Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Death and Rebirth ❯ Death and Rebirth 24 ( Chapter 24 )

Death and Rebirth

Chapter twenty-four:

The border between Brazil and Venezuela:

The moment they set foot on the ground, Sailor Moon wiped her forehead and huffed.

"Why do our enemies always go to places with such extreme temperatures?" the princess complained, "At least Rio's a stone-throw away."

"Later, Usako. Mercury, where should we go from here?"

"For starters, let's head south," the water senshi answered as she checked on her computer, "Allen Poe once purchased a large area of the rainforest, supposedly, for philanthropic purposes. But now we know that he had more selfish motives."

"Hai," Jupiter agreed, "and the kami knows what those motives are."

"Actually," Mercury continued, "I've come to a conclusion of what he's using these lands for."

"Which is?" Uranus asked.

"I'd, umm, rather wait and see before telling you."

The trek was rather uneventful, except for a bit of an altercate Phobos had with an annoying harpy eagle. And Paul had to wrestle a jaguar into submission.

"Despite the source of these new abilities," the undead man commented, "I am very tempted to keeping them for the greater good."

"Listen to the voice of experience," Neptune replied, "you want no power from such creatures."

"I know, it was stupid to even consider it. I just wanted to make some small talk to make our journey more pleasant." The truth was that the group felt quite tense, and Paul knew that he was the source of said tension. The sooner Raven was defeated, and the sooner a way was found to place him where he belonged, the better.

"CAW!"

Phobos had been scouting ahead and now she was diving for Sailor Mars' shoulder.

"Did you find anything?" the fire senshi asked.

"Possibly the world's largest fence," the dark bird replied, "Follow me! You have to see it to believe it!"

Sure enough, after walking a few more miles, the senshi came up to an exaggeratedly long chain link fence.

"It's electrified," Jupiter noticed, "I can sense it. Not only that, but the field extends several miles above."

"I guess leaping is out of the question then," Sailor Moon said, "and blowing it up will surely activate an alarm. We'll have to search the perimeter for a gate."

"That might take too long, your highness," Phobos observed as she took her human guise, "The fence is much too long to find an entrance."

"I guess we have no choice then," the future queen sighed, "Mars."

"Fire soul bird!" The winged flame melted away a large gap in the barrier. "There, now let's get going before Raven finds out we're here."

The heroes advanced, ready for anything, drones, robots, zombies or a megalomaniac lich. The panorama had turned from lush to barren, imagine going from the Amazon to Arizona in a few steps.

"What was that oni trying to accomplish?" Jupiter wondered, "A world record for deforestation?"

"Destroying the world is a more likely answer," Pluto answered, "The loss of an area this size of the rainforest will alter weather patterns at a global scale."

"All in the name of greed," Tuxedo Kamen commented sourly, "and it is not just Raven's doing."

They were walking alongside a cliff when a stench reached them.

"Whatever's going to attack us," Neptune said as she pinched her nose, "I hope it's not the thing that reeks that way."

"Hold it," Venus spoke up and stopped everyone, "I recognize that smell."

"So do I," Paul added, "wait here." He and the blonde senshi went ahead and spied from the top of a ledge. They signaled for the rest to come, slowly. When the whole group gathered, they saw something that was both fascinating and frightening, the drones' hive.

"Mars," Sailor Moon said, "before you complain about how much I whine, I want to state the following: I do not want to go down there."

"And the rest of us are very eager," Pluto mocked, "Paul-san, do you think your voice is still registered to control them?"

"I'm afraid these drones are wild, no sort of control at all. The minute they detect us, is the minute we die."

"Hai," Mercury agreed with a tone of admiration, "Just look at how they're organized, straight lines, and no gaps. We're at the documentary of a giant ant colony."

"Why would Raven come here?" the Moon princess asked.

"I believe he's starting to form his doomsday army," the Earth prince responded, "But our present worry is how to get through those beasts."

"Didn't you listen to what Paul and I mentioned?" the water senshi scolded mildly, "If they haven't been programmed yet, their intelligence is no greater than that of an ordinary insect." She tapped on her computer. "Jupiter, Mars, Uranus, strike at precisely those spots."

"World shaking!"

"Burning mandala!"

"Sparkling wide pressure!"

The result was exactly the one Mercury expected, chaos. Just like when a child kicks an anthill, the drones had no idea what to do or how to react. The senshi wasted no time and leapt down to continue their attack, even Phobos, who held a feather-shaped rapier. Another point in their favor was the fact that all the drones were the brown-colored skeletons. The enhancements were surely made at Hawkins' lab.

