Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Ascension Trilogy, Book 2: Judgment Day ❯ Chapter 9

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
JUDGMENT DAY,
Chapter 9: "The Path To Knorr"

By Bill K.

"Easy, dear," Endymion said, catching Serenity's flailing body in
his arms and steadying her.

"I can't find her!" Serenity wailed, panic-stricken. "I can't
sense her at all! Mamo-chan, she can't be dead! She can't!"

Around them, heads began to bow. For Mercury, it was a blow to
hope. For Jupiter, it was one more misery piled upon miseries. For
Venus, it was the possible loss of a friend and fellow warrior. Even
Pluto seemed to bow her head. Only Uranus and Neptune looked on
stoically.

"Serenity," Luna offered weakly. "Perhaps you didn't look hard
enough. Perhaps she's in a place you missed."

Serenity shook her head weakly, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She was sobbing so hard that she couldn't find her voice.

"Then that's one more thing we owe those bastards," Uranus said
through clenched teeth. "I think it's about time we collected."

"I can't go on without Rei," sobbed Serenity, now fully dependent
on Endymion to hold her up. "Just like I couldn't go on without any of
you."

"Serenity," Neptune began to say.

"Stop calling me that!" screamed Serenity hysterically. "I don't
want to be Serenity! I'm not Serenity! I'm Usagi! I don't want to be
Serenity! I don't want to be a Queen! I don't want any of this! I
just want Rei back!"

"Serenity, get a grip!" hissed Neptune. "I understand you're
upset! I mourn the loss of Mars, too! But our job isn't finished! A
lot more people are suffering and you may be the only one who can help
them!"

"She is not here," Sailor Pluto pronounced with a quiet firmness.
Neptune and Serenity both turned to the senshi of time. Pluto looked at
Serenity with a weariness that, for a moment, tore at the woman's heart.
"You did not sense her because she is no longer of this place. Sailor
Mars has been taken."

"Where?" gasped Serenity.

"To Knorr," Pluto replied. "I saw this. It happened nearly two
years ago, in the aftermath of our defeat."

"Is she alive?"

"That is something I cannot know, my Queen."

"Why? Why would they take her? Why wouldn't they take all of
us?"

"She is of the fire," explained Pluto. "Of us all, she was the
most reviled and the most dangerous to them. To freeze her was not
enough for them. I have looked through history and seen them take her
to Knorr."

Serenity almost seemed to contract within herself. For a moment,
everyone was afraid she was going to crumble into a billion pieces.
Then her shoulders straightened and grim resolve colored her features.
It was a look alien to her and it made the others uneasy.

"Then we have to get her back," Serenity whispered.

"Um, Serenity," Neptune ventured, "I want to get Mars back, too.
But we have to deal with these Frost Giants first."

"Lord, for once in your lives could you work with us instead of
against us!" snapped Jupiter. "We have to get Mars back!"

"There are billions of people frozen!" Neptune snapped back. "How
much time do they have left? Are you saying Mars is more important than
billions?"

"Actually, the people who successfully passed into cryogenic
suspension are in no danger," Mercury interjected. "If they lasted this
long without harm, they're perfectly safe. They're actually safer this
way with the Frost Giants still roaming Earth. And the ones who didn't
successfully pass - - well, there's nothing we can do for them now
anyway."

"They'll be a lot safer if we trash these Frost Giants, too,"
Uranus argued. "Look, Serenity, you do what you think you have to do.
Our mission is to protect Earth and that's what we're going to do."

"We can defeat them a lot easier WITH Mars," Venus countered.

"I don't intend to wait that long," Uranus replied.

"And what makes you two think you can beat those monsters this
time," asked Jupiter hotly, "given how well you both did last time?"

"I've lost my share of battles," Uranus said, rising to the
challenge, "but I've never lost to the same opponent twice."

"Besides, it'll be three of us now," and Neptune glanced to Pluto.
"I hope."

"Forgive me," Pluto said solemnly. "I cherish our alliance, but
the time for factionalism is past. My allegiance must now be solely to
my Queen." Neptune stared at her as if betrayed.

"Neptune," Endymion spoke up, "I appreciate your desire to free
the Earth. Nothing is more dear to my heart," and he glanced back at
Serenity, "except perhaps my wife. But we can't win by repeating the
mistakes of the past. We are only strong enough to defeat the sons of
Ymir and their Frost Giants together. That means we need Mars. That
also means we need you and Uranus. There's no longer a place for
individual action in this world. We all must work together, under
Serenity's guidance, and perhaps one day there will be a place for
individual action again."

