Fatal Fury Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Rifts ❯ Chapter 1: Only the Rebel Knows Truly Her Enemy ( Chapter 1 )

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

Sailor Moon/Rifts Crossover (Revised Edition) By Simon Woodington

Chapter 1: Only the Rebel Knows Truly Her Enemy

Time. Probably one of the most alien and familiar aspects of life. Something to
which many feelings have been ascribed. At this particular moment, labourous,
unyielding, unsympathetic, unmerciful, and foremost both responsible and not.

Yet, to the five anxiety-laden young women, there was a sheer gratefulness.

They were alive.

Consciousness, to the young Princess Tsukino Usagi, had returned during what
appeared to be a stunningly glorious midday. They lay somewhat precariously
strewn about the edge of a densely populated oil painting-like forest of rich
jades and deep coppery earth tones against a soft butter-yellow and crystal
blue sky.

'Usagi-chan...'

It was Minako, her beach-blond waist length hair slipped over her white and
blue sailor school suited smooth shoulders. She helped the wounded, fatigued
young leader sit up, and watched as she winced, gasping out at the echoed pain
of several cracked ribs.

'Mina-chan...? Are you okay?' she asked, gritting her teeth.

'Um, I guess,' she muttered. "You're hurtÉ"

Usagi grasping her rib cage. Dully, and oddly, she realized now would not be
the appropriate moment to burst into tears.

"It's okay. I'mÉ" she shut her mouth and was quiet.

Altogether unusually selfless.

"Hai Usagi-chanÉ" she nodded vaguely.

Usagi's gaze wandered over the others, who sat in a very small circle,
including the previously near fatally wounded raven haired priestess, Hino Rei.

'Rei!' she called, running her hands over a few of the mulitude of bruises by
which she was marked. The recepient nodded, her lips tightening into a
compressed line as their gazes met. She nimbly pulled back a collection of her
thick, well-kempt hair which hung loosely, albeit messily, over her left
shoulder.

'You almost died!' she wailed, running over to her and hugging her desperately.
'What happened?!'

'I don't know!' she barked, shoving her back slightly. 'Get off me Usagi-chan!'

'I'm sorry,' she sniffled. 'I just...'

'I know...' she replied with a heavy sigh.

Usagi plunked herself amongst her friends, somehow feeling very distant, even
though she could easily lay her hand upon any of them just then.

'Where are we?' Makoto half-growled, eyes darting.

Ami played her delicate fingers over her compact computer. A stricken look bent
her thin eyebrows, and twisted her small mouth in a deeply ingrained frown.

'We're not home... um, I mean, on Earth, Usagi-chan. Whatever that portal
was... it took us away.'

'We should transform,' she noted, running her fingers through on of the thick,
tangled length of distinctly unique hair.

'We can't. At least, I couldn't. I don't know if it's because our powers won't
work here, or if we're all too scared.'

'What good would it do even if we did?' Rei asked weakly. Makoto frowned
sternly, standing, and grasping her transformation pen.

'We've got to try. I meanÉ It's better than not trying.'

She then raised her arm and proclaimed:

'Sailor Jupiter - Make Up!'

The girls stared on as her second stage transformation introduced the power of
her senshi title as uniform, something that still presented so little hope in
the doubt that surrounded.

'It does matter,' Rei negated. 'You can't possibly have enough power to
teleport us all home.'

'Why don't you try?' she barked, eyes narrowed as she faced her, hands upon her
impressive hips.

'I...' Rei replied, unabated fear written on her face. Hesitantly, she stood,
taking her red handled pen in hands, and gazing at it brief before raising it
and calling:

'Sailor Mars - Make Up!'

Her mystic metamorphosis transcended her lack of confidence, bringing her the
somewhat waned semblence of her heroically proven alter ego. Then, as they
looked on, her white and red uniform shimmered and retreated as she collapsed
to the soft grassy earth. Tearily, she shook her head, huddling against Ami,
who hugged her comfortingly.

'I'm sorry... so sorry!' she cried, voice wavering.

Abruptly, as Usagi approached Rei to lend her support and soft words, a
stunning blast threw her to the unyielding earth.

