Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Pretty Soldiers ❯ Act 08 - minako : Sailor V ( Chapter 8 )

       "Sailor V!?"
        "Masaka, the illusionary soldier…the one who stayed hidden all this time…"
       "The one who caused the destruction of the movie!"
       That had been Mars. And of course, Venus was none too surprised.
       At her feet, Artemis made a guttural growling noise, like a rusty engine choking on the gas. It was almost unlike him, and it stopped all four girls' talking dead. "This is how you show respect to your new ally?"
       "Demo sa…without the goggles, I can't be sure, but…is it you? Sailor V?" Moon gasped, grabbing onto Mercury's arm for support. She wanted to stand, but her limbs were still weak as a baby's from the lack of oxygen minutes previous. So she slumped, Zoisite's blood splattered and drying on her cheek.
       Venus smiled brightly, recalling the red mask she had worn for over a year into her hand. When she placed it over her eyes, the look was unmistakable, producing a collective gasp from her fellow soldiers and black cat alike. She pirouetted for them, wearing the mask that looked all wrong with her orange sailor-soldier uniform. "Hai; the illusionary soldier was just a temporary form, until I could be united with you all. Now, I'm truly Sailor Venus!"
       In the act of removing the mask, she caught the glint of light off gold metal high in the ceiling beams; Tuxedo Kamen had finally arrived. "Our ally, V-chan?" Sailor Moon squealed, again attempting to stand up.
       "Sugoi! Now we have five soldiers in our fight," the tall brunette cheered, catching Luna in her arms as the feline made the leap up.
       Artemis frowned, wriggling his whiskers in annoyance at them all. He was playing up his role to the extreme, and Venus made a mental note to reward him with some tuna later; this was prime acting. "Rudeness! You don't realize who she is, do you?" He motioned his paw back at the long-haired blonde as she stood almost shyly behind him, mask between her hands. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Serenity, and the inheritor of the sacred stone! Show respect to the future queen of the Silver Millennium!"
       Serenity. The name sent shockwaves through room. Above, Tuxedo Kamen jerked as if he'd been hit, caught in the act of climbing through the beams. He knew that name, instinctively, though he'd never been given a title for the girl in his dream. But he could recall saying it in pleasure, in joy; and then, in exquisite anguish.
       He continued to slide and swing through the beams, the rest of the conversation below lost to the air. Paying attention at that point would have been a good idea, however, as Sailor Moon suddenly released a burst of magic that nearly toppled him from the ceiling.
       "Sailor V is our princess….?! That crescent moon…." The magic centered against the odango-haired blonde's forehead, her tiara seeming to explode. In its place the magic created what looked to be an elongated gold crescent with an ornate jewel in the middle, a lovely but seemingly useless adornment. "Atama ga…I feel like something important is in my head!" she moaned, touching the new fixture gently.
       "Sailor Moon, daijoubu?" Mars' question was surprising gentle for all of her usual coldness towards the blonde. When Moon nodded in the affirmative, the dark-haired shrine girl pointed at the new arrival in their midst. "Sailor Venus no Sailor V? Then, you must be Aino Minako, of Shibakouen!"
        Despite the serene smile, Venus was seething internally. She was really, well and truly, going to hate proving the girl right. But Artemis took the first step, fangs bared as he yelled at the red-clad soldier, "Are you accusing your princess of something, Sailor Mars?"
       "Iie, simply proving myself right. We've already figured out the hidden form of Sailor V; the heroine of 'The Chinese Princess,' Aino Minako. And as Sailor Venus was Sailor V, the illusionary soldier…"
       Someone was standing behind Venus, and though it had all been planned ahead of time, she had a feeling Tuxedo Kamen was well and truly in shock. "Serenity?" he whispered, apparently remembering to at least make it loud enough to be heard.
       And every soldier in the room heard it, their focus centering behind the long-haired blonde into the shadows. She personally called her chain to hand, executing a perfect spin to be proud of while wielding the golden links menacingly. "Who's there? Show yourself at once!"
       He did her proud as he withdrew in quite the dramatic matter, even as Sailor Moon called out his name. The shadows enveloped him, took him in; and all she could hear was the snap of his cape as he made for an exit. His work was done, because with the uttering of 'Serenity,' she knew her identity was sealed.
       Mercury was the first one to prove it, as she asked timidly, "He knows you, princess?"
       "Hai, I suppose….perhaps, he is another player in the game." So saying she coiled the chain around her waist, striding towards the girls to finally enter their group. Artemis followed at her heels, though she knew for now, he only had eyes for the black feline who sat hunched in Jupiter's arms.
       She smiled gently and with no lack of pride to Sailor Moon, reaching down to take her hand. "You've done so well, Sailor Moon. The simulations have done wonders in teaching you how to be a true sailor soldier!"
       "Simulations? Ano…the Sailor V game?" the odango-haired blonde replied, puzzled, as she held Venus' hand in return.
        "Mochiron! I've watched you many a time through it; I feel as though I know all of you already."
       Mars sniffed, folding her arms arrogantly and, in essence, closing herself off. "What a surprise."
       The long-haired blonde gritted her teeth behind her blissful smile, mentally cursing whatever fate of the stars had placed the soldier of Mars into a person so, well, bitchy. But she was ignoring her as well as she could, taking Mercury's hand next. "Sailor Mercury, hajimemashite! You must be our genius, ne?"
       "I…I am an excellent student, yes…"
       "Ara ara, Mercury, stop being modest!" Jupiter laughed, waving a hand. "Mercury is a top brain!"
       Mercury turned a brilliant shade of crimson as Venus laughed as well, though far more gentle than Jupiter's gut-deep amusement. She squeezed her hand softly, before relinquishing it to take the tall brunette's outstretched hand next. "Sailor Jupiter, you're as tall as I remember."
       "As you remember? But, this is the first time we've met," Jupiter corrected, shaking the given hand vigorously.
       Venus simply smiled as she released Jupiter's hand as well, putting off Mars as long as possible. "In this lifetime as soldiers, yes. But remember your previous self…your previous lives as part of my court on the Moon!"
       She knew they wouldn't, not without a trigger of monumental proportion. And it was a gamble she had to take to protect the identity of the true princess. So she watched the expressions flicker over Jupiter's face, finally settling on confusion, before she finally dared to face Sailor Mars.
       Neither offered a hand, though Mars, at Artemis' murderous stare, finally bowed. "Princess Serenity. Sailor Venus."
       "Sailor Mars. Your manners are impeccable," the long-haired blonde said, mildly. It was going to take a lot of hard work to get any trust out of the girl, and it was a job was not looking forward to.
       But, she seemed to recall where they were, and she looked around at the mass of bodies around them. "Ara, Zoisite left a lot of clean-up behind!"
