Author's Note: According to websites I've visited devoted to Sailor Moon, it was never shown in DIC's edited dub of the show that the Scouts had been killed or Serena herself died after destroying Queen Beryl with the Imperium Silver Crystal. That, I must admit was news to me. So, I've decided to lead off this chapter with my own interpretation of Serena's final moments at the North Pole. Not having seen the original Japanese version, I have no idea how this sequence actually played out. Chances are I've gotten this wrong six ways to Sunday, if I have, please don't hesitate to chew me out about it. Otherwise, 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
Chapter Two: Nightmares And Fears
Rating: R
Three nights later....
During the course of her life, Serena had more than her fair share of bad dreams, most of them occuring after she became Sailor Moon. But this particular dream, one she's had for the last several nights now was particularly unsettling. Even frightening.
In this nightmare, she and the Scouts were at the North Pole, fighting a fivesome of menacing, deadly creatures. Despite their powers and their training, the Sailors were mercilessly cut down by the enemy. Serena watched in horror as, one by one, her closest friends in the world were slaughtered. First Jupiter, next Mercury, then Venus, finally Mars. The only saving grace was that the valiant heroines took the creatures with them. Raye's death hurt Serena most of all as, deep down, she loved the fiery Shinto Priestess like a sister. Serena could hear her friends' screams and felt their terrible pain like it were her own as they died.
No one was spared. Not even her beloved Darien who died in Serena's arms after she cured him of Beryl's evil taint that caused him to turn on her and the Sailors. Then came the final battle with Beryl, her powers mysteriously amplified, changing her into the monster she truly was. But Serena was not afraid. This time, there was no fear in her as she was determined to eradicate Beryl. However, even with the Imperium Silver Crystal, it wasn't enough as Beryl's hellish onslaught nearly overpowered Serena, garbed in a flowing white gown----the very gown she wore in her past life a millennia ago----instead of her uniform.
Then, Serena felt the presence of her friends, having returned from beyond to help their leader one last time. They selflessly lent Serena their strength, their courage, but, most of all, their love. Fortified beyond belief, beyond imagination, Serena called upon the Crystal's Cosmic Moon Power, the ultimate force. The increased power Serena wielded was like a song in her heart, magical, intoxicating, gloriously beautiful. At that moment, Serena was no longer just a girl, or even a hero, she was a god. A very angry god. The power easily overwhelmed Beryl who shrieked from agony as she was obliterated, ending the menace of the Negaverse.
However, Beryl's destruction proved to be Serena's undoing as well. Unleashing the full power of the Crystal, limitless as the universe through a mere flesh and blood conduit sucked away nearly all her lifeforce and totally burned out her body. Most of her vital organs were demolished and she bled internally. Her spinal cord was fused, leaving her almost completely paralyzed. Her lungs were so ravaged, breathing was next to impossible. With her nervous system destroyed, Serena could no longer feel the freezing cold, or the tremendous pain of her ravaged body. The fact that she wasn't already dead from her injuries surprised Serena.
Lying motionless on a slab of ice, barely able to clutch the Crescent Moon Wand to her chest, Serena knew she was dying, yet, as she stared up at the beautiful, star filled night sky, she felt strangely content.
I did it, mother. I did it. Beryl's gone, and this time, she's not coming back. At last we have peace. Real peace. Serena's eyesight began to dim while she could feel her failing heart beating slower by the moment. Just like you, mom, I won't be around long enough to enjoy it. If only my friends were here with me right now. Amy, Lita, Mina, Raye....DARIEN!! Where are you? Oh, God! Please! Don't let me die alone!
Suddenly, before Serena's eyes, five forms slowly appeared out of thin air. They were filmy, wispy, almost transparent, but Serena recognized them instantly. She smiled from blessed relief. Her friends came to her.
"Good work, Meatball Head. For once you didn't screw things up," joked Raye, a huge, loving smile on her face.
"Yes. We're all so very proud of you," said Amy.
"And then some. You kicked Beryl's ass but good!" Lita remarked.