'No!' Jupiter snarled, whirling to face the enemy, and froze in abject horror.
It was no more than a second that she stared upon the futuristic saucer-like
airborne barge, upon which was a snake-like creature surrounded by four lovely
grey body-suited young women. The nearest, despite the eye masking silver-grey
helmet upon her head, fired an energy bolt from what looked like a wrist
mounted weapon. Makoto barely dodged this, and gave out a cry as Minako
crumbled to the ground at the impact of the weapon fired by the strange woman
next to her.

'Supreme Thunder!'

The shard of electric force struck and rocked the barge, after which plain,
simple attacks from the strange women brought down the remained senshi. In a
blind rage, Jupiter leap at the alien vessel, and folded, dropping like a heap
of stones as she was knocked aside by twin flashes of energy.

Gazing faintly at the barge as it hovered over them, she felt weakness draw her
to a dark, cool place.

---

Over a crystal of turquoise, a woman marred by the violence of fist, whip, and
neural mace raised her closed fist to the middle of her chest, her heart, and
bowed her head.

"Sivil-san!"

The young battered dirty blond snapped her head towards the voice as she tapped
a switch hidden in her wrist, a cool, unruffled look sharing the address with
the faintly attractive features of her face. The crystal faded to what might
have been an alternate reality. Her voice was calm, none of the abundant
tension she felt evident in her manner.

"Yes, Usagi-chan?"

"My friends, my..." :Team? Is that even right anymore?: "Um, they're ready.
Are..." the pig-tailed blond paused, her eyes wandering helplessly. "Are we
going to leave?"

Sivil nodded firmly.

"Yes. We must. Do the clothes fit?"

Was there nothing remaining of which she was uncertain? Reluctantly, she
succumbed to this truth, internally. Wistfully, she nodded, running her fingers
over the icy silver silk cat suit. Concern lit upon Sivil's pleasant, yet hard
face.

"How are you doing?"

"We're alive," she stated softly in the somewhat awkward verbal conjugation of
English, as if the fact surprised her.

"No," she negated. "I mean you, Usagi. Maybe you should talk to them. Before we
go."

She shrugged absently.

"They need you," Sivil stated. "There's no one else to lead them. They depend
on you."

Usagi's sapphire eyes reached for her, and set steadily upon her. A momentary
focus flickered.

"How do you know that?"

Sivil froze in word and deed for an instant before allowing herself to speak.

"It's obvious. You're a natural leader."

Usagi shook the husk of recent pain for a moment while she bristled with pride.

"Really? You think so?"

"Yes Usagi, I really do," and gentle smile broke the mask of stalwart emotional
death. For a moment she considered the young woman, before letting her words
travel forth. 'Do you need time?'

"Do we have time?" The pride dropped and scurried into a darkened recess of her
consciousness, not to be forgotten.

"Long enough." Her facade of strength returned, eyes averted slightly.

"How long is that?" she nearly whined, sounding frightened.

"Just tell me when you're ready to go," she stated, turning away, leaving the
matter closed.

Saying nothing, Usagi retreated from the room. This woman, this light offering
hope, one destroyed when they arrived here, when it became clear their
situation, was an odd creature. There was a silhouette of death standing beside
her, a dismal shadow drawing Usagi short of confidence.

It had been hard to give up. To submit to the Splugorth Slaver. No, that had
not been difficult. When it came down it, they never did. What had it been?
Painful. To watch her friends as their strength failed, as their training
faultered. To see that Luna and Artemis were gone, that she could not reach
Mamoru again, that he could not protect her, nor touch her again.

That was the most dramatic point. Fear. Of everything.

'Usagi-chan? What did she say?' Ami's voice and language of body spoke of her
demure nature, as ever, yet there was an additional anxiety to her. Usagi waved
her off, sitting with mildly graceful motions in a small circle of cushions.
Silently, she bid the others join her. Slowly, they did, each in a varied state
of a theme in mind and soul.

Makoto, as the fury and strength of the Sailor Senshi, looked beaten, as the
others, yet she remained unshaken, powerful. To Usagi it was clear that she
would be the last to fall. Ami's battered form - slender as a cat, despite any
mistreatment - betrayed her nature: The intellectual whiz kid with brains where
brawn was inappropriate. In comparison, the two made a sharp contrast. While
the Ami seemed to be faring well, she was far from the most resilient of the
Senshi, and was the first likely to crumble. Watching the fire and heart of the
team, Rei and Mina, it was plain they had been hurt. Why she placed the two
together did not occur until she noted that they spent more than coincidental
amounts of time exchanging shamed and scared glances.

