Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon vs Predator: For Love of the Hunt

by Japan Boy

Part one of a three-part trilogy: A crippled but ruthless space huntress comes to Earth to collect a retirement prize: the head of Sailor Moon! To assist in her quest, she has 'enlisted' the help of the galaxy's most formidable & fearsome headhunters - the Predators! Kindly review if read.

For Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon's creator, who gave us such

adorable, lovable, & unforgettable characters people have

enjoyed since her manga debut in 1986.

For creature-maker Stan Winston, who gave us, along with many

others, a most memorable & iconic movie monster which has

achieved great success since 1987.

To the loving memory of Kevin Peter Hall, the man who brought

the Predator to such vivid life in the first two 'Predator' movies.

(Kevin Peter Hall died on April 10, 1991, after a long illness).

PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON VS. PREDATOR:

FOR LOVE OF THE HUNT

2001, 2007 by Anthony Ogozalek

PROLOGUE

The planet was lush with remarkable greenery in most areas, showing a rather tropical appearance of a young world; a very reminiscent scenery of planet Earth during its early Devonian-Mesozoic Era when amphibians & reptiles were its inhabitants. Numerous cycads & other types of prehistoric shrubbery decorated an otherwise open field of deep-green grass where a four-legged plant-eating lizard, measuring a mere ten feet long,was taking a quick sniff at the lush greenery before beginning to have its midday meal under a hot, sweltering sun.

As it was dining on its natural diet leisurely, little did it know that it was soon to become food itself for another of the planet's own inhabitants of wildlife.

From a thick grove of trees a sinister pair of reptilian eyes were staring at its soon-to-be meal, licking its tongue on its lips. A low growl of hunger & satisfaction was all the herbivorous lizard needed to be on alert for danger. It was too late: the carnivorous animal leaped out of its hiding place & ran after its prey at top speed. The animal was bipedal, with a stiff long tail for balance & two long forearms with four-fingered clawed hands. On its feet were three toes which each ended with a foot-long curved claw, perfectly capable of gutting its prey in one fell swoop. Its elongated jaws were filled with razor-sharp teeth. At close comparison, the animal very highly resembles a Velociraptor, a flesh-eating dinosaur of Earth's Cretaceous period, the last of the three periods of the Mesozoic, also known as 'The Age of Reptiles', & made even more famous on Earth, thanks to the movie 'Jurassic Park'.

The only difference with this dinosaur from another world is that on its head sprouted three horns: a pointed stub on the tip of its snout, & two elongated ones above its eyes. With its two long horns the creature stabs its intended victim in the side, drawing blood from the punctures & never giving the herbivore a chance to defend itself, much less run away for safety. All it can do is let out a final howl of pain before the hungry carnivore tears its teeth into the lizard's neck & rips a bloody chunk of flesh as the alien dinosaur begins feasting upon its new meal, satisfying its day-long hunger.

While the Velociraptor-like beast was busy gouging itself on fresh meat, it was unknown to it that it itself was being stalked by predators of a different kind.

From forty yards away, a near-dozen shimmers in the air were observing the Velociraptor-beast as it feasted. Those 'shimmers' were actually a hunting party who have come to this sultry & prehistoric world to hunt some of the fiercest & most dangerous game the planet had to offer.

The tallest of the group—a height of between 8-9 feet—gives a signal to one of his underlings to target & kill their first prey & claim its skull for their trophy. The one being assigned this task nods to his elder & shines a trio of thin red lines that appear as three red dots in a triangular pattern on the creature's side, where its heart supposedly is; one shot, one quick kill, & their trophy will be claimed, beginning their hunt.

But before any action on their part can take place, the group is suddenly hit by a stream of snaking tentacles of crimson red energy that engulfs the entire party which seemingly came out of nowhere. The group lets out inhuman howls as they try to resist & fight the sudden surge of power which stings & overpowers each individual while their cloaks which render them invisible flicker on & off before fading out entirely, revealing humanoid figures with metal armor on certain areas of their bodies. Each one carried a weapon in its hand, from spears to round discs of some kind, along with a metal mask that covered their face & head.

Feeling their will ebbing away slowly but surely, the tallest & second-tallest hear wicked laughter & speech coming from the side. They both turn to see who it is, but neither could make out that individual's face, much less understand what was being said. Finally, they could take no more of the energy's power & each one falls into a state of unconsciousness, the two tallest being the last to do so, hitting the soft grass with a thud.

Because of their unconscious state, none of the hunters can hear any more of the hideous laughter coming from the one that put each of them out.

Sensing more danger than it can handle from the new arrivals, the horned Velociraptor goes off into the jungle for a new meal & more peaceful dining place.

CHAPTER I

If there's one thing that anyone can say about the blackness & emptiness of space—with its twinkling stars from billions of miles away & countless planets already & waiting to be discovered—is that it's eternal. It simply goes on & on forever. Of course, it has yet to be proven that there actually is an end to the universe, & space in particular, but no one is willing to go that far on such a ludicrous & childish claim; those who have have no doubt seen far too many science-fiction films/shows and/or cartoons.

Between the planets of Uranus & Saturn, a small meteor shower drifted its way through the cold, merciless vacuum on a steady course to no particular destination, as they cannot change their course in any way, being the indigenous objects that they are.

Unless they hit something, that is.

A group of the runaway asteroids scatter as they come into contact with an unseen force. At that first hit, the object which came into contact with the space rocks immediately shows itself & begins firing a volley of blue energy beams, hitting & pulverizing the rocks into much smaller fragments with its powerful blasts. The object with twin guns in the front which blew the rocks to pieces was in the color & shape of an egg but was remarkably huge, with a ribbed underside & an engine on either side, held there by a rather short wing. Two red windows shaped like eyes were placed between the front & sides of the craft.

The barrage of blue energy beams continued blowing away the drifting rocks that were in the spacecraft's path until it was out into the clear again & once again became nothing more than a shimmer in open space.

Unobstructed, the invisible craft made a beeline for its destination—straight for Earth.

In seconds, all burners were going & the ship proceeded even faster than it did before the interference of meteors.

Once the egg-shaped craft reaches Earth, the occupants of the ship put it on autopilot & keep it above the planet, close enough to get to it in a smaller craft but far away enough from the prying eyes of satellites, space stations or shuttles. The only major obstacle was the orbiting space station The Tanaka, which hovered miles above the Earth, between Russia & Japan. It was hardly a challenge for the crew of the ship as they boarded & embarked in a smaller craft that left the mothership & became invisible as it headed toward the planet while the mothership itself did the same & put some more distance between it & Earth. Armed with the same cloaking ability, the mothership simply vanishes from view like it was never there to begin with.

No one aboard The Tanaka station had gotten even a hint that either craft had been there, let alone detected their presence.

The smaller craft continued its descend to Earth, heading straight for Japan.

It was close to midnight in the city of Tokyo, & even at this late hour, the city (& most of the country) was going through a record-breaking heat wave the Land of the Rising Sun has ever experienced. The days reached a sultry one hundred degrees, even going over that by a degree or two. The nights were no different, much less offered any relief—they got around between eighty-five to ninety degrees. The hot & humid weather has hit Japan for several days now, with no end in sight, as far as anyone can tell. Usually, Tokyo is bustling with pedestrians all over, but due to the unfairly high temperatures, a good number of people have remained indoors to find refuge from the burning heat, going out only when it is necessary.

But fewer people on the street just because of the weather doesn't mean that it's going to be a peaceful evening. In the distance, police sirens can be heard by the curious populace & get even louder as a black Mitsubishi SUV races down the Juban District area of Tokyo, heading west. The SUV speeds through an intersection, nearly hitting several pedestrians who manage to avoid being hit, shouting obscenities at the SUV's driver as the squadrant of police vehicles race in right behind him.

From within the SUV at the wheel was a man in his mid-40s with jet black hair that was combed backwards. He wore a dressy white shirt, accompanied with black pants & shoes. One look at the man & one would suspect him of being a gangster or even a major crime boss, one reminiscent of America's Chicago during the 1930s when Al Capone was king.

He is: the man driving is crime kingpin Tetsuya Kobayashi, a high-ranking crimelord who got into crime & gangster films as a kid. Learning everything he could about history's most vile gangsters like the aforementioned Capone, Tetsuya decided to become one himself. His goal was even more motivated when his parents had put him behind bars for repeatedly becoming a delinquent—committing petty crimes, hanging with a rough crowd, & so forth. Once he was out of jail, his own parents wanted nothing to do with him, forcing him to fend for himself. He did quite good—with devoted help from his friends whom he shared jail time with, Tetsuya slowly but surely built his criminal empire from the Juban Business District in Tokyo. He had a nice office with his own private bedroom/bathroom, a great view of the city, & connections to most of the city's underworld.

He had it all.

Then the trouble began: on a spring night, one of Tetsuya's closest friends—Hiroshi—was nabbed by police while on a date with his wife at the local theatre. Both were arrested & brought to the station for questioning. Despite putting up tough resistance, the police were able to extract information about Tetsuya's illegal activities throughout his 15-year crime spree. In no time, the police were hunting down the rest of Kobayashi's men, gathering even more evidence of all his crimes as they did so. With Tetsuya's men all caught & convicted, it was now time to go & take down the main man himself.

Unfortunately, Tetsuya was well aware of the police's approach to taking him into custody, & he had no intentions of giving up as easily as his men did. Before the police could even step out of their vehicles, Tetsuya burst through the building's parking garage & sped away in his SUV.

That was nearly an hour ago.

Even though he managed to escape from his headquarters, Tetsuya was still not a happy man. With the police hot on his tail, he became more irritated. It's the end of the line for him, & he knows it; once the police get a hold of him, it's life imprisonment with the high probability of no bail or parole. He vows to never give them that satisfaction—he'd just as soon commit suicide than to be behind bars ever again; he will simply just start all over again in another city.

First on the agenda: lose the cops pursuing him.

And now that they're all beyond city limits with no interference from buildings or people hindering his progress, Tetsuya makes his move. The crime boss pulls out his fully-loaded Glock handgun from his glove compartment, his movements concealed by the SUV's tinted windows. As soon as he readies his weapon, one of the squad cars finally manages to pull upside of him on the left. The officer driving puts down his right-door window & begins to bark loudly, shouting to be heard over the sound of racing automobiles.

"Tetsuya Kobayashi, it's no use running away! We have you outnumbered ten to one! Pull over & give yourself up now! This is your one & only warning!", shouted the cop.

Hidden behind the tinted glass, Tetsuya puts down the left-door window, surprising the cop with the Glock held in his hand, aimed right at the wide-eyed officer.

"Not in this lifetime I won't!", Tetsuya shouted back.

With a gun pointed straight at him, the cop was temporarily frozen with fear: Tetsuya can easily shoot him point-blank in the face, which is probably what the cop believes him to do. Instead, the crime lord aims his weapon at the right front & rear tires & fires three shots in each one, quickly deflating them both. With no traction on the right side, the officer's car becomes next to impossible to maneuver on the road. Tetsuya speeds off as the cop with the crippled car fights for control of it. Finally, the car wins the fight & swerves wildly on the pavement—right into the squadron of police cars behind him!

None of the other squad cars could stop in time to avoid running into the lead unit: in a sickening sound of tires screeching & metal crashing into metal, the squad cars smash & tumble into one another, creating a pile of scrap in the center of the road. Within the wreck of smashed & twisted metal, one officer manages to escape his wreck by climbing out the window; a little banged up with cuts, but nothing serious. He was about to see if he can help any of his comrades from their own mess, but before he can pull out even one officer, a loose live wire touches the main fuel tank on one of the cars, causing a big explosion that sends the officer flying back many yards onto the grass while the intense flames from the blast roasts the other officers alive in their own vehicles, never given time to even scream. The cop who managed to survive the carnage slips into unconsciousness.

Seeing the carnage unfold in his rearview mirror, Tetsuya Kobayashi grins evily from ear to ear before unleashing a loud, maniacal laugh of satisfaction, heading even farther away from the city.

Tetsuya made sure he was well beyond city limits before entering the forest. He also made sure there were no other vehicles or people in the immediate vicinity to witness him going on a dirt road that took him right into it. Shortly after he does, he heads over to the river before putting his SUV in neutral & pushes it with all his might into the drink, getting in the water himself as he does so. After a while, the SUV slowly sinks beneath the waves, slightly relieving an exhausted crime boss.

In spite of his successful escape from the law, Tetsuya was far from a happy camper. He knows damn well that they'll be more police after him very soon, & this time they'll forget about bringing him in alive due to the fact that he's killed police officers & added cold-blooded murder to his list of felonies—something he's very seldomly done in his 15-year career.

"Those filthy bastard police!", Tetsuya growls, banging a hard fist against a tree bark. "They arrested my best friends & put them in prison, took away everything I owned—everything I worked hard for to get to where I am! Everything is gone because of them! DAMN THEM!" Tetsuya let out a sigh & allowed himself to count to ten mentally to calm himself down. When he spoke again, he was relaxed for the most part & allowed himself a smile. "No matter. I rose to power once, I can do it again. And this time, I'll bring fear to all those who know my name such as they've never known before! Once they do, nobody will dare to oppose me—not even the police!"

He grins widely again at that very thought when he hears a noise of rustling leaves which came by his right. On instinct, Tetsuya grabs his firearm & points it in the direction the sound originated from. "Who's out there?", he barks. After a moment, he gets no answer except for more rustling of leaves. Frustrated & ready for a fight, Tetsuya lets whoever's making the noise know the bottom line. "Whoever you are, I'm in no mood for games, goddammit! Either show yourself to me now, or I'll fill you full of lead if you force me to find you!"

Still he gets no answer. Whoever was there is probably not intimidated by the crime lord's threat, armed or not.

All right, the hard way then!, Tetsuya says to himself. He slowly & carefully heads toward the sound's origin to a group of trees, his gun hand stretched out in front of him. After another step or two, he feels a slight rush of air go by his face.

Tetsuya didn't even feel any pain until he saw his right hand—his gun hand—fall off of his wrist & drop to the ground in a bloody lump. The crime lord screamed in agony as the stump on his right arm where his hand used to be began bleeding uncontrollably; even by blocking the flow with his left hand, it still bled rather badly.

Getting weak from blood loss, Tetsuya hit the ground on his knees, gritting his teeth & wincing in pain, his eyes shut tight. When he opened them again & looked up, he saw three heat shimmers in the air. Tetsuya shook his head a few times to find out if what he was seeing was a reaction from the pain he's experiencing from the loss of his right hand or if the heat & humidity was playing tricks on him, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating anything. Just as he thought he was going insane, the three shimmers in the air disappeared one after another, & in their place stood three large humanoid figures, each one being over two meters tall. Their skins were a grayish-yellow, where it showed; their fingers & toes (five on each hand & foot) ended in black claws. Their thick black hair—if it even was hair—was worn in snakelike, decorated braids, with faces hidden behind metal helmet-masks of some kind. One of the eerie figures held a club of some sort which suddenly extended to a double-pointed spear 3-4 times its original size. All of them held their gaze at the fallen, one-handed crime lord.

In his weakened condition, Tetsuya knew he was outmatched. He didn't know if these are a new kind of bounty hunters assigned to dealing with people like him or not, & at this very moment he didn't care; if they can become invisible at will & take off a limb as they've just done to him, he was in deep trouble.

His only option was to retreat.

Ignoring the throbbing pain of his bleeding stump, Tetsuya rose to his feet, turned, & started to run. He only managed a step & a half before the figure with the spear thrusted it into the crime lord's back in the wink of an eye. The spear's tip exited through Tetsuya's chest where his heart was, killing him instantly & smearing the tip with his blood. The inhuman creature then pulled its spear out of the dead crime boss as his lifeless body falls to the ground on his face. Retracting its spear, the creature walks up to Tetsuya's corpse & extends a pair of sharp, jagged wristblades from its right metal forearm cuff. With a wet, sickening crunch, the creature slices & tears through numerous pairs of ribs & muscle, removing Tetsuya's head & spinal column, leaving the rest of his corpse in a puddle of his own blood.

Holding its bloodied prize up for its cohorts to witness, the creature lets out a victory roar as the other two do the same. From behind the trees where the creatures themselves emerged from, a woman in what appears to be a floating hoverchair that floated just over a foot off the ground made her way over to the three humanoid creatures. The woman appeared to be rather young, at an appearance of between ages 30 & 35, with milk-white skin, her eyes & lips as red as blood itself. She wore a brown, leathery swimsuit-like outfit which covered her entire torso, leaving her arms & legs bare. On her feet she wore pointed brown boots, no doubt made from the same material as her body outfit. Her hair was thick & black like the creature's own, but had no braids of any kind in them. Dangling from her earlobes were a single bone, resembling either a tooth or a claw, while around her neck was an entire necklace of then. Wrapped around her wrists were three bracelets composed of little bones tied with string. Large, stitched-up scars on her femurs indicate a puncture through both legs which is no doubt the primary reason for her being in her hoverchair: an injury from the horned Velociraptors that the creatures with her had been hunting themselves a time ago. Last but not least, she holds a staff in her right hand with a twin-curved horned human skull at the end of it, which was missing its lower jaw. Surveying the actions of her new companions & her surroundings, the woman smiles wickedly, revealing her white, vampiric teeth & looking very pleased.

"That was very good for a start, my loyal Predators. Soon, however, our real hunt shall begin!", she said, still grinning & flipping open a lid on her hoverchair's left armrest, revealing a hidden console, tapping a button & showing a green, 3-D image of the city of Tokyo. "Hidden somewhere in this city called Tokyo lies my actual target, & with your assistance, it won't be long before I get a hold of it. Once I add it to my collection of noteworthy trophies, I, Huntress Demonia, can truly retire happily!"

That very thought pictured vividly in her mind made Demonia laugh joyfully & wickedly, a sound which echoed throughout the immediate vicinity.

CHAPTER II

Except for a straight white, two-foot wide road that looked as if it seemed to go on forever, it was dark all around, feeling endless like space itself. The area was totally uninhabited by anything or anyone, save for a young girl approximately between 11-13 years of age. She had very dark hair that almost reached her shoulders, wearing long-sleeved lavender pajamas. The girl was Hotaru Tomoe, a.k.a. the Soldier of Destruction, Sailor Saturn, the Sailor Soldier with enough power to decimate an entire planet. So powerful was she that the three Sailor Soldiers from the outer solar system (Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, & Sailor Pluto) once regarded her as an enemy to Earth, & were willing to forfeit her life for the good of the world.

For a time, Hotaru was: some time ago, an explosion occurred at Mugen Academy where her father, Professor Soichi Tomoe, was working at. Everyone in the room he & Hotaru were in had been killed, except for Soichi himself. To save his only daughter, he made a deal with a powerful alien race called the Death Busters by merging themselves with father & daughter. Their goal was to collect the three Talismans & obtain the Holy Grail so that they can bring Pharaoh 90, a very malevolent space entity, to Earth & wipe out every living soul all across the planet. To make the matter worse, Hotaru herself had unwillingly assisted in nearly making it happen when Mistress 9, a being of unimaginable power awoke from inside her & duped Sailor Moon into giving her the Holy Grail that appeared when all three Talismans had appeared (from the three Outer Sailor Soldiers, no less). But in the end, thanks to Sailor Moon's unyielding belief in the human heart & soul, the evil aliens couldn't completely destroy Hotaru, & her alter-ego of Sailor Saturn had gone & destroyed the evil apparition before it can even begin to cause its reign of destruction on Earth.

Once that ordeal was over, Hotaru reverted back to no more than a baby & was reunited with her father, & after a brief but tough fight with Sailor Moon at the ruins of Mugan Academy, both Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune accepted Sailor Moon as their Princess & quickly became friends with her & the other younger Sailors. But Hotaru's life back to a baby was not to last as she grew back to her original age when Nehelenia, Queen of the Dead Moon Circus, escaped from her mirror prison & began taking revenge on the Sailor Soldiers, one by one, with Sailor Moon being her primary target. She very nearly succeeded in doing so, until a little understanding from all the Sailors of the loneliness she endured from her one-time kingdom where she was Queen had opened her eyes & freed her from her web of vengeance. Nehelenia was even given a second chance by being returned to her kingdom as a child to start all over again, no doubt to a better life & future than the one which she normally lead.

But now, Hotaru felt just as helpless as she did when she was an infant, in spite of her being back to her normal age & size. She felt totally alone in a place she cannot even begin to recall as being familiar. She felt like a rat in a cage, with no way out. Desperate, Hotaru called out into the void in hopes of hearing a friendly voice.

She received no reply; all she got was the unbearable quiet of her surroundings.

Hotaru called out again, refusing to give up, & after a few moments of waiting, she finally did hear something. It was faint, but it was something. Only, it sounded like anything but human speech. She heard it again, louder this time, sounding like somebody was snoring softly but at a high volume. It occurred again a third time, & Hotaru realized that the sound was coming from behind her.

Slowly, Hotaru turned her head to look over her shoulder, & out of nowhere flashed two pairs of red, rectangular slits that shone bright & solid, followed by more of the eerie cackling noise from before. Startled & frightened by their sudden appearance out of nowhere, Hotaru gasped & began to run.

Hotaru continued running down the white path, wanting to put as much distance between herself & whatever it was that she saw before, not daring even a glimpse over her shoulder to see if she was being pursued, as she was too scared to do so. All she could think about doing was run & hope she could find someone for solace & protection.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, Hotaru at last saw someone who might help her. She saw that someone from a distance, but as she got closer, she could confirm that it was human. She could also see that the person is female, for she saw two balls of hair atop the person's head, followed by two long strands of hair which almost touched the ground. Although she couldn't see her face, Hotaru recognized that person's hairstyle, & suddenly her trepidation & loneliness were replaced by feelings of hope, protection, & companionship.

Usagi! Sailor Moon! Princess! What a relief that she's here!, raced through Hotaru's mind as she stopped just a few yards from her.

"Usagi-san! How fortunate I am to see you here!", said Hotaru, her hopes flying high.

Usagi, if it really was her, did not respond to Hotaru at all, nor did she make any gesture that she had even heard her to begin with.

"Princess, can you hear me?", Hotaru tried again, still getting no answer as before.

What's wrong? Why won't she answer me? Doesn't she know who I am?, wondered Hotaru. Surely Usagi isn't one to forget who her friends are; there must be something terribly wrong if she won't respond to Hotaru at all. Throwing any sense of caution to the wind, Hotaru slowly approaches her friend, still bathed mostly in shadow.

When she got to just a few feet in front of where Usagi is, light from above suddenly shown down, revealing her entire person. What Hotaru saw made her eyes & mouth go wide with utter horror, for what she saw of Usagi wasn't really much at all to even call her a person. Instead of seeing a giddy school girl with her trademark smile on her face, all Hotaru saw of her was just her head suspended in midair, with her spinal cord dangling underneath her, dripping wet & thick with her own blood. Usagi's face was expressionless & pale, very much like a zombie's.

"You're going to die, too, Hotaru!", Usagi said in a low, half-gurgled voice as thin streams of blood trickled down her cheeks. The young Sailor Soldier wanted to scream in terror, but her vocal cords won't respond. Before any other thought could enter her fear-frozen mind, she heard more of that cackling sound behind her, along with a sound of unsheathing metal. Hotaru dared to look behind her this time & saw the shadow of a giant, hulking humanoid figure with that same pair of bright red rectangles for eyes. The only other thing she could visibly see of the figure was a pair of twin jagged wristblades on its right forearm, raised as if in a striking position.

This time, Hotaru did scream, especially since the figure is striking its blades at her.

Her scream echoed through the darkness.

Hotaru woke up with a scream in her bed, panting heavily, with moist sweat running down her face that soaked the top of her lavender pajamas. Her digital clock read 2:00 a.m., but she didn't even bother to check the time; the nightmare she just had & the horrible images from it were too engraved in her mind. She didn't even acknowledge to the sudden appearance of a woman dressed in green pajama tops & bottoms with long, dark-green hair & eyes opening the door to her room in a rush.

Setsuna Meiho, a.k.a. the Soldier of Time, Sailor Pluto.

"Hotaru!", Setsuna said, hurrying over to her side. "Hotaru, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Hotaru? Please say something!"

The young Sailor Soldier stayed mute for a few more seconds before finally answering. "Danger is approaching the Princess. It will get to her soon."

When Hotaru didn't say anymore, Setsuna urged her for more but in a gentle tone. "What do you mean? What kind of danger is it, & how soon will it reach our Princess? Hotaru?"

Again, Hotaru didn't answer right away: the horrid image of seeing their Princess as nothing more than a severed head & spinal column was all she can see at the moment, even now.

"It's horrible!", she finally managed to say, followed by tears forming in her eyes. Then she began to cry, burying herself in Setsuna, who wraps her arms around & embraces her as any mother would do for her child.

"It's all right, Hotaru", Setsuna assures her, caressing her gently. "Whatever the danger is that threatens our Princess, we'll be sure to deal with it, as always. You do believe me, don't you?"

Hotaru looked up at Setsuna long enough to nod before burying herself again, softening her crying. From the entrance of Hotaru's open door stood two more female figures as Setsuna turns in their direction, still holding Hotaru in her arms. The first woman was Setsuna's height with short golden hair, looking like a man's hairstyle, & wore light beige pajama wear. The second woman next to her was a bit shorter & had long, turquoise-colored hair held up with bobby pins for a more comfortable sleep, with same-colored pajamas to match.

Haruka Tenoh, a.k.a. the Soldier of Wind, Sailor Uranus, & Michiru Kaiho, a.k.a. the Soldier of Waves, Sailor Neptune.

Neither one of the women said anything as it was unnecessary; the grim look on Setsuna's face as she faces her two companions was all that Haruka & Michiru need to convince them that a new enemy will soon be in their midst.

What they don't know is who or what this new enemy will be, much less know where or when they will clash.

They loathe it, but all they can do is wait.

Haruka & Michiru are terrible waiters.

The morning paper lay on the front stoop as the door opened up & Haruka (still in her pajamas) covered her eyes with her arm as she was hit by both the blinding sunlight & the intense heat of the day—ninety degrees even as early at 8:00 a.m.. Grabbing the paper with her free hand, Haruka re-enters the house & closes the door, leaning against it to allow the coolness of the air conditioner wash all over before rejoining Michiru & Setsuna in the kitchen.

Michiru (also still in her PJs) currently resides in the kitchen alone, as Setsuna went to Hotaru's room briefly. In her bowl in front of her was a delicious serving of Corn Flakes with strawberries cut in pieces for extra taste. A bowl was also prepared for Haruka, who now enters the kitchen & tosses the paper onto the table, landing dead center.

"My, my, won't this blasted heat ever go away & leave us alone?", Haruka asks with sarcasm as she sits & begins consuming her breakfast while Michiru lets out a little giggle.

"Not for a while yet, I'm afraid", she says after another mouthful. "The weather report says we're due for a few more days of sweltering temperatures at a hundred degrees, if not a little more. Think you can hold out until then?"

Haruka lets out a little laugh of her own. "You always seem to know how to keep me in good spirits, don't you, Michiru?"

Now Michiru laughs out cheerfully. "What, I'm not enough for you to endure the scorching temperatures outside?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course you are. As long as you're by my side, it can stay like this all year long for all I care."

"Now that's the Haruka that I know."

The two intimate partners stare passionately at one another for a moment or two before Setsuna rejoins then, dressed in a short-sleeved baby-blue shirt, medium blue jeans cut at the knees & sandals. Her facial expression was just as grim now as it was only hours ago.

"How's she doing?", asked Michiru, her tone now all business, referring to Hotaru.

"She's having her breakfast in her room, behaving like she'd never had that nightmare to begin with", Setsuna says.

"But we all know better than to act that way whenever she gets these premonitions of hers, especially when they involve our Princess", says Haruka. She was right: whenever Hotaru gets an eerie vision or even a nightmare, it basically means that their Princess, namely Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon, will be in some kind of danger that they must be prepared for. It was her who saw Sailor Moon's danger when Nehelenia had been released from her prison at the time her Mirror Paredories had attacked them from atop a skyscraper, almost killing Hotaru when she was still a baby.

They must each assume that this is no different: ignoring Hotaru's premonitions is like letting the President of the United States get assassinated without any bodyguards around him to take the hit.

"Hotaru said nothing else of the nightmare she had, did she?", asked Michiru.

Setsuna shook her head. "It's unlikely she's forgotten all about it, but I don't want to put any pressure on & force her to tell us what it is that she saw."

"Of course not, that wouldn't be right", said Haruka. "So what shall we do for today? Cancel our planned trip to the beach & head directly for Dumpling's house?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary", Michiru says.

"What do you mean?"

"Dumpling & her friends are going to the beach themselves today, so that means we don't have to cancel anything. Furthermore, Small Lady is staying in this time for a while, so it'll be nice for her & Hotaru to spend some time together, don't you think?"

The sudden realization hits Haruka. "Oh yes, now I remember. Makoto Kino informed me days ago that today is a very special occasion, on account it being Dumpling's birthday. And yes, I think it will do Hotaru a ton of good for her & Small Lady to be with one another. It's one of the reasons why Neo-Queen Serenity of the 30th Century sends her to this time every now & then."

"She also sends her to this time to train at being a Sailor Soldier, so this may work to our advantage", adds Setsuna. "With Small Lady's arrival here, all nine of us can be with & keep an eye on our Princess."

"Then it's settled", said Haruka, rising from the table. "Once we're all ready to go, we'll meet up with the others at the beach & remain with our Princess at all times until this new crisis has been dealt with."

"Agreed", Michiru & Setsuna said in unison.

Inside the air-conditioned Tsukino residence in the suburbs of Tokyo, Chibi-Usa (who is also regarded by some as Small Lady of the 30th Century) has just finished getting dressed for the day's trip to the beach. She was dressed in a baby-pink swimsuit with matching sandals on her feet. Slinging a small beach towel on her shoulder, Chibi-Usa reminisces in her mind about all the times she has visited the 20th Century while she heads downstairs & waits for the others to arrive.

Her first trip to the 20th Century was one out of dire necessity when beings from the dark world called Nemesis arrived at Crystal Tokyo of the 30th Century & destroyed everything except for the Crystal Palace, where Neo-Queen Serenity & King Endymion (Usagi Tsukino & Mamoru Chiba's future selves) took refuge in. When these same people started to show up in the 20th Century, beginning with Rubeus & the Four Phantom Sisters (Petz, Calaveras, Berthier, & Koan, all of whom have been reformed by the Sailor Soldiers & are now living peaceful lives in this time), the situation became a time-traveling epidemic that became a fight for both Earth's past and future, preventing those from the Black Moon (Nemesis) destroying the planet in the past & finding the Silver Crystal from the future & keeping it safe. It turned out that Chibi-Usa has had the futuristic Silver Crystal inside her all along after it disappeared that first time she picked it up just to look at its amazing beauty. It magically reappeared before her in the 20th Century in time to prevent the Wiseman from destroying Earth as he planned to unleash a terrible power called the Death Phantom with a little extra help from Sailor Moon's own Silver Crystal. With the power of both Silver Crystals, mother & daughter were able to defeat the Wiseman & destroy the Death Phantom for good.

Her next two visits were more or less nothing more than social at her future mother's insistence. Little did Chibi-Usa realize that both those visits she would stumble upon arrivals of new enemies; first came the Death Busters aliens, with Chibi-Usa almost having her very life forfeited when her possessed friend Hotaru took her pure heart temporarily. During that time, only Mamoru's own lifeforce kept her alive until it was returned when Hotaru/Sailor Saturn broke the possession that claimed her. Next came the Dead Moon Circus that arrived during an eclipse one fine day. Led by Queen Nehelenia & Ringmaster Zirconia, their task was to find the person with the Mirror of Dreams that the mystical horse Pegasus was hiding in, so that they may obtain the Golden Crystal & ruin Earth as Pegasus' own world Elysian was. It turned out that Chibi-Usa herself was the one with that very mirror they were looking for, appropriately named the Golden Mirror. During the Sailor Soldier's raid at their headquarters, Chibi Moon was captured & had the Golden Mirror removed by force, so that Pegasus can return to his original body, a boy named Helios, who was from Elysian before the trouble all started. While Nehelenia did manage to get her hands on the Golden Crystal, the Sailor Soldiers were able to get their hands on it (thanks to the assistance of the Amazoness Quartet, four young girls of the Dead Moon Circus who turned against their masters), along with the power of dreams from regular citizens, the alien circus was defeated, & Nehelenia was sealed within a mirror.

But that victory nearly made the younger Tsukino a casualty: just before Nehelenia was sealed in her mirror prison, she threw Chibi Moon over the side fron an extremely high altitude. Refusing to lose to the wicked queen, Sailor Moon dove after her & just before they could hit the pavement on the Tokyo streets, they were given angel wings from Pegasus, thanks to a little dream power.

