:: Sailor Moon Neo :: part 6

by Shelley Dream of Trista's Timely Tales

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With the misty stars above in the glow of a few of Jupiter's moons, the battle issues.

Sesja, senshi of Jupiter, quickly released her lighting power into Doom and Dusk. Halting there attacks on her friends, new and old, and giving them time to attack.

-- "Silver Earth Transform!!" -- Instantly, in a flash of white light, the senshi of Earth's white attire is covered with a metal breastplate. Metal boots with a long spike on the end of it. Metal gloves with one long spike running off her elbow. Her face covered by a metal mask that split down off her nose and curves to her jaw. Her elusive green eyes flashed from beneath the metal mask as she drew her sword and took on the evil raven; Doom.

Doom looked up at the senshi from Earth and sneered. "You shall never defeat me, Earthling." He lashed out with his sword blazing.

Sapphire didn't back down to his sudden attack. She blocked his advancing sword with her own and glared at him. "You have no idea what I can do." She said as she rolled around his sword and cut his unarmed forearm.

Doom quickly backed away holding his bloody arm. His raven hair falling into the blood. He looked up at the senshi of Earth. "You will regret that." He held up his sword again.

Sapphire just smirked at him. "Only thing I regret is having to kill you." She drew up her sword.

"Well, then; Let me assure you. You wont have any regrets today." Doom advanced towards her and their blades clashed again.

While Dusk had started swinging her mace at Rini and Hotaru. The only thing the girls could do was dodge, only getting off one good attack before Sesja set them free.

Sesja opened up her hands and shot a mighty lighting bolt into Dusk. "Rini! Taru! Run!"

The pair quickly darted around the electrified Dusk.

"What do we do?" Rini asked. "Our first attack didn't do anything."

Hotaru nodded with her glaive in hand. "Don't worry, my princess. I'll take care of this." She gripped her weapon and stood ready.

Sesja released Dusk from her electric hold and drew back to her one leg. Becoming very tired from the extreme exertion.

While the fully armored Sapphire, now wounded from battle, saw Sesja had used her power to much. She shook her head thinking. 'Like always.'

"My turn." Hotaru said as she raised her glaive. -- "Silence" --

Sapphire hard and felt the destructive power of Sailor Saturn. Knowing she had to get Doom in the path of the attack.

-- "Glaive" -- Hotaru continued gaining energy.

Dusk knelt on the ground, lifting up her mace. Rini saw her and threw her tiara. -- "Moon! Tiara!" -- She removed and readied her tiara. Throwing it on demand. -- "Magic!" --Hitting Dusk's mace right out of her hand.

-- "Surprise!" -- Hotaru cried releasing her massive and destructive energy.

Sapphire heard the final cry of destruction and jumped back from Doom. Lowering her sword and lifting up her metal hand. "Time's up." Hitting him in the stomach with a violent burst of wind. He flew backwards and was caught in the destructive power of Hotaru's attack. Instantly, he and Dusk were, no longer. Turned back into black ravens, laying next to each other.

Sapphire walked up to them and sighed. "I told you I'd regret killing you." She picked them up with her bruised and bloodied hands. Looking at the other senshi. "The least we can do is bury them. Its the honorable thing to do."

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:: Sailor Moon Neo :: part 7

by J. Anne of Trista's Timely Tales

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Looking up at the others, Sapphire saw their reactions. Grudging agreement from Sesja, silent support from Rini, but from Hotaru… Hotaru was looking at the birds in her hand with suspicion. Why was she doing that?

Haunting malevolent laughter seemed to come from the very air itself as if carried on the winds… and there were winds now. Soft winds whipping about close to the ground that seemed to carry a chill with them.

Looking down at the dead adversaries she carried, Sapphire's eyes grew wide with surprise as they seemed to slip through her fingers like mist and air and shadow. Gone in a moment's time were all traces of the birds she'd held in her hands.

The calls of ravens filled the air, and one screeched above the rest, then another. "Beware Doom." One said. "Beware Dusk." The other said. "Do not turn your backs." The voices continued. "Do not turn away." They crowed. "In all the shadows. In every night may we come to hearken your ends." The winds picked up and the sky seemed to darken as if shadows were falling around them. "Bravely you fought. Bravely you struggle." The sounds of cawing in the winds grew louder. "But know you that the grave respects no struggles and cares nothing for the brave!" Louder still the sounds grew as to freeze the blood in your veins, and out of the darkness a flock of angry ravens appeared, screeching as if full of deadly malice in their hearts.