       The soldiers blinked, and finally looked around themselves. With the youma's death along with its master, the energy-gathering ball hadn't been destroyed; and so, everyone was still unconscious on the floor. A door opened as they surveyed the wreckage, and an idol Venus couldn't recall looked out from around the dividing wall. "Masaka, masakaaa! Sailor Moon!"
       "Time to go!" Luna whispered hurriedly, leaping from Jupiter's arms so she could help prop the odango-haired blonde up, supporting her on her good arm. The idol, a young girl who exuded the kind of empty-headed cuteness that only the truly dumb could aspire to, was shouting for the others to come out.
       Venus shook her head as the four soldiers headed for the nearest exit; when they realized she wasn't following, Mars literally ran back to fiercely grab her arm. "Hayaku, Princess, we have to go now!" The sudden, narrowed-eye glared she was given actually backed her away, shocked at the intensity.
       A fingertip pointed upwards as Venus smiled acidly at the dark-haired shrine girl, revealing the reason for her position: "Crescent Beam."
       The disco ball shattered as dozens of idols, freed from confinement, began to scream and point; the energy exploded from the wreckage and zoomed downward for the ground, slamming into flesh so hard that unconscious bodies were flopping about like fish. And they began to wake up, adding to the growing level of noise.
       Mercury, Jupiter, Moon, and Luna had left, obviously waiting for the two soldiers and Artemis to join them. Venus flashed her trademark signal to the idols and waking victims, scooping up Artemis in her arm. "Daijoubu, minna, the sailor soldiers saved you!" It never hurt to have good press, and so saying, she made a run for the door with Mars close behind.

       The Crown, at midnight.
       Moon was stretched out on the counter, using it as a makeshift bed, as Mercury gently cleaned Jupiter's arm wound. Luna was the only one who looked up as Venus, Mars, and Artemis entered, obviously in the middle of a fight that intensified in volume once the door closed: "That was a ridiculous, lame-brained idea, princess! Talking to those people-"
       "People who could have been reborn from our kingdom! Helping them feel safe is not a crime, Sailor Mars, and they need heroes in this time of impending darkness!" Venus set Artemis down on the Sailor V console so hard he yowled, but she seemed to ignore it entirely as she turned her back on Mars, walking straight towards the temporary medical corner. "Jupiter, how is your arm?"
        The tall brunette was playing a puzzle game with her good arm, though not well, as Mercury tied the bandage on. "I've been hit with worse, princess, daijoubu. It's Sailor Moon I would be worried about," she added, oak green eyes moving towards the curled-up soldier.
       Luna padded towards Mars, saying something low and obviously angered towards the dark-haired soldier; she responded with something just as harsh. The two were ignored as Venus wandered towards Sailor Moon, touching a hand to her forehead. "Daijoubu, Sailor Moon?"
       The odango-haired blonde smiled weakly, so tired after the events of the day. "My idol, V-chan, now our ally and princess…why did you wait so long to reveal yourself?"
       She knew the question had to be answered, but it was an answer she had worked long and hard on. To reveal her hesitation, but not the entire truth of her plan; that was the most difficult part of all. She could see Mars and Luna still arguing, but she knew the black feline was smarter than to not pay attention to anything she said.
       She held Sailor Moon's hand again as she sighed. "I awoke earlier than all of you, over a year ago. When I first met Artemis, I was hesitant to go into battle; I was given the identity of 'Sailor V' to fight the enemy, to protect myself. I didn't remember any of you, or who I was fighting, but as we stopped the enemy from taking over the city, small details began to emerge."
       Mars had turned away, ignoring Luna. The black feline seemed unsurprised by the motion, and she instead focused her attention on Venus; the long-haired blonde smiled inwardly. "The enemy hid beneath the cover of 'Dark Agency,' sending out youma in the form of new idols to subvert the populace. And, finally, when they were defeated, I found out the true identity of the enemy; the Dark Kingdom, again trying to menace our lives!"
       "The Dark Kingdom? Sou yo, that was what the youma said on stage!" Mercury recalled.
       Venus nodded, sliding up to sit on the edge of the counter next to Moon's head. "An evil, evil entity; though the inhabitants may take human form, they are most certainly not! Merely vessels of a greater source that connects them all like a web. A millennium ago, it was responsible for the death of our kingdom, and now, it wants us again to fall! It desires the energy of humans to further its cause, and the holy stone, the Ginzuishou, for the power to overtake everything!"
       In the corner, the dark-haired shrine girl looked disdainfully towards the gathering, calling out, "And so you knew all along of our enemy!"
       "Yes…because of it, we were denied happiness in our former lives! And what would be the point of me telling you of our deaths, our loss of joy, if you still don't recall it?" Venus fired back, her twilight blue eyes alive with anger and pain. Her performance was verging on real, simply from remembering everything that had happened; she could hear the screams in her mind again, as she recalled details. "To stop the tragedy of our pasts from repeating, we have to destroy this thing, for eternity! And this time, no one must break its seal!"
       "Princess, where is the Ginzuishou? If our enemies so desire it, we must make sure it stays hidden!" Luna cut in, perched on a console opposite Artemis, her body taunt with tension. But it was Artemis who responded, stopping Venus from even forming the words.
       "It's safe, Luna, minna; we're no longer worried about that. And to keep it safe, you must be kept ignorant of it for now, until it's needed!"
       Luna looked extremely unhappy at that, but she subsided into silence. Venus nodded towards her feline ally, still holding Sailor Moon's hand in her lap. "We can defeat the enemy together, as they will surely look for us now, searching for our holy stone. Together, we're strong enough to fight them back!"
       There was a burst of released magic from the corner, and a colourful array; when it finally cleared, Rei was left standing in place of Sailor Mars. "The sun is coming up, minna; I suggest we all get home, before Furuhata-san arrives."
       The gauntlet was, in its way, thrown down, and Venus knew it; Rei had given her no choice but to reveal herself as Aino Minako. So, she simply nodded in agreement, touching the solid-stone brooch in her bow. "Hino-san is right," she said calmly, ignoring the startled looks she was given. "We should retreat home." And in saying so, she released her transformation, closing her eyes as the magic fled away.
       Rei was too proud to cheer in victory, but the smile was enough.
        "M-Minako?" If the girls had merely startled a minute ago, they were white as sheets now. Even Luna gaped as the long-haired blonde slid from the countertop, now clad in the jacket and skirt she had been wearing at the auction. Ami had been the one to gasp her name, forgetting the honorable suffix she almost always tacked on to everyone's name.
       She twirled slowly around, to give the full affect. "Hai. Aino Minako is my temporary form; Sailor Venus, the soldier, is the true me." No matter how much she hated to say it.
       One by one, the remaining soldiers changed, though they seemed unsure how to handle this new realization. Makoto was the one who finally shrugged, glancing towards Ami. "We knew you were a special friend, Minako-chan…I guess, now we know the truth."