Chibi-Usa was also involved in three other adventures during her time with Usagi & the others: one was an incident involving an alien named Fiore, who was possessed by very deadly Kisenian Blossoms, evil flowers that drain energy from their victims & uses it to plant seeds of negativity to leave Earth full of hatred, killing every living soul. Next came the dreaded Snow Queen Kaguya, who had returned to Earth after a long absence, to freeze the entire planet to add to her horrid collection once she gets her literally cold hands on a crystal which arrived on Earth disguised as a comet. Another such incident was when the giant-sized Lady Badiyanu of Marzipannu Castle sent her underlings (Papanu, Oranja, Pupuran, & his younger brother Peruru, the latter of which had refused to carry out Badiyanu's mission, especially after befriending Chibi-Usa at a bakery) to Earth to hypnotically abduct children from around the world & bring them to the castle to use their dream energy to create & nurture Badiyanu's ultimate weapon: the Black Dream Hole, a ball of energy created to engulf the planet whole & keep its inhabitants within a Dream-like state forever, hereby destroying it. What's more, Chibi Moon herself was abducted & used by Badiyanu, for her special energy was vital to the growth of the Black Dream Hole.

All three incidents ended in a sweet note: because of Sailor Moon, her Silver Crystal broke the possession of Fiore by the Kisenian & all its flowers were withered & dead before they could reach the planet; the same goes for the Snow Queen, as the Crystal's power (reminiscent of the very same light that banished her from Earth once before) sent her away from the planet, possibly forever; finally, thanks to assistance from both Peruru & Chibi Moon herself, both mother & daughter were able to destroy the Black Dream Hole from the inside.

Perhaps, however, her most frightening ordeal was when Chibi-Usa had actually disappeared temporarily when Nehelenia put a spell on Usagi's beloved Mamoru after a shard of glass had entered his right eye when the Dark Queen broke a magical mirror created by her thoughts of revenge against Usagi & her friends. But even though she vanished in Usagi's arms briefly, she wasn't too worried because she believed everything would be all right in the end, which it was.

Because for all her arguing & feuding with her future mother-to-be (stealing each other's snacks, fussing & fighting over Mamoru constantly, etc.), there's one pure & simple fact that can never be denied—she believes in Usagi, & deep down, she honestly & truly loves her, & she knows that the feeling is more than mutual with Usagi herself.

Chibi-Usa arrived at the bottom of the stairs, her baby-pink hair (a style identical to Usagi's own, with one or two differences) glistening in the sunlight shining through a window. Once she enters the living room, the doorbell rings, & after checking the time, whick read 8:00 a.m., it can only mean one thing to her.

Makoto & the others have arrived.

With a big smile on her face, Chibi-Usa rushes to the front door as Luna & Diana—an adult black cat & a pink kitten, each with a crescent moon upon their foreheads—race down the stairs themselves at the sound of the doorbell ring, both just as happy as Chibi-Usa is.

"Is it them, Small Lady?", asked Diana.

Chibi-Usa turns & nods before she opens the front door. Sure enough, at the entrance was exactly who she had anticipated to show up—Ami Mizuno, the short blue-haired warmhearted genius dressed in a vertical-striped blue & white swimsuit & sandals; Rei Hino, the long black-haired psychic girl from Hikawa Shrine dressed in a half-red, half-orange swimsuit with orange sandals & a pair of black sunglasses; Makoto Kino, the brown & ponytail-haired master of cooking & cleaning (& physically strong), dressed in a green bikini top & bottom with a towel tied around her waist & green sandals on her feet; Minako Aino, the long golden-haired idol wannabe, dressed in a light blue swimsuit & sandals. Underneath her left arm is a wrapped box with a bow on top.

These four girls were Chibi-Usa's good friends, but unbeknown to the world they were secretly Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, & Sailor Venus (once known in London as Sailor V)—the Sailor Soldiers.

"Good morning, Chibi-Usa!", the girls said altogether.

"Good morning!", Chibi-Usa returned, gesturing for them to enter.

Ami was the first to come in, followed by Rei, Minako, & Makoto taking up the rear, as she brought in a cooler with wheels on the bottom for easier travel, placing it next to the living room table. She then closes the front door to prevent the cool air from the AC from escaping.

"It's so good to have all of you here today", says Luna, jumping on the table, followed by Diana.

"Of course. We're here today for a very special reason", says Rei with a wink. "And that's to make it a fun-filled day for someone very dear & precious to all of us here. How's she holding up, by the way?"

The happy expression on Luna's face was replaced by one of deep sorrow, followed by the rest, as her facial features were too easy to read.

"Still in that state of mind, huh?", asked Makoto. Luna nodded.

"It must be really tough for Usagi, what with Mamoru being in Hawaii on business for at least three months, not being able to be with her on her birthday, of all days", Ami includes.

"Not only that, but her family went to Osaka a few days ago to see relatives of Usagi's parents who are sick in the hospital there", adds Minako.

"What about Shingo? Is he with them, too?", asked Ami.

Luna shook her head. "Shingo is staying at a friend's house until they return, which is still a week away."

"Usagi & myself would've went with them, but this beach trip we've planned for weeks in advance was too important to us", said Chibi-Usa. "It would've been a shame if all that planning were to be all for nothing."

"Being the kind & generous souls that they are, I'm sure they understand just why you needed to stay behind", said Makoto.

"That's right", Rei said. "While being with family is important, it's equally so to be with your friends, especially when you need them the most."

"That's exactly what our Princess needs right now—her dear, deep-caring friends to get her out of her current slump", says Diana.

"Yes. Still, I can relate to how Usagi feels", said Chibi-Usa. "I myself wanted Mamoru here with the rest of us to help make Usagi's special day even more so. What bad timing it is to have him elsewhere right now."

"Try not to worry about it too much, Chibi-Usa", says Minako. "That's why we've planned this for some time, once we knew Mamoru wouldn't be back in time for this day. Plus, let's not forget to mention that it's a perfect solution for getting a break from this scorching heat wave we've been having lately."

"Nobody can argue with that point!", said a muffled voice, seemingly originating from the cooler Makoto had brought in: a seemingly familiar voice.

"Artemis?", asked Minako.

A full-grown white cat—also with a crescent moon placed upon its forehead—lifted the lid of the cooler & emerged covered in frost on its back, surprising everyone.

"Papa?", asked Diana.

"Artemis, you were inside that thing all this time?", asked Luna.

"It was the best way to get here in this sweltering heat, Luna", said Artemis. "Besides, you don't really think that I could just leave both you & Diana all alone here while the girls head for the beach, do you?"

"Artemis", said Luna in a compassionate tone, touched by Artemis' words.

While Luna was tender & sweet to Artemis, Minako was another matter. She grabs Artemis by the back of his neck & puts him face-to-face with her. "No wonder I couldn't find you this morning!", she growls. "I'm warning you now, if you've gotten your sweaty cat hair all over inside that cooler…!"

"M-Minako, I give you my word t-that's not the case!", Artemis says, panic-stricken. "I-I only went in there to keep cool in this heat!"

"And that's all?"

"Y-yes!"

"It's all right, Minako", says Makoto, who checked inside the cooler the whole time, closing the lid once more. "Artemis speaks the truth. There's no trace of his cat hair anywhere inside."

"S-See? Just as I've told you!"

"You're lucky!", said Minako, releasing Artemis unexpectedly as he falls & lands on the table on his stomach, his legs all stretched out,his head spinning.

"Papa, aren't we cats supposed to always land on our feet?", asked Diana.

"It's pretty obvious that Artemis has never heard of such a thing!", says Luna, causing everyone to just burst out laughing.

The laughter echoed throughout the house, even from Usagi's room, but Usagi herself did not even acknowledge it. Dressed still in her light-blue, short-sleeved pajamas, Usagi sits atop her bed & stares out of her bedroom window sorrowfully, her mind going back to that day three months ago…

At the Tokyo International Airport, Usagi Tsukino & Mamoru Chiba were spending their last moments together before Mamoru needs to board his flight for Hawaii for three months of studying abroad, as requested by the staff at Tozai University. It was an opportunity for him & his peers at the University to get a first-rate experience of the livelihood & resources Hawaii had to offer, something Mamoru had eagerly looked forward to, since he's never actually been there, in spite of it being in close proximity to Japan. While it will be only three months for them to be separate from each other, it will no doubt feel like an eternity for them, more so for Usagi.

"It's going to be a lonely place without you while you're gone, Mamo-chan", said Usagi.

"I know, Usako", said Mamoru. "It's lousy timing somewhat. I won't be back until around the beginning of July, but I'll be missing your birthday, I'm afraid. That's what I regret most of all about this trip."

Usagi nodded. "If only they could reschedule this trip for you."

"Same here. Unfortunately, Tozai University invested too much into this to do that, & I'm not the only one from there going to learn about Hawaii & its lifestyle. All I ask for is that you stay strong & wait for me to return."

"I only hope that I can stay strong, Mamo-chan."

Mamoru pulls Usagi closer to him until they are literally face-to-face. "You can be, Usako. You are a strong girl, even if you may not realize it. And if you should ever need a sudden boost of strength for any reason, just think about me really well; think about just how much I honestly love you."

"Mamo-chan", Usagi whispers, seconds before they lock lips with each other & they engage in a passionate kiss for several moments before the announcement is made for Mamoru's plane to start boarding. Giving Usagi his blessings, he hurries to catch his flight, stopping just long enough to look at Usagi one more time before disappearing for good.

Usagi can only watch helplessly as Mamoru's plane speeds up on the runway & takes off into the air until it is gone from sight.

Despite Mamoru's encouraging words, Usagi couldn't stay strong for him or for herself. Even the re-arrival of Chibi-Usa just a day after Mamoru had left did no good. It took a few days of effort, but Chibi-Usa, Rei & the others were able to get Usagi back to her normal care-free self. That also meant putting up with her stuffing herself with food constantly & her reluctance to study for exams, among other of her usual crazy habits, but they wouldn't want it any other way.

It was the way she was, & they love her for it.

But just two weeks ago, her depression state came back with a vengeance with the day of her birthday closing in. And now with that day finally arriving, she was in no mood to celebrate it due to the fact that Mamoru is not even in the country. The thought was just too much for her to take, & with her mother Ikuko & father Kenji away to Osaka unexpectedly to visit relatives sick in the hospital there, & younger brother Shingo staying at a friend's house until they return, it was no doubt the most sad birthday Usagi would ever have in her life.

Unless, of course, her friends have something to say about it.

A gentle knock on her slightly open bedroom door & Usagi sees Minako poking her head inside, her trademark warm smile splashed on her face & present stashed under her arm.

"Good morning, Usagi", she says cheerfully. "You ready for a fun-filled day of sand & surf at the beach today?"

Usagi answers in a depressed tone. "Good morning, Minako. To tell you the truth, I don't think I'm up for a day at the beach. It's best if you all went without me."

Minako approaches Usagi & sits on her bed, facing her. "We couldn't possibly dream of doing that to you, Usagi. You're the main reason for this whole trip. "Minako puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Look, I know it's hard for you not having either your family or even Mamoru here on your birthday today, but I'm positive that, despite their absence, they'd all want you to enjoy your day as best as you possibly can. Here—this is yours. Why not open it?"

Minako places the present upon the bed, & Usagi looks down at it when she sees something which catches her eye: a gift tag that read 'To Usagi, From Mamoru with love'. Usagi recognized her lover's handwriting anywhere—this present really is from him!

"Wh-when did he get this?", she asked, her excitement on the rise.

"A week before he had to catch his flight", Minako answered. "He asked me to hold it for you until today. Open it up, Usagi—even I don't know what it is."

Thank you, Mamo-chan!, Usagi said to herself, just before she tore off the wrapping & opened up the box. What she saw made her gasp in delight: it was a pink swimsuit, identical to her other one, only without yellow bows placed anywhere (a design Usagi did herself to her old one, as that one had holes in it caused by moths, to disguise them).

"It's beautiful", she says.

"It's perfect", says Minako. "Why don't you go change into it & we'll be on our way—all of us?"

Usagi nods with a smile. "Give me two minutes."

She heads for the bathroom as Minako watches her go, a brighter smile on her face as well.

Ami & the others all sat around the living room table, wondering how Minako was faring with Usagi in hopes of getting her out of her depressed state. When they heard footsteps coming down the stairs, their hopes were well-received as both Minako and Usagi showed up, the latter dressed up in her new swimsuit with light brown sandals on her feet. Usagi placed little pink bows in her hair & yellow ones on her new swimsuit to give it the feeling of her old one, since she came up with the idea herself all that time ago.

"Usagi! You've decided to come after all!", said a happy Rei. "We're so glad!"

"Why not? It's my birthday, & it's a perfect day to go to the beach & beat the heat, don't you agree?", Usagi states.

With a glad smile on their faces, everyone nods happily.

"But Usagi, don't you have a different outfit to go in than that old thing?", asked Luna.

"For your information, this 'old thing' is my birthday gift from my Mamo-chan", Usagi says, matter-of-factly, getting gasps of surprise & amazement from everyone.

"He got you that? I always thought it was from you, Minako", said Makoto.

"That's what Mamoru wanted you to believe", says Minako. "Just the day before his flight to Hawaii, he gave the gift to me to give to Usagi, so as not to spoil the surprise."

"How ingenious of Mamoru to do that", remarks Ami.

"And how thoughtful", added Chibi-Usa. "Always thinking of the one he loves, even when he's miles away. Right,Usagi?"

Usagi nods. "Thank you, Chibi-Usa."

Chibi-Usa responds with a nod of her own.

"Well, now that we're all agreed to go, we should get moving", Ami says. "The next bus to the beach should arrive in a few minutes, so now would be a good time."

"Not to mention that Haruka & the others have agreed to meet us there today", adds Rei.

"Does that include Hotaru,too?", asks an excited Chibi-Usa.

"I'm sure it does, Chibi-Usa", Usagi assures her. "They know all too well that the two of you are such good friends, as well as being Sailor Soldiers."

"Then get going & have a ball", Luna urges them. "Artemis, Diana, & myself will be fine here."

"Then we're off. Bye-bye!", said Chibi-Usa, waving off to the trio of cats as Makoto grabs the cooler & heads out the front door with the others. When the door closes, Artemis heads over to the radio & turns it on. Once it is, a newscaster announces the morning news.

"Here is the news for this morning of June 30th", he begins. "Last night, in the Juban area of Tokyo, police were in hot pursuit of crime kingpin Tetsuya Kobayashi, who made his getaway in a black Mitsubishi SUV. The chase took a horrible turn for the worse when Tetsuya opened fire on one of the pursuing officers, causing him to crash into all other pursuing police, creating a massive pile-up & explosion on the western outskirts of the city, killing all but one of the officers. He was then taken to Juban General Hospital for his injuries, while additional units continued the search for the fleeing crime lord. At approximately 5:30 a.m., the man's body was found deep in the woods just west of Tokyo, skinned alive with both his head & spinal column surgically & brutally removed. The motives of Tetsuya's killer & whereabouts of his missing appendages are unknown at this time. We will have more details to this bizarre & brutal attack as they occur."

Hearing the news broadcast put the cats in a state of shock & fear, as Artemis decides he's heard enough & turns the radio off. Turning to Luna & Diana, he can easily see the looks of trepidation on their faces.

A killer on the loose, who skins his victims & takes body parts for trophies, thought Artemis. Who does such a horrible thing?

Diana, shivering from fear & not the cool air from the AC, cuddles up to her future mother Luna for comfort. "Mama, I'm scared for Usagi & the others", she says. "They probably don't even know about this horrible event. Shouldn't we go out & tell them?"

Luna had considered doing so. They can catch up to Usagi & the others in no time before they can board their bus & head for the beach. But the girls have planned their trip for many weeks in advance, knowing Usagi will be saddened by Mamoru's absence on her birthday, & she needs a massive pick-me-up from it. Besides, the incident happened deep in the woods west of the city, & the girls are heading in the opposite direction of it. The odds of them running into this sick individual, especially today, are the same as Usagi becoming as intelligent as Ami is.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Diana", Luna assures her. "Usagi & the rest are going nowhere near the forest, so there's no chance of them meeting this killer. This is something the police can handle themselves. Let's let the girls enjoy their day, shall we?"

Luna's words seemed to have relaxed her future daughter to a degree, & thus she nods as she heads upstairs, leaving her future parents temporarily by themselves.

"Let's hope you're right, Luna", Artemis says, speaking softly so their daughter couldn't hear. Artemis had every right to be concerned about the girls, & Luna knew it. There was a killer on the loose, & whoever it was probably won't confine or restrict himself to the woods. While it's a slim chance that Usagi & her group will run into this lunatic, the opposite is also true. Artemis has considered going to tell the girls the dire news himself, but they already have enough on their plate as it is.

All Luna can do is nod & hope she is right.

Just before leaving the house completely, Usagi took everyone's beach towel in her arms, as both Minako & Rei each carried an umbrella at their side—the type that will offer shade for them from the blazing sun's overpowering rays as the girls really feel the intense heat of one of the most dreadfully hot days Tokyo was ever experiencing for some time this summer. Even if it wasn't Usagi's birthday, this was as good a day as any other for a day at the beach; they doubt they can go another day in this sultry climate without taking a nice, refreshing dip in the water.

The bus stop was now just two blocks away.

"And I thought the summers in Crystal Tokyo back home were hot", said a hot & panting Chibi-Usa.

"How hot does the summers in your time get, Chibi-Usa?", asked a sweltering Usagi.

"Pretty hot, although if one remained within city limits, you were protected from most of the sun's rays & overpowering humidity, becoming a bearable 80 degrees. Beyond that, it can rise over 100 at times."

Grunts of dissatisfaction is the answer to Usagi's question.

"Try to hold out until we get onto the bus", Ami says, keeping their hopes up. "The stop is just up around the corner after this next block. After that, it's only a 45-minute to an hour bus ride to our destination, & it will be a nice air-conditioned ride."

"The sooner we're on that bus, the better!", said a demanding Makoto.

"Don't worry, Makoto", said Minako. "We'll all be at the beach before you know it. And once we get there, you & I will check out the cool guys there in their stunning swimsuits."

"Not until we take a nice, refreshing dip in the water first. Deal?"

"Deal!"

As the girls continue walking to the bus stop, Rei Hino, being at the rear, suddenly stops in her tracks as she feels a slight aura from her surroundings. Rei was gifted as a youngster with the power of having a sixth sense, enabling her to detect an enemy's presence & forsee the future. It proved a valuable asset to the Sailor Soldiers on more than one occasion, as it often warned them beforehand of when trouble will arise/strike. But this latest feeling of an unusual aura only lasted for the briefest of times. She gives a quick look at her surroundings—a stone wall at her right, & a residence with a lush lawn & two fully-leaved trees in the yard. Rei takes a stabbing look at the trees in the yard, suspecting that's where the aura had originated from. One of the tree's branches began to shake, rustling the leaves as Rei readies an Ofudu scroll…

…when a trio of birds suddenly shoot out from within & fly off, probably for much quieter quarters. Slightly embarrassed, Rei puts away her scroll.

What the hell's wrong with me today?, she wondered. Am I getting sloppy, or is this heat simply just getting to me a little too much like it is everybody else?

Noticing suddenly that Rei was lagging behind, Usagi calls out to her. "Rei-chan! Is something wrong?"

Suddenly snapped back from her temporary trance by Usagi's call, Rei rushes to catch up with the rest. "No, nothing's wrong. Come on, let's go catch our bus!"

"Right!", the others say altogether, & double-time their speed to grab their ride.

From the tree in which the birds had emerged, another entity appears out from the hot, heavy brush: a humanoid shimmer in the air, measuring over seven feet in height, lands on the ground & begins taking off, going in the opposite direction of Usagi & her friends.

CHAPTER III

At her base of operations deep within the forest—a round, open field of land 50 yards all around, with trees at the very edges, making the immediate area look like a round sports arena—Demonia surveyed the Predators as the alien hunters were preparing for the hunt which the crippled space huntress had promised them. Each of the Predators personally tested & checked its equipment by protruding/retracting their twin wristblades from their right forearm cuffs, testing the movement of their shoulder cannons, sheathing long, jagged hand-held knives into the sides of their shins; some withdrew spears, while others held discs with razor-sharp edges—some of these discs resembled a Frisbee, but the more deadly-looking ones had six large-curved blades that looked as if it can cut through a row of people standing in a line. These discs were placed on a holster of sort attached to the belt around their waist. While most of the Predators stood over two meters tall, there was one taller by six inches, & its body harness was a dark silver in color, as the rest had dark brown-colored harnesses. The taller Predator stood at attention with its spear in hand & faced Demonia, followed by the rest, announcing they were finally ready for action.

So was Demonia herself.

Her skull-topped staff in her hand, the dreaded space huntress begins to address her squad of alien hunters like a teacher or principal at school making an announcement to students.

"My eager Predators, we have traveled here to Earth in search of a prey most worthy of your hunting skills & put them to the ultimate test!" Demonia conjures up her 3-D holo-map from her left armrest. It showed once again a green 3-D image of the city of Tokyo. "According to my resources, your prey resides somewhere within the city limits of Tokyo. This target you are to acquire has special abilities beyond those of the other inhabitants of this rural planet. Plus, this individual isn't alone—she has a group of warriors who fight & defend her by her side. They are also armed with special abilities, & are very fierce fighters against evil." The 3-D projector creates images of numerous females in outfits with mini-skirts, gloves, & boots/shoes. "They are known as the Sailor Soldiers, & this is their leader, as well as your primary target." The 3-D projector creates a lone image of a teenage female dressed like the others, but with a pair of round hair buns on the top of her head, along with a long strand of hair on either side of her head that reaches between her knees & ankles. "Her name is Sailor Moon, & your objective is to find her & bring her head back here to me! For you to do that, you'll need to first draw her out into the open, & what better way than to cause a little death & mayhem at a public beach, where the humans go to relieve themselves of the hot, humid weather you Predators thrive on!"

Pointing her skull staff, the skull itself lights up as the Predators split into two groups, not wanting to be hit by the beam that shoots in between them & creates a portal five feet wide & ten feet tall. "This will take you all to your destination, where you will find your primary targets. Go!" The Predators raise their fists & give out a roar of eagerness as each one activates their own cloaking device & become over two-meter-tall shimmers in the air before entering the portal in which Demonia had created. Once they were all gone from sight, Demonia flashes her teeth in an evil grin, picturing in her mind Sailor Moon's head in her hand & then her trophy case.

Good hunting!, she thought to herself, & can hardly wait for it to happen.

The local beach, located on the east side of Tokyo, was jam-packed with a record-breaking number of people, which was usually the case whenever the temperature reached a record high of about or nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of the unbearable heat, the beverage & ice cream stands were working overtime to help the sweltering commuters cool themselves off with cold & refreshing treats. The average they were selling to per person were at least two cups/cones of ice cream & beverages in the largest size available. But the main upside for it all was that the parlors were doing the best business they could ever do during the summer months, especially when it gets this hot out.

While the heat became a nuisance on more than one occasion, it still didn't stop people from enjoying the other simple pleasures the beach had to offer: a husband & wife charging a minimal fee for an inflatable water slide which the children highly enjoy, twin sisters selling a big bunch of helium-filled balloons of all shapes, sizes & colors (although just a very few did pop due to the heat), even the local arcades & food stands were receiving an enormous crowd each, more than even they could ever imagine.

Down at the water, people were swimming & splashing around as everybody savored the ocean's surprising cool temperature in comparison to the surrounding heat. Ami, Rei, & Chibi-Usa were enjoying a relaxing swim while Usagi & Minako were trying to drown each other with who can throw the bigger splash between the two. Everything from tidal waves to tsunamis were given to one another, with no clear winner in sight. Just as they were ready to go for a second go-round, Usagi was grabbed from behind by Chibi-Usa & Minako was grabbed by Rei, giving both of the girls a downright scare that nearly made them jump out of their skins. Ami, Rei, & Chibi-Usa let out a hearty laugh at the two feuder's reaction.

"Hey, Chibi-Usa, what's the big idea?", snapped Usagi.

"Are you trying to give us heart attacks & gray hairs?", Minako snapped at Rei.

"You two could've kept your little feud going until doomsday, with neither one of you being the winner", stated Chibi-Usa.

"We did you both a great favor, so you should be a little more grateful to us", Rei says.

"Oh, yeah?", Usagi & Minako said, turning to their attackers & giving them a villainous look on their faces, giving Rei & Chibi-Usa a frightful feeling. Before they even knew what hit them, Chibi-Usa & Rei were hit by a large splash of water, getting payback for what they'd done.

But Rei & Chibi-Usa were not ones to take something like that lying down: they splashed them both right back, hitting Ami, & before long all five were involved in a water-splashing free-for-all.

The girls took a little breather for a couple of moments, resting their arms (& their vocal chords), when Makoto suddenly joined them.

"Oh, Makoto, there you are, finally", said Rei.

"Sorry I took so long, everybody", said Makoto. "There were a few things that I had to take care of first before I could join you all for a swim."

"Well, now that you're here, why don't we all…"

Ami's sentence was abruptly cut off by Makoto. "Oh, I almost forgot." She removes her rose earrings & hands them to Usagi. "Usagi, I hate to ask, but could you take these back to our spot for me, please? I shouldn't risk getting them wet & rust afterwards."

"I'd be glad to, Mako-chan", Usagi says, taking her friend's earrings in her hand & starts heading back toward the shore.

"Thank you, Usagi."

When they know her back is turned from them & she's a distance away, the five girls give each other a warm smile, nodding.

On her way back to their spot, Usagi sees two individuals standing right in front of it. Upon closer inspection, she can see that they were very familiar to her. One was a guy with blue trunks & spiky brown hair, with a pair of prescription eyeglasses over his eyes. The other was a girl in an orange swimsuit, with shoulder-length light brown hair. They were people Usagi has known ever since she started school—Gurio Umino & Naru Osaka.

"Naru! Umino!", Usagi calls out their names happily, running up to them.

As Usagi gets closer to them, Naru & Umino step aside from their spot to reveal a boquet of balloons shaped in the heads of rabbits in various colors, all tied to a mini-weight that laid next to a box tied with a ribbon & a tag that read 'Happy Birthday' onto it.

"Happy Birthday, Usagi!", Nora & Umino greeted their longtime friend & classmate.

"Thank you, Nora, Umino!", Usagi said with glee, a big smile on her face. "You two did all this for me?"

"Your friend Makoto informed us about your birthday, & we just had to chip in by giving you these balloons", said Nora.

"Makoto herself baked the goodies within the box, all just for you as a birthday treat", said Umino.

It was a dream come true for Usagi: an entire case of treats solely for her, without having to give any to anyone else, least of all Chibi-Usa, who attempts to steal her snacks from time to time. Unable to wait a second longer to start wharfing down, Usagi removes the balloons from the box & gives one each to Nora & Umino in gratitude, holding the rest. Afterwards, she opens the box & inside was an array of delectable & freshly-baked cupcakes, chocolate-chip & oatmeal-raisin cookies, & an assortment of candies in various kinds & flavors. Wasting no time, Usagi begins scarfing down on her birthday treats, giving the pair all the hints they need.

"Come on, Umino", Naru says with a giggle. "This is our cue to exit."

"That's all right, Naru", said Umino, taking her by the hand & dragging her away from Usagi. "It's time to have something to eat ourselves anyway."

"What are we having?"

"Your favorite—fried shrimp!"

"What, again?"

Even with the balloons in one hand, Usagi uses them both to grab the goodies from the box & stuffing them in her mouth like there's no tomorrow. As she chows down on her birthday treats, four girls approach her spot as one of them begins to speak, getting her attention.

"Well, well, well, fancy meeting you here!"

It took a moment, but Usagi saw who these four were & her eyes widened.

Their arms & legs beginning to get a little tired out from all their swimming, Chibi-Usa & the others reach the shore & begin heading back to their spot where Usagi is now at.

"I'm betting Usagi's jumping with joy from all the treats you've made for her at this very moment, Makoto", Minako points out.

"Considering she doesn't eat the rest of the contents from our cooler in the process", Chibi-

Usa says matter-of-factly.

"Don't worry, Chibi-Usa. Usagi isn't that selfish", Ami insists.

"That all depends on who you ask, Ami", Rei stated.

"Come on, you guys. It's her birthday. Besides,this is something she so desperately needs right now", Makoto reminds them.

That remark kept them silent for the rest of the way: Usagi did need this as much as any one of them, & knowing that she's enjoying herself on Makoto's snacks, it would more or less be a felony to try & take that away from her right now, as they all know full well the reason for it, & it wasn't because of the scorching hot weather.

Making through the crowd of beachgoers lying on the sand on their towels, the girls finally get within a few yards of their resting place where Usagi is. She wasn't alone either—sitting with her are four girls, each one enjoying a cupcake or a bunch of cookies, the very ones Usagi were chowing down on.

Seeing her friends approaching, Usagi waves happily to them & shouts cheerfully. "Hey you guys, look who I ran into today!"

Usagi's four guests were all sitting next to her, with two on each side. They were wearing swimsuits that matched the color of their hair, of which had been styled in most very unusual ways; two of the girls, one with orange-pink hair, the other green, had a pair of long, thin strands of hair that ended in matching colored balls. Another had blue hair with similar hair strands, except she had two pairs instead of one, & were much shorter. The last girl had red hair, but was styled differently from her cohorts, as it was drooped backwards behind her, but had also ended in a ball.

One look was all that Chibi-Usa & her group needed to know who Usagi's guests are.

"Sere-Sere!", says Minako.

"Jun-Jun!", exclaims Makoto.

"Beth-Beth!", Rei says.

"Para-Para!", announces Ami.

Indeed, these girls were known as the Amazoness Quartet, one-time enemies of the Sailor Soldiers from the Dead Moon Circus: Sere-Sere, the flower master, Para-Para, the ball-rider, Jun-Jun, the acrobat, & Beth-Beth, the beast-tamer. They were awakened by Ringmaster Zirconia to replace the Amazon Trio—Tigers-Eye, Hawks-Eye, & Fish-Eye—to find the one with the Golden Mirror in order to capture Pegasus & get hold of the Golden Crystal. During their attack at their headquarters, the Sailor Soldiers & Amazoness Quartet were forced to reveal their true identities to each other. At the peak of the Sailor Soldiers' attack on Zirconia, the Quartet stepped in to assist, only to be double-crossed by their master by having their energy drained to be used against Sailor Moon & her friends. Their only way out of Zirconia's trap was to shatter the spheres which gave the Quartet their powers. After a little reluctance to do so, & a little convincing on the Sailor Soldiers' part, the Quartet managed to turn the tables on their one-time masters & even assisted the Sailors in getting their hands on the Golden Crystal, rescue Chibi Moon & Helios/Pegasus, & defeat the Dead Moon Circus once & for all.

At one point after the enemies had been defeated, Beth-Beth had the feeling that she & the rest of the Quartet would see Usagi & the others again, & it would seem that she had been right.

After a hearty lunch (except for Usagi, of course!), the girls all entered the arcade as Minako immediately took to the racing game with actual steering wheel & raced a boy in the seat next to her to see who can complete his/her laps & cross the finish line first. The boy—in his early-mid teens—claims he is the champ at the game he's racing Minako at.

It was up to the one-time Sailor V heroine to put the boy's money where his mouth is.

They were on their final lap as the boy gained a lead on Minako, as she was behind by several yards. But that didn't worry her at all: during the home stretch with the finish line dead ahead, Minako shifts gears & doesn't spare the gas. In a heartbeat, her racing car shot past the boy's own, his mouth agape widely, as it passes the finish line. The 'GAME OVER' sign flashes on both video screens, clearly stating who the victor is.

Triumphant, Minako stands proud & starts to brag. "No one can beat me at this game! It's my lifeline as I live & breathe it!" She then lets out a howling laugh, one that echoes throughout the arcade as mostly everybody looks at her like she had come from outer space, or even a kook.

I have been beaten by a blonde! How embarrassing this is for the champ!, thought the boy as tears started forming & ran down his cheeks while Minako's laughter continued.

After a quick game of 'Sailor V' (Minako's one-time Sailor Soldier identity), Usagi & her friends brought Beth-Beth & her Quartet up to date about their second run-in with the Queen of the Dead Moon Circus, Nehelenia. They explained to the Quartet how their one-time master had taken possession of Usagi's beloved Mamoru & tried to destroy the girls by her overwhelming desire for revenge. When they got to the part how they helped Nehelenia out of that web & gave her a fresh start, the Quartet was filled with skepticism & doubt.

"Nehelenia? Not a chance!", quoted Jun-Jun.

"She was the most stuck-up & loathsome person we've ever had the misfortune of even laying our eyes on!", Sere-Sere claims.

"Para-Para & her friends were fools to have been taken in under her wing!", said the ball-rider.

"I'll say we were! Even old hag Zirconia was better company than she was, & take it from me, that's saying a lot!", said Beth-Beth.

"But it's true", Rei says. "Because of us, she's back at her palace, starting her life all over again."

"And right now, I'll bet she's quite pleased with herself, being free of the hideous time she had while with the Dead Moon Circus", Ami states.

"Don't tell us that doesn't sound familiar to you", Makoto says with a wink.

The Quartet look at each other for a moment, then back at Ami & her group. "She really has been reformed?", Beth-Beth asked.

"And why not? You four reformed", stated Usagi.

"That's right", added Chibi-Usa. "Anyone can change their lifestyle for the better, as long as they believe that they can."

"And a little push or persuasion doesn't hurt, either."