"Kudos Mercury!" the love senshi cheered, "We're going to take care of these bugs in no time!"

"And once were done, the oni-kabuki's next," Uranus said as she sliced one in half, "When I get my-Nani?" She disappeared into a dark portal.

"Uranus!" Neptune exclaimed as she too vanished along with Pluto.

"What happened to them?" Venus yelled.

"Poe found us!" Paul replied as he threw a drone over his shoulder, "But we have to overcome this obstacle before we can go look for them." If they're still alive.

*****

The outer senshi reappeared underground, surrounded by four tunnels.

"Please tell me we're not inside the hive," Pluto moaned as she gripped her staff.

"Any sign of the others?" the wind senshi asked.

"Ie," Neptune answered, "and I think it has something to do with these signs." Three of the thresholds had the symbol of Saturn on top, the fourth read: 'Coward's way out'. "Raven must think he's so hilarious."

"Which one of these paths do you think is the real one?" Uranus wondered.

"It could be any one of them," the long-haired senshi answered, "We have no choice but to split up, and with Hime-chan's life at stake, I'm taking the chance."

"It's settled then," the ocean senshi said as she readied her mirror, "Keep in touch, if we don't find anything in thirty minutes we return to this point."

"Hai," Uranus agreed. She kissed her aqua-haired princess and wished he friend good luck. Each of the outer senshi went down a tunnel, which obviously led to traps. But as Sailor Pluto had stated earlier, their Hotaru was a girl well worth the risk.

*****

Outside, Tuxedo Kamen, the inner senshi and Paul had dispatched all of the insects.

"I never thought we'd have a battle more gruesome than Seiryu," Jupiter muttered through heavy breaths. She tried to get some goo out of her wavy hair as she checked on her friends. "Everyone okay?"

"Grossed out," the fire senshi answered, "but otherwise fine. How are you doing, Phobos-chan?"

"Okay I guess," the red clad girl said as she approached, "Gomen, I couldn't help any of you much."

"There's no need to apologize," Mercury assured her, "we know you're not used to fighting. Yet, there's something that bothers me, we didn't fight that many drones."

"You mean you wanted more!?" Sailor Moon exclaimed.

"No reinforcements came out of the hive," the azure-haired senshi continued, "colonies and swarms consist of thousands, and we only fought a few hundreds."

"Which means something or someone was keeping them at bay," Paul realized, "and that someone could only be…" The undead martyr turned towards a large boulder and felt his blood boil.

"Who were you expecting, Maya the bee?" Raven quipped as he jumped down, "Well, well, well. Paul, it seems that you managed to recover your free will. Not only that, you've allied yourself with the senshi. Still trying to be the hero, huh?"

"I don't know what my efforts mean to anyone else, in fact, I don't care," Paul retorted, "All I want is a clear conscience, and you destroyed!"

"Lovely thoughts, too bad nobody believes them." The warlock clapped and rubbed his hands, "Right then, who wants to go first?"

"Now I know why you chose drones for your army," the future king guessed, "You identify yourself with them, all of you are nothing but sorry parasites." Raven's eyebrow twitched at that comment and Sailor Moon noticed.

"That's right! You're too worthless to do anything for yourself, all you can do is steal from other people's efforts."

"SILENCE!!" Raven fired a wave of dark energy at the senshi. They all tried to hold their ground but were blasted several feet away. "I am no longer a pathetic mortal! And once I obtain the knowledge I need, godhood will be mine!"

"Like hell we're going to let ya," the fire senshi challenged, "Mars flame sniper!"

"Venus love and beauty shock!" Both magical attacks made a tremendous impact. "Is it me, or did we actually seem to hurt him?"

"He's probably tired from teleporting all the way here," Tuxedo Kamen guessed, "if that is true, then we have a better chance to beat him."

"Wishful thinking," the warlock retorted, "Even if I do tire it will take so much more to defeat me-What the!?"

"For example, your excessive pride," Paul had sneaked up from behind and locked his former leader with a wrestling hold, "This is the end for you, monster."

"Please, I suppose that now you're going to tell the senshi to go ahead and destroy me, that whatever happens to you doesn't matter."

"All of which is true."

"Hmph! What say you princess? Will you accept a willing sacrifice?" Sailor Moon had stepped up to the dark pair with her power tier ready. She knew what had to be done, but she also knew that she would not bear the remorse of Paul's death. "Tell you what, I'll make the choice easy for you."

