Pain

by M.H. Torringjan

My final dramatic installment with Michael Cross. An old enemy returns for one last hurrah, taking Michael prisoner. The other Scouts have to find him before they're too late. C&C is appreciated.

Pain
A Sailor Moon original flavor fanfic
By: M.H. Torringjan

Gods, I've really got to stop doing this. I keep coming up with fanfic
ideas before I finish my other projects. Oy vey, I'm never going to get all
this other stuff done... ;-) Anyway, about this fic, it's going to be another
of the dark ones. I'm trying to stop focusing so much on Michael, like I do so
frequently in my other fics, but I don't know how much I'll be able to do that.
I guess I'll give it a shot anyway! ;-) This one's rated about PG-13. It's
set after the end of the SuperS season, in case you're keeping track.
Now, for the disclaimer. I don't own Sailor Moon. Naoko Takeuchi does.
I did, however, come up with the characters of Michael Cross, Jennifer Hino, and
Gerolus. If you want to use them (as if), ask me. Now, unless there's
anything else...

Part one:
Revenge

Michael examined himself in the mirror in his room and adjusted his blue-
striped tie one last time, making a few last-minute adjustments before his date
with Lita. They were going to a charity dinner for AIDS research, perhaps the
only sort of fancy shindig that Michael would ever consider attending. Mrs.
Anderson had invited everyone in the group, so Serena, Amy, Raye, and Mina were
going to be joining them. After all, there was *absolutely no way* that Serena
or the others could leave them alone for any time!
"Are you ready to go?" Mr. Cross asked from outside the closed door of
Michael's room.
"Yeah, I'll be right out," Michael replied. He dropped his wallet and
house key into his pockets before walking out to meet his father.
"Hey! Not too shabby!" Mr. Cross said, giving him a thumbs-up.
"I should hope not," Michael said. "It's the only thing I've got." His
long-sleeved blue button-down shirt and black dress pants were the only semi-
formal clothes that he had saved from the move, and this was the first time
since they had gotten there that he had needed them.
"So, we're picking up your girlfriend, are we?" Mr. Cross said.
"If you don't mind. It's not too far out of our way," Michael said. "Is
mom coming along?"
"She's feeling pretty sick, so she's going to stay home," Mr. Cross
replied.
"Probably a good idea," Michael said.
"Well, we should be going now," Mr. Cross said, checking his watch. The
two hurried downstairs to Mr. Cross's 1990 Honda station wagon. It wasn't
exactly the most stylish car, but it was practical. On the way, Mr. Cross tried
starting a conversation.
"You know, I've never met all of your friends before," he began.
"I'll warn you, they're a bit... off," Michael said, trying to phrase it
gently. "Just try not to get between them if a fight breaks out."
"Fight?"
"They kind of mouth off from time to time," Michael clarified.
"Oh, they talk smack, do they?" Mr. Cross asked.
"Yeah, a bit."
"I'll stay out of their way."
"There's a smart lad," Michael said, grinning.
When they pulled up in front of Lita's apartment building, she was waiting
at the bottom of the stairs for them. She was wearing a long, formal black
dress with a mid-length neck-line and make-up. Michael couldn't help but stare
as she ran to the car.
"Where were you guys? It's freezing out there," Lita said as she sat down
in the back seat of the station wagon.
"Sorry about that. We took a bit longer than intended getting ready," Mr.
Cross said. "Nice to see you again, Lita."
"You, too, Mr. Cross," Lita said.
"I guess Jennifer's not coming tonight?" Michael commented, pulling
himself out of the stupor that had enveloped him.
"No, she's working tonight," Lita replied.
"That's too bad," Michael said. "Mrs. Anderson's really been talking this
thing up for a while now..
"Well, it's a great thing for the medical community," Lita said.
"I can imagine it would really give research a boost," Mr. Cross said.
"That's what I gathered," Michael said. "Do you know if all of the others
are going?"
"Yeah, everyone else will be there. Serena even invited Darien. And
since he was going, Rini insisted on going, as well," Lita said.
"Oh, boy," Michael groaned. "Maybe we should take a table across the room
from them."
"Don't worry. Darien made them promise to behave," Lita said.
"Even so, we both know how long those promises last," Michael replied.
"Well, Amy made them promise, too, so that should handle it," Lita said.
"Wow, hitting them on all cylinders!" Michael mused. Serena would never
break a promise she made to Amy!
They soon reached the hotel where the banquet was being held, and Mr.
Cross started trying to find a parking place.
"God, this place is crowded!" he said, noting the line leading into the
building and the parking lot. "Why don't I let you guys out here?"
"All right, we'll head on in and wait for you inside at a table," Michael
said.
"I'll be in as soon as I can," Mr. Cross said, pulling up to the curb.
Michael and Lita quickly got out of the car and into line and began waiting. As
they stood in the slowly moving line, Michael felt a familiar twinge pass
through his mind, the sort of twinge that all of the Scouts felt when something
bad was about to happen. He glanced around, looking for anything that might
cause it. Nothing that he saw looked out of the ordinary. The traffic was
still unbearable; nothing was blowing up. The woman in front of them was still
wearing a fur coat and talking loudly and had not, in fact, turned into some
unspeakably evil creature. Everything seemed to be fairly normal. Michael had
been feeling the same thing for a few days before then, but anything bad had yet
to happen. He had been able to ignore the feeling by telling himself that it
was just paranoia. For some reason, this time, he wasn't able to convince
himself.
"Something wrong, Michael?" Lita asked, sensing his unease.
"Do you feel that, too?" Michael asked.
"Yeah. I was kind of hoping it was just me," Lita replied.
"How long have you been feeling it?" Michael asked.
"Just a few minutes. Why?"
"Whatever it is, I've been feeling it longer," Michael said.
"We'll check with the others to see if they feel it, too," Lita said as
they walked up to the check-in table. After they checked in, they passed
through the doorway and entered the Grand Ballroom. Long, red curtains hung
from the walls, behind the long tables that held dozens of plates of steaming
meats, healthy salads, and decorative desserts. Ice sculptures loomed above the
patrons from tables around the giant room, standing guard over vats of punch.
As the pair wandered, amazed, through the gathering crowd and the tables,
they heard their names being called. Looking around, they saw Mina, Amy, Raye,
Rini and Serena trying to get their attention. The girls were wearing similar
outfits to Lita, and Michael was finding it difficult not to stare. Michael and
Lita wove their ways through to the tables where the others were sitting. They
pulled up an extra seat for Mr. Cross. Amy and Mrs. Anderson sat at the same
table as the rest of them, with the rest of the group sitting at the table
behind them. Michael and Lita grabbed Amy after greeting Mrs. Anderson and
pulled her with them to the table where the others were sitting.
"Guys, we think we've got some bad news," Lita said.
"Can you sense it, too?" Raye asked quickly.
"I have for a couple of days now," Michael said. The shocked regards of
the others prompted him to continue, "I didn't think much of it at the time. I
mean, what could it be? We've beaten Nephrenia, Apsuu, Pharaoh 90, and
everything else."
"I don't know," Amy said. "For now, we'll just have to keep an eye out."
"What would attack a charity banquet, anyway? That's inhuman!" Mina
exclaimed. "We should find him and take care of problem before he harms
anyone!"
"Mina, we don't even know what it is," Raye said. "How are we going to
deal with him when we don't know that?"
"Well, there's always the direct approach," Michael said. "You know, step
up to the mike as we are and say, 'Hey, everybody! We're the Sailor Scouts, and
we'd very much appreciate it if you didn't start tearing each other's heads
off."
"Somehow, I doubt that would work," Serena said. The group's collective
gaze turned on Serena, causing her to blush slightly.
"Tell me, Rena, you've heard of sarcasm before?" Michael asked.
"Yes, I know sarcasm when I hear it!" Serena exclaimed back at him.
"So do I. Were you trying some of your own?" Michael asked.
"You didn't recognize it?"
"I don't think any of us did," Raye said.
"Shows how smart you are!" Serena exclaimed.
"Shows how good you are at sarcasm," Michael replied. Serena opened and
closed her mouth a few times, trying to devise a good comeback, before giving up
and slumping down dejectedly in her seat. "Oh, stop pouting," Michael said.
"Just go grab some food before people start the presentations." Serena stood
up, grumbling softly to herself, and headed towards the buffet tables. She was
closely followed by the others. Mr. Cross walked in just as everyone was taking
their seats. On the stage, someone was testing the mikes to see if they would
work right. Soon, the MC took his place at the mikes and began to speak.
Michael suddenly didn't feel quite so underdressed. The American-looking person
was dressed about as formally as Michael was.
"Welcome to our little meal! We're here tonight to help raise money for
medical research in the field of AIDS research. In America, there are large
numbers of such fund raisers each year, all going towards the medical programs
and research groups organized to fight the ever-growing problem of AIDS that
faces the global population today.
"Before we go any further, I'd just like to clarify something that has
come up in discussions that I've had over the years. I do not think that the
research programs are under-funded. These programs are technically, I'll admit,
optional, and it is impossible to under-fund optional programs. We could
survive as a species without these programs. However, they are still important.
Man would not be able to advance without such programs. Without people willing
to work beyond what was necessary, there would be no real novel ideas and no
progress would be made, and progress produces life. What you are doing by
helping tonight is supporting progress. We are supporting human life!"
This proclamation was accompanied by applause across the room. The
speaker paused to allow the applause to die down. Before he could continue, or
the applause could die down, an explosion rocked the room, throwing the people
on the stage flying into the crowd. Screams rang out across the room, both of
pain and of fear. The Scouts dove for cover, bracing themselves for whatever
else was going to happen. Mrs. Anderson and Mr. Cross were trying to drag the
group with them as they made to retreat from the bedlam.
"Cross!" exclaimed a familiar voice from behind the smoke and flames.
"I'm calling you out one last time!"
"Oh, shit!" Michael exclaimed. Gerolus again! And here he was, in the
middle of a crowd of innocent people, completely unprepared! Well, I guess
that's the idea, Michael said to himself. "Sorry, dad, gotta go!" he exclaimed
to his father, wrenching himself free from his father's grip.
"Michael, stay with me! We'll get out together!" Mr. Cross exclaimed at
the retreating form of his son.
"Don't do this, Michael!" Lita called, trying to get up to go after him.
Before she got very far, though, Mr. Cross grabbed her arm and began dragging
her towards the door. "Hey, you! Lemme go!"
"Trust us, you'll be safer if we all leave together," Mrs. Anderson said.
She had taken Amy in her own grip before moving herself.
"And what about Michael? And the others? They've already left!" Lita
exclaimed. The two confused parents looked around, searching for the remainder
of the group. Indeed, they had already gone after Michael before anyone could
stop them. "You two go on and let us worry about Michael and our friends.
We'll all get out of here together and meet you outside."
The two parents looked uncertainly at each other. "Please, Mom, let me
go," Amy said levelly to her mother.
Finally, Mrs. Anderson said, "All right, but don't try anything brave.
Just get out as soon as you can."
Amy and Lita were released and ran into the path of destruction left by
Gerolus. "What would that man want with my son, anyway?" Mr. Cross asked
rhetorically.

