Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Ascension Trilogy, Book 3: Ressurrection ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

THE ASCENSION TRILOGY,
Book Three: RESSURRECTION
A Sailor Moon Fanfic
By Bill K.
Chapter One: "PICKING UP THE PIECES"

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Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2003 by Naoko Takeuchi/
Kodansha and Toei Animation, and are used without permission, but with
respect. Story is (c)2003 by Bill Kropfhauser.

As always, for those only familiar with the English dub:
Usagi-Serena
Ami-Amy
Rei-Raye
Lita-Makoto
Mina-Min ako
Haruka-Amara
Michiru-Michelle
Setsuna-Trista
Mamoru-Dar ien
Chibi-Usa-Rini

Finally, Haruka and Michiru are NOT cousins.
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"So now what?"

Sailor Venus asked the question that was on everybody's lips,
because she had the courage to face the facts - - and the lack of tact
to be blunt in a delicate situation.

The year was 2015 AD. The Earth had just suffered through a
two-year invasion from another dimension. The invaders had frozen the
planet in a prison of ice. Even the eight sailor senshi and Tuxedo Mask
had fallen victim to the attack one by one until it looked hopeless for
the world. Only the miracle of the silver crystal and the determination
of one solitary woman who was once considered clumsy and a bit of a
crybaby turned the tide. She freed herself after a too long period of
"cold sleep", rescued her friends, destroyed the invaders and with the
aid of her husband and the belief of her friends melted the ice that
choked the planet. To do this she matured from Sailor Moon to Serenity.

The others looked around. The ravages of battle with the Frost
Giants culminating in two years of ice covering the land had effectively
killed most vegetation on the planet. Any animals that didn't survive
in "cold sleep" were gone. Whole species might be extinct. Tokyo was
in ruins, ruination it hadn't seen even in 1945. It could be rebuilt.
The vegetation would grow back. But would the populace starve first?
Sailor Mercury looked to Mars, who looked to Jupiter. Uranus put her
arm around Neptune, as much for reassurance as to protect her. Sailor
Pluto surveyed the destruction with an even sadder look than she usually
possessed. Luna glanced at Artemis with a worried expression and saw
the same doubt reflected in his eyes.

"We start over," they heard Usagi say.

The group looked to her and noticed it again. The regal bearing,
the sense of power and the calm, placid demeanor that by just the merest
hint suggested someone who was now beyond them - - truly she had become
Serenity now. It raised goose bumps on more than one of them.

"Can we?" Jupiter posed. "There's so much destruction and not a
lot in the way of food."

"And any surviving animals that have not already been slaughtered
for food soon will be," Mercury continued the thought, "and it will be
at least four to six months before any crops could be harvested,
assuming they were all planted today."

"Then I'll just have to nudge them," Usagi - - Serenity said. Her
demeanor was so eerily calm and placid that it seemed unearthly. She
clasped her hands before her breast and began to take on a silvery glow,
much the same as when she melted the ice.

"How much do you have left?" Mars interceded, alarmed. "We just
got through melting the ice and there was the final battle before that!"

"I'm well enough to do this," Serenity replied with maddening
calm.

"How well?" demanded Mars. "If you pour every last ounce of
energy you have into making the grass grow, what kind of a trade-off is
that? If you die, where are we then?"

"Where are we now?" Serenity replied.

"Mars is right," Mercury added. "Perhaps it would be prudent if
you rested first, rather than pushing yourself past your endurance."

Serenity bowed her head and smiled gently. "You're only concerned
about me, of course. I greatly appreciate it."

"Here comes the 'but'," growled Mars. Serenity grinned and for a
moment seemed like the Usagi of old.

"I hear the cries, Rei, and I can't turn my back on them," she
responded. "All the sick and injured here in Tokyo and all over the
planet, all the hungry babies and feeble old people, they can't wait for
me to take a nap. Every moment I delay may mean the difference between
someone living or dying." She locked eyes with Mercury. "Of all of us,
you understand that most of all, don't you? That my personal health
must come second to people who need more?"

Mercury scowled. "That's not fair, Usagi."

"I'll do penance later," she said gently.

"Usagi," Venus started to protest, then stopped when she realized
it would do no good. Mars fumed impotently while Jupiter looked on with
worry.