"Thanks to you, Serena, the war's finally over," added Mina.
"You've fought the good fight and won, my darling," said a smiling Darien, planting a ghostly kiss on Serena's cheek. "Now, it's time for all of us to go home."
Serena dared to hope, even though she knew it was a mistake. "Home? Back....to Tokyo?"
Darien shook his head, his expression terribly sad. "No, beloved. Oblivion. We're all dead. And soon, you'll be joining us on the other side. We came to bring you over."
Serena became afraid. More afraid than she had ever been in her life. "Other....side? No! I don't....want to! It can't end....this way! It can't!"
Darien's face became impassive. "I'm sorry, Serena. The end is near for you. Your body is giving out. I'm afraid you don't have a choice."
No longer willing to accept death, Serena's face hardened from stony determination as she struggled to do what she did best. She decided to fight. Using the last of her fading strength, Serena held the Crescent Moon Wand high in her trembling hands, pointing up at the Moon, full and magnificent in the ebony sky above.
"Like hell....I don't! In the name....of the Moon, I wish....we could all live again! I beg you! Give us....another chance....at a normal life!"
Serena's eyes glazed over, she took one last ragged breath and died, the wand falling from her lifeless fingers to the icy ground. The specters silently stood around their dead friend, their heads bowed, tears coursing down their faces. Suddenly, they saw the Crystal begin to glow, then it transformed into a shining, bright, silvery sphere of light. Silvery like the Moon itself. The sphere rapidly grew to enormous proportions, absorbing Serena's corpse, the ghosts, the North Pole, the continents, Earth, the Moon, the sun, the solar system, the galaxies, and lastly, the universe....
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Serena cried, bolting up from her pillow, startling Luna awake who fell off the foot of the bed.
"Good heavens! Serena! Are you alright?" a worried Luna asked.
Breathing heavily, her face bathed in sweat, Serena shivered and hugged herself until she calmed down. "I just had a doozy of a nightmare." She then chuckled, but it was a badly contrived effort. "Musta been that pepperoni and double anchovy pizza I had for dinner. I'm okay now."
Luna hopped back onto the bed and padded up to Serena. Wearing a suspicious expression, Luna knew Serena well enough to see she wasn't telling the truth. "Your nightmare. What was it about?"
Serena frowned. "I don't wanna talk about it, Luna."
"This has been going on for several nights now. It might help if you were to discuss it...."
"Are you deaf? I said I no!" Serena snapped. She then plopped her head back down on the pillow, her back to Luna. "Leave me alone. Please."
Luna's heart went out to Serena as she knew what was troubling her pupil. The very thing the Moon Kingdom familiar dreaded ever since restoring Serena's memory. The past.
That was no dream. That really happened. Just like Queen Serenity----my real mother----using the full power of the Silver Crystal to destroy Beryl killed me, thought Serena. But the Crystal also gave us another chance. Did it obey my dying wish and raised my friends and I from the dead? Is that possible? Dear Lord. Just what sort of power do I possess?
As it turned out, Serena wasn't the only person who had trouble sleeping that night.
Several miles away, Amy tossed and turned in her bed, her dreams assailed by horrific memories of freezing cold, endless pain, followed by the sweet release of death. Then came a brief return to the world Amy knew, but not as a mortal, rather as a spirit for one last battle at the side of her friends. Then came a blinding ball of silver light that seared her retinas as it claimed her, absorbed her, took her away.
With a loud gasp, Amy shot up from bed, barely stifling the scream of terror threatening to erupt from her throat. Frantically, her hands trembling, Amy turned on the lamp on her nearby night stand and looked around her, desperate to see the familiar, though dull and sterile surroundings of her bedroom. Only then did Amy allow herself to relax. Once she did, she became annoyed with herself for acting so irrationally.
"Just like a child," she muttered. Running a slightly shaking hand through her bright blue hair, Amy turned to look at her clock, the digital display read 3:55 AM. That only served to irritate Amy more since she placed a high priority on getting a good night's sleep to maintain proper physical and mental health. "Since when do I have nightmares? My mind's much too ordered for that sort of subconscious distraction."
