Author's Note: To us as human beings, death is the end of the journey, a transition to heaven or hell, if you're inclined to believe in the afterlife. In the world of Sailor Moon where death can be cheated or negated altogether, can beings as powerful as the Sailor Scouts, and especially the minions from the Negaverse ever truly die, and then stay dead? This story will attempt to answer that question as I bring the first of Beryl's nefarious Generals, the long neglected Jedite back from the afterlife, or, if you've only seen the dubbed DIC version of the show, from eternal sleep. The timeline of my new story takes place shortly after Amy, Raye, Lita and Mina had their memories restored by Luna to help Sailor Moon battle the sinister energy sucking Cardians of Ann and Alan. My overall theme is about getting a second chance at life, what one does with that chance, and about the emotional and psychological ramifications involved with being brought back to life after actually having died. Is it possible to simply go back to 'business as usual' following such a traumatic experience? Especially for the Scouts and their ever dangerous job of fighting the forces of evil where death is only a misstep away? You'll note this story is rated "R". Although it starts out slowly, there will be a goodly number of scenes in the later chapters that will warrant this rating. If you wish to comment on my story, either positively or negatively, don't hesitate to contact me at treetop@voicenet.com. Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation and DIC. So, please, don't sue me because I haven't any money. I do this strictly for entertainment purposes, not copyright infringement.
The Resurrection Dilemma
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Prologue: The Return
Rating: R
Even though he was blind, he could still see.
Despite being deaf, he could still hear.
While his nervous system was numb, he could still feel.
And, most of all, he could still think.
He wasn't alive, or dead. Rather, he was something in-between.
All things being equal, thought Jedite, eternal sleep isn't quite the horror I envisioned it to be.
For the millionth time, Jedite, trapped in suspended animation thought about the miserable shrew who sentenced him here, and for the millionth time, he grew angry. Queen Beryl. His ruler. His mistress. The most vile and contemptible bitch he ever laid eyes on. Oh, how he hated her! For longer than he cared to think about----and he had nothing else to do while in this catatonic state but think, perhaps THAT was the true horror----Jedite had been unfailingly loyal to Beryl, he catered to her every whim, did every dirty deed she asked of him, often with relish, and this, THIS was the thanks he got?
And all because of three meddling teenage brats in sailor suits who beat him handily at every turn, foiling all of his grandiose schemes to gather energy for the Negaverse. When Jedite's last plot to eliminate Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars, not to mention Tuxedo Mask wound up a disaster, the outraged Beryl, fed up with his defeats sentenced him to the doom of eternal sleep while the shadow shrouded sycophants in her court moaned over his fate.
As if they really cared. Fuck them, he thought.
His body, encased in a multi-faceted amber crystal, a jeweled tomb he came to call it floated free and unencumbered in a dark, silent void he had never seen before. Hell? No, the atmosphere surrounding his tomb was refreshingly cool, sort of like being at a seaside resort on Earth, nothing at all like Dante's horrific vision of Hades. Outer space? Also unlikely. Although it was dark, there were no stars, planets, suns or other phenomena associated with the cosmos.
Limbo? Most likely. During his lengthy tenure in Beryl's court, rising in rank from mere soldier to a full fledged General, Jedite never once thought to ask his queen about her favorite form of punishment for those who displeased her. With Beryl's hair trigger temper, combined with the most dangerous case of megalomania he had ever seen, he figured that might invite a first hand taste of the nightmare himself.
But then, I screwed up and got sent here anyway.
From inside his beautiful, multi-faceted prison, Jedite watched through his mind's eye as his nefarious successors: Nephlyte, the arrogant, astrology obsessed egomaniac; Zoicite, the vicious, backstabbing whore he particularly hated, and Malachite, Zoicite's lover and all around power mad bungler tried and failed time after time to defeat the Sailor Scouts who multiplied like rabbits and bested his cohorts with almost disturbing ease. Not that it mattered to him.