       The blue-haired genius nodded slowly in agreement, as Minako couldn't help but blush. "Honto?"
       "Though Rei-san was always ready to think the worse, I thought…I always hoped, maybe, that you would be one of us too," Usagi whispered from behind the long-haired blonde, curled up in her school uniform. "And to have been my idol, Sailor V, all this time…"
       "Iyaa, Usagi-chan, don't think that!" Minako crooned, taking Usagi's hands again and helping her to stand. "I'm no longer Sailor V, just an ordinary girl when I'm not Sailor Venus. I'm still the Minako you knew."
       Usagi giggled, holding the long-haired blonde's hands as she finally stood, twilight staring into crystal blue. The stance was eerily familiar, and behind Ami, Makoto drew in a sudden sharp breath. But it was over when Minako was the first to let go, moving to collect Artemis.
       Taking the cue, Usagi reached out to pick up Luna, letting her curl over her shoulder. Rei stepped away from the door, staying well away as Minako passed her by, waving a hand back at everyone. "Where shall we meet again tomorrow? Here?"
       "At the shrine, perhaps?" Makoto ventured slowly, looking towards Rei for confirmation. When the dark-haired shrine girl nodded, Makoto added, "The Hikawa Jinja. Do you know where it is, Minako-chan?"
       "I know a lot of things, Mako-chan," Minako answered a bit sadly, and stepped through the opened glass doors. She and Artemis disappeared down the sidewalk, leaving the rest of the girls to disperse on their own, and in silence.

      With a heavy heart, Usagi plodded towards her home, Luna close at her heels. As it was Sunday, she had no worries about getting to school in only two hours' time, and she could sleep all day, mother willing.
       She and Makoto had parted ways ten minutes previous, with the tall brunette going down one street, and she another; Ami lived a bus ride in the opposite direction from the Crown, as did Rei. It had given the two unlikely friends a long time to talk. "I still can't believe it," Makoto had sighed, shading her eyes against the steadily rising sun. "Minako-chan, Sailor V and the princess at the same time! How could she do so much on her own? Is our princess really so strong?"
       "Perhaps…her strength comes from being alone for so long," the odango-haired blonde had replied softly, unsure of her words. So much about the revelation of Minako being their long sought after princess made her slightly confused if she put much thought into it; the image of a laughing, bubbly long-haired blonde simply didn't reconcile in her mind with what she had envisioned in her dreams.
       Or maybe, she was simply over-analyzing the whole thing.
       But why couldn't she be happy they had finally found Serenity?
       And why… "Ne, Luna, why would a royal princess be a soldier? If we're to protect her, how can we do so if she fights along with us?"
       The black cat had shrugged, padding briskly down the sidewalk as Usagi had slowed her steps. "Perhaps it was all to hide her from the enemy. After all, would they ever think to accuse one of you of being royalty?"
       "Demo sa…if I'm the soldier of the Moon, does that make me her decoy, maybe?"
       "Don't be foolish, Usagi-chan! Why would you be a decoy for her, when you're a soldier as well? And their leader, no less!"
       That had been the end of that discussion, and it kept them in silence the last block to the Tsukino residence. With everyone still asleep, both snuck in as quiet as possible, creeping their way up the staircase for Usagi's bedroom. It was lucky they had arrived when they had; just as the odango-haired blonde closed her door, she heard the alarm going off in her parent's room. Her mother was always promptly awake, no matter what the day.
       Shedding her uniform like the skins of an onion, she was still engrossed in undoing her hair when she heard her mother open her bedroom door. "Usagi-chan, time to wake u-Tsukino Usagi, are you only now going to sleep?"
       "Hai, mama…I was studying with Ami-chan," Usagi warbled, affecting a loud yawn for emphasis. Her mother had only recently learned of her daughter's friendship with the school genius, and was taking it like a gift from the gods. It was the only possible reason Ikuko simply nodded, retreating without saying another word other than uttering a "Sleep well."
       Deftly she closed the window shades against the sunlight, reducing the bright atmosphere in her room to a cool twilight. Luna, already curled up on her comforter, became merely a lump, everything else just dull shapes. She tripped over more than a few of those vague shapes before managing to crawl under the covers, her head barely hitting the pillow before she was deep asleep.
       And in six homes of Tokyo, six separate minds shared a dream.
       Like a movie, they shared consciousness, watching as one pair of eyes.
       The scenario was a war zone of dust and bodies, of cracking pillars and broken water fountains of shattered, jagged crystal. Screams still echoed; the fighting had yet to stop. Lightning from a cloudless sky slammed into a group of soldiers wearing ancient, barely protective armor and shields, reducing them to charred bodies. Fire ignited another soldier, her frantic dance to remove her burning clothing in vain as she melted into a puddle of fat.
       A cold mist spread along the ground, enveloping the approaching army. "No! You can't confuse us any longer, people of the Moon! Your long lives, your power, we'll take it for ourselves and the glory of Earth!" someone shouted from out of the mist, the army continuing to march forward.
       Swords met yielding flesh, and the Moon's own pitiful army began to show signs of collapsing. Though well trained, they were no match for soldiers who lusted after power, the whisper of eternity pushing them on past normal human endurance. It was taking almost total obliteration to stop them, and the sailor soldiers simply couldn't kill them all.
       Their princess ran through a corridor, hand in hand with a taller prince, his uniform solid black and alien in a world of pure soft white. The screams of the dying reached them through the open walls of the outer palace, and the princess was crying in confusion, cleaving to her prince as they ran for freedom.
       On the grand steps to the garden, they were confronted by a woman wielding a sword, a peasant witch by her garb. "Prince! Are you betraying Earth, by protecting her? This for our prosperity, our wish for long life!"
       The prince stepped in front of the princess, unsheathing his sword. "Stop this, stop all of this useless death! Who are you to say what our planet wants!" He brought his weapon up as the woman stepped forward, taking the steps two at a time as she broke into a run.
       She was clumsy in holding her weapon, and the prince should have easily defended himself; but something black and evil seemed to then expand outward from her body, laughing loud enough to shake the entire palace. The princess screamed as her prince brought his sword up far too slowly, the woman gaining unrivaled speed in her lunge to slam her own weapon home through his chest. "Endymion! No! NO! ENDYMION!"
       His sword tumbled down the steps as the woman laughed, retreating, unconcerned with the princess as she cried over the body of her lover. And so she didn't see the princess take up his still-bloodied sword, sobbing his name still as she shoved it into her own chest. But her aim was off, her strength lacking; she fell to her knees with a punctured lung, and as her soldiers cried her name, she slowly drowned in her own blood on the steps.