Michael rushed through the maze of hallways, avoiding the panicking guests
who were heading in the opposite direction from him. His only hope was that
Gerolus wouldn't do too much harm to those innocents. The most important thing
to him, though, was to not stop running. It didn't seem like that would matter
much longer, as he heard Gerolus's faster footsteps falling steadily closer
behind him.
"Look, Cross, just stop now! We'll end it quickly and painfully and we
can all go home happy!" Gerolus exclaimed.
"Come on! We both know you won't stop with me! You've lost it! It's not
about me anymore!" Michael yelled back.
"That's not true! I want to take away your world! Everything that you
hold dear will be gone, including yourself! It will be as though you never
existed!" Gerolus explained. "How is that not about you?"
"Can't you see that you can't beat me and the Sailor Scouts?" Michael
exclaimed.
"Then why are you running?!" Gerolus yelled. Michael had yet to look at
the madman. He didn't need to. All he needed was to hear his footsteps to know
that he was still there. Suddenly, Michael felt a mechanical hand grab his
shoulder, spin him around, and slam him into the wall with enough force to leave
a dent and knock his breath out. "Look at me, Cross," Gerolus said. "You did
this to me. Your sword. Your attack. Your sense of justice. Your
*existence!*" Gerolus's body was now a jigsaw puzzle of machinery, the only
human piece remaining being his right hand. "I was so thoroughly damaged by our
last battle that I had to replace the whole of my body, barring two things: my
brain, which remotely controls this mechanism, and my hand, which you see
decorating my right arm."
"Why keep your hand?" Michael asked through gritted teeth, still
struggling for breath.
"So that I could have the satisfaction of killing you by my own hand,"
Gerolus said coldly. "This is all I have left, the only thing keeping me
alive."
"Then why don't you just die?" Michael asked.
A set of footsteps sounded, moving closer as the other Scouts drew nearer.
"I suppose we'll have to finish this at a later time. For now, you're
coming with me," Gerolus said, punching Michael across the face and knocking him
out. As the Sailor Scouts, minus Jupiter and Mercury rounded the corner,
Gerolus slung Michael over his shoulder. He waved cheerily at the Scouts as he
disappeared into thin air, carrying Michael with him.
"Oh, Lita's not going to like this," was all that Sailor Venus could say.
"Well, neither do I," Moon replied. "Where did they go?"
"How should we know?" Chibi-Moon said.
"What I want to know is, how did he survive that last battle?" Mars asked.
"Some people are stronger than others," Tuxedo Mask said. "And some
people's wills are stronger than death." Just then, Sailors Jupiter and Mercury
came careening around the corner, Jupiter bumping into Mars.
"Quick, everybody, where's Gerolus?!" Jupiter exclaimed, looking around.
An uncomfortable silence issued from the group. "Got away, then? Well, what
about Michael?" The silence continued, with the others shifting uneasily this
time. They glanced briefly at each other; no one wanted to be the one to tell
her. "Guys?" she asked, nervousness tingeing the edges of her voice. "Oh, not
again!" she exclaimed, sounding exasperated.
"What?!" everyone said, almost at once.
"You're not... worried?" Moon asked, confused.
"Of course not! He's been through this sort of thing before, and he's
gotten out of it fine on his own," Lita said, smiling. Moon suspected that she
was a better actor than even she herself thought.
"So, you don't want to go help him?" Chibi-Moon asked, as confused as
Moon.
"Of course I do, silly!" Jupiter exclaimed. "Now, we've just got to find
where he took Michael. Any ideas?"
"Well, we could do like that guy in Fugitive and check through medical
records for anyone who bought a robotic body!" Moon dutifully suggested.
"You can't buy that sort of equipment normally," Mercury replied, "So
there would be no records of it that we could access. He must have enormous
resources to be able to get everything that he had through the black market."
"But where could someone like him get such resources?" Mars asked.

"Revenge, Cross," Gerolus said to the chained Michael who hung on the wall
across from his chair. "It's a deep desire. Have you ever wanted revenge?"
"You remember Yvette, Gerolus?" Michael countered strongly.
"Ah, yes, her," Gerolus said. "Then you have. Good, it was even towards
me."
"And it still is," Michael corrected.
"Sadly, never to be realized," Gerolus said. "How far would you go for
that?"
"I'd do anything," Michael replied.
"And I've only defeated you once, too!" Gerolus said.
"You've defeated me more than that. Whenever you survive a battle, it's a
loss for me. I will never have truly won until you are completely and utterly
vanquished."
"Shut up, you melodramatic prick. This isn't some stage. Try acting like
the scared little boy you are!"
"Melodramatic? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? Why blow up
all those innocent people if you just wanted me?!"
"I'll admit, I do have a bit of a flare for the extravagant. I can be so
decadent sometimes!" Gerolus said in a self-chiding tone. "But I'm allowed it.
Do you know how far I went to get my revenge on you? I've spent a total of four
years from our first meeting to train myself in the ways of technology,
accustoming myself to these infernal machines that have been stuck onto the
remainder of my body. I have endured the pain of the surgeries to recover from
the injuries dealt out. I have killed those who once loved me, my own parents,
so that I might have the money and mobility to allow me the leisure of coming
back for you. Thankfully, my parents never even thought to remove me from their
wills, so I was given majority ownership of my father's company. I sold it off
to the highest bidder and set myself for life. After all, with my busy schedule
of taking your life, I wouldn't have time to maintain ownership of a major
corporation. Of course, the sudden sale of stock from the majority stock-holder
kind of unnerved the other stock-holders, so they sold, as well. The company
has, by this time, undoubtedly gone under."
"You sacrificed an entire company just to get to me?" Michael said. "I'm
honored," he continued sarcastically.
"That's not all. I returned to a place that should be familiar to you as
my hide-out. We are in New York. A house that you know well, that of your-
what was her name- Yvette."
"What about her family?" Michael asked, suddenly feeling a cold shock run
through his stomach.
"They died of 'mysterious circumstances,'" Gerolus said. "Of course, I
killed them. And after the investigation was finished, I purchased the house
and made it my basis of operation. This room actually used to be their
basement. Easily modified to serve my purposes, really. The rest of the house
is empty. I have destroyed every trace of their existence in this house. All
of this work, it will all be worth it after you and everything about you is
dead," Gerolus emphasized.
"Why are you after everything about me?"
"Because it reminds me of you," Gerolus said. "It makes me think of the
pain you have caused me, the suffering of the years spent alone, with nothing to
support me but the thought of your death. I will destroy everything that makes
me remember, leaving only the blissful emptiness of forgetting. I am beginning
with you. By the time I'm finished with you, you'll enjoy seeing your own blood
to know you're still alive."
Michael was about to hurl an insult as Gerolus brought his right fist
around and slapped Michael hard across the face.
"I've changed my mind, and I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully.
You may thank me if you wish."
Michael did the only thing that he could think of. He spat at the ground
near Gerolus's feet. Gerolus let out a static-stained laugh.
"This is just a small taste of the next few days!" Gerolus said as he
exited the darkened room.
Michael blinked a few times to adjust his sight to the low light. He
pulled his arms as hard as he could against the steel chains that held him in
place, with no favorable results. The chains were too sturdily anchored in the
stone wall to make them budge in the least. He couldn't reach anything that
would help him to get out or even to call for help. It seemed like he was in
for a long stay. How am I getting out of this one? he asked himself. He pulled
against the cold steel chains until he felt a spark of pain run down his arm.
He gritted his teeth, thinking, Oh, that was a *really* good idea.
His eyes had mostly adjusted to the dark, and he could see a metal table
with painful-looking instruments near him. The door was on the far side of the
room from him, he assumed locked and bolted. The rest was seemingly solid
stone. Walls, floor, and ceiling; everything. He could only take some
consolation in knowing where they were, as though knowing that would make up for
his inability to do anything about it.
On the far wall, beside the door, Michael could make out the outline of
his watch hanging from a small hook. He heard the watch beep to signal another
hour passed. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but it couldn't have been
for long. His face still hurt from the blow that had brought him here, and the
more recent slap from Gerolus. He'd repay those tenfold at least, once he
figured how to get out of there. He could do it if he just kept thinking
positively.