"Nani? What do you mean?"

"If you don't make up your mind and attack by the time I count to three, Paul dies." All of the senshi were appalled by this announcement.

"I hope that the messenger that carries you drags you all the way," Phobos growled.

"He's dead anyway," Raven mocked, "one, two, thr-!!?" Paul used a suplex on Raven, and while the false crow was stunned, he was thrown in front of the future queen.

"Sailor Moon, now or never!" her prince yelled.

"Silver moon crystal power kiss!" Raven turned his head to face the grand attack directly. His inert body fell, and both Paul and Sailor Moon approached the smoking carcass. "Phobos-chan, we need you to tell us how to recover the soul-pearls." The undead martyr watched as his former leader rapidly decomposed, then his face became a mixture of terror and realization.

"Decoy…" he looked up, "PRINCESS!"

*****

Neptune glanced at the watch in her communicator, the thirty minutes were almost up and she hadn't found anything.

"At least I haven't run into anything either," she muttered, "I hope Uranus and Pluto are doing as well." Suddenly she heard a noise, the tunnel she was in jointed with another and something was approaching. The aqua-haired senshi edged to the wall, linked her hands and raised them over her head. As soon as that something peeked through, she let them down with all her might.

"Easy girl! I'm on your side, remember?"

"Pluto!" The time senshi had caught her friend's blow easily. "I thought you were one of the bugs."

"I've got a better complexion," the ruby-eyed senshi mock-complained. She looked further down the tunnel, "Looks like two of us were meant to end up at the same spot."

"Hai, and whatever Uranus is going to face she will do so alone. We should head back and-" no sooner she said this, the place started shaking!

"Neptune, out of the way!" Both friends leapt forward as the tunnels collapsed behind them, the only route left was the one ahead. "That insufferable baka. Let's go on, maybe our luck will change and we'll find Hime-chan."

They continued down the dark corridor, and as they advanced, a damp and acrid odor became more and more evident.

"There it is," the ocean senshi announced, "through that opening is where the path ends, and I can tell a very large chamber's there." She took a deep breath, "Plus, it's not empty." They got to the door and scanned the room before entering, the first thing they saw was this giant, gray, moist, pulsating mass.

"Please tell me that is not what I think it is," Pluto groaned, "I'm going back and digging the way out myself, a hundred cave-ins are better than-Watch it!!"

"Nani!?" Neptune was pushed away just as a claw was about to cleave through her. She tumbled down as Pluto stayed to fight two drones. The ocean senshi got up slowly, she was at the feet of an enormous, black-colored drone, acidic drool dripped from its oversized fangs. It's more than obvious what sort of drone this was. "Heh, heh, konnichiwa I'm your new sitter. You are having trouble with that last batch of larvae, ne?" The queen chirped and Neptune was surrounded. "Uranus is definitely having an easier time. Submarine reflection!"

*****

A few moments ago, Uranus had made it to a large empty chamber. Unlike the tunnel, the floor here was flat and even. The shorthaired senshi walked cautiously, ready for anything, but she wasn't ready for what was about to unfold.

"Hime-chan!!" Sailor Saturn was standing there in the middle of the place. The chances of some sort of gladiator drone (Uranus figured this out because of how the place looked) were quite high. But that didn't matter, she just wanted to be with her little princess. The silent senshi turned, her eyes were deadly cold.

"Silence glaive surprise!" Uranus was barely able to sidestep away from the blast.

"Saturn, what the hell's the matter with you!?" The sand-blonde got no response other than a roar and a fierce attack. The pale girl slammed the Silence glaive on the ground then followed with a sideways slice that the Star sword was barely able to block. "Chikuso, that bastard hypnotized you." Uranus leapt back and took a firm stance, her visage switched from confused to determined in an instant. "If you thought I was going to cower before Saturn, Raven, you don't know who Sailor Uranus is," she raised her hand, this is going to hurt me more than it does you, Hime-chan, "World Shaking!" All that Saturn had to do was slice the attack, the amber-colored halves dissolved into the ether. "If I'm not careful I will get hurt more," the wind senshi grumbled nervously, "Space sword blaster!" This time, Saturn's resistance was to simply raise her hand.

"Is this it?" the amethyst-eyed senshi asked in a very cruel tone, "This is all the power you obtained for selling your soul, TRAITOR!?"

"Nani? Saturn, what are you talking about!?" Uranus' confusion almost kept her from parrying the next wave of attacks. They kept on fencing when Saturn froze all of sudden, she just stood there like a statue.