Then Serenity felt hands on her shoulders. She turned and found
her husband behind her.

"Endymion," she began to protest.

"I'm not trying to stop you," he said, gazing deeply into her big
blue eyes. "I just thought you wouldn't mind a little help.

Her mouth formed a wide, grateful smile and she nodded. Endymion
concentrated and began to take on a golden brilliance, much the way
Serenity shone silver. Then the energies merged and surrounded the
couple. They elevated up into the air, each one straight and
motionless.

"Be careful!" Mars called up after them. "If you die, I'll never
forgive you!"

The couple rose to about three hundred meters into the air. The
gaze of all the senshi followed them. Neptune realized she was afraid
and didn't like the feeling. She clung more tightly to Uranus and could
sense the tension in her life mate's body.

A noise captured her ears and she glanced away. Off to her left
was a child of about four, a scarred, battered dark-haired little girl
in tattered clothing. She clung to a woman of about twenty-five or so,
a slight thing who hardly seemed bigger than the child, and cried in
absolute fear and desolation. The woman seemed in shock and hardly
acknowledged the girl. Further down the rubble-strewn street that had
once been the Tenth Street shopping district, Neptune could see other
people. Some were wandering around looking for something that wasn't
destroyed, others for loved ones missing. Still more were fighting over
scraps of food like packs of wild dogs. Neptune felt herself wanting to
cry.

"One wave," she thought. "One 'Deep Submerge' and I could wash
them all away - - end the suffering and the humiliation."

She felt Uranus tighten her grip around her waist and looked up at
her. The sandy blonde's smudged, bruised face looked down at her with
similar despair.

"Do you suppose it's like this all over the world?" Uranus asked.

"Probably," Neptune answered. She looked up at Serenity and
Endymion again. The glow around them was growing. "Do you think they
can make this right? Do they have the power? Does she have the will?"

"She better," mused Uranus. "Otherwise we're cooked."

Serenity and Endymion hovered above the city, their energies
locked and merged together. Serenity's gown seemed to billow, the
ribbons of her hair lightly swaying. Endymion's pastel gray cloak
surged behind him. Their eyes were closed and they remained motionless.
The only clue that they were still alive at all was the glow around
them, which continued to grow.

Several of the senshi heard the rustle of broken cement and brick
under footsteps and turned to the sound. A civilian approached them.
He was scuffed and bruised, as were they all, and walked gingerly from
an injury to his right leg, but he walked toward them with purpose and
without trepidation. The man was around thirty with the squat body and
round face of a businessman. He was missing the thick-rimmed glasses
that seemed so much of the stereotype - - they had probably been broken.
His thinning black hair fell haphazardly across his forehead and, under
the dirt and sweat and bruising he had a face that was pleasant. Venus
noticed how much he resembled her own father when she was a little girl,
and suddenly wondered if her father was still alive. Then she felt
guilty for not thinking of the question sooner. When the man reached a
spot five feet from the group, he stopped.

"Forgive my impertinence," he said in a rough voice, "but do you
think you could do something to help a few of these less fortunate?"
His request was audacious, but he showed no sign of arrogance or
belligerence. Still, his query didn't set well with several of the
senshi.

"We are helping!" snapped Mars. Uranus also glared at him.

"Well," he replied, unconcerned with Mars' hostility, "they're
helping." He pointed up to Serenity and Endymion. "The rest of you
seem to be waiting for their return."

Uranus seemed ready to lunge at him, when unexpectedly Pluto
interceded. She blocked her fellow outer senshi's path and allowed
Neptune to get a grip on the woman. All the while she kept her gaze on
the stranger.

"What would you have us do?" she asked.

"Well I and several of my colleagues are looking for injured and
treating them as best we can." He glanced back at several people
fighting over a cache of food. "Perhaps some of you could help us out
with a little crowd control. There are many desperate people out there
and sadly they have reverted to their baser instincts."

"Beats standing around here and feeling sorry for myself," Venus
replied. She nudged Jupiter's shoulder. "And it'll do you some good,
too - - keep you from worrying about your husband and kids."

"How do you know that's what I'm thinking about?" bristled
Jupiter.

"What else would you be thinking about?" Venus grinned in that
maddeningly audacious way she had. "Come on. You know the old saying:
No rest for the wicker."

"That's 'wicked'," Jupiter replied.