       Just that one death shattered her court. Every sailor soldier retreated to her side, furiously fighting away the army from their princess's body as if she were still alive to protect, whirling dervishes as they flung their steadily weakening attacks.
       All it took were well-placed arrows, finally, to drop them on the steps as well, their blood soaking into the marble. But their bodies were left alone, untouched by a triumphant Earthen army, as a brilliant white light seemed to explode out of the palace itself. It surged along the grounds in a corona, swallowing up everything in its wake; the evilness that still hovered over the witch screamed as it dissolved.
       Luna spasmed as Usagi screamed, twisting beneath her comforter and yanking it out from beneath the cat's feet. She did a swan dive onto the carpet, and getting a nasty case of burn as well, as the blonde cried piteously up above. Buried in a mound of sheets and comforter, she sobbed as if she had lost her best friend, though she was wide awake by the time Luna clawed her way back up. "Usagi-chan, what happened?"
       "I…I…oh, Luna, it was so horrible! I dreamed that everyone died, and, and the princess, a-and the prince…." She rocked in her cocoon of bedsheets, unaware of the feet pounding towards her bedroom door.
       "Usagi, Usagi, what in the world is wrong?" her mother called from the other side of the door, pounding away at it. When her daughter didn't respond, she simply opened it herself and, seeing Usagi still crying, fled over to her bedside. "Usagi, why are you crying? You screamed so loudly, I thought a prowler was outside! And during daylight…"
       Usagi threw herself into her mother's arms, burying her face in her apron as she cried even harder. "I don't want this anymore, mama, just make it all stop! Please, please…" She held on tight to Ikuko as Luna turned away, continuing to plead meaninglessly to a mother ignorant of everything she said.

      By the afternoon, Usagi had been up for hours, unable to let herself fall back asleep after her traumatic dream. Shunning everyone, she had run from the house on her own, taking enough pocket money to purchase some of her favourite manga.
       But what she found had her nearly screaming with frustration; the only new edition out was a Sailor V limited run, along with, of all things, a crudely plotted Tuxedo Kamen comic. Apparently their slip-up at Zoisite's lecture had spawned more than just questions; the Tuxedo Kamen comic created a silly background history for him, giving him the secret identity of a Yoyogi park punk! She didn't bother to read it fully, only a few pages, but she took it and the Sailor V comic to the front desk.
       It just got worse, as the female clerk was an obvious otaku of sad proportions, wearing SD pins of almost every anime male playing on Saturday morning TV, and a few even Usagi had never heard of. "Ah, the Tuxedo Kamen comic! He's such a mysterious fighter, don't you agree?"
       "…ah…hai…" Usagi waved the bills at the girl, trying to press the purchase to move a bit faster, but the clerk had apparently decided to vent her obsession on the poor blonde. She had even taken the comic and started to flip through it at a snail's pace.
        "Ahh, I wish he was a true man! Then I could be rescued by him, and be happy in his arms and fall in love!" she crooned, totally ignoring the yen being frantically flailed at her.
       By now a line had begun to form behind the odango-haired blonde. Red with embarrassment, she coughed loudly. "Moshi moshi? I'd like to pay for my comics, please!"
       "Ohh, is that the new Tuxedo Kamen?" some girl cried behind her. Usagi peered back at the line at the girl, one not much younger than her. And behind her stretched an entire line of suddenly swooning females, half of them holding the very comic she was trying to purchase.
       "Tuxedo Kamen? Ara ara, I would be rescued by him any day!"
       "Held in his strong arms…"
       "Being held safe…."
       "Ahhh! It's my dream!" they all chorused as one, gaining the attention of every other patron in the store who stared as though they'd gone mad, with one tiny voice whimpering, "I'm not a part of this!"
       Finally the clerk relinquished the comic, took Usagi's money, and let the poor girl flee the store post-haste. She practically ran, afraid that the groupies would follow her with the mistaken assumption she was one of them; she didn't even slow down until her body simply refused to keep going, and dropped her onto the concrete, gasping. "Mooou, that was a nightmare!"
       "Yare yare, tsukimidango, fleeing the hounds?"
       She looked up to see the trees of Ichinohashi park slowly swaying above her, as well as a familiar redhead who stared back at her as if she'd lost her senses. A hand was held out in waiting, obviously to help her up. Once grabbed, Moriya pulled Usagi up hard enough to have her stumble. "What were you running from, Usagi-chan?"
       "The Tuxedo Kamen fan club, I guess! It was so silly, and did you see this comic that just came out?" The odango-haired blonde removed the comic from its bag to show her friend, who simply stared.
       Moriya took it without needing to ask, flipping through the pages at a skim. "Pure trash, I see; a takenoko is his secret identity? And I suppose whoever wrote this is good friends with that hypocritical dick," she stated flatly, holding it out at arms' length and upside down to stare at a particularly bad two-page fight scene.
       "How do you know about him, Moriya-chan?"
       "An amazing invention called a television; it consists of a box, and in the front it shows pictures…" She stopped, laughing, as Usagi stuck her tongue out at her. "I went to that professor's lecture with Sakakku-san, and he and Sailor V showed up. Made idiots of themselves as well."
       Usagi frowned as she accepted the comic back, sliding it back into the bag carefully. She began to walk into the park, trusting her friend to follow; and she did, speeding up slightly until they were side by side on the sidewalk. For a Sunday, the place was amazingly empty. Not a person walked by them until they were almost in the center, nearing the fountain. "Moriya-chan…"
       "Hai, Usagi-chan?"
       "We're best friends, right?" the odango-haired blonde murmured, focusing her gaze somewhere off into the trees. She didn't even notice her friend slowing down and, finally, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. It took her a good minute to finally realize Moriya had stopped, and by that time, her friend had jogged up to her side.
       When she got there, the redhead was frowning. "Mochiron! Unless, of course, you've moved on from me, now that you have Mako-chan, and Ami-chan, and Hino-san," she blithely replied, an eyebrow lifting up high. When Usagi didn't answer she curled an arm around her shoulders, hugging her close and pulling her back into a walk. "Ara ara, tsukimidango, you're my confidante and ally against the world! No secrets, right?"
       "H-Hai, no secrets!" Usagi replied unevenly, smiling despite the growing pit of emptiness she felt in her stomach. She knew she could tell Moriya everything, and that the redhead would listen with sympathy; but it was the one secret she could never share, and she was realizing just how much she hated Luna for passing it to her.
       Moriya sighed, pressing her cheek to Usagi's cheek in an almost sisterly gesture as she held on tight with her arm. "Usagi-chan, you've been there for me, just like Mamoru-chan; and I'd do anything to keep you from being hurt. I'd be lost without you around." Her brooding stare was so serious and trusting that the odango-haired blonde nearly gave in. But then, her friend released her, frowning as she stared down the path. "Have you ever felt…."
