Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon R vs Zodiac Knight Saint Seiya

by Psychoblue

A pilot for a second season of PGSM a Tokusatsu adaptation of Saint Seiya. The Sailor Senshi cross paths with the Bronze Saints, which means it's time for the legendary "Super Hero Time!" But, can the two sides get over their personal differences with each other long enough to work together against a united front of their enemies?

10. Act X

"In your country's past, shamans would initiate a ritual called 'kodoku.'"

Transmitting his will through Gesen's body as his core and eyes turned a light blue, Fiore spoke to the Saints and Senshi as they watched the mass of debris take amalgamated form. Even when every single Golem Trooper and Spectre Pure came at them with everything they had, their combined power didn't add up to the dark energy that was emanating from the shifting blob now taking humanoid shape. The primordial muck was now assuming a more cohesive aesthetic, forming black armor on the body while its face began to appear.

"They would take several poisonous insects, place them in a sealed jar, and wait until they were forced to kill each other for survival until there was only one left. The final victor was known as a kodoku, and its body would be used as a hex to be placed on those who earned the shaman's ire. In a way, you could say that you are now kodoku, and your final opponent is the revenge of the defeated."

Finally, the shifting and bubbling ceased as the final piece of debris was absorbed into the entity, and as it lifted its head, the Sailor Senshi froze. They had seen its face before, during their first adventures facing the Dark Kingdom. Towards the end of the battles, a handful of defeated Golem Troopers merged together to form a single creature, one powerful enough to withstand even the most devastating of the Senshi's attacks. At one point, Sailor Jupiter attempted to destroy it with a technique so dangerous that it almost killed her, as well, and yet it still survived. Its strength was so uncanny, that Metaria even used it as a host body thinking it would have sufficient power to destroy the planet.

But that was only when it was made from a handful of foot soldiers. Even though it had the same blue porcelain face and crown of purple crystals, the sheer power it radiated was on an entirely different level. Together the Sailor Senshi were barely able to defeat it alone, but now it had the strength of not only many more Golem Troopers, but the Spectre Pure Army. Dark metallic armor adorned its body, with the black mask of the Spectre Pures acting as its elbow and knee joints. The amalgamated Golem Trooper's crystal shoulders stood out prominently through the armor and appeared fused to the armor, with black metal merged with the crystal's roots.

After what seemed like forever contemplating its return to life, the entity looked around and noticed that it was in the center of the metropolis of Tokyo's Shinjuku district. It was then that it remembered its purpose from the last time it was put on this Earth: complete, utter devastation. There was a flash in its dark eyes before it unleashed neon blue streaks of lightning from its face that ripped through the steel and glass of the business towers like a knife through toilet paper. Fire and debris rained down upon the streets and anyone who hadn't run to a safe distance, which definitely included the Saints and the Senshi. If not for Aries Mu quickly erecting a barrier, they would have been shredded by the shards of glass and twisted metal.

"Sailor Senshi...Bronze Saints...allow me to introduce you to the instrument of your demise: the Kodoku Spectre, Adamant Golem. Kodoku Adamant, claim your revenge and destroy all who stand in your path!"

Kodoku Adamant didn't need Fiore's command to act upon its primal instinct to annihilate everything it saw, and thus intensified its attack on the city by continuing to slice through the buildings and shops around it. "We...we can't just let him do what it wants," Makoto clenched her fist and put her memories of how easily it shrugged off her attacks the last time the Senshi encountered it, and that was when it was much weaker. "Shiryu, let's take him out!"

"Right," Shiryu nodded his head and focused his cosmo before unleashing it in a dragon-shaped stream of emerald power. "ROZAN SHORYU-HA!"

"JUPITER THUNDER DRAGON!"

The twin snakes of power intertwined around one another as it joined into a single dragon that raced towards Kodoku Adamant with its crackling teeth bared. Combined the two dragons were powerful enough to power several city blocks if harnessed into productive energy, and destructively they commanded enough energy to rip through army tanks and reduce the strongest earth-born metals to melted slag. Unfortunately for them, Kodoku Adamant's armor was not an Earth-born metal, nor was its crystalline hide made of the same material as an army tank.