"Not at all."

The Quartet thought about what Usagi & her friends have said to them. In the past, the Sailor Soldiers were able to revert some of their enemies around & give them a second chance to lead a better life. Such was the case for the Four Phantom Sisters (Petz, Calaveras, Berthier, & Koan) of the Black Moon, when they arrived from the future to seize the Silver Crystal & kill Chibi-Usa on more than one occasion (to them, Chibi-Usa was known as the Rabbit). With the power of Usagi's own Silver Crystal, all their negative energy from within was wiped clean, & the four sisters were refreshed inside & out. The Amazon Trio was another example: Fish-Eye wondered why she, Hawks-Eye & Tigers-Eye have no dreams of their own. It's because Zirconia told them that they weren't even human to begin with; they were each the animal of their namesakes—a hawk, a fish, & a tiger. Zirconia also explained that the only way they would be able to remain in their human forms was to find the person in which Pegasus was hiding in. Fish-Eye actually found out that it was Chibi-Usa, & at first was tempted to tell Zirconia about it, but she realized that if she couldn't have any dreams of her own, what was the point of staying human? During the trio's battle with clown Remless Mr. Magic Pierrot, who has been dispatched by Zirconia to dispose of the Trio due to their usefulness being over, Usagi was captured & her dream mirror shattered to pieces. Hawks-Eye was mortally wounded by the clown Remless, & in the end, the Trio reverted back to their true animal forms. All hope seemed lost until Pegasus appeared & gave the Trio the power to become humans once again, complete with a mirror of dreams they can call their own, while Usagi's was being repaired & returned inside her. Rejuvinated with the power to dream, the Trio left Earth to parts unknown, but to a happier life.

But while there were former foes who have abandoned their previous lives & survived their ordeal doing so, there were those who were not as fortunate. Nephrite of the Dark Kingdom, ruled by Queen Beryl, was the first: after being replaced by Jadeite who had been put into an eternal slumber by Beryl for failing to kill the Sailor Soldiers, he masqueraded as Masato Sanjoin, a very wealthy businessman. In his guise, he gathered energy from people whose level has reached their peak. At one point, Naru Osaka had fallen in love with the business tycoon, totally unaware that he was an evil being incognito. No matter how much Usagi & her friends (in both their identities) tried to convince her otherwise, Naru's feelings for Nephrite/Masato stayed the same: she even put herself in harm's way when Sailor Moon shot her tiara at Nephrite. After the warrior rescued Naru from three of Zoisite's henchgirls, they retreated to the park where Nephrite explained to Naru that he was glad to have met a wonderful person such as her. Because of her, he opened his eyes for the first time in his life, seeing there was more to life than he first believed. The tender moment was interrupted when Zoisite's servants ambushed them & Nephrite was impaled by energy-draining thorns. Nephrite ordered Naru to run for her life, but she refused to as she attempted to pull out the thorns that was draining the warrior's energy. Zoisite's minions were about to finish them both in a single strike, but it was the Sailor Soldiers who struck first as they were literally dusted out of existence. But there would be no happy endings from that little battle: Nephrite slowly disappeared before a devastated Naru, taking both her love & Sailor Moon's true identity with him (he watched Usagi change after setting a trap for her). The Sailor Soldiers could not help but shed tears for him as Naru cried a storm, becoming depressed for several days.

Prince Dimande & his younger brother Saphir of the Black Moon Nemesis met similar fates: Saphir had high suspicions about the Wiseman, & after eavesdropping in his lair, his fears were proven right when he discovers that Wiseman's goal was totally different from that of his elder brother—the madman plans to unleash the power of the Death Phantom & destroy Earth & dispose of the two brothers as Wiseman had done to Esmeraude. Going to the past, Saphir tries to find his brother & warn him of Wiseman's true ambitions, but Wiseman managed to silence him permanently before any vital info could be leaked to his brother. Dimande met Saphir's fate, again by the Wiseman, shortly after when Sailor Moon convinced him that taking revenge on Earth was unnecessary to do, especially when he learns that Petz & her sisters are living happy & peaceful lives, compared to their lives on Nemesis. Just as was the case with Nephrite, Sailor Moon shed tears for Dimande as she opened his eyes to the truth, but could not save his life.

Learning about these tragedies from Usagi & her friends, the Quartet count themselves quite lucky to both be reformed and to have survived to talk about it.

"Wherever Nehelenia's palace is…I hope that she's doing well", Beth-Beth finally managed to say with a smile. The other members of the Quartet nodded, also with a smile.

"Nehelenia would be so happy to hear that from you", said Usagi.

Ami, Rei, Makoto, & Chibi-Usa nodded happily.

A warm breeze blew on several people from close proximity to the water. It wasn't much to give them a relief from the heat, but at the moment those who felt it didn't seem to even care much for it—some were too romantically involved with each other to notice. One such couple, a boy with a crewcut hairstyle & red swimming trunks & a girl with two small ponytails on the sides of her head & a pink bikini outfit, were taking a stroll along the riverbank, walking hand-in-hand. They suddenly pause to gaze into each other's eyes—his brown, hers blue—for several long moments before slowly but surely they begin to close in for a passionate kiss. Excited, the girl closes her eyes & waits for the inevitable…

Something wet & sticky splashed on her face & chest. When she opened her eyes, they went wide with horror—she saw her lover with his own eyes wide & blood trickling down from his mouth on one side. She also saw two stab wounds in his chest as a pair of shimmery blades which were made visible by his blood punctured through from behind. She also saw a tall shimmer in the air about seven feet tall, which no doubt was where the blades came from. The girl wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she was too frozen with fear to do it.

All she could do for the moment was stare as her lover was picked up by the tall, massive shimmer & thrown up in the air like a quarterback throwing a football for a going-deep pass. The next thing the girl saw was the shimmer turning its attention back to her & swipes its twin blades at her, cutting her halfway through her neck as she gurgles blood & falls to the ground, before she can even think about screaming.

This all happened in just a matter of a few seconds.

The boy's body landed smack-dab in the middle of a school of sunbathers & couples having a bite to eat from their coolers, the body still spewing fresh blood from the twin punctures in its chest & back, staining the golden sand. People began screaming at the horrible sight that now laid before them,rising up to their feet, grabbing their loved ones & running in a frenzied panic, not knowing which way to go.

Then the real horror began.

From out of nowhere, several shimmers in the air began appearing & started attacking people at random:two couples—a married couple & two young lovers—were struck across the chest by a disc with six long, curved blades that acted like a Frisbee of death. Blood sprayed from the deep cuts & the four victims fell to the ground, dead before they even hit. Another disc, this one being completely round like an actual Frisbee, went into the backs & out through the chests of two guys & a girl, almost cutting them all in half, their blood spewing on one another as they collapse in a heap of bodies. Two muscular lifeguards entered the mayhem of fleeing people to see what the trouble was, only to be attacked themselves in all the confusion. The first guard was stabbed from the rear by an invisible spear that went right through his heart, while the other got impaled in front by the same invisible weapon, going through his chest & out through the back. Both guards were then lifted & thrown through the air by the invisible weapons like rag dolls, as if they weighed no more than just a few pounds, landing many feet away.

Security guards armed with small firearms rushed into the melee of people fleeing for their lives, but without being able to see the attackers, they were at a disadvantage. Before they even knew what happened, the guards were all taken down by balls of bright, white-blue energy which blew holes in their chests, taking down several fleeing civilians along with them.

Once they saw the carnage begin, those from the arcade started screaming themselves & ran for the door in a panic, running for their lives until only Usagi, Beth-Beth & their friends were all left alone in the place.

"What's going on? Why is everyone running off, screaming?", asked a baffled Chibi-Usa.

Beth-Beth went to the window of the arcade to see for herself. What she witnessed was a scene from right out of a horror movie, with numerous dead, bleeding bodies laying on the sandy beach, along with those responsible for their condition.

Her eyes & mouth went wide, gasping in fright.

"Beth-Beth, what's happening out there?", Ami desperately asked, seeing the terror upon her face.

"A massacre!", Beth-Beth exclaims. "These shimmering ghosts are attacking & killing people out there!"

It was now everyone else's turn to gasp agape in horror upon hearing Beth-Beth's report.

"How horrible!", said Jun-Jun. "This needs to be stopped!"

Sere-Sere turns to Usagi & her friends. "She's right! All of you, it's time to transform!"

Usagi, Chibi-Usa, Ami, Rei, Makoto, & Minako all nod. The two Tsukino siblings hold up their heart-shaped brooches, while Ami & the others hold up pink sticks with coffee-muglike handles & angel wings on them.

"Mercury Crystal Power! Make Up!", Ami called out.

"Mars Crystal Power! Make Up!", Rei called out.

"Jupiter Crystal Power! Make Up!", Makoto called out.

"Venus Crstal Power! Make Up!", Minako called out.

"Moon Crisis! Make Up!", both Usagi & Chibi-Usa called out.

During & after the words left their mouths, different colored balls appeared atop their power sticks, as Usagi & Chibi-Usa's brooches opened up, each one of them shining a bright light. The girls feel a rush of refreshing energy wash all over then like a soothing bath/shower, as their swimsuits were all being morphed & replaced by fitting sailor-styled uniforms, similar to the ones they all wear to school, complete with different colored mini skirts, bows on their chests & rears, a pair of boots/heeled shoes on their feet, long, white gloves that reached their elbows on their hands & arms, colored chokers around their necks, & golden tiaras with a jeweled center placed upon their foreheads. Once the display was all said & done, the six girls who were once regular citizens have now become a group of fighters of love & justice.

Ami Mizuno became Sailor Mercury.

Rei Hino became Sailor Mars.

Makoto Kino became Sailor Jupiter.

Minako Aino became Sailor Venus.

And finally, Usagi Tsukino & Chibi-Usa became Super Sailor Moon & Super Chibi Moon.

Together they are the Sailor Soldiers. And it was time to go to work.

In the midst of the sudden rush of panic-stricken people fleeing the horror that has now hit the beach, Naru & Umino were unintentionally knocked down by the overwhelming crowd. Taken by surprise but not seriously hurt, the pair regroup & start to get up, but at that point,one of the tall shimmers in the air finds them on the ground, holding each other in utter fear. It gets multiplied by ten when it protrudes a pair of invisible wristblades from its right forearm. Trembling, Umino & Naru can only watch as their deaths come closing in.

The humanoid shimmer pulls its right arm back, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"Hold it right there!", shouted a young female voice. The shimmer turned its attention to that individual, forgetting its intended victims as they use the distraction to make good their escape with their lives. The other shimmers do the same, seeing a half-dozen girls dressed in sailor outfits & standing next to each other in a row. The one who shouted stood in the center, with the smallest one right beside her.

"People come here to the beach to escape the high heat & have fun, not to be slaughtered like pigs or cattle!", said Sailor Moon. "We are the soldiers of love & justice…"

"Sailor Soldiers in pretty suits!", Chibi Moon chimes in.

"Sailor Moon!"

"Sailor Chibi Moon!"

"In the name of the moon", Sailor Moon begins stating as the others finish with her, "We will punish you!"

The shimmers regroup as the Sailors prepare for battle, when they suddenly disappear right before the girl's eyes. In their place stood humanoid figures that were anything but human: their skins, where it showed, were a grayish-yellow, on their feet were sandals of some kind, their toes & fingers ending in black claws. Each of them wore belts, chest & shoulder armor, a shoulder harness that held equipment & a cannon of some kind; metal cuffs covered their shins & forearms. Their faces & top of their heads were concealed by some kind of metal face mask, with rectangular, red slits. On the sides & back of their heads was something that resembled hair which was thick & black in appearance, decorated with gold, metal braids. They measured over two meters tall, with one being slightly taller than the others.

The sudden appearance of the now-visible creatures put the Sailor Soldiers in a brief state of shock, giving the creatures a perfect opportunity to strike first. With cheetah speed, the tallest one rushes up to the Sailors & grabs Sailor Moon by the neck, running past the other girls.

"Sailor Moon!", they cried out.

The creature that grabbed Sailor Moon slammed her against a wooden wall & pins her there, creating a splintered crater in it. Sailor Moon was a foot-&-a-half off the ground as the creature looked at her all over, as if studying her, which it was. It recalls seeing a hologram from which Demonia had shown it & its clan of a certain individual of whom they were instructed to claim the head of, & after looking Sailor Moon over thoroughly real quick, their target had been acquired & identified.

The search for their target was short & to the point.

"Sailor Moon!", the creature said in a dead-on imitation of Demonia's voice. Sailor Moon tried prying the thing's fingers off of her neck, but its strength was unwavering. It began to tighten its grip on Sailor Moon, cutting off her air supply.

No matter how desperate she tried, Sailor Moon couldn't get free of the thing's iron grip, let alone even loosen it. From behind, Sailor Jupiter delivers a powerful elbow to the creature's side, thus releasing its hold on her friend & sending it crashing into a mobile beverage stand.

"Sailor Moon! Are you all right?", Sailor Jupiter asks, helping her to her feet as Chibi Moon rushes in to assist.

"Y-yes", she says, getting to her feet. "Watch out!"

The Sailors saw two more of the creatures rushing at them, but this time they were ready.

"Mercury…Aqua Rhapsody!", Sailor Mercury calls out, creating a magical harp of water that she actually starts playing, shooting streams of water. The streams hit the creatures square in the chest with surprising strength, knocking them down to the ground. Three more grab spears & discs, while the final three arm & aim their shoulder cannons, ready to fire.

The Sailor Soldiers do the same with their weapons.

"Mars…Flame Sniper!", Sailor Mars calls out, creating a bow of flames & an arrow of red light energy.

"Venus…Love & Beauty Shock!", Sailor Venus calls out, gesturing a blowing kiss that creates a yellow heart of pure energy.

Both Sailors fire their weapons at the creatures as Mars' arrow splits into three & head for all three shoulder cannons simultaneously, blowing each one to pieces. At that same time, Venus' attack strikes the last three creatures before they even have a chance to use their spears and/or discs. Her attack blows the creatures off their feet, sending them back a distance.

"Jupiter…Oak Evolution!", Sailor Jupiter calls out, as the antenna from her tiara rises & fires a multitude of green energy balls that strike the creatures & keep them all in place.

"We've got them pinned!", Chibi Moon happily observes.

"Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi Moon, finish these apparitions off while they're immobilized!", Sailor Jupiter says.

"Right!", Sailor Moon & Sailor Chibi Moon said in unison, nodding to each other. From out of thin air, both of their Kaleido Moonscopes (two pink sticks with heart-framed handles) appear & integrate in their hands & point them at the helpless creatures.

Although Sailor Jupiter managed to pin the creatures down with her attack, she & the others had forgotten about the one that had grabbed Sailor Moon. Recovering from Jupiter's surprise attack, it was not caught in her web, enabling it to aim its own shoulder cannon, resembling some kind of futuristic rifle or ray gun. Using its targeting system, it zeroes in on its intended prey.

"Moon Gorgeous…", Sailor Moon & Sailor Chibi Moon call out, ready to fire their weapons at the creatures, when they suddenly hear the sound coming from their right—it was a blue-white ball of hot energy that heads directly at Sailor Moon, Chibi Moon, & Jupiter. The blast misses them, but they were blown off their feet & sailed through the air. Before Mercury, Mars, & Venus could comprehend what just happened, they too were blown off their feet by a second blast from the creature's shoulder cannon. All girls hit the ground hard, having the wind knocked out of them. Jupiter cursed herself for not making sure the one who first attacked Sailor Moon was taken care of permanently, & that error will cost them.

Rising to its feet, the creature with the still-smoking shoulder cannon casually approaches the helpless Sailor Soldiers, all of whom struggle to get up. One of the other creatures tosses the tall one a spear with a curved, cleaver-like blade at both ends. Standing above Sailor Moon, who is unable to get up, much less strike back, the creature raises its weapon above its head, preparing to sever Sailor Moon's head off with one swift, brutal blow.

And none of her friends can help her!

Her eyes went wide.

Before the blade came down, the thing was struck in its metal face mask by a cylinder of vanilla ice cream with great force, causing the creature to take several steps back, its vision obscured by the frozen treat.

"You stay the hell away from them, you ugly sonsabitches!", Beth-Beth bellowed, as she & the rest of the Amazoness Quartet make a stand at the local Ice Cream Parlor, each of them with a cylinder of ice cream in her hands.

Using their acrobatic skills, the Quartet hurl the cylinders at the Sailor's new enemies.

"Para-Para doesn't like those who treat our friends rough!", she barks, throwing & kicking another cylinder, both hitting one of the creatures in its chest & face.

"You all need to be taught some manners!", said Sere-Sere.

"Maybe this will help you to cool off some!", said Jun-Jun.

Both the latter two girls each had two cylinders of ice cream in their possession & throw both as one, one after another. Their shots hit the creatures smack-dab in their faces & chests, both blinding & driving them away from the Sailors, buying them time to recover.

The Sailor Soldiers start to become fully aware of their situation once again, lifting their heads up to see the Amazoness Quartet chucking cylinders of frozen treats, among other objects.

"Beth-Beth", says Sailor Mars.

"Sere-Sere", says Sailor Venus.

"Jun-Jun", says Sailor Jupiter.

"Para-Para", says Sailor Mercury.

"What are they still doing here?", wondered Chibi-Usa. "They're going to be killed!"

"We won't let them be killed!", said Sailor Moon, sluggishly getting to her feet, followed by her Sailor Soldier friends.

As the Quartet continue their assault with ice cream cylinders & now full soda cans against the creatures, the tallest one—more than a little annoyed by the girl's assault—waits for an opening, & then throws its curved-bladed spear at the Quartet at full speed.

"Incoming!", shouted Beth-Beth, seeing the fast-approaching, double-bladed weapon coming straight for them; she & Para-Para both manage to dive out of the weapon's path & shirk getting skewered by it.

Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere weren't as fortunate: the curved blade at the spear's end made rather bad, deep cuts on their sides. The spear embedded itself in the wall of the Parlor as Sere-Sere & Jun-Jun collapse & fall to the floor, due to the pain & blood loss. Beth-Beth, Para-Para, & the Sailor Soldiers ran to their fallen comrades, both of whom were barely conscious.

"Jun-Jun! Sere-Sere!", Chbi Moon cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Why? Why did you stay & help us? Why didn't you run away for safety like everyone else?"

Jun-Jun answered in a weak, barely audible voice. "Because…you're our friends…and we felt the urge…to help you out…in any way…we can…Isn't that…just what friends…do for one another?"

Both she & Sere-Sere closed their eyes & drifted. Not a dry eye was found on either the other two members of the Quartet, let alone the Sailor Soldiers themselves. They risked their own lives to assist their one-time foes, even without their magical powers, using only their acrobatic skills from their time with the Dead Moon Circus.

Sailor Moon & the others can think no less of them for doing so.

Their eyes still filled with tears, the Sailor Soldiers turn to the creatures with a burning rage within each one of them. Completely clearing their visions of the ice cream thrown at them, the creatures renew their assault on the Sailors, but the girls strike first, namely Sailor Moon.

"You…BASTARDS!", she screamed with a rage greater than those of her friends. With her Kaleido Moonscope still in her grasp, she points it at the creatures, determined to wipe them out single-handedly if need be.

"Moon Gorgeous Meditation!", she bellows out, her weapon firing a solitary beam of light from the end, heading directly for the tallest of the bunch—the same individual that first attacked & grabbed Sailor Moon by her throat. When the beam hit the creature square in the chest, it was knocked backwards like it was hit by a large medicine ball, its chest cut horizontally. Luminescent yellow-green fluid squirted fron the wound & its metal mask flew off its face, landing close to Sailor Moon's feet. The creature landed on its back, its chest heaving up & down, panting & gasping for air.

When the wound was made on the creature, Sailor Moon saw that what erupted from it was blood of some kind. Her eyes widened as she made an ominous discovery—these things aren't ghosts or some other kind of spiritual apparitions, but actual living beings of flesh & blood. Sailor Moon drops her weapon from her hand without even realizing, being too much in a state of shock to notice; the creatures are as much alive as her or anybody else, & if they can bleed, they can die.

Seeing her drop her weapon & lowering her defenses, Sailor Mars tries to snap her out of her trance. "Sailor Moon, what are you doing? Finish them off before they can counterattack us!"

"Sailor Moon, snap out of it!", said Sailor Chibi Moon,helping to break her trance.

Too much in her state of shock, Sailor Moon doesn't hear either Sailor clearly, nor does she see three red dots—in a triangular pattern—placed upon her chest right above her brooch.

Sailor Venus, however, does.

"SAILOR MOON!", Venus screams.

That brought her out of her trance, bringing the trio of red dots to her attention, but it was too late for her or the other Sailors to do anything about it.

One of the creatures still with its own shoulder cannon fires a shot at Sailor Moon, heading straight for her at high speed…

BLAM!

The shot of white-blue energy blew out a portion of storefront behind Sailor Moon, but she was tackled & moved out of harm's way by a female individual who was a little taller than Chibi Moon, with black hair that reached her shoulders, carrying a tall staff with a sharp sickle at the top of it. The girl wore the same kind of sailor-styled outfit as the rest, fitted with a violet skirt & boots that reached her knees. When Sailor Moon saw who her savior was, she knew her identity right away.

"Sailor Saturn!", she said.

"Are you all right, Princess?", asked Saturn.

Sailor Moon nodded. "I am now, thanks to you. Are the others here as well?"

"Right here!", said a woman's voice, one Sailor Moon & the others recognized. "Sorry we're late, you young kittens! The traffic getting here was terrible!"

Everyone—the Sailor Soldiers, Beth-Beth & Para-Para, & the creatures—all turned to the new arrivals, standing side-by-side, also wearing sailor-styled outfits. One wore a dark blue skirt & boots that covered her ankles; the next one had a turquoise skirt & stylish high-heeled shoes; the last one wore a very dark purple skirt & boots which also came up to her knees, holding a light purple rod with a heart-shaped ornament at the top, with a maroon jewel in the middle of it.

Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, & Sailor Pluto.

"I fly like a kite in the wind. The planet of skies, Uranus, is my guardian. I am Sailor Uranus!", she announces.

"I swim like a shark through the water. The planet of the deep sea, Neptune, is my guardian. I am Sailor Neptune!", she says.

"I flow freely just like time itself. The planet of time, Pluto, is my guardian. I am Sailor Pluto!", she exclaims.

"We have arrived!", they all say together.

"Uranus!", says Mercury.

"Neptune!", says Mars.

"Pluto!", says Venus.

Beth-Beth & Para-Para were astonished by the new arrivals—they had no idea that there were four other Sailor Soldiers to Sailor Moon's team, let alone any knowledge of them. Back when they were their enemies, the Quartet had only dealt with the first six, & they were very formidable opponents. If those new arrivals had appeared during that time, the Dead Moon Circus would've no doubt gone down faster than it did without them.

But now that they're the friends of Sailor Moon & the others, they both pray they become successful in defeating these new enemies with their younger teammates.

After the Outer Sailor Soldiers made their introductions, the creature whom Sailor Moon had attacked & wounded gets back on its feet, & with its mask off, reveals its hideous face to the Soldiers of love & justice, & the two remaining Quartet members. Everyone stared in shock & awe at the creature's face, looking like something straight out of a child's worst nightmare: its eyes glowed a faint red with no pupils, & had fang-rimmed mandibles that opened & closed in layers like some hideous flower or insect. A sharp-toothed membrane of a mouth from within vibrated, as the thing spoke once again in Demonia's voice.

"Sailor Soldiers!", it said.

The three Outer Sailor Soldiers struck first.

Their attacks were swift in velocity & deadly in accuracy.

"World …Shaking!", Uranus calls out, her right hand forming golden energy as she strikes it to the ground, lunging it forward into a ball with a ring around it.

"Deep…Submerge!", Neptune calls out, a turquoise ball of energy forming in her hands as she, too, fires it forward.

"Dead Scream!", Pluto calls out, pointing her Garnet Rod at the creatures as a ball of purple energy is shot from it.

The trio of energy balls races toward the creatures at a high velocity & explode at a greater force of power than the younger Sailor's attacks, kicking up large plumes of sand & knocking the creatures back even further than before. The maskless creature, now really annoyed, gets to its feet & extends its twin wristblades from its right forearm cuff & unleashes a howling, primeval roar, a horrible noise that chills the bones of the girls. Sailor Uranus forms her sword in her hand & gets ready to go one-on-one with the thing, when Demonia's voice echoed around both the creatures & the Sailors, causing everybody to stop in their tracks.

"Cease & desist, my loyal hunters! If you continue your attack like this, your defeat will be a foregone conclusion!"

"Who the hell are you?", Uranus demanded.

Demonia unleashed a maniacal laugh before going on. "Foolish Sailor Soldiers! Enjoy your victory while you still can! When next you meet my faithful hunters, you will become mine, one way or another! Retreat, my hunters! We will devise a new strategy in dealing with your enemies! Prepare yourselves, Sailor Soldiers, for this battle is only beginning!"

Demonia laughs maniacally again as the creatures activate their cloaks & become nothing more than shimmers once more, retreating faster than the Sailor Soldiers can follow them. Sailor Moon walks up to & picks up the metal face mask that the tallest creature lost when she had wounded it. She stares at it studyingly & wonders the same things the others are.

"What kind of new enemy is this?", wondered Sailor Venus. "I've never seen anything like them before!"

"And why do they & that woman have such a vast interest in us?", wondered Sailor Mercury.

"I don't know, but we better retreat ourselves back at the shrine", said Sailor Mars. "No doubt Luna & the others have already known about this incident, & are already on their way there."

"What about Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere?", wondered Chibi Moon. "We can't just leave them!"

"We'll stay by their sides until paramedics arrive", said Beth-Beth, referring to her & Para-Para, who nods. "Don't worry—we won't let them die any more than you will."

All of the Sailors nod except for Sailor Moon, who is more than a little overwhelmed & a bit traumatized by the events that just unfolded, which is understandable, given the circumstances. She never expected anything like this in her life, let alone on her very own birthday; what started as a bash had become a bloodbath. It wouldn't become the worst birthday she's had—it would become the most frightening.

And, she suspects like everyone else, it will get a lot worse before it got better.

CHAPTER IV

Police & ambulances arrived fifteen to twenty minutes later after the terror at the beach began. The cops were radioing for body bags to place the corpses in, along with vans to take them to the coroner's office in the city. Those who were merely wounded (which wasn't that many) got placed within an ambulance & taken to Juban General Hospital. Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere were among the last two to be placed in an ambulance, with Beth-Beth & Para-Para right behind them.

"Which hospital are they being taken to?", Beth-Beth asked one of the personell.

"The same as the other two—Juban General", he said. "Are you both related to these two?"

Beth-Beth & Para-Para nodded instantly.

"I'll have an officer escort you both."

"Thank you very much. We'd love that", answered Beth-Beth.

The man nodded & finished loading Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere into the ambulance with help from his assistant & closes the double doors. Calling an officer over, he arranges to have Beth-Beth & Para-Para be driven to the hospital before getting into the driver's seat of the ambulance & takes off for Juban General.

From the top of a boulder surrounding the area & out of sight from the crowd, the Sailor Soldiers peer down at the aftermath of the massacre they've just been a part of. They would've been long gone at this time, but Sailor Moon stayed behind to be assured that the Amazoness Quartet would be well taken care of, & she wasn't going to leave until she saw it for herself.

Because they understand her feelings, the rest did the same.

"Don't worry, Sailor Moon", said Chibi Moon. "I'm sure they're going to be just fine. Try to remember what Beth-Beth said."

Sailor Moon clenched her fists. "We should all be down there, helping those who need it."

"Sailor Moon, as awful as this is", Mercury explains, "having us down there will only complicate matters. We can't afford that."

She looks at her. "What do you mean by that? Surely people know we're on their side, as well as fight for them."

"Of course they do, I'm sure of it", said Mars. "But for reasons we can't explain, it's not a good idea to expose ourselves any more than we need to." She tries to smile. "All I can say is to believe in them, as they believe in us. Believe those who need help will get it."

Sailor Moon nods, but weakly. Part of her wants to go down & assist in any way she can, but she has high respect for Mars (even though they are pretty rowdy to one another a lot). So, at least for now, she'll do as she suggests, knowing she's right for the most part.

Neptune puts a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "Come, Sailor Moon. We really should start heading for the shrine."

She nods again, & they begin to do just that.

Before starting to head back, the Sailor Soldiers reverted back to their civilian identities once they were certain there were no prying eyes around. Once they were back in their swimwear again, they took both public transportation & Haruka's red convertible; Setsuna, Michiru, Hotaru, & Chibi-Usa went with Haruka, while Usagi & the rest took the bus, taking the exact route which brung them to the beach in the first place.

In no time, they were all at Hikawa Shrine—Rei's temple & living quarters.

Luna, Artemis, & Diana haven't arrived yet, as Rei had first thought, probably because they haven't heard of the news yet. With some time to spare, the girls all changed out of their swimsuits & into regular summerwear, consisting mainly of short-sleeve shirts, sandals or high-heel shoes, & shorts or mini skirts. All but Usagi were waiting outside the temple's entrance, in hopes that they'll be seeing their feline friends shortly.

Their wait was not too long of one.

Racing up the stairs that lead to the temple, Luna, Artemis, & Diana ran to the girls.

"Everyone!", Artemis shouted. "We all just heard what happened at the beach minutes ago! Are you all right?"

"More or less", said Ami. "Which is more than we can say about those who lost their lives."

"Not to mention the fact that we don't know anything about the conditions of Sere-Sere & Jun-Jun yet", said Chibi-Usa.

"The same goes for the new enemies we've battled", said Michiru. "I think it's time we got whatever information we can about them, if any."

"Good point, Michiru", said Luna. "Artemis can get on the computer & see if he can find any info about…" Luna searches the group, seeing one missing. "Where's Usagi?"

"Still inside", Rei explains. "After changing into her summer clothes, she said she needed to be alone for a while. I'm guessing she's most upset about this over all of us."

"I can't blame her", said Diana. "It's a big letdown to have this happen on her birthday."

The temple door suddenly slides open as Usagi, dressed in a pink shirt, blue skirt, & sandal-like shoes, comes rushing out, going past everyone like they weren't even there.

"Usagi, wait! Where are you going?", asked Ami.

Usagi stops in her tracks. "To Juban General. I need to see how Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere are holding up."

"Shouldn't you find out who or what our new enemies are first?", asked Setsuna. "The woman in league with them vows they'd return, & we need to be prepared for them when they do."

"It can wait, for now", Usagi said, without turning around.

"But Usagi…", Minako began.

"I said it can wait, dammit!"

Now it was Haruka who spoke. "Dumpling, your feelings for those two are understandable & admirable as always, but if you're feeling guilty about what happened to them…don't. They did what they did because we're their friends. We would've done the same for them had our roles been reversed."

Usagi turned to face Haruka, with tears in her eyes. "That's exactly why I need to go & see them! I can't stand staying here not knowing whether they're going to live or die! It's tearing me apart, & it'll keep doing so until I know for sure!"

Usagi turns & starts running away fron the temple & her friends, heading down the stairs & quickly vanishes out of sight, giving great concern to some.

"Shouldn't we have gone after her?", asked Michiru. "We promised to stay with her until these new enemies are defeated."

"No, I don't think that'll be necessary", says Hotaru. "While the new enemies are still out there, they have no knowledge of our true identities, let alone Usagi's. Plus, if seeing her two wounded friends at the hospital is what she really needs to do, we have no right to stop her."

A good point. The creatures that attacked them at the beach only saw the girls in their Sailor Soldier identities, so they assume that Usagi should be more than safe on her way to the hospital to see Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere there. If they didn't believe that, there's no way they'd let her go like they did. Besides, once Usagi gets it in her mind to do something, there's just no stopping her, a fact known all too well by everybody.

"That Usagi, always missing out on her lessons like that", Chibi-Usa says with some sarcasm.

"Don't worry, Chibi-Usa", Makoto assures her. "Any information we gather about these new enemies, we'll pass on to her once she returns."

"Speaking of which, we should get started doing so", says Artemis. "The sooner we know what we're dealing with, the sooner we can be prepared for them."

"I agree", said Rei. "Let's get inside, everyone."

The girls nod & start heading inside the shrine, one after another, with Rei taking lead. Ami was the last to enter, & therefore slides the front door shut. From the bushes near the temple, a pair of red, rectangular eyes flashes rapidly as it moves through the foliage unseen & unnoticed by anything or anyone.

Inside the Juban General Hospital in Tokyo, doctors & nurses were finishing up their reports on the lucky few who have survived their horrible ordeal at the beach, walking away with just cuts & bruises. Those only have to stay overnight & can be released the next day, but two of them need to stay a few days more, as their condition is a lot more serious. Usagi goes to the main office & asks for the room number of patients Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere. She is told that the room number is 2057, on the twentieth floor. With her get-well gift in her hand—a fruit basket with a big mylar balloon saying 'Get Well Soon' on it, she takes an elevator to her destined floor & finds the room number with little difficulty.