Uranus and Neptune both glared defiantly at the future king.
Neptune scanned the faces of the others: Serenity's quiet resignation,
Mercury's grim acceptance of the situation, Jupiter's angry condemnation
of them, even the hint of betrayal in the expressions of Venus and
Pluto. The cats, who always looked at her as if they knew more than she
did, stared impatiently at them. Neptune felt the frustration well in
her, that feeling that always made her want to scream like anything but
the cool, precise woman everyone saw her as.

"Please?" Serenity said, looking up at them with those big blue
eyes. She looked like love incarnate, charity personified. Neptune
glanced at Uranus and could see her lover weakening, succumbing to
Serenity's spell. She wanted to as well. Serenity and Sailor Moon
before her always had the uncanny knack of making her feel like a cold,
unfeeling monster for opposing her, even when her head told her she was
in the right. "We need you both, Neptune - - Uranus. I need you both.
Please?"

"All right," Neptune surrendered bitterly. "We'll do it your way.
But I still think we're making a mistake."

"That cinches it," muttered Jupiter. "We can't lose now."

"Mako-chan, please," murmured Serenity. "Thank you," she said and
both Uranus and Neptune couldn't help feeling like they'd just conquered
the world. "Mercury, what do we do? How do we get to Knorr?"

"I," Mercury stammered, thrown by the question. "I don't know.
Knorr is a mystical dimension. I doubt my computer or any of my
scanners could pick up a path leading to it. You'd need someone more
attuned to the supernatural."

"Like Mars," mumbled Venus. Artemis shot her a sympathetic
glance.

"Couldn't we use the portal?" Jupiter asked.

Mercury shook her head. "The portal would only take us back to
the past. It's temporal, not inter-dimensional."

"I think that question just became moot!" Venus shouted.

At once they all felt the vibrations of something very big moving
toward them. Craning their necks, the group spotted their worse fear
- - a Frost Giant lumbering over the frozen landscape of Tokyo headed
toward them. The giant paused only long enough to reach out to two
office towers it its path. A casual shove toppled the buildings,
sending steel and cement and ice crashing to the ground under its own
weight. Unmindful of the destruction it had caused or of the frozen and
helpless people in the towers now crushed under tons of rubble, the
giant continued on toward its objective.

"I thought Serenity said she destroyed that thing!" Jupiter
exclaimed.

"She did," Pluto told her placidly. "This giant is from China.
The Frost Giants have sensed our reawakening and come to freeze us
again. This giant was the nearest to us."

Serenity seemed to momentarily succumb to exhaustion or
frustration or something. Then she gathered herself and straightened.

"Stand back," she told the others. A hand on her shoulder held
her back.

"No," Neptune told her. "Save yourself for Knorr. We'll handle
this."

Neptune stepped toward the approaching giant confident that Uranus
and Pluto flanked her. There was no fear in her eye, despite events of
the past. There was no forgiveness either. When she reached the right
point, she stopped and flung her hands into the air.

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune called out.

A tidal wave of water sprang up from nowhere and engulfed the
lower half of the Frost Giant. Struck by the bitter cold surrounding
the giant, the water quick-froze, trapping the legs of the Frost Giant
in a solid block of ice twenty feet tall.

Held immobile, the giant moved to defend itself. It pointed its
hand at the outer senshi and waves of numbing cold radiated out from the
hand. The three warriors felt the chill slice through their bodies,
robbing them of strength, vitality and coordination. Undaunted, Uranus
summoned the Space Sword.

"Space Sword Blaster!" she roared, swinging the sword like a
crazed buccaneer boarding a ship.

The energy arcs from the sword spun up with deadly efficiency.
They struck the Frost Giant's arms, head and upper body, leaving deep
gashes in its surface and sending fissures throughout the ice giant's
semi-transparent frame. The giant recoiled in pain, then moved to lash
out again.

"Dead Scream," Pluto said, softly but resolutely.

An explosion of white noise sprang from her Time Staff and
barreled toward the Frost Giant. It struck the monster chest high. The
giant recoiled backward, vibrating, then exploded into billions of
fragments of jagged ice. All that remained was the frozen, pinned legs
in the block of ice that had been Neptune's wave. Turning their backs
on the carnage, the outer senshi returned to the others.