       The odango-haired blonde tilted her head inquisitively. "Ne, Moriya-chan?"
       "It's silly. But it seems like, sometimes, something's not right in my life. Something big is missing, and I don't know why…." The redhead smiled weakly, re-assuming her leaning posture against Usagi's side. "Maybe it's an orphan feeling, this being lost."
       "I guess. But, I've felt that way too, sometimes," Usagi mumbled, hugging her bag of comics to her chest. "Like everything is going wrong."
       Moriya regarded her strangely then, opening her mouth to comment in return. But her eyes shifted away again, settling on the fountain they stood mere feet away from. "Chiba, what the hell are you doing here on a Sunday?"
       Usagi froze against her friend's side, almost too afraid to even peek at the dark-haired man sitting by himself on the fountain's rim. Piled in stacks around him were books thick and thin, some new and some worn right through the binding. Mamo-chan…
       And of course, the redhead was pulling her right towards him, despite the sudden tension in her friend's body, and complete reluctance to move a single step closer. It wasn't until they were close enough to sit that Mamoru finally looked up, and, seeing Usagi, smiled. But she knew now what that particular smile meant; nothing at all. Merely a courtesy gesture, and nothing approaching the tenderness he had shown her.
       "Ano…something wrong, Usagi-chan?" The odango-haired blonde suddenly realized she had been daydreaming, as she found herself being intently stared at by two sets of eyes. She began to laugh nervously, holding up her bag of comics as a convenient shield.
       "Of course not! Ehehe…I was just…just…admiring the trees! Sou yo, I was admiring the trees, they look so pretty when they bloom flowers!"
       Moriya looked utterly unconvinced, but it was Mamoru's quiet chuckle that had Usagi raging into a full-blown blush; she could hear the warmth in his voice again, even if it was for only a minute. She spun around on her heel, beginning to babble on about the sensational colour arrangement of the trees. Anything to avoid looking at him.
       Beside her, the redhead groaned. "Yare yare! I'll leave you two lovebirds alone, it's quite obvious I'm not wanted. Just don't break her heart, Mamoru-chan, ne?"
       "Nani desu ka?! What are you saying, Moriya-chan?" Usagi squealed, but it was to the back of her friend's shirt as she continued down the sidewalk, laughing. But this time, the dark-haired man wasn't laughing.
       With slow, deliberate movements, he cleared the stack of books from his left side, piling them as neatly as possible next to his foot. Obviously, she was meant to sit beside him, but she hesitated. "Mamo-ch-Chiba-san, I mean…"
       "I owe you an apology, Usako; I'd feel better if you were sitting, instead of standing." The nickname was spoken affectionately, but he still remained aloof and alone by his stance. She took what she could get, and promptly settled down next to him.
       "An apology for what? For revealing our princess?" she asked in puzzlement, holding the comics in her lap.
       He shook his head in the negative, though he was narrowing his eyes at her bundle. "For not rescuing you from that man in time. I failed you, Usako; if Sailor Venus hadn't acted in time, I would have watched you die."
       "Hai…our princess is so strong, I feel as if she's the one protecting us, instead of the other way around." She stared up at him, frowning as he refused to meet her eyes. So she grabbed his hand, holding it tightly, forcing him to look at her. "It isn't your fault, Chiba-san! As Tuxedo Kamen, you can only do so much…and now, that our princess has revealed herself, you should help us protect her!"
       The intense look on his face shocked her so much she released his hand, flinching beneath his gaze. "I don't become Tuxedo Kamen because of the princess, Usako," he stated baldly, looking down to her lap again. Then, his eyes widened.
       Thinking her skirt had ridden up, she squeaked, hastily folding over to cover herself in modesty, but his hand slid into her lap before she could fully hide her legs. However, all he did was pull the bag out of her lap, totally ignoring her strange behavior, and remove the Tuxedo Kamen comic. She had completely forgotten about it. "I can explain….!" she gasped, expecting him to be angry with her.
       Of course, she didn't expect him to be laughing, if bitterly. "Where did you find this piece of low-rate trash?"
       "Ah…the shop near my house. I thought it was so silly…."
       "I agree with that. I don't recall hanging around Yoyogi Park in my spare time, however. Typical; no one asks what really goes on," he sighed.
       No, she definitely hadn't expected that sort of calm reaction. Madness, maybe, would have been at the top of her list, but not this. He flipped through it slowly, unconcerned with her for the time being, so she peered around to see what he had been reading before Moriya had interrupted him.
       She didn't know so many books could be written on the subject of crystals. Psychic paraphernalia, dowsing, an encyclopedia of crystals and their Latin names, a guidebook to the world's famous precious gems. And there, she spotted a sole book on the Moon and its religious impact; she flushed, lowering her eyes. "Searching so hard for our holy stone," she whispered softly, recalling their conversation. He didn't hear her, obviously, as he continued to comment with dry wit on the comic's questionable contents.
       "I throw roses, apparently. No one tells me these things beforehand."
       "Magical roses?" She giggled, suddenly, at the image. "How could roses hurt anyone?"
        "Maybe I prick at my enemies with the thorns," the dark-haired man retorted, holding the comic out at the same fight scene Moriya had stared so intently at. "Or maybe I give them lethal hayfever."
       That did it; she began laughing joyously, leaning against his shoulder without a care as he, too, started laughing. All in all, it was not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

       But below the ice and snow of the Arctic, no one was laughing.
       Of course, one would be hard-pressed to find anything to laugh about.
       In the throne room, Beryl ruled supreme. Just the mere shift of her staff could send youma and general alike spasming into terror; the play of her fingernails along the curved glass of her orb was enough for the pathetic creatures to plead mercy.
       The one room that was off-limits to all but her, however, forced her to grovel as lowly as the most sniveling youma, dirtying her knees and hurting her spine.
       But Metallia would have it no other way, and had once struck Beryl with a blast of energy hard enough to crack her head open on the floor when she had refused to show subservience. That had been in the earlier days of their resurrected kingdom, when the piss-eyed queen had thought herself superior to a mere cloud.
       She had learned, of course, and she stood only when her master allowed it. Even now she was standing, holding aloft her staff to release what was really a pitiful amount of energy into the churning mass that was Metallia. Energy was the only thing keeping the entity stable and strong, but it wasn't strong enough. "More…ahhh, I need more, Beryl! I need the power of that stone, why haven't you found it yet?"
       "Patience, my queen, my powerful Metallia-sama! With the princess awake…"
       "But I sense nothing of the blood of the white moon! How can she be awake and revived in this time without being known to me? Perhaps…perhaps, the little bitch doesn't have the stone either!" Metallia's voice was like the thundering of what could have once been a female voice, only amplified and distorted tenfold. Echoing off of the stone walls it was deafening.