From within room 2057, Beth-Beth & Para-Para each sit in a chair where Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere lay—on two separate hospital beds, being fed fresh blood from plasma packets being hung overhead. Both had clear plastic tubes placed under their noses, attached to an oxygen machine for easier breathing. Their life support readings show everything functioning normally, from their pulse to their heartbeat, considering their wounds.

A soft knock on the door turns their attention to it, opening up to reveal Usagi with her gift in hand, entering as quietly as she could.

"Usagi", Beth-Beth said softly.

"How are they holding up?", she asks, putting her gift on the table.

"They're…stable. I'm afraid that's all we can expect of them for now."

"There's been no development at all?", she asks, approaching them.

"None. They haven't moved or spoken since they've been hit by the creature's spear. I'm scared for them both."

"Para-Para is also scared—scared that they won't make it, & that we're going to lose two of the best friends we've ever had", she says, unable to hide her tears.

Usagi goes over to her, puts her hand on her head & brings her forward until their scalps make contact. "You won't lose them", Usagi says softly to Para-Para. "Not for so long as you believe in them, believe they will get better. Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere love you & Beth-Beth as much as the both of you love them. If you'll be strong for them, like you want my friends to be, they will do the same."

"Usagi's right", said Beth-Beth. "I told her at the beach that you & I won't let them die, so let's keep our promise to them, yes?"

She gives Para-Para a smile.

The blue-haired girl smiles back. "Thank you, Usagi, Beth-Beth. Para-Para promises to keep believing that they'll get better, no matter how long it takes."

"That's our girl", says Usagi.

"Usagi, what on Earth were those things that killed those people at the beach & battled you & your group?", Beth-Beth asked, her tone a worried but serious one. "I've never seen anything like them before."

Neither have I, Usagi said to herself. "I don't know", she says, her voice converting from soft to hard, her hands clenching into fists. "But I don't care. They've killed innocent people for no good reason & put our two friends here in the hospital! When next I meet with them, I promise you they'll pay dearly for what they've done!"

In a small state of rage, Usagi starts heading for the door when she stops short as Beth-Beth speaks. "But, how can you defeat cold-blooded killers when you aren't one yourself?"

Para-Para rises suddenly from her chair. "You won't ever become like them, will you? Para-Para doesn't want her friends to become killers! "Her voice held trepidation & deep worry.

Usagi didn't know how to answer that. Beth-Beth was right: she's not a murderer in the tradition of someone like Jack the Ripper or someone in the Army, where killing becomes second nature to those who join. While it's true she killed Kunzite from the Dark Kingdom, & defeated Queen Beryl & The Wiseman during their final confrontations which may have destroyed them both, those were very dire circumstances with the fate of the world at stake. But these new foes she fought earlier seem keen on battling them, not destroying the Earth. Or are they?

What it was for sure, she doesn't know.

"I…I'll try to stop by later", she finally says, not wanting to put any more burdens upon her two friends than what they already have.

Without another word, Usagi left the room, leaving Beth-Beth & Para-Para alone with their hospitalized friends, with worry on their minds.

At their base of operations deep in the forest west of Tokyo, the creatures all gathered to lick their wounds received during their battle with the Sailor Soldiers. Most got bruises consisting of black-&-blue marks on their alien skin, along with destroyed shoulder cannons, a missing spear & a not-so-pleased Demonia, who replayed the battle from her holo-projector on the left armrest panel of her hoverchair. Sipping a red wine-like drink from a glass, she wasn't in any mood to enjoy its savory taste like she normally would.

"Shit!", she growled, slamming her right fist on the right armrest in disgust. "The Sailor Soldiers are a lot stronger than I had first anticipated! I underestimated their strength & fighting abilities, especially that of my main target, & it almost cost me the first strike!"

In disgust, Demonia throws her glass at a tree, smashing & shattering against it as the creatures in its direct path moved to avoid it. She was not used to failure, sans that time she was stabbed in the legs by the horned Velociraptor which crippled & confined her to her chair. She doesn't take lightly to it, & if not for her condition, she'd be so tempted to settle the score herself.

To her, she should have her prize by now, & it hasn't happened yet; inside, Demonia feels like she could scream her head off until her vocal cords were sore from it, but doesn't.

It took a few moments, but Demonia was able to calm herself down, knowing her mission for getting her retirement trophy has only started.

"No matter", she says in a much cooler manner, & with her wicked smile. "I already have a contingency plan in effect even now, & once the wounds of my Predators are treated, & Rough-Tooth is ready, it won't be long before my retirement trophy is finally mine!"

Demonia chuckles under her breath as Rough-Tooth—sitting Indian-style just a couple of feet from Demonia—treats his own wounds with gadgets placed in front of him. Rough-Tooth was the one who was larger than the rest of his clan, having two extra teeth on the upper & lower part of his bottom mandibles that were a bit jagged, hence his name. He was also the one who received the horizontal cut across his chest by Sailor Moon during the beach attack, which even now hurts him like hell. Ignoring the pain, he places a bowl-like object near his knees that contain small, white rocks. Opening a capsule the size of a thick pen, he pours a baby-blue liquid into the bowl, igniting the rocks inside as the flame changes their color from white to a sapphire blue. Picking up a spoon-like object, Rough-Tooth then scoops up a mess of the hot rocks & apply them to his wound.

When the rocks make contact with his skin, Rough-Tooth unleashes an ear-splitting roar of pain that echoes throughout the forest, causing birds to take to the air & animals to run.

From inside Hikawa Shrine, Rei Hino felt a sudden pinch of aura—the same kind of feeling when they were heading for the beach earlier, just before getting on their bus. She had no doubt it was from the creatures she & the others did battle with almost two hours ago. Rei got pissed at herself for not noticing it before, & it became a price to pay on her conscience, with the deaths of all those innocent people.

"You somewhat sense them, don't you?", Michiru asks Rei, not noticing the Outer Sailor next to her.

"Y-Yes. They're out there somewhere. I just wish I knew where", says Rei.

"Don't worry. We'll find them."

Rei nods as Artemis suddenly calls out to everybody.

"Here it is!"

All at once, everyone gathered around the computer on the main table of the temple, with Artemis at the keyboard.

"You've found the information about our new enemies, Artemis?", Minako asked.

"Yes, I have", he began. "Those creatures you all battled at the beach this morning are called 'Predators'."

"Predators", Haruka repeated. "Then that woman was right when she had called them hunters. That's just what they are,aren't they?"

"That's right", Artemis continued. "The Predators are a race of interstellar, alien hunters who have travelled from world to world, finding only the most worthy & dangerous prey that they can find, & always in the hottest climates, like the current heat wave hitting most of Japan. They reach an average height of two meters tall, & weigh in at about 350 lbs. of solid muscle."

Artemis types on the keyboard, displaying several different gadgets on the computer screen. "The Predators are armed with highly advanced & sophisticated weaponry, some of which you all have already witnessed—shoulder cannons with very accurate aiming, spears that can be used as clubs, or extended to stab or slash their prey, razor-edged discs that can cleave a man clean in two which returns to its thrower like a boomerang. Their right forearm cuffs contains a pair of jagged wrist blades, capable of slicing through muscle & bone like a knife through warm butter."

"Artemis, is there anything about the Predators that we don't know?", Haruka asked, rather impatiently.

"Yes. Included in their arsenal are nets which they use to capture prey. These nets are made of very tough, alien metal that make them almost impossible to break. They also carry Y-shaped darts with pointed ends that can go through flesh & bone with ease. On their left forearm cuffs are controls for both their cloaking-invisibility & self-destruct devices. Once activated, a set of four or five alien lights go on at once, disappearing one by one at a time. When all the lights go out, a massive explosion occurs, capable of wiping out 200 acres of land, anywhere. The Predators hunt for sport, & they are known to take trophies of their prey, namely the heads & spinal columns."

"Unbelievable!", exclaims Minako. "They carry mini-nukes on them? Whatever for?"

"Probably to wipe out an enormous group of enemies, or to prevent anyone from taking possession of their high-tech weaponry & use it against them", Luna surmised.

"Have the Predators come to Earth before?", asked Chibi-Usa.

"And if they have, has anyone tried to steal their technology?", asked Rei.

"Yes, to both your questions", Artemis went on. "The Predators have visited Earth for many centuries, always in secret, possibly due to the same cloaking device they each use aboard their own ships to keep it that way. Even so, there have been two recorded incidents involving the creatures, according to government files."

The white-fur feline taps a few more keys. "From the year 1987 in Central America, a small Elite Special Forces team of seven, deployed by General Philips of the U.S. Army & led by a man named Dutch Schaefer, were sent to rescue hostages from an enemy guerrilla camp. Dutch's team—Dillon, Mac, Blain, Billy, Ramirez, & Hawkins—failed to save the hostages, but successfully wiped out the guerrillas & their camp, even taking a hostage themselves, a woman named Anna. But on en route to their rendezvous point to be extracted by a helicopter, the team unexpectedly had a run-in with one of the creatures. In a deadly game of cat & mouse, Dutch's men were killed by the thing one by one, each death more horrifying than the last. Soon, only Dutch & Anna were left. As Anna headed for the extraction chopper, Dutch took on the creature, using only the jungle, a few armaments, & his wits to stay alive. Finally, after a brutal one-on-one with Dutch, the creature was defeated by a trap in which Dutch had set for it. Beaten, the thing activated its self-destruct device that wiped out a portion of forest, almost killing Dutch with it."

A few taps, & Artemis prints out another file upon the computer screen. "The second known incident happened ten years later, in the city of Los Angeles in California. During that brutally hot summer, two feudal drug gangs—the Jamaicans, led by the vicious Drug Lord King Willie & the Columbians, led by Crack King Ramon Vega—fought for control of west L.A.. As their feud had escalated, another Predator found a challenge from it & began attacking both gangs, eventually claiming King Willie's head for its trophy case. Later, it attacked a bunch of armed commuters on a subway train, & killed two of detective Mike Harrigan's small band of officers—detectives Danny Archuleta & Jerry Lambert, the latter of which had his head & spinal column removed. On its trail, Harrigan pursued the creature to its lair inside its spaceship, beneath the city streets. Using its own razor-disc, Harrigan killed the thing by ramming the weapon in its chest & stomach. He managed to escape its craft just before others aboard activated it & took off for the stars."

Artemis then faces the group. "In response to Rei's question before, there has been an attempt to capture Predator technology. It was during the Los Angeles incident that a Federal Task Force, led by special agent Peter J. Keyes & his second-in-command Garber, have chased the creature to a slaughterhouse & Keyes prepared his men for taking the thing alive, with Garber at the controls of their mobile HQ. However, even by wearing special suits designed to cancel all body heat, as it is to be believed that the Predators have infrared vision, the creature turned the tables on Keyes' group & killed everyone pursuing it in the slaughterhouse, including Keyes himself."

"Were there any other attempts at capturing their technology following this?", asked Ami.

"If there were, it's not on any government files."

Everyone looked at one another for a quick moment before Setsuna speaks up. "Is there anything else that you can tell us about the Predators?"

Artemis thought for a moment or two. "The only other thing I can think of from the files was learned also from the L.A. incident. After detective Mike Harrigan killed & defeated the creature stalking the city streets, the other Predators within the craft showed up & surrounded him. But instead of killing him, he was awarded with a firearm from 1715, no doubt a trophy they collected during a hunt from that year. It was believed, like most hunters & warriors, the Predators respect their prey & are equipped with a code of honor. As I mentioned before, they will only go after worthy prey & will ignore those that are either unworthy, weak, defenseless, or helpless."

"Mama, that would explain what happened to crime boss Tetsuya Kobayashi last night", Diana said.

Luna nodded. "Yes. High-ranking gangsters like him would offer a fine challenge for the Predators."

"Just a moment!", Makoto snapped. "Artemis, those monsters slaughtered many innocent people at the beach, most of whom were unarmed & helpless! How can you even begin to say that they have a code of honor?"

"I don't think that's their fault", said Hotaru as all eyes turn to her. "I believe their natural behavior has been in some way corrupted by a force of some kind, which is probably the aura that Rei felt earlier."

"That's right", said Chibi-Usa. "Plus, I'll bet that woman who called out to them is more or less responsible for their irrational behavior. She no doubt did something to them that messed up their ethics, turning them into savages."

"That makes sense", noted Setsuna. "She probably had the Predators kill those people to draw us out into the open for them to do battle with us."

"And on all accounts, she succeeded!", said Minako, loathing to admit it.

"Indeed", Ami says. "Based on the information we've gathered about the Predators, & due to what happened at the beach today with that mysterious woman being involved, we can highly assume that the Predator's primary target isn't the Earth, but us. But worse yet, based on Hotaru's frightening prediction, it's best to assume that Sailor Moon herself is their number one target, & both the Predators & that woman will stop at nothing to get it."

"Then it's up to us to keep Usagi safe & drive both the Predators & that woman away from Earth before they have a chance to claim her head!", said Makoto firmly.

Everyone nodded.

It wouldn't be an easy road, though: their new enemies are very suited for a fight, as it is no doubt their lifestyle—it's what they thrive on. They may not be magically powerful as, say, Queen Beryl, The Wiseman, or any other foes from the past, but each one of the girls in the room—even Chibi-Usa & Hotaru—knew better than to take them lightly; you get unscrupulous with the Predators in any way, & it will be your final mistake. Even without their high-tech gadgets, they are still very formidable opponents.

That's probably why the governments of the world, not just the U.S., have kept the existence of the Predators a secret from the public since Dutch Schaefer's run-in with one in the jungles of Central America in 1987, maybe even sooner. The girls all deduced that if the existence of these alien hunters ever was made public, a mass panic would ensue: people would arm themselves with guns & explosives, ending up killing their families, friends, & neighbors everytime it got really hot outside, shooting at every heat distortion they see, whether drunk or sober. That kind of massacre would be a thousand times greater than what occurred at the beach earlier this day. The bottom line is this: people cannot stand up to the Predators because, simply put, they are just no match for them, & not all possess magical abilities as Usagi & the others do.

Yes, the men called Dutch Schaefer & Mike Harrigan have each fought one & lived to tell about it, but both were extremely lucky to have survived their ordeal: Dutch was one very tough & strong individual, one of the best—if not the best—the U.S. Army ever produced, as was his men, & they had all been wiped out by the creature in just hours, while Dutch was barely able to outrun the blast from the thing's self-destruct device on its left forearm cuff.

As for detective Mike Harrigan of the L.A.P.D., the only way he lived through his fight with the creature was because he had an edge—the thing's own razor-disc, which he used to kill it with. If not for that, Harrigan's head would no doubt be in the thing's trophy case right now.

Their technology is another reason for their secrecy. In comparison, Earth's are nothing more than mere toys—invisibility screens, pocket nukes, bladed weapons that make razors look like butter knives, & spaceships that can probably travel faster than anything man-made. If only the officials at the U.S. Armed Forces, or even the Japanese Self Defense Forces can get a hold of their high-tech toys & modify them, then maybe it would be a different story. But that task is much easier said than done, as the Predators take steps to ensure that it don't happen anytime soon.

Just ask Peter J. Keyes, who learned that the hard way.

The only thing good they can see from all this is that the Predators are merely hunters, not world-conquerers like the enemies the girls have fought in the past, even though they're from another planet somewhere. God forbid, if they ever do decide to take the Earth for their own or plan to wipe it out of existence, even the girls would be in dire straights with them, as they doubt that they can face an entire planet of alien hunters who kill for the sheer hell of it.

A familiar voice was suddenly heard at the temple's front door.

"Rei-chan!"

It was Usagi.

"She's back!", said Chibi-Usa.

"And not a moment too soon!", said Minako.

A happy Rei Hino walks over to the door, pleased to hear that Usagi kept her visit at the hospital a short one.

Rei begins to speak as she starts sliding open the front door. "Usagi, we're glad you made it back. We found the information about…"

She stopped in mid-sentence, & her heart raced up in her throat. A figure was standing at the entrance of her home.

It wasn't Usagi.

In fact, it wasn't even human.

CHAPTER V

For a moment that seemed to last eternally, Rei Hino was frozen with fear: one moment she was opening the door for whom she believed was to be Usagi. The next, her front door had been torn off by the figure in its path—the Predator known as Rough-Tooth, sans his face mask, stood in all his glory, while Rei, being taken off-guard by his sudden appearance, stepped back to the others, all of whom stood in shock, being caught unawares themselves. Bending down to peer inside & enter the temple, Rough-Tooth eyes the girls with contempt.

"Sailor Soldiers!", he said in Demonia's voice.

That realization put the girls, & even Luna & company, in a state of greater shock.

"Impossible! How do they know who we really are?", Makoto wondered.

"Never mind that! We need to get out of here now!", Setsuna barked.

"All of you, follow me out the back!", Rei shouts, taking lead as she races out of the temple with everyone close behind. When they all exit the shrine, a surprise waited for them—a rather nasty surprise: eight shimmers in the air, two meters or so tall, suddenly vanishing all at once, each revealing the other Predators standing in a circle to prevent the girls from running off into the woods for safety. From the shrine's rooftop, Rough-Tooth jumps down & blocks the exit of the place, completing the circle & cutting off their plans for a swift double-back retreat.

"Dammit, it's an ambush!", exclaims Rei. The Predators no doubt planned it in advance, & everyone fell for it—hook,line,& sinker.

The girls & felines saw that their enemies were in tight formation, with no way through except to fight their way out. But they need to get Chibi-Usa & Hotaru to safety as soon as they can before things get too ugly.

"Chibi-Usa, Hotaru, when we tell you to, get through the Predators & run like hell!", ordered Minako. "The same goes for you three!" She referred to Artemis & company.

"We can't just leave you here at their mercy!", argued Chibi-Usa.

"Minako's right, there's no choice! DO IT!", Artemis shouted.

With Artemis' urging, Chibi-Usa, Hotaru, Luna, Artemis, & Diana all ran with all their might at the Predators, hoping their smaller size will get them through the alien blockade which now surrounds & advances toward them. While Luna, Artemis, & Diana manage to break free of the alien's trap, the same couldn't be said for Chibi-Usa or Hotaru. In spite of their small size, the Predators were still able to get a hold of both child Sailors. Just one was able to grab hold of each one, holding them using one arm each like they weighed nothing.

"Hotaru! Small Lady!", Diana shouted.

"Diana, keep running!", shouted Luna.

"But…!"

"Please don't argue & do as I say!" Trying to stay brave, Diana nods.

"Luna, find Usagi while I take Diana to a safer place, & do it before they do!"

A nod later, & Luna took off like a bullet as Artemis & Diana did so in another direction.

Chibi-Usa & Hotaru still struggled to get free of the Predator's grip that holds them, but it was like trying to get loose from a vice. A second creature appeared before them & gassed them both with a mist of some kind which emerged from their left forearm cuff.

In a second, Chibi-Usa & Hotaru were out like lights.

"Chibi-Usa! Hotaru!", Ami called out as she was struggling with a Predator of her own, its hold on her solid. Ami may have a very high IQ which was proven valuable on more than one occasion, but when it comes to physical strength, she appears at the rather shallow end of the gene pool.

Before she knew it, Ami was gassed & rendered unconscious, going limp in its arms.

While Ami falls short on physical strength, the same can't be said for Makoto, who hears Ami's cry & sees Chibi-Usa & Hotaru gassed & taken away by the creature who nabbed them both. She flips her attacking Predator over her shoulder & rushes after the kidnapping alien.

"Damn you!", Makoto growls, but before she can reach the kidnapper, another Predator steps in her way to intercept her. Makoto reacts with a series of punches & kicks at her new opponent. Makoto's attacks keeps the creature on its toes while it tries to lay some hits of its own upon her. Whether as a Sailor Soldier or as her civilian self, Makoto Kino can dish it out as good as any prize fighter there is.

This time, however, her fighting skills were not enough to help her, as the Predator she's now facing dodges each swing at it with ease, with Makoto never making contact with it, no matter how hard she tries. Finally, the creature grabs Makoto's right fist with its left hand, & in that instant, it delivers a right fist of its own into her face, sending her soaring into the air, landing out cold at Rei & Minako's feet, who were both squaring off with Rough-Tooth.

"Makoto!", Rei & Minako shouted, seeing their good friend land hard on her back. That bit of distraction was all Rough-Tooth & his clan needed: from behind, two Predators each grab the girls just long enough for the taller creature to gas them both at once, just like Chibi-Usa & Hotaru themselves were.

Six down, three to go.

Haruka, Michiru, & Setsuna were the last ones standing, but unlike the younger girls, they are not going down so easy. The Predators they each faced got hit & clobbered by the adult Sailors—Haruka delivers a powerful elbow to one, Michiru gives a swift, hard kick to another, & Setsuna holds off two to three at a time with help from her Garnet Rod. As good as they were at hand-to-hand combat, though, they were in more trouble than they can handle, with the other girls out of commission, & it was only a matter of time before they would be overwhelmed by numbers.

Then they do: all but Haruka & Michiru's opponents suddenly attack Setsuna like a giant swarm of bees, grabbing her & the Garnet Rod. Using their strength & weight, the Predators take her down to the ground as the green-haired Sailor still struggles.

"Setsuna!", they shouted.

"Haruka! Michiru! Get away from here & find our Princess before they do!", Setsuna orders.

"She's right, Haruka! We have to go! It's our only chance!", said Michiru.

She may hate it, but she knows her friend has a point. It's now or never.

"Very well, then!", she says as the both of them deliver a powerful kick to their opponent's solar plexus with all their might, sending them crashing to the ground before taking off for the stone stairs leading down to the street. Watching them go, Setsuna mentally wished them luck just before she gets gassed unconscious like all the others.

"Stop those two, my loyal hunters! Do not let them reach our main target!", Demonia's voice bellows. On her command, two Predators fire a Y-shaped dart at the fleeing women, striking the brick portion of the stairway, missing their targets.

Reaching Haruka's red convertible, the two Sailors jump in, with Michiru hopping onto the passenger side & Haruka at the driver's seat. She reaches for the keys from the sun visor & shoves them in the ignition. On the first twist, the car roars to life, & Haruka steps on the gas pedal as the car races off away from the shrine. Just when they think they're in the clear, two Predators appear out of nowhere, jumping down from the ledge & landing onto the rear, denting the trunk with their massive weight. Feeling the impact, the two ladies look to the rear of the car, seeing double trouble. One of the creatures tears open the trunk with one hand & digs into it, taking out one of their spears—the same one Rough-Tooth threw at the Amazoness Quartet that Haruka herself took with her shortly after their scuffle at the beach. A press of a button, & the retracted weapon extends to its full length, ready to skewer them both where they sit.

"Michiru!", Haruka shouted.

"Drive! I'll handle this!", she said, & handle it Michiru did; as the creature with the spear pulled its arm back, Michiru grabbed the rear of her seat with one hand & swung herself at the Predators, her legs extended. With such divine force, she hit the things in their face masks, causing them to lose their balance & be thrown to the pavement, weapon & all. By the time the Predators were back on their feet, their intended victims were long gone.

Michiru swung herself back in the passenger seat.

"That takes care of them, for now", she says. Haruka remains silent, with a look in her eyes which can melt through steel. Michiru knows the look on her friend's face & tries to ease her.

"You're thinking about Setsuna & the others whom we've left behind, aren't you?"

"We've should've done something to help them!", she growls, grabbing the steering wheel in a tighter grip.

"We're already helping them!", Michiru explains. "We're trying to find our Princess before the Predators do! Haruka, either one of us would've told the same to any of the others had they been giving the slightest chance of escaping."

Michiru had a good point, & Haruka knew it. If it was them at the tender mercy of the horde of Predators back at the shrine, they would've instructed Minako, Makoto, or whoever had even a slim chance of escaping their clutches to do so. This being no different, Haruka releases her pent-up anger mentally & even lets up the pressure on the wheel with her hands.

"You're right as always, Michiru", she manages to say. "We'll find our Princess, & we'll do so in one piece."

"The sooner, the better", said Michiru. "If the Predators found out who we really are, then that means…"

"Exactly."

"Then step on it, Haruka!"

She nodded, putting the pedal to the metal as the convertible took off like a shot on the city streets. Dammit, which hospital did Dumpling say she was heading to?, she thought, silently cursing herself for suddenly forgetting, due to all the commotion of learning about, dealing with & finally escaping from the Predators all at once. Haruka desperately racked her memory as she sped through town, praying she remembers the right hospital & get there in time.

On her way back from seeing the Quartet from Juban General, Usagi had decided to walk back to the shrine to Rei & the others, totally unaware that they've been abducted by their alien adversaies. The reason for this was because she needed to be alone to deal with the disturbing images in her mind from earlier in the day, & she can do that better by her lonesome than being on a bus full of noise coming from the people aboard or the vehicle itself.

An empty street with nothing but the park with bushes & trees on one side will do just perfectly for her.

Deep in her mind, Usagi wishes for the day to have been different than what it became: it was a scorching but beautiful day out, perfect for going to the beach. Above it all, it was the day June 30th, the day of her birthday, where there was supposed to be finely baked foods, cool & refreshing drinks, beautiful, colorful balloons, friends to cherish the day even further & wonderful memories that one would wish for to be repeated constantly.

What she got instead was a nightmare: bloodied bodies lying on the beach, killed by large & powerful figures with weapons nobody's ever seen before—sholder cannons, discs with razor-sharp edges, the ability to turn invisible, & spears that extend & contract. Not to mention two very wonderful friends who were badly wounded & haven't moved or spoken since. While she told Beth-Beth & Para-Para to be strong & believe that Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere will get better, Usagi is having doubts about her own words. What if they by chance don't get better? What if they end up as Nephrite, Saphir, & Prince Dimande did? What if Usagi can't go on being a Sailor Soldier all because she failed to prevent the accident, let alone the slaughter?

A little too many 'what ifs' there.

But the heaviest burden on her mind right now is how to deal with these new enemies who caused all the death & mayhem. The decision of whether or not to become like them is her biggest worry. She ponders on how it will reflect on her conscience if she has no other alternative but to do so, as these new enemies don't use kid gloves to get what they want: the massacre at the beach already proved that. Could she look at herself in the mirror again if the decision does come to that? Could Ami, Rei, & the others do so?

Right now, she just can't say.

While weighing out the choices in her mind, a rustle came from the bushes in the park just in front of her. Startled, she steps back as a cat appears before her, panting out of breath from running a great distance, & it was a familiar cat.

"Luna!", said Usagi.

"Usagi! Thank god I got to you first!", Luna said.

"What do you mean? What's happened? Why are you so out of breath?"

Usagi suddenly hears another familiar voice nearby.

"Usagi" It was Rei Hino.

"Rei, where are…", Usagi began, heading in her direction.

Luna cut her off. "Usagi, don't!", knowing damn well that it wasn't the psychic Sailor Soldier waiting to greet her at all. With all her might, Luna rammed herself into Usagi, pushing her out of the way of a pair of twin jagged blades that just missed slicing Usagi's head into two halves. Both hit the ground as the blade's owner suddenly materializes seemingly out of thin air. Usagi crawled away several steps with Luna as Rough-Tooth stood menacingly over them. Usagi saw the scar on his chest, & discovers that this is the same creature she cut & wounded at the beach, & now it probably wants to even the score with her.

"Sailor Moon!", Rough-Tooth said in Demonia's voice.

It knows who I am!, Usagi thought, both shocked & baffled at this monster knowng her real identity, & there was nothing she nor Luna can do right now, as both were frozen in the sweltering heat with blood-chilling fear.

From behind Rough-Tooth a roar began to sound at a distance, rapidly growing in intensity & volume. It was a speeding car, Usagi & Luna can tell, & it came closer into view with each passing second. The Predator turned around & saw it himself—a red convertible with two women at the wheel. It picked up even more speed as it came even closer, seemingly heading straight for him.

And it was.

Not slowing down, Rough-Tooth dived out of the convertible's path as it skidded to a stop at the spot the Predator was a second ago. When Usagi saw the occupants of the car, she became relieved—it was Haruka & Michiru.

"Get in, quickly!", Haruka shouted.

Not hesitating for a second, Usagi scoops Luna up with one arm & hops into her car. Haruka floors the gas pedal even before Usagi can get comfortable. The sudden swerve of the car caused her to fall onto the back seat, layed out across it.

Michiru turns to her & Luna. "Stay low & hold tight! No matter what happens, don't get up until we tell you to!" Laying down on the rear seats, their new passengers nod.

Getting to his feet, Rough-Tooth sees the red vehicle speed away. Fom the pouch upon his belt, the alien hunter pulled out a silver disc that extended six curved blades & threw it at their escape vehicle, swooshing through the air like a miniature flying saucer. Michiru first heard, then saw the oncoming projectile from her rear-view mirror.

"Haruka!", she shouted.

The golden-haired female saw the weapon in her own mirror, & her eyes went wide.

The deadly disc smashed through the windshield of the convertible, spraying broken glass all over the occupants, who manage to cover their faces fron the shards, & Haruka & Michiru ducked down in time before their heads could be severed. The disc returned to Rough-Tooth in his hand safely, watching his prey—all alive & well—drive off, getting too far to try another attack of any kind.

Demonia's voice appeared, sounding like she was right beside him. "Let them go for now, Rough-Tooth. There's no place on Earth where they can't be found. Return to base—it will soon be time to put stage two of our plan into motion, now that we have the bait!"

After a little laugh, there was silence again.

Dissatisfied but obedient, Rough-Tooth activated his cloak & headed west.

Once they knew for certain they were out of danger, Haruka reduced her speed to half & Michiru let Usagi know it was okay to sit up, which she did. But being out of danger doesn't mean Usagi can relax. She has no clue as to what happened to the others, let alone how the Predators knew of her true identity.

"Luna, what's going on? Where is everyone, & what happened to them? And how did our new enemies know my identity?", she demanded. Luna can only bow her head.

"Easy, Dumpling", said Haruka. "We'll tell you everything once we get to your place, where we can all recouperate & refresh."

Usagi nodded.

"Is that wise to go to her place?", asked Michiru. "They know who we all are, & no doubt know where we each live."

"It can't be helped. We've not enough money to get a hotel room, & even if we did, they can attack us there at anytime, where even more lives can & will be lost. We don't want a replay of what went down at the beach."

Now it was Haruka's turn to make perfect sense. The Predators are a race who don't take any prisoners during a fight, & the last thing they need to see today are more dead bodies in a second massacre & make it twice in one day. No, this is their problem, & only they can deal with it; no need to involve bystanders in something they have no clue on how to handle.

"Now you're making sense", Michiru says with a smile.

"What, you doubted me before?", asked Haruka, also smiling.

Michiru giggled lightly. "Never."

For the time being, the occupants of the red convertible can relax, being in no immediate danger. They now need to take a littlt breather & figure out what to do in dealing with the alien hunters & rescue their friends from their grip. How they'll do it, they don't know yet.

This was only the calm before the storm.

Artemis & Diana were already waiting at Usagi's house by the time Haruka & the others had arrived. To them, it was the only place they could think of to find refuge from the Predators, in spite of the alien hunters knowing the girl's true identities. Yes, there's a terrifying chance that any or all of the creatures could unexpectedly come by & attack them here, but at least should it happen, there won't be any innocent bystanders caught in the middle of it, just a whole lot of property damage, something they can all live with; unlike people's lives, walls, doors, & windows can all be replaced easily for a couple dollars, a small price to pay for safety. That, & the fact that Usagi's family are out for a couple of days didn't hurt either.

The same can be said for Rei's grandfather & Yuichiro, his apprentice, who were absent at Hikawa Shrine, being north of Tokyo on business.

Usagi was the first to take a shower to freshen up from the day's events so far, with Haruka & Michiru standing guard right outside her door, as were Luna, Artemis, & Diana. Standing under the running water, Usagi was anything but refreshed, just remaining there while she gets soaked to the bone. Her thoughts were on her friends & her future daughter, Chibi-Usa. She cannot even begin to comprehend their fate at the hands of both the Predators & the woman who is in league with them. Are they even still alive? Or have they been taken to their base/camp to be slaughtered like cattle?

No. Usagi refused to believe that scenario. She believes they're still alive somewhere, being that way for a good reason.

She just had to believe that.

When Usagi finished her shower, Haruka & Michiru themselves each took one to also get refreshed, knowing they'll need to be at their peak condition for the battle which is destined to come soon, possibly even tonight: a clean body is a physically fit body. Although they both would prefer to be in the shower together, this wouldn't be an appropriate place or time for it, due to the fact they're in Usagi's own humble abode, & that this wasn't the time to be that intimate.

If they survive their ordeal with the Predators, they'll be plenty of time for it.

Downstairs, after everyone was cleaned thoroughly, Haruka & Michiru went into the kitchen & prepared a bowl of spaghetti with red sauce for them, Usagi, & the three felines (served on small plates). They ate in the living room, but Usagi couldn't eat one bite at the moment. Under normal circumstances, she'd be the first to finish her food before anyone else. But these circumstances were anything but normal, & she demanded to be told about the new enemies, as they promised.

Haruka & Michiru did so as they ate. In no time, Usagi received the full report about all the information on the Predators, from Hotaru's nightmarish prediction to their weaponry, the two incidents from 1987 & 1997, the attack at the shrine where everyone was knocked out from the gas, no doubt to be brought back alive, easing Usagi's worry at about half, to their ability to mimic human speech—something Artemis had unintentionally forgotten to mention.