For several minutes, Amy sat in bed and attempted to analyze the dream she had, but found the results she came up with highly disturbing. Amy, a child of science, technology and cold, calculating logic refused to accept the validity of the events at the North Pole. To do so, she reasoned, would mean accepting that the impossible had happened to her and her friends. And Amy was afraid to consider that.
I was killed. Murdered. That much is certain. The pain I felt at the moment of my death was all too real. Damn you, Luna! Damn you for making me remember that! Yet, we were all brought back, given a third chance at life....by Serena? How was she able to do that? What power enabled her to return us from the dead?
Pushing aside those unanswerable questions, Amy threw back the covers and got out of bed. Amy knew she would get no more sleep tonight. Nor was she about to try since she awakened at five every morning as a rule, so any attempt to fall back asleep would be a waste of time, and if there was one thing that Amy hated with a passion was wasting time.
Throwing a thick, terrycloth robe on over her pajamas, Amy padded into the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of orange juice from the refrigerator, careful not to wake her mother. Back in her bedroom, Amy booted up her brand new Apple G4 Powermac computer and went online. Amy made it a point every day to check for items of interest that might have anything to do with the Sailors' mission to protect the Earth.
Some days, it was like wading through a bottomless pool of filth, reading about the horrors and catastrophes that plague the world on an almost daily basis. Some of the horrors were acts of God, others the acts of fate, while the majority were clearly the acts of man. Those sickened and angered Amy most, leaving her in those extremely rare moments when all-too human cynicism crept in as she wondered why she and the others bothered spilling their blood and risking their lives to protect a people seemingly hellbent on self-destruction.
The real pain that always tore at Amy's heart was the terrible realization that the Scouts, in spite of their powers can't be everywhere and save everyone. Amy lost track of how many times she burst into tears after reading stories of death and destruction. It was hard enough just to maintain their base of operations here in Tokyo, a focal point for the extraterrestrial madness she and her friends faced and fought countless times. Then Amy considered the alternative which the Scouts defeated six months ago, and that fully restored the faith she had in her mission.
"Six months. Literally a lifetime ago," she whispered, thinking about the dream she just had, and, although she didn't want to, about her death. That made Amy shiver, despite the warm robe she was wrapped in. Forcing herself to stop dwelling about the past, Amy logged onto her favorite online news resource, CNN.com to see what was new. Scrolling down a page with her trackball, Amy stopped on one particular item that caught her attention. That made the chill return.
Amy's lips moved silently as she read the item while her eyes widened from a growing horror. She then read the story a second time, then a third, and with each subsequent reading, Amy became more and more frightened. So much so, that she terminated her modem connection and shut down her machine. Numb from shock, Amy hugged herself, her body shook uncontrollably, her mind assaulted by unimaginable terrors.
"My God. Oh, my God," she whispered, every bit a scared little girl instead of a teenaged genius. "Someone's found it."
From a very young age, Paul Thoreau was taught by his parents, both brilliant scientists that fear was a terribly crippling emotion. An emotion that clouded judgement, led to grossly irrational acts and elicited the worst traits possible in the human animal. Fear, Paul was told, over and over should never be allowed to rule one's life.
That being said, Dr. Paul Thoreau was absolutely terrified.
His every waking moment was spent in the unshakable grip of terrible, unending pain, pain so great, it threatened to drive him out of his mind. Thoreau attempted to take his mind off his anguish by thinking back to the circumstances that brought him to the sorry state he was currently in. He could remember being on the icy ground of the North Pole, arguing with Grace about his wanting to stay and continue searching for clues regarding 'the event' while she and the others wanted to leave.
In the midst of his argument with the woman he loved, Thoreau felt a sudden pressure, similar to being in a vacuum. That's when he and Grace saw the spaceship. Thoreau was clearly in awe of the thing hovering above him. Even though he was only a geologist, Thoreau was still, first and foremost, a scientist, and the chance to meet beings from another world was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Then, he saw the globe descend from the craft....and all hell erupted.