Part 2:
Memories

Amy blinked to wet her tired eyes. She had been working past midnight
running different scenarios through the computer to try and find where Gerolus
could have taken Michael. She hadn't even had a chance to check out news
archives yet, from the day before, let alone the month before. She had no idea
what she'd be looking for, but almost anything would be helpful. Any starting
point would get them closer to finding him.
Everyone was assuming Michael dead, killed in the "terrorist attack" on
the banquet. Ms. Haruna hadn't called his name in role-call and had called
Serena and her aside to make sure they were all right. It had been difficult
not to act too non-plussed, even though the two of them were still pretty
worried.
Michael's parents were understandably distraught. Lita had spent the
night with them to make sure that they would be all right, and a bouquet of
flowers had apparently arrived by the morning from a co-worker who had somehow
heard the news. Family members wouldn't have heard about it yet. Just give it
a few days, and a veritable flood of flowers would fill their apartment. She
doubted that Michael's parents would give up so quickly, despite the pressures.
Amy mentally applauded them.
"Amy?" Mrs. Anderson called from outside her room.
"Yes, mom?" she called back.
"Why don't you go to sleep? You've still got school in the morning," Mrs.
Anderson said.
"I know. I just have a bit more studying to do before sleep." Yeah, she
only had a few more things that she could think to run through her computer.
Maybe after some sleep, she'd be able to think clearer and could come up with
some new ideas. There were no abnormalities anywhere on the planet to indicate
a large-scale operation of any sort; no radical weather changes, no abnormal
tectonic activity, no changes in the ocean currents, nothing of the sort. That
meant that Gerolus was keeping it small-scale. No abnormal political
activities, so he didn't have federal backing anywhere, from what Mercury could
tell.
On a long shot, she opened the news scanner program and punched in the
name "Gerolus," going through the past few months. According to the computer,
the search would take most of the next day. That would give her some time to
think. She quickly dressed for sleep and slipped into bed. Closing her eyes,
she fell asleep as her computer worked diligently through the night.

"Amy, you look really blasted!" Serena exclaimed at lunch the next day.
"Hard time studying last night?"
"No, I was doing things to try and find Michael," Amy said.
"Any luck?" Lita asked.
"Not really," Amy said. "I'm running a search on Gerolus himself right
now."
"Maybe it'll turn something up," Lita said hopefully.
"It might, but regardless, I need you guys to try and remember anything
that Michael might have told you about Gerolus. Especially you, Lita. Did he
mention anything about what Gerolus wanted with him or how he thinks?"
"Well, he did talk about it after the first battle," Lita said.

"This is all about me," Michael had said. "I'm the one that he wants to
get. He tried depriving me of my friends, and that didn't work. He's trying to
deprive me of my life now."
"And what if that doesn't work?" Lita had asked, tears of fear shining in
her eyes.
"I don't know, and I won't have to find out," Michael had said. "He'll be
dead by the end of tomorrow."
"And what if he isn't?"
"I don't know that, either. Frankly, I don't want to think about it. If
you have to know, though, he may come after you and the others, because I will
be dead."

"But that doesn't help us," Lita said. "It was last time, and I'd think
that a year with nothing but a hand can play some tricks on your mind."
"That bit about what Gerolus would want next," Amy said. "What else could
he want besides Michael dead?"
"I don't know, a new pony?" Serena replied, slightly confused at the
question.
"This seems to be about more than Michael himself," Lita replied.
"Otherwise, why would Gerolus come after us afterwards?"
"Maybe it's both of them," Amy said.
"I don't follow," Lita said. The blank stare on Serena's face made it
clear that she didn't either.
"Maybe it's about more than Michael and it's about him, too. Perhaps
Gerolus is trying to get those who are related closely to Michael. He went
after Michael's friends and Michael. Maybe he's trying to get both of those at
the same time. With his mechanical body, he may be thinking that he has a
better chance than he did then," Amy said. "Did Michael happen to mention
anything else?" Lita shook her head. "I'd like you to ask Michael's parents
about any sort of event in Michael's past that might have some bearing on it."
"If I have to work at it, I'll tell you," Lita said. "His parents
basically told me his whole first five years over the past two nights."
"Good luck, Lita," Amy said.
"What about me?" Serena asked, eager to help in the search.
"There's not much that you can do," Amy said. "Just be patient, and
hopefully, we'll find them quickly. Then, you, and all of us, will be able to
do something."

Michael jumped at the beep of his watch. That made thirty-eight hours
since he had first woken up. He wished that he could sleep, but that never
happened when he was uncomfortable. Besides, he needed to be able to do
something to occupy his mind so that he wouldn't lose it. He just had to keep
counting.
Gerolus had yet to return and begin enacting his revenge, and for all
Michael cared, that was perfectly fine. That just gave Michael more time to
figure out how he might escape. He had ruled out any weakness in the chains
after hurting both his arms in one try. His pockets felt empty, and even if
they weren't, it would do him no good. He could barely reach his cheek, let
alone his pants pockets. With his hands bound like they were, there was little
he could do.
Another beep later, the waiting ended as the door opened and the
mechanical madman walked in. He carried a jar of reddish liquid with a specimen
of something in it. As Gerolus came closer, Michael thought he could make out a
mass of grey matter inside the container.
"What, is that my brain on drugs?" Michael asked snidely.
"Still have our sense of humor, do we?" Gerolus asked. "I believe I can
fix that. This is actually my brain. Half of all that remains of me as a
human. I wanted to be personally present for your first session of excruciating
pain."
"I'd give a few more hours before my friends come for me," Michael spat
out.
"There's no way they could find this place," Gerolus said. "Think about
it. Did you ever tell them about Yvette? How about our first meeting?"
Michael was silent. "Would they even think to look into Yvette's parents?!
Would they look at the place you had vowed never to mention to them?!"
"They will. I know that Amy, Lita, Raye, Mina, and even Serena will think
of something."
"You can just keep hoping."
"And I'll remind you of that when I'm right."
"Same here." Gerolus picked up one of the instruments and moved toward
Michael. He pressed a button on the side and the pointed tip at the end began
to glow. A soft whirring sound issued from the instrument, a cold, metallic
sound that made Michael's heart sink into his stomach. "Now, you may want to
brace yourself. This is going to hurt. A lot," Gerolus said.
"Well, you can give it your best-" Michael was cut off as the tip was
pressed against his arm. He felt an electric jolt surge down his arm and to the
rest of his body, a painful wave of electricity shocking every part of his body.
He felt all the muscles in him contracting instantaneously as the shock hit
them. His body leapt from the wall, trying to escape the manacles to allow it
to contract freely, to no avail. The pain from the tension quickly became
unbearable, and Michael's scream of anguish reflected it.
"That was quicker than I expected," Gerolus said. "I guess I make them
better than I thought. And this was just the lowest setting!" Gerolus sat the
instrument back down on the table and walked to the door. "I'll be back in a
while. Please do try to make it more fun for me next time."
"I'll be ready for you next time!" Michael exclaimed as the door closed.
Michael froze with the words on his tongue. Gerolus had taken the watch. The
only thing that he had to maintain his grip on reality; the only thing he had to
occupy his mind! How had the bastard known to take it?!
Michael's muscles were slowly regaining their composure from the shock
treatment, allowing Michael to hang limply again. He was sure that his heart
had skipped a couple of beats in the process. Well, at least his muscles
wouldn't be allowed to completely atrophy during his incarceration. He'd need
his strength to deliver the pummeling that had Gerolus's name on it.
First, he'd have to keep his sanity. And he couldn't do that without his
watch! He needed to know how long he had been there so that he could turn it
around on Gerolus!
"Hey in there!" Michael almost didn't register the voice, he was so rapt
in his own thoughts. He really wasn't sure he had heard the voice. It didn't
sound like Gerolus's voice, so it couldn't have been real. Then, he heard it
again. "Can you hear me in there?"
Michael decided to give it a shot and make sure he wasn't hearing things.
"Yeah, I can hear you."
"Great! Oh, I was hoping I would find someone to talk to! You are real,
aren't you?" the person asked.
"Of course, I am," Michael replied strongly.
"Well, even if you really aren't, I need someone to talk to," the person
said.
"I just said I was," Michael said.
"Yes, but that's exactly what a voice in my head would say."
Michael paused. Okay, this guy has lost it, he thought to himself. "How
long have you been here?"
"I've lost track. I tried to pay attention, but he took my watch away.
Last count, I was at two-hundred forty-three hours, twenty minutes, and-" he
paused, "Thirty-seven seconds."
"Well, he just took my watch away," Michael said.
"Since then, I've just been sitting here, trying to keep busy. I thought
I heard him bring you in the other day, but I was too busy drawing a mental
image of the cell."
"Drawing a mental image?"
"Well, I don't exactly have pencil and paper I can use, do I?"
"At least he's letting you sit," Michael said.
"No, that was just a figure of speech. I'm hanging, same as you."
"So, what are you in for?" Michael asked following a break in the
conversation.
"I used to help Gerry," the voice said. Michael paused a moment before
recognizing Gerolus's given name, Gerry Lusent. "We were such good friends back
when he was a normal kid."
"Yeah, whatever happened to him?" Michael said skeptically.
"You did! I was the one he came to for help," the voice said.
"A psychologist, are you?" Michael again interrupted.
"I'm a technician," the voice said. "He wanted my help to restore his
body, so that he could 'set things right,' he said. I could understand the arm.
I might have even gone for the leg, but it just seemed crazy when he needed the
whole body replaced."
"Yeah, why not just leave me alone, then?" Michael said.
"That was what I thought," the voice said. "And when I tried talking to
him about it, he accused me of plotting against him. So he slapped me in here
'for his protection.'"
"Sounds about right," Michael replied. "What's your name?"
"Howard."
"Well, looks like we'll be spending the next couple of days together,"
Michael commented.