"So then Hotaru's prediction & Ami were right—the Predators are primarily after me!", Usagi said. "I recall the one who grabbed me & I wounded in the chest say my name."

"Hotaru's predictions about you are seldomly ever wrong", said Michiru. "Whenever she sees something horrible befall you in her dreams, more than likely it's a sign of your life being in jeopardy."

"And I predict that the others are being used as bait, just in case you managed to escape their ambush or weren't at the shrine to begin with", said Artemis. "No doubt it's to lure you into a second ambush or trap, knowing you'll try to rescue them."

"Or rather, that woman knows you'll try to", Haruka added. "It would seem that Small Lady's prediction about her was also right on the money. She's the real mastermind behind all this, corrupting the Predators somehow & forcing them to kill helpless bystanders to receive our attention for her sick goal, & we don't even know who the hell she is!"

A little maniacal laugh echoes throughout the room, putting everyone on alert.

"Why, my dear, you only had to ask!", said Demonia, a projection of herself & her immediate surroundings appearing in the room on a circled screen of sorts, suspending in mid-air. Usagi had to turn around to face her; Haruka & Michiru remained where they are, scowling.

"Who are you?", Usagi demanded.

"I an Huntress Demonia", she began, "& let me say that it is so nice to see you, Usagi Tsukino, or should I say, Sailor Moon! That's right—as you may have guessed, I know who all of you are! Stay right there—I want to show you something!"

The image of Demonia disappears from the circled screen, being replaced by one of Chibi-Usa & the others being held prisoner by having their wrists cuffed & shackled in chains above their heads, secured by a frame that resembles a swing set. All of them had their eyes closed & their heads hung down, probably still out by the gas the Predators sprayed in their faces. Makoto was out from a blow to her face, which is partly bruised & red in most places.

Demonia's voice returned, even as she herself didn't. "As you can clearly see, I am holding your friends captive, all of them prisoners at my lair. If you ever wish to see them alive again, all you need to do is come & find me!"

"What guarantee do I have that you'll let them all go safely if I find it?", demanded Usagi.

The image of her friends disappears from the screen, replaced by Demonia. "You'll just have to come rescue them & find out the answer for yourself, my dear. But you'd better do so before I get bored!"

Haruka leaned closer to Demonia on the table. "You cold & heartless bitch! Just what kind of a person are you, anyway?"

"Simply put, I am a huntress, as my name states", Demonia answered. "The one & only thing I do with my life is hunt. For many years, going from world to world, I've stalked the biggest & most dangerous, deadliest game that I can find. With each & every prey that I conquer, their heads are collected & placed in my vast trophy room. Nothing in life gave me more satisfaction than the sheer, utter thrill of being on a hunt, & nothing can make you feel more alive than trying to hunt & kill something that can do the very same to you in return. It was a wonderful life for me then. But one day, not too long ago, a lucky shot from one of my prey pierced both my legs with one of its horns on its head. The pain I felt was excruciating—pain you cannot even begin to imagine. The doctors say that I would remained crippled & condemned to be in this hoverchair for the rest of my life, forbidding me to ever hunt again. But despite my handicap, I was determined to collect one final trophy as my retirement prize. After searching for weeks, I could find no prey which suited my tastes. Then one day I learned of you, Sailor Moon, & my decision became final. To help assist me in my final hunt, I have 'borrowed' the aid of the galaxy's most deadliest hunters that ever soared through space—the Predators. With their assistance at my side, I will finaly be able to collect the last trophy I will add to my collection—your head!"

"It'll be a cold day in Hell before you ever get your hands on it!", Michiru spat.

Demonia smiles wickedly at her, showing her white, vampiric teeth. "Let's see how well your morals hold out when I get what I came here for. Once my heart is set on something, I don't rest until it is mine, & rest assured, Sailor Moon's head will be mine, & if it has to be over your dead bodies, then all the more sweeter!" The dreaded space huntress looks at Usagi. "Remember, Sailor Moon—the lives of all your friends are in your hands. If you wish to save them, come to the forest just west of Tokyo. There will be a dirt road from off the pavement to the north that will take you right into the woods, & arrive no sooner than dusk. Once you arrive, I will give you until midnight to find my lair—and your friends. Good luck, for you'll need it!"

Demonia laughed wickedly, before both it & her disappeared altogether. Usagi clenched her fists in dread & anger; her friends—people she cherishes & loves with all of her heart—which also includes her very own daughter are in the grip of a madwoman who has an overwhelming desire to sever her head from her body & place it up on her wall with the rest of her trophies for show simply to gawk in amazement at. Worse, she has enlisted the aid of humanoid aliens who are as devoted to a hunting lifestyle as she is herself, one of whom has wounded two dear friends of hers, now in the hospital: Usagi has no idea of whether or not they'll even make it. These very thoughts chills her, body & soul, of the fate that could befall each one of them.

Seeing her emotions as clear as day, Haruka whispers to Michiru. "With the stress she's under, perhaps it would be best if she remained here. Luna & company can watch over her while you & I find Demonia's lair & rescue the others."

"Perhaps it would at that", Michiru whispered back.

Their whispering didn't prevent Usagi from hearing every word that they said, & she faces them. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I'm incapable of rescuing my friends just because of my emotions? Is that it?"

"Not at all", Michiru gently intervened. "All we're saying is that you're the one Demonia wants. You're also our Princess—we have to keep you safe from all those like her, as well as the Predators."

"Speaking of which", Haruka points out, "unlike yourself, Dumpling, the Predators are killers born & bred. Should they get a hold of you, they'll show you no mercy, & they won't hesitate to kill you, let alone claim your head for that huntress bitch."

"Usagi, please try to understand what they're saying to you", Luna pleaded to her. "There's a difference between being brave & doing what's necessary sometimes."

"And what will become of Small Lady?", Diana adds. "God forbid, if Demonia actually does succeed in claiming your head, she'll just fade right out of existence. Do you want that for her?"

"Diana's right", Artemis concludes. "Demonia will be killing two birds with one stone if she is successful. We shouldn't willingly give that woman what she wants. Let Haruka & Michiru find Demonia's lair & rescue the others, along with dealing with the Predators."

Usagi stays silent for a second or two, absorbing all they said. Finally, she speaks her mind. "I understand you all want to keep me safe from harm, & that's appreciated more than you realize. But you must understand that, like the rest of you, I also have a duty to perform; my duty as a Sailor Soldier. I'm as aware of it as any of you are, even if I don't show it as much. Sure, you can call me stupid, reckless, irresponsible, annoying, or even a crybaby, but that doesen't alter or even change the fact that I'm a Sailor Soldier like Rei, Ami, & the others. It's my job to protect the world & even my friends from those who would do either of them harm. A police officer risks his or her life to help others, as their sworn duty proclaims them to; I don't see this as being any different. Do you?"

The three felines & two Outer Sailors all looked at Usagi as it was now their turn to let what was said sink into them. Indeed, she may not be the best fighter of the entire team (she probably loathes the fighting part of her duty), but in spite of all her blunders & laziness as a Sailor Soldier (or even as herself), she has the biggest heart out of them all or anyone they've ever met in their lives, which was one reason why certain past enemies like the Amazoness Quartet or even the Four Phantom Sisters have become friends of theirs, & all are proud of it. The same can be said for Haruka & Michiru themselves: during the crisis with the Death Busters aliens, the two Outer Sailors were on a mission to find three Talismans hidden within three humans. They were willing to sacrifice any amount of lives to find them, even their own. Sailor Moon tried tirelessly & constantly to convince them that no sacrifice need be made for the planet to be saved from utter destruction. In the end, despite a brief fight with Sailor Moon for risking the Earth's safety due to her compassionate morality, Haruka & Michiru opened their eyes to what Usagi had been desperately teaching them all along, & they were damn well proud of it, too.

They also know that she won't just stand around & wait for the fate of her friends to reach her through the grapevine, especially since Chibi-Usa, her own daughter, is in the clutches of a deranged huntress in cahoots with alien headhunters to help her in her sick goal.

Sensing the veracity in her feelings & the unavoidable need, Michiru approaches her & gently places her head on her shoulder, wrapping her arms around her like a mother. "Of course we understand. Don't you worry—we will find Demonia's lair, rescue the others, & defeat both her and the Predators. And we'll do it together."

Usagi smiles warmly at Michiru, hearing the veracity in her words, something she could expect no less from her. "Thank you", she says. "I just want to let you all know, right now, that you all are here for me, no matter what, always giving me good advice & strength when I need it the most. I honestly do love you all for that."

"Right back at you, Dumpling", said Haruka. "Just for the record, we'd fight to keep you safe even if you weren't our Princess; there's something abot you that we just can't ignore."

"Thank you, Haruka."

"It's good to see you in such good spirits again, Princess", Diana says, feeling the warmth surrounding the room. "You're going to do just fine—believe in yourself, your friends & your loved ones, & there's nothing that you can't accomplish!"

"She's right, of course", Artemis says. "We all confide in you to be successful against our enemies, & any of us would be lying to you if we said we didn't."

Luna nods. "Now, how about finishing your bowl of food?", she says, pointing to her serving of spaghetti. "You'll need every ounce of strength for the coming battle with Demonia & the Predators."

"You bet!", Usagi cheerfully says, grabbing her bowl & fork, scarfing down her dinner the same way she ate her birthday goodies at the beach. Everyone looked at her like she was an alien herself—a friendly but weird alien. When she finished, she handed her empty bowl to Haruka.

"How about a second helping, Haruka?", she asks.

Haruka stared at her, dumbfounded, then answered. "S-Sure. Coming right up."

The golden-haired Sailor rose & took her bowl as she headed for the kitchen to refill Usagi's bowl. "There's also leftover Strawberry Shortcake in the refrigerator, along with some juice. Would you like some?", she asks.

"Of course!", Usagi cheerfully says. "Three servings, if you please!"

Michiru, Luna, Artemis, & Diana bow their heads in disbelief.

"You just had to mention food to her, didn't you, Luna?", Artemis said. Luna just grunted.

Usually, Luna would debate about Usagi's eating habits, but under the circumstances, she'll let it slide. Usagi needs as much confidence as she can get for her coming fight with her new enemies, & being in her current state of mind would help her from getting too worried about what will come once dusk is upon them. To take that away from her will destroy it all, becoming a big picture of defeat at their enemy's mercy when it all comes down—something they shouldn't risk.

Besides, it was still the day of her birthday; a frightful & bloody birthday for sure, but it's her birthday nonetheless. She should enjoy it while she can, because once the Predators attack, it may be her last should something go horribly wrong, despite their beliefs.

The only way to know for sure is to let the upcoming battle run its course, & pray that the best will occur.

CHAPTER VI

With Haruka driving behind the wheel of the red convertible once again, she, Michiru, & Usagi were all heading down a nearly deserted road, traveling on a full tank of gas & heading west of Tokyo, just as Demonia asked, or rather instructed, them to go, in a daring attempt to save each of their friends being held by the psychotic space huntress. There was hardly another car on the road they were on, & that suited everyone just fine; no need to have any unnecessary blood spilled in the coming brawl.

The last of the day's sun rays had disappeared over the horizon in the west, turning the scenery into an eerie light-blue glow with the full moon hanging high in the evening sky. It fit the mood quite perfectly, ironically: Haruka, Michiru, & Usagi all felt the eeriness within them long before the sun set, so the nighttime sky had no effect on their souls. Along the way, the girls all changed into their Sailor Soldier identities when they knew no one was in the immediate area, & even if they did, the sudden flash of light when they changed would obscure their vision briefly. Either that, or they would've been too far away to have seen their faces to identify them as they were driving down this stretch of road.

This was it—the main event. It was do-or-die time to go & rescue the others, & each of them knew it. Along the way, before the transformation from civilian to Sailor Soldier, both Michiru & Haruka had asked Usagi if she wanted to remain at the even suggested going over to her best friend Naru's house until this was all over, like they had originally planned. But Usagi didn't yield or alter her decision: she was in it for the long haul like they were, if not more so.

She was not willing to turn tail & run—not with the lives of her friends & daughter all hanging in the balance; Sailor Moon, or even Usagi, would go through a whole worldful of the Predators & Demonias to go free them.

Just as it is with the law of the jungle, survival is an option. Failure is not.

Sailor Moon would make sure that she doesn't do the latter.

Sailor Uranus pulls the car over to the curb on the road's left side when she sees a rather long stretch of a dirt road to the right & parks the convertible in parallel with it, turning off the ignition. Trees were on both sides of this particular road, with heavy brushes of leaves, making it somewhat difficult for the moonlight to penetrate & light the way. It felt like their were on their way to a haunted house.

In a way, it was.

"This is it", said Sailor Neptune. "The dirt road Demonia had mentioned to us to take for us straight into her lair."

"She's really asking us to head directly for the lion's den", Sailor Uranus says. "But what choice do we really have?"

Sailor Moon stares at the road intently, & for some reason,it seems quite familiar to her. "I think I know this place", she says. "This is a road where those entering into it can easily get lost. A good number of those who break the law often elude the cops here, since this area is quite large: a person can mostly never be found once they do. No doubt this is where crime kingpin Tetsuya Kobayashi came to in order to avoid pursuing police."

"Didn't do him much good, did it?", Neptune commented, referring to the man's gruesome death the other night, indisputably caused by the Predators.

"Along with hiding, this is an area which is perfect for preparing an ambush of any kind on one's enemies", said Uranus. "That's another reason why most folks don't ever come here. Only those with a vast, keen knowledge of the area can navigate their way through without a chance of getting lost within it."

"That's probably what Demonia & the Predators did when they arrived here. Because of this, an attack could come at us at any time, so all of us should stay on full alert."

"Agreed."

"I understand", said Sailor Moon, still staring at the dirt road, her thoughts on getting to her friends, her determination like iron. Everyone, wherever you are, please hold on for just a little bit longer, she says to herself. I will find a way to find & rescue all of you from both Demonia & the Predators. That's a promise!

Sailor Moon bows her head & closes her eyes in prayer for a second or two to confirm her solemn vow to the lord above, accompanied with keeping them safe. She opens her eyes again, all fit & ready to carry out her word when she notices something on the rear of the car where the gas tank is—something that wasn't there before, & shouldn't be.

Three red dots in a triangular pattern.

As she saw the trio of dots, Sailor Moon's heart started galloping like a horse & she fought her vocal cords for a tenth of a second before shouting a warning to her Sailor companions.

"INCOMING!"

At the instant of her shouting, Uranus, Neptune, & Sailor Moon herself wasted no time in leaping out of the car as quick as they could. One second later a fireball of bule-white energy had struck the car's gas tank, blowing it ten to twelve feet into the air in a hot, fiery flip before it crashes onto the pavement in a wreck of twisted & scorched metal. Had they been a split second late, all three would've gone up in that flaming wreck, their rescue attempt over before it could've even begun.

The three Sailors themselves were thrown from the wreck by the blast's force, tossing them at the start of the dirt road just two feet from where the pavement was, landing on their sides. Both Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune landed as a group, but Sailor Moon was a little distance away from the two Outer Sailors.

"Sailor Moon!", they both shouted, seeing her from a distance, fearing the worst.

"I-I'm all right!", she answered back, getting up almost immediately.

Uranus & Neptune ran to her. "Thank god!", said Neptune. "Listen, Uranus & myself know this area somewhat, so we should be able to get to Demonia's lair in good time! We want you to stay with us at all times from this point on, no matter what!"

"Got it! Let's move!", Sailor Moon demands.

The Outer Sailors nod, as Neptune grabs Sailor Moon's hand & race down the dirt road at full speed. None dares to look back: the Predators are here, & the Sailors need to stay one step ahead of them if they're to get to Demonia's lair & begin rescue procedures. If they stop or slow down for any reason, even for an instant, their progress may be all for naught, something they can't risk happening. As they run, five of the Predators with their invisible cloaking activated, are in hot pursuit of the Soldiers of Love & Justice, who don't even realize that their flight from the alien hunters are only making it even more enjoyable for them.

From her lair deep in the forest, Demonia surveys the action from a hologram projected by her skull staff at the top, its empty sockets glowing with red energy. Around her, the four other Predators Demonia had stay behind have two watching events unfold with her, while the other two hold spears & stand on each end of the device which holds Chibi-Usa, Rei, & the others, all of whom are still unconscious, but by the soft, glowing yellow energy emitted by the structure & the chains themselves, not the gas the creatures used on them at Rei's shrine.

Seeing everything getting underway, Demonia flashes her teeth in her wicked & malevolent smile.

"It begins!", she says with high anticipation, letting loose with her maniacal laugh.

It echoes throughout her lair.

For ten minutes straight, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, & Sailor Moon ran through the dirt road, which eventually turned into one of grass. During their flight on foot, the girls have dodged & avoided attacks from the Predator's shoulder cannons, razor-discs (which at two or three times nearly severed the girl's heads or gutted them like fish), Y-shaped darts, & spear attacks that had come close to turning them into Sailor Soldier Shish Kebab. During all that time, Neptune had never loosened her hold on Sailor Moon's hand, & the teenage heroine was able to keep up with her, never slowing down once.

The grove of trees to their right was much fewer now, as the Sailors now reach a river about 60-70 feet below them on that side. Each of the girls takes extra caution along this way, for they know that one slip or one wrong step could send any or all of them down into the water below & break their bones upon hitting the river's surface. But they also have to keep avoiding attacks from the Predators at the same time.

"How are you holding up, Sailor Moon?", asked Neptune.

"Good!", she said. "You think this path will take us directly to Demonia's lair?"

"Even if it doesn't, it may give us cover from the Predators a little bit!", said Uranus. "We just need to get into thicker brush, so double-time it!"

"Right!", said Sailor Neptune & Sailor Moon in unison.

It was a plan that may work to their advantage: Sailor Uranus recalls Artemis' report about Dutch Schaefer's run-in with the Predator in Central America back in 1987, where he used the jungle itself to give him some cover from the creature after the thing had killed his crew. He set up traps for it then, & it could prove useful for the girls in their current situation—even if they can't get traps set up in time, they can always improvise.

The Sailor trio picked up the pace in their flight as one of the Predators from within the dark, tall trees gets a bead on the fleeing girls with its targeting systems. A flash of bluish-white lights up the area, just as the creature's shot hit dead center at Neptune's feet. The blast lifted the Sailors off the ground in three different directions, splitting them up. Neptune could not keep her grip on Sailor Moon's hand because of it, & the latter Sailor landed near the cliff's edge, only four feet from it. Everyone struggled to get back on their feet, when out of the corner of Uranus & Neptune's eyes, was one of the creatures—still in its shimmering cloak—jumped from the trees & bounced off a bark, heading directly for Sailor Moon, now back on her feet.

The Predator headed for her disengaged its cloak, becoming visible. It was Rough-Tooth!

"Sailor Moon! Don't just stand there! Run!", shouted Sailor Uranus.

But Sailor Moon could not run, for she froze the moment she saw Rough-Tooth—the one she wounded at the beach. Even if she weren't, he was moving much too fast for her to do anything to prevent his charge at her. From the time they hit the ground after the blast up until now, only a few seconds have passed.

All she could do at that moment was place her arms in front of her face & stand firmly. It may at least help her to either slow his charge at her, or prevent them both from going over the cliff's edge. Her attempt was unsuccessful: it was like trying to stop a charging rhino. Sailor Moon felt the raw power Rough-Tooth had when he collided into her, & both combatants reached the edge & began to plummet into the water below.

"Sailor Moon!", cried Neptune, as she & Uranus ran to the edge of the cliff & helplessly watched Sailor Moon & Rough-Tooth falling toward the water at great speed.

With only enough time to reposition themselves in mid-air & get their legs beneath them to absorb most of the impact, the two warriors splashed into the water that temporarily gave them a stunned feeling throughout their bodies, feeling like they'd jump off a tall ladder at the top & had hit the ground on their flat feet. The water was what mostly kept them awake & aware of their surroundings; that, & a lack of oxygen in their lungs. Hitting the drink at that velocity knocked out a good deal of it. Kicking her legs & waving her arms, Sailor Moon headed for the surface to get fresh air into her collapsing lungs. Once she broke through, she instantly took in several deep breaths of air, in spite of the humidity it held, even at night. The satisfying moment didn't last too long: five seconds later, Rough-Tooth himself broke the water's surface, spread his arms out in a menacing gesture, & released an ear-splitting roar of rage. Sailor Moon only had time to look at her alien enemy for a second or two before he lunged for her & took her by the throat with both hands, just as they descended below the surface.

Underneath, Sailor Moon struggled with all her might—even kicking & thrashing—to break free of Rough-Tooth's grip, but it was just as futile here as it was at the beach that first time: he is so much stronger than she was. About the only thing she was accomplishing in the struggle was losing her much-needed air out of her lungs again, with no hope of refilling them in time.

Rough-Tooth grabbed the top of her head with one hand & began to pull on it, feeling to Sailor Moon like she was wedged in a vice, with no way out. His victory would have been assured if not for the intervention of Sailor Neptune, who dropped from the edge high above, splashing into the water & used a powerful double kick to his chest, freeing Sailor Moon from the alien's firm grip. With no time for any thank-yous, she headed for the surface as Sailor Neptune buys her even more time by including a left fist to Rough-Tooth's hideous maw, causing it to draw a stream of luminescent yellow-green blood.

Breaking the water's surface again, Sailor Moon gulps in fresh air into her lungs a second time. She then turned to see if Neptune had surfaced yet, or if any of the other Predators may have followed Rough-Tooth & are waiting to ambush her as he did.

Nothing.

Worried, she started to swim forward when a plume of water suddenly erupted in front of her. Sailor Moon backed away for safety's sake, not wanting to be dragged below if it was any of the Predators. What erupted to the surface was a figure Sailor Moon was happy to see.

"Uranus!", she cheered.

The Outer Sailor smiled at her happiness of seeing a friendly face, but that faded fast when they realize that Neptune hasn't come up yet.

"Neptune!", Sailor Moon called out.

"Neptune!", Sailor Uranus called out with a louder volume in her voice.

They called her name again when a sudden eruption of water occurred not six feet away from them. Not knowing if it was friend or foe, Uranus ordered Sailor Moon to get behind her as she draws her sword, ready for battle.

What surfaced was another figure they were both happy to see.

"Neptune! You made it!", Sailor Moon said with the utmost joy & relief.

"Glad to see that you have too, Princess!", Neptune said, a little bruised in the chest & arm.

"You had us worried there for a moment!", Uranus says, patting her soulmate gently on her shoulder.

"What, you're doubting me again?"

Uranus chuckled softly. "The answer is the same as before—never!"

However relieved she was, Sailor Moon knew the danger was far from over. "We'd better get moving! There's no telling where the Predators are, or what they'll try next to get us!"

"You're 100% right, Dumpling. Let's get back to land & get back on the trail to Demonia's lair!", Uranus answered.

Sailor Moon & Sailor Neptune nodded, & the trio swam for the river's edge in powerful & quick strokes, wanting to exit the river as soon as they can. The Sailor trio all cautiously scanned the immediate area for the Predators, watching for an attack which can take place anytime & come from anywhere. There was tension within each of them: despite the fact that they're aliens from another planet, they are very highly trained, skilled hunters, with weapons & gadgets unlike anyone has ever seen, & who take body parts as trophies. Sailor Moon & her two companions begin to resume their search for Demonia's lair.

"Now where do we go from here?", asked Sailor Moon.

Sailor Uranus sees a much slimmer path than the one they were on from above. "We can't reach the previous dirt path now, so let's go take this path & see where it leads us."

"You don't know exactly where it goes to?"

"Sorry, Dumpling. Like Neptune said before, she & I only partially know this area, not in its entirety. We'll have to take the chance if we're to…"

A twanging sound caught everyone's attention. In the blink of an eye, Sailor Uranus was caught in a large net with sharp, metal points that just appeared, driving her back into a large tree where the spikes on the net embed themselves firmly in the thick wood, pinning her to the spot.

"Space Sword Blaster!", she shouted, her sword firing energy blades from it, cutting the net that snared her, getting free of it, but not before getting cuts on her arms, legs, & face.

"Sneaky bastards! Where the hell are they?", she growled.

"No idea! That net just came out of nowhere!", said Sailor Moon on high alert.

As if in answer to Uranus' question, Rough-Tooth emerged from beneath the water's surface, still bleeding from Neptune's punch to his maw, followed by four splashes as a quartet of objects plunged into the drink & resurfaced as sparkling figures; the other Predator's cloaking devices were partially shorting out in the water. Switching them off, they all rapidly approached the Sailor trio, with Rough-Tooth taking point.

In moments they'll be upon them, but Sailor Neptune has other ideas to see that they don't.

"Submarine Reflection!", she calls out,holding her golden-handle mirror out in front of her, the glass side facing her alien adversaries. A snake of water the same thickness as her mirror erupts from it & hits the river. Upon contact, it creates a large & powerful wave that washes the Predators away from the Sailors, causing the alien hunters to go airborne & ram into the thick trees on the river's opposite side, knocking the wind out of them.

"Good going, Neptune! That move will buy us some time!", said Sailor Moon.

"But not a lot of it!", she adds. "We don't know how long they'll be out of commission for, so we should follow Uranus' option in heading down this new path to see where it takes us, so let's move now while we're in the clear!"

Sailor Moon & Sailor Uranus nod, & the trio take off into the forest, leaving the river & the down-but-not-out Predators behind, putting as much distance between them as possible. Where the path takes them exactly, no one can say, but anywhere else is better than the river.

Going through the forest as quick & rapidly as they could, Sailor Moon, Uranus, & Neptune see something from a distance & head for it. Having been running since Uranus' car was totaled by the Predators & battling them while in the river, the Sailor trio need at least a quick breather in order to rest themselves & be somewhat refreshed in order to save their friends. If it is a place which will allow them to do so, it will be a brief stay, for they really shouldn't waste too much of their time to recouperate their energy—not with precious lives at stake.

And definitely not with alien headhunters on their asses, who'll just as soon kill them as look at them.

"Look!", said Sailor Moon, pointing to what appears to be an old, one-story & flat-roofed home that looks to be a century old. The place was the length of a tanker truck, with dark, rotting wood that was peeled in a few places, no doubt due to countless snowfalls & rain showers. There was a lone window in good need of a long spraying of glass cleaner. None of the girls could see inside to know if the domicile was inhabited or not.

Sailor Uranus has second thoughts about stopping for a bit.

"I don't think going in there would be a good idea, Dumpling", she says. "What if there's people inside? We don't want them caught in the crossfire."

Sailor Moon looks at her. "All the more reason we should go in. The Predators will kill them without a second thought if there are, & you know it."

"She has a point", says Neptune. "There's no way they'll be able to defend themselves against them. We barely can,despite our powers."

Another good point made by them both. The people inside the old shack of a home –if there are any—are as good as dead unless they're there to keep them safe. Also, for all their powers & abilities no one else possesses, the Sailors have had great difficulty in battling the Predators. Just before at the river, Uranus was taken completely by surprise from being temporarily snared by one of their nets, something no one normal can do to her. Another example is the car: if Sailor Moon hadn't shouted when she did, all three would be nothing more than charred skeletons at this very moment.

Uranus nodded." All right. We'll see if anyone's inside, & if there are, we'll…"

A sound of rustling leaves & breaking branches makes them turn their heads briefly to the way they came, telling them trouble is heading their way—trouble they know all too well.

"Get inside, quickly!", Uranus whispers harshly, wanting to make as little noise as she can.

She, Neptune, & Sailor Moon rushed to the other side of the place to find the entrance, a single run-down door. Praying it wasn't locked, Neptune turned the knob & her wish was granted. Sailor Moon was the first to go in, followed by Uranus & Neptune. The room inside was a whole big kitchen with a single table at the wall with the window surrounded by a few chairs, & a lone refrigerator on the opposite side. A door stood on the two remaining walls of the room from the left & right of the girls.

"We can't hide anywhere in this room!", whispered Sailor Moon.

Uranus & Neptune knew she was right. All there was to hide in this kitchen was underneath the table, a terrible choice. The refrigerator was out of the question, so that lead to either one of the two rooms they haven't seen yet. With any luck, they'll find a space or spaces they can hide in, & if they're lucky, they'll find no one else within either room.

Neptune quickly checks the door closest to her. When she sees what was inside, she silently signals the other two over with her hand.

Outside, Rough-Tooth & the other Predators arrived at the house themselves, disengaging their cloaks. Looking around the immediate area for any sign of their prey & finding none, they assume they must be inside. Then they see a small sign of life: a heat signature from a small hole on the right side.

They've been found!

Rough-Tooth points a hand to one of his clan members, who readies its shoulder cannon at the small trace of heat source & gets a lock on it with its targeting system, shining its trio of red dots upon it. From her hiding place inside, Sailor Moon hears the whirring of the creature's deadly weapon & her nerves go all cold, praying the Predators can't see through wood.

With its target locked on, the creature fires its weapon. A blue-white fireball erupts from the cannon & shoots directly at its prey at high velocity. The shot blasts a larger hole into the wall & one into its target, spraying its blood onto the floor. Rough-Tooth smashes through the wall with his fist, creating an even larger opening, his clan right behind him. He was ready to tear the head off of his target's body to give to Demonia, but became disappointed when he saw that what his underling shot wasn't their primary target, Sailor Moon.

It was only a doe, a female deer, who sought refuge from the day's heat by entering the room—a garage with a few tools on the walls & floor—through a small opening at the garage door. Rough-Tooth picks it up by the head & throws it away in disgust, slamming it against the large door & splattering its blood upon it. He then sees something else that catches his alien eyes—a regular door, one that leads right into the house itself. Thinking the main target could be inside, Rough-Tooth destroys the door into splinters & see nothing in the next room—a kitchen with a table, chairs, & a fridge.

But no Sailor Moon, or her two companions.

He wasn't about to give up; he saw another door on the wall directly in front of him. If the main target was still here, that next room is probably where she is.

Rough-Tooth tore the door off its hinges & tosses it aside, just as he did to Rei's front door at the shrine. The door broke in two on the table's corner as the taller Predator took a look inside. The room had a king-sized bed to the left, a bathroom at the upper right corner with a window that was just as dirty as the one in the kitchen in between, & a tall dresser on the right wall, just a foot or so from the bathroom. Unknown to him, Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune were both underneath the bed, watching in total silence as they see Rough-Tooth's alien feet only inches from where they lay, sweat running down their faces. The Predator also doesn't know that Sailor Moon herself was hiding within the dresser, whose heart palpitated like mad as she heard the room's door ripped away. Uranus & Neptune's hearts were doing the same, & for damn good reason—Rough-Tooth was only two or three steps away from finding Sailor Moon's hiding place. If he should suddenly step toward it…

But that's exactly what Rough-Tooth does. Protruding his wristblades, the alien hunter steps forward & draws his arm back, ready to deliver the killing blow once he sees Sailor Moon, if she really is inside the dresser—and she is!

Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune silently face their palms out at Rough-Tooth, preparing to blow his feet right off his legs with their most powerful attacks before he can carry out his death sentence to their Princess. They were a second away from shouting their moves when a rustling of leaves & twigs from outside catches Rough-Tooth's attention. Believing it might be his prey on the run, he bashes through the wall where the wondow is, spraying wood & glass onto the ground & signals the other four to follow him in pursuit. One by one, the Predators enter & exit the bedroom following Rough-Tooth, unaware that their prey is right in front of them all. Hearing the rustling from a distance, the alien hunters go in its direction, re-activating their cloaks as they do.

Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune breathe a collective sigh of relief, realizing just how close they really were to losing the life of their Princess—right in front of them.

When they felt they were alone, Uranus & Neptune crawled out from under the bed.

"It's safe to come out now, Sailor Moon", said Neptune. The dresser doors swung open as Sailor Moon stepped out, happy to be out of that cramped space---and alive.

"That was a little too close for my tastes", she says. "I thought we'd be goners for sure."

"If not for whoever or whatever made that noise before, we probably would be."

"We won't be safe for too long, though", said Uranus. "Once they realize it wasn't us who made that rustling, they'll come back here & tear the place apart down to its foundation just to find us."

"Then let's not be here when they do!", Sailor Moon proclaimed.

"You're right", said Neptune, glancing at her waterproof watch. "It's now 9:30. We've got only two-&-a-half hours left to find Demonia's lair before she gets more homicidal & decides to slaughter Chibi-Usa & the others."

"That will never happen!"

"Don't worry, Dumpling, we'll help you make sure of that", said Uranus. "Now, let's get back on track & find the path to her lair, shall we?"

Sailor Moon nods, & the trio take off in the direction opposite from the Predators.

A full hour passes as the Sailor trio make their way through the dense forest since their near-death experience back at the old, one-story house. For all that time, none of them have the slightest clue as to where to go in finding Demonia's lair. Since landing in the river, the girls have apparently gotten lost, having no idea on which direction to go, let alone what path to take. It now feels to the Sailor trio as if it would take forever to find Minako & the rest. Sailor Moon was right—this forest is a place where one can easily get lost into. Even Uranus & Neptune don't know where they are currently; they mentioned it themselves that their knowledge of the forest is only in part, not in completion.