And the pain began. The pain that never stopped.
Thoreau slowly opened his eyes and was shocked at the sight that greeted them. Everything around him was cold, shiny, silvery metal, everywhere he looked, machines of unearthly origin hummed, whirred, blinked and flashed. He tried to move his body so he could see more but couldn't, in fact, he couldn't feel his body at all. Even moving his head up or down or side to side was impossible, thus adding to his terror.
I can see, I can hear. Can I talk, he wondered.
"Hello? Where am I? Is anybody here?" Instantly, Thoreau failed to recognize his own voice. There was no tone, modulation or reflection whatsoever in his words. It reminded him of the voice recognition software on his computer back home, unfeeling, robotic, inhuman.
However, Thoreau did get a response. From behind him, he could hear the sharp click-clack of a woman's high heels echoing on what sounded like a metal floor. There was no urgency in the slow cadence of the footsteps, almost as if the person was in no hurry to join him.
An instant later, someone casually stepped in front of Thoreau and looked at him. Or rather, looked through him. It was a pale skinned but strikingly attractive young woman with long, wavy, dark red hair and equally dark eyes. Dressed in a steel gray outfit that reminded Thoreau of a military uniform, the woman's rosy pink lips twisted into a malicious smile. He saw no warmth in the woman's eyes which were cold, cruel and filled with menace. Thoreau tried to shut his eyes to avoid looking at the woman, but found he couldn't.
"Good. You're awake. How do you feel?" the woman asked.
"I....hurt," said Thoreau in his robotic voice.
The woman's evil smile grew wider. "Excellent. I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that. Pain is a perfect natural warning system, do you not agree? It serves one purpose and one purpose only, to alert the mind that the body is in distress. Without pain, we would never know when we are in danger of serious injury, or even death. Of course, since you're a scientist, you already know that, don't you, Dr. Thoreau?"
Thoreau was puzzled. "How....do you know....who I am?"
The woman chuckled. To Thoreau, it sounded evil. "I have my ways. By keeping you in constant pain, I can monitor your brain's activity a great deal easier than when it's dormant. I live for inducing pain in others. It stimulates me, excites me on levels unheard of by you humans. And the agony you're enduring is all part of a project you will soon be involved in. Now, I'm sure you've wondered why you've been unable to move your body since you awakened. You're concerned that you've been paralyzed, or worse. Allow me to reassure you that it's most definitely worse."
The woman strolled over to a nearby panel and flicked a switch. Thoreau then felt himself slowly turning around, like being on a turntable. After making a 180 degree turn, Thoreau faced a floor to ceiling mirror and his eyes widened as he saw the true horror of his situation.
His body was gone. All that remained was his head, encased in a thick glass globe which sat atop a tall, cylinder-like like machine with winking lights and cables running from his temples into the device. What terrified Thoreau most was the realization that he was still alive, despite not having a body. And he was still in pain. He screamed.
Leaning against the panel, the woman seductively licked her lips, looking like she was in an orgasmic rapture from the robotic shrieking. "Mmmm, yes. Yes! That sounds so-ooooooo wonderful."
The stranger couldn't for the life of him remember the last time he had eaten so well. In fact, he couldn't remember a time when he ever ate. That bothered him, but he didn't let it show on his face.
Seated at the Kimura's oak dining table, the stranger, his head still in a bandage but feeling markedly better, and stronger than he did three days ago devoured Miko's cooking with delight. It was a very pleasurable experience for him. After having spent so much time in bed recovering from his injuries, it felt good to be up and about, and enjoying the simple joys of good food with a gracious host.
"You must have been very hungry. That's your third helping of roast beef," said Miko, watching the stranger, garbed in her husband's old clothes intently. She found the strong, bearded face captivating.
"To tell you the truth, Miko, I'm a bit surprised myself," said the stranger. "I can't recall the last time my appetite was so keen. It's like I've never dined at all. And I must say your cooking is magnificent."