'Rei... what is it?' Usagi's sudden question was sharp, and each of the four
girls emitted a short gasp.

'So sorry, Usagi-chan,' she apologized softly, not willing to elaborate, eyes
downcast.

'Mina?' Usagi prodded, turning to the most experienced Sailor Senshi.

The golden blond felt herself wanting to flee, and that her eyes fled from
Usagi's gaze. 'Rei and I, we... we...' she was trembling, forcing down her
reaction. 'We were forced to...'

The two shared a deep, telling look. Immediately she understood. They had had
forced sexual relations. To what extent, she was not sure, and dared not ask,
despite the black flaring hole of emotion in her gut.

---

"No!" she had whispered. "I won't..." Her words were shattered as a gasp and
cry fled her throat. The heavily built being growled faintly, and shoved her
angrily towards the already half-naked Rei.

"Oh Goddess!" she had yelped, half at the pain, and also at the very concept
that the slaver had presented her with.

"Kiss 'er human," the being had snarled gutturally. "Don't you things like
that?"

"No," she whimpered. "No...! I..."

"Minako...?" Rei rasped weakly as her wit reapplied itself to her reality. A
cruel laugh met Minako's ears as claws scratched at her back idly, waiting, and
hoping that it would get a chance to tear her limb from slender limb.

'Arigato goziemashita Rei-chan!' she muttered desperately, slipping
unconsciously into her native tongue.

Slowly, two things occurred to her. For each she cursed herself, which did not
forestall either. To begin, an odd fascination with the entire matter; for she
had had such a dream, though Makoto was the focus, hentai though it may have
been. Shameful and dishonourable, but she could not ignore it now. The second
was a dull sense that Rei could have resisted much more that she had.

Minako regarded herself as a highly chaste young woman. While she freely
flirted with those she liked, if even in the slightest degree, she never
engaged in sex, and had preserved her virginity. Despite that, she could feel
the distinctions of kissing Rei, as opposed to the opposite sex. She refused to
touch her, so that only their lips met, and parted anon. She glared up at the
armoured creature of grey skin and vague features. Indistinctly, a grin met
with that face, and indicated pleasure.

"Go on," was the decree. "There's more. I've seen. I know."

Minako's world shattered beautifully, the oscillating shards brilliantly
displaying shades and colours, which would affect their friendship for
eternity. She faced away from Rei as the tears came, hating herself with
violent intensity.

'Minako-chan,' Rei whispered, the shame Minako felt in her eyes.

"C'mon human," the creature had cursed, pushing her again. With a gasp of
surprise, she landed atop Rei. Minako immediately scrambled back, until Rei's
hand touched her shoulder yieldingly. Minako relaxed somewhat.

'We can escape,' Rei muttered at her ear, as if kissing her there. 'I met a
woman who can free us.'

'What? Rei? I...' and she laid her lips to Rei's again, lingering. 'But I...'

'No. We can't die now,' she said. 'Not for this.'

Gradually, the fascination returned, as if invited, and to an extent it was, as
Minako regarded her friend in an awkward and shameful light.

'Rei, I... I don't know if I can, um...' her eyes flicked over her friend.

'What about Luna and Artemis?' Rei replied in hushed tones. Her resolve failed
for an instant, long enough to betray her own feelings of guilt, as her eyes
fell. A gauntleted fist struck the back of Minako's head, knocking her into Rei
again, who groaned in pain.

"Hey thin-freaks, just get on with it, will ya?" growled the voice of the
guard. "I ain't got all day."

Rei kissed Minako firmly, lacking restraint, hands grasping her shoulders.
Minako felt an intense bout of panic, which subsided slowly as she realized
that is was Rei acting as the aggressor. Somehow, that lifted the guilt
enough... Gradually, she had returned the kiss, and begun to work her way down
Rei's body.

She heard an approving grunt behind her as she did.

"I guess you're both gonna make good slaves anyway," the creature noted to
itself. "Not bad for sticks anyway."

