Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Saber Marionette Fan Fiction ❯ Terrible Things to Waste ❯ The Friend and the Foe ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Bastion

The battle versus the Travellers rages on but just when the Sailor Scouts have the enemy on the run, tragedy strikes forcing Sailor Moon to question who they are fighting for or against.

FFML ver Rev 06/07

Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Saber Marionette Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.29.2007 | Updated On: 07.02.2007 | Pages: 22 | Words: 20.8K | Visits: 471 | Status: Completed

Hey I'm back and none too soon. I apologize for taking so long, so to make up for the drought I wrote and extra long chapter to keep you satisfied until I write the next one. So I better not hear any complaints! ;p

In addition to that any and all reviews are welcomed. I'd be lying if I said that comments don't motivate me to write faster. I know it takes me forever to write a chapter, but life just seems to keep getting more and more in the way.

Anyway, I dedicate this part to two people. First dedication goes to SplendentGoddess over at mm.org for helping me to change my writing style. Second dedication is to future-wife for allowing me to ignore her in favor of finishing this chapter. If you're reading this baby, I still love you... even though I kinda forgot your name...

Heh. Enjoy.

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Terrible Things to Waste

Part 6: The Friend and the Foe

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Sometimes being the Time Guardian had its benefits.

`However, this would not be one of those times.' Pluto thought as her world came in and out of a blurry haze and slowly rotated around her.

She tightened her grip on her staff in an effort to steady her wobbly legs. The cold, brisk wind whipped around her tall frame as the last roll of thunder roared overhead. Little droplets of rain swirled in the air making her skin tingle, the first sensation she had felt in the last few minutes.

`I see bringing all of the girls here took more out of me than I had anticipated.' She thought, struggling to keep her vision focused.

In the last dying flashes of lightning, she could see the wrecked cavernous hole that used to be the roof's stairwell in the darkness. The water on the rooftop sloshed and churned as the other Sailor Scouts put themselves in position around the rubble of the stairwell, waiting for the fallen Timelord to emerge.

It appeared her gamble paid off. She had severely weakened herself, but they had easily defeated the Timelord, but it paid off. Though risky, her every action had been calculated and deliberate. If her tenure as the guardian of the Time Gate had taught her anything, it had been that those who advertised little of their advantages (or the closer one held their cards to their vest, as the saying went), the better the chances of victory. Thus when she sent Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars ahead to engage the Timelord, it gave Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and herself the element of surprise to win.

`And the sooner we win, the sooner that Traveller, Cindy, will leave our timeline.' Pluto determined.

It had been cunning the way Cindy had manipulated Queen Serenity into permitting her to take refuge here and take on the enemies who pursued her. Even despite her stern warnings, her Queen would not relent and though she knew there would come a day when her Queen would not heed her advice, her timing couldn't have been any worse. Sometimes her Queen's compassion could be more of a detriment than a benefit. Though that mattered little now, she mused.

Deciding she had recovered enough, Pluto attempted to move and was immediately assaulted by electric shocks like needles that wove up and down her legs.

“Are you okay, Sailor Pluto?” A soft voice asked.

“I'm fine, Saturn.” Pluto replied before, with a great deal of effort, she straightened her back with help from her staff. “Don't concern yourself with me. We have an enemy to defeat.”

The petite girl kept her solemn expression and watched the taller woman struggle with each step until they caught up to the others.

“Looks like you got em' pretty good, Uranus.” Sailor Jupiter whispered.

Sailor Uranus only nodded in reply.

“We didn't kill him, did we?”

“Don't worry yourself about whether or not he's dead, Serena.” Sailor Mars hissed. “Worry about whether he'll try to flay you again.”

“Are you getting any readings from your scanner, Mercury?” Tuxedo Mask asked before Serena could open her mouth.

Amy switched off her visor and closed her compact. “I can't find anything Darien. The Timelord is not showing up on the scanners and the only thing I can find is a pile of concrete and metal at the bottom of the stairwell. I can't find anything that would match a Traveller's vital signs.”

“Sooo,” Jupiter drew out, “we won?”

“Yes, it would appear so. He must have left our dimension when Uranus' attack threw him through the door. Or he disintegrated.”

“Woot! One down, one to go!”

With that, Pluto could feel her muscles begin to slip and become rubbery. She looked up and noticed Sailor Uranus and Neptune relaxing their stance slightly.

`Good,' she thought, relieved, `the gamble paid off.'

Rarely, if ever, did she allow herself a moment to relax, but she reasoned since they had eliminated the henchman all that was left was to flush out his boss. And she finally had time on her side.

“I suppose that takes care of Halebit.” Serena sighed.

“What?” Jupiter asked stopping in mid-celebration. “That wasn't Malance?”

“No, that was the guy who kidnapped Greg.” Serena answered.

Pluto immediately tightened her grip and narrowed her eyes as a low rumbled rolled overhead. `Perhaps I took for granted just how cunning Cindy is.'

She quickly realized in her haste to eliminate the person who attacked her Queen, she never bothered to get a good look at the perpetrator. When her Queen had sent a distress call requesting their help to fight Malance, she'd only assumed that whoever they fought would have been him. She never considered that they would fight anyone else.

`Could there be three Travellers here?' Pluto pondered, trying to ignore the rumble in the clouds roaring louder.

“What's that sound?” Neptune asked, her ears piqued.

Jupiter shrugged. “A plane?”

“No.” Mars murmured, the sudden realization dawning on her. “That's Malance!”

All of Pluto's muscles tightened and her jaw tensed. `Well played, Traveller.'

The girls rushed to action, searching the dark, cloudy sky and the forest of buildings surrounding them. Mercury quickly reactivated her compact computer, immediately reading a blip on her screen.

“He's heading this way.”

“Where.” Mars commanded.

“11 o'clock.” Mercury motioned behind Pluto.

Mars cracked her knuckles and growled. “He's mine.”

Flames began to radiate and lick at Mars' fingers.

`Very foolish of him to announce his presence to us.' Pluto observed an iridescent blue flame weave around several buildings, coming directly at them. `He's given us time to regroup. He must have something up his sleeve.'

“Be careful, Raye.” Mercury apparently had made the same observation.

Mars turned slightly, the burning intensity of her eyes nearly matching the fire enveloping her hands. “Don't worry. We've faced this guy once and I don't intend to again.”

Tails of flames followed the path of the priestess' hands as she motioned them around her body invoking her attack.

"Celestial Fire Surround!"

At her command, several large fiery discs hurled themselves at Malance. The blue machine, though, made no move to dodge the burning projectiles. One after another, each disc bore down on Malance and each time the flames scattered and flowed around his sleek shape.

“Damn it all.” Mars spat.

All of the girls jumped back as several cannon volleys rained down on them. Water exploded with each impact, soaking everyone. Pluto tried to get a read on the armored Traveller between squinted eyes, but the heavy mist made it impossible.

The roar of Malance's engine rang in her ears. Turning about, Pluto watched the metallic monstrosity land heavily upon the roof, chasing away the last remnants of mist.

Pluto had to agree with Mars' original assessment of this Traveller; he looked straight out of science fiction. Smooth plates of armor clung to his lean muscles as pitch black cloth oozed between each metal piece, stretching around his lanky frame. The reflective surface looked like a slimy film had been draped over the armor. Malance appeared to be more of a grotesque swamp creature than a deadly machine.

She eyed the silvery, lithe talons adorning his hands as well as the sharp blades protruding from his elbows and knees like stingers. Close combat would be tricky and the shield rendered any long range attacks useless. Then there was that cannon he had hidden somewhere on his person.