Outside of the cell, Gerolus watched gleefully as Michael talked to the
speaker in the wall that carried Gerolus's modified voice into the cell. His
plan was working perfectly! At this rate, he'd have Cross thinking himself
crazy by the end of the week. Then, after enjoying the fruits of his labor,
Gerolus would dispose of him in due fashion. Cross would know the pain of
losing every last defense before being beaten completely. Then, Gerolus would
continue his plan and kill all the rest.
And after that? something asked in the back of his head.
Damned if I know, Gerolus told him. Once Cross is out of my life, I may
retire. Buy a human-looking android body and rest in the Bahamas or something.
I deserve it.
But the task at hand was to leave Cross a sniveling piece of slime. First
thing's first...

Part 3:
Clues

Lita sat in the old recliner in Michael's living room that night, trying
to think of what to say to the Crosses. She wanted to tell them to keep hoping,
that Michael was probably still alive, but that might sound like she knew too
much. She doubted that would do much for their dispositions, though. They
seemed to have accepted the roles of the mourning parents pretty strongly. For
the first time, she'd have to act the part of the mourning friend. She hadn't
had a chance to ask the Crosses about what Amy had wanted her to. They had been
very quiet for most of the night, so much so that she hadn't felt right
disturbing them. She'd have to talk to them sooner or later, especially if she
wanted any chance at all to find Michael. The police had been by earlier to ask
them about the events of the night that Michael had been taken, to ask about
Michael's enemies (none that his parents knew about, and none that she would
tell them about).
Mrs. Cross was making dinner at the moment. She had already insisted that
Lita not help, which was probably all for the better. She could use the time to
talk to Mr. Cross. When she knocked on the cracked door of Mr. And Mrs. Cross's
room, he was sitting at his desk, hands on keyboard and staring at the computer
screen.
"Oh, hi, Lita," Mr. Cross greeted. "What's up?"
"I was just wondering if you could tell me something about where you used
to live," Lita said. "Michael never told us anything about living in New York.
I was just wondering if anything bad had happened to Michael back then?"
"Well, he always had at least two bruises or cuts visible on him," Mr.
Cross began. "Apparently, he got into fights pretty often. We never heard
about them from anyone besides Michael, though. We used to think it was pretty
odd, that he would tell us openly about his fights without caring how worried
we'd get about him. We never told him, though. He was too confident in
himself, so it just kind of rubbed off whenever he was around.
"There was only one major disaster that happened while we lived there.
About six months before we moved here, some madman terrorist attacked our
neighborhood, destroying property and killing people. He stopped his rampage at
the house of Michael's first girlfriend, Yvette Lanard." His eyes began to mist
over as he recalled the experience. "He was confronted by Sailor Europa, and he
took Yvette hostage. Before Europa could do anything, he had killed Yvette.
Europa ended up beating the madman and saving the city, for sure, but he was too
late for Yvette."
So, that was why Michael never talked about his past! Lita had heard
about this first girlfriend from Michael only once before. It must have been
too painful to talk about. No wonder Michael felt so strongly about Gerolus.
She doubted that they'd be able to use that information, but she'd give it to
Amy anyway.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cross, I didn't mean to open old wounds," Lita said.
"It's all right, Lita," Mr. Cross said, wiping his reddening eyes. "It's
better that you asked me instead of Mrs. Cross. She really hasn't been feeling
well of late." He glanced at Lita questioningly. "Out of curiosity, why do you
want to know?"
"It's just that Michael never told any of us about where he used to live.
I just wanted to know," Lita replied. She walked out, leaving Mr. Cross to work
out his feelings. She had to give Amy a call to tell her about this hopefully
helpful bit of information.

The sound of Mina's feet hitting asphalt echoed across the open track.
She hadn't gone running in a while, not since just after she had gotten her
heart stolen. It felt good to warm up her body and feel the heat evaporate away
in the crisp afternoon air. She was usually able to think about important
things more clearly while running, but nothing would come to her that day
besides Michael. She pounded her feet on the ground, annoyed; she couldn't do
anything to help him, just when he was in the most danger!
She was concentrating so hard that she didn't notice Raye walk up to the
side of the track, watching her.
"Thinking hard, Mina?" she said as Mina passed by in front of her.
Mina turned and looked at her. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you were
here," Mina replied. "I was trying to do some thinking."
"About Michael?" Raye asked.
"I want to think of something to help him, but I just keep pulling up
blanks," Mina said. "I feel so helpless, almost useless."
"I know the feeling," Raye said. "Amy and Lita have been doing everything
for the past two days to try and find Michael, and they've left us doing
nothing." She frowned at the idea. "I've been trying to get answers from the
fire since last night, but all I can get is a view of a house. I don't even
know whose house it is. I saw a picture of a family, but I don't know who they
are! Who'd have thought that an all-seeing supernatural force could tell you so
little."
"I've been poring over my memories to try and find some clue of what
Gerolus might have done with him," Mina said. "But if Lita couldn't, there's no
way I can."
"Well, you shouldn't stop trying," Raye said. "At least you're not doing
the least of us. Serena can't do anything. She doesn't have any powers,
connections or anything."
"And Rini," Mina replied. "She's been trying to reach Trista all day, but
she can't even get ahold of her."
"We haven't seen hide or hair of any of those four for this whole year,
since the Mugen School adventure," Raye said. "I guess they took Hotaru with
them so that they could keep the world safe from her powers," Raye said.
"I guess so. That would make sense," Mina said. "But that's not our
concern right now. We need to be finding Michael first."
"Right! So, why don't you come down to the Temple and do some remembering
there? Fire reading can be tiring on the eyes after a while."
"We might just have to read some mangas between bouts!" Mina replied,
grinning.
"I thought that went without saying!" Raye said. Mina gathered her things
and the two started off towards the Cherry Hill Temple.