It's something they cursed themselves for, especially in their current situation; they cannot afford to waste what little time they have.

Getting into a clearing, the girls find an averagely wide path of dirt & grass—a path that is wide enough for a vehicle to go through.

Seeing this path stirs a memory in both the Outer Sailors—this area they do know!

They turn to Sailor Moon, each with a smile on her face.

"What is it?", asked their Princess.

"We know where we are now!", said Uranus. "Neptune & I once or twice came down this way for vacation spots."

"What do you mean?"

"This road", says Neptune, pointing in one direction, "leads to a small resort cabin, where a map of the area resides at. We're guessing Demonia's lair is most likely at an open area of forest or even a cave, which the map shows each of."

Now Sailor Moon has a smile on her own face. "That's wonderful! How far is this cabin?"

"Only about a half hour, if we run like the wind!", said Uranus. "Ready?"

Sailor Moon happily nods, & the three break into a run down the path, feeling rejoiced at knowing they'll be within range of seeing & saving their comrades from the clutches of both Demonia & the Predators assisting her. Soon, very soon, Chibi-Usa & the rest will be freed & all of those responsible for this nightmare will pay dearly for causing it, & on the day of her birthday, too. All she asked for was to have a fun-filled day at the beach, take a refreshing swim in the water, dine on sweet treats, & enjoy her friend's company. Then she had to ruin everything, turning it into a nightmare: first chance Sailor Moon gets, her revenge on Demonia will be severe.

Those thoughts in Sailor Moon's head urged her to run even faster.

But just as she put on an extra burst of speed, the Soldier of love & justice abruptly stops in her tracks & stands there, as if listening to something. Uranus & Neptune heard her sudden stop & stop themselves to see her as still as a statue.

"Sailor Moon, what's wrong?", asked Neptune.

Sailor Moon said nothing as she turned around to look behind her. An eerie feeling had hit her just now, & those type of feelings usually means that something isn't right. At first she saw nothing strange, but then it became clear; from a far distance, two small lights flashed briefly from within the trees, followed by a whirring sound that became louder & louder with each passing second.

Her eyes widened.

"Get down now!", she yelled, hitting the dirt.

When the sound got louder, the two Outer Sailors saw exactly why Sailor Moon stopped & dropped: the two flashes of light they saw themselves were two of the Predator's razor discs. One was an actual Frisbee-like weapon, & the other had six curved blades on it. Uranus & Neptune would not go down as Sailor Moon did. Instead, they would destroy the things & give the alien hunters two less toys to kill them with.

Uranus drew her sword, while Neptune drew her mirror.

"Space Sword…!", Uranus began.

"Submarine…!", Neptune began.

That was as far as they got—the discs missed cutting them, but their weapons weren't so lucky. All three Sailors watched in shock as the Predator's discs cut & damaged their fighting tools, leaving a deep cut in each one. They couldn't believe it happened: these two Talismans that were once within the Outer Sailor's bodies are made of stern, powerful material. Nothing on the Earth could so much as dent them.

But then, neither the Predators or their weapons are from Earth.

They didn't have time to wonder about it; the Predators were here in this vicinity, & they need to get moving again, now that they're so close.

"Run!", Uranus barked, & Sailor Moon rose from the ground & took off, following her two comrades. Their run didn't last too long, as three things happened almost at once: Uranus has been clobbered by one of the Predators in its invisibility mode square in the face; she was out cold before she even hit the ground.

"Uranus!", cried Neptune. From behind, she was grabbed & held firmly by another of the alien hunters who disengages its cloak & a second one does the same in front of her. This one sprays gas in her face—the same gas they used on the rest at Hikawa Shrine.

Sailor Neptune was out instantly.

"Neptune!", Sailor Moon cried. She couldn't say anymore: from behind her,another of the Predators pinned her to a tree with its wristblades at her neck, the blades on either side of it. She had only enough time to turn around partially to see that it was Rough-Tooth, his left fist in a striking position.

"Sailor Moon! Primary target!", he said in Demonia's voice, just before swinging his fist forward & hitting her in the face, as Uranus had been.

The whole world around her flashed a brief white before plunging into total darkness, & Sailor Moon knew no more after that.

CHAPTER VII

An unknown amount of time passes when Sailor Moon finally opens her eyes; her vision was a mix of white around the edges & a blurry picture everywhere else, like someone trying to bring focus the scenery from the view of a camera. How long she was out for, she doesn't know. Minutes? Hours? Days, even? It could've been anything.

What she does know, as well as remember, was seeing Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune being taken down by the Predators right in front of her before she had been done so herself by Rough-Tooth, the seemingly leader of the clan, due to the fact that he was the tallest of the group by a few inches. Remembering that incident brought Sailor Moon more conscious & aware of her still being alive. She finds herself lying on the ground on her stomach, struggling to get up, when a female voice full of pure malevolence speaks to her.

"Sailor Moon! Glad to see you awake! Your persistence is astonishing!"

Sailor Moon lifts her head to stare at a woman sitting in a floating apparatus many inches off the ground. Her skin was white as chalk & wore a brown swimsuit-style outfit of some kind with matching boots on her feet. She had thick, black hair which had no braids in them of any kind, & she has a staff of some kind with a horned & jawless skull on top laying across her lap. She smiled an evil smile, showing vampiric teeth, & looked a lot like one.

Sailor Moon's eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"Demonia!", she bellowed.

"Yes. Welcome to my arena, Sailor Moon!", said the space huntress.

The champion of love & justice took a quick look around her surroundings where she stood. It was a round open field 50 yards wide, aligned with trees. Demonia was several feet away from her in the middle of the area; Rough-Tooth & six other Predators were all standing to the left of her, with the latter in an obedient line like Army soldiers & the former just a few feet away in between them & the space huntress, while the last two of the alien hunters stood to the right of her, being several feet apart, each one holding a spear. One of those spears was the one that had cut both Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere at the beach, putting them both in the hospital.

"What an honor it is to finally meet you for the first & last time, Sailor Moon!", Demonia continued. "I must admire your stamina & endurance. I didn't think you'd recover so quickly after Rough-Tooth had put you out with his fist only minutes ago."

Sailor Moon was amazed, she had to admit. It was just a few minutes since then? For all intents & purposes, she had expected to be out even longer than that, what with the immense power which the Predators possess in brute strength alone; even Makoto herself doesn't have that, for all her own stamina.

The thought of Makoto brought Sailor Moon back to business, putting preliminaries aside & becoming serious.

"Where are all my friends? What have you done with them?", she demanded.

"Look to your right", Demonia says calmly, picking up her staff. Pointing it to the duo of Predators with the spears, the two alien hunters press a few buttons upon their left forearm cuffs &, just like magic, Chibi-Usa & everyone else appear in full view of Sailor Moon. Everyone was shackled at their wrists to a contraption that looked like an overgrown swing set one can find at a playground or park, only this was used for enslavement instead of amusement. The girls were all in their civilian clothing except of course for Haruka & Michiru, who are still in their Sailor Soldier outfits. The device they were all shackled to glowed a shiny yellow, but just a few more presses changes the color to a maroon red. Once it does, the girls all begin to revive & open their eyes, as the red energy brings them out of their dormant states. A little groggy at first, they become fully awake when they see Sailor Moon in their sights, even at a distance.

"Sailor Moon!", says Minako.

"Everyone!", she retaliates.

Sailor Moon takes a step forward when she abruptly is stopped by Demonia's words. "Not another step, Sailor Moon!", she warns her as the two Predators place their spears to the necks of Chibi-Usa & Sailor Neptune. "Any closer & my Predators will stab & slash each one of your friends! All it will take is one word from me to do it, so keep your distance or else!"

Much as it pained her, she did as Demonia instructed, not wanting to see her friends getting killed in front of her. When this was all over & she's certain they're safe & alive, Sailor Moon vows to make this callous bitch receive what she deserves.

The dreaded space huntress stares at the captive girls as if studying them. Seeing most of them in their civilian guises doesn't look right to her. It is a problem she can easily rectify: she points her staff towards them as the eyes of her skull glow an eerie red. An aura of energy covers everyone but Uranus & Neptune, causing the girls to cry out in pain as their clothes morph into their Sailor Soldier outfits, all happening in mere moments.

The crying & energy aura subsides as Demonia faces Sailor Moon again. "There. Now there's no reason for me or my Predators not to kill them!"

Sailor Moon stares at Demonia with a scowl in her eyes. "Let them go, Demonia! It's me you want, & now I'm here! They don't have a thing to do with this!", she barks.

Demonia returns the scowl at Sailor Moon. "You are in no position to give me orders, little girl!", she barks back harder. "As I told you before, Sailor Moon, their lives are in your hands! If you don't do exactly as I tell you, their lives will be forfeited! I came here to collect something, & I'm not leaving this Earth without it!" Her voice then becomes softer but no less malevolent, & she even flashes her teeth in her hideous, vampiric grin. "By the way, how are your two friends over at the hospital feeling? Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere, I believe their names are? It must have been very painful seeing them getting skewered by my Predators, I'll bet—those poor kids. Me, I found it to be rather satisfying."

Demonia burst out with a callous, maniacal laughter when she finished. Her laugh thrilled her to her soul, while it stung & disgusted the Sailor Soldiers' own, most particularly Sailor Moon's. Hearing Demonia's words & insane laugh, the Soldier of love & justice's anger has now reached its peak & is boiling over. For the entire day since the beach, she & her friends have been attacked, bruised, shot at, hunted like animals & hospitalized, all because some psycho woman wants to gather a retirement trophy to show off to herself & probably her friends, who are no doubt just as demented as she is. Worse, she takes the utmost pleasure in it—even gloating about her personal pain of her hospitalized friends & rubbing it in.

And all for kicks.

No more: her hands clenched tightly into rock-hard fists, Sailor Moon took off like a shot & raced toward Demonia at full speed, not slowing or stopping for anything. Not even Rough-Tooth can halt her progress, diving at her to pin her down. Sailor Moon jumps at the last second, & all the alien hunter succeeds at is getting an alien face full of dirt & grass. In no time, Sailor Moon takes a hold of Demonia's throat with her gloved hands, surprising the demented space huntress.

"You filthy, cold-hearted bitch! I'll tear your head off!", she growled through clenched teeth.

A cold chill coursed through the bodies & souls of Sailor Chibi Moon & the others upon hearing Sailor Moon's threat to Demonia. All were shocked & more than a little scared beyond words—they could not believe what just came out of her mouth! For what may very well be the first time in their lives, Sailor Mars & the rest sensed not just pent-up anger within her, but also utter & unrelenting hatred in their warmhearted friend. Never have they seen this side in her—a side most believe to be non-existent within Usagi Tsukino—and yet, here it is, in all its horrific glory. What scares the Sailors most is not the words, but the possibility of her actually carrying out what she said she would do: an act of cold-blooded murder.

And right in front of those who love her most of all.

"Dumpling", Sailor Uranus whispers, feeling fear she's not felt in months.

"Usagi", Sailor Venus speaks in a barely audible voice.

"Don't do it, please", said Sailor Mars.

"You'll never be able to live with yourself", said Sailor Mercury.

Mother, you wouldn't go that far, would you?, Chibi Moon said to herself, being afraid for Sailor Moon most of all, tears starting to flow from her eyes. Neither she nor any of the Sailors can do anything about stopping Sailor Moon from doing the unthinkable, being shackled & all. It was a frightening ordeal: yes, they all wanted her to grow up & become more like they are whenever in a battle, but not like this.

Rough-Tooth was back on his feet & about to assist in taking care of Sailor Moon, but Demonia saw him & put a hand up, gesturing him to stay put. Despite her predicament, Demonia was completely unimpressed by her enemy's words & chuckles, calling her bluff.

"What the hell's so funny?", Sailor Moon snaps.

"Sailor Moon", Demonia began, "if you had the guts for that kind of thing, you would've done it to all your previous enemies! But you don't, do you? I'll bet you've never tasted the fun or even the thrill of killing another living soul, let alone had their blood splashed upon you as you did so! Truthfully, you don't have what it takes to take another life, & that is why you'll lose this battle!"

Even though she heard her words loud & clear, Sailor Moon paid no attention to them. The rage inside was now controlling her, & she felt the urge—no, the need—to release it, therefore she began squeezing Demonia's neck, intent on crushing it down to the size of a soda straw. The space huntress felt the immense pressure on her neck & throat, her air supply cut from it, her eyes & mouth going wide. Clearly, she underestimated Sailor Moon for a second time, & now it seems it will be her final time doing so, failing in her mission of claiming her retirement prize, with the possibility of ending up as one instead.

All Sailor Jupiter & the others can do is watch in pure terror as one of the most lovable & kindheartedly decent persons in their lives become a heartless killer, with no way to stop her. Not even if they called out to her could they hope to prevent what she intends to do, but maybe worst of all, none of them can blame her for it, as it's something they all want to do to Demonia just as much as her: this was still the day of Usagi's birthday, a day she needs to have fun in, despite the absence of both her family & her lover, Mamoru Chiba. Instead, it became a fight for survival as soon as the Predators showed up & began killing innocent people at the beach, with two friends ending up at Juban General because of these alien hunters, with Demonia masterminding the whole fiasco.

It seemed Sailor Moon was on the verge of committing murder when a memory or two in her mind suddenly jumps from the rear to the front.

Usagi, with anger & rage in her soul, begins to leave the room with the Amazoness Quartet occupying room 2057, but not before Beth-Beth asks her an important question.

"But, how can you defeat cold-blooded killers when you aren't one yourself?"

Para-Para rises from her chair with worry & trepidation on her face & in her voice. "You won't ever become like them, will you? Para-Para doesn't want her friends to become killers."

That memory made Sailor Moon realize that what she wants to do to Demonia is wrong, & could be the only thing preventing her from committing her heinous act.

Beth-Beth & Para-Para are right!, she said to herself. I'm not a killer, & I never want to become one like Demonia or the Predators! God help me, what am I doing?

Sailor Moon releases the pressure on Demonia's neck, enabling the space huntress to get fresh air into her lungs. The other Sailor Soldiers were all relieved to see their Princess showing mercy to their despicable foe, no matter how much she doesn't really deserve it. Sailor Moon is still her compassionate self, relieving even her.

Demonia, however, has no intention of returning the favor.

"Ha! I thought as much!", she says, smiling wickedly.

Before Sailor Moon knew what happened, Demonia struck her in the face with the palm of her left hand hard, sending her flying back several feet, landing onto the ground with a thud.

"Sailor Moon!", cried the captive Sailor Soldiers.

Her smile gone, Demonia caresses her neck with her hand, soothing the pressure caused by her intended prey. Rough-Tooth stood only three feet from where Sailor Moon lays, but is kept at bay by the huntress, not moving sans for his mandibles.

"You have made a very bad enemy today, Sailor Moon!", Demonia spat. "Rough-Tooth is most displeased with what you've done to him at the beach this morning! He'd like nothing better than to tear you apart with his own two hands, & for all intents & purposes, I'd like nothing more than to see him do it! However, I have something better that I have been saving just for you!"

With a quick wave of Demonia's staff, Rough-Tooth obeys & steps to the side where the other six Predators are. From behind Demonia, a shimmer in the air steps out & walks a few steps past the dreaded space huntress before coming to a stop. The shimmer can only mean one thing to Sailor Moon & the others—another Predator has been with her!

Disengaging its cloak, this newest arrival, a tenth alien hunter, was even taller than Rough-Tooth himself was, at about another six inches or so. Like the aforementioned hunter, its armor was a gray/silver in color, but unlike him, this one wore a thick red cape in the back that almost touched the ground. Its face mask was different from the others as well; on each side was a curved piece of pointed metal, pointing diagonally down. The first thing this new hunter did was remove its cape & toss it in front of Demonia's hoverchair, next to where Sailor Pluto's Garnet Rod lays at, something Sailor Moon never noticed was there amid all the confusion. Next, it removed its shoulder-mounted cannon after a few adjustments, which was also similar to Rough-Tooth's own. It then tosses it to its left far away, where it lands at the trees right at the edge. Finally, it unplugs a tube connecting its metal face mask that hisses away & dies shortly after. Using both hands, it takes its mask off, revealing its hideous crab-like face to all.

Throwing its face mask onto its red cape, the creature was now staring at Sailor Moon through red, non-pupil eyes. Its mandibles were the same as Rough-Tooth's, only with no lower teeth on its bottoms, & each one ended with a tooth twice as long as his or even the others.

Sailor Moon can only stare at the large monstrosity opposite her, fifteen feet away.

Demonia announces her latest arrival as a ring announcer would do for a prize fighter. "Sailor Moon, meet your opponent that you'll be facing tonight—the leader of this Predator clan, Saber-Tusk!" She pauses for a moment or two to see (& enjoy) the worried & frightened look on her prey's face, then she continues. "The rules are simple: you & Saber-Tusk will battle each other to the death, right here within this space. If you become the victor, then I might consider releasing your friends & let you all live while the Predators & I search for another trophy to claim as my retirement prize elsewhere. But if Saber-Tusk wins, not only will I claim your head, but those of your friends as well & make it a complete set of retirement trophies! Remember—you live, they live, & vice versa! Don't forget that I can have them all killed with a single command if you dare refuse to do this! Understand?"

"Sailor Moon, don't let her antagonize you in any way! Stay focused & you can defeat him!", Sailor Saturn shouted urgingly.

Sailor Jupiter did the same. "She's right, Sailor Moon! Show that huntress bitch and that alien shit just how tough you really are!"

"We all believe in you, Sailor Moon! Go for it!" That came from Sailor Mercury.

Demonia sneers at the Sailor Soldiers' words of praise. "Hmph! Such useless babble! Let's see if your words of encouragement can help my prey in this battle!" The dreaded space huntress raises her staff & points it at Sailor Moon, instructing the fierce clan leader. "Go forth, Saber-Tusk! Battle Sailor Moon & bring me her head!"

Both the eyes from Demonia's skull atop her staff & Saber-Tusk's own shined a bright red simultaneously, & the Predator clan leader responds with a primeval roar, hideous in intensity to the Sailor Soldiers, all of whom wish they could block it from their hearing. Hands clenched into fists with his arms extended in a sumo wrestling gesture, Saber-Tusk takes striding steps toward Sailor Moon, who prepares herself for the coming fight she knew was going to be extremely tough; if these monstrosities can take down heavies in the group like Makoto, Michiru, or even Haruka, then the Soldier of love & justice is in big trouble.

She cannot let that fear consume her, as too much is at stake—she will just have to give her all in this fight not just for her sake, but for everyone else's.

With Saber-Tusk now only a few steps away, Sailor Moon needs an edge in this brawl, & she summons her Kaleido Moonscope which materializes in her hand from thin air. Pointing it at her alien foe, she begins to call out the command that will enable it to fire its light projectile, but could not utter one syllable as Saber-Tusk slaps her weapon out of her hand with one smack. The Kaleido Moonscope lands at the feet of the captive Sailors, watching the battle with worried & eager eyes.

"Don't let him intimidate you, Sailor Moon! He's a giant, but can still be beaten!", Sailor Pluto says to her.

"You're much stronger that you think you are, Sailor Moon! We know you can beat him!", Sailor Mars cheered.

While Sailor Pluto & Sailor Mars have the utmost confidence in her, as do the others, Sailor Chibi Moon can't help but feel a sense of dread from within her. Please be very careful, she says to herself. Mamoru's life will mean nothing if you aren't there with him, Usagi!

Disarming his foe, Saber-Tusk now lunges forward to grab Sailor Moon, but the female warrior manages to step out of his path at the last second, tripping the alien hunter with a swipe of her left leg, making him fall like a timbering tree & lands facefirst on the grassy floor.

"Good move, Sailor Moon! Now, keep him down!", said Sailor Venus, who kicks her Kaleido Moonscope back into her hand, being the Sailor who was closest to the weapon when Saber-Tusk slapped it away.

"Right!", said Sailor Moon. Now re-armed, she grabs her weapon with both hands tightly & raises it above her head. She then brings it down as hard as she can upon the back of her enemy's neck with all her might. Saber-Tusk lets out a yelp of pain as he actually felt Sailor Moon's blow from the rear. For someone who looks so frail & young, this prey packs quite the wallop. The one called Sailor Mars was right: she is stronger than she looks. Even Demonia realizes this little fact first-hand, seeing the clan leader being kept down by someone smaller than he as Sailor Moon repeatedly buffets Saber-Tusk in the rear of his neck. If this keeps up, the space huntress may just have to reconsider finding another retirement trophy elsewhere.

After a half-dozen blows, Sailor Moon readies another, but by that time Saber-Tusk stops her next attack, grabbing her wrists with his left hand. His right hand in a fist, Saber-Tusk lands a hard blow to Sailor Moon's side. The brutal punch sends her back several yards & she lands on her good side, skidding along the grass & dirt, making a mini ditch. Sailor Moon feels like she has a fire raging in her chest, her ribs feeling as if they may be cracked from the strike Saber-Tusk had just given her. Watching her go down, Demonia felt a sudden urge of reassurance while the Sailor Soldiers felt dread strike back with a vengeance.

Her vision was blurred around the edges, but Sailor Moon fought against it to refocus once again, for Saber-Tusk was already back on his feet & headed in her direction. With her Kaleido Moonscope still in her hand, she waited until her alien adversary was in close proximity to do a swift & precisive attack. If she can do that, she may get the upper hand on like she'd done before.

Saber-Tusk was in striking distance. It was now or never.

Using all her might, Sailor Moon swung her weapon like a baseball bat at her alien enemy in his crab-like face. The force of the blow made Saber-Tusk's face go to one side, but he slowly turned back to his female foe in the eye, acting like he didn't feel anything to begin with. Sailor Moon was astonished—she put real strength behind that hit, & Saber-Tusk showed no sign of being injured or in pain. All he did was behave like he either enjoyed the experience or he might have expected her to strike at him when he was in range.

Whatever the reason, Saber-Tusk's response was the same: he smacked Sailor Moon in her own face with a hard, swift palm that spews a stream of blood from her mouth. He immediately followed that up with another fist to her solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her & dragging her back several more feet. Fighting to catch her breath & stay conscious, Sailor Moon gets on her hands & knees while Saber-Tusk extends his own pair of wristblades, which were twice the length of those from his clan members. Sailor Moon manages to get to her feet, but drops down again when she sees the dual blades swipe at her, missing the top of her head by only a fraction of an inch.

Luckily for her, Saber-Tusk's swipe attack left him wide open for one by Sailor Moon, & she wastes no time deploying it. With as much power as she can muster, she bodyslams herself into the Predator clan leader, & amazingly, she is able to send him flying back a good distance. He lands almost in the exact spot where their quarrel began. Cheers erupt from the captive Sailors as their Princess runs up to Saber-Tusk, ignoring the pain in her body, & grabs him by the throat & begins squeezing it, hoping to make him as helpless as Demonia was; she'll either convince him to forfeit the match or submit him into unconsciousness for lack of oxygen.

Some tactics, however, don't work the same on another living creature, alien or no.

Unlike Demonia, Saber-Tusk has a thicker neck than she does, being protected by some sort of harness which keeps him safe from most attacks like the one Sailor Moon is performing now. Getting annoyed, Saber-Tusk grabs Sailor Moon's own neck with his left hand & holds her in parallel with him, getting on his feet. With his right arm, he thrusts his wristblades forward in an attempt to stab & skewer Sailor Moon at his mercy, but she barely avoids instant death by swinging herself to the right. It was only half-successful: though she was spared a fatal stabbing by the double blades, she still got a rather nasty double cut on her left side, almost as bad as the cut Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere received.

It still hurt Sailor Moon aplenty; blood spewed in thin strips from her wounds, making the burning sensation in her even worse than before. Her facial expressions were easily read by friend & foe alike, & Demonia wanted to see her pain & agony be prolonged a little bit more before she claims her trophy.

"Don't kill her too quickly, Saber-Tusk! I want you to make her suffer horribly as you gut her like a fish!", she says to him.

Given his instructions, Saber-Tusk slams Sailor Moon to the ground on her back, placing his left hand now on her shoulder & his legs pinning hers, keeping her trapped & at his mercy. Sailor Moon tried pushing his hand off, but to no avail—she was pinned but good.

"It begins!", said Saber-Tusk in Demonia's voice, his wristblades still extended. He brings them closer & closer to Sailor Moon's chest as several of her friends call out her name in high desperation as the horror is about to happen.

The tips of the twin blades cut into her chest just below her neck.

Sailor Moon screamed at the top of her lungs when they made contact.

She kept screaming as the tips of Saber-Tusk's twin blades slowly but surely cut through her skin, the weapons as sharp as any doctor's surgical scalpel. While Sailor Saturn & the others can only watch wide-eyed in sheer terror as their Princess gets cut open like a lab animal, the face of Demonia was wide-eyed with excitement & pleasure, seeing her prey hurt, bleeding, & hearing her screams of agony only added to her joy.

Her already wide, sinister smile widened even more.

Sailor Moon felt her warm, fresh blood trickle down her chest as Saber-Tusk continued to cut her. Desperate, she started reaching for her Kaleido Moonscope to hit him with & get him off before the pain intensified. She couldn't find it anywhere from where her hands are; all she had managed to get her hands on was a clump of dirt & grass, squeezing it tight. But it might just be her salvation: with all her might, she flung the dirt & grass into her enemy's face. The sudden attack had left him blinded temporarily; it even forced him to get up & take a step or two back to clear the mess from his eyes. That allowed Sailor Moon to get up herself, albeit not as quickly as her foe, & find her weapon again. Unfortunately, due to blood loss, her vision & stamina were both really messed up, & it seemed to take forever to find her weapon before Saber-Tusk's vision is cleared too soon.

"Look out behind you, Sailor Moon!", shouted Chibi Moon.

Her warning came too late; Saber-Tusk recovered from her blinding attack much sooner than the girls all hoped for, & the clan leader reversed the direction of his blades on his gauntlet & swiped at Sailor Moon in the back, making two bleeding cuts. That attack made her weaker than before, & with no energy to even stand on her own two feet, Sailor Moon dropped to her hands & knees.

"Sailor Moon!", all the captive Sailor Soldiers shouted, seeing her spent & Saber-Tusk coming from behind, clenching his right hand into a fist with a sick, cracking sound. With his left hand, he snatches Sailor Moon by the back of her neck, his whole hand surrounding it, lifting her up to her feet. Even if she was at full strength, there was no chance of her breaking free from his vice-like grip.

It seemed all over for her, & Demonia can see that fact as clear as day.

"Well done, Saber-Tusk! This fight is yours, just as I knew it would!", she praises, being very pleased with the results. She turns to her prey. "Sailor Moon, I must admit, I actually thought that you would be the victor in this fight, but because you lack the nerve & stomach to kill, this fight was a foregone conclusion since it started! And now, it's time to finish this!"

"Stop! Please don't do this!", Sailor Mercury desperately pleaded. "Why are you doing all of this? What has Sailor Moon ever done to you to cause her this suffering?"

Demonia just looked at Mercury & sneered. "It's like I told Sailor Moon before: I am a huntress! Hunting the biggest game is what I do! All I live for is my thrill & love for the hunt! I live for nothing else, & it's the only love I'll ever need or want!"

"Sailor Moon is a living human being with a warm heart & feelings!", Sailor Mars explains to her. "She's not some wild animal that you can hunt down & kill just for the sheer fun of it! You have no right to do this to her whatsoever!"

"Oh, yes I do, young one!"

"You're worse than the Predators!", Sailor Pluto barked. "Have you no dignity or honor? Aren't you ashamed in even the slightest for the way that you live?"

"And why should I be? Nothing makes you feel more alive than the adrenaline of being on a big-game hunt! But enough of this!" Demonia turned her attention from the Sailor Soldiers to the two combatants. "Saber-Tusk, bring me my trophy!"

"It's time to finish this!", the Predator clan leader said in Demonia's voice, switching his blades back in their original position. As he drew his right hand back slowly, the pleads from the captive Sailors grew in intensity.

"No! Don't do it, please!", shouted Sailor Venus.

"Don't kill her, we beg you!", pleaded Chibi Moon.

"Princess!", shouted Sailor Saturn.

"NOOOOO!", Sailor Uranus screamed at the top of her lungs.

All of it was futile: their begs & pleads went ignored by Demonia & the Predators. The only one who can stop Saber-Tusk from slicing Sailor Moon's head off her shoulders was Sailor Moon herself, & she was in no condition to lift her arms, let alone stop her alien foe.

With her last seconds of life approaching, Sailor Moon recalled some memories in her mind in hopes they will get her to forget the oncoming pain of having one's head skewered.

Several come up.

It was earlier that day when she, Haruka, Michiru, & the three felines—Luna, Artemis, & Diana—were having their meal after escaping capture from the Predators. She could recall their words as clear as day.

"You're going to do just fine—believe in yourself, your friends & your loved ones, & there's nothing that you can't accomplish!", Diana said to her.

Artemis added something right afterwards. "She's right, of course. We all confide in you to be successful against our enemies, & any of us would be lying to you if we said we didn't."

Sailor Moon suddenly recalls what she said at around that time of day.

"I just want to let you all know, right now, that you all are here for me, no matter what, always giving me good advice & strength when I need it the most. I honestly do love you all for that."

Her next trip down memory lane is remembering what her lover, Mamoru Chiba, had said to her just before boarding his plane for Hawaii.

"You are a strong girl, even if you may not realize it. And if you should ever need a sudden boost of strength for any reason, just think about me really well; think about just how much I honestly love you."

Those sudden thoughts in her memory gave Sailor Moon a boost of new confidence within her: she really does believe in her friends & herself. They always gave her strength to help her go through the worst times in her life, whether in battle or in heartbreak. Because of them, she feels she can take on the world. Sailor Mars even said herself that she's stronger than she thinks.

With all that confidence they have in & give her, there's no chance in Hell that Sailor Moon will let them down—not now, not ever. If all she has is the strength to think of her friends & loved ones to help her win against the Predators, then that is just what she'll use.

"Mamo-chan. Everyone", she whispers, just as Saber-Tusk's blades swing forward.

The blades shine in the bright moonlight above.

CHAPTER VIII

A bright light shone in the late-night darkness, but it didn't come from Saber-Tusk's twin blades: it came from Sailor Moon's golden tiara from her forehead that shone like a nighttime sun. The sudden flash of light took Saber-Tusk, the other Predators, & Demonia by surprise as each individual covered her/its eyes to shield themselves from the stinging brightness. Saber-Tusk is driven away from his prey & falls to the ground, his eyes seeing only bright flashes. As Demonia & the Predators are all blinded temporarily, Sailor Moon uses the time given to take advantage of the situation.

"Moon Tiara Action!", she calls out,removing her tiara from her forehead & transforms it into a glowing Frisbee & throws it in the direction where her friends are held captive. The two Predators standing guard see the oncoming projectile just in time, & jump out of its path, joining the rest of their clan on the opposite side. Sailor Moon's glowing tiara slices through the glowing chains which hold the other Sailor Soldiers prisoner, going through them with ease. In seconds, the Sailors were no longer binded by chains or even the shackles upon their wrists. The structure shot sparks for a moment before dying out completely, rendering it inert.

"She did it! We're all free!", Chibi Moon says with glee.

"Way to go, Sailor Moon!", said Sailor Mercury.

Their joy was short-lived & converted back to dread when they see their Princess collapse onto her knees, her energy just about spent from her attempt to free the girls. Worse, Saber-Tusk is back on his feet, & while his vision is still on the fritz for now, it won't be long before it becomes restored & finish what he started with Sailor Moon—and she can't even stand!

Something needs to be done to help her, & it needs to be done now.

The Sailor Soldiers could step in & finish off Saber-Tusk themselves, but this is a fight that Sailor Moon herself needs to end on her own. While the Predators are in league with Demonia who has no doubt enslaved them to do her bidding as Sailor Saturn had deduced at the shrine, it wouldn't feel right to interfere in their battle nonetheless.

At least, not directly.

"Everyone, lend Sailor Moon a portion of your strength & power, so that she can continue to battle her opponent!", Sailor Saturn instructs. With a nod of approval, the girls all softly say Sailor Moon's name & their tiaras on their foreheads glow, briefly converting into their planetary symbols. These symbols shoot from their foreheads & travel to Sailor Moon's languored, beaten body, purifying her of her pain & replacing it with fresh new strength, healing all of her cuts & bruises in the process. Sailor Moon feels refreshed & rejuvenated with the lending of her friend's energy, her outer body glowing with a bright, outlining aura. With a mental command, her Kaleido Moonscope is back within her hands.

Round two will soon commence!

Demonia, watching the absurd show of lights from the now-freed Sailor Soldiers, remains unimpressed. "No matter what cheap tricks you may have up your pretty little sleeves, it still won't save you—or Sailor Moon! Saber-Tusk, the hunt is still on & your prey awaits! GO!"