`We certainly have our work cut out for us.'

“I must thank you.” Malance's deep synthesized voice emanated from underneath the cracked visor. “If you had not attacked me yesterday I wouldn't have been able to calibrate my shields.”

Malance rapped the metallic tips of his claws against each other as he purposefully moved forward, mechanized gears wheezing with each heavy footstep. The Time Guardian could hear some of the girls cursing under their breath while the distinct chaotic rhythm of ticking caught her attention. Pluto quickly realized the sound had been Mercury's nimble fingers frantically dancing across the keyboard.

`She must be analyzing the data she scanned of this infernal machine.'

Taking a step back, Pluto's mind raced through different strategies until Mercury's voice drifted over to her and the others.

“His shield is being powered by a battery on his back.”

Malance only chuckled. “Very good observation, girl, but it won't help you any if you can't get past my barrier.”

Again, the machine took a heavy step forward, forcing them to respond in kind. Steadying her nerves, Pluto glanced around at her anxious compatriots poised and waiting to attack. It seemed that everything came down to her once again. Keeping her head straight, she allowed her sight to wander until they came to Saturn, just out of the corner of her eye clutching her glaive, and pieces of ideas crystallized into a plan.

Immediately, the small girl caught Pluto's sideways glance and widened her eyes in understanding, easing away from the group. Good, now she just needed one more element.

A rose whizzed toward Malance, skidding harmlessly across the surface of the shield.

Malance twisted toward Darien and chuckled. “I admire your bravery, my fellow soldier, but it's wasted on defending your useless harem of harlots.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY USELESS!?” Mars bellowed.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY HAREM!?” Serena exclaimed.

`That will do.' Pluto nodded toward Saturn while successfully subduing a smirk. After all, she did have an image to maintain.

“None of that matters.” Malance raised his arm, revealing the small cannon hidden in the armor of his forearm. “Now I have you at my merc-urk!”

Malance's body convulsed as the blade of Saturn's glaive bore into his back. Immediately, a clawed hand swiped the glaive from the girl's hands, knocking her down and leaving a particularly nasty looking gash on her arm. Without a moment's hesitation, Pluto swung her staff around to attack, only, to her surprise, to be leapt over by a scimitar wielding Uranus.

With great speed and agility, the blonde woman whipped her lithe sword around and sliced into Malance's side. The armored Traveller howled in pain, swinging back, successfully striking the blonde with the back of his talons. Uranus had barely registered the blood oozing from her cheek before Malance leveled his canon at the woman.

“No!”

In a flash, Neptune appeared beside Pluto, gathering a large sphere of water above her raised arms.

“DEEP SUBMERGE!”

Deciding she had wasted enough time, Pluto raised her staff. “Dead Scream.”

The screaming ball of water and swirling sand plowed into Malance, sending the mechanical monstrosity tumbling backwards. A smirk threatened to break the surface of her stern façade. Another gamble paid off. Saturn had effectively disabled the Traveller's shield and now the Traveller's defeat was nigh.

`Nice try, Cindy, but I'll never allow you to defeat me in this chess match.'

“I'm sure you have your reasons, Pluto.” Neptune whispered harshly. “But I trust you will not have to do something this foolish again.”

The bite in Neptune's voice cut deeply. Guilt was an emotion she felt all too frequently over her life, but she knew that came with the territory of being a Time Guardian. She was never at liberty to divulge much of what she knew or she'd risk disturbing the royal bloodline of Serenity and she was not going to allow that to happen no matter what the consequences.

`Small Lady.' Images of the small pink-haired child fluttered through her head.

She shoved the prickly feeling of guilt aside and focused. Right now, duty took highest priority. Keeping her expression blank, Pluto fixed her sights on the Traveller returning to his feet.

Without a word, she rushed at the meddlesome Traveller. `There will be time for apologies later.'

As she prepared to launch another attack, Pluto froze in place.

"Thunder …" Her heart leapt into her throat when Jupiter's voice boomed behind her.

“Wait!” Pluto immediately spun around. `Damn it, she's too far away!'

"Clap ...” Bolts of electricity had already begun to crackle around Jupiter's body.

"The water!" Her mind raced, clawing desperately for ways to prevent the inevitable.

"Zap!!"

Time seemed to stand still. A shiver ran up Pluto's spine as the glowing bolt of electricity slowly made its erratic charge towards the Traveller. She knew she had the power to stop time itself, but the penalty for doing so was steep. However, none of this was her doing, no.

A strange feeling pooled in the pit of her stomach as the cackling ball of energy slammed into the metal armor. She didn't quite know how to describe it. In fact, she didn't want to describe it.

The electric charge spread like a painful net through the standing water and coursed through her body. Every nerve erupted all the way down to her fingertips, and bursts of bright colors clouded her vision. She became faintly aware of the screams from the others as the tingling sensation faded, only to be replaced by a deathly numbness.

As her body crumpled to the wet gravel, despair washed over her watching the armored Traveller casually shake off the effects of the shock. Darkness began to overtake her and she couldn't find the strength to even speak.

`I've failed you, Queen Serenity.' Pluto thought.

The fuzzy edges of blackness crept further upon her vision while she watched her weakened Queen standing alone against the mechanical monstrosity. Now she couldn't deny this feeling that filled her insides, and its name couldn't be ignored any longer when her eyes came upon her terrified Queen.

Uselessness.

----------------------------

Thankfully, it had stopped raining by the time Ken had gotten off the train, since, in his rush, he had forgotten to bring along an umbrella. Heck, not even rain could dampen his high spirits.

“I'm gonna see my lovely Lita!” Just uttering her name made his heart soar as he came upon the large red torii of the Cherry Hill Temple.

The lights of the city reflected off the wet, glossy red surface on the heavy wooden pillars, and in the darkness they almost looked like they glowed with an angry aura of crimson. Something about temples and churches always gave him the willies, but he could tolerate it if only to see Lita again.

Ken's cheeks grew warm as he entered the temple grounds and began the arduous climb up the concrete steps. Ah yes, Lita. They had known each other since their childhood and had been there for each other through thick and thin. She had been there to defend him against bullies who picked on the `scrawny art boy', and he had been her shoulder to cry on after her first boyfriend broke her heart.

He didn't know when their friendship turned into something more. Maybe it was when the Sailor Scouts rescued him from a monster attack a few years ago. Lita had just transferred schools at the time and once she found out he'd been attacked, she became much more protective of him than she ever did in the past. When they eventually ended up attending the same high school together they became much closer.

The bare, wiry limbs of the cherry blossom trees swayed in the stiff cold breeze as Ken jumped up a few more slippery steps and continued thinking. Perhaps maybe it was those friends Lita made in junior high that brought about that change in her. Before, Lita always seemed to isolate herself, and rather preferring to absorb herself in cooking or martial arts. Heck she even kept Ken at arm's length at times, which he found frustrating at times. She would keep getting into fights and got expelled at least three times before she finally met those girls and calmed down.

Yes, it was definitely the girls, Ken determined. It was because of her friends that allowed love to blossom between the two of them, and he thanked them for bring her out of her shell. It was great how Lita was so open with him, holding nothing back, and sharing everything with him. He knew her favorite color, her favorite foods, her favorite music, as well as her deepest fears and dreams of the future. She even confided in him of her shame in being so tall and unladylike, a sentiment which he hardly agreed with. In fact, Ken felt there was hardly a thing about Lita he didn't know.