Kodoku Adamant put its attack on the city on hold and looked down to see the two dragons of lightning lunging towards it, and lifted its diamond sword in front of it to brace itself. The two dragons were then absorbed into the blade like victims of a black hole, its energies trapped within it so that it glowed white. Watching Kodoku Adamant rear back, Sailor Mercury remembered the last time such a technique was used and quickly shoved Jupiter and Shiryu aside. It was an act of sacrifice brought about from years of sister-like friendship, and one that Mu made sure didn't end in tragedy.

As soon as Kodoku Adamant discharged the energy, Aries Mu erected a Crystal Wall to deflect the attack back at Kodoku Adamant, but the Wall was shattered in an explosion of flames and sparks. As a result, all fourteen of the heroes were sent careening in multiple directions, and Kodoku Adamant saw its chance to bring the battle up close. With its sword at the ready, the creature let out a shrill roar and charged forward as the Saints and Senshi stumbled back to its feet.

Hoping to stop its attack, Sailor Mercury again came to the rescue by surrounding the Kodoku Adamant in Mercury Aqua Mist. The intent was the blind Kodoku Adamant long enough for Phoenix Ikki to attack it from behind with a fiery fist using his awareness of cosmo to navigate through the fog. Once Ikki was in range, he discharged the cosmo in his fist with the attempt to melt his adversary, but his attack was effortlessly parried and returned in favor with a blast of energy from his eyes that dissipated the fog and sent Ikki to the ground.

Next was Cygnus Hyoga freezing the ground underneath the enemy in the same way Ami did to him earlier in the day. This disrupted its footing long enough for Sailor Mars and Phoenix Ikki to unleash a stream of fire to unleash a stream of fire from both sides while Ami focused her energy into a lethal freezing attack. By superheating its body and then freezing it once it reached its melting point, the heroes hoped to cause Kodoku Adamant to shatter. Even in the strange adventures they encountered, the Bronze Saints and Inner Senshi weren't averse to using basic science to solve their victories.

But no matter how much Sailor Mars and Phoenix Ikki burned, Kodoku Adamant walked through the flames as if it were a gentle breeze, and sent the two fire-wielding warriors sprawling away once more with a swipe of its sword. It had become so hot that its steps instantly melted the sheet of ice Hyoga placed on the ground, and gave Kodoku Adamant enough mobility to turn around and absorb the ice beam Ami shot at him. Unleashing the gathered energy in a freezing ray, Adamant Kodoku forced Sailor Mercury to retreat lest she be frozen by her own attack.

"NEBULA CHAIN!"

"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"

The next step was to bind Kodoku Adamant with the chain weapons of Andromeda Shun and Sailor Venus, and then channel every ounce of their cosmo through the chains to cause sparks and cries of pain to shoot out of the creature. With Kodoku Adamant bound together, the Moonlight Knight and Eagle Marin to slash at it with blades and cosmo-infused fingers. After a few seconds of punishment, Kodoku Adamant decided it had entertained them enough and fired off another stream of energy from its eyes, forcing everyone around it to back off.

Realizing it was no longer bound, the Moonlight Knight lifted his swords and clashed blades with Kodoku Adamant, releasing a shockwave that caused the ground around them to shake as if a sonic boom just erupted in Shinjuku. "Fall down, villain," Moonlight Knight hissed as he looked into the black slits that acted as Kodoku Adamant's eyes. "There is no way you can possibly win! Evil's only role in the story is to be defeated!"