His vision clear of bright flashing lights & working again, the Predator clan leader spots his prey standing defiantly, weapon in hand & glowing all over. Saber-Tusk roars loudly in defiance & rushes at her like a charging rhino, wristblades still extended. Sailor Moon remained in the very spot she stands at, unmoving. She can sense that her friends won't interfere in her fight with the alien hunter, other than giving her an energy boost when she needed it the most. Just because the dreaded space huntress has no honor in her soul, it doesn't mean that Sailor Moon has to follow her example: her friends believe in her. If they didn't, they'd be taking care of Saber-Tusk now, & not her.

That's just how she would want it anyway—Saber-Tusk is her opponent, & she intends to fight him one-on-one with no assistance, other than the quick boost of renewed strength.

Saber-Tusk swiped at Sailor Moon with his blades, but she ducks out of their path & delivers a kick to his side with amazing strength, sending him crashing into the ground. Getting up in a heartbeat, the alien hunter rushes at her again, & is sent flying & slams into the ground once again, as Sailor Moon grabs Saber-Tusk by the arm & flings him over her shoulder in the blink of an eye.

"Saber-Tusk, quit playing games, goddammit, & bring me her head! She's only a child!", the space huntress roared, displeased with the turn of events now going in her enemy's favor.

Bellowing a deafening, defiant roar himself, Saber-Tusk charges at Sailor Moon once more. Running at full speed toward the Soldier of love & justice, the clan leader plans on taking off her head with one lethal swing of his arm.

"She's only a child!", he reiterates in Demonia's voice.

Sailor Moon does not move, nor does she even flinch at her fast approaching adversary.

When he gets within reach, Saber-Tusk swings his blades forward to behead Sailor Moon in one fatal move, but the Sailor Soldier does something which shocks & surprises everybody—she stops the blow cold with her left hand. No one, not the Predators, Demonia, or even the other Sailor Soldiers, could believe what they all just witnessed: Saber-Tusk has more than enough raw power & strength to knock boxing champion Mike Tyson out with one punch, & yet this girl in her teens uses one hand to stop his forceful swing which could've killed her had the blades connected.

I-It can't be!, Demonia thought to herself, disbelieving what she's seeing, even with the solid & indisputable proof right before her eyes.

"Lesson one, you ugly son of a bitch…never underestimate your opponent, even if she is just a child!", Sailor Moon spat at her alien foe, pointing her Kaleido Moonscope at Saber-Tusk's own chest, ready to do what she had done to Rough-Tooth earlier in the day, & this time she won't feel any guilt about wounding him in the slightest, flesh-&-blood creature or not.

Sensing what she's about to do, Saber-Tusk grabs the weapon with his free left hand, but upon contact he gets a burning feeling, the weapon scorching his hand, forcing him to let go & back off, roaring in anguish. While Sailor Moon had planned to wound him in the chest, the current situation gave her another opportunity to defeat the alien hunter. With all her might, she slams into his chest like a football player on defense ramming the running back for a tackle. This maneuver causes both combatants to tumble & crash to the ground. Upon landing, Sailor Moon hits Saber-Tusk's left forearm cuff & the energy aura which surrounded her entire persona fades away, but not before activating one of the alien's devices from it: five sets of red lights flash on a panel, accompanied by a series of beeps that get louder & faster.

It was a sound that chilled the blood of the Sailors, as they were familiar with its function from the briefing earlier at the shrine.

"You stupid bitch!", Demonia shouted, her own blood chilled by the eerie sound of the device, for which she has absolutely no defense for against it. "Your little stunt has caused Saber-Tusk's self-destruct device to be activated! When the last of those red lights upon his panel go out, we'll all be blown to Hell! Because of you, we're dead!"

Sailor Moon vivdly remembers about their semi-nuclear device these creatures carry with them when Haruka & Michiru filled her in about the Predators at her house, since she missed the lesson at Hikawa Shrine the first time (which turned out to be most fortunate then). She didn't expect a misfortune like this to befall on her or the other Sailors either, & now it seems like they all will die.

But not if Sailor Mars has anything to say about it.

"Says you!", she barks.

"Mars…Flame Sniper!", Sailor Mars calls out, summoning her flame bow & arrow of red energy. Taking careful & precise aiming, she fires her arrow directly at Saber-Tusk's forearm cuff, which has now reached the final set of lights on his panel. Mars' shot hits it dead-on, thus causing a blast of bright, white light that fills the immediate area, similar to the light that flashed from Sailor Moon's tiara before. When the flash subsides & dissipates, all the Sailor Soldiers were safely concealed within Sailor Saturn's 'Silence Wall' protective, translucent dome, who had managed to summon her sickle staff in time to activate it, something she couldn't have done when she was shackled & chained before, as the Predator's holding device cancelled out their abilities while enslaved in it. Seeing everyone all present & accounted for, Sailor Saturn cancels out her dome as Demonia re-enters the area after getting her hoverchair in reverse for a swift & speedy retreat. From the spot where Saber-Tusk was only moments ago, there was now only a line of smoke rising skyward.

There was no sign of the Predator clan leader anywhere.

Saber-Tusk was gone. Just…gone.

Even the Sailor Soldiers themselves couldn't believe it at first. They didn't really want to obliterate the alien hunter like that, but there was no choice—if Sailor Mars hadn't cancelled out that self-destruct device, they all would be dead at this very moment.

"Hey! Look at the other Predators!", said Chibi Moon, pointing to where the rest of the alien hunters were. Rough-Tooth & the others were fading in & out of existence, what with their cloaks being heavily damaged during the blast before finally shorting out completely, their left forearm cuffs sparking & smoking. From this moment on, neither Rough-Tooth nor his followers can use or activate their invisibility/cloaking trick, much less their self-destruct devices, & most of their shoulder cannons (for those who still had one) were shot to shit, becoming just as useless.

Demonia was more unhappy & dissatisfied with this turn of events, & she wastes no time in expressing her feelings in her voice. "You filthy bitches! I was thinking of leaving your planet emptyhanded with the Predators, seeing as how Sailor Moon won in the final round, but now that you've committed murder on your behalf, you leave me no choice! If that's the way you wish to play, then so be it!" Demonia points her skull staff at the remaining Predators, all standing on the opposite of where the Sailor Soldiers were. Both the skull's & all the Predator's eyes glowed red in a flash.

That was when Sailor Mars felt the strange aura again, big-time; the same as when she first did on their way to the beach, & later at her shrine.

So Hotaru & Chibi-Usa were right!, Sailor Mars said to herself. The Predators have been corrupted in some way, & Demonia is indirectly responsible for their savage behavior, & her staff is the answer!

"Go, my faithful Predators!", Demonia bellowed. "Bring me all their heads!"

The Sailor Soldiers expected as much: none of them believed that Demonia would ever let any of them go & leave Earth for another trophy elsewhere, even if Sailor Moon had defeated Saber-Tusk one-on-one. The space huntress said it herself—once she has her heart set on something, she won't rest until it's hers.

It was time to make her & the Predators leave.

The alien hunters all removed their metal face masks & dropped them for better sight, free of any unnecessary obstruction of view. Just like Rough-Tooth himself, their eyes were all a solid red color with no pupils which Sailor Mars or any of the girls can see, confirming everything. But before she can be given any chance of explaining it to the rest of her teammates, three of the alien hunters grabbed a razor disc; two had the Frisbee-type, while Rough-Tooth held the one with six curved blades upon it. Sailor Moon, Sailor Uranus, & Sailor Neptune were all too familiar with the functions of their killer discs, as they cut more than just flesh & bone of opponents. And with the latter two's weapons still damaged from their previous encounter, they want to make sure the other Sailor's weapons don't suffer a repeat performance or the same fate as theirs did.

"All of you, take extreme caution of those discs!", Sailor Moon forewarns her friends.

"Sailor Moon's right! Because of the alien metal that they're made of, those discs can cut even our weapons!", Sailor Uranus confirms, the evidence in hers & Neptune's hands.

"Right!", shouted the rest of the Sailor Soldiers, receiving that vital piece of info, except for Sailor Pluto, who readies her Garnet Rod, which she retrieved just before the blast that claimed Saber-Tusk's life, & responds, "Understood!"

Rough-Tooth & the other two Predators with discs throw their deadly projectiles at the girls with deadly accuracy & velocity, but this time the Sailors react even faster.

"Moon Gorgeous Meditation!", Sailor Chibi Moon called out.

"Crescent…Beam!", Sailor Venus called out.

"Supreme…Thunder!", Sailor Jupiter called out.

The girl's attacks all strike at once: a ball of glittering light erupts from Chibi Moon's own Kaleido Moonscope, destroying one of the Frisbee-discs; a yellow beam of pure energy shoots forth from Venus' own index finger & smashes the second round, deadly disc to pieces; a bolt of lightning erupts from the antenna of Jupiter's tiara & fries/melts Rough-Tooth's weapon into a heap of molten, useless metal.

This little setback did not deter or even slow down the Predator's attack. Almost as soon as their discs were destroyed, four more of the alien hunters launched a barrage of their deadly Y-shaped darts at the girls, all racing at them like a swarm of killer bees.

"Shine Aqua…Illusion!", Sailor Mercury called out, unleashing a flow of water from her hands that surrounds the entire armada before turning to ice in the wink of an eye. Covered in frozen water, the projectiles sink to the ground & shatter upon contact, the freezing temperature causing them to go brittle.

"That should help even the odds a bit!", Chibi Moon proclaimed.

"Don't drop your guard, Chibi Moon!", Sailor Moon informs her Sailor daughter. "Weapons or not, they're still very deadly & dangerous opponents!"

"And they're prone to have other nasty surprises waiting in the wings that we may not know of yet!", Sailor Saturn adds. "Stay alert for anything!"

"Got it!", Chibi Moon says,nodding.

"Everyone, listen!", Sailor Mars says in a voice which she hopes only her friends could hear. "Sailor Chibi Moon's & Sailor Saturn's theories from before were correct! Demonia did turn the Predators into soulless savages, & have made them her slaves! The answer is that staff she holds in her hand!"

"How do you know?", asks Sailor Neptune.

"The evil aura I felt twice before today also came from it! I've no doubt that it's the main reason for their unnatural behavior!"

"I get it!", said Sailor Jupiter. "So if we can destroy that staff when Demonia least expects it…"

"That's right! We can end this thing, finally!"

"But we'll need to keep the Predators at bay long enough for us to make our move on her!", Sailor Venus says.

"You & I will handle that chore, Venus!", said Sailor Moon. "You with me?"

"You bet!"

"Sailor Mars & myself will also assist the both of you!", said Sailor Mercury.

Sailor Moon & Venus nod in gratitude.

At that time, three of the Predators take hold of a spear & extend each one to their full length & throw them like javelins, heading straight for the two youngest Sailors, & Sailor Moon herself.

"Mercury…Aqua Rhapsody!", Sailor Mercury calls out, summoning her water-framed harp & plays it, creating multiple streams of H2o that wrap themselves around the creature's spears like wet snakes, throwing them skyward before releasing them. The trio of spears plummet down over Sailor Saturn, who swings her sickle staff once they were in reach, & slices all three dead center, cutting them in half.

The spear halves landed far behind the Sailors, hitting nothing but the grass & dirt.

"Sailor Moon, Mars, Venus…do it!", Saturn tells them.

"Right!", the trio answered in unison.

"Moon Gorgeous Meditation!", Sailor Moon calls out, pointing her Kaleido Moonscope.

"Crescent…Beam!", Sailor Venus calls out, pointing her index finger once again.

"Fire…Soul!", Sailor Mars calls out, putting her hands together, both her index fingers pointing like Venus' own.

Three beams fired at the Predators simultaneously: Sailor Moon fires a sparkling beam of energy from her weapon; Sailor Venus shoots again her yellow beam of energy; Sailor Mars literally fires a thick, powerful stream of flame from her fingers.

The Sailor Soldier's trio of beams fire in parallel at the alien hunters, aiming at their legs & feet. This maneuver causes the Predators to jump up & scatter in all directions. Sailor Mercury rejoins the melee by unleashing more streams of water to knock the creatures while in mid-air. Caught off-guard, the Predators crashed down to Earth like stones. Once grounded, Sailor Jupiter steps in & begins her own attack.

"Jupiter…Oak Evolution!", she calls out, firing a multitude of green energy balls from her tiara antenna, hitting the alien hunters & keeping them at bay, just as she did during their first battle at the beach, but with more intensity.

"You three…do it now!", Jupiter says, addressing Uranus, Neptune, & Pluto.

The Outer Sailors nod as Venus says she'll lead off.

"Venus…Love & Beauty Shock!", she calls out, gesturing a blowing kiss that forms into a yellow heart of pure energy, flinging it forward.

"World…Shaking!", Sailor Uranus calls out, golden energy forming in her hand & strikes the ground with it, sending it forward as a ball with a ring around it.

"Deep…Submerge!", Sailor Neptune calls out, holding her hands up high, creating a ball of turquoise energy & shooting it forward.

"Dead Scream!", Sailor Pluto calls out, pointing her Garnet Rod & firing a ball of purple energy from the top where her Talisman is.

All three of the Outer Sailor's attacks merge & combine with Venus' own, creating a shiny ball of even stronger energy that heads directly for a specific target instead of the Predators.

It was Demonia's skull staff: the dreaded space huntress was momentarily distracted by seeing her Predators going down by the girl's attacks that she was taken off-guard by the shiny projectile heading her way, right for her primary weapon.

She had no time to take evasive action as the combined attack from Venus & the Outer Sailors strikes Demonia's staff dead-on, shining a multitude of colors upon detonation, blinding her for the moment. Jupiter ceases her attack as she & everyone else turns to Demonia to see if their surprise tactic has been successful.

After the flash & brightness vaporizes & disappears, the Sailor Soldiers get the surprise of the night—not only was Demonia unharmed in every way, but her skull staff was still there in one piece with not even the smallest hint of damage made to it. Seeing this shocking turn of events, Sailor Mercury summons her VR goggles by pressing one of her earrings & gets a reading on Demonia's staff. In seconds she discovers astonishingly as to why her staff wasn't destroyed.

"It's no good!", she proclaims. "There's an energy barrier surrounding her entire staff! We didn't even make a dent or a scratch on it!"

"And you never will!", Demonia says. "I had the distinct feeling that sooner or later you all would discover the reason for my control over the Predators! That's why I had my staff immune to your special attacks by the barrier which surrounds it! Even if you combined all your powers & struck my staff, you won't even make the slightest mark on it!"

The Sailor Soldiers stood dumbfounded as Demonia let out a maniacal laugh. They were all devastated: they finally got to the heart of the matter by discovering how Demonia had control over the Predators, & now they learn that they can't even scratch the source, let alone obliterate it.

Drunk by the power she has, Demonia presses her advantage.

"It was a nice try, Sailor Soldiers, but now it's time to claim my prizes! Game Over!"

The eyes on her skull flashing once more, the Predators arise from the ground, their eyes doing the same. In a heartbeat, the alien hunters rush at the still startled Sailors, now catching them off-guard. Before they knew what occurred, the Sailor Soldiers were all grabbed by their necks of their alien foes & held firmly. Each Predator held one Sailor Soldier in their two hands, except for one, who had to grab both Sailor Chibi Moon & Sailor Saturn, holding both in each hand, but was no problem for it: their frail appearance made it simple for the creature to crush their necks & pop their heads off with ease, like a flower.

Like the two youngest Sailors, the girls could get no air in their lungs or their bodies in general, due to the fact that the grip of the Predators were like iron & were cutting off their air supply. With no air entering their systems, the Sailor Soldier's visions began getting dark all over & it was impossible to think clearly because of this, let alone counterattack. As fate would have it, Sailor Moon herself ended up in Rough-Tooth's hands, destined to succeed where his leader Saber-Tusk had failed before. Though her vision was dark like everyone else's, she can still see Rough-Tooth aim his shoulder cannon at her chest. Rough-Tooth was the only Predator, aside from Saber-Tusk himself, whose cannon was still operating, all because when Saber-Tusk's forearm cuff was hit by Sailor Mars' arrow & exploded, Rough-Tooth's cannon was behind him during the blast, with him absorbing & taking the brunt of the blast, while the others had theirs all exposed, getting them damaged & useless.

Even if Rough-Tooth didn't have his cannon, he would still be able to tear Sailor Moon's head off her shoulders with ease, & she knows it. Worse, none of her friends or even her very own daughter can help out of her predicament, for they were all in the sams situation & as helpless as she was.

From the cannon's mouth, blue-white energy lit up.

Seconds later, a shot was fired.

The shot of blue-white energy from the cannon erupted in a flash that will undoubtedly blow a hole in Sailor Moon's chest the size of either a croquet or bowling ball.

The only thing is, Sailor Moon's chest is not what the hot energy ball hits.

It was Demonia's skull staff.

Before she even knew what the hell hit her, the dreaded space huntress' staff was blown to pieces right in her hand, feeling like someone had hit it with a police baton with enough force to make her cry out in anguish. As soon as her staff was destroyed, Rough-Tooth & all the other Predators released the helpless Sailor Soldiers, dropping them like hot potatoes. The alien hunters roar out in great pain & clutch their own heads, feeling as if their brains swelled up & exploded inside them.

Unable to take that much pain in one stride, the Predators stagger back & collapse to the ground, laying down like multiple corpses, their eyes closed.

Sailor Moon & the other Sailors all wonder in a state of confusion as to how they were all able to get free of their enemy's grasp: the Predators had them cold where they stood, & all of a sudden they released them about as soon as they had grabbed them. Why?

Unless of course, someone had destroyed Demonia's staff, only none of them can recall in even the slightest idea of how they came about to doing it, if at all.

Demonia herself was just as baffled, if not as pissed off about it. "You sneaky little whores! How in the hell did you manage to destroy my staff?", she growled.

"We didn't do anything to it, you fucking bitch!", Sailor Jupiter barks back with a scowling look on her face. "Not that we wouldn't have enjoyed the opportunity!"

"What? How dare you!I'll…!"

Demonia's little tirade of anger was cut off by a new voice.

"So that's how you work this damn thing!"

The space huntress & the Sailor Soldiers all turn their attention to the new arrival over to the trees where the voice came from, only to see two new arrivals instead of one. They were both female, with the first dressed in a red tank top & skirt, while the second had on the same kind of outfit, only in blue. They appeared to be the same age as Sailor Moon & the younger Sailors, & have the most bizarre & funkiest hairstyles on any girl. In the hands of the one dressed in red was one of the Predators shoulder cannons—the very same one Saber-Tusk had tossed aside before his mano a mano brawl with Sailor Moon, its mouth still hot & smoking.

The Sailor Soldiers recognized the new arrivals with the utmost glee.

"Beth-Beth! Para-Para! Are we ever so glad to see the two of you!", Chibi Moon exclaims.

"And how! You both really pulled our fat out of the fire!", Sailor Mars adds.

Para-Para nods happily. "Para-Para likes to help out her friends whenever she can! It makes me happy to see we were able to do so in time for you!"

"We're grateful that you're both here, but how did you manage to find us?", asked Sailor Venus.

The two Amazoness Quartet girls approach the Sailors with Beth-Beth holding the shoulder cannon aimed at Demonia as she starts to explain. "After Usagi left the hospital, we became most worried about how she & the rest of you were going to deal with the Predators, so Para-Para & I decided to join you at the shrine. When we saw that no one was there, we then went to Usagi's house, only to find your three cat friends—Luna, Artemis, & Diana. They told us about what the situation was, as well as a quick lowdown on the Predators—their weapons, abilities, etc.. Armed with that knowledge, we set out to find you all in this forest, but we got lost too easily. We got a lucky break when we saw that bright flash of white light not too long ago, & the rest you know."

"Smart thinking, you little kittens", Sailor Uranus praises them with a warm smile.

Beth-Beth & Para-Para return the gesture.

"You rotten little scamps!", a shocked & angry Demonia spat. "How did you know that weapon would destroy my staff like that?"

Beth-Beth turned to the space huntress. "It should be obvious, even to someone like you: you explained that your staff was completely impervious to any & all of the Sailor Soldier's attacks. However, I assumed that same rule didn't apply to any of the Predator's own weaponry! I'll bet you never thought about that, did you?"

No. Demonia never did think about making her skull staff impervious to the Predator's weapons, mainly because she believed she had complete control over them once she made them her slaves back on that prehistoric planet. While that little fact may have been true, she had never deduced that anyone would figure on using the creature's weapons against her staff & destroy it with a single shot. Demonia got too overconfident in her task of claiming Sailor Moon's head, she was too blind to see that possible outcome, & now she's lost control over the Predators.

"Like Uranus just told you, that was smart thinking on your part", Sailor Neptune praises.

"Of course!", says Sailor Mercury. "That's why Demonia put distance between her & the blast from before. She knew it would've heavily damaged or even destroyed her staff if she was too close to it!"

"And using the Predator's own cannon on it confirmed that little fact!", Sailor Moon concludes.

Being made a fool of, Demonia plans to take her fustrations out on the new arrivals for daring to interfere with her progress.

"Feisty little shits, I'll teach you to meddle in my affairs…huh?"

Before Demonia or anyone could do anything, everyone turned to the chorus of inhuman grunts & groans. Rough-Tooth & the other eight Predators were all rising sluggishly to their own feet, each one surveying their surroundings. None of them recognize the area they were in, as their last memory just before blacking out was being in a place with hotter temperature, & seeing a bipedal carnivorous reptile with horns on its elongated skull, killing & feasting on an unlucky herbivore in the high & bright sunshine, not the evening with a full moon out. All they do see is a white-skinned female in a hoverchair, two weird-hairstyled girls (Beth-Beth wisely hides the shoulder cannon behind her back, so as not to agitate the creatures in their current state), & ten female humans in sailor outfits with different colored mini-skirts. Rough-Tooth & his clan have no idea where they are right now, let alone how they even arrived here.

On top of it all, none of the Predators know how their equipment got destroyed, or even where their leader, Saber-Tusk, is.

"What's wrong with the Predators?", wondered Sailor Moon. "They look all confused, like they don't even know they're on Earth."

"I don't think they do", Sailor Mercury explains. "For the whole time Demonia had them under her spell, their free wills were in a dormant state. While they saw what was happening, their minds could not acknowledge it. Finally, when her spell over them was broken, all traces of what they did had disappeared somewhere."

"Was it somewhere in the back of their minds, perhaps?", asked Sailor Chibi Moon.

"With the kind of spell Demonia had over them, it's hard to say."

The Sailor Soldiers & two Quartet youngsters sigh in despair.

But Demonia can guess what she'll do to continue her quest in getting Sailor Moon's head for her final prize, & the Predator's current, confused state will help turn this temporary setback into another full-blown, no-holds-barred confrontation against the Sailor Soldiers & Predators. All she needs to do is exploit the situation in her favor, & she knows just how to do it.

"Predators, these girls before you are your enemies! They have dared to attack you & have even wounded…hmph!"

Demonia's sentence was abruptly cut off when Sailor Jupiter grabs a large clump of grass & dirt, & throws it forcefully into the huntress' face, silencing her before she can say any more.

"You shut the hell up, bitch!", the brawny Sailor snaps angrily. "Say anything else to the Predators, & I'll break your jaw & both of your arms, you understand?"

Rough-Tooth & his clan were more confused than ever; not only do they not know where they are, they don't know who to side with—the white-skinned crippled woman or the girls in the sailor outfits. All they do know is that someone has messed with & screwed them over terribly, & they're fixing to make somebody pay for their tomfoolery with them. The Sailor Soldiers can sense their mounting anger within, & unless they do something, the Predators will attack them & Demonia, with everyone ending up as a trophy.

Rough-Tooth starts to growl lowly & angrily, rising slowly, until Sailor Saturn begins to glow & shine all over, similar to when Sailor Moon had when the girls each lend her a portion of their power to her in order to heal/rejuvenate her for her battle with Saber-Tusk. Her sickle staff in hand, Sailor Saturn makes eye contact with the alien hunters as they do the same, being both curious & wondering.

"Predators, please understand that we are not your enemies", she begins. "Yes, your clan & mine did battle each other on this day, but only because you were all forced to do so against your own free will. Please allow me to probe & search your subconscious minds. If you permit me to do this, I'm fairly sure you will all discover who your real enemy in this confrontation is. Will you grant me your permission?"

Hearing the sincerity & honesty in Saturn's reassuring voice, the Predators all turn to their second-in-command for a final answer.

"…do so…", says Rough-Tooth, reciting Saturn's words & in her voice.

That said, Sailor Saturn begins her mind probe of the Predators, having them surrounded by the glowing aura as well.

Demonia does not approve of the Sailor Soldier's latest tactic; if this child actually can probe the alien hunter's minds, they'll discover the truth & turn against her in a heartbeat.

She cannot allow that to happen.

That little wench!, Demonia thought. If she thinks she can turn the tide against me, she's got another thing…what? What is…happening?

Unfortunately for Demonia, she isn't given a chance to do anything to prevent the search of the subconscious mind, for she herself was being surrounded by the aura, keeping her at both at bay & immobile.

I…can't…move!, she angrily says to herself, helpless against Saturn's mind probe, as the huntress' own mind is being searched along with those of the Predators. What's more, all their minds are, for the time being, fused into one, enabling Sailor Saturn, Demonia, & the Predators to see everyone's thoughts all at once.

Frozen like a statue, the dreaded space huntress can do nothing but watch as images unfold in her mind like watching a mental film or show, revealing to her, Saturn, & the Predators all the day's events.

The air was hot & very humid on the prehistoric world. A bipedal carnivorous reptile which highly resembles the Velociraptor from Earth's Mesozoic era, with two elongated horns on the top of its head just above its eyes & a shorter one on its snout, was feasting on a herbivorous quadraped as Saber-Tusk gives the order to one of his underlings to take the shot from its cannon mounted on its shoulder when all members of his hunting party were suddenly bombarded by tentacles of crimson red energy that seemingly came out of nowhere, engulfing them & slipping into unconsciousness.

Demonia, skull staff in hand & confined to her hoverchair, laughs & smiles wickedly as she continues her surprise attack on Saber-Tusk & his clan.

"Do not resist, my alien hunters!", she demands. "You near-dozen Predators are now mine to command, & you will serve only me! You will aid me for one final hunt of my career!"

Demonia ceases the bolts of snaking red energy that surrounds the Predators. "Now rise, & swear your loyalty to me!", she instructs. All the Predators rose as one, & similar to a soldier in the Army, the alien hunters saluted Demonia by placing a fisted arm across their chests, releasing a soft grunt of respect.

Satisfied beyond belief, Demonia laughs triumphantly. "Excellent! Now come, my slaves! We shall depart for Earth immediately, where my trophy awaits!"

With no choice but to obey, the Predators & Demonia all board their spacecraft.

What came next was a recap of the day's events since their arrival on planet Earth: the pursuit & decapitation of crime lord Tetsuya Kobayashi in the forest; the attack on the beach as the Predators were made to kill innocent & defenseless bystanders to their first forced battle with Sailor Moon & the other Sailor Soldiers; Rough-Tooth making a surprise 'visit' at Hikawa Shrine after he & the other Predators discover the Sailors' real identities, along with ambushing Usagi in Tokyo until Haruka & Michiru rescued her in the former's red convertible; their assault on Sailor Moon, Sailor Uranus, & Sailor Neptune in the forest from the wide dirt road to their plunge in the river to their ambush at both the shack & at another vehicle-driven road, where the trio was captured; finally, images of Sailor Moon & Saber-Tusk's one-on-one to an all-out brawl between the Sailor Soldiers & the Predators before the latter group felt the sudden surge of pain which slipped them into brief unconsciousness.

Sailor Saturn ceases her mind probing when the image goes from bright white to pitch dark & releases her hold on Demonia & the Predators, the glowing aura dissipating completely. While the space huntress needed a few moments to recover from the experience of having her mind & memories scanned, the alien hunters were all fully alert, acting like it never even happened.

But will they still see the Sailor Soldiers as their enemies?

That's the million dollar question on the girl's minds right now.

Turning to Sailor Moon, Rough-Tooth casually walks up to her, stopping just two feet away. None of the Sailors know what he or the other Predators will do at this point, so they remain fully alert, ready to spring into action at the first sign of aggression. Looking at the champions of love & justice, Rough-Tooth addresses them all.

"Please understand that we are not your enemies", he says in Sailor Saturn's voice.

This bit of reassurance puts the Sailor Soldiers at ease, knowing they now have nine fewer enemies to worry about; they even smile & nod in thanks at the alien hunters.

"What a relief! They know the truth now!", said Sailor Chibi Moon.

"Yes! With Demonia's spell over them broken, the Predator's ethics have returned back to normal!", said Sailor Mercury.

"T-This can't be!", quibbles Demonia in a panic-stricken voice, unbelieving at the turn of events unfolding, her brilliant plans falling down like a deck of cards before her.

Both teams of the Sailor Soldiers & the Predators turn to face the dreaded space huntress with eyes of total contempt.

"But it is!", said Sailor Moon. "We Sailor Soldiers have a love for & believe in one another that can overcome anything, including your love for a stupid hunt, which is why you lose today!"

"That's right!", adds Sailor Mercury. "If you have a love for only one thing in life, it will only make you cold & selfish, which is just what you've become, due to your obsession of that lone vocation! To have friends who'll be there for you no matter what is what true love is mainly all about, & sometimes it can mean so much more than that!"

"But then, someone like yourself could never really understand that, being the callous & cold-hearted bitch that you are!", said Beth-Beth.

"…real enemy…", said one of the Predators in Sailor Saturn's voice.

"…you lose today!", said another Predator in Sailor Moon's voice.

"You filthy, cold-hearted bitch!", said Rough-Tooth, also in Sailor Moon's voice.

Both teams now take casual strides toward Demonia, her heart pounding in her chest. Beth-Beth & Para-Para join the foray, wanting a piece of the huntress themselves for what happened to Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere, even though it was the alien hunters who caused their condition. Armed with Saber-Tusk's shoulder cannon, the two Amazoness Quartet members were ready to give some serious payback to the huntress bitch.

With their weapons fully repaired during Sailor Saturn's mind probe, Sailor Uranus & Sailor Neptune were equally determined to exact vengeance of their own upon her.

"It looks as though the shoe's now on the other foot, doesn't it?", quips Sailor Venus.

"Let's see how you like being hunted like a poor, defenseless animal!", says Sailor Pluto.

"You're going to pay dearly for causing all those innocent deaths at the beach, along with all the trouble you've given us today!", said Sailor Mars.

Demonia's heart kept palpitating rapidly from the tables being turned on her, having both teams—one human, the other alien—advancing toward her, but despite her predicament, the space huntress refuses to give in to them, let alone let them unleash their vengeance on her. Scowling her eyes, Demonia grinds her vampiric teeth in a fearsome snarl.

"You all think you've got me where you want me, do you?", she growls. "Think again! Just because I'm crippled & confined to this hoverchair doesn't mean I'm anywhere near helpless!" The dreaded space huntress spreads her arms wide out to her sides, then positions them in a 'V' pose forward, aiming at both the Sailors & Predators.

"Let me show you what I mean!", she shouts.

Rough-Tooth was the first to extend his wristblades, but he was the only one to do so, & it was as far as he could get: in the blink of an eye, streams of crackling black energy shot out from Demonia's palms & fingers, engulfing her approaching assailants, all of whom were taken by surprise completely by her new method of attack. Both groups of fighters shout out in pain as everyone felt the intense heat & power of Demonia's black rays, which also included Beth-Beth & Para-Para themselves, who never got even the slightest chance to use the shoulder cannon: it short-circuited seconds after the beams hit it, rendering it useless.

The space huntress momentarily let up on her attack, seeing the Sailor Soldiers & Predators crash to the ground, receiving some black-&-blue marks on their skins in places. The sudden & savage attack took a portion of the fight out of the warriors; none from either team was able to strike back at her.

"Surprised?", Demonia quips. "I was when I discovered during my teens that I had been born with this kind of power in my possession! I seldomly ever use it during my hunts, as I much rather prefer to kill my prey with my own two hands, but it still didn't mean I was above using it for dire purposes such as now! No prey of mine gets the best of me & lives—none!"

Demonia then continued her assault on the two teams, hurting her combatants just slightly more than she did before. The cries of pain went higher this time, with neither warrior—human or alien—able to strike at her & discontinue the anguish they're experiencing.

She suddenly halts her attack again, wanting to both see her enemies grovel on the ground & ready herself for one more strike, ensuring no one will survive it. The Sailor Soldiers & the Predators all remain on their hands & knees, groaning & breathing heavily from the injuries inflicted upon them. While she wasn't smiling, Demonia was enjoying the situation, satisfied in seeing them helpless before her.

Here comes the killing blow!, she says to herself through gritted teeth.

"And now…all of you…DIE!", she says out softly, her voice screaming at the end.

This time, Demonia unleashes the full intensity of her black rays. The screams of pain were now louder than they had been before, as everyone's blood, human & not, felt like they were all simmering in a giant pot of boiling hot water. Demonia intends to roast them all to death, then claim each one of their heads. She felt a little empathy for the Predators, having helped her nearly accomplish her primary goal of obtaining Sailor Moon's head, but if they're going to be a bother instead of an asset to her, then they can & will share the same fate as the Sailor Soldiers.