As he reached the top step, Ken turned around and looked out toward the city. The temple had been at just high enough to peer over the compact apartment buildings across the street, giving him a breathtaking view of a shimmering downtown Tokyo.

“Too bad I didn't bring along my sketchpad and pencils.” He announced to the darkness. “I'm really in the mood to do some drawings. Ah, what am I saying? I'm putting drawing before Lita, what's wrong with me?”

Urgently, the blond boy closed the gap between himself and Raye's house while a weird chilling sensation was rankling his nerves.

Ken shivered as he gingerly knocked on the heavy wood door. `Man, why do temples have that affect on me?'

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the door slowly opened to reveal a young man in red and white priest robes.

“Hello.” The young man wiped his sweaty forehead, clearing his unkempt brown hair away from his face. “You're looking for Lita, I take it. Ken, right?”

“Yep.” Ken politely bowed, ignoring the pungent aroma radiating from the young man before rising again. “And you're Raye's boyfriend, Chad, I think. Ah, well, I'm sorry but I'm horrible with names, so I'm sorry if I guessed wrong.”

“Ah, yeah that's my name.” A rose color highlighted the young man's features, or at least from what Ken could see through his thick mop of hair. “But, uh, as far as being Raye's boyfriend, well, I guess you could say that. Um, just don't tell her, okay?”

“Uh, okay.” The blond boy breathed out, deciding it best to just let the issue drop. On to better things! “Soooo. Where's Lita?”

“Oh, she's in Raye's room with the rest of her friends.”

"Chad, who was at the door?" An older voice ordered from a few rooms away. "We still haven't finished your training lesson."

Chad shouted back. "Okay Grandpa, I'm just talking to Lita's boyfriend."

Instantly, a short, bald man appeared, nearly making Ken jump out of his skin.

“Ahhh!”

"Ah, yourself. It's nice to meet a man who has captured the heart of a young lady. She probably asked you to come here, am I right, young man?"

Ken looked down at the older gentleman, also dressed in red and white priest robes. If Ken's memory served him correctly, the man was Raye's grandfather and head priest of the shrine. He'd only met the man a handful occasions when he visited Lita here and then only very briefly. During those visits the old priest seemed rather spunky, like Raye, and quite youthful despite his old age, which was something Ken found endearing. However, now, a leering grin had begun to form on the priest's mouth and something about the mischievous twinkle in the old man's eyes filled the boy with dread. Resisting the urge to bolt towards Raye's room to hide, Ken barely found the words to reply.

"Uh, yeah."

Before Ken knew it, the old man had hopped up and hooked an arm around his shoulder. Dragging him down, Raye's grandfather smacked him heartily. "So tell me how you did it?”

Dazed, Ken could only blink. “Uh, did what?”

The old priest's face crumpled in mock surprise. “Why how you captured the heart of such a beautiful young woman with such bountiful `talents', of course!”

Ken's face went blank from shock as the priest wiggled his eyebrows and fingers. Unsure if he should be offended or embarrassed by the perverted old fool, Ken decided a good respectful reprimand was in order. True, the man was his elder, but this was too much for him to handle. He would defend his Lita's honor!

Yet, before Ken could launch into his little crusade, a loud pounding came from the door.

“Coming!” The old man announced, waving off Chad while pondering aloud. "I wonder who else those girls invited over."

---------------------

“Come on! You've got to let me in!”

“I'm sorry sir, but this restaurant has a strict dress code. I'm afraid I can't allow you entry in those rags.”

“I'm telling you, this is an emergency.”

“If you insist on continuing to be a nuisance, then you leave me with no other alternative but to call the police.”

“Good, you tell them my name is Greg and I've been kidnapped!”

“Pardon me-“

*BOOM!*

The whole floor shook as dust lazily floated towards them. In no time, patrons rushed past them; if it hadn't been for the podium the attendant had been standing behind, Greg guessed he probably would have been trampled by the panicked stampede.

“What was that!?” The attendant exclaimed, clinging to the podium for dear life.

Closing his eyes, Greg sighed. `It's a good thing he hadn't run into the Sailor Scouts yet. He'd be dead already.'

Under the blanket of confusion, the brown-haired boy easily slipped into the restaurant. Unfortunately, once inside, he felt more like a fish swimming against a strong current as the flood of people pushed by him. In the midst of all the chaos, Greg concentrated as best he could while searching for anything that might indicate where the loud sound had come from.

`Let's see, if I remember correctly, Tracer was several floors up in the apartment when Malance attacked us-`

“The building is collapsing!”

Greg gritted his teeth. `-and I saw him jump down to the roof of the restaurant when I got to the street.'

“We're being attacked!”

`It would be probably safe to assume that he probably took the fight up there, considering the noise.'

“We're all gonna die!”

`When the hell are these people going to shut up already!?' Greg spat mentally, while glaring at the mob of people that disappeared out the lobby.

Greg paused, realizing quickly that the restaurant was now largely deserted. With a moment to think rationally, Greg rubbed his temple.

“I believe Tracer is rubbing off on me.” He grumbled.

With the earlier screams fading with the mob, an eerie quiet quickly took its place. Greg had little time to enjoy the respite when another round of explosions shook the building. Whatever the heck was going on up there, it wasn't going to get much prettier, he figured.

Jumping into action, Greg ran towards the back of the restaurant, where the billowing dust cloud grew thicker. He blindly rushed around the abandoned kitchen, where the chalky dust mingled with the dark smoke of burning food. The heavy dust assaulted his lungs with every breath making his rushing all the more labored. In a fit of coughing, Greg soldiered on until he reached a heavy metal door marked `Stairwell.' With one hard tug, Greg wrenched the door open, allowing several small chunks of concrete to spill onto the kitchen floor.

Waving away the newly stirred dust away from his sights, Greg focused as best he could on the large pile of debris that nearly filled the bottom of the stairwell.

Before Greg could even begin to tear away the jagged pieces of stone and metal, a dazed dark-haired man burst from his concrete cocoon. An odd feeling of déjà vu hit Greg as once again he found himself staring down the barrel of Tracer's gun.

“We have to stop meeting like this.” The boy mumbled before speaking more forcibly. “Tracer?”

Greg hoped that Tracer would recognize his voice and not shoot him. He supposed the fact that the Traveller was now wiping his eyes free of the white dust rather than pulling the trigger was a good indication. However, Tracer still had his gun keyed on his face. Well, some progress was better than no progress.

“You stupid bastard, what the hell are you doing here?!” Tracer wheezed, spitting the dirt from his lips.

“I thought I could help you talk to Sailor Moon.” Greg replied as he watched Tracer pull himself from the rubble.

“I told ya kid, I can handle em'.” Tracer groused, pushing aside large pieces of concrete that trapped his legs.

Greg blinked. “So how did you end up down here?”

“Just a minor setback damn it!” Tracer rasped as he removed the last piece of concrete and stood up. “Damn it all.”

“Tracer, if you think this a minor setback, just wait till you run into-“ Greg's jaw hung on its hinges as he saw a large metal rod protruding from the middle of the Traveller's chest. “Oh my God! How can you be standing right now?”

“Huh.” Tracer snorted and then immediately grimaced. “That would explain why it was hard to breathe.”

Panic filled Greg as he tugged on Tracer's bloody arm. “We've got to get you to the hospital!”

Tracer's face soured and he shook his head, shaking loose a mini dust storm from the long locks of hair. “Bah, it's only a flesh wound.”

Greg blinked again. “A flesh wound? You've been impaled by a piece of metal!”