"Yeah! Mom's the best!" Toshi chimed in proudly. Shigeiru, seated at the far end, merely nodded, glancing suspiciously at the stranger.
Miko beamed. She loved being complemented on her cooking "Thank you both. I aim to please."
"Can I help you clear the table?" the stranger asked. "After having been fed so well, I'd like to offer my services in the kitchen."
"That won't be necessary. That's what I have Toshi for," Miko replied with a kindly smile. "Why don't you return to your room and rest. Your memory still hasn't returned as you don't know your name."
The stranger returned Miko's smile. "Anything you say, doctor."
As he and Shigeiru rose from the table, their eyes met. The stranger saw intense, burning mistrust in the old man's eyes, a mistrust that bordered on hatred. The stranger felt himself growing annoyed, for the old man had shown him nothing but contempt and animosity ever since he woke up. Why, he had no idea, but he decided he didn't like it.
Those feelings of anger prompted new flashes of hidden memories from deep within his mind. Memories of when the stranger was a man of considerable importance, a man of great power who was feared by all, and that the slightest insubordination towards him was punishable by death. That stunned the stranger, shocked by such recollections.
Snapped back to reality, the stranger saw that Shigeiru's frosty disposition hadn't changed. For a moment, the stranger was angry enough to demand an answer for the elder's sour attitude, but decided not to. For a guest, especially an amnesic one to antagonize the host's father, even if he is a cranky old bastard would be bad form, he thought.
"If you'll excuse me," said the stranger, giving Shigeiru a small bow.
Shigeiru returned the gesture without speaking, but the expression he wore clearly said he didn't enjoy it.
Screw you too, you old fart, thought the stranger.
Upon returning to his room, the stranger closed the door and collapsed on the bed, suddenly feeling very tired. He found his newest bursts of memories to be highly disturbing, almost vile in nature. Yet, at the same time, he thought them to be extremely intriguing.
Even....enjoyable. That made him smile. And his smile was devilish.
"What do you mean someone's found the place where we fought Beryl's creatures?" Raye demanded hotly. She felt a sliver of fear creep up and down her spine and hated the feeling. The girls, at Amy's urgent insistence, gathered at the Cherry Hill Temple where she told them of the news item she read over the Internet earlier that morning. To say the least, her report was not well received by the others.
"Just what I said, Raye," Amy replied curtly. "A group of American and Canadian scientists, twenty-five people in all vanished without a trace while doing some sort of research up at the North Pole. The coordinates of the team's campsite coincide with the exact location of our battle with Beryl's harpies. The place where we...."
"Don't say it!" Mina roared. Her eyes blazing from anger, Mina shot up and loomed menacingly over a seated Amy who shrank from the raw fury on the face of the normally cheery blonde. For a moment, Amy feared Mina, her fists balled was going to strike her. "Don't....you....dare....say it!"
"C'mon, babe. Chill out," said Lita in a soft voice, gently, but firmly pulling Mina away.
Luna and Artemis, observing the scene were worried. The mere mention of the North Pole left the girls dangerously on edge, as evident by Mina's outburst which was more in character for Raye or Lita. Meanwhile, Serena sat by herself, her back to the others, a haunted, far away look in her eyes. If the familiars had any doubts about the girls reacting poorly to the restored memories of their recent deaths, they were erased.
"What the hell were those people doing up there anyway?" Lita wanted to know.
"There was no official explanation given. But I have a theory," said Amy. "Serena and Queen Beryl unleashed a tremendous amount of energy during their battle. My guess is those energies triggered a massive earthquake. The research team came from the University of Toronto, so it's possible that scientists there registered the quake, then went up to the Pole to investigate."
"And the Americans?" Artemis asked.
"The research team was supplied weekly by an U.S. Air Force base in Anchorage. Perhaps the Americans wanted in on the investigation. When the scientists failed to check in, a rescue team was dispatched. After arriving at the camp, they found it deserted."
"People just don't vanish into thin air," said a frowning Luna. "Something had to have happened to them. We must find out what."
