"That's..." Sailor Mars said, watching the stream of lights disappear
into the night sky. Turning back to look at their leader, Sailor Mars
gasped, along with the rest of the senshi, at what stood where she'd
expected to see Usagi.
Usagi stood a few centimeters shorter than before, and some of the baby
fat she'd lost through the years had returned. Taking an awkward step
back, Usagi's eyes grew wide as she stared at the other inner-Senshi,
before she slumped to the floor.
Rushing to help their fallen leader, age-regression instantly forgotten,
the senshi surrounded Usagi, before gently carrying her to Rei's room,
where she could comfortably recover. Filing outside to talk about what
was going on without waking their leader, Sailor Jupiter almost walked
into Uranus, the other two outers behind her.
"Where's meatball head?" Uranus asked, glancing at the others. When
nobody responded, she frowned, and asked a little louder.
"Where's Sailor Moon?"
"She didn't listen to my advice." Setsuna said, from within the shrine.
Stepping out into the evening air, Uranus frowned, and Neptune asked
quietly, "Will she be all right?"
"Most likely, though it will be some time before she's..." Setsuna
trailed off.
"Before she's what?" Mercury asked, softly.
"Before she gets used to everything again," Pluto responded, her voice
now little more than a whisper.
"What happened?" Sailor Saturn asked from behind the other outers.
"There was a... problem, and to compensate, the universe split to avoid
being destroyed."
"That doesn't make much sense," Venus said, frowning.
"How come you detransformed?" Neptune asked, suddenly.
"I'm protected by my affiliation. You all might have noticed above
average skills in whatever tasks revolve around your affiliation." The
other's nodded, remembering, while Pluto continued with the earlier
explanation. "Had I explained in detail, it would have made even less.
Suffice to say, the 'other' universe is continuing on as planned, while
this one took a different path."
"So, we're back in time... back... " Mars frowned, then turned to look
at Pluto, her gaze telling the Senshi of Time she wanted no half-truths
in her answers. "Are we going to have to fight everyone again?"
"I'm surprised you're really worried about it. At your level, the first
challenge you're likely to face would be the Dead Moon Circus."
"Are we... did we replace ourselves, or are there other.. Is there
another Hotaru?" Saturn asked, quietly. The other senshi looked at her,
worry written on a few faces, and sympathy on the others.
"No... the splitting caused everyone to split as they were, so there is
no other Hotaru, or Haruka, or Rei," Pluto stated. Saturn sighed softly,
then looked up at Pluto again, fearfully.
"If I detransform..." Pluto nodded, turning to the others.
"Your transformations are keeping the regressions at bay... but I'm not
sure how long you'll need to stay that way before you all can revert
without... repercussions."
"Umm..." Sailor Venus said, quietly, "My parents are still in
England..."
"I can probably take you there if you'd like, though with Usagi back to
being as she was before becoming Sailor Moon, you might want to stick
around."
"Why's that?" Venus asked.
"You were the leader of the Senshi during the Silver Millennium, Venus,"
Mars said, wondering why the Senshi of Love was being so dense. Her
unasked question was soon answered, though.
"Oh... oh yeah. Sorry, I'm just thinking about Usagi.. and..."
"D-point?" Jupiter asked, softly. When Venus simply nodded, Mars
shuddered, looking at the ground, before turning to the others.
"We'll have to patrol, again... Since Jadeite's going to start up again,
soon."
"Why?" Ami asked, confused.
"Because we don't... we do!" Mars said, smiling as Mercury showed her
the screen on the Mercury Computer. It displayed dates, times, who
attacked, who was present, and what attacks worked best on what enemies
during that encounter. Noticing Mercury's frown, Neptune asked what was
wrong.
"This list is pretty complete, but Sailor Moon had a few fights before I
started recording them, and there were a few attacks that were
diversions. It's a good list to schedule around, but it won't last."
"Why not?" Uranus asked, reading over Mercury's shoulder.
"After the first few times we arrive before them, they start changing
their plans. At least, a smart enemy would." The other Senshi nodded,
and Jupiter spoke up, cracking her knuckles.
"I've got a solution to that."
"Oh?" Uranus asked, quirking a brow.
"First time Jadeite shows up, all of us attack him at once. He may have
laughed off our attacks before, but I'd like to see how he handles a
Jupiter Oak Evolution or two."
"That would work, but we'd be unable to predict when or where Nephrite
shows up. Or Zoicite and Kunzite, for that matter."
"Well, there is one option..." Mars said, looking at Saturn.