Nonchalantly, Tracer gripped the end of the rod and, with one clean jerk and grunt, pulled the gnarled piece of metal from his chest. Greg could see the thick viscous blood ooze from his wound; the silver streaks laced in the dark blood sparkled in the weak light coming from the open stairwell above. The sight made him feel slightly nauseated.

Tossing the rod at Greg's feet, Tracer jumped from the pile and hopped onto what Greg would loosely term as stairs, or what was left of them.

“Wait!” Tracer paused and Greg winced at the glare being directed back at him.

“What? I'm in a hurry!”

“Are you seriously going to fight Sailor Moon and *all* the Sailor Scouts?”

Tracer grabbed onto some twisted railing and shrugged. “So what's it to you?”

“Then you're going to need my help.”

Greg stood tall, knowing that Tracer was giving him a critical gaze. He knew he didn't need Tracer's approval to follow him, but it would make it easier to broker peace in a potentially volatile situation. Never mind potentially, he was all but certain it was going to be volatile.

With a smirk, Tracer hopped up a few more steps, causing the weakened girders to groan. “Whatever, it's your funeral.”

With a nod, Greg went about the careful task of climbing the crumbling steps, wondering if the Timelord, the stairs, his insistence on being a Good Samaritan, or Amy would kill him first.

-----------------------------

Tension filled the air. Cindy eyed her opponent with great care. She knew she was probably outclassed by her, but she never was one to completely lose hope. She wasn't sure how she found herself squaring off against the legendary princess of Crystal Tokyo, Reenie, in the middle of Raye's room, but she was determined not to lose. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Mina and both cats watching anxiously while Reenie pondered her next move. Cindy knew she had her work cut out for her; Reenie was proving to be a formidable foe.

Reenie stared over the top of her cards like a crocodile rising from the water. Finally she struck. "Do you have any threes?"

Panicked, Cindy searched her hand, and, after a thorough search, she smiled wickedly. "Go fish."

The pink-haired youth grudgingly picked up another card from the pile as Cindy mentally did a little celebratory dance. After getting badly beaten the first two tries, Cindy now had a good handle on this strange card game and was at long last winning. However, she cautioned herself, Reenie proved to be a very shrewd card player. She had never met anyone who had a better poker face than that child, though admittedly she always avoided playing poker during her days with the Society, since it would deteriorate into an impromptu game of strip poker. Sexist pigs, all of them were.

`With maybe the exception of Feterik, but sometimes even that hopeless romantic makes me wonder.' She thought ruefully.

Finally, the young girl sighed, lowering her cards. "I wish Puu would have let me come with them."

Instantly, Cindy could feel a chill vibrate down her spine, accompanied by a wave of guilt. How could she be so relaxed right now when the Sailor Scouts were possibly battling Malance, Halebit, or even that Timelord?

Cindy's head throbbed in irritation to the point it nearly blurred her vision. `They should have let me come with them. I don't know if I'd ever forgive myself if any of them came to harm, never mind what Pluto would do to me.'

Despite her thoughts, the blonde woman smiled, hoping that maybe calming the child would in turn calm herself. "Don't worry. She is only looking out for you. Anyway, I like the company."

“Yep, couldn't agree more.” Mina said, dangling upside down on Raye's bed, and casually resumed reading her manga. “It's always fun having you around. Besides, I get to play winner.”

Warmth returned to Cindy as she watched Reenie smile. Nothing like child-like innocence to soothe the soul, she noted, and sometimes she wished she could have those times back. But Mina's presence here was hard to ignore, and she found herself falling back into her depressing rut once more. It had hurt her deeply that Pluto still didn't trust her, she'd told her as much before she left. Mina's presence was just another reminder of the possible battle going on right at this moment. Ooo, it hit a raw nerve with her. What concerned her most had been Halebit and his plans. She just couldn't fathom why he would send Malance head on into a fight with nearly all of the Sailor Soldiers. It seemed almost ludicrous, knowing the General. Had that old creep gone crazy? It wouldn't surprise her if he did.

`No,' she thought darkly, `he's got something planned for them.'

As Reenie adjusted her hand, Cindy stared at the ruby bracelet that clung to her wrist. `I must be ever vigilant and never let my guard down. I will not let Halebit win!'

“Okay, Cindy!” The child rang out. “Your move!”

Cindy's cheeks flushed, realizing she'd just spaced out. As she looked down at her cards, a loud crash just down the hallway broke the peace.

"What was that!?" Luna exclaimed, as Mina jumped to her feet and rushed to the door.

Cindy's eyes widened and her hair stood on end when the men began shouting.

"Something bad, I'd say." Mina retrieved her transformation pen.

The cards in Cindy's hands began to shake.

Reenie looked up at the Traveller, concerned. “Cindy?”

"What would it usually be?" Artemis sighed, joining Luna and Mina by the door.

`Damn you, old man.' Cindy quickly folded her cards and rushed to her feet.

She had her hand ready to yank the ruby bracelet off her wrist when Mina stopped them.

"Let me handle this, you two." Cindy paused at Mina's voice. She had no idea the blonde girl's face could get so focused like that.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mina raised her transformation pen over her head.

"VENUS CRY-"

Instinctively, Cindy grabbed Reenie and dove for cover when a body plunged through the bedroom door, colliding with Mina.

"Chad!" She cringed at Luna's declaration, realizing it was Raye's friend that had been the anonymous projectile.

"Mina!" Artemis' cry made her insides twist and she nearly bit through her lip.

“Cindy?” Reenie whispered to her as Cindy felt the tears roll down her warm cheeks. “Cindy, let me go, I need to transform!”

“No, no, no, no.” She could barely hear her own voice. Her headache was near unbearable.

“He's alive.” Luna announced with a relieved sigh. “How's Mina?”

“She's okay.” Artemis replied from the other corner of the room.

Cindy's eyes shot open, resolved. Quickly, she launched to her feet, fist clenched, ready to fight. `I'm not going to let him ruin all of this!'

“Your general grows impatient, Xendyte Animi. Turn and recognize him.”

As suddenly as her resolve came, it abandoned her completely as the sound of the old man's cold tone froze Cindy's body and went numb. She could feel her heartbeat slow and almost unconsciously obeyed his command. It seemed like an eternity before she saw what awaited her.

“Halebit.” Cindy murmured weakly, hardly able to betray the terror that filled her.

The old man stood in the doorway his grey military uniform, crisp and clean as always, (how he kept it that way for so many days was beyond her). His hand was extended, glowing of crimson around his open palm. In front of him levitated a boy with dark blond hair, clawing desperately at an unseen force around his neck. Cindy could see the boy's face as it contorted, gulping for air. The hairs on her neck stood on end and she wanted to be sick. She recognized the terrified expression, having seen it once before. The familiar feeling of helplessness weighed on her once again, just as it had back then.

“Ken!” Reenie's exclamation brought Cindy back to the present, and she wrapped her arms protectively around the child. “Cindy? Let me go, I have to save Ken!”

“No.” Cindy's throat tightened, wishing it could be her floating there fighting for breath instead of the youth. “I'm sorry.”

"Are you going to fulfill your duty or not, Cindy?" Halebit's stern tone stirred something in her, and she locked eyes with the General, hoping to defy her fear.

In those gray eyes Cindy could see an intense, almost insane, glint. She knew to disobey would mean the boy's death.

`So this is how he's planned on getting the Silver Crystal?' Glancing down at the two pink tails of hair just below her view, Cindy bit down on her lower lip, drawing blood. Idly, she rolled the individual diamond shaped rubies on her bracelet. `I see, so then he's left with me with no other options. At least with Artemis and Luna to distract him, I might have a fighting chance.'