"I know, isn't it?" grinned Venus, oblivious to being corrected.
Jupiter rolled her eyes and the pair headed off to stop the fight.

"I'm a doctor," Mercury said to the stranger. "Can I help you
with the injured?"

"You certainly can!" grinned the man, a grin that communicated he
had experienced the first sign of hope in quite a while. "All I know
about medicine is a little first aid I learned in college!"

"I will aid you as well," Pluto said, then added, "though I must
warn you that my medical skills are quite limited."

"I am most grateful," he replied, flashing that hopeful grin
again. "It is said that many hands are better than one."

"Don't underestimate your medical skills," Mercury told Pluto.
"You did a fine job," then caught herself, "um, previously."

"With Janus," Pluto scowled, finishing the thought. Mercury
grimaced.

As she watched them walk off, Neptune felt Uranus tense again.
She looked up at her.

"Do you sense it?" Uranus whispered.

Neptune cleared her mind.

"Something's approaching Earth," Neptune replied. "More trouble?"

"Maybe. Should we get Pluto?"

"Let's find out what it is, first," Neptune concluded. "If it's
nothing, Pluto's needed more here." Moving to look at Mars, she found
the senshi staring worriedly up at Serenity and Endymion. "Mars,
we're," she began, "going to see if we can help out. What about you?"

"I'm staying right here," she replied, her gaze never leaving
Serenity. "Someone needs to stay here. I'm still worried that she's
trying to do too much too soon."

"We all have our life's missions," Neptune replied with a wry
smile. She noticed Mars flush slightly before she and Uranus moved off.

As Mercury climbed through the broken portions of the city, she
noticed Pluto easily kept pace with the stranger. She attributed it to
Pluto's longer legs and pined, for a moment, to be as tall as her
friend. Then she dismissed it from her mind as a waste of thought
energy.

"I am," Pluto began to introduce herself to the stranger.

"Everybody knows who you are," he replied. "As many times as
you've all saved this city, a person would either have to be stupid or
not care not to know you. I don't think I'm stupid and I've never been
accused of not caring quite yet." He looked up at her and found her
mild astonishment pleasant. "Sailor Uranus, correct?"

The corners of Pluto's mouth turned up. "Actually, it is Sailor
Pluto."

Her companion grinned at his error - - he seemed to grin easily,
even in the midst of tragedy.

"Forgive me," he bowed. "I pray you don't take insult at my
error. I'm pleased to meet you just the same."

"And you are?"

"I am Kazuhiko Tomimura." He leaned in as they walked. "This
isn't what I imagined my life to be when I graduated college.
Truthfully, it isn't what I imagined it to be when I left for work this
morning." Clearly he hadn't realized that nearly two years had passed.
Then he was struck suddenly by a thought. "My wife! I have no idea
whether she's alive!" He started to pull out a cellphone, even though
it was unlikely service was still active.

"Over here!" they heard Mercury call. She was easing a man
against what was left of a wall, trying to support him so he didn't hit
the ground hard as he sagged. Tomimura and Pluto ran over to them.

"Relax," Tomimura said, steadying him so Mercury would be free to
minister to his injuries. "I have you."

He was an older man, about early fifties. His skin was blotchy
and cold, no doubt from being frozen. Possibly he was one of the last
thawed. He seemed week and incoherent, mumbling something none of them
could understand. Mercury peered at him with intense detachment.

"Can you tell me where it hurts?" she asked as her fingers felt
for a pulse. He responded with more mumblings. One of the words
sounded like 'the ice'. Mercury pulled his heavy, drooping eyelid back
and looked at his pupil. "There's no sign of concussion or head trauma.
It must be shock, possibly compounded by mild hypothermia." She turned
to the others. "We must find something to cover him with. He needs to
conserve body heat."

Tomimura and Pluto were up instantly, searching around them for
something. Pluto's eyes locked onto the torn canvas awning of what had
been The Sweet Shop. She ran over and tried to tug it loose, but it was
pinned under the collapsed front of the store.

"Here," the man said, gripping the canvas next to her hands.
"Four hands are better than two." Together they pulled, but couldn't
dislodge it. "Again I'm wrong. It would take a hoist and cable to pull
that free."