Amy sat at her desk at home, staring as the computer screen. There was
nothing else she could think of to do with it. She felt like she had to do
something more, since she hadn't found a thing. Lita would hopefully call soon
to tell her what she had found out.
"Amy, dinner's ready," Mrs. Anderson called from outside the room.
"All right, Mom!" she said as she closed the mini-computer and stuck it in
her book-bag. Her mother was placing a yellow-fin tuna sandwich on her plate as
Amy settled herself in her chair at the table. Amy wasn't quite sure why her
mom had made her that; she knew that Amy didn't like yellow-fin tuna.
"You've been working hard for the past few nights, Amy," Mrs. Anderson
said. "Got a big test coming up?"
"No, not for another few weeks," Amy replied.
"Is something bothering you, then? Usually, no matter how hard you're
working, you leave the door open," Mrs. Anderson said. "Is it about Michael?"
Amy thought of the best way to respond without worrying her mother and
still not be lying. "That has been on my mind a bit, yes," she said.
"Are you going to be all right on your own?" Mrs. Anderson asked.
"I think I'll be all right. I just need some time to figure out the
situation," Amy replied.
"That's all right, dear. If you need me for anything, I'll be right here
to listen," Mrs. Anderson said, smiling. She was glad that her daughter could
feel comfortable talking to her about her personal issues. "Well, would you
like to talk about it now?"
"Not right now," Amy replied. "Now, why don't we eat?"
"Good idea," Mrs. Anderson said, picking up her fork. Before Amy could
bite into her sandwich, a beeping sound in her room signaled that someone was
calling her communicator. She winced slightly. This wasn't the best time for
them to call her up. If there was one thing her mother insisted on, it was that
they should stay at the dinner table until the end of the meal. "What's that
sound?" Mrs. Anderson asked.
"Oh, it's just a gadget in my room," Amy said. "That's a really annoying
sound. Can I please take care of it quickly?"
"Of course!" Mrs. Anderson replied. Amy walked to her room and turned on
the communicator. Lita's face appeared in the small window.
"Lita, do you have any good news?" Amy asked.
"I don't know. Probably not, but I wanted to give you the name I got
anyway. It might give us someplace to start," Lita replied. "Her name's Yvette
Lanard, Michael's first girlfriend."
"So, that's who 'Yvette' is! I remember him mentioning her after our
first battle with Gerolus," Amy said.
"Gerolus killed her on his first rampage at Michael's old home," Lita
replied.
"So, that's how he 'failed her.' He's holding himself responsible for her
death," Amy said. "Look, I'll run the name through a search to see what I can
come up with."
"Okay, thanks," Lita replied. In the background, Mrs. Cross called Lita
for dinner. "I'll check back in later."
"It may be a while, Lita. I'm just sitting down for dinner, too," Amy
said.
"Will it take as long as the other search?" Lita asked.
"Probably not. I'll limit it to news stories in New York and its
surroundings, so this won't take anywhere near as long," Amy replied.
"All right. Talk to you later!" Lita said, smiling. Amy suspected that
she was putting more hope in this search than she said. She turned off the
communicator and went back into the dining room to sit down at the table.
"Sorry about that," she said to her mother.
"Oh, it's all right," Mrs. Anderson said. "So, how was your day?"
"Not"- before she could complete her thought, her communicator was beeping
again from her room. She blushed and apologized as she went back to check who
was calling this time. When she turned it on, Raye's face appeared on the
screen.
"Amy, I've got something big! The fire showed me where Michael's being
held!" Raye exclaimed into the communicator It's a small house in the suburbs
of New York!"
"You found it with the fire before I did with the computer?" Amy asked.
"Great! Whose house is it?"
"That, I don't know," Raye said. "I saw images of a family, and a girl
with Michael, but nothing to tell us who they were."
"I may know who the girl is," Amy said. "I'm about to run a search on
Michael's old girlfriend, Yvette Lanard. If that turns up anything of interest,
we'll check it out."
"Great! Let's go show that machine-head not to mess with us!" Raye
exclaimed.
"I'll get back to you once I have the results of the search," Amy said.
"I'll talk to you later!" She turned off the communicator and opened her mini-
computer. The search for Yvette Lanard would take a fairly short time, since
she was limiting it so heavily. She pressed the "begin" key and went back to
dinner. "Sorry that took so long," Amy said.
"It's all right. Now, you just take a seat and have some dinner," Mrs.
Anderson replied. The two of them are on in silence, undisturbed again by the
communicator or anything else.
After dinner, Amy helped clean up, then went to check the results of her
search. A small box had appeared on the screen, reporting two hits, one on
"Yvette Lanard," and one on "Lanard." She opened the article on Yvette and read
over the details of the attack. Nine-hundred thousand dollars of property
damage, thirty people injured, but only one killed. Gerolus had been looking
specifically for her. He must have found out Michael's identity before then.
According to witnesses, he had taken Yvette hostage first and held her until
Europa arrived, at which point he killed the girl. Accounts of the actual
battle were conflicting, but everyone agreed that Europa had won as Gerolus
disappeared with a leg injury.
She gaped as she read over the article, which further chronicled the
events of Gerolus's rampage in some detail or another. She almost found it
difficult to believe that one man could do this much damage, but then she
remembered who it was that was doing the damage. Those numbers suddenly became
a walk in the park. He had done twice as much trying to get Michael's attention
when he came to Tokyo.
At the end of the article, there was a note about Yvette's parents,
accompanied by a quote. "The parents of the sole murder victim survived the
attack and are visibly shaken. 'No words can express our sadness at this time
of tragedy. We're just going to try living our lives on in this place, no
matter what the past has been like.'"
Amy finished reading the article and closed it, concluding that it would
do nothing to help their search at the time. The other article that had been
found was, oddly enough, dated two months ago. Amy doubted that there'd be a
follow-up on the attack two years after it had happened. She opened the article
and read the headline, "Family of Murder Victim Mysteriously Killed." Her eyes
widened as she read the body of the article.

"On Friday, Bob and Terri Lanard were found dead in their house at 623 Lime
Street just outside of New York. Their bodies had been asphyxiated by an
unknown attacker and left to find when they never showed up for work on Monday.
The police are questioning potential suspects, but no one has been implicated as
a true suspect officially. The police believe that there may be some connection
to the death of the family's daughter two years ago by an unnamed attacker who
went on a rampage through the tightly-packed suburb, but there is no concrete
proof of that at this time, either, according to a spokesman for the NYPD..."

Amy took her eyes off of the computer screen and closed it quickly. She
didn't need to be told that there was a connection to know that they had to go
there. She grabbed her communicator and frantically pressed the buttons for
everyone's communicators. After a few rings, everyone had picked up and she
exclaimed, "Guys, I've got a lead! Get ready to go! Meet at Lita's at 10:00!"
That gave everyone an hour to get prepared, hopefully plenty of time, she
thought to herself as she closed the communicator again and ran to grab a coat.
As she bolted through the living room, she stopped for a moment to explain
to her mother where she was going.
"Whoah! What's the hurry?" Mrs. Anderson asked calmly. Amy thought that
she could fake calm for a few minutes, but no longer than that.
"There's an emergency at Lita's apartment, and she needs me there," Amy
explained, trying to keep her voice level.
"Is it anything serious?" Mrs. Anderson asked. "I can call a doctor if
they need it."
"I don't think it's anything that serious, but we can take care of it if
we need that," Amy said.
"All right then, hurry on!" Mrs. Anderson said. She hoped that nothing
too bad was going on. But she doubted that the girls would jump into anything
they couldn't take care of on their own. She went back to making a cup of tea
for a warm drink while she sat down to start reading a book she had been wanting
to get started on for a while now.

Chapter 4:
Assault

Jennifer Hino was just sitting down to her late dinner after a late night
at work. She had been filling in for part of Andrew's shift, since he was out
sick for the day. A lazy sigh escaped her lips. It would feel nice to get out
of that job and start going back to school like she had been planning to since
taking the job. She was just too far out of the loop to go back to any sort of
meaningful job at that moment.
Settling back into her chair, she rolled her neck and rubbed her shoulders
a bit to ease the aching of a hard day's work, followed by cooking her own meal.
That was one thing that she missed about having Lita around; she didn't have to
cook if she felt as tired as she did today. Of course, she could understand the
point of her having to stay with Michael's parents since they had lost Michael.
She could understand it, but she didn't have to revel in it.
On the first day or two of the search, she had held the same hopes of the
girls, that Michael was going to be okay, and they'd find him in one piece,
still alive. However, as time began to drag on, she started to doubt it more
and more. She wasn't sure why Gerolus would keep Michael alive for four days or
more, really. The girls had kept their hopes up, though. Maybe they knew
something about Michael and Gerolus that she didn't.
Although, it would be nice if she could see Michael alive again. She
missed his cheery attitude when he was around Lita and his sense of humor. That
always seemed to cheer her up, even when she had had a really rough day at work.
And Lita seemed to put a little more effort into whatever she was cooking
whenever he was over, which benefited her as much as it did him. Jennifer
hadn't seen much of Lita in the past couple if days, but what she had seen
looked more lackluster than usual. To say that Lita was worried was obviously
an understatement.
Just as she was about to bite into her noodle salad, someone knocked on
the door. Jennifer put down her fork and walked to open the door. She found
Amy and Mina standing outside, nervous looks on their faces, as though they knew
that someone was following them.
"Hi, girls," Jennifer said. "What's up? You look kind of... disturbed."
"We think we've found where Michael's being held," Mina exclaimed.
"The others should be here soon so that we can go look for him," Amy said.
"That's great!" Jennifer said, not sure how to respond. "I was just
sitting down to some food, if you two would like something while you wait for
the others."
"No, thank you, I already ate," Amy said. Her sentiments were echoed by
Mina. Jennifer shrugged and excused herself to finish what she had started
before the two had arrived. About ten minutes later, another knock came on the
door and Serena and Rini arrived, looking excited.
"Are the others here yet?" Serena asked.
"Not yet," Amy said.
"I hope they get here soon," Rini said. "I want to go help Michael
quickly!"
"So do I," Mina said, "On both accounts."
"Where are we headed, anyway?" Serena asked.
"Michael had battled Gerolus before he came here," Amy explained.
"Well, we know that," Serena replied impatiently.
"Apparently, Gerolus kept tabs on Michael's friends and their families,
because it seems that he killed the family of Michael's old girlfriend," Amy
said. "Lita, Raye, and I think that we might find some clues at their home."
"Great!" Jennifer said from the table, where she was finishing her meal.
"You girls try to stay safe, all right? I wouldn't want to see any of you hurt,
and I know that Michael wouldn't, either."
"He won't have to," Mina said confidently.
After a couple of minutes more of waiting, Serena and Mina began to become
impatient. "What's taking those two so long?" Serena exclaimed.
"I don't know, maybe they were in the middle of something," Amy suggested.
"Something more important than this?" Serena wondered. As if on cue, the
door opened and Lita walked in, followed closely by Raye and Darien.
"Sorry we're late, but we stopped to tell Darien what was going on," Raye
said. "We may need everyone we can get."
"I wish Amara and Michelle were still here," Lita said off-hand. "They'd
be a great help tonight."
"I know how you feel," Darien said. "Now let's go up to the roof and
teleport." The group rushed up to the spot that they sometimes used for
teleportation and called out their transformation phrases.
"Mercury Power Transformation!"
"Mars Power Transformation!"
"Jupiter Power Transformation!"
"Venus Power Transformation!"
"Moon Power Transformation!"
A moment later, all six Sailor Scouts available at the moment stood in the
place of the six school-girls. Darien casually pulled a rose from his pocket
and twirled it between his fingers as he felt his costume magically wrap around
his body. She six Scouts gathered around Darien and held hands, chanting the
phrase to teleport them to New York and Michael. "Sailor Teleport..." In a
flash of light, the group had disappeared into the area between space-time.