“What are you talking about?” Luna's strained growls made Cindy immediately aware of the two felines seemingly bolted in place at Halebit's feet.

Cindy swallowed hard when she realized that Halebit's other hand, perched on his side, was glowing faintly, essentially pinning Luna and Artemis to the floor. She looked around the room at the two prone bodies of Chad and Mina, both sprawled on the floor, unconscious. Finally, her sights wandered back to Ken, levitating helplessly and struggling for his life. His message was obvious to her: obey or everybody dies.

A weight, a very heavy one, settled onto Cindy's shoulders. `Is everyone's lives worth the trust of Serenity?'

“Well Cindy?” Halebit asked as he flexed his hand, garnering a yelp from the boy.

The blonde Traveller glared at the General, whose cool grey eyes almost smirked at her in spite of his neutral expression. "Okay, Halebit, you win... but please let him go."

Halebit's hard mask contorted into a small smile, causing Cindy to hold her breath. "Why should I?"

The sadistic bastard was going to kill the boy anyway?! Cindy panicked. All thoughts of preserving her life gone, she wasn't about to let this boy die needlessly just like the scared soldier she couldn't save all those years ago. She wasn't going to stand by and watch, but at the same time she felt paralyzed. No matter how much her mind screamed at her to take action, she didn't dare move a muscle. Neither did Reenie.

She knew he could see the despair in her eyes and it disgusted her that he seemed to feed off of it. His smile grew slightly wider. He'd smiled like this only once before, when he was alone with her in the barracks when he offered to help her find the man who killed her family. It was a predatory smile just like back then, too. Cindy shivered involuntarily at the memory. In the end, the old man came through on his promise, but was it worth the price she had to pay? She didn't have a chance to linger on that question as the old man closed his eyes, his face transforming into some kind of disturbing euphoria.

"Halebit?" Somehow this foreign side of him filled her with dread. There was no telling what he could do next.

“You want me to show them how great I am, huh Nihil?” She barely caught his murmur through his clenched his teeth.

“N-nihil?”

“Yes! I'll show them who's weak!” Halebit exclaimed, flexing both hands.

"NO!" Luna screeched under the strain.

“Halebit!”

Halebit's eyes shot open. The old man's sights jumped around the room as just awakening from a bad dream.

Casually, as if nothing had occurred, Halebit relaxed his hand. "Let's leave this place now."

Ken fell to the floor.

Cindy breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the boy's chest moving, albeit unevenly; he was breathing.

“Come on, Reenie.” She whispered as she ushered the girl out of the room, to which the girl made no protest.

As they passed Halebit, Cindy became keenly aware that he had kept his other hand flexed, holding Luna and Artemis in place. Reenie turned slightly and Cindy could see the hurt on the girl's face as well as the silent questions. At that moment, she just wanted to rip her heart out and stomp on it in utter frustration while tearing her hair from her head. Why did everything have to go wrong!?

"Wait." The blonde Traveller nearly leaped out of her skin as Halebit turned to the two felines. "I need to deliver a message before we leave..."

---------------------------------

It amused him a great deal watching the great Neo-Queen Serenity struggle to lift herself to her feet like a wobbly drunk. Malance thought it was fitting she was considered the epitome of all women. If only those foolish worshipers back in the Community could see her now. How typically pitiful. How typically female.

Scanning the roof around him, Malance found to his delight that all of Serenity's royal guards were unconscious or barely conscious. On the other hand, the armor wasn't operating at one-hundred percent thanks in part to the efforts of that blasted Timelord and a few lucky shots from the Serenity's guard. Fortunately for him, the foolish brunette's attack had harmlessly surged through the metal grounding built into the suit. His remaining batteries even got a boost, though not enough to reactivate the shield.

`No matter.' He thought, allowing the cannon to spring from the folds of armor around his forearm. `I won't need it to get what I came for.'

Purposefully, Malance stalked towards the blonde girl, her two ponytails swaying with her unsteady legs. It was time to end this charade.

“Give me the crystal.” Sometimes the voice amplifier could just make his hair stand on end.

The girl's eyes widened but still looked dazed. Her mouth opened, however only a weak moan escaped her lips.

“The crystal, girl.” Malance added more forcefully while he extended his other clawed hand.

The girl just blinked and a look of alarm spread across her features. “Malance.”

Smirking, Malance resisted the urge to laugh as Serenity surveyed her fallen comrades, horrified. It seemed appropriate that this woman, who was destined to rule over this world in truth, was nothing more than a helpless little girl. He just couldn't understand why Fate would grant her the use of something as powerful as the Silver Crystal. Then again, he was here to insure that it went into more competent hands.

“I won't ask again, Serenity.” Malance stepped closer. “Give me the crystal or I'll rip you apart until I find it.”

Serenity dared a glance at the brave, but equally foolish, Endymion lying unconscious beside her and returned with a fierce gaze towards him. It made Malance pause. The shuddering must have been due to a delayed electrical discharge, he reasoned.

“I am-“ The girl struggled out as she steadied herself. Clearing her throat, the girl finally raised her voice. “I am Sailor Moon! And I'll never permit evil ones such as you to take the Silver Crystal!”

So in the end, she didn't fear him. Somehow that irritated him a good deal. He wanted her to fear him like the meek woman she was. She would know her place, and he would be more than glad to show her just where it was. Briefly, Malance entertained himself with the notion of taking the girl with him and parading her naked in front of the General in a humiliating display, just like the General had done to that tart, Cindy. Yeah, that would definitely be an educational experience for this smug woman.

“So weak.” He breathed heavily, why did he feel chilly all of a sudden? “You're so weak and ignorant. You can't deny the General what he desires.”

With a sigh, the girl's hard stare softened. “I'm sorry, but I must.”

How dare the harlot! Immediately, Malance charged up his cannon. She pitied him? No, she wouldn't be worth the effort of humiliating. He was going to extinguish her life and everyone on this roof. No one pitied him. He'd worked too hard all of his life to be pitied by a spineless little blonde girl. Wait. Blonde hair. Blue eyes.

`Yes, that's right.' Malance let the revelation roll around in his mind. `The General has been enchanted by Serenity. That's why he shows Cindy such favor. I see his dementia is well entrenched, I had no idea he'd been fighting it for so long. Ah, my General, why must you suffer alone? I will proudly make it my duty to eliminate this temptress and set you free of your burden!'

Malance smiled, entertaining himself with the image of Serenity's head splattering at point blank range. Then he realized that he was a few steps away from turning his fantasy into reality.

However, he nearly doubled over when his feet refused to budge. He kept tugging until he was in danger of ripping off the metallic boots. Tearing his view from Serenity, Malance saw that his feet were wrapped in a thick cocoon of ice. Following a slithering icy trail, he found that one of Serenity's guards, the blue-haired one, had dipped her hand into the standing water.

“I've had it with you.” Twisting around awkwardly, Malance pointed his cannon toward the offending girl. “I'll put an end to all of this!”

“Moon tiara magic!”

In a flash, a glowing disc smashed into his forearm and severed the cannon. Furious, Malance ripped his feet from the ice, boots be damned, ignoring the warning messages blinking at him from behind his mask. Raising his clawed hand high, Malance licked his lips, imagining the look on Cindy's face when he presented her with Serenity's head.

“Insect!” Malance's amplified voice boomed as he swiped at her. “I'll crush you like an insect!”

Serenity clumsily dodged the sharp tips, but in the process tumbled over the prone body of Endymion. Seeing his chance, Malance lunged, certain his next strike would hit its mark.