"You get points off for leaving a mess," quipped Venus upon their
return. Uranus shot her a wry smile and Pluto seemed momentarily
amused.

"Now we must find a way to Knorr before more of those creatures
arrive," Luna said.

"We've proven we can handle them," snorted Uranus.

"Yes, but it took three of you to overcome a single Frost Giant,"
Mercury told them. "If they're all congregating on Japan, eventually
the odds will overwhelm you. Luna's right, we must get to Knorr."

"But how?" asked Jupiter.

Pluto ventured through the others and came up to Serenity. She
bent at the waist in a respectful bow, then locked eyes with her
sovereign.

"My Queen, once more it comes down to you," Pluto said. "Only you
possess the ability to guide us. Only you may see the path that will
lead us to Sailor Mars."

"I've already told you, I can't sense her," Serenity said meekly.

"Yes, but you were only looking on Earth," Luna told her. "I
think you need to expand your horizons. Instead of searching the planet
for her, perhaps you need to search the universe for her."

"I can't do that!" Serenity cried. "Luna, I'm only one person!"

"Oh, how quickly you forget!" clucked Luna. "What have I drummed
into your head all these years? You have the Silver Crystal! That lets
you do anything you believe you can do!" She noticed Serenity look down
and knew from twenty years of intimate experience that her will was
faltering. "Serenity - - Usagi - - you have to do this. You have to
try. You're Rei's only hope."

Serenity bit her lip. It was a welcome "Usagi" mannerism that
momentarily gave everyone a bit of comfort.

"I won't let you down, Rei," Serenity said, shutting her eyes and
reaching out with her mind. "I promise."

With that, Serenity's mind reached out to the heavens above and
the dimensions that coexisted with Earth. So powerful was her probe
that everyone surrounding her could feel the energy radiating out from
her. Pluto closed her eyes and seemed to be piggybacking onto
Serenity's probes. Endymion came up behind her and grasped her by her
upper arms. Luna watched them, then glanced to Artemis with an
approving smile. Endymion was supporting Serenity, lending her his
strength and comfort, as was his destined role. Both cats were happy he
at least was taking to his new life with ease.

Mercury, Jupiter and Venus edged closer to Serenity and Endymion,
hoping to be of some aid. Uranus and Neptune looked first to each
other, then to Pluto. They were both cautiously hopeful that either
Serenity or Pluto could succeed. Anything to keep them from standing
around, waiting. There was a war to be won, invaders to repel and
victims to rescue. Each of them was eager to get to it.

Without realizing it, Serenity began to levitate off of the frozen
ground. She wafted up into the air as if weightless, anchored only by
Endymion's grasp. Her lips parted slightly. A dainty hand lazily
lifted up, fingers splayed, and pointed in the general direction of
north.

"Gather close," Endymion said, his voice a somnambulant whisper.
"She's found the path."

Obeying instructions, the senshi closed in around Serenity. She
began to glow with a rich silver light, gleaming like a shiny new coin
in the brilliant sun. The ice and snow further magnified her
brilliance. Energy swirled around them. It was an effect not unlike
Sailor Teleport. However Serenity was summoning the energy all by
herself, a fact not lost on any of the others. She faltered momentarily
when she felt the trepidation the others had in the face of her new
form. But Serenity marshaled her concentration back to Rei and the glow
intensified.

"Prepare yourself," Serenity said with a voice soft as down.
"We're leaving now."

Serenity flared a brilliant white. When the light dimmed, she and
her friends were gone.

And all over the world, Frost Giants stopped their pilgrimage to
Japan. They came to rest and waited for the next sign of life.

Serenity and her senshi reappeared amid strange surroundings. It
was cold and snowy, like the Japan they left. But surrounding them were
fir and evergreen trees towering miles into the sky. The terrain behind
them was rocky, but not so it was uncrossable. Before them was a
stretch of flatland bordered by a dense forest on one side and a
shimmering crisp blue waterfront on the other. Steam came off of the
water, dropping a weak fog along the banks.

"This is Knorr?" Mercury asked, looking around. "It looks vaguely
Scandinavian."

"Perhaps many of the Nordic myths flow from here," suggested
Pluto.

"Yeah," shivered Venus. "Well why couldn't Mars have been held in
Tahiti?"

"Do you feel her now?" Endymion asked his wife.

Serenity put her hand to her temple and concentrated for a moment.
She pointed off to the north, toward a striking aurora borealis in the
horizon.

"That way," she proclaimed. Then she fell backwards, into
Endymion's waiting arms.