"Stand back," Pluto said, her forearm gently pushing Tomimura
aside. When he was clear, she lifted her staff and pointed it at the
pile of rubble. "Dead Scream."

The sonic blast from her staff struck the rubble, sending it
scattering in all directions. The remaining structure of The Sweet Shop
shook and threatened to collapse, but quieted. Pluto walked over and
gathered up the canvas.

"You're more formidable than I imagined," Tomimura marveled,
trailing behind her.

Pluto frowned, recalling similar words coming out of the mouth of
Janus. She found the memories conjured up to now be unpleasant.

Reaching the shivering old man, Pluto and Mercury wrapped the
canvas around him. He sagged weakly back against the wall and gasped
out his breath.

"Will he be all right?" Pluto asked.

"Without proper medical supplies, it's all we can do," Mercury
told her. "If I had a sedative, I'd give it to him."

At once, the three people felt a tremendous warmth flow over their
bodies. As one they turned and looked up in the sky. Above them,
glowing like a miniature sun, were Serenity and Endymion. They bathed
the entire city in their glow. Suddenly Mercury's fatigue was gone.
Suddenly Pluto felt reinvigorated. Suddenly the stiffness in Tomimura's
leg disappeared. Suddenly the old man stopped shivering and breathed
more easily.

Mercury and Pluto rose to their feet. They took several steps
forward unconsciously, as if compelled by some inner voice to move
closer to the glow. They were not alone. Tomimura was behind them and
behind him were other survivors. All those who could walk had calmed
and were moving toward the source of the glow.

Directly beneath them, Sailor Mars, Luna and Artemis stood and
watched and waited.

"Do you feel it?" Artemis asked. "The energy they're giving off
is healing everyone."

"Yes," Luna smiled. "I haven't felt this alive since before the
Frost Giants came!"

"She can't keep it up," whispered Mars. Her hands were folded to
her mouth and she chewed on a knuckle. Luna looked up at her with
concern.

"Are you quite certain?" the black cat asked.

"In spite of everything I've been through, my second sight is as
strong as ever," Mars replied, not taking her eyes off the couple above
her. "She's barely hanging on."

Pluto suddenly lurched to a stop. "Look," she said, gesturing
around them. Tomimura and Mercury reluctantly looked away from the sky.

Trees were sprouting through the cracked pavement of Tenth Street.
Pluto knelt down to a sapling already three feet high.

"It's a fruit tree," she said, examining it. "And it seems to be
growing at about an inch every ten seconds.

Casting her gaze down the street, Pluto could see other trees
sprouting amid the rubble of streets, sidewalks and storefronts. Other
plants as well were growing and flowering, taking over the streets and
the shells of buildings. As a seedling would bloom new flowers, hungry
insects gathered around and renewed their role in the cycle of life.
Pluto could see the park teeming with rice near the pond and in the huge
gouge that had filled with dirt and water, the gouge that had once been
a playground. Tendrils she recognized as sweet potatoes sprang up amid
the grass and across the bike paths.

"Impossible," she heard Tomimura whisper. "It's as if the gods
walk the Earth."

By now all the populace in the area had seen the miracle. The
scarred, broken sections of the city had grown over green and precious
fruit and vegetables ripened before their eyes. With a joy and relief
that was palpable, they plucked the treasures and ravenously downed
them. Salvation was here.

"She never ceases to amaze me," Mercury said to Pluto with a grin.
Pluto smiled in return, then reached up and plucked two apples, handing
one to her fellow senshi. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" Mercury
grinned and bit into the fruit, more quickly than she wished to from the
look of the red in her cheeks.

"Is it all right if I give some to the old man?" Tomimura asked,
holding a core in one hand and two apples in the other.

"Let's wait a bit," Mercury advised. "I want to be sure his
condition has stabilized."

Just then Luna came running up to them. "Mercury! Come quickly!"
the cat gasped. "It's Serenity!"

Mercury paused just long enough for her stomach to stop flopping,
then took off after the cat, Pluto in hot pursuit.

They arrived at the spot where they had left Mars. Artemis was
staring up at the sky. Mars was on her knees weeping. Though they
didn't want to, Mercury and Pluto looked up.

Descending slowly from the sky was Endymion, his cloak fluttering
in the breeze like a flag at half-staff. Held in his arms was the limp
form of Serenity.

Continued in Chapter 2