With the Moonlight Knight deadlocked with it, Kodoku Adamant was left vulnerable to Sailor Pluto firing off a Dead Scream blast at its back, creating an explosion of dark energy that caused the pavement beneath them to implode and crack, to a point where the electricity in the surrounding block flickered for a moment. Kodoku Adamant groaned in accordance, but its armor was apparently tougher than that of Cancer Deathmask's Gold Cloth. It continued pushing against Moonlight Knight and forced him onto one knee, until it finally discharged another blast of energy from its eyes, firing directly into Moonlight Knight's face.

"PEGASUS RYUUSEI-KEN!"
"EAGLE RYUUSEI-KEN!"

Master and pupil unleashed the technique that forged their bond in simultaneous fashion, forcing Kodoku Adamant to stumble forward before it could run the fallen Moonlight Knight through with its blade. As its attention turned on them, Shun and Minako wrapped their chains around the groaning Moonlight Knight's arms and pulled him back towards the group, where a horrified Sailor Moon immediately tended to him. By some miracle the Moonlight Knight was still breathing, but his forehead was bleeding profusely and staining his white silk outfit. "Mamoru...MAMORU," Sailor Moon frantically rocked his body back and forth until he groggily opened his eyes. "Mamoru...can you see me?"

"...Sailor Moon," he said after a long pause before attempting to stand back up, though he was very slow to do so. Gripping his face where he had been blasted, Moonlight Knight blinked once before his expression hardened in rage. "Sailor Moon...this is nothing! This is just the wound that shows the situation is serious! Soon you will save us all and lead us to victory in a blaze of-"

"Mamoru, please," Sailor Moon wrapped herself around Moonlight Knight and stunned him into silence with her embrace. "Let us deal with this! You're hurt bad! I...I don't want to lose you forever, before I have the chance to bring you back to me…"

For once, the talkative Moonlight Knight was bound to silence as he reached down with his free hand and gently stroked Usagi's altered hair. Since taking up the mantle of the white-clad warrior of justice, the memories of the body he inhabited had been mostly hidden, but the more he interacted with Sailor Moon, the more frequently brief flashes of who he was once was came back only to fade again. But the way Sailor Moon was holding him now, the memories were a little bit more clear.

But as warm as her embrace was, the Moonlight Knight shrugged it off and walked back to the battle with his sword drawn, even though the wound on his face was more excruciating than he could ever fathom. "Sailor Moon...I need to help. I know how much you care...and I know, this enemy isn't much fun to face. But…" With his sword flashing with power, the Moonlight Knight's limp turned to an awkward dash as he lifted his blade and lunged at Kodoku Adamant as it swatted away Eagle Marin and grabbed Seiya by his neck. "...I will lay my life on the line...to protect the people you care about!"

Using all of his power, the Moonlight Knight delivered a massive cut to Kodoku Adamant's back, causing it noticeable agony as it dropped Seiya and let out a pained moan. For a moment, everyone thought that it was the decisive blow, but a few seconds later, the true end result of the attack was made apparent. With its moan turning into a howl, Kodoku Adamant's cosmo boiled black and burst off of its body in a shockwave, sending everyone to their backs and knees as they attempted not to get swallowed up in its darkness.

Everyone except Sailor Moon, who throughout Kodoku Adamant's rampage had remained distance from the assault, not in fear of it, but in fear of a repeat of what happened the last time it appeared. The war with the Dark Kingdom ended not because of a heroic effort the Sailor Senshi, but because it was destroyed along with everything else on the planet...by Sailor Moon herself. Deep within her psyche, Sailor Moon possessed the power to create and destroy realities according to her whim, able to erase existences and rebuild them with equal ease. And seeing the creature that forced this power to re-awaken rampaging as freely as ever, Sailor Moon could feel that entity clawing at her brain, screaming to be let out.

"...En…no."

"This cosmo...Gesen," Shaina cautiously called out to her ally and subtly motioned to Sailor Moon as her brooch began to glow white while she started holding her head. "What's going on with Sailor Moon? Her cosmo is rising...no, it's changing, to something other than human."