"I suppose you're wondering what's going on."

"Raven!" the wind senshi roared.

"Don't bother attacking, this is simply an illusion, a recording if you will." Raven's image walked up to Saturn and put its hand over her shoulder. "When this girl fell on my hands, I immediately thought about taking her soul, she does posses great power. But as I was about to, I discovered something I could make much better use of."

"Get to the bloody point already," Uranus demanded.

"Do you remember your fight against Galaxia?" the sand-blonde was taken aback by this question. "I glimpsed into Saturn's memory and saw the strategy you used against your foe, to make a long story short, I forged her feelings of betrayal into something I could use."

"Hime-chan, he's manipulating your thoughts! You knew it was a plan, you realized it right away. Fight him!"

"It's not her mind I'm using," the image corrected, "I said, her feelings." Now Uranus was more puzzled. "A parent is supposed to provide and protect his children, just as you were supposed to protect Hotaru from all harm. True or false, the moment she heard that proposal from the lips of her dear Haruka-papa, she felt the bitterest betrayal." Uranus wasn't able to reply. "It's true that she realized your plan, but the dark feeling remained," the image raised an eyebrow, "If she hadn't kept it inside, then it wouldn't have festered through the years. How ironic, your little princess was afraid of hurting your feelings, and ended up hating you." The wind senshi's eyes overflowed with tears.

"Monster!! How can you do this to a child?"

"Me? Am I the one who used those golden bracelets to take away her crystal?" the image crossed its arms, "Killing your daughter for more power, I must admit my admiration."

"THAT'S A LIE!!" Uranus exploded, "Hotaru! I didn't mean to hurt you! But you knew that I had to do it to protect the princess!"

"Protect me?" the wind senshi was shocked further, now she stood before an image of Sailor Moon, "am I supposed to trust you with my life when family means nothing to you?"

"Ie…that isn't…"

"Is your desire to be recognized as the most dutiful senshi so great?" now Neptune was speaking, "How soon before you consider sacrificing me?" Her image was replaced by the sailor animates.

"You didn't want to protect Sailor Moon, you just wanted more power. You're no better than us."

"You're worse," Iron Mouse added with an accusing finger, "What sort of monster destroys her own child?"

"SHUT UP!!" Uranus yelled with her voice cracking up, "It's not true, it's not, it…it…" her tears flowed like an avalanche, destroying her willpower, "…it is." She looked up, the illusions were gone and Saturn started moving again. The shorthaired senshi tried to raise her sword but her shaky hands dropped it. Sailor Saturn attacked.

*****

"Nani?" Paul tackled Sailor Moon away with all of his strength and received the lethal blow meant for her. "Paul-san!!" She sprinted towards him but the real Raven appeared in her path with a dark flash.

"I knew you're not one to be underestimated, Paul, so I took precautions." The martyr watched as his hands became transparent. "Frankly, I'm disappointed, I expected more from you. Alas."

"I should have known," Paul muttered as he faded away, "that I wouldn't be able to beat you. One cannot claim what is not his, just as evil deeds do not remain unpunished." Raven raised an eyebrow.

"What's this? You're actually grinning?"

"I wasn't the one meant to defeat you, and I knew that I wouldn't escape my own punishment," the subtle smile remained on his lips. "Neither can you escape your doom," were his last words before disappearing completely.

"Only the dumb allow themselves to be reached by destiny, and I am not the one here." The undead warlock looked around and noticed that he'd become surrounded by the inner senshi, Tuxedo Kamen and Phobos. The anger they irradiated was palpable, even from Sailor Moon. "Are you ready for the real thing?"

"Oni," the blonde princess growled, "Paul-san truly wanted to redeem himself, he deserved better than that."

"This is for everyone you fooled and used," Jupiter said as electricity gathered around her, "Paul, Kara, even Chris and Blaze, you are going to pay dearly!"

"Paul-san was right," the love senshi continued, "you can't run forever. And even if we don't beat you now, we're going to make you wish we had."

"Defeat? Heh, I can see now why you're so easy to vanquish, negative thoughts," his dark aura appeared, "I always know what I want and do my best to get it," the energy gathered in his hand, "like now for example." Raven fired.

"KYAAA!!"

"Sailor Moon!" Before anyone could react, Raven shot upwards dragging their leader along with him. His evil hold made her skin burn painfully.

"Don't worry highness, you won't suffer long." The black-haired man dropped her unceremoniously, Tuxedo Kamen was there to catch his wife in time.