They reappeared at the intersection of Lime and Oak streets. The sky
around them was clear and sunny. A warm breeze blew across their skins, in
stark contrast to the cool air where they had just come from. A few cars drove
down the street, slowing momentarily to stare at the strange new-comers before
accelerating to their original speeds and driving on their ways. The house that
they were seeking was just down the street from where they stood.
"Can we get a move on? I hate it when people stare at me like I'm crazy,"
Sailor Moon suggested.
"That's a good idea," Venus replied.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Mars said.
"Don't worry, guys," Venus said. "I bet Gerolus doesn't even know we're
coming."
The group paused and looked at Venus for a moment before Mercury took out
her computer and began scanning for traps of any sort.
"I'll watch for surveillance cameras," Jupiter said.
"No, no, you guys misheard me," Venus began.
"Oh, we heard you perfectly clearly," Mars replied. "We'd just rather...
be safe than sorry." After Mercury was satisfied that there was no danger
between them and the house, they continued down the street past 629, a large,
white house with bay windows on the second floor facing the metropolitan
skyline. 627, a smaller off-white house with a larger yard than the house
before it. 625, a light-green one-story house with a red car parked on the
driveway. 623, the house that they were there for. It was another two story
building, just as the others they had seen on their way there, but it somehow
seemed to loom over them anyway. The building was painted brown, making it
stand out against the other light-colored houses surrounding it. There was no
car in the driveway, no lights on inside, and nothing else to indicate that
there was anyone there. The Scouts could all sense the danger as they stood
before the ominous building.
"This is the house I saw in the fire," Mars said. "Gerolus is holding him
here."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Jupiter said. "Let's go." She waved the
team forward as they ascended the stairs to the front door and turned the knob.
She pushed the door open and walked inside. The rooms inside were completely
empty, the walls clean and the floors without carpeting. It was as though no
one had lived there, not even two months ago.
"Any idea where they are?" Tuxedo Mask asked Mercury. She tapped on the
keyboard of her computer for a moment before a voice answered from the room that
had originally been the living room.
"He's downstairs, but you've got to get past me first." Gerolus stepped
into view, pounding his mechanical hand into his human hand. "I'll have to
admit, I didn't expect you to come here, but I believe I can cope with the
development. Shall we take this outside? I'm sure you'd hate to destroy the
house and risk his life, wouldn't you?"
"Sounds good to me," Jupiter said, drawing her sword. Mars followed suit
and took Jupiter's side.
"All right," Gerolus said. Almost immediately, his feet were moving
faster than the Scouts could see. He collided with the group and sent them
flying out the door. They landed in a pile on the ground in the middle of the
road. The sound of screeching tires wailed through the air as a car came to an
abrupt halt a few feet in front of them. "Darn! That close!" Gerolus
exclaimed, signaling with his fingers for effect. The Scouts removed themselves
from the pile and turned to face him.
"Let's take him at once, Mars!" Jupiter exclaimed.
"Right!" Mars replied. The pair brandished their swords and ran at
Gerolus simultaneously. He chuckled as the pair swung at him, aiming for his
arms. The swords stopped in midair as he grabbed Mars's sword and stopped
Jupiter's attack dead with his shoulder.
"It's too hard! I can't cut it!" Jupiter exclaimed, swinging again. He
pulled Mars's sword from her hands and threw it back inside the house.
"That's an understatement," Gerolus replied. He brought his mechanical
hand around and grabbed Jupiter's sword mid-swing as he had Mars's, but this
time brought his other hand down to grab the hilt and Jupiter's hands at the
same time. He squeezed with his real hand and brought his mechanical hand back
towards her, bending the sword in half and dulling its blade. This was followed
by a spinning motion in which he brought his foot up to deliver a strong
roundhouse kick to Mars. She once again became air-borne, droplets of crimson
flying from her newly bloodied nose.
"Mars!" Moon exclaimed, running to help her friend.
"Mercury Blizzard, Freeze!" Mercury exclaimed, releasing her chill on the
machine. He jumped out of the way and began to rush Mercury, only to be cut off
by Venus's attack.
"Venus Thousand Volts, Zap!" she exclaimed, firing a beam from her finger
at Gerolus. He was hit on the side and blown to the ground a few feet away.
"Good shot! I actually felt that one!" Gerolus exclaimed, rising again to
face Venus. "Well, now I know who I'm going for first." He pointed his
mechanical arm at her and a small panel opened up, revealing a small missile. A
fire lit behind it as it took to the air, heading straight for Venus.
She dodged to the left, letting the missile soar past her and into the
car, which hadn't had a chance to drive away yet. Luckily, the driver had seen
it coming and jumped out to get to safety.
Moon stood up and turned to face their enemy. "Stop, Gerolus! I won't
let you destroy anymore innocent people's lives! You've already ruined our
friend's life, which is bad enough! Now, you will pay for your evil deeds! I'm
the pretty-suited soldier, Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I will
punish you!"
Gerolus had humored her for the duration of her speech. "Yeah, that's
cute. Now, you got anything to back it up?" he asked.
"You bet I do!" she exclaimed in reply, reaching for the Cutie Moon Rod.
She pointed it at him, drew her power into herself for the attack that she had
usually needed Pegasus to do for her, and called out the attack. "Moon Gorgeous
Meditation!" The energy flowed freely out of the staff, straight on target for
Gerolus.
He stood in place, his mechanical lips moving into a grin. Just before
the attack hit, he folded his arms over his chest, as though becoming impatient.
The positive wave of energy washed over him with no effect. "Hold it, was that
the attack? I thought it was a projection of an acid trip or something. Well,
anyway, time for you to die." He crossed the distance between himself and Moon
in a split second, and before she could react, threw a hard punch from his
mechanical fist into her gut. He kept running to grab her by the foot before
she could hit the ground and twirled her once before raising her up over his
shoulders and slamming her to the ground as hard as he could.
"No! Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed from where he stood with Chibi-
Moon.
"Sailor Moon!" Chibi-Moon echoed. The pair ran towards where she was,
Gerolus standing triumphantly over her. The other four Scouts weren't far
behind.
"What are we going to do? We don't have time to power up the Sailor
Planet Attack," Venus exclaimed.
"I've got an idea," Mercury said. "Jupiter, can you make a break for the
basement of the house? Try to get Michael out. We need everyone we can get."
"All right," Jupiter said.
"Mars, you and I will keep Gerolus busy while Jupiter gets Michael,"
Mercury said.
"All right," Mars said, wiping the trickle of blood from her nose. "Hey,
chrome dome! Why don't you leave her alone and deal with us? We're a lot more
fun than she is!"
"I'm sure you are, but I'd rather not right now," Gerolus said. "She's
not dead yet."
"And she won't be, either!" Mercury exclaimed. "Mercury Icicle, Jab!" An
icicle formed at the tips of her fingers and flew through the air towards
Gerolus.
"Oh, for Pete's sake, if it didn't work for Cross, it ain't working for
you," Gerolus said. He threw his fist forward to block the spike of ice and
send shards flying in every direction. The momentarily drawn attention gave
Tuxedo Mask a chance to move into position and ready his cane to strike at
something on Gerolus that he knew would be vulnerable. As Gerolus turned,
Tuxedo Mask shoved his cane into the mechanical eye, producing a satisfying
crunch and a small jet of sparks flying through the air. Gerolus swore as his
hand swatted Tuxedo Mask away. He flew through the air, only to be stopped by
the remains of the car. He slumped to the ground, reeling for consciousness.
Chibi-Moon ran to look after him. She knew that she couldn't do anything in
this battle if the other Scouts were doing barely anything. Brave, she was.
Stupid, was another story.
Jupiter rounded the corner inside the house, trying to locate any path
downstairs to find Michael. She came across a table covered with maps and
various tools. The maps were of Tokyo and of New York. There were tiny X's
strewn about the field, probably indicating where a target was located. She
shivered as she saw each of the Scouts' homes X'ed in. She wasn't sure how he
had found out who they were, but they'd have to do something about it. Beside
the maps, Jupiter found Michael's Crystal and his other belongings. She grabbed
them and headed into the kitchen to try and find a way downstairs. She opened
the first door the came to, an empty pantry. She left the door open and ran
around the corner to the next door. This one held a set of stairs.
She ran down them, almost tripping over her own feet and found a light
switch. As she flicked the lights on, some small creatures scattered from where
they had been resting, startled by the light. There was a door in the back
wall, the only thing in the dank cellar besides the animals. Jupiter swung open
the door nervously, cautious of what might be inside. The light spilled across
the room, dust flying in every direction. There was a form hanging on the back
wall, groaning painfully. It was Michael. There were grey rings under his eyes
from fatigue that Jupiter could see from across the room. His hair was mussed
beyond much recognition, and there were bruises over much of his arms, legs, and
face.
"Michael!" Jupiter exclaimed, running to him.
"Lita?" he asked, blinking a couple of times to adjust his eyes to the
sudden light. "You're real, right? I'm not just dreaming this?"
"I'm as real as you want me to be," Lita replied. "Do you know where the
key is to your chains?"
"Where are the others?" Michael asked.
"They're outside fighting Gerolus, and they need our help. Now, where's
the key?!" Jupiter asked urgently.
"I don't know," Michael said. "Use one of those things on the table."
Jupiter looked at the table and saw the instruments of torture that Gerolus had
set out before Michael. "Try that one on the right. It's got a saw on it."
"All right," Jupiter replied. It was only a long, thin silver handle.
She wasn't sure how it could be a saw until she picked it up. A circular blade
whirred out from the end and began to spin away. "How did you know that would
happen?"
"He was about to use it on me when he heard the door open," Michael
replied.
"You mean, he used these on you?" Jupiter gasped.
"Of course he did," Michael replied. "They weren't there for decoration."
Jupiter frowned as anger rose from the pit of her stomach. Gerolus had caused
Michael so much pain. She would not forgive him. She held the saw against the
chains of Michael's legs first so that he wouldn't fall flat on his face. Then,
she went up to his arms and cut through those chains. When the second one came
loose, Michael slumped forward towards the ground. Jupiter quickly threw away
the saw and caught him in mid-fall. She brought him gently to the ground, her
arms wrapped around him, drinking in the happiness that she had from being
reunited with him.
"Are you all right?" Jupiter asked softly.
"Not really," Michael muttered. "I'm going to be sore for a very long
time after this."
"I'm just so glad to have you back," Jupiter said.
"Well, it's not like I died or anything," Michael said. Jupiter pulled
back from him, a stern look on her face.
"Don't you act like nothing happened! You worried us all!" she exclaimed.
"Were you doubting your own powers?" Michael asked.
"We were doubting that we would find you," Jupiter replied.
"Never doubt anything. Otherwise, it will never happen," Michael said,