"Stay out...I don't need you…"

"Finally," Gesen hummed, clenching his fist in anticipation. "Master Fiore and I have been trying to draw her out since we came here, so we could confirm for ourselves just how dangerous she could be. But no matter what we did, or what kind of atrocities we committed, Usagi would always keep her under wraps...but recently Master Fiore uncovered the reality she destroyed before creating the one we're in now, and so we've brought back the Adamant Golem and increased its power with your Spectre Pures. So, not only does it have sufficient power to bring our enemies to their knees…"

"En...Endy…"

Even Aries Mu and Sailor Pluto, with all of their vaunted might and protectiveness of their less experienced comrades, were cut down and blasted aside, giving Kodoku Adamant its pick of who to send to the afterlife first. Since Moonlight Knight was the first to get back up, only to fall down onto his knees with his sword keeping him from flopping down onto his face completely. He looked to his left and to his right, and saw the others helpless to do much of anything other than writhe in pain. Seiya was very slowly stirring behind the Kodoku Adamant as it walked past him, but even though it was doubtful he'd do much to save him.

"So...this is my role," the Moonlight Knight mused as Kodoku Adamant stood over him and lifted its blade for the killing blow. "I will be the sacrifice! I will be-"

"ENDYMION!"

"...it has the power to wake up the monster that lurks within Usagi Chiba. Tonight we're going to see if Sailor Moon has what it takes to defy her destiny as Galaxia! Tonight we'll see if she has what it takes to harness the power of Serenity!"

Finally, the entity that lurked within Sailor Moon's consciousness clawed its way to the surface, unable to watch her lover from centuries ago die yet again in another age. Sailor Moon was encased in white light as her fuku and weapon began to shift, lengthening and sharpening to become something decisively above what she used to be. When the light faded enough for her new form to be in view, the Inner Senshi gasped in awe and slight horror as they remembered what was going on.

Gone was Usagi Chiba, the bubbly friend and playful defender of justice. In her place stood Princess Serenity, holding her pink blade in front of her as her gloves and ribbons glowed with rainbow light. Serenity was Sailor Moon's alter ego that she drew power from, and when she assumed control of Sailor Moon's body and utilized the full power of the Silver Millennium Crystal in her brooch, she had zero regards for anything except the protection of her beloved Endymion and the complete destruction of anyone who stood in her way.

Kodoku Adamant halted its execution of the Moonlight Knight as it too remembered the last time it walked the Earth, where the Princess took it upon herself to step before it as its destructor. She failed that time, and Serenity Sailor Moon pointed her blade at the creature as it did the same to her. "You remember...don't you?" She said in a much darker tone than that of her host body's. "Good...I want you to remember this."

As Kodoku Adamant charged towards her with its blade raised for murder, the other Senshi quickly gathered their allies and gave the Princess some fighting room. The Inner Senshi remembered quite clearly how their Princess was nothing less than a force of nature when incensed, and how helpless they were to do anything but watch her erase the planet from existence when her grief consumed her. In that respect, their mission to protect the Princess was a veiled way of saying that they needed to protect her so that she wouldn't have to protect herself.

But there was one who insisted he stay and help. "I can't let Usagi take that thing all by herself, no matter how strong her cosmo has become," Seiya said as he ran towards the sword fight with his only his fists and Pegasus Cloth to assist. You guys rest up and jump in when you're ready! I'll make sure Usagi doesn't have to take that monster on alone!"

"No," Shaina left Gesen's side and charged Seiya with her claws bared once more. "Seiya, tonight you will die by my hand! Don't worry, though: your friends will follow you to the underworld soon enough after the Kodoku Spectre rips them to shreds!"

"Shaina, wait!"

Gesen's warning came too late. As soon as Shaina charged forward in Serenity's general direction, she was marked for death. With a swipe of her blade, Serenity sent a pink wave of cutting energy directly aimed at Shaina. Realizing what the wave of lethal cosmo would do if it touched her, Shaina quickly jumped out of the way, but not fast enough for the aura of the slicing energy to cause her mask to crack, splinter, and finally shatter. She should have been fortunate it was her mask that was split and not her head, but Shaina shrieked madly as if she were in her death throes, clutching her feminine features.