“Celestial Fire Surround!”

In an instant, Malance's visor exploded in warnings and alarms as heat from the inferno seeped through his insulation.

"Visual systems failure in five seconds. Battery power low. Thrusters inoperable."

Malance gritted his teeth while the flames licked at the exposed flesh near his feet. He needed to fall back and regroup before Serenity's guards could press their advantage. Ignoring the searing pain around his ankles, Malance rushed for the ruined stairway exit.

"Excessive heat, main powe-" Blackness welcomed Malance as his visor failed.

At the risk of burning his face, Malance flipped up his visor and frantically searched again for the stairway. As he twisted and turned, he locked eyes with all of Serenity's guards. For a moment all of the pain faded away, to be consumed by fear. There was a powerful aura about them which he never noticed before. Each one looked at him with predatory eyes, hungering for his demise. He knew he had only one option left now.

'Escape.' Malance's mind raced. 'I must escape.'

He needed to fly. He needed to be somewhere else. He needed to go back to the General. Yes, he would make everything better. Malance spun around and charged in the opposite direction-

Only to be welcomed by a fist to his face.

Malance staggered back, thousands of tiny flashing lights blooming in his vision. From the point he was struck on his cheek, Malance could feel his body at first go rigid and then lucid and relaxed. The rest of the world faded away, leaving him alone with his bloodied and dusty assailant. Horrified, Malance could only stare dumbly at his new opponent.

“Goin' somewhere, fairy?” The Timelord stalked towards, him wearing something halfway between a smirk and a frown. “I'm not done with you yet.”

Instantly, he was struck once again, this time on the opposing cheek. Malance became vaguely aware of the cracking sounds from his bones. Blood quickly filled his mouth and drizzled over his lips. He thought he could hear someone screaming, or maybe they were yelling, he couldn't tell nor did he really care. The only thing that mattered was keeping conscious.

Between the now all too familiar tiny lights that lit up his sights, he could see the wild glint in the Timelord's eyes. He didn't look at all like a warrior or soldier trying to defeat his opponent. He looked like a beast or a demon lusting for destruction and chaos.

Then Malance realized why the General loathed Tracer's existence. He was the epitome of all that the General aspired against, wild, reckless, and uncontrollable. Chaos in the flesh is what he was. Malance flexed his claws. And if he didn't act soon, the Timelord would kill him.

“Tracer! Look out!” As if coming out of a trance, Malance saw the Timelord stop mid-swing and snap his eyes past Malance's shoulder and widened.

Disoriented and dazed, Malance gingerly shifted his head to follow the Timelord's view. Malance now understood the look on the Timelord's face as he watched a large ball of various elements come barreling at them. Bolts of electricity and dark, ribbonlike energy intertwined around a roiling core of fire, sand, water, wind, and ice. Never before had he seen so many natural elements work in such a harmony. It was as oddly beautiful as it was deadly.

`Serenity's guards must have combined all of their attacks.' He thought idly, glancing back towards the Timelord, but finding no one there.

Paying little mind to the stabbing pain all over his face, Malance turned his head until he found the Timelord standing safely off to the side with some brown-haired boy that had been tagging along with him. Instantly, he locked eyes with Tracer and glared. In response the Timelord smirked.

`Curse you.' He wanted to say if his jaw wasn't broken. `Somehow, I'll find a way to get you all back for this.'

Suddenly, he could feel the ball of elements impact his back, peeling away his armor and chewing upon his flesh. He could feel his body move with the momentum of the ball as it careened towards the ruined stairwell.

`I *will* return to you, my General.' He could no longer feel pain as whiteness became blinding. `This I vow.'

---------------------------------

It had been a long time since she was scared this badly before. Perhaps she'd been stupid to think that the peace would last, considering the Silver Crystal was like a universal beacon for trouble, and apparently interdimensionally as well. Whatever the case, she'd be lying if she said the peaceful lull didn't make her rusty. She just hated fighting with a passion, because in the end someone was going to get hurt.

That's why she was terrified as she came out of her daze to see her friends lying motionless on the roof while the Traveller approached her, demanding the Silver Crystal. Though, through the fog she couldn't figure out how a man covered in metal was able to still stand after being hit by Lita's attack.

Honestly, she didn't want the Traveller to get hurt either, but he made it difficult by trying to slice her up like a roll of sushi. Thankfully, both Amy and Raye had come to her rescue and gave her the opening she needed to destroy the Traveller's cannon with her tiara. She'd hoped the man didn't have any more weapons hidden in his armor.

However, Serena had been taken off guard when Malance suddenly lifted his visor, revealing his pale face. Curious about the man in the machine, Serena quickly studied his features, noting the wisps of dark blond hair plastered to his forehead and hollowed cheeks. She felt tightness in her chest when Malance's eyes shifted around, panicked. A part of her wanted to reach out and comfort the poor soul, to ease his fears.

`Would the Silver Crystal work on him?' She asked herself. `I mean, he's not a demon or monster as far as we know. Travellers are people too, right? Maybe the Silver Crystal will bring out the goodness within him like it has with others.'

Hopeful, Serena rose to her feet, then she saw the terror in Malance's eyes when he turned to the other Scouts. Curious, she observed her fellow Scouts, and when she did a sense of foreboding over took her. They looked like a pack of lionesses ready to pounce, even the usually calm and composed Pluto. Something was wrong with her friends; couldn't they see the person within the armor?

She needed to intervene before they did something rash. As she rose to her feet, she could see the stranger emerge from the ruined stairway with Greg.

`Wait. Didn't Amy say she didn't detect anything? I thought he retreated or somet- oh my God, what is he doing!?'

Shocked, Serena watched as the stranger clobbered Malance full force in the face. She remembered the nasty bruise on Darien's cheek, gotten during their earlier confrontation, and knew that Malance must have been in a world of pain. But then, that meant that the stranger was not Halebit, which made him Malance's enemy? Serena was confused.

If that was the case, then Serena figured the fight was over. Malance was stunned, outnumbered, and had nowhere to run, but the stranger continued, striking Malance again, possibly even harder as Serena could hear a sickening crunching sound. Then she saw the almost perverse joy in the stranger's face as he wailed away on his helpless opponent. In the background, she could hear Greg yelling at the stranger, but the man paid no mind and continued his onslaught. She couldn't take it anymore.

“Stop this!” She screamed. “Stop it! Can't you see it's over! Stop!”

She hadn't taken more than one step when she heard it. Her heart came to a screeching halt as she heard Sailor Pluto issue her order.

"Everyone attack now!"

All of her friends lined up and wasted no time.

"DEAD SCREAM!!"

"WORLD SHAKING!!!"

"DEEP SUBMERGE!"

"ICE STORM BLAST!!"

"CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!!"

"THUNDERCLAP ZAP!!"

"SILENT GLAIVE SURPRISE!"

The combined attacks grew into a fearsome ball she had never known possible that tore a path to the pair of Travellers. She was a spectator to a battle careening out of control, and she felt helpless to stop it. How did it come down to this?

“Tracer! Look out!” Somehow Greg's voice had finally reached the stranger and he stopped in time to see the attack approaching.

As he dove away, Serena held her breath and watched while the roaring, destructive ball slammed into Malance and carried him toward the stairwell. She knew the image of his face would haunt her for some time, glaring at her, angry and vengeful. That was no way to die.

“No.” She held her hands over her mouth as the stairwell collapsed from the impact of her friends' attack.

“Serena?” She heard a weak voice behind her murmur.