       A few rocks tumbled down from the ceiling, narrowly missing Beryl's head. "If that is so, she can be captured, tortured; the stone will be ours, soon, Metallia-sama, and with it power! You will fill the world with your darkness, and it will be as night eternally…"
       "Then kill them! Have them bleed and scream as they did when they locked me away into nothingness, make them cower!" More rocks fell, one scraping Beryl's cheek this time as it dropped. "Once, I was shielded and bound, but no more! I desire power, to make the Earth mine as I deserve!"
       "We will find it, Metallia-sama, you have my word as my vow!" Beryl did her best imitation of a flattering croon, flattening herself to the floor again with her staff standing up tall beside her like a mailbox arrow. And she would remain in such a position for an hour if she had to.
       Thankfully, she didn't have to. The black above her seemed to withdraw its aura, its sentience, into itself; the whole became a harmless storm cloud, Metallia's way of dismissing her and of resting. Quite simply, Metallia didn't have the power or energy to keep up constant attention. But Beryl still crawled backwards, crab-like, until she was well out of the chamber itself, making good on her exit.
       No one was allowed in this section of the kingdom without her permission, but a youma stood there nonetheless, dumbfounded at the sight of his queen cowering. It was the last sight it saw, as she vented her frustrations on it and turned the insect-like creature to slag. "In this time, they had to be reborn!" she hissed, correcting the folds of her skirt and removing the lingering dust of the floor. Taking up her staff she invoked a teleport to the throne room, plunging the tip of that same staff into its hole next to the throne itself.
       The thing was an immense, ugly, jagged hunk of rock, the rough shape of it merely hacked out. Cloth draped it, but haphazardly, as if they had been thrown on as afterthought. It was uncomfortable, but imposing, and she arranged herself into it carefully. Only then did she hold a hand out, fingers uncurling like a Venus flytrap, to cup the globe that detached itself from her staff and floated to her palm. "Kunzite, I command an audience with you. Arrive here at once!"
       She could sense him on the surface world, taking advantage of the night that had fallen on the Middle East. Only the creatures that had taken Metallia's blood into them and suffered her darkness were confined to the night; Beryl was the only one of this distinction. The shitennou, the youma, they were weak enough and untainted to survive the blaze of the sunlight. But they still preferred the night, their eyes unused to the strong light that didn't shine in their kingdom.
       His teleport was nearly instantaneous, and he immediately affected a bow. For the first time, he truly did worry for his existence; with Zoisite dead, he was the only of the shitennou left alive. So he groveled as well as he could, eyes lowered to the cold stone floor. "Queen Beryl-sama," he stated simply and respectively.
       "Do you know the fates of your three generals?" she intoned flatly, not even bothering to play her usual game. That was a bad sign, and he kept his head steadfastly down, lest she simply strike him down and be done with it.
       But he recalled the three coffins in the chamber beside the room he stood in now, each one holding what remains they could find of each general. So he nodded, keeping his mouth firmly shut. "Our great queen demands the Ginzuishou, Kunzite; with its power, we could revive them! I think you don't realize the extent of power that holy stone gives its bearer."
       "As my queen says. But, Queen Beryl-sama, I understand the mission, as I am the only general left to carry on. As the Middle Eastern officer and most powerful of the shitennou, I cannot possible fail!"
       She made a noise deep in her throat, partway between a snort and a gurgle, and kicked him in the chest.
       He had never been struck by her, and was unprepared for the sudden pain and the loss of balance. As he fell backwards onto his ass, gasping out a breath in a most unrespectful manner, she snarled at him. "You will not fail! Zoisite, Nephrite, Jadeite, they were spared my wrath, but I promise you, the soul I hold will be tortured for eternity if you displease me! You bound yourself to me with your vow and your weakness, and you are mine."
       Huddled on the cold floor, he sensed her leave rather than saw, not daring to even look at her skirts as they flowed past him. And once she was gone entirely, he coughed and choked as the pain in his chest throbbed deeper to the bone, hurting his lungs. "Witch," he gasped weakly, jerking in agony as he forced himself to teleport back to the surface.
       Collapsing on the highest observation deck of the Tokyo Tower, he lay in total silence. Above him the stars glittered, so much prettier and serene than the jagged stone rocks that made up the ceiling of his kingdom and home; he felt such rage in that moment, knowing the sky wasn't even truly his to watch and admire. Humans overran everything. "So much light and brightness. Disgusting, wasteful light, the arrogance of humanity!"
       As the pain subsided the anger rushed to fill the void, expanding in a show of power to encase him in a sphere of it. With arms held wide, he flung the sphere up into the sky and above the city itself, laughing as he watched the lights twinkle. "Come, little princess, little soldiers…protect your precious lights!"
        He was the last and greatest of the shitennou, and he made a show of it. With another expansive gesture of his arms, much like a maestro conducting a symphony, he released an enormous blast of energy. Slowly it gathered speed as it traveled outward, leaving in its wake downed power lines and trails of electricity. Darkness spread from the epicenter like a cancer, and the city began to slow down, befuddled and confused.
       But in the center, the Tower still twinkled defiantly.
       All he had to do was wait.

       The spreading darkness caught each of the girls by surprise, all of them wandering alone through the city to rid themselves of the memory of their shared nightmare. Only Usagi had found solace in another's company; the other four roamed solitary, never once crossing paths.
       Minako, having experienced so many other dreams in much more vivid detail than the blurry, unfocused figures of that morning, was relatively unscathed by it. But she still escaped the house and her mother's biting remarks and headed for the bay. It was being reclaimed, slowly, and the long-haired blonde found a strange, melancholic joy in watching the lapping water touch its newly dug banks.
       Across the city, Ami wandered through one of the larger art galleries in the Ginza, each and every picture for sale. Without fail she found some of her father's newest watercolours, priced high enough to make even her brows lift. She was proud of him, of course; his Japanese paintings were perfect souvenirs for the tourists with plenty of pocket money. But sometimes, she had to wonder if maybe she never inherited any of his imagination at all.
       Bells tolled for Mass in the Catholic Church that supported the nearby U.S. Embassy, the doors open to allow the warm air in and the softly sung prayers out. In the very last row sat Makoto, cradling the Bible from the back of the pew in front of her on her lap, and reading the translated passages as the priest led everyone in song. She closed her eyes as the music soothed her mind, the words of no meaning nor consequence.
       Nearly two hours on the bus, and Rei knelt before the headstone that bore her mother's maiden name, countless generations of her maternal family beneath her. She gently rested a black and white picture of her mother, caught with that particular smile after one has laughed, against the stone, along with a casablanca bloom. "Okaa-san, I'm so lost," she whispered, running her fingers into the grooves of the name. "I want to protect her, my princess of a past life; I want to love her, but something's wrong! Everything feels awkward, and to be a sailor soldier is engulfing, consuming my soul…."