He never liked his fellow generals and wasn't at all saddned when each of them died, either through betrayal when Zoicite had Nephlyte killed; angering Beryl who slew Zoicite for disobeying her orders about harming Tuxedo Mask; or in battle when Malachite was put down like a mad dog by Sailor Moon. Even Beryl's half baked scheme to corrupt Tuxedo Mask and turn him into an agent of the Negaverse blew up in her face when Moon healed him, using powers he had never seen before.
Then came the final battle in the frozen wasteland of the North Pole. Beryl's last chance to stop the Sailors rested with the Doom and Gloom Girls, a quintet of the most maniacal, psychotic killers Jedite ever met. They were so fearsome, everyone in Beryl's court gave them a wide berth. Even he felt uncomfortable in their presence. One by one, the Scouts were brutally slain by the lunatics, but not before taking the creatures with them. The bloodshed Jedite witnessed that day sickened even him.
Finally, there was only Beryl and Sailor Moon, unleashing forces so terrible, they threatened to shatter the planet itself. For a brief time, it looked as if Moon, garbed in a flowing white gown and holding a wand with a crescent moon on top and a glowing, silver crystal in the center would lose. Then, before Jedite's shocked and disbelieving eyes, the specters of the murdered Scouts appeared and helped Moon vanquish Beryl. That was when Jedite experienced a new feeling. Pain. Monstrous, terrible pain.
It came all at once in a rush. His entire body felt like it was being shredded by a million razor blades as his jeweled prison was struck by wave after wave of incredibly powerful energy. Jedite tried to be strong as the pain increased a thousandfold, but couldn't, he opened his mouth to scream, but that was beyond him as his limbs and muscles were still unresponsive, so he screamed in his mind, long and loud from the agony that threatened to utterly destroy him.
At one point, Jedite found himself begging for death as a release from the torment that seemed to go on for days, weeks, even months when it was only seconds. Suddenly, cracks began to appear in the jeweled prison, small at first, they grew into large fissures throughout the length of the casement as the energy waves continued to pound relentlessly at it. It was energy like Jedite had never felt before, yet he instantly knew exactly what it was.
Beryl's lifeforce, scattered to the four winds when Sailor Moon destroyed her, thought Jedite, using anything as a diversion from the pain that threatened to drive him mad. In his mind's eye, he could see hundreds, thousands of cracks in his prison from the battering both it, and his body took. The crystal, it's going to shatter! It's going to....
Then, it did just that, shattering into a million pieces. Jedite screamed once again from a blast of pain greater than even someone of his superhuman stature could withstand, but this time, he could hear the sound erupt from his own throat as his body returned to life. With the destruction of the crystal, Jedite's pain ended and he felt himself falling through the inky darkness. But he didn't care. Jedite could move his limbs once more, he could actually feel the air whooshing by as he fell. The multiple sensations, all of them highly intoxicating thrilled him no end.
"I'm alive!" he cried triumphantly as he fell like a comet. His heart was filled to overflowing with joy. "Do you hear me, Beryl, you dead, despicable cunt? I'm alive! I'M ALIVE!"
Jedite's celebration was short lived as he approached what looked like a sun, blindingly bright and beautiful. Jedite could hear the great orb roaring from tremendous heat as he drew near. Gripped by fear, Jedite tried in vain to stop his descent. Then, he fell through the orb, it was like passing through a strainer, one charged with millions of volts of electricity. Once again, Jedite screamed from unimaginable pain. His last thought before blacking out was of how cruelly short his return to sentience was. Still, he had thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Six months later....
Miko Kimura loved hiking in the countryside. Enjoying the sights and sounds that Mother Nature provided never failed to take her mind off her troubles, which were many. And having her son, Toshi with her made the experience all the more rewarding.
"Isn't it just a terrific day, momma?" asked an excited Toshi as he skipped several feet ahead. All of ten, Toshi stared up at the sun, shining bright in the late morning sky, blue as a robin's egg with scattered puffy clouds here and there. He giggled from delight. So did Miko. The weather was warm and pleasant, perfect for a hike with her son.