“Darien?” Serena whispered as she turned around and knelt next to him, smoothing out the lapel of his soggy suit. Thankfully, she could see the shock didn't do any serious damage. “Please rest, you're going to need your strength.”

Nodding, her fiancé closed his eyes and relaxed.

“Alright, which one of you bastards is next? Cause' I'm ready!” The stranger, Tracer, bellowed, drawing his guns and unfolding his arms towards herself and the rest of the Scouts.

Unfortunately, Serena noted, there was still some unfinished business to attend to.

“You can't be serious?! We already whipped you once.” Raye roared back.

“If that's what you want, Traveller, it'll be my pleasure.”

“Bring it on, Time Guardian!”

“Hold it!” Greg shouted, as he jumped between them as if he were a crossing guard. “Everyone listen to me! Put your weapons down!”

“Greg?” Amy blinked.

The boy, looking every bit as disheveled, wet, and dusty, grinned and chuckled nervously. “Uh, hey, Amy.”

“Uh, hi.” Serena sighed that girl could be so shy.

“Greg.” Tracer growled. “What the hell are you doing? This is my fight.”

Greg fixed the Traveller with a stern look. “Trust me, okay, if you want to get out of this alive, put your guns down.”

Then Greg turned toward the Time Guardian. “Same goes for you, Sailor Pluto.”

Serena didn't envy Greg at that moment, as she had been on the receiving end of the same withering expression when she ordered the Time Guardian to let Cindy stay here. Whether or not she was a friend, nothing else had intimidated her more.

“I will not. This creature is a Traveller, and he *will* leave our realm immediately.”

“Oh yeah!?” Tracer raised his gun again, but Greg refused to budge.

“With all due respect, Sailor Pluto, I don't think you're approaching this the right way.”

“I don't have time for this, seer.” Pluto narrowed her eyes and moved forward. “I have a duty to fulfill to our future. You hardly have the authority to tell me what to do.”

“And I don't think you do either.” Greg replied.

Pluto paused and her eyes widened. “What are you implying?”

Greg closed his eyes and sighed. “There is no future.”

Serena crinkled her brow. `No future?'

“What do you mean, Greg?” Amy's gentle voice floated in the humid air.

“Ever since Tracer has gotten here, I haven't had any visions of the future. So I can only assume that Sailor Pluto's so desperate to get rid of him and the rest because she can't use the Time Gate. At least from this point forward. So there's no Crystal Tokyo.”

“How's that possible!?” Raye exclaimed.

“Yeah, what about Reenie?” Lita asked. “If Crystal Tokyo doesn't exist, how does she exist?”

Greg lowered his eyes. “I'm not entirely sure.”

“I have a theory.” Serena looked to Amy as she walked past Pluto and stood beside Greg. “She must have been stranded here when the Travellers arrived, which means that Reenie may cease to exist the moment the Travellers leave our time, if they were able to alter our future.”

Serena stared at Pluto. So many emotions fluttered through her: anger, relief, confusion, sadness, to list a few. “Is this true, Pluto?”

The green-haired Time Guardian remained silent, and her violet eyes looked vacant and withdrawn until she answered. “Yes.”

A sudden burst of laughter drew Serena's attention to the Traveller, and she remembered that they were still in the middle of a fight. Well, sorta.

The Traveller chuckled loudly and smirked. “Oh this is rich. So the Time Guardian's as blind as a bat! That pretty much makes you useless, huh?”

A growl rumbled low in Pluto's chest, something that sounded so foreign and scary to Serena. “I would watch your mouth, Traveller.”

Tracer casually twirled his gun around his finger. “Ready whenever you are.”

“Quit it, you two!” Greg shook his arms at the Traveller and the Time Guardian. “I think if we all work together we can defeat this Halebit guy and figure out a way to keep Reenie from disappearing.”

“How do you know about Halebit?” Greg squirmed slightly when Amy eyed him suspiciously.

“Um, Tracer told me.” Greg pointed over his shoulder. “I mean, that's why he's here.”

“So here's not here after Cindy?”

“No!” The Traveller interjected before Greg could answer. “I'm after that old Society bastard, Halebit.”

“Whoa, hold on.” Lita stepped in front of Pluto, joining Greg and Amy. “Cindy said that Halebit and Malance were Timelords.”

“Nooo.” Tracer huffed. “*I'm* a Timelord and *they* are Society.”

“This makes no sense.”

“No, she *lied* to you.”

At this Serena's mouth went dry. “She wouldn't have. I could sense it in my heart; she was telling me the truth.”

Tracer smirked at her and snorted. “Better believe it, Serenity. You were a damn moron for even listening to one line of bull that woman was feedin' ya. She was playin' you and the rest of you idiots the moment she got here.”

Serena felt hot tears welling in her vision. Her heart couldn't have been wrong, it heart never failed her before. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, looking into Tracer's dark eyes. She could see a pain behind them as well as he spoke of Cindy. He obviously knew her if he knew of Halebit and Malance. What kind of history did they share before coming here?

When he noticed her staring, the Timelord shifted his eyes just behind Serena and frowned. Curious, Serena was surprised to find Erica standing beside her, still clutching her sword. The short-haired blond nodded mutely at her, and Serena quickly noticed that Neptune and Saturn had fanned out and nearly had the core group near Greg surrounded. What were they planning on doing?

“Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore.” He said, slowly backing away towards the roof's edge. “Now that Malance's gone, I can keep an appointment with that old bastard.”

“Now hold on one damn minute!” Raye stomped past Pluto to where Greg and the other girls were standing. “You're not going anywhere or doing anything! You're going to leave this... this dimension right now, before you do something to make Reenie disappear!”

“Um, Sailor Mars,” Greg began, “I don't think-“

“I don't give a damn about this Reenie girl or your damn dimension.” Tracer turned his back to the group. “All I'm here for is to settle a score.”

Serena closed her eyes. Did she make a mistake?

"Over my dead body!" Raye shouted back.

Serena held a clenched fist over her pounding chest. But … but her heart never failed her before.

"Is that a promise?" Tracer replied.

The tears flowed freely now down Serena's cheeks and she reopened her eyes. It wouldn't matter; no matter what, she wasn't going to let Reenie disappear!

"Oh yeah, scumbag." Raye clasped her hands together, a small flicker of flame coming to life before her fingertips.

"No more!" Serena declared. "There will be no more fighting tonight. I'll tell you again, Traveller, please leave Cindy and us alone. We'll be able to handle Halebit just fine on our own, and she'll be more than able to help us with Reenie once we get back to Cind-"

The soft beeping of Serena's communicator stopped her in mid-sentence. Wiping her eyes, Serena pulled out the thin device and looked at it. `I wonder what Luna could be trying to get a hold of me for?'

“Uh, excuse me. Sorry.” Serena mumbled as she activated the rectangular device. Instantly, the panicked feline face of Luna appeared in the corner.

“Serena! We've been ambushed at the temple.”

Serena paled. “What happened?”

Static flickered across Luna's image while she took in a deep breath. “That Halebit person appeared and kidnapped Reenie. He told us he wants you to bring him the Silver Crystal at the old Toke factory near the port.”

“W-what about Mina and Cindy?”

Luna looked away. “He knocked out Mina before she could transform and Cindy…”

“Is Cindy alright? Did Halebit…” A liquid cold flowed down Serena's spine, spreading across her shoulders before finally settling in her stomach.

“I'm sorry, Serena, but Cindy helped him kidnap Reenie. It appears she's been working with him the whole time.”