"Usako, say something!" But there was no response, Sailor Moon wasn't there. "You!!" He let his princess down then stood up again. "Tuxedo bomb!" Raven was pushed back by the golden blast, but was otherwise undamaged.

"I'm surprised, I thought that you could only throw flowers. Doesn't matter," the warlock made a greater display of power, "now that I have the princess' soul I…I…" Something was wrong, Raven started shaking as he flashed uncontrollably.

"What's the matter with him?" Venus asked.

"Light vs. dark," Mercury realized, "Sailor Moon's pearl is too pure and powerful! She's destroying him from inside!" The water senshi's words were confirmed by the way the warlock's features twisted with pain. There was only one thing to do.

"Blast it!!" With tremendous strain, Raven expelled the princess' pearl out of his chest. Phobos leapt up as quickly as she could and caught it in her hands.

"Thank Princess Coronis, I still remember how to handle these things."

"Raven's down, let's give him all we've got!" Venus commanded, taking her role as senshi leader, "Senshi planet attack!" The false crow barely managed to raise a shield with his remaining power. "Give up, oni! You have nothing left at your disposal!"

"I have one thing left."

*****

Pluto and Neptune had dispatched several drones, but a greater number remained.

"Thank goodness the queen can't reach that far," the aqua-haired senshi said, "otherwise we'd be frappe by now."

"Maybe not," the mocha-skinned senshi replied, "if my knowledge is correct, we'll be taken alive into storage. Death scream!" She looked up at the black drone, "Of course, I reckon her majesty needs nutrients right away."

"You're a riot." Suddenly, the drones ceased their attack and looked around frantically. Neptune also felt something dark and powerful approaching. "Who could it be? Raven?"

"Ie, this presence is violent and sad, but not evil. It's also familiar."

That's when the ground erupted and Saturn came flying out of the crater. She was about to reach the roof when the drone queen grabbed her. Even though the sizes were inverted, the silent senshi glared upon it as if it were some insignificant creature. She aimed the Silence glaive and fired a violet beam. Not only was the queen beheaded, the egg-sack was also blasted open. Sailor Saturn released herself from the claw and continued upwards, not bothering to acknowledge the two outers.

"Hime-chan!" Pluto called out, "Something's wrong, that's not the Hotaru we know."

"Hai, Raven did something to her." Neptune looked around, with the queen destroyed, the rest of the drones had become apathetic. "Now what, do we follow or do we find out where she came from?"

"I'll go up and you go down, and don't ease up on your guard. Raven's got a nasty habit for surprise so be ready for anything." With that warning, they each went their own way, but Neptune would not be ready.

*****

It was easy for Phobos to place Sailor Moon's soul back into her body, although there seemed to be no improvement.

"The ginzuishou will help her highness recover," the red-clad girl said, "but it will take several hours."

"That's good enough," Tuxedo Kamen replied, "Take care of her while I go help the senshi." The inners had Raven at the ropes, all of his energy went into defense as he received blow after blow. The Earth prince joined the femme group and summoned the power of his golden crystal.

"A few more and we win!" Jupiter shouted, "Sparkling wide-"

"Saturn shockwave!"

The sonic blast blew them in all directions. Mercury was the first to look up and immediately regretted it. Weapon at front, Saturn landed next to Raven and helped him rise.

"You've only won a round," the warlock chuckled tiredly, "you'll see that you have suffered great losses. Enjoy the breather, for when I return, both your loss and my gain, will be absolute." Both of them disappeared as the time senshi came into view.

"Pluto!" Sailor Venus ran up to meet her, "Thank the kami you're alright. Where are Neptune and Uranus?"

"They're down below, safe now that the drones have no guide." The emerald-haired senshi looked at the spot where her daughter and enemy had vanished, "I don't know how I should feel. My Hime-chan is alive but…" The love senshi put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know Pluto, I know. Mercury, turn on your computer, we've got to find the others."

"Hai." The shorthaired senshi activated her visor and got yet another unpleasant surprise. "Ie!"

"What now?" Mars asked.

"Uranus' vital signs are dangerously low! She needs medical attention immediately!"

"Nani?" Pluto looked over Mercury's shoulder, "Is she far from here?"

"Ie, we just have to follow the trail left by Saturn."

"Get going then. Jupiter, Mars accompany her," Venus ordered. She looked at Sailor Moon in her delicate condition then thought about Carlos and Carmen back at Tokyo, and all the people that had been sacrificed when the tower was destroyed. "'Losses', how can he refer to the death of so many people so heartlessly?"