"It certainly is, Toshi," said Miko, a huge smile on her face at seeing her boy so happy. It isn't often that either of us can enjoy such moments of joy, especially since Toshiro died, she thought. God, how I miss him.
Staring at Toshi made Miko feel warm inside. Tall and rangy for his age, Toshi was a boundless bundle of energy who hated to sit still, he had to be doing something, anything, from sunup to sundown. When he wasn't helping out on the farm with his mother and grandfather, he was either exploring, learning all about the world around him or indulging in his favorite sport, basketball. Unlike most Japanese boys who longed to play professional baseball, Toshi's passion was to play in the NBA like his heroes, Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson whom Toshi adored and was his favorite player.
It was Toshiro who got his boy interested in the game after taking Toshi to his father's home in Tokyo for a week and he got to see NBA games beamed in via satellite. It took all of one game for Toshi to fall in love with the sport, and when he saw Allen Iverson perform his famed crossover dribble, he became Toshi's idol. A week later, Toshiro put up a basketball rim above the door of the barn and encouraged his son to practice and become the best he could be at the sport he loved. Miko smiled at the memories of how devoted Toshiro was to his boy. Miko then became sad because her husband wasn't here to guide Toshi through life.
Much as she hated to do so, Miko forced herself to clear her mind of those grim, sad thoughts about the man she loved, the man she lost, two long years ago. She would think about him later, in the privacy of her bedroom. Right now was Toshi's time. He had worked so hard to finish his morning chores since he so looked forward to his stroll in the countryside. Miko owed it to him to have the opportunity to enjoy life the way it meant to be, free of strife, pain, and misery, even if but for a short time.
That's all I need to build up my strength so I can continue the struggle, Miko thought. But it grows more difficult with each passing day. Still, so very much depends on me. Most of all, Toshi.
"Momma? Can we go down to the river?" Toshi asked, doe eyed. "I wanna skip stones across the water."
Miko laughed, temporarily shunting aside her worries. "Of course we can, dear. But only if you teach me how you do that."
"Yippee! It's a deal!"
As the mother and son approached the river, bright and clear and blue with clean, sparkling water, Toshi was first to see something lying by the rocky bank.
"Momma? What's that?" the boy asked, pointing at the object, a gray colored form.
Miko strained to focus on it but couldn't make out any details. Only thirty-four and my eyesight is already starting to fail, she thought glumly. "I'm not sure, dear. Perhaps some dead animal washed up on the shore."
"I wanna see!" said Toshi, sprinting off.
"Toshi! No! Wait! It could be dangerous!" Miko shouted, but it was in vain as the boy was gone. She immediately ran off after him.
"Oh, wow! Momma! Look!" a shocked Toshi cried, pointing down at the thing, his eyes filled with surprise. When Miko arrived at his side, annoyed at Toshi having disobeyed her, she gasped at what the object was.
A man. Unconscious, face down in the water, he wore a badly tattered gray outfit, almost like a uniform with knee high black boots. Fearing he might drown, Miko knelt down to turn him over. Once she did, she arched an eyebrow from curiosity. The man, his heavily bearded face bruised, and a deep gash on his forehead oozing blood had longish, blond hair, a hawklike nose and a firm, solid jawline. Despite his injuries, Miko couldn't help but notice how stunningly handsome the stranger was. Pushing aside those thoughts, Miko placed two fingers up against the carotid artery behind the left ear to feel for a pulse. She sighed from relief at having found one.
"Toshi! Go back to the house and tell your grandfather about this! Have him bring the wagon! Hurry!" ordered Miko.
Toshi nodded. "Yes, Momma!" and he ran off as fast as his long legs could carry him.
Cradling the man's head in her lap, Miko saw him stir slightly and wince, as if in pain. Then, the strangest thing happened. As Miko looked on, the man, his eyes closed suddenly broke out in a broad smile and he whispered two words, over and over:
"I'm alive."
Next: Invaders From Space