The winds whipped around them and Saturn's eyes narrowed in defiance as she raised her Glaive and spoke — "Silence Wall." — and a barrier of energy stayed the ravens from their dark works, seemingly causing them to melt away to nothing before their eyes.

"What in all hells is going on here?!" Sesja looked around, poised for battle but frustratingly enough not able to find a target.

"I don't get it. Aren't they dead?" Sailor Moon asked, moving a little closer to Hotaru as a chill ran down her spine.

"No. I don't think they ever really were. They're more than they seem." Hotaru said, her eyes searching the winds around them with suspicion.

The winds picked up from inside Saturn's defensive shield and rose up to knock her and Rini off their feet. So distracted, Saturn's wall fell and the birds were at them again.

Weakened as she was, Sapphire could not seem to move in the face of their disorienting attack. She seemed to just curl up into a ball on the ground trying to protect herself.

"Get away from her!!" Sesja shouted as she ran to her friend's aid, swatting at the birds around her, trying to drive them away from Sapphire's body. She managed to break through them and get to her friend's side. "Snap out of it Sapphire! Wake Up!" she shook her friend's huddled body while trying to keep the Ravens at bay.

Sapphire's eyes snapped open and glowed a bright white light. Her entire body seemed to take on that radiance as white wings as from a dove appeared from her back, knocking Sesja away as they spread wide and she opened her mouth and cried out as if she were a great eagle, wounded yet defiant, and a wall of light drove back the Ravens from her and from her friends. It only lasted a moment though and the light was gone and Sapphire collapsed to the ground, exhausted. The ravens and their shadows swooping back in to take up the attack once more.

– "Silence Wall." – Saturn again called forth her barrier to hold them back.

"How long will it hold them?" Rini asked.

"It won't need to be for long." Sesja grumbled as she got up off the ground and dusted herself off, grumpy and annoyed, and infuriated beyond measure. "I've had enough of this!" she said darkly as she knelt down onto the ground. "Mother Jupiter, Please." She began to pray as she spread her hands flat to the ground. "Hear your daughter and bring forth your glory that I may smite thy enemies!"

The ground rumbles and groans as sparks of energy begin to alight all around them before lightening of red and gold hues shoots up out of the ground and strikes at the ravens, destroying them all, burning them to ashes.

The sky clears of the darkness at the ravens' passing.

"Good job!" Rini gushed, going over to hug Sesja in celebration. "You got'm all!" she smiled. "Taru, wasn't she great?" Sailor Moon looked back at her friend who did not appear to be very happy. Hotaru was looking at a point in the sky with that same suspicious manner of hers. "Taru?" Rini asked.

Saturn raised up her glaive and pointed it at the spot in the air. "You're not fooling me." She said. "Show yourselves."

And sure enough, two ravens appeared and cawed their mocking laughter. "Dusk and Doom will see you again." Doom's voice echoed in the air. "Wait for us in the waning of days…" Dusk's voice whispered as they disappeared from view completely.

"Are.. are they really gone this time?" Rini asked.

"Yes… But we should take them at their words. We haven't heard the last of them." Hotaru replied gravely.

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:: Sailor Moon Neo :: part 8

by Shelley Dream of Trista's Timely Tales

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All grew quiet as the night fully fell over them. The sky was a crisp black with a dusting of stars all around. Along with a few of Jupiter's many moons shinning down there light on the battle wounded, confused, and wary quartet.

Having come to know their first adversaries, Dusk and Doom, no one said a word. All they knew was that they had to get through the ravens to get to Toro, Sesja's twin brother. And from the look of things, that would not prove to be easy.

So Sailor Jupiter, Sesja, helped Sapphire up, Sailor Moon quickly coming to their aid and taking the senshi from Earth's other arm. Sapphire's head hung low and her hair all about her. Feeling Rini's warmth she looked up at her and smiled that sweet smile of hers. Rini just smiled back and nodded; as if to say 'Its alright. I've got you.' Then together they walked Sapphire out of the gardens and back inside.

Saturn began to follow them then stopped and looked back up into the sky where Doom and Dusk had been. She still felt uneasy about the whole thing. Something wasn't right. Something wasn't right at all. Yet, she turned and followed behind her queen, going ahead to open the palace doors for them.

Once inside, they took Sailor Earth to Castle Morcraft's medical ward.

