from the dead

It was a magnificent garden. Full of her favorite kind of lilies. Rei could never get enough of Casablanca Lilies. The moon light…no…the Earth? She stared, confused, at the large blue planet that dominated the night sky. A distant male voice called her name joyfully. She turned to look, but the garden evaporated, and she stood on a barren field full of craters and pits and red dust that expanded as far as she could see.

"Rei."

She turned. The flowers fell from suddenly limp fingers. Her heart jumped into her throat.

"Usagi!" She cried, throwing herself at her princess. Warm arms wrapped around her, and held her until she could stop crying and apologizing. She pulled back to look at her princess. "Where are you Usagi? What's going on? We need you!"

Usagi smiled sadly and kissed her softly on the lips.

Her surroundings changed in an instant and Rei found herself on fire. Usagi crumbled away, and Rei shrieked, her arms closing around nothing. She fell sobbing to the ground, waiting for the fire to devour her too. But instead of being burned, it seemed to cradle her in its very warmth. No, she wasn't burning, she was the fire, and the fire was her. And she forgot about Usagi for a second as the fire filled her very soul, completing her once again.

When it vanished she was alone. She twisted around, desperately scanning the desert for her princess.

"Rei." Usagi's voice echoed in the air, distant and fading. "Time to go back Rei. I love you. I love you all. I'm sorry I couldn't bring you back before."

"Usagi!" She cried, "Usagi come back! Please!"

"Be brave…"

The ground around her melted and she fell into the darkness. When she came to, she stood on what she recognized was the ruins of her shrine. Particles of light flew up from the rubble, collecting and merging in front of her to form a vague outline of a body that she recognized as her own. When it was nearly complete, she stepped forward and into the light and opened her eyes. Her body was whole. She was whole and wholly naked. She dropped, her knees digging into charred wood. Her tears soaked into the ground as they fell silently from her face. She could feel the power of Mars inside her. She could feel the ghost of Usagi's kiss still lingering on her lips. She could feel the darkness that weighed heavily in the air around her.

"Usagi…Serenity…we need you…" The whisper was lost in the sudden shifting of debris just behind her. She looked in time to see a youma leap free of it and towards her. Her sign flared on her forehead, a warning to the darkness, as she leaped sideways and tumbled to her feet. Her hand shot into the sky and the familiar weight of the henshin wand fell into it. Words formed in her mind.

"MARS ETERNAL MAKE UP!"

Light filled her, swarming around her in fiery wisps until Hino Rei was no more and in her place stood the Senshi of Mars. She reacted immediately.

"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"

The beam of fire pierced the youma mid jump and it crumbled to dust. She turned, sensing the evil rising at her back. They were being drawn to the power, blazing tenfold now that she was a Sailor Senshi. She sneered at them, watching them struggle through the wreckage towards her, tearing through each other to get to her first. A few went airborne, closing in from the distance.

"By the Star of Fire, Mars is my Guardian," she murmured remotely, her eyes sweeping across her enemies in silent study, "the Senshi of Combat, Eternal Sailor Mars! And I will stem the flow of darkness here and now!"

"MARS," her whisper seemed to ripple visibly through them; the power behind the single word caused some of them to pause. "DAZZLING," light swirled in front of her, spinning into a miniature sun, "FLAME," the light began to burn, it faded from yellow to orange to red to pure white in a matter of seconds, the air around it shimmered from the strength of its heat. She brought her hands up to cradle it from either side. "BARRAGE!" Her hands flew wide apart violently, and the ball of fire burst into a thousand pieces, each shooting out to find a target, a swarm of fireflies on a quest for vengeance. She watched the wave of ash travel downhill, her power just ahead of it, destroying the darkness that had come for her. When silence finally fell, and all that was left was dust, she leaped and ran down the hill.

The battle was on, and she was going to slaughter every single one of them.

For Serenity…

She kicked. She punched. She broke bones.

For the Senshi…

Her uniform was no longer in pristine condition.

For every soul on this planet…

"BURNING MANDALA!"

And all the ones that have already lost…

The adrenaline, the power, ran pure through her body and she felt no weariness, felt none of the injuries of the few shots that got through.

I'll send you back to the hell you came from!

She didn't notice the ripple at first. She'd been fighting for hours it seemed, working her way through several streets and up several blocks. They came from everywhere for a taste of her and she annihilated them all. She'd barely worked up a sweat—it was so easy to take them down. And then the ripple exploded into a swirling vortex of hungry leeching darkness. The youma around her hissed loudly and almost magically disappeared back to the shadows they'd lurked out of. Sailor Mars looked, but although she felt the location of it there her eyes saw nothing out of the ordinary. And then, a man and a woman stepped, out of the air, out of that vortex. It closed up instantly.