None of the Sailors or Predators can tell how much longer any of them can hold out against Demonia's rays: cuts on Sailor Uranus she received from one of the alien hunter's nets that have dried into scabs began bleeding anew, as did Rough-Tooth's chest wound from Sailor Moon's attack on him at the beach. Sailor Moon saw Chibi Moon—her daughter—suffering just a few feet away, but it felt like miles between them. Even reaching out to each other, they were at a very far distance away, with no hope of being reunited before their deaths.

But just when the Sailor Soldiers & Predators feel like they couldn't hold out any further during the volley of deadly beams, something amazing happened.

They stopped all at once, almost as soon as the assault started.

The reason for Demonia's cease-fire was from the sudden stabbing pain coming from her back. Everyone & everything became quiet for a moment, but was shattered when the dreaded space huntress yelled out in pain herself as a pair of long, sharp, jagged blades entered through the back of her hoverchair with ease & through Demonia herself, the blades erupting out from her chest, spewing blood from her wounds & mouth, being lifted up by an unseen force.

It took them a little time to recouperate from Demonia's third assault upon them, but the Sailor Soldiers & Predators were able to look up & see the reason for the huntress' sudden cease-fire, & what—or who—had caused it.

Neither team could believe just who it was.

It was Saber-Tusk!

Apparently, the actual leader of this Predator clan wasn't killed in the blast from before: the force of it just sent him flying into the forest, out of sight & down for the count. The Sailors all assume that when Sailor Saturn did her mind probe on Rough-Tooth & the others, it must've also reached Saber-Tusk's mind as well, even if he wasn't present or conscious at the time. In all, he knows the truth himself, & is no less pissed about it as anyone else in his clan.

In fact, he was even more so!

The Sailor Soldiers & Predators know what's in store for Demonia, & while the latter group are eager to see the huntress get her just punishment, the former team would rather pass. But not having much choice, Sailor Jupiter & Sailor Venus can at least spare the hideous fate of the space huntress by getting in front of Sailor Chibi Moon & Sailor Saturn: while they are Sailor Soldiers like the rest, Chibi-Usa & Hotaru Tomoe are still just children in body & soul, & seeing a hideous decapitation, even for an enemy, is something the two can go without seeing if it can be helped.

That also went for Sailor Moon herself, as she's seen enough brutal & bloody violence for one day, or even a lifetime: no need to expose the Princess to it any more than necessary.

Sailor Uranus covers her eyes with her hand. "Don't look, Princess! What comes next isn't going to be pretty!", she whispers in her ear.

Blood still squirted from the punctures of Saber-Tusk's twin blades in Demonia's chest, still embedded within her. Two thin streams of the red bodily fluid ran down the sides of her mouth, as she was dangling from the creature's weapons, her arms & legs hanging limp, her feet not even touching her hoverchair. With what little strength she had left, Demonia slowly turned her head to see the clan leader staring back at her, his face as mean as a bulldog's: this madwoman abducted him & his clan from a very important hunt in their lives & enslaved them, just so she can receive a trophy of her own. Worse, she made his clan attack & slaughter weak, helpless humans—a total violation & forbidden ethic of Predator hunting skills—to achieve her goal.

If that's not reason enough to tear her head off, the clan leader doesn't know what is.

"Sa…ber…Tusk?", Demonia said in a weak & gargled voice, looking at the very-much alive alien hunter.

"Game Over!", he said in her voice.

Demonia's eyes went their widest, & with the last of her swiftly dwindling strength, let out a blood-curdling scream that lasted for two-three seconds until it was replaced by a wet, sickening crunch of flesh, bone, & blood as Saber-Tusk tore her head off with his blades, thrusting them up as he removes her head & spinal column with ease. Demonia's headless/lifeless body slumped back onto her hoverchair like a rag doll, splattered in her own blood, her rib cage exposed from the rear for all to see.

Saber-Tusk then held his prize up high in the air for his clan to behold. Thich, fresh blood ran & dripped from the open mouth & spinal cord of his newfound trophy. He let out a victory roar, as did Rough-Tooth & the rest of their clan, having defeated the real enemy of this fiasco.

The Sailor Soldiers observe the horrific scenario with wide eyes & unsteady nerves. Never have they experienced a sight such as that in their entire lives, let alone at that close a distance. None of them could've turned away, for the sight, as terrible as it was, somehow hypnotized them. What's even more frightening about it is that any one of them could've ended up the same way as Demonia did, & they all knew it like they knew their own names.

Even Beth-Beth & Para-Para, who witnessed this eerie beheading, knew it to be true, & while they had the utmost hate for Demonia, they had to have at least a pinch of sorrow as well.

"What a gruesome fate—even for her", Beth-Beth softly says. Para-Para nods in agreement.

Compared to this, Zirconia would've won a beauty pageant.

But the scariest fact about this whole thing was that Sailor Moon could've easily ended up like Demonia, for it was her primarily who had been targeted by this psycho-woman to begin with; if not for her friends & the belief she has in them (& in herself), Sailor Moon's head would now be in the grip of Saber-Tusk instead of Demonia's.

"Sailor Moon!", Chibi Moon cried, going through the crowd, unable to be away from her mother any longer in their situation, tears forming in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her just after Sailor Uranus removed her hand from their Princess' eyes & stepped away as Sailor Moon did the same to her daughter, tears coming from her eyes also.

"Chibi Moon", she softly says, caressing the top of her head as the younger Sailor buries hers in her mother's chest, crying, knowing that had Sailor Moon been killed, Chibi Moon would have faded out of existence like Artemis explained earlier that evening.

"Are you all right?", asked Chibi Moon, her face stained with tears.

"Yes, I am", Sailor Moon answered back.

"I'm glad", Chibi Moon concluded.

It was a terrible ordeal that happened on what should've been the happiest of days, one that the most noble, sweet, & kindhearted person the girls ever knew almost lost her life to a bunch of alien hunters under the control of a madwoman who wanted to claim her head for a retirement trophy, & all on the day of her birthday no less. Neither mother nor daughter—much less any of the rest of the Sailors, or even Beth-Beth & Para-Para—would ever be able to forget this day for as long as any of them lived.

But now it was over. All over.

Well, almost all over.

"Saber-Tusk!", said Sailor Pluto, announcing the Predator clan leader heading their way. The Sailors all got alert in a snap, but Sailor Moon gestured with her hand not to make any sudden moves toward him. Then it hit them: Sailor Mercury explained before that when Demonia's grip on the Predators was released, all their ethic behavior returned to normal, & that also had to mean that their code of honor was there once more. So in a manner of speaking, perhaps Saber-Tusk means to salute the girls up close & personal. Grabbing his cape & face mask, Saber-Tusk puts on the former, holding the latter in his left hand, cradling it. The cape for the most part hides the head of Demonia, which hangs from his belt on his right side.

"Sailor Moon!", he says in Demonia's voice, stopping & kneeling down before her, Chibi Moon at her side & everyone else right behind her. No one did anything to upset him, even if the possibility was most unlikely that he would. All Saber-Tusk did was look at Sailor Moon as if admiring her, & he was: during the mind probe, Saber-Tusk saw how valiantly the champion of love & justice fought him in their forced battle, never giving up even when she was in the thick of things. She even defeated him at the end, just before the one called Sailor Mars shot his forearm cuff & blew him away from the rest. While she did get a boost of strength from her friends to assist her in his defeat, Saber-Tusk can overlook that part, for she used her own courage to defeat him in hand-to-hand combat.

She may be a child, sure, but she's a child with heart, courage, & spirit.

That's more than enough for Saber-Tusk to praise her.

Digging into his pouch on his left side, the Predator clan leader takes out what appears to be a golden necklace consisting of mini skulls that resembled the Compsognathus, the smallest known species of dinosaur, with small pointed bumps upon the foreheads & snouts, probably an ancestor of the horned Velociraptor from the world he & his clan were abducted from. The thing opened up in the center like an overgrown bracelet, & shined in the moonlight.

Sailor Moon is in awe at its beauty.

"It's very pretty! Is that for me?", she wonders.

Saber-Tusk nods & places it around her neck, snapping it shut, being as gentle as he could. Sailor Chibi Moon & the others stare at their Princess' new piece of jewelry in astonishment. It amazes the girls that such vicious (& butt-ugly) hunters from the stars could have such beautiful treasures in their possession as prizes for those lucky enough to defeat them in battle, just like detective Mike Harrigan of the L.A.P.D. in California did back in '97.

Saber-Tusk then puts his metal face mask back on & rises to his feet, but takes another moment or two to look at Sailor Moon one last time, being somewhat fascinated by this female individual for some reason. When he was done, he gives his underlings a gesture with his hand & a grunt of command. The other Predators nod & begin collecting every piece of equipment & weaponry that wasn't totally destroyed during their battle with the Sailor Soldiers, from the spears that Sailor Saturn sliced in half to their face masks they took off. Beth-Beth kindly handed over Saber-Tusk's own shoulder cannon, who gently took it from her hands, nodding.

Only Rough-Tooth would be without his face mask, which was no doubt still at Hikawa Shrine or in one of the houses of the girls. He had no time to look for it: he wanted to head back out to the stars as soon as possible. Even if he did, he probably would've let them keep the thing as a momento/trophy, much in the same manner as Sailor Moon's dinosaur necklace.

Whatever the reason, he's leaving the planet without it.

The last thing the Predators take with them before disappearing into the forest is both the hoverchair & Demonia's headless body. Other than the Sailors, there's no need for anyone to discover that the dreaded space huntress was ever here on Earth. Whether the same can be said for the Predators or not, what with the slaughter at the beach, remains to be seen. While it's tragic to have those people killed for reasons known only to them, there's nothing they can do about it, at least not without telling them about the Predator's existence to the public, something none of them are ever ready to do, for fear of mass panic worldwide. All they can do is mourn for those lost, & that God himself will take good care of them upstairs.

Sailor Moon started to go after them, but Sailor Mercury placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't, Sailor Moon. Let them go", pleaded the latter Sailor.

"But…"

Mercury gently shook her head. "I know how you feel, but even though we helped them to discover the truth, & in return they assisted us in defeating Demonia in the end, even you has to realize this one fact: the Predators can never be friends with the human race. It's not in their nature to do so."

As always, Sailor Mercury makes a vivid point. While the Predators have their ethics like most hunters (the hunter's code of honor, primarily), along with great respect for their prey if they are successful in defeating one in actual combat, there's no chance in Hell for them & humanity to peacefully co-exist with one another. The Predators cannot have the luxury of friends, play fun games, or even experiencing the joys of falling in love like human beings can & do with their lives.

No. Like Demonia herself, their lives are totally devoted to hunting big, dangerous, & worthy prey; nothing else in their lives matters but for that. That's the only thing they had in common with the dreaded space huntress—Demonia didn't possess the code of honor they have, & her respect (if she even had it to begin with) was more or less non-existent. Although the Predators enjoy & thrive on a good hunt, they do not take lightly or kindly to being forced against their own free will to do someone's hunt for them, much less being anybody's obedient slaves, which is what Demonia had made them into. When one thinks about it, the Predators were as much victims in this whole thing as the Sailor Soldiers or even those killed at the beach were. Sure, it was a rare occasion, but today's events proved that it can happen to them. That fact alone was all the proof the Predators needed not to cause any more mischief this day, or even remain on the planet.

With that evidence crammed in her mind, Sailor Moon didn't even try to pursue the alien hunters: she learns you can't befriend all kinds of life from other worlds, even if they show only the slightest sign of leniency at certain times.

A low humming caught the ears of the Sailors, followed by bright lights shining overhead them as a large object rose from the grove of trees below it. It was the ship that was dispatched from the larger craft which still orbited near the planet, undetected by the Tanaka station. This ship was simply a smaller variation, being a very dark gray rather than white in color, no doubt to help with its stealthy approaches, especially at night. It still possessed its cloaking ability, which was used when it landed in its secure hiding place within the trees, easily blending in with its surroundings. The ship was still something to behold to the human eye, which hardly made any kind of sound at all, sans the humming: probably another factor to keep from alerting their prey in advance. It began rising to the sky higher & higher like a giant helium balloon cut from its string.

Another flash of light, & the craft rose faster & higher until it became nothing more than just another twinkle in the sky, like the many stars that filled the clear, moonlit night.

The Sailor Soldiers watched this amazing phenomenon, their gazes remaining up, each with different thoughts going through their bewildered minds.

"How ironic", stated Sailor Mars. "Demonia fought long & hard to get her hands on one final trophy, & in the end, she became that very thing."

"Demonia wanted it so bad, she never even considered the alternative to her hunt", Sailor Jupiter says. "Her blindness to that factor is basically what caused her undoing, & why she ended up the way that she did."

"That's right. Any hunt can go from good to bad in a second when you least expect it, & when it does, you need to be ready for it", said Sailor Uranus.

"If you don't, the alternative can be deadly, something Demonia learned the hard way this night", Sailor Neptune added.

"Like the old saying goes, 'Be careful what you wish for…'", Sailor Venus began saying as Sailor Pluto finishes for her. "'…you might just get it'."

"Or even, in Demonia's case, as Sailor Mars stated, become it", Sailor Saturn says.

No one could've said it better, & never before has it been more true than tonight. Sailor Mars was right: it was ironic. The Sailor Soldiers, including Sailor Moon, have sworn to go & make Demonia pay for all the trouble & torment she had put them through, & in the end, she had received the ultimate payback by the very creatures she forced to help her.

Life doesn't get more ironic than that.

"Usagi?", Chibi Moon says to Sailor Moon, her own thoughts now elsewhere.

"Yes?", she says back.

"That necklace Saber-Tusk gave you looks really good on your person."

Sailor Moon puts her hand to where her necklace is & smiles. "You think so?"

Chibi Moon nods. "Yes. I'm sure Mamo-chan will also agree, once he sees it."

"Thank you, Chibi-Usa. I'm sure he will,too."

Both Tsukinos share a soft laugh of joy & resume looking at the stars with the rest of the girls, realizing the Predator's craft is undoubtedly long gone from Earth, probably heading off back to their homeworld, or to the planet to where they were before all the trouble started & pick up where they left off.

Whatever route the alien hunters take, they were no longer a menace to anyone on Earth.

That included the Sailor Soldiers & Amazoness Quartet themselves.

There was nothing else for them to do but head back to Tokyo, to friends & loved ones.

Head back home.

EPILOGUE

Between the time the girls headed back to Tokyo & now, quite a number of things have taken place. The first of which was the fact that Usagi's family has returned with very good news to bestow on her & Chibi-Usa's ears: the relatives of their mother Ikuko & father Kenji who reside in Osaka have each received a clean bill of health, noting their conditions weren't that serious after all, what with Kenji's cousin being diagnosed with a slight case of pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lungs, & Ikuko's niece needing a kidney transplant. In both cases, doctors were able to cool down the lungs of Kenji's cousin, & Ikuko's niece survived the operation with flying colors. They need to stay in the hospital for another day or two to recouperate, but that is a mere walk in the park for everybody. Satisfied with the news, they headed home a day earlier than planned, with Shingo returning from his friend's house the next day.

The same can also be said for Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere. The day after the girls returned to Tokyo, Beth-Beth & Para-Para went to see their two friends at Juban General. They were told by doctors that their friends made excellent progress, despite how serious their wounds were the day they had arrived. From there, Beth-Beth recited the rest of the battle between the Sailors & the Predators, & how she & Para-Para helped turn the tide of it. This bit of news was only made even more joyous by the fact that Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere will be discharged from the hospital shortly.

But perhaps the happiest piece of news of all was reserved for Usagi herself, when Mamoru Chiba had returned from his trip to Hawaii only two days after her birthday, welcoming each other with open arms & passionate kisses. Chibi-Usa joined the foray in welcoming him back to Japan's capital city, cuddling up to him as any daughter would to her father, even a future one. A usually jealous Usagi would normally cause a ruckus for getting a little too close & cuddly with her lover, but considering what they'd both gone through with Demonia & the Predators which turned a happy day into a horror show, Usagi will let it slide, for she needed her future daughter to be with her future father: both Tsukinos almost lost their lives during that ordeal, & the need for them to be with Mamoru was a dire necessity.

Upon returning home, Mamoru couldn't help but notice the golden, dinosaur-skull necklace around Usagi's neck, given to her by Saber-Tusk. When asked how she got such a beautiful but unusual piece of jewelry, Usagi only answered by saying he would have to go to this year's Juban Festival, which will have a fireworks display.

Anyone else would've suspected their sweetheart of seeing someone else while they were away on business, but Usagi isn't just 'anyone else'. Mamoru knows that her heart belongs to him & him alone. But it'll be interesting to learn where she got the thing, though.

With no other options, he agrees to go to the festival.

It was now July 4th, the day of the festival. The horrendous heat wave which nearly roasted the citizens of Japan in most places with its 100-degree heat has finally subsided. During daylight hours, the temperature got to at least a comfortable 80-81 degrees, the expected normal of the day. At night, which it is now, the temperature reached no more than 72 degrees; they were two highs in which the citizens couldn't even begin to bitch about.

At this event, everyone—man, woman, & child—wore a kimono robe, such is the tradition of attending to it. All sorts of games of skills like trying to nab your own goldfish from a small tank of water to knocking down bottles set up like vertical bowling pins were only a handful of the numerous activities one can participate in. In a huge gesture of the utmost respect, this year's event was dedicated to those who were killed/wounded at the beach on June 30th, only four days previous. While families & friends were still mourning over the loss of their loved ones on that day, they were touched beyond words by the sympathy they received, & have gladly joined in on the festivities to have a good time in their memories.

Usagi, her boyfriend, daughter, & friends all attended the festival, enjoying the activities & delicious food (Usagi's favorite part, natch!) that was in store all around. But what they really came for was the fireworks display, which was due to take place at any moment now.

Sitting at a clearing, Usagi's family were at a different spot from her & the others. Seeing as how their two daughters enjoy the company of their friends very much, they couldn't refuse, so they decided to give them their privacy. What came as an extra surprise for the girls was the arrival of the Amazoness Quartet, with Beth-Beth & Para-Para escorting Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere around in wheelchairs, as they weren't strong enough yet to be back on their own two feet.

It didn't deter them from enjoying their company, though.

It only enhanced it.

"This is quite a surprise, seeing you two out here with us tonight!", Ami notes of the two wheelchair-bound Quartet members.

"I'll say. We really didn't expect either of you to be out of the hospital this soon, what with the terrible injuries you received", Makoto points out.

"Neither did the doctors themselves", said Jun-Jun. "For reasons they couldn't explain, our injuries healed almost miraculously. Seeing our condition improve, they gladly granted us an early discharge."

"And you're still in those wheelchairs?", asked Minako.

"They didn't want us taking any unnecessary risks for the time being", explained Sere-Sere." The doctors had requested we remain in them for at least a month. We do that, & you'll be seeing us back on our feet in no time."

"I'm sure it's nothing the two of you can't handle, am I right?", asked Setsuna.

Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere nodded happily.

"Of course it isn't, Setsuna-mama", said Hotaru, sitting alongside Chibi-Usa. "These four girls are much stronger than they look in appearance. Their real strength showed when they had risked their own lives against the Predators to help Usagi & the others in their time of need."

"Speaking of whom", says Beth-Beth matter-of-factly, "it was her who convinced us to be strong & believe that our two friends will get better, & here's the bonafide proof."

"Para-Para is grateful to her for giving us that strength when we needed it the most", said the ball-rider. "For a time, we didn't think they'd make it, but her words changed that. She herself is much stronger than her appearance shows."

"Truthfully, I myself felt the same way you did", noted Chibi-Usa. "It's such a relief beyond words to see you both still with us, & that you're a quartet once again!"

"Hey, we couldn't think of letting any of you down, could we?", quoted Sere-Sere.

Everyone smiled happily as Beth-Beth & Jun-Jun looked at Usagi, who was about seven yards away from them with Mamoru at her side, each practically thinking the same thing.

Thank you, Usagi., they both say to themselves, instinctively knowing she had a big hand in Jun-Jun & Sere-Sere's miraculous recovery.

They were right to trust them: during the time when the Sailor Soldiers were offering Sailor Moon a portion of their strength to her so she could continue her fight with Saber-Tusk, Sailor Moon had transferred a portion of that strength over to the hospitalized Quartet members, healing up the most severe points of their conditions, keeping them out of Code Blue/ICU. While Jun-Jun & Beth-Beth first deduced this little miracle on their own, the others also suspected the same thing with her, & were just as grateful.

In their own thoughts, they mentally thanked Usagi just as well.

"With everyone present tonight, we can all really enjoy the fireworks display", said Jun-Jun.

"Sure, if they ever show up, that is!", Rei said sarcastically. "They're already fifteen minutes late for it!"

"I'm sure there's a good reason for the delay, so please try not to worry", Ami says, putting Rei at ease.

"If you insist", Rei answers with a smirk.

The look on her face & her reply caused laughter to erupt from everybody.

Everyone, that is, except Usagi & Mamoru.

From their own secluded spot at the festival, Usagi & Mamoru swapped stories with one another, with Mamoru telling Usagi first about his stay in Hawaii for the past three months he'd been gone, learning of its customs & lifestyles. When it became Usagi's turn to tell Mamoru of her birthday experience, it was one he was totally unprepared for. She relayed to him about from what happened at the beach to the battle with the Predators she & her friends went through deep within the forest, along with the dreaded space huntress Demonia, who masterminded it all just so she can claim her head as her retirement prize. Usagi even filled him in about the Predator's way of life (weaponry, ethics, etc.), including the two recorded incidents from Dutch Schaefer's run-in back in 1987 in Central America, to detective Mike Harrigan of the L.A.P.D. in Los Angeles ten years later.

As mentioned, Mamoru was caught completely off-guard by Usagi's story.

"So that's where that necklace had come from", he says.

"That's right, Mamo-chan", said Usagi, showing the necklace around her neck to him. "I was rewarded this by the clan leader himself, Saber-Tusk, for defeating him one-on-one. So, what do you think? Looks good, I'll bet!"

"That necklace does, I'll admit", he says care-free, before his tone got serious. "But I also have to confess that your story brings a rather frigid chill up my spine." He got closer to Usagi & held her hand, looking at her with compassionate eyes. "Considering what you & the others had gone through with these 'Predators', I now regret not being by your side during that time, which I should've been."

Usagi gives him a reassuring smile." But you were there for me, Mamo-chan."

"Eh? How so?"

"Remember when you asked me to think of you & your love for me if I had ever needed a quick boost of strength for any reason? Well, I did, & that helped me to triumph over the alien hunters, & Demonia herself. You were right—I am a strong girl."

Now Mamoru gives her a reassuring smile. "In more ways than one, Usako. I suppose I was there for you after all; if not in body, then definitely in spirit."

"Exactly."

Without even knowing it, Usagi & Mamoru were passionately close to each other, being only a nose length apart. Their lips were about to engage in a kiss of true love…

BOOM!

The nighttime sky lit up in a multitude of bright colors, catching theirs & everyone else's attention.

The fireworks show has finally begun!

And they were worth waiting for.

Words of amazement filled the crowd as more displays did the same skyward: the next one was a barrage of sparks in different colors, forming flowers of some kind. Following that pattern were others in their own design, ranging from stars to snowflakes & more, all in either solid or a combo of colors.

It was an awe-inspiring sight for all who were there.

"By the way, Mamo-chan, Minako gave me your gift, & I adore it", Usagi reminds him.

"I knew you would, Usako. A very happy belated birthday to you, & many more to come", Mamoru says.

"Thank you again, Mamo-chan."

Usagi & Mamoru snuggled to one another & happily watched the rest of the fireworks as they exploded colorfully in the clear sky above. She was so pleased to be with the one she loved so much after three months of his being away to a place not in Japan. But behind her pleasure lies a feeling of uneasiness & dread: she got lucky with the Predators, who all fought viciously, even if they hadn't been under Demonia's spell to do her bidding. That was something she knew all too well, about as much as Rei, Setsuna, & the other girls did. Usagi neglected to mention to Mamoru that Demonia nearly succeeded in doing what she set out & came to Earth to do; to tell him would only add to his worry, a burden he can do without, especially now. Another reason she had been so lucky with the Predators is the code of honor they carry with them: when Demonia's hold over the alien huters was broken, they could've easily killed her, her friends, including the dreaded space huntress in one fell swoop, even after they were shown the truth during Sailor Saturn's mind probe. Had it not been for their code like most hunters carry with them, neither she nor any of her friends would be in the land of the living right now.

She also worries about other life from beyond the stars: what if one day she comes across other alien races that are completely monstrous in both appearance & nature, having no sense of humanity within them at all? Would she be able to defeat them then, alone or with her friends? Will she be willing to kill if it turns out that way, losing pieces of her own humanity while she does so?

At Juban General, Beth-Beth herself told Usagi she wasn't a cold-blooded killer, unlike Demonia or the Predators.

Usagi will use every ounce of her strength & well-being to prove her right.

But she can worry about that if & when the time should ever arouse again.

Right now, she just wants to enjoy the festival like everyone else is doing.

She deserves to—as much as anyone else there.

MEMORIALS

2001 Memorials:

This story is dedicated to all the victims who perished in the American Airlines flight 587 disaster, & to their immediate families & relatives—may God bless all of you.

George Harrison, 'The Quiet Beatle', 58 (1943-2001)

Rufus Thomas, Musician, 84 (1917-2001)

Seymour Reit, 'Casper' creator, 83 (1918-2001)

Dan DeCarlo, Artist for 'Archie' & 'Josie & the Pussycats' Comic Books, 82 (1919-2001)

Kathy Lorio, A Dear Friend from CCA (age unknown—she passed away in December 2001)

2007 Memorials:

Bobby Hamilton, NASCAR Driver, 49 (1957-2007)

Gloria Connors, Mother of Tennis Champion Jimmy, 82 (1924-2007)

Iwao Takamoto, Creator of Cartoon Favorite 'Scooby Doo', 81 (1925-2007)

Carlo Ponti, Oscar-Winning Producer, 94 (1912-2007)

Yvonne De Carlo, Actress, TV's 'The Munsters', 84 (1922-2007)

Dora McDonald, Secretary to Martin Luther King Jr., 81 (1925-2007)

Alice Coltrane, Jazz Musician, Wife of Legend John Coltrane, 69 (1937-2007)

Michael Brecker, Grammy-Winning Saxophonist, 57 (1949-2007)

Benny Parsons, NASCAR Champion, 65 (1941-2007)

Darlene Conley, Actress on 'The Bold & the Beautiful', 72 (1934-2007)

Pookie Hudson, Lead Singer for 1950s R&B Group The Spaniels, 72 (1934-2007)

Art Buchwald, Political Satirist & Columnist, 81 (1925-2007)

Betty Trezza, Girls Baseball League Player, 81 (1925-2007)

Denny Doherty, Singer-Songwriter for The Mamas & the Papas, 66 (1940-2007)

Vern Ruhle, Former Pitcher for Major League Baseball, 55 (1951-2007)

Ron Carey, Actor, Played Policeman on TV's 'Barney Miller', 71 (1935-2007)

Jimmy Cheatham, Jazz Trombonist, 82 (1924-2007)

Scott 'Bam Bam' Bigelow, Professional Wrestler, 45 (1961-2007)

Gump Worsley, Hall of Fame NHL Goalie, 77 (1929-2007)

Marcheline Bertrand, Beloved Mother of Actress Angelina Jolie (age not provided)

Bob Carroll Jr., Pioneering TV Writer for 'I Love Lucy', 87 (1919-2007)

Sidney Sheldon, Best-Selling Novelist, 89 (1917-2007)

Richard Kelley, Stepfather of Former President Bill Clinton, 91 (1915-2007)

Billy Henderson, Member of R&B Group The Spinners, 67 (1939-2007)

Eric von Schmidt, Blues & Folk Guitarist, Influenced Bob Dylan, 75 (1931-2007)

Pedro Knight, Widower of Legendary Salsa Singer Celia Cruz, 85 (1921-2007)

Lew Burdette, All-Star Pitcher for the Milwaukee Braves, 80 (1926-2007)

Frankie Laine, Big-Voiced Singer, 93 (1913-2007)

Steve Barber, Won 20 Games for the Baltimore Orioles, 67 (1939-2007)

Barbara McNair, Singer, Versatlie Actress, 72 (1934-2007)

Anna Nicole Smith, Beloved Celebrity, Ex-Model, 39 (1967-2007)

Hank Bauer, Yankees All-Star, 84 (1922-2007)

Ian Richardson, Actor, Played in TV Drama 'House of Cards', 72 (1934-2007)

Joe Edwards, Cartoonist for 'Archie', 85 (1921-2007)

Ellen Hanley, Musical Theater Star of 'Fiorello', 80 (1926-2007)

Peter Ellenshaw, Academy Award-Winning Special Effects Master, 93 (1913-2007)

Charles Langford, Lawyer Represented Rosa Parks, 84 (1922-2007)

Ralph Penza, NYC Broadcaster for WNBC-TV, 74 (1932-2007)

Robert Alder, Co-Inventor of TV's Remote Control, 93 (1913-2007)

Janet Blair, TV & Movie Actress, 85 (1921-2007)

Dennis Johnson, NBA Player for Boston Celtics, 52 (1954-2007)

Al Viola,Guitarist, Worked With Frank Sinatra for 25 Years, 87 (1919-2007)

Ian Wallace, Journeyman Drummer, 60 (1946-2007)

John L. Kearse, Civil Rights Leader, 76 (1931-2007)

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Historian, 89 (1917-2007)

Gregg Petrocelli, Highly Respected LI Coach, 38 (1968-2007)

Clem Labine, Pitcher for Brooklyn Dodgers, 80 (1926-2007)

Thomas Eagleton, Nominee for Vice President, 77 (1929-2007)

John Inman, British Actor, Played in Comedy 'Are You Being Served?', 71 (1935-2007)

John Vukovich, Philadelphia Phillies Coach/Player, 59 (1947-2007)

Andy Sidaris, TV Sports Pioneer, 76 (1930-2007)

Richard Jeni, Stand-Up Comic, 45 (1961-2007)

Ernie 'Big Cat' Ladd, WWF Star, 68 (1938-2007)

Betty Hutton, Actress, 86 (1920-2007)

Bowie Kuhn, Ex-Baseball Commissioner, 80 (1926-2007)

Wilford 'Crazy Ray' Jones, Led Cheers for Dallas Cowboys, 76 (1930-2007)

Stuart Rosenberg, Television & Film Director, 79 (1927-2007)

Calvert DeForest, Regular on 'Letterman', 85 (1921-2007)

Robert Peterson, Magazine Mogul, 80 (1926-2007)

Angelo Naples, Newsday Employee & Devoted Yankees Fan, 75 (1931-2007)

Ed Bailey, All-Star Reds Catcher, 75 (191931-2007)

Abe Coleman, Longtime Wrestling Pro, 101 (1905-2007)

Brad Delp, Lead Singer for Boston, 55 (1951-2007)

Herb Carneal, Minnesota Twins Broadcaster, 83 (1924-2007)

Lynn Merrick, Actress, Appeared in Westerns, 85 (1921-2007)

Robert Clark, Film Director, Best Known for 'A Christmas Story', 67 (1940-2007)

Eddie Robinson, Legendary Coach, 88 (1919-2007)

Tom Moore, Led Growth of ABC-TV, 88 (1918-2007)

Darryl Stingley, NFL Player Paralyzed in 1978 Game, 55 (1952-2007)

Edward Mallory, Actor, Soap Star from 'Days of Our Lives', 76 (1931-2007)

Calvin Lockhart, Prominent 70s Actor, 72 (1934-2007)

Johnny Hart, Creator of 'B.C.' Comic Strip, 76 (1931-2007)

Danny Barcelona, Drummer for Louis Armstrong Band, 77 (1929-2007)

Kurt Vonnegut, Iconic Figure in American Literature, 84 (1922-2007)

Roscoe Lee Browne, Emmy Award-Winning Actor, 81 (1926-2007)

Don Ho, Legendary Crooner, Best Known for Hit Song 'Tiny Bubbles', 76 (1930-2007)

A.J. Carothers, Movie & Television Screenwriter, 75 (1931-2007)

Barry Nelson, Actor, Broadway Leading Man, Played Jimmy Bond, 89 (1917-2007)

Gaetan Duchesne, Former NHL Player, 44 (1962-2007)

Jake Rocker, Father of Baseball Ex-Pitcher John Rocker, 63 (1943-2007)

Kitty Carlisle, Broadway, Opera,Film & Television Star, 96 (1910-2007)

Brant Parker, 'Wizard of Id' Cartoonist & Animator, 86 (1920-2007)

Margaret Cohan, Theater Dancer, 86 (1920-2007)

Dakota Staton, Jazz & Blues Vocalist, 76 (1931-2007)

Boris Yeltsin, Former President of Russia, 76 (1931-2007)

Jack Valenti, Created Film Ratings, 85 (1921-2007)

Mstislav Rostropovich, Renowned Cellist & Conductor, 80 (1927-2007)

Johnny Perkins, Former NY Giant, 54 (1953-2007)

James B. Davis, Singer-Songwriter, 90 (1917-2007)

Carlisle Hart, Star of Film & Stage, 96 (1910-2007)

David Halberstam, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist & Author, 73 (1934-2007)