Holding his arms out as Shaina stumbled towards him, Gesen places his hands on her shoulders and reached to her face. "Did she scar you? I told you not to-"

"DON'T LOOK AT ME," Shaina screamed before pushing Gesen away as she felt Seiya's cosmo rapidly approaching her. Covering her face with one hand, Shaina looked up and took a mad swipe at Seiya like a cornered animal. "Seiya, if you have the courage, follow me to the next block! We'll settle this one-on-one, away from this battlefield where the other Saints will surely die at the hands of the Kodoku Spectre!"

"Shaina, I...I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Seiya said softly as he walked forward with open arms. "Are you injured? Come on, I'll take you to an ambulance, there's bound to be one past the barri-"

"Stop it! You disgust me," Shaina hissed as her focused her cosmo into her hand while her emerald eyes flashed with intensity. "I'll kill y-URK…"

The green-haired Silver Saint fell silent as Gesen knocked her unconscious with a chop to the back of her head, catching her as she fell forward and slinging her over his shoulder. "Pegasus Saint, I will take her to safety. You should worry about attending your final destination."

"Thank you, but...why help me?"

"I'm not helping you: Shaina and I just created Kodoku Adamant to kill you and the others, assuming Serenity doesn't do it first," Gesen shot back before turning his back to Seiya. "You're going to see for yourself what kind of monster Usagi has lurking within her. Whether you choose to help her or help Kodoku Adamant will make no difference, because either way you and your friends are going to die tonight. I'm just keeping a promise I made to her that we'd both be alive to celebrate our enemy's demise."

"I see," Seiya nodded his head before turning back to the conflict between Serenity and Kodoku Adamant. "Gesen...thank you. Please take care of Shaina."

"Hmph," Gesen scoffed before teleporting away with Shaina in tow. "Have a nice death, Pegasus Saint…"

With Shaina out of the way, Seiya charged back to the conflict and drove his fist into Kodoku Adamant's face as hard as he could: force sufficient enough to turn large boulders into gravel, and to cause Kodoku Adamant to stumble to the side to clear some place between it and Serenity. Seiya turned to the princess to say something, but looking into her eyes he quickly realized that interfering might not have been such a good idea after all. In the brief glimpse he had of the brainwashing delusion that caused the Saints and Senshi to attack each other, he had borne witness to the horrors that Galaxia would one day bring to the universe. In Serenity's eyes, he saw that same vision, and wondered what was going to happen to everyone now that she had awoken.

"...Pegasus," Serenity said softly before pointing her blade at him. Seiya's eyes wavered if he wondered if he'd have to fight the woman who had become a close friend, but then her blade turned to the left and pointed at Kodoku Adamant. "...let's go."

"...heh...alright," a smile came over Seiya's face as Serenity offered her alliance and he psionically commanded his cloth to unbind and return to its usual state resting on his wrist. It was not a sign of submission, but preparation for summoning the "bigger guns" that were granted to him so that he could protect Saori and the world she loved. "SAGITTARIUS GOLD CLOTH...DESCEND!"

At his command, a gold star plummeted to from the sky to the battlefield, prompting Seiya to jump high into the air as the winged armor of Sagittarius bonded to his body, sheathing him in with the power of the Gold Saint just as Mu and Deathmask brandished. With his golden armor shimmering in the lights of the fire, city lights, and stars of his surrounding, Seiya lifted his bow and dived towards Kodoku Adamant as it pushed away Serenity and turned to him.

The impact of their collision sent another ripple across the battlefield, generating a massive gust of of wind as Kodoku Adamant parried Seiya's attack and they found themselves at a standstill. "Sailor Moon, now's your chance," Seiya shouted as he pushed against Kodoku Adamant and planted his feet on the ground for more leverage. "Let's take this guy down!"