Though Minako heard the words, it seemed that the fascination had too sharp a
grip upon her to react. She paused for a good while before burying her face
between Rei's thighs. Hate, rage, and greatest of all, embarrassment stole the
remainder of the memory. For what was there left to recall? The interests of
the guard had been sated after that, Rei having had - for all appearances -
reached orgasm.

---

'I'm sorry... so sorry Rei-chan, Mina-chan,' Usagi muttered in reply. After
several minutes of intimate silence, she spoke, drawing out the situation.
'What will we do? Ami? Do you think we can make it back?'

Ami flinched self-consciously. Realizing she was reasonably safe, she nodded,
and retrieved her miniature computer. Opening the pink make-up case, she noted
- as if to herself:

'I've already done the calculations. If we can... well... um...' her ammunition
was cut short. Her serene blue eyes descended into nsorrow. 'I don't know. We
should be able to, if we can get a hold of the right materials, and maybeÉ
Maybe some instructionsÉ uh, scrolls, I guess. I'm not sure.'

Makoto piped up, 'But we can't use magic! We don't know how.'

An emotionally darkened "hmm" selected one girl, then moved through each once,
before dying in a faintly off-key chorus.

'I'll try to learn,' Mina determined. 'As Sailor V I ran into a couple demons
who used the stuff. Canceling their summoning spell was the only way I beat
them.'

They all handed her an amazed stare. She blushed, embarrassed.

'Well... you never asked...' she replied with a weak chuckle.

'I can help. My computer can read the wierd languages hereÉ"

"Oh, heh! YeahÉ" Minako laughed faintly. 'UhÉ good plan."

'So where do we start? Anyone know?'

Each shook her head in turn as determined by Usagi's questioning gaze.

'Usagi-chan,' Ami half-whispered, trembling eyes upon the owner of the name.
'A-are we going to make it? I-I... I m-mean home.'

By silence, she admitted uneasily her uncertainty. She got to her feet,
expending energy she felt beyond her.

'We have to try. JustÉ uhÉ I've got to... Um, I should tell Sivil we're going.'

:No; she thought, :"ready" isn't the right word:

Sivil said nothing, merely nodding when faced by Usagi. Proceeding through the
hush and aphony of Atlantis' back alleys and tunnels, words became necessary
only in caution, usually at the behest of Sivil.

Usagi, for once, was paying attention, and noted that this woman's knowledge
was great. What was it she had said? A slave of ten years? And not sold? She
lacked the time to inquire, and wondered how much truth belonged to the words
at any cost. Even at that of their lives.

Atlantis was beautiful, flawless in appearance. The Splugorth did not seem to
be concerned in the least of their phantasmagoria, the swatch of evil that
permeated every structure of the formerly lost realm. They did not hide their
deeds, the slave trading, the domination of races, the atrocities of their
existence. The sky explained the method of the ideal dream, while below it was
disregarded for carnal pleasures, and other inequities.

Hades on water.

"Hold up," Sivil whispered. "That's it, we're here."

Usagi laid a hand upon the tunnel wall, panting dry heaves, while the others
took to recovering their winds. Beyond the shadow of metal crate lay an endless
expanse of water, and a gleaming, thrumming dock wrapped tightly to the edge of
the city-island.

"What?" Usagi half-muttered.

Sivil turned to her sternly, eyes narrowed, brows knotted. "Hush! This is the
crucial point. We need a little ship, a scow, or maybe a freighter. Something!"

Her eyes sailed the opportune vessels, each the prodigy of modern technology.
Unfortunately, every one of them was crawling with guards, Over and
Power-Lords, among other Splugorth.

:Fine; she determined, wrenching herself to the decision. :There's no other
way:

Face set with a dispassionate glare, she swiveled to Usagi.

"I need you to head to that ship," she stated, indicating a crippled looking
little freighter.

Trepidation swam in Usagi. "But... Why Sivil-san?"

'Don't question, just go. When you reach Japan, just look for a little shop
called Conroy's Cybernetics. Give them this." She produced a tiny jade crystal,
shoved it into Usagi's open palm and closed it with the other. She then stepped
out of the tunnel, not looking back.

"No, Sivil-san! You can't!"