       But when the lights went out, most of them had placed themselves, by fate or random chance, within a radius of a half-mile of one another, intent on finding the others at the Crown. The long-haired blonde had been at the game center for an hour before the loss of light, playing herself on the console fast and furious. When everything shut down she was the only one besides Motoki in the room; when he went to check on the fuses, she turned her wrist communicator on, a present from Luna. "The lights have gone out! Where are you all?"
       The small signal flash on Makoto's wrist kept pulsating, alerting the tall brunette to the incoming transmission, but the priest who kept trying to rouse her had no idea what it meant. With the sudden darkness Makoto had fainted, crying out at the surging electricity that ran through her body like a live wire, the shock too much for her to handle.
       Before the loss of light, the blue-haired genius caught a bus going into Juuban. But just before her stop on the corner, the bus driver suddenly jerked the wheel hard to the right. Ami, thankfully on the left side of the bus, barely had enough time to wedge herself into the corner of the seat and brace herself before the vehicle smashed into the concrete. Glass went flying as people screamed, some stopping suddenly as their necks snapped with the impact.
       Still shuddering violently, many people on Ami's side fell down onto the twisted metal and glass, others landing on badly wounded passengers. The blue-haired genius herself held on tight to the back of her seat, her communicator beeping loudly in her ear. She had to push it on with the tip of her nose, and then, Minako's voice surged through impatiently. "Ami-chan, what's happened in the city? Can you come to the Crown as soon as possible?"
       "The bus…" Her arms were beginning to ache. She knew Minako could see, faintly, through the tiny screen and see the wreck and blood. So she concentrated on getting out of the vehicle over every thing else, and began to pound and pull at the window with one hand.
       "Kami-sama, what happened? Iie, nevermind, just transform to Mercury, Ami-chan! Freeze the window with your fog, you can't open it otherwise in your weak state!"
       Ami was ready to protest but, looking around the half-empty vehicle, she knew everyone who was able was trying to get out, same as her. No one was paying attention to the lone girl in the back, seemingly talking to herself, and if anyone were, they would most likely think it a hallucination. It took another minute of dangling by one arm to retrieve the pen from her inner jacket pocket, and nearly losing her grip in the process. "Mercury Power, Make Up!"
       The fog flooded the bus with radiant cold. Minako breathed a sigh of relief as she saw it, and as she heard Mercury breaking open her window, she relinquished contact with her. It was unnecessary to contact Rei or Usagi, as they both appeared in the doorway of the game center at the same time. "Minako-chan, is it the enemy?!"
       "I can sense the evil spreading. Where is Ami and Makoto?" Rei demanded, striding further into the room, only to pause as Motoki came out from the broom closet.
       "You girls better get home, before this gets really serious!" he said sternly, undoing his apron and rolling it into his hands. "This is unnatural, this total darkness."
       Outside, they could hear people screaming, shouting at one another. Through the windows all of them watched as a small crowd chased two others down the street, calling out curses. The sparking power lines on the ground surged as one of them stepped on it, and the man screamed as he was electrified. "Masaka!"
       "Maybe onii-san is right," Minako mused, watching as a trio of teenagers knocked a woman down and began kicking her. "We should leave; we can't approach the enemy from inside this haven."
       "You'll be hurt going out there now!" Motoki protested, doing a complete 360 as he watched the woman being kicked and punched. "If you leave…"
       But Minako could see Mercury, finally, running down the sidewalk. The long-haired blonde sprinted through the door without bothering to argue with the college student. Usagi and Rei, momentarily dumbfounded, ran out after her once they had realized what had sent Minako out into the street, with Motoki yelling frantically at them to stop.
       In mid-sprint, the persona of Aino Minako seemed to peel away, revealing the orange fuku of Sailor Venus. "Mercury! Do you know where Mako-chan is? I can't get ahold of her, and this electrical fury is destroying the connection!"
       All four girls met halfway, Usagi and Rei needing to stop themselves before they could even attempt their transformations. As the magic garbed them both, the blue-haired genius shook her head in the negative. "Iie…I was so busy trying to free myself and the others from the bus, I didn't think…but, princess, everyone is so spontaneously violent!"
       "It must be the influence of the enemy," Mars stated with assurance, motioning a gloved hand towards the fallen, sparking power lines. "Whomever cut those lines…"
       "…such an incredible amount of energy!"
       "Mako-chan?!" Sailor Moon cried, looking around frantically at the tall brunette's voice. But with the transformation taking their civilian identities, it had taken their communicators as well, leaving her, Mercury, and Mars puzzled as to the source. Venus lifted her transformation pen in response.
       "Mako-chan, where are you? Are you all right?"
       With no bus to catch, the tall brunette was running as fast as she could, already in the persona of Jupiter. It was the only way she could keep up her endurance to make it to their sides in time, though even her enhanced body was beginning to tire. "The sudden surge of electricity was too much for me to handle…! I never expected to feel something like that!"
       "As the soldier of Jupiter, with your electric constitution…?" Venus replied a bit tersely.
       Jupiter razzed her in response.
       The tall brunette was now close enough that they could see her, and Venus tucked her pen back into the folds of her skirt. Around them, they could hear the fights as people broke shop windows, expending energy on worthless skirmishes. Thankfully, they were so involved in beating on one another that several ran right past the assembled five, now counting Jupiter, their eyes glazed and bloodshot with forced anger.
       "We have to find the source of the enemy's attack," Venus announced, pointing a finger up the street. "And this time, it's easy to find; we must suspect a trap!"
       "Ne, V-chan, how do you know already?" Sailor Moon asked softly, looking over her shoulder like a scared rabbit as more glass shattered and broke.
       Venus could see the questioning look on all of their faces, and she sighed. She forgot sometimes how easy it was in the beginning to lack common sense. Her year, roundabouts, of posing as Sailor V had taught her that sometimes, it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Well, the Tokyo Tower is the only thing left lit."
       They all stared off towards the far-away Tower, which was indeed still lit up like a Christmas tree. The look on their faces now was quite classic, something amounting to a lemon pucker. Venus couldn't help but giggle, though it was a short spurt of humour. "We can't wait for Luna and Artemis to take up their posts in the command center-"
       "But, princess, surely you aren't coming with us!" Jupiter interrupted, obviously shocked. "As sailor soldiers, it's our job to fight the enemy, not yours!"
       "Sou yo; the command center is a safe place for you to be," Mercury added.
       Now it was Venus's turn to look irritated, nearly insulted. But she didn't get the chance to argue in her favour, as Sailor Moon yelled, "Baka, baka! Our princess is as strong as us, more so! She fought as V-chan a year before Luna found any of us, and now she has to hide away?" She rushed to the long-haired blonde's side, taking up her hand defiantly. "We can protect her in battle, minna; but she is our princess, and she is strong!"