"What?" The Senshi of Destruction asked, guardedly.
"We could Sailor Teleport to D-Point, and..." The other senshi were
quiet as they thought about it.
"It wouldn't matter if you did," a new voice called out from above.
Turning to see who'd spoken, the Inner Senshi gasped when they saw
Jadeite standing on the rooftop.
"What do you mean, Jadeite! We're a lot stronger than you, now!" Mars
said, preparing to jump at the Dark Kingdom General.
"I beg to differ. You failed to kill me before, and just like you, I
know... everything." The last word was said with a grin, as he floated
up into the air to stare down at them.
"But... how?" Minako asked, never having faced Jadeite with the others.
"Beryl banished me to Eternal Sleep, as opposed to killing me. And in
that state, I watched as you destroyed Beryl and Metallia, then the Doom
Tree, the Deathbusters, The Dead Moon Circus and Galaxia."
"So? How do you remember it all?" Ami asked, her computer scanning
Jadeite, the numbers climbing steadily.
"The same way you do. Magic can halt the temporal change, and unlike the
other fools you faced, I didn't die to lose my memories."
"So you're saying, anyone with sufficient magic and who isn't dead..."
Makoto said, uneasily.
"Oh don't worry, the Ayakashi Sisters you worked so hard to save are
still their bitter selves in the far future."
"But... " Saturn said, uneasily.
"Yes, Souichi Tomoe and Daimon Germatos know all there is to know about
their future history."
"Papa.." Saturn said softly, leaning on the Silence Glaive heavily.
"We beat them before, and now, without their Messiah, the Deathbusters
aren't going anywhere!" Neptune shouted, wrapping an arm around Saturn
protectively.
"Yeah! And we beat Beryl and Metallia, too, so there's no chance one of
her weaker minions like you could stand up to us!" Mars said hotly.
Jadeite just grinned.
"You all were killed by youma less powerful than any of Beryl's
Generals, and it was Sailor Moon who defeated Beryl and Metallia, with
the Ginzuishou... and I don't see Usagi Tsukino, so I'm assuming the
little brat's suffered an... interesting regression in age and memory. A
rather Debilitating blow to your team."
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Space Sword Blaster!"
The two attacks sped towards Jadeite, who smiled, and waited, before
backhanding them away. His eyes narrowed, however, and he rubbed his
wrist, surprised the attacks were powerful enough to be felt. When the
other Senshi stepped back, surprised that he had taken two of their
strongest attacks without much more than a sore wrist, he smiled.
"Fool! All the energy that Beryl and her minions gave off was absorbed
since my imprisonment. I control the power of Beryl, Metallia, Zoicite,
Kunzite, and every youma that died at D-point!"
"Silence Glaive... Surprise!" While Saturn mostly shouted her attack
phrase like the others, she spoke softly, barely above a whisper, and
leveled her Glaive at Jadeite, the blast that could decimate huge
swathes of land tearing apart the molecules of atmosphere between her
and Jadeite. Centimeters away from the empowered Dark Kingdom General,
Jadeite disappeared, the attack passing through the space he'd been and
continuing onward into the sky.
"A nice try..." the disembodied voice said from all around them. "I
think I'll issue you all a little handicap, while I build up an army...
In addition to your lack of Sailor Moon, that is."
Without warning, a rift in the air behind Pluto opened, and a black
blast of energy shot out, catching the Senshi of time in the back before
anyone had a chance to shout a warning. Sailor Pluto was flung forward,
her back a smoking mess, down the stairs of the shrine, rolling to a
stop on the sidewalk. It the amber glow of a nearby streetlight, blood
began to trickle out from under her, and Sailors Saturn and Mercury
rushed to her side.
"Mercury..." Pluto said, coughing. flecks of blood splattered the Ice
Senshi's blue-tinted visor, and Mercury paled. Gently turning Pluto on
her side, Mercury stiffened upon seeing the damage.
"Don't talk, save your strength." Saturn, not wanting to disrupt her
anymore than possible, placed her hands over the wound, and began
healing. She frowned as the wound healed much slower than usual.
"Won't..." another cough, and Pluto reverted to Setsuna, " magic
blocked."
"Shh.." Mercury said, confirming this with her computer.
"No time, going... two more hours...change back..." Setsuna relaxed, and
Ami watched as her life-signs fell to near-death levels. The blood had
stopped pouring from her back, but it still trickled from the larger
injuries, and Mercury felt the faintest glimmer of hope as the wail of
an ambulance drew near.
into the night sky. Turning back to look at their leader, Sailor Mars
gasped, along with the rest of the senshi, at what stood where she'd
expected to see Usagi.