A serene expression declared itself, and was offered to Usagi in Sivil's face
as she gazed backwards.

"Trust me. I do this because I must. Goodbye! Take care of yourselves!"

Usagi felt tears well as the young woman brought forth the pace of a run,
heading directly for the required distraction.

'Usagi,' Makoto urged, touching her shoulder. 'C'mon.'

Lethargic, she agreed, feeling vaguely numbed.

Gazing behind her, she thought:

:I'm sorry Usagi. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to know you better. I'm sorry
for what I have to do, but you'll later thank me:

She swiftly placed herself in the blind spot of a five-foot tall being of stony
skin, tail, claw, and asymmetrically armoured figure. The tripod of eyes failed
to perceive her, while the unseen nose detected her scent. She buried her
repulsion with the greater need; save the Senshi.

'Hi-ha!' she snapped, taking an arm by the hand and flipping the inhuman weight
over her stiffened shoulder. The creature grasped her with the fourth member of
a quad of limbs as it flipped nimbly to land upon the pair of armored legs.
Hauled in the reverse of the preferred direction by thin lengths of hair, she
stumbled backwards, twisting to face it. The slender beast uttered a low
whining growl, striking her with a clawed hand.

She cried out as the fingers bit into rib and lung.

'Sivil!' Usagi screamed desperately, stopping her flight for the freighter.

'Usagi-chan no!' Makoto grabbed her shoulder, spurning her onwards, tossing her
roughly behind the crates just within the door of the sea bound vessel.

Another cry flew from the mouth of the doomed young woman while other Splugorth
approached.

"Escaped human slave! Kill it!"

'Sivi...' her words were cut off by a swift motion drawing her face to the
side, and causing a red welt to display upon her cheek. Makoto glared at her.

'Don't! You'll attract their attention!' Anger inducing fear clenched Makoto's
jaw and tensed the muscles of her face.

Shocked, she sat down. 'Makoto...?'

Looking on, amazed, the others saw the brawn of the Senshi made a harsh gesture
for silence. The cacophony beyond the open loading doors fell away as Sivil's
screams halted. The violence hardened brunette winced at the sickly
pronouncement of death; an audible dissection of flesh and bone.

'Oh... by the Goddess,' Usagi sobbed, burying her face in her hands, knees
drawn to her seated body. Mute empathy held the team, and brought them to sit,
hide and cower in the silver of hope provided by the death.

Chronos visited, wandering the room with Silence, who explained Nothing, who
agreed wholeheartedly with the other two. Silence found herself cut off by the
introduction of Sound as a low, rumbling, strangely calming and quiet hum.
Makoto stood, and began wandering the storage bay, searching for... well,
anything. Preferably weapons. She returned in short order with blankets, a few
packages of rations, and an odd looking pistol.

'What do we do when the ship docks?' Ami asked hesitantly. Usagi looked
surprised as she curled up in the yellow tinted cloth covering. The short blue
haired girl usually had more answers than she did questions.

'We get off,' Makoto supplied shortly. 'Then get away. The Splugorth won't
catch us again. Anyone who gets in our way will have to deal with me.' She
hefted the pistol.

'I wouldn't use that unless someone attacks us first,' Rei observed quietly.
'We don't even know what it does!'

'I doubt that weapon is not powerful enough to kill,' Ami said in an
uncharacteristically obvious statement. The other three nodded agreement as she
bit into a portion of ration, then spat, grimacing.

'Usagi?' Minako asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. 'You okay?'

Usagi looked at Minako, a frightened distance in her eyes.

'I... wish Sivil hadn't died,' she said. 'I wish Luna was here.'

They had all been struck by the reality of that loss. Luna had not come through
the portal with them. There was no telling the Phate of their home world now.
It slowly occurred to Usagi that the world they might be on an Earth of the
future.

'It's possible,' Ami agreed. 'But, I don't know... I need more information
about where we are... when we are - um, might be - is something entirely
different...' she fell silent.

'Ami-chan, it's all right. You're doing the best you can,' Usagi offered
consolingly.

The youngest of the five nodded weakly, trembling slightly.

The rest of the trip had given way to Sound as moving water, and the
uncomfortable realization of uncertainty of the future. They had docked some
hours later. Makoto woke everyone, aside from Usagi, who had been too scared to
sleep.