With her sword glowing with pink energy, Serenity Sailor Moon delivered a swift cut to Kodoku Adamant's backside, leaving a deep gash in its armor and forcing it to push Seiya off of it so that it could take a swing at Serenity. As Serenity parried its blade, Seiya took the opportunity to continue attacking its back with slashes from his bladed bow. With his increased cosmo and the holy metal of the Gold Cloth, Seiya was able to leave marks of his own, and together the two warriors hacked away at Kodoku Adamant drawing forth sparks as its armor clashed against their weapons.

Realizing that it had no other option, Kodoku Adamant unleashed another shockwave of dark energy, powerful enough to cause both Serenity and the Sagittarius Saint to be buffeted away live leaves and giving the creature enough time to blast them both with death rays from its eyes. "Right...I guess I don't have a choice now," Seiya mumbled as he summoned the golden arrow to his bow in a flash of energy. Gripping the arrow in his hand, he looked up to see Serenity charging her cosmo to such a degree that the ground around them vibrated. It would appear that she was done holding back, as well.
For a brief moment, Seiya considered how he would only have one shot with his arrow for a kill, and he remembered the psychic virus that showed him the dark future that Serenity could potentially bring about as Galaxia. When he looked into her eyes, Seiya could detect no trace of Usagi within them, and Serenity was letting him help her on a whim. Even now, she was preparing to use an attack that would easily level a city block even if it hit Kodoku Adamant directly. Seiya had a responsibility to protect mankind from all threats, but if it came down to it, would he be able to pull the quiver against Sailor Moon, even if it were clear that she was only a shell of her former self?

"Usagi!"

Just as Serenity was about to unleash her ultimate attack, the other Senshi came to her side and held onto the handle of her blade along with her, wrapping their hands around hers. "Mercury...Mars...Jupiter...Venus...Pluto," she whispered as she looked to her generals...no, not her generals. These were her comrades who fought with her and protected her from having to use this power. She allowed herself to take over Usagi's body so that she could protect them. "Why are you-"

"Princess...let us help you, " Pluto said softly as she pointed her staff in Kodoku Adamant's direction. "I know you're disappointed in us...I know we were supposed to make sure you didn't have to wake up again because your servants have proven unable to protect Endymion. I can only imagine how embarrassed you must be to see him devolve into the raving fool he is today...but…"

"But we'll do everything in our power to make sure he comes back to you, Usagi," Ami stated as she and the others pointed their glowing hands at Kodoku Adamant for a joint attack. "You don't have to do this alone. Together there's no one that can stand up to us! Together, we'll get rid of this guy for good."

"And if he does come back again, we'll make sure to send him back to Hell over and over again," Makoto added. "Usagi...we're your friends. Lean on us…"

"...and we'll make sure that we don't let you down again," Rei's hands burned with fire as her words were heated with passion. "We all have people we need to protect. We all know what will happen if we don't stop this guy here and now. But don't think for a second we're going to let you take all of this on by yourself!"

"Mars…"

"Princess, if you let us help you, we'll make sure you don't have to wake up again. You can go back to dreaming about being with Endymion, because Usagi will be back with Mamoru and everything will be as it should be. We'll make sure you'll never have to cry again…"

"Venus…"

A seventh hand wrapped around the group's, one that pushed Serenity back to the threshold that separated her persona from that of her host body's. With this hand, and those calm eyes looking into her own, she was once again just "Sailor Moon," the role that Serenity and Usagi shared to protect the man at her side now. "...Sailor Moon," he said with warmth before turning to Kodoku Adamant. "I swore to protect you, but you always protect me, don't you? This time...let's protect each other."

"Everyone," Sailor Moon said with a smile before turning back to Kodoku Adamant as it charged a crackling dark ball of cosmo on the tip of its blade. "Thank you...let's finish this!"