mustering up as much of a smile as he could. Jupiter saw the smile cross his
face and softened her own visage. She brought his body close to hers again and
held him tightly, resting his head on her chest. "Not that I don't like this
and wouldn't like to do it some more later, but shouldn't we be saving the
others?"
"Can you walk?" Jupiter asked.
"If I transform, I'll have all the energy I need," Michael replied.
Jupiter handed him his crystal, and he exclaimed, "Europa Power Transformation!"
He gasped as the power rushed into him, his body re-energizing. The metal of
his armor wrapped around his body and pulled him to his feet. The pain of his
wounds faded to a slight buzz in the back of his mind. When he was through
transforming, Sailor Europa stood beside Jupiter, flexing his muscles to get
them warmed up. "Ready to go?" he asked Jupiter. He could feel the heat of his
anger obediently waiting in the wings of his mind, holding for the right time to
appear and flow forth to smite Gerolus once and for all.
He grinned as Jupiter replied, "Let's get out there!"
"Wait! First, we need to save my friend in the next cell over," Europa
said.
"What?" Jupiter asked.
"My friend, next cell over. We've got to save him," Europa reiterated.
"Europa, there is no next cell over," Jupiter replied.
"What?" he said, confused. He walked outside of his cell and looked
around the cellar, his rods and cones still adjusting to the light. The sight
that greeted him was the same that Jupiter had seen, a completely empty room
with two doors, one leading upstairs and another leading into his cell. A
grimace crossed Europa's face and his eyebrows furrowed deeply. "What did that
bastard do this time..." he growled.
"Europa, you're worrying me," Jupiter said, wandering out of the cell.
"No time to explain," Europa said, rushing up the stairs. When he reached
the top of them and emerged into the kitchen, he stopped short. The house
really was empty. They really were at the Lanards' house. He had really killed
them. That wasn't just some demented taunt he had lobbed to get to Michael.
Europa wasn't quite sure what he had expected, but he was shocked nonetheless.
He wandered slowly through the living room, staring at the blank walls, where
family portraits had once hung. The spaces where furniture had rested for as
long as he had known Yvette. The house she had grown up in was empty, and not
by any good twist of fate. Europa turned his eyes toward the open door.
Outside, an explosion rocked the street around the Scouts. Mars had been
knocked out and piled by Gerolus on top of Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Venus, Mercury
and Chibi-Moon had gathered across the decimated street from the mechanical
menace. Mercury was holding an injury on her right arm, while Venus had taken a
knee and looked to have multiple burns on her calf. The two were standing in
front of Chibi-Moon to protect her. Before they could do anything, he had
rushed them again, swatted Mercury in the head with his mechanical hand and
kicked Venus to the chin out of the way.
He drew back his real hand to deliver a blow to Chibi-Moon. As it moved
forward, a primal scream tore the air around them. "Stop it, NOW!!!" Europa
called from where he stood behind Gerolus. Gerolus's fist froze in midair a few
inches away from Chibi-Moon's face, held by an invisible force. Gerolus's voice
echoed from the speaker in his head.
"Cross?! What are you-?" he exclaimed in surprise. "I can't move!"
"I look around, and I see five of my best friends in the world lying
unconscious and semi-conscious, while you twist the knife a couple of times,"
Europa replied. He felt the rage trickle out of him in the direction of
Gerolus. "What would you do if we switched places? On second thought, don't
answer that. You'd probably offer to help me. I'm better than you, though.
I'm just going to break your toy, then come for you."
"What's going on?!" Gerolus exclaimed. The metal that made up his body
began to distort outward, as though something inside him was boiling outwards.
"You've given me something, Gerolus. You gave me the strength to beat
you. Too bad I won't be able to keep it when you're dead. My strength is the
wish to kill you," Europa said.
"Ha! I'm already dead!" Gerolus said. "I'm just a soulless mind stuck
onto a bunch of circuits. But that's all I need to beat you." The bulge in the
center of Gerolus's body continued to increase to twice his normal size.
Jupiter and Chibi-Moon stared, speechless, as the two opposing forces stood in
place. A moment of quiet had descended on the battlefield. Venus had sat up,
rubbing her jaw, where she had received the kick. From where she sat, Europa
looked like he was glowing with energy. She gasped as the metal in Gerolus's
chest broke, a mass of earth erupting forth from every empty space in the
machine. Sparks and smoke billowed from the wound as Gerolus screamed in anger.
Chibi-Moon knew what was coming, and she ran as hard as she could from Gerolus.
A moment later, the machine exploded in a shower of parts and fire. Chunks of
rock flew through the air in all directions, a cost of dirt falling on the
concrete as a remainder of the attack.
When the smoke cleared, Europa's expression changed from the rage of a
moment ago to relief. That was it. It was almost over for good. At his feet,
Gerolus's hand wriggled at his feet. He just had one more thing to take care
of. Looking around at the others, injured and beaten, he revised his thought.
Two more things to take care of.
He and Jupiter ran to check on Moon, Mars, and Tuxedo Mask, while Chibi-
Moon checked on Mercury.
"Sailor Moon!" Europa called, supporting her head firmly. At his voice,
her eyes cracked open.
"Michael," she said weakly. "We're here to save you."
"Looks like it went the other way around," Europa commented.
"Where's Gerolus?" she asked.
"I took care of his robot body," Europa replied.
Moon's eyes suddenly widened in surprise. "What?! How?!" she exclaimed.
"Let's just say he pushed me a bit too far," Europa replied. "Are you
going to be all right?"
"I sure hope so," Moon said. "Our parents really wouldn't like us coming
home halfway dead."
"Good point," Europa replied, grinning.
"How are the others doing?" she asked. "Tuxedo Mask?! What about Tuxedo
Mask?"
"He's all right," Jupiter replied as Darien demonstratively groaned.
"So's Chibi-Moon. They're all looking about as bad as you right now."
"We've still got to take care of Gerolus, though," Europa said.
"What? I thought you finished him," Moon said.
"I know this is going to sound strange, but he kept his brain in a jar
somewhere, so if we don't finish him now, he may still come back," Europa said.
Moon pushed herself to her feet and turned towards the house.
"About as odd as anything else that's happened to us so far. Let's get in
there," she said determinedly. Jupiter, Chibi-Moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and
Tuxedo Mask wearily took to their feet as well and moved to join them. The
group filed inside and walked up the stairs. It was clear that the remainder of
the villain wasn't down there. It wasn't in the cellar, either, based on what
Jupiter and Europa had seen. Europa sensed a negative force in the room that
had been Yvette's. He pushed the door open to almost complete darkness. There
was a set of television screens around the room, with a table in the center.
The jar containing Gerolus's brain sat on the table, various electrodes running
in and out of the jar, finally running into a processing unit that was hooked to
the monitors.
"What is this?" Mercury asked, looking around the room.
Europa approached the table in the center of the room. On the blank
screen to his left, text began to appear. "Well, you've finally done it. Why
don't you just finish me?"
"Where is Howard? What did you do with that poor guy? We were supposed
to get out together!" Europa exclaimed at the jar.
"Don't you get it?" appeared on the screen. "I was driving you mad! I
took away the one thing you had left to you to make you obsess. Then, I gave
you a friend that I could later tell you never existed. He would only be a
voice in your head! Not a real person for you to save. That person was only
me!"
Europa stared for a moment at the jar. "You were toying with my mind?
After all you've done to me already?! You've toyed with my feelings! You've
beaten my body! You have threatened my friends! After all that, you have the
nerve to TOY WITH MY MIND?!?!"
"It's the least I could do for you." Europa drew back his fist to break
the glass and end Gerolus's miserable existence.
"No!" Moon called out, halting Europa in his action. "Europa, please,
don't end it with violence. There's been enough of that for my liking."
"But everything he's done to us! You'll let that go? Just like that?"
Europa protested.
"I don't want to harm anyone helpless like this. It's just not right!"
Moon insisted.
Europa pulled back his fist. He couldn't do anything, no matter how much
he wanted to. Tears began to well up in his eyes as his frustration became
evident. All of this time, waiting for his chance to end the suffering that he
had been put through. He couldn't do anything that he had wanted to. Gerolus
had won once more, another escape from the retribution that he deserved.
Europa's head dropped as tears rolled down the bridge of his nose to fall to the
ground. More text began to scroll across the screen.
"Your tears bring me joy. Nothing else can now."
"Shut up!" Europa exclaimed. On a different screen, a new message
appeared, "shut-down sequence initiated." "No! You're not-!"
"I will look up on you from the depths of Hell, and I will laugh," Gerolus
said in text.
"Stop that right now!" Europa exclaimed. The soft whir from the computer
slowed down until quiet ran through the room. One last line appeared on the
screen of Gerolus's words.
"I have won."
Everyone stood in stunned silence, surprised at the events that had just
passed before their eyes. Europa fell to his knees and punched the floor
angrily. "Damn it, don't you run away like that!" Tears continued to fall from
the tip of his nose as he held back any sound from his mouth. He wouldn't give
Gerolus the pleasure of hearing him cry. A moment later, police sirens softly
wafted through the air, punctuating the silence.
"We need to get home," Mercury said. The group formed a circle and
performed the Sailor Teleport to return home with Europa physically intact.
The group rematerialized on top of Lita's apartment building in the middle
of the night. Everyone reverted and gathered around Michael, who had, after
losing the extra energy from his transformation, collapsed on the ground,
unconscious.
"Let's get him inside," Darien said, picking Michael up by the shoulders.
Lita took Michael's left arm while Darien took his right, and both wrapped an
arm around their necks to support him while they descended the stairs. When
they entered the apartment with Michael on their shoulders, Jennifer was in the
kitchen.
"Oh, that was quick," she said. "Did you have any-" she stopped in mid-
sentence as she entered the room and saw the battered Michael who was being
placed prone on the couch in the company of the other injured Scouts. "You got
him! Is he all right?!"
"He's just exhausted," Amy replied.
"He's not the only one," Raye said, sitting down beside the couch. Her
nosebleed had stopped, and she was trying to wipe the drying blood off of her
upper lip.
Looking around at the various injuries on the girls, Jennifer commented,
"I'll go get the first-aid kit."
"I'll help!" Rini insisted, following Jennifer.
Darien took a seat at the foot of the couch, his eyelids drooping slightly
as he got a chance to relax for the first time in four days. "We should give
the Crosses a call. I'd think they'd be interested to see Michael."
"I'll take care of that," Mina said, walking to the phone.
"He feels kind of warm," Lita said with her hand on his forehead. She
stood up and walked into the kitchen. She returned soon with a wet washrag and
placed it on Michael's forehead. The cool sensation registered with Michael's
brain and he opened his eyes. "Michael..." Lita began, not sure what to say.
"Thanks, guys," Michael said, smiling at Lita, Amy, and Serena.