"Serenity!" gasped Luna, a fearful sentiment echoed by the others.

"Tired," Serenity wheezed. "Too much too soon."

Endymion scooped her up into his arms. Her head fell to a
familiar comfort zone against his chest.

"I've got you," he whispered to her.

"Mamo . . . chan," she said softly and went to sleep.

"Guess even her power isn't limitless," Jupiter smiled wistfully.
"Do we just keep walking until she wakes up?"

"That might not be necessary," Artemis suggested. "Now that we
know she's on this world, I can trace her through her senshi
communicator - - assuming she still has it." Artemis summoned the
tracer and set it in motion. "I'm getting a signal! It's not that far
off, too. Maybe about one point eight kilometers."

"Well, let's get this show on the road," Uranus murmured and
ventured forward. The others fell in line behind her.

However, they weren't thirty meters into their journey when
Mercury sounded an alert. Pointing to the sky, she and the rest saw a
thick cloud descending toward them. Instantly the senshi fell into a
defensive circle around Serenity and Endymion.

"What is that?" Neptune demanded. Mercury, her visor on, digested
the data it fed her.

"Winged humanoids," Mercury reported. "Two hundred and
twenty-six! They all have weapons, too!"

"No doubt they are the comrades in arms of Janus," Pluto judged.

A squadron of fifteen broke off from the rest. They swooped down
until they were just a foot off the ground, then charged toward the
group in a sophisticated attack formation. Each warrior carried a
large, vicious ax or mace.

"Protect the King and Queen!" bellowed Sailor Uranus. She stepped
forward, her hand up in the air. Geo-forces gathered in her palm.
"World Shaking!"

The explosion of geo-forces barreled down the shore and tore
through the squadron like a bowling ball through tenpins.

Not to be outdone, Jupiter stepped forward, her eyes locked on the
swarm above.

"Jupiter!" she snapped. "Oak Evolution!"

Dozens of electrical bursts exploded amid the swarm, stunning and
battering every winged warrior nearby. Though dozens were felled, the
swarm closed ranks and continued their attack.

"There's too many!" Venus shouted, taking command. "We've got to
make an end run, get away and regroup!"

"Allow me," Pluto said calmly. Motioning everyone close together,
the senshi of time raised the Time Staff above her head. "Chronos
Bubble!"

A curtain of eerie black dropped around the senshi. All motion
around them ceased. No sound was heard. Nothing could be seen. It was
if, with a gesture and a simple phrase, Sailor Pluto had snuffed out an
entire world.

"What just happened?" Venus asked, perplexed. If she was afraid,
she didn't show it. The others didn't seem to mind showing it.

"I have removed us from the flow of time," Pluto stated as if she
were relating an everyday occurrence.

"You can do that?" gasped Mercury. She realized immediately how
obvious the answer to her question was and grew mortified.

"Can you get us back?" Uranus asked.

"Of course," nodded Pluto.

With a half-turn of her staff, the shroud around them disappeared.
Instantly they all realized their surroundings were different. A stone
castle loomed before them, cold and gray and uninviting. There was a
moat around the castle and the banks of the moat were lined with
warriors. A few had wings, like Janus, but most were earthbound. They
were all big, blocky, muscular hulks with thick beards, sharp weapons
and surly dispositions.

"I wonder whose fan club this is," quipped Venus.

"How'd we get here?" Jupiter asked.

"She removed us from time," Mercury explained. "While we were out
of the time stream, the planet rotated beneath us."

"Correct," nodded Pluto, impressed.

Serenity began to stir in Endymion's arms. With some effort she
lifted her head up and tilted it toward the castle.

"Rei," she said in an exhausted gasp. "She's in there."

"Head's up!" Uranus exclaimed.

A burly man strode out from the warriors ringing the moat. He was
nearly six feet five with broad shoulders and a massive chest. A long
white mustache and a thick beard ran down his burly front. A fur
loincloth, thick hide boots and a winged metal helmet were all he wore
and he brandished a thick handled ax like Pluto brandished her staff.
He confidently strode ten paces from the pack then pointed his empty
hand at them. Thick, heavy leather gauntlets surrounded his upper arms.

"Know that this is the land of the blessed Sons of Ymir!" he
bellowed at the senshi, "and I am Vodun, their king! None may trespass
upon our lands!" He brought his free hand down and got a two-handed
grip on the ax handle. "Prepare to die!"

continued in chapter 10