       "Sailor Moon," Venus murmured.
       The odango-haired blonde turned her smile onto Venus, brilliant as her planet in that moment. "Daijoubu, V-chan; I'll protect you, as my princess! And, as the leader, I say we're going!"

       Tokyo had been relieved of its light, and Kunzite felt the ache in his eyes finally subside. Such harsh brilliance, even at night, hurt his vision. It was just a secondary pleasure to know the sailor soldiers were so enamored with their ideals of justice and defending the weak that they would come straight to him on their own.
       Silly, stupid little girls.
       With the release of the initial blast of energy, he had not only cut the power lines, but also soaked the essence of his kingdom's evil into the sparking electricity. Even now he could see the energy fairly thick over the city, released as people frantically destroyed property and one another, completely oblivious to what drove them to violence.
        And then, finally, he saw the radiance of five planetary auras approaching at the ground level. "It's about time," he groused, absently rubbing the lingering ache in his ribs. A white light rushed to form a sphere much like his around the five of them, and they lifted off the ground.
       There was plenty of space on the deck for them to land, but the general still moved back and away as the sphere touched down on the concrete. With the working lights of the Tower, he could see each soldier in detail, each face invoking nothing but dull annoyance and anger; except, when he looked at Venus…
       Sailor Moon broke his train of thought as she yelled, "Plunging the city into darkness, frightening the people…you've stolen the light, and the energy of everyone!" Her mask was lifted from her face and flung high into the air in what was fast becoming her trademark pose. "The pretty suited soldier of love, and justice, Sailor Moon! For this crime, we'll punish you!"
       "Use the moon stick!" Venus whispered behind her, standing in ranks with the other four soldiers. When the odango-haired blonde looked at them, she felt dizzy; it felt right for Venus to be there, instead of at the head as a princess should have been. But she didn't question the order, and felt the moon stick solidify in her hand.
       Before when she used it, she had simply pleaded with the damn thing to work. This time, however, she had a feeling that wouldn't fly, and she stood there for a long moment like an idiot, holding it out uselessly. Kunzite was laughing at her as she felt tears gathering in her eyes, frustrated and confused.
       Though once before, she had conjured up the words with her mind, invoking an attack in the gallery to call down the moonlight. Now, as her helplessness increased to the point where she knew she was about to cry, it happened again; the phrase revealed itself, and she cried out, "Moon Healing Escalation!"
       The flood of energy was much gentler this time, working differently to restore the lights and power, to cleanse the human populace of Kunzite's influence. Maybe she was just used to it, that quickly. In any event, the city was again alive, and Sailor Moon gestured quickly to the others. "Now, everyone!"
        Kunzite radiated energy once again, conjuring the sphere just as Mercury summoned fog. Though he still stood out in the mist, throbbing lightly with power, he began to laugh. "Try, little soldiers! Every attack, every little bit of magic, I'll turn on you tenfold! The most powerful of the shitennou, Kunzite, is your death, princess Serenity!"
       "Crescent Beam!" The golden energy shot straight through the fog, humidity hissing at the intense heat. It radiated as it hit the sphere, not even leaving a dent; the silver-haired general simply gestured with his hand to send it back at twice the intensity. Melting the concrete back into liquid on impact, Venus and Mercury screamed as they leapt out of the way.
       "He's too strong for these singular attacks!" Mars cried as her flames simply slid away around the smooth expanse of the sphere like water, not even lifting a strand of his hair in passing. He didn't return her flames, but he did return a blast of black, furious energy that ripped away half of the railing as the red soldier dropped to the ground.
       Venus dove halfway over the edge, screaming her attack into the wind; her golden chain shot out to whip around the warped metal, stopping its descent. Below, she could see people pointing up, gathering at the base to watch the strange explosions. They started to scream at the sight of the ripped railing dangling a mere story up, and she was almost positive she heard sirens begin to wail. "Shimatta!" she cursed, flattening to the ground as Jupiter's returned lightning singed her skirt and hair.
       The golden links disappeared as the magic holding them evaporated, unable to hold together as Venus was rendered temporarily paralyzed. She knew the magic that encased her, but she couldn't believe it, not until she heard Sailor Moon verify it. "Get away, get the princess to safety! With the moon stick, I can hold him off!"
       "Sailor Moon, what are you doing!?" Venus screamed, frantic. Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter were in a similar sphere, all of them being spirited away by the power of the moon stick and Sailor Moon's will. "No! Don't be so stupid, Sailor Moon!"
       On the lower deck they were dropped, and once she was released, Venus was nearly tackled by Jupiter and Mars. "Princess, you can't go back up there! Kunzite, he'll kill you, he's amassed so much energy!" Mercury cried, grabbing the long-haired blonde around the waist as she struggled hard enough to fling Mars away.
       "You don't understand! None of you understand! You have to protect Sailor Moon, he'll kill her!" Jupiter and Mars grabbed an arm each, and while she twisted frantically, she could see Tuxedo Kamen leaping towards the upper deck. "Tuxedo Kamen….he can't save her by himself, you have to let me go!"
       Sailor Moon held out the moon stick in front of her, concentrating on the growing energy as it grew from the crescent.
        Kunzite gathered what energy he had retained and salvaged from the city, glowing like a demonic firefly from the overload. With the princess out of harm's way, he brought his aim around and sighted down at the odango-haired blonde.
       Below, Venus twisted like a dervish, not even bothering to apologize as she punched Jupiter in the stomach, elbowed Mars in the chin, shoved Mercury away with a foot. She dove over the fallen blue-haired genius without hesitation, throwing her chain up to curl around the remaining railing. She was almost six feet up by the time any of the three attempted to stop her again.
       Tuxedo Kamen could see the glow of Kunzite's body before he even landed on the railing, and he knew, without a doubt, what he meant to do. He recalled Sailor Moon's face as Zoisite had strangled her, helpless in his hands; and his vivid imagination was already giving him the worst case scenario of Kunzite's energy punching a hole through her lithe body to rain blood on the city below. "No..NO! I can't fail you this time, Usako!"
       The light filled Sailor Moon's vision, and she realized suddenly that the moon stick was useless against it. Everyone seemed to be screaming, including her, as she froze in the glare of the light, realizing that her family would never know how she died.
       She heard someone say, plaintively, "Usako? Iie… Usagi-chan!"
        Someone, no, two people, dove in front of her, and she heard her name again clear as if it had been shouted in her ear. Two black figures that blocked her vision, and shuddered with the impact of the bolt meant for her.
       Her princess was screaming.
       Tuxedo Kamen fell to the floor with a wet thump of noise, and across his body tumbled the young thief, their blood mingling on the concrete as Sailor Moon stared in utter and total shock.