Usagi stood a few centimeters shorter than before, and some of the baby
fat she'd lost through the years had returned. Taking an awkward step
back, Usagi's eyes grew wide as she stared at the other inner-Senshi,
before she slumped to the floor.
Rushing to help their fallen leader, age-regression instantly forgotten,
the senshi surrounded Usagi, before gently carrying her to Rei's room,
where she could comfortably recover. Filing outside to talk about what
was going on without waking their leader, Sailor Jupiter almost walked
into Uranus, the other two outers behind her.
"Where's meatball head?" Uranus asked, glancing at the others. When
nobody responded, she frowned, and asked a little louder.
"Where's Sailor Moon?"
"She didn't listen to my advice." Setsuna said, from within the shrine.
Stepping out into the evening air, Uranus frowned, and Neptune asked
quietly, "Will she be all right?"
"Most likely, though it will be some time before she's..." Setsuna
trailed off.
"Before she's what?" Mercury asked, softly.
"Before she gets used to everything again," Pluto responded, her voice
now little more than a whisper.
"What happened?" Sailor Saturn asked from behind the other outers.
"There was a... problem, and to compensate, the universe split to avoid
being destroyed."
"That doesn't make much sense," Venus said, frowning.
"How come you detransformed?" Neptune asked, suddenly.
"I'm protected by my affiliation. You all might have noticed above
average skills in whatever tasks revolve around your affiliation." The
other's nodded, remembering, while Pluto continued with the earlier
explanation. "Had I explained in detail, it would have made even less.
Suffice to say, the 'other' universe is continuing on as planned, while
this one took a different path."
"So, we're back in time... back... " Mars frowned, then turned to look
at Pluto, her gaze telling the Senshi of Time she wanted no half-truths
in her answers. "Are we going to have to fight everyone again?"
"I'm surprised you're really worried about it. At your level, the first
challenge you're likely to face would be the Dead Moon Circus."
"Are we... did we replace ourselves, or are there other.. Is there
another Hotaru?" Saturn asked, quietly. The other senshi looked at her,
worry written on a few faces, and sympathy on the others.
"No... the splitting caused everyone to split as they were, so there is
no other Hotaru, or Haruka, or Rei," Pluto stated. Saturn sighed softly,
then looked up at Pluto again, fearfully.
"If I detransform..." Pluto nodded, turning to the others.
"Your transformations are keeping the regressions at bay... but I'm not
sure how long you'll need to stay that way before you all can revert
without... repercussions."
"Umm..." Sailor Venus said, quietly, "My parents are still in
England..."
"I can probably take you there if you'd like, though with Usagi back to
being as she was before becoming Sailor Moon, you might want to stick
around."
"Why's that?" Venus asked.
"You were the leader of the Senshi during the Silver Millennium, Venus,"
Mars said, wondering why the Senshi of Love was being so dense. Her
unasked question was soon answered, though.
"Oh... oh yeah. Sorry, I'm just thinking about Usagi.. and..."
"D-point?" Jupiter asked, softly. When Venus simply nodded, Mars
shuddered, looking at the ground, before turning to the others.
"We'll have to patrol, again... Since Jadeite's going to start up again,
soon."
"Why?" Ami asked, confused.
"Because we don't... we do!" Mars said, smiling as Mercury showed her
the screen on the Mercury Computer. It displayed dates, times, who
attacked, who was present, and what attacks worked best on what enemies
during that encounter. Noticing Mercury's frown, Neptune asked what was
wrong.
"This list is pretty complete, but Sailor Moon had a few fights before I
started recording them, and there were a few attacks that were
diversions. It's a good list to schedule around, but it won't last."
"Why not?" Uranus asked, reading over Mercury's shoulder.
"After the first few times we arrive before them, they start changing
their plans. At least, a smart enemy would." The other Senshi nodded,
and Jupiter spoke up, cracking her knuckles.
"I've got a solution to that."
"Oh?" Uranus asked, quirking a brow.
"First time Jadeite shows up, all of us attack him at once. He may have
laughed off our attacks before, but I'd like to see how he handles a
Jupiter Oak Evolution or two."
"That would work, but we'd be unable to predict when or where Nephrite
shows up. Or Zoicite and Kunzite, for that matter."
"Well, there is one option..." Mars said, looking at Saturn.