Sapphire laid on the table, still feeling weak. To weak to keep her senshi attire. Thus, it faded away into a pair of jeans and a purple t-shirt.

Jupiter also shifted back into her normal state of knee length jeans and a fitted blouse. Thus, attending to Sapphire's battle wounds. "You didn't have to do it, you know. I was going to stop them."

Sapphire rolled her head over to Sesja and smiled. "I know." Her hair falling in her mouth. "I just had to do something. I couldn't be that weak. Not when I'm still able to do something."

Sesja nodded dabbing the blood from her arm. "Um, I understand... But you know when you do that, you use up a lot of your energy and will power."

Sapphire nodded. "I know, but I don't use it often. Not as just an energy wave, but things seemed desperate. I haven't died from using it."

Sesja raised an eyebrow to her. "Yet."

Sapphire smiled. "Oh, don't worry yourself, Sesja. I'm not going to do anything to put myself or you endanger again. I promise."

Sesja just looked at her a moment and sighed. Continuing with her work. "So, where are your other wounds? I need to see if any need stitches."

Sapphire nodded and proceeded to show her the rest of her battle wounds.

Rini and Hotaru waited outside the medical ward and talked amongst each other.

"Are you sure you wont to do this?" Hotaru asked in her normal black attire, her glaive leaning beside her.

Rini nodded in her skin tight black pants and the sugar pink t-shirt Jama had given her. Perplexed by the question. "Um, I know what you mean, but we don't have much choice. In order to save our world we need to save this one."

Hotaru nodded. "Understood, but you have noticed it. Haven't you?"

"What?" Rini asked cluelessly.

"Were not in your parents' time. Not in Tokyo's time. We've gone much further then that."

Rini's eye winded as she gasped. "Ah! No. No way! I specifically sent us to that time. So, I could see mom and dad again. Even the girls. This can't be true."

Hotaru sighed and smirked at Rini. "I know but here in this time. Sesja is the princess. Not Lita. Along with her friend from Earth. She's no relation to your father. Which means we've either gone back in time or we've been flung too far ahead. Maybe, if we asked if the Earth's Moon is still there, then we'd know for sure if we went forwards or back."

Rini nodded. "Um, you have a good point, but what I'm wondering right now is what was that energy that came from that senshi from Earth? I've never seen or heard of such power coming for any senshi, let alone one from Earth. I didn't even know Earth had senshi."

Hotaru nodded. "Um, I was wondering the same thing. There are so many questions and so few answers."

Rini nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure how to go about asking either. I mean if we ask if the moon is blown up or not, they're going to think were crazy. Then we'll have to tell them we've time traveled. As far as I know, the gate of time wasn't guarded way back when or now. Whatever the case may be."

Hotaru nodded, knowing she had made a good case, but something had to be done.

Just then Sesja and Sapphire came walking out of the medical wing. Sesja was walking slowly with Sapphire just incase she needed someone to lean on.

Instantly, Hotaru and Rini got to their feet. The sudden shuffling of feet started their new friends. Sapphire and Sesja looked over at them with wide eyes and beating hearts. They looked at each other and put their hand over their hearts and sighed. Then began to laugh at each other, turning their attention back to Rini and Hotaru.

"You started me." Sesja replied with spunk.

"Me, too." Sapphire added. "Boy, I forgot you two were here."

Rini and Hotaru smiled and nodded.

Rini batted her hand at them. "Oh, that's alright." She walked up to them looking at Sapphire. "Are you alright?"

Sapphire nodded with a sparkle in her elusive green eyes. Touched by how caring this girl really was. Anything she said was from the heart. "Yes, I'll be alright. Once this wound sterilizer wears off, I'll be good as new."

Rini was joyful at that. "Oh, that's great! I'm so glad to hear. You really saved us out there."

Sapphire's heart skipped a beat.

Sesja noticed and said. "Yeah, so…" She eyed around at everyone. "…Should we get something to eat?"

Rini beamed. "For sure! I mean, that would be wonderful. If you want, I could help you? Taru could watch over Sapphire..."

Everyone blinked at Rini's request. Why did she want to separate everyone?

Then Hotaru nodded. Understanding where she was going. "Yes, that would fine. I am more than happy to watch over her."

Sapphire blushed. "Oh, I don't need anyone to watch over me. I'm alright. Really. I don't need a babysitter."

Sesja smirked. "Well, it would be helpful if you could walk with her back down to the living hall. Sapphire can show you the way."