'You going to be alright?' Minako had asked as they had prepared to leave. Her
pale orange cat suit accented her trim figure as she moved gracefully toward
Usagi.

Usagi nodded, not sure of the truth of it.

'Let's go,' she distracted. 'We'd better do this before it's too late.' :Or
before I give in to fear:

Makoto formed the head of the line, with Ami behind her, Usagi in the middle,
for the protection, following back to Minako, and Rei at the end. They followed
a line of crates off the ship, and after some time, managed to reach the dock
were they could see a town at the edge. Freedom had never seemed closer since
their arrival here!

"Halt!" A tall white-faced overlord bellowed deeply from a deck aboard the
ship.

Makoto turned, rage afire within her, and realizing a perfect outlet.

"Not a chance buster!" she snarled. Without hesitation, she raised the pistol
and pointed it at the OverLord.

"Seize them!" The OverLord did not appear to be terribly troubled by Makoto's
weapon, or where it was aimed. A half dozen blind warrior women, on the other
hand, seemed quite concerned. So concerned, in fact, that they rushed the five
girls simultaneously.

"Transform...!" Usagi commanded with little conviction. Without Luna, Usagi had
realized there was no one but her to give the orders. Her first thought was of
their senshi powers. She was not sure if their transformation pens would work -
especially in the light of past evidence - but the chance for freedom was so
clear.

One by one, each respective Sailor Senshi replaced the five human girls. There
was a discrepancy that Usagi noted with ill ease. Each uniform had appeared,
but without the usual transformation energies. Due to the speedy approach of
the blind women, Usagi did not have the time to ponder the matter. She was just
barely able to dodge a blast from a weapon much like Makoto's.

Ami was the first to attempt the utilization of her powers.

"Shabon Spray!" she called in English, crossing her arms in front of her, then
pushing the bubbles forth as they appeared in one motion. The bubbles
dispersed, creating a heavy fog. The women did not stop, nor did they even
slow, uninhibited by the normally visually inhibiting attack. With a gasp, Ami
realized that her power was completely ineffective against the sightless women.

Usagi called out a rapid succession of orders, mainly of attack and retreat. As
the battle ensued, it appeared that they were winning. Two of the six blind
warrior women remained standing. Only Ami and Rei and fallen on their side.
Usagi shouted for Jupiter to grab Mercury, and Venus to grab Mars, they were
going to retreat.

A shot came out of the blue and hit Usagi in the upper arm, near her shoulder.
A brilliant flash of pain burned, Usagi cried out in agony. Minako screamed,
'your arm!'

As the pain ebbed, Usagi realized she had lost all the feeling in her left arm.
Looking for her left arm, she found with a gut wrenching shock that it was not
where it was supposed to be. There was a great, dark looking burn from which
the pain still stemmed. A blackness wrapped itself around Usagi's mind.

---

The face of a violently weathered young woman flicked into existence before his
wearied eyes. She squinted for a moment, then straightened her back and winced
as she squared her shoulders. Her hair was matted with grease and dirt, her
face a mesh of bruises, scars, and fresh lacerations.

"Date: 35853.6. Sergeant Silver, this phase of the mission has succeeded
without error. The collective emotional state of the Sailor Soldiers -" she
paused to nod to something off screen "- is fearful, uncertain, and hopeful.
Their experience conforms to the specifications provided. We have remained here
for twenty-four hours, and are about to proceed. With any luck, I will return
alive. If not, I pray to die with honor to the service."

She signed off with a customary salute before the image departed to the null of
cyberspace.

"Lt. Nira was later slain in the escape, though the Sailor Soldiers were able
to stow away aboard a cargo vessel bound for Japan," the icy tones of a
screen-bound plain-faced young woman elaborated.

He bowed his head and breathed a shallow sigh.

"Location?"

"Currently unknown. It is assumed that the Soldiers landed safely in Japan."

"Never assume anything," he stated, adamant. "Send a scout team to investigate
the matter. Immediately."

"Yes sir," the woman represented in the screen bowed her head slightly. "Will
there be anything else?"

"Yes. Notify our global contacts. We cannot afford to waste time."