"How do we do that?" Mina asked.
Luna stared hard at the girls. "We go to the Pole and investigate."
"In your dreams, furball!" Lita snarled. "Thanks to you, I haven't had a decent night's sleep since I got my memories back! I'll be damned if I'm going back up there!"
"I'll second that!" added Raye. "I've been having nightmares about that day too! Wild horses couldn't drag me back to the Pole after what happened to us six months ago! Count me out!"
"I'm afraid I must concur. I'm not sure I could handle it," Amy said meekly. She then turned to Serena. "What do you think, Serena?"
Serena, barely paying attention to the conversation sighed, then turned to face her friends. "We should go."
The girls and the familiars were shocked, everyone thinking that Serena, with her frequent bouts of rampant cowardice would be the last person eager to return to the site of her death.
"You're kidding! Right?" a stunned Lita asked.
Serena shook her head. "No, Lita. I'm not. Chances are this is some sort of trouble. Maybe some creep from the Negaverse got away from us or something. We have to check this out."
"In spite of what we went through?" asked a disbelieving Mina.
"Yeah. Look, guys, I don't like the idea of going back there any more than you, but we have to go. It's our job," Serena argued. "I know we'll be revisiting our worst nightmare, but we need to face our fears or we'll be permanently spooked. It's kinda like getting back on the horse that threw you, if you know what I mean."
"Serena, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say. And you're absolutely right," said Raye. She turned to the others. "Gang, you heard the boss, we've got work to do! Let's stop whining about the past and get our butts in gear!"
As Luna and Artemis looked on, they saw a dramatic change come over the girls. It happened slowly at first, but they could see the fire ignited in their eyes as they drew strength and courage from one another to combat the fears they all harbored deep inside them. It meant they were ready to go into action. To the familiars, it was a welcome sight to behold.
"Okay, guys! Time to put on our working clothes!" said Serena, standing straight and tall. "MOON PRISM POWER!"
After shouting her morphing phrase, Serena's body was enveloped in brilliant, silvery light as the otherworldly power she possessed magically altered her clothes into the uniform of Sailor Moon, leader of the Sailor Scouts, the Champion of Justice.
"MERCURY POWER!" Amy's body flowed and shimmered like an ocean's waves and, an instant later stood Sailor Mercury, the Scout of Water.
"MARS POWER!" Red hot flames erupted and lovingly embraced Raye from head to toe, changing her into Sailor Mars, the Scout of Fire.
"JUPITER POWER!" A scorching bolt of lightning accompanied Lita's dramatic transformation into Sailor Jupiter, the Scout of Thunder.
"VENUS POWER!" The sparkling lights of the stars themselves boldly heralded the arrival of Sailor Venus, the Scout of Love.
Once the transformations were complete, the Scouts stood in a circle and held hands in preparation to utilize their teleportation power while Luna and Artemis padded into the center for the journey.
"Too bad long underwear doesn't come with these suits," Moon grumbled. "I hate the cold."
The frozen, barren landscape of the North Pole, cold, foreboding and silent, save for the fierce, howling winds was no longer devoid of life as a dazzling moonbeam shot down from the heavens and seven forms materialized onto the icy surface. The powerful winds whipped unmercifully at the short skirts of the Sailors and the fur of the familiars as they looked around them. Apprehension present in their eyes, neither of the girls dared speak, each alone with their thoughts.
Yet, they all shared the same thought, one that hammered viciously, relentlessly in their minds, skewering their hearts with psychic agony while haunting and poisoning their very souls:
I died here.
Their heels crunching on the permafrost as they wandered around the abandoned camp, the Scouts' memories of the battle here six months ago were so incredibly strong and vivid, they could swear it happened only yesterday. They could actually hear the sounds of the fight with Beryl's creatures, and their screams of great pain as they were ruthlessly killed by the enemy. Fear, stemming from those memories was already eating away at the Scouts, ripping away at their sanity. The terrible dread they all felt was like a living thing, monstrous, hungry, growing stronger, ruthlessly seeking to devour them. Suddenly, the idea of coming here wasn't such a good one.