Hotaru nodded.

Sesja looked over to Rini. "So, you know how to cook, hum? I thought people from the Moon Kingdom only knew how to eat."

"Naw, I'm actually a pretty good cook, but my presentation still needs work." The senshi from the moon admitted as they walked off down the hall to the kitchen.

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:: Sailor Moon Neo :: part 9

by J. Anne of Trista's Timely Tales

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The day was sunny and warm as they walked by the river.

Rini was looking up at the sky. As she did, she pondered her situation once again… Last night, the start of the night anyway, hadn't been very nice. She'd never really disliked crows before, she even had some very fond memories saved up of feeding them at them the temple with Raye a few times… Today though, today crows just weren't her favorite people at all…

"What are you thinking about?" a curious voice asks her.

"Oh, it's nothing really." She looked over at Jama, a little embarrassed at her own thoughts. "I guess I'm just trying to convince myself I shouldn't hate crows… After last night and everything I mean. Crows can be nice you know? At least the ones Raye was friends with were…"

Jama gave her a very nice smile at this. "Really? Tell me about them?"

"Okay." Rini smiled back cheerfully, her spirits brightened at being able to talk about the friends she'd known since she was little again. "Raye's really brave. Way braver than me. And she's a really good friend too. She always made me laugh so much the way she'd tease my mom so bad, it was so funny. But she was always nice to me though, she gave me things sometimes, and she always treated me like I knew things, you know? She lived at this temple that her grandpa had, and she could read things from fire… like the future and stuff? And she knew all this magic, like zap! And she'd put this piece of paper on the bad guy, and they'd like freeze, right where they were. It was so cool." She looked over at Jama.

"She sounds really swift, like Sesja is. She was a good fighter, right? Was she a guardian like her?" Jama asked.

"Swift, huh? That sounds about right." Rini guessed. "Your accent's really pretty, you know? Everybody here, the way you talk, it's really nice."

"You think?" Jama blushed a little. "I never thought about it… I like how you and your friend talk too, it's so interesting… but how come you sound the same? She's from Saturn and you're all the way from the Moon Kingdom."

"Oh um, well… that's kind of a long story…" Rini tried to avoid the question.

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me." Jama smiled. "Oh! This is such a great spot up ahead! Come on!" Jama grabbed Rini's hand and dragged her around the bend in the river.

The sight that greeted her was a wonderful one indeed. They were near the top of a small waterfall and they could see a good ways away into the hills.

"Awesome..." Rini said looking around.

"Isn't it?" Jama took a deep breath and spun around a little, starting to laugh.

Rini couldn't help but giggle a little at the display. "You're kinda funny sometimes, you know that?"

"And what if I am?" Jama defended herself.

"If you are, then it's a good thing you came along with me on my walk. I could really use some fun in my life now a'days." Rini smiled, but it was a smile that was tinged a little with regret and painful memories.

Jama sighed a little and gave Rini an understanding look. "You too, huh?"

"Me too?" Rini asked. "Me too what?"

Jama turned her gaze back to the waterfall. "It's just, in your voice now… I think I… maybe it's just me imagining my trouble in you, but I don't think so, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Rini walked over to her and put her hand on her arm.

Jama turned back to look at her and Rini's hand dropped to her side again. "You just looked… I mean, my dad's missing… My family used to come out here together sometimes…. and it's, I don't know if he's even alive or not. Clear or not, I don't know. But the world's in a bad time about now… it just seemed to me you knew that feeling, maybe even more than I do…" She looked at Rini with a meaningful gaze.

Rini looked down at the ground a moment, then over to the waterfall. "Yeah… I guess I'm not that good at hiding my feelings, am I?" The senshi gave her an ironic half smile.

"Maybe. Or maybe I just know what to look for…" Jama tried to comfort her. "I'm sorry. I… I don't mean to bring up bad memories for you. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She assured her new friend.

"No, it's okay." Rini gave her a hopeful smile. "Beside, the story's not done yet, right? Not for either of us. You just have to believe it. That it'll all turn out okay… That's all you can do. If we try hard enough, maybe things will turn around?"

Jama smiled back at her. "With you around, I think I do believe it."

In the distance, they could hear the sound of a raven's call, but as they looked out over the vista before them, Rini couldn't help but remember Raye's smile, and think that somewhere from another time and place, her friends were still out there, and that one day she'd find her way to see them again.

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To be continued...