away.
“Sailor Moon, the Sailor Soldiers and the Rabbit have all escaped,” she said coldly. “Haven’t you failed enough? Really, what a disappointing man you are. Our glorious family doesn’t need such an incompetent person as you. You can disappear along with this ship.” With that, she disappeared, laughing at him.
“Emerald,” he screamed desperately as he thrust his hand out to where she had been moments before, “save me!
“Emerald!!!” he screamed with all his breath, seconds before the ship’s explosion took it away from him; his scream silenced by the deathly quiet vacuum of space.
In the skies above Tokyo, a light illuminated the sky, bathing everything in a light so brilliant, it banished the nighttime darkness for a short time. In the middle of one of the quiet, empty streets, the cluster of Sailor Scouts and Chibiusa reappeared safely. As one, all seven stared up into the sky as the light faded away and was swallowed up by the night.
“We did it!” everyone shouted at once and cheered. Sailor Moon jumped for joy as Chibiusa jumped off of Knight’s shoulders and landed, laughing, in his arms.
“Sailor Moon,” she said as Knight set her down on the ground, “don’t forget my pancakes! I want nothing but home-cooked ones!”
“What?” Sailor Moon said as she took one step back away from the young girl. “Oh… really?”
“Are you sure, Chibiusa?” Mars asked, looking askance at Sailor Moon. “Usagi-chan’s home-cooking is pretty bad….” Knight gave a small snort of amusement and half-grinned.
“Oh?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Then, I don’t want it.”
“What?!?” Sailor Moon said indignantly. “You made a promise with me!” At that, all seven broke into a fit of laughter.
“Come on, then, Chibiusa-chan,” Knight said as they stopped laughing. “Mako-chan and I would be glad to make some delicious pancakes for you.” He glanced around at everyone else and half-grinned. “Well? Anyone else hungry?”
“All right!” came the unanimous reply.
“Prince Diamond-sama,” Emerald reported, “Rubeus did no better than we expected.”
“Indeed?” he asked as he lounged lazily on his throne, glancing down contemplatively at the glass of wine he held in his right hand. He leaned on his left hand and glanced back up at Emerald. “I thought he would’ve done better….
“Emerald,” he continued, “be sure not to fail as Rubeus did.”
“Yes,” she said with a courteous bow. “Please leave it to me.” She quickly disappeared to make preparations for carrying out his order.
After Emerald left, a projection of a regal figure appeared before him. She was clothed in a pure white gown with a pair of cloth wings protruded from the back of the gown. In her blonde hair, a crown was placed, with two long ponytails streaming down from a pair of odangos at the top of her head. Reverently, he raised his wineglass so that he was looking at the projection through the glass.
“I will get everything that I want…,” he stated as he smiled confidently.
“Everything.”