"What?" The Senshi of Destruction asked, guardedly.
"We could Sailor Teleport to D-Point, and..." The other senshi were
quiet as they thought about it.
"It wouldn't matter if you did," a new voice called out from above.
Turning to see who'd spoken, the Inner Senshi gasped when they saw
Jadeite standing on the rooftop.
"What do you mean, Jadeite! We're a lot stronger than you, now!" Mars
said, preparing to jump at the Dark Kingdom General.
"I beg to differ. You failed to kill me before, and just like you, I
know... everything." The last word was said with a grin, as he floated
up into the air to stare down at them.
"But... how?" Minako asked, never having faced Jadeite with the others.
"Beryl banished me to Eternal Sleep, as opposed to killing me. And in
that state, I watched as you destroyed Beryl and Metallia, then the Doom
Tree, the Deathbusters, The Dead Moon Circus and Galaxia."
"So? How do you remember it all?" Ami asked, her computer scanning
Jadeite, the numbers climbing steadily.
"The same way you do. Magic can halt the temporal change, and unlike the
other fools you faced, I didn't die to lose my memories."
"So you're saying, anyone with sufficient magic and who isn't dead..."
Makoto said, uneasily.
"Oh don't worry, the Ayakashi Sisters you worked so hard to save are
still their bitter selves in the far future."
"But... " Saturn said, uneasily.
"Yes, Souichi Tomoe and Daimon Germatos know all there is to know about
their future history."
"Papa.." Saturn said softly, leaning on the Silence Glaive heavily.
"We beat them before, and now, without their Messiah, the Deathbusters
aren't going anywhere!" Neptune shouted, wrapping an arm around Saturn
protectively.
"Yeah! And we beat Beryl and Metallia, too, so there's no chance one of
her weaker minions like you could stand up to us!" Mars said hotly.
Jadeite just grinned.
"You all were killed by youma less powerful than any of Beryl's
Generals, and it was Sailor Moon who defeated Beryl and Metallia, with
the Ginzuishou... and I don't see Usagi Tsukino, so I'm assuming the
little brat's suffered an... interesting regression in age and memory. A
rather Debilitating blow to your team."
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Space Sword Blaster!"
The two attacks sped towards Jadeite, who smiled, and waited, before
backhanding them away. His eyes narrowed, however, and he rubbed his
wrist, surprised the attacks were powerful enough to be felt. When the
other Senshi stepped back, surprised that he had taken two of their
strongest attacks without much more than a sore wrist, he smiled.
"Fool! All the energy that Beryl and her minions gave off was absorbed
since my imprisonment. I control the power of Beryl, Metallia, Zoicite,
Kunzite, and every youma that died at D-point!"
"Silence Glaive... Surprise!" While Saturn mostly shouted her attack
phrase like the others, she spoke softly, barely above a whisper, and
leveled her Glaive at Jadeite, the blast that could decimate huge
swathes of land tearing apart the molecules of atmosphere between her
and Jadeite. Centimeters away from the empowered Dark Kingdom General,
Jadeite disappeared, the attack passing through the space he'd been and
continuing onward into the sky.
"A nice try..." the disembodied voice said from all around them. "I
think I'll issue you all a little handicap, while I build up an army...
In addition to your lack of Sailor Moon, that is."
Without warning, a rift in the air behind Pluto opened, and a black
blast of energy shot out, catching the Senshi of time in the back before
anyone had a chance to shout a warning. Sailor Pluto was flung forward,
her back a smoking mess, down the stairs of the shrine, rolling to a
stop on the sidewalk. It the amber glow of a nearby streetlight, blood
began to trickle out from under her, and Sailors Saturn and Mercury
rushed to her side.
"Mercury..." Pluto said, coughing. flecks of blood splattered the Ice
Senshi's blue-tinted visor, and Mercury paled. Gently turning Pluto on
her side, Mercury stiffened upon seeing the damage.
"Don't talk, save your strength." Saturn, not wanting to disrupt her
anymore than possible, placed her hands over the wound, and began
healing. She frowned as the wound healed much slower than usual.
"Won't..." another cough, and Pluto reverted to Setsuna, " magic
blocked."
"Shh.." Mercury said, confirming this with her computer.
"No time, going... two more hours...change back..." Setsuna relaxed, and
Ami watched as her life-signs fell to near-death levels. The blood had
stopped pouring from her back, but it still trickled from the larger
injuries, and Mercury felt the faintest glimmer of hope as the wail of
an ambulance drew near.