Combining their forces, the Sailor Senshi unleashed a ray of power that clashed against the massive orb of energy that fell towards them like a giant boulder teetering from a cliff. Yet even with the power of Serenity and the combined might of the Senshi, Kodoku Adamant seemed to have the upper hand. With every second that passed, victory seemed less and less certain, and Sailor Moon's expression gradually began to harden back to the cold visage of the Princess. It would seem that even the support of friends wouldn't be enough to stop her from losing control…

...until the Saints stood beside her and began to focus their cosmo into the stream the Senshi had created. Aries Mu, Eagle Marin, Phoenix Ikki, Andromeda Shun, Dragon Shiryu, Cygnus Hyoga, and Sagittarius Seiya stood side by side with the Sailor Senshi with Seiya having sheathed his bow and instead focusing all of his energy into that of his comrades. "Sailor Senshi," Seiya said with a smile as he turned to Usagi, "it's been an honor fighting by your side the past few days. Just don't forget that this is everyone's fight now!"

"Pegasus...Seiya…"

"It's unfortunate we never had a chance to finish our dinner at that Greek restaurant, Dr. Meioh. You seem as exceptional a woman as you are a Senshi. Perhaps after this is over, before we go our separate ways, we can have dinner at a place of your choosing. I'll pay again, of course: consider it an apology for last time's interruption."

"Mu…"

"We still need to have that concert together, Ms. Aino! Playing alongside you...fighting alongside you has been a great honor. Hopefully we'll have a chance to make music together again someday!"

"Shun…"

"No one has ever come close to beating me in the cabs, Dr. Mizuno. When this is over, I'm going to train hard so that we'll see each other again at Super Battle Opera. I look forward to seeing you win a Nobel Prize someday: maybe one day I'll try that snowboarding gig like I was talking about earlier."

"Hyoga...thank you."

"Don't worry, Makoto, I'm not the kind of martial artist who complains about being beaten by a girl. You're every bit as strong as I hoped you'd be. Your friends are in good hands with someone like you to watch over them."

"Shiryu...you're not so bad yourself!"

"Moonlight Knight...your mission has reaffirmed my belief that I must continue to follow my own path. It'd be easy for us to just resign to our fates and tell them how we feel...but we care about them too much for that, don't we? Don't lose sight! Finish the mission!"

"I will, Eagle Marin! You, as well!"

"...Rei Hino…"

"...don't worry, Ikki, you don't have to say anything. Let's just promise to protect our friends for now, and then we can worry about settling the score."

"That's good enough for now," Ikki said with a grin before hardened his expression and turning back to the stream of power. "Everyone...let's show this freak show just who he's messing with!"

"GALAXIAN PLANET STORM!"

Finally, the rush of energy was too much for Kodoku Adamant's attack to withstand, and it burst like a bubble and thus relieved the creature of its only countermeasure. The beam ripped through its hide, breaking it apart until there was nothing left. When the beam faded, the creature had been completely vaporized: there was not even a grand explosion to signal its defeat. Thankfully, the Moonlight Knight was too exhausted to point it out, and the other heroes were too tired to mention it.

As the threat of Kodoku Adamant faded, the prism-like glow of Serenity faded and Usagi finally reclaimed control of her body, blinking once before her transformation faded and her hair returned to its usual black color. The other Saints and Senshi followed suit, undoing their transformations while Moonlight Knight and Eagle Marin fell down onto one knee and took deep, concentrated breaths.

"We...we did it?" Eagle Marin gasped in disbelief?

"We did," Moonlight Knight nodded his head before drawing his sword and pointing it into the sky. "SUPER HERO TIME WINS THE DAY! EVERYONE, GET INTO YOUR BATTLE POSES!"

"Maybe later, Mamo-chan," Usagi said with a smile before stretching and giving a thumbs up to Seiya. "But you're right! Super Hero Time took care of business! Isn't that right, Seiya?"

"You bet, Usagi," Seiya said with a grin, returning the thumbs up with one of his own. "Now, I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten since lunch! Let's find a place to eat before everything closes!"