"Sailor Mercury. We'll need a scan of the area," Luna said softly. "Perhaps your visor can pick up something the rescue team missed."
Mercury, tears seeping from her eyes, only to freeze on her cheeks nodded and touched the stud in her right earlobe. Anything to take her mind off the horrors she was experiencing. Once her VR visor materialized, she looked about her at the landscape, then at the camp several hundred yards in the distance. Suddenly, Mercury's attention sharpened as she detected something in the air that stunned and surprised her.
"Wait a second. I'm picking up something alright. Minute, but evident nonetheless. Something I never expected to find. Neutron radiation."
"What on Earth is that?" Mars inquired.
"A technological nightmare," Mercury replied. "Picture if you will a weapon so incredibly powerful, it can wipe out the population of a city the size of Yokohama in the wink of an eye. But do so without dangerous electromagnetic pulses and minimal contamination of the air, soil and water while leaving both natural and man-made structures almost completely intact. That's what a neutron bomb can do."
"Good God! You think some maniac set one off here?" Jupiter asked.
"It certainly looks that way. Most of the world's superpowers have the technology to construct such a weapon. The Americans have it, so do the Russians, not to mention Great Britain, France, China and Israel. I don't even want to consider the frightening possibility of some terrorist group having gotten their hands on one. But that still leaves a nagging problem."
"What problem?" a confused Moon asked.
"The bodies. Or rather, the glaring lack of same. While a neutron burst kills, it doesn't cause organic matter to vanish. Unless the bodies were covertly removed as part of a nation's monstrous cover-up of an illegal bomb test, that leaves a third party responsible for this tragedy. One we're all too familiar with."
"The Negaverse," growled Venus. She then turned to face Moon. "Looks like you were right, Serena. Though I really wish you weren't."
"My feelings exactly. Scouts, it appears we're up against yet another adversary from Beryl's realm," said a grim faced Luna. "The fact that this new enemy came here was no coincidence. And considering the destructive weapon this foe possesses, we must be very careful."
"Well, how about we be careful back home?" Moon suggested, her quotient for courage exhausted while shivering from the cold. "Let's get the heck out of here!"
"I'm all for that, sister!" Jupiter rumbled. "If I have to spend one more minute in this miserable hole, I'm gonna throw a screaming fit!"
Artemis nodded. "Yes, it's time we return. There's no telling what might be happening back in Tokyo."
"Hopefully it'll be something we can handle," said Mercury.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, little blue mouse, but you can't," said a venom filled female voice that came from nowhere, yet everywhere. The Scouts frantically looked around them for the source but found nothing. Suddenly they felt a tremendous pressure squeezing their bodies, like they were in a powerful vacuum. Then, a great metallic shape appeared out of thin air, hovering only a hundred yards above the heads of the shocked and disbelieving Sailors.
"Holy shit!" whispered Jupiter.
An instant later, the dark haired woman materialized some twenty feet in front of the heroes. She smirked as the Scouts took defensive positions, instantly recognizing the steel gray uniform she wore as being that of an agent from the Negaverse.
"Who are you? And are you responsible for what happened here?" Luna demanded.
"I am." Still smirking, the woman clicked her heels and bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dharsite, late of the court of the all-powerful Queen Beryl. I've come a very long way to meet you, my pretty Sailor soldiers. It's a genuine shame to have to destroy such stunning beauty, but I'm on a mission to avenge the death of my monarch by killing you. And no force in the universe is going to stop me."
"Yeah? You and who's army?" a cocky Moon wanted to know.
With a cruel, wicked smile, Dharsite casually removed a small, box like object from the pocket of her trousers and pressed a button on it. Seconds later, ten huge, gleaming, robotic forms, nearly eight feet tall with large bulbous heads sporting smoked glass faceplates, torsos wider than tree trunks and thick, powerful looking arms and legs materialized behind her. Moon gulped, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"This army," Dharsite replied cooly.
Next: Combat On Ice