“No.” Serena nearly lost her grip on her communicator as the revelation sunk in. Cindy had betrayed them. She truly betrayed them. Her chest and head throbbed. She couldn't believe this! She wouldn't. Her heart still told her that Cindy was their friend; it told her that Cindy's heart was honest.

“Serena!” Luna barked from the communicator. “We still have much more pressing issues to deal with! Chad's been injured and Ken seriously so. I think we need to get them to hospital.”

“Oh my God! Ken!” Lita grabbed Pluto by the arm. “Quick, we've got to teleport him there.”

Pluto just stared blankly at the brunette. “I'm not going anywhere until I insure that *he* leaves.”

“You're heartless, Pluto.” Lita spat, squeezing Pluto's arm hard. Pluto barely even winced.

Serena watched the exchange and it felt like her world was crumbling around her. She couldn't think how this night couldn't get any worse until she noticed Raye marching towards her, a fire in her eyes. Serena held her breath and steeled herself for the onslaught to come.

“I can't believe you, Serena.” Raye ground out harshly. “It's because of you that Ken and Mina were hurt. You better hope that nothing happened to Chad and Grandpa-“

Raye paused and her mouth hung loose. Faster than Serena could act, Raye had snatched the communicator from her hands.

“Luna, you didn't mention what happened to Grandpa.” Serena could hear the urgency and panic in Raye's voice. “Is he okay?”

Raye waited a moment or two of silence before she shook the communicator. “Luna!? Quit stalling! What happened to Grandpa!?”

“Raye… he's… we couldn't revive him. We tried our best, but we couldn't… I'm truly sorry.” All actions on the roof ceased, and Serena could sense that everyone's attentions was focused them as they observed her friend slowly break down. No, this night was only getting worse.

“Oh my God.” Raye whimpered, dropping the communicator and holding her hand over her mouth. Her cheeks grew flushed and she suppressed a sob.

Cautiously, Serena reached out to her friend. “Raye?”

“Don't!” The priestess snapped, slapping Serena's hand away. “I don't want to hear it, especially from you. It's your fault, you know. He's dead because of her. Because you trusted her and because I trusted you.”

It was true. She only supposed it was a matter of time before the ramifications would hit her. She could see the hurt and pain twisting Raye's face and it weighed on Serena. She was responsible for all of their pain; Lita's, Raye's, Reenie's, Pluto's, and Mina's. Is this what it meant to be Neo-Queen Serenity, she wondered? Would it hurt this much in the future? Or would she eventually become numbed by it?

An all too familiar chuckle rang out, causing Serena to sigh and Raye to explode.

“What the hell is so funny, asshole!?”

Facing the group again, Tracer quirked an eyebrow and smirked. “You understand now how she works. All she does is burn people, just like she did to-“

“You.” Serena narrowed her eyes.

Tracer's smirk fell.

“I don't know how, but you trusted her at one point too. I see the hurt in your eyes and hear it in the bitterness in you voice. I see it even now. So you must know the goodness that lies within her heart as well.” The Timelord's face twitched dangerously, but Serena pressed on. “So did she violate your trust, or did you violate hers? Were you the one who killed-”

“Shut up, you fucking whore!” Tracer spontaneously snarled, stomping, baring his teeth. “Cindy is nothing but a lying, traitorous bitch! How dare you accuse me of being the traitor! She's the traitor! Not me!”

Then all at once the roof erupted into chaos. Reaching for his hip, Tracer unsheathed a large, iridescent sword, (she kicked herself for not noticing it sooner), and charged. From all points of the roof, Neptune, Saturn, and Uranus pounced upon the raging Traveller. Serena could see people's mouths moving, screaming, but she could hear no sounds. She had little time to think, much less react, before Tracer could cleave her in half. In all honesty, she would have just stared at him dumbly, mesmerized by the brightness of the sword's crystalline blade. It pulsed in the night like a lighthouse on a foggy harbor. Strangely, she felt drawn to it. She found herself unconsciously reaching out to him, desiring to touch the blade, giving very little mind to what it would do to her.

It was at that moment, the Silver Crystal that resided within the brooch on her chest emerged. She could feel it urging her to use it, and without hesitation she obeyed. The small, flowery crystal bloomed white blinding light. Entranced, Serena observed Tracer's blade respond in kind as the whiteness blanketed everything. She closed her eyes briefly when the light had become too intense.

Upon opening them, the Traveller was no longer charging her. Actually, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Where did he go?” Lita lowered her arms and looked around, dumbfounded.

Amy was madly typing away on her compact computer. “For some reason I can't get a read on him anywhere in the vicinity. I think for certain he's gone.”

“You said that last time, Amy, and he still came crawling back like a cockroach.” Raye hissed while she strode over to Pluto. “Anyway, I don't want to stick around up here anymore. Take us home, Pluto.”

Silently, Pluto nodded. Serena winced as Raye gave her a hard sideways glare over her shoulder before the priestess, Lita, and Pluto teleported away in a brief flash. Serena stared at the empty space for a moment when Sailor Uranus lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

“Neptune, Saturn, and I will meet you at the temple by foot, okay?” The blonde woman's tone was neutral and guarded.

Serena looked down at Darien's sleeping form. He was going to have one hell of a headache, but she was pretty sure he'd be able to get them back to the temple in his car, especially if she threatened to drive. A sad smile formed on her lips. There. At least there was one bright spot to the evening after it had gone to shambles.

“Yeah.” She finally answered. “We'll meet you there.”

“Uh, Serena.” Serena snapped her head towards Greg, who was nervously playing with the dirty mat of brown hair on the back of his head. “Would you mind giving us a ride too?”

“Of course.” She knew the fake beaming smile she gave was obvious, but she didn't think they minded too much.

As she walked towards Darien, she heard a crunching sound and immediately hopped back. Kneeling down, Serena cursed mentally to herself at her communicator, which was now snapped in half. However, her eyes quickly fell upon a white glossy sheet near the broken device. Picking it up, Serena gasped as she flipped it over.

There on the other side of the sheet was the smiling and happy face of a younger Cindy holding up two fingers in front of her, much like Sailor Venus' trademark `V' sign. Raising her eyes to the dark cloudy sky, Serena began to ponder.

`Is this yours, Tracer?' She asked internally. `No, it has to be. Who else's would it be? But why would you hold onto a photo of her when you're after Halebit? It makes no sense.'

“Amy.” Serena stood up and dipped her head down, defeated. “Do you have any clue as to what's going on? Who's our enemy? Who's our friend? What's going to become of us now? Did I really do the right thing?”

After Greg and Amy exchanged a nervous glance, Amy replied quietly. “I'm not sure, Serena. At least, not anymore.”

-End of Part 6-

Author's Notes:

Well, I hope I didn't overdo it on the melodrama. Honestly, after writing this chapter, all of the original characters really came to life... at least in my mind. Hopefully, you liked them too. Also, forgive me for writing such a long chapter, but believe me when I say I tried very hard to cut done on some spots. In fact, I was almost tempted to split up the chapter but I couldn't find a good break anywhere.

Oh yeah, a few songs that inspired a few scenes:

Tracer vs. the Sailor Scouts - When Worlds Collide by Powerman 5000

Malance marching - Pilgrimage by Nine Inch Nails

Hmmm, maybe I need to make a soundtrack for this puppy. Whadda ya say?

BTW, special thanks to Setsu-P for giving this a good once over.

Ah, let me know if you enjoyed. Next chapter we'll be running full steam towards the climax so watch out for it.

Disclaimer:

And Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and in America by DIC and Pioneer and

ADV, etc, etc, etc...

Bastion Rev 06/07