Chapter 5:
Epilogue

Michael sat outside of the Cherry Hill Temple, staring at the sky. The
setting sun shone its warm rays across the blanket where the group was having a
last minute study session. A slight smile crossed Michael's face as Lita asked
Amy to explain a math problem to her.
It had been a month since the battle with Gerolus had freed him from the
last of his lingering ghosts of his past life. This time, he was sure it was
final. He had seen Gerolus die, and that was that. His parents had accepted
the answer that the Sailor Scouts had saved him without question, and hadn't
even asked why Gerolus had wanted him. The police, however, were a different
story. He had been grilled pretty thoroughly about every issue of the case.
He'd ended up telling them that it was related to Yvette's death and to talk to
the New York police for details on the case. Maybe now, they could let Yvette's
memory rest peacefully. That would sit just fine with Michael.
Michael wasn't sure who was more thankful to have him back, really; his
parents or the other Scouts. They had all visited him in the week or so
following his rescue to help him out, since he had insisted on not going to the
hospital. He had appreciated the help from the others, though, since he had
taken some pretty hard abuse from Gerolus during his stay. Amy had brought his
homework to him, Serena and Mina had come offering to help his parents, even
though they had insisted that they didn't need any help. They just let the two
girls stay because they thought that Michael could use the company. His parents
just treated it like he had the flu or some other sickness, except that it
couldn't be transmitted to anyone else.
He had gone through a short period of depression after he had been at home
for some time. The girls hadn't understood him at all when he had explained the
issue to them, that he had needed to be the one to finish it. During the
depression, he had stopped talking to Serena. It was her fault that he had
missed his chance. She had stayed his hand, held back his fury. Her actions
had stopped the healing power of destruction. After a couple of days of
thinking about it without having Serena around, though, he had realized that she
had done what she thought was right. He couldn't fault her for that, but he'd
always fault himself for letting him listen to her.
The most important thing in his mind, though, wasn't evil-doers. It
wasn't energy-sucking monsters or magicians or destructive robots. His mind was
on his friends. They were the top priority to him. They had gone through many
crises together. They had risked their lives for him as he had risked his life
for them. They owed each other for the gifts that they had given and received
over the years. They had put up with him- his ego, his pride, his free-
wheeling, his attitude- and they had loved him in spite of all that. He loved
them for it. He was accepted for who he was, not what he could do or what grade
he could get them. If he could help it, there was no way he was leaving that
behind. After all, what fun is saving the world alone?
So, Michael rested his mind for a moment. He stared at the sky to gain
peace from the tranquil shades of pink above everything that he held dear.
Enjoying life was what he had been lacking for the past couple of weeks.
Perhaps it was time for him to get back to that. Otherwise, what was the point
of living? He smiled for no particular reason besides enjoying the feeling that
had escaped him of late.
"Michael, are you okay?" Lita asked from where she was sitting. She had
finished asking Amy how to work the problem and was watching him stare into the
empty sky above their heads.
"I'm fine," he replied. "Just-" He had been about to say that he was
bored, but that was never true with these girls. He'd enjoy every moment of his
life as long as he had the five of them to keep him company. There was nothing
they couldn't do, and that thought comforted him immensely. "I'm just happy."
Lita smiled at him, the most beautiful thing that he had seen since the
last time he had seen he smile. "Good. So am I.

The End

Wow! Finally got this thing finished! It's about time. I mean, I've
been working on it for the past couple of months. I just hope that the extra
work time paid off in quality. I've just had a lot of distractions near the end
of school and with other projects, so I haven't been able to work as quickly as
I would have liked. But I think I've written down everything that I needed to
in order to finish this puppy off. Now, I've just got two more series to polish
off, and I can move on to a new project that I'm really excited about. I'm
finally finishing off with Michael so that I can move on to a new character
who'll be around for a much shorter time this time. I'll just have to see when
I get there. Well, thanks for sticking out with me until the end! Later!