"This one is so bright," the woman murmured.

"She's caused quite a disturbance. She's more powerful than the blue one. Pity they're so useless," the man replied.

"Your kind must be exterminated," the woman said. "We smell the foolish determination on you. That delicious anger that's directed at us. We've already killed your friend. She died agonizingly slow, ripped to pieces and devoured. Now the rest of you can join her!"

She had no time to speak, no time to think. In a mere split-second, that dark aura that reflected in their eyes as they stared at her flared up and she was forced to dodge sideways to avoid the pulsing fireball that sped past her to explode behind her. But there was no mistake that they were the ones that Zoisite had described. The air around them practically shimmered with power, all of it cold and tainted and ruthless. They were out of place in the bright sunlight that filtered down from the sky, so dark the aura surrounding them was.

She skidded to a stop, the tips of her boots digging into the ground, and pushed against the ground as another fireball was sent her way. This brought her into contact with both of them and she struggled to fend off attacks, twisting her body at impossible angles to avoid the vicious claws that came from both directions. When she had a clearing she somersaulted backwards and away from them.

"INFERNAL HOLOCAUST!" Sailor Mars yelled even before she landed. The orb of darkness that had followed closely behind her impacted and dispersed harmlessly on the pillar of flame that had suddenly appeared around her. The pillar stretched upwards into the sky and then, as though something had exploded in the center of it, it burst outwards, traveling rapidly back down to earth. A low sound followed it, building until it was like tens of thousands of lions in a single furious roar. The fiery pillar spiraled outwards, devouring anything in its path. When it reached the ground the flames finally faded, revealing Sailor Mars at the center of it all. Her eyes burned, and blinking did nothing to lessen the feeling. Her skin felt hot and she felt feverish. The ground and air around her was blackened and charred, everything burnt to crisp in a matter of seconds.

The man and woman were down on the ground, groaning, but even as she starting walking towards them they struggled to their feet. Gone was the calm arrogance in their eyes where only anger now reflected. They alone had survived the fire, but not unscathed. Burns traveled up the woman's left arm and her floor length hair was considerably shorter. Her clothes were singed, with holes in various places and many of the jewels had melted off. The man was in no better condition. His white hair was only blackened and dirty, but part of his face now sported welts that were already swelling. The injury traveled down his neck and beneath his shirt.

"Very good," the woman snapped, baring her teeth. "Our shields cannot hold against such power. It seems we are no match for your kind here on Earth. But come, little lamb, to our domain and we'll see where the battle goes."

"You killed one of my friends did you?" Sailor Mars asked quietly.

"The little blue one with ice in her veins," the man chuckled contemptuously, his eyes glinted cruelly at her as though he could sense the turmoil within her. "She died screaming."

The rage in her grew, the heat in her eyes seared, and little flickers of flame ghosted over her skin. She lunged for them. But in an instant, the vortex opened again and swallowed them. She pulled to a halt. She had expected the vortex to close, but instead it spread outwards and became a now visible doorway. Light did not penetrate the curtain of darkness within it.

"At the moon palace, human!" The woman's voice echoed in the air around her, full of derision. "Come meet your end!"

Shock rippled through her. They dared defile the moon palace with their presence? They DARED? She would not, could not allow it. Anger fizzled hotly beneath her skin as strode towards the portal.

It ended now.


Makoto never expected it to be like this. How long had she been here? The darkness stretched on around her, endless and everlasting with nothing else in sight. She'd expected some kind of light, a heaven, or maybe a hell. Hell, oblivion would be considerably better than the state she resided in now. She didn't remember what Jovians believed in, but she was pretty sure it wasn't an existence like this. She seemed to have a vague impression that citizens of Jupiter usually always sought and conquered challenge. She somehow couldn't imagine them settling for an afterlife like this one. And if this was the afterlife, just where was Rei? Where were the rest of the people that had died so recently? Maybe this was hell, and it was her hell, designed to punish her for her failures.

Distantly, a female voice called her name.

And just like that, the darkness lifted, rolling away like someone peeling the skin off a potato. She didn't recognize her surroundings, but it seemed to be a castle or palace of some sort. The hallway stretched to somewhere around the curve, pillars lining the way like soldiers on either side. Any markings or inscriptions on the walls had long since faded away. Movement drew her gaze down, and she stared, hard.

Her body lay on the dull marble floor. It was a sad sight. She couldn't really tell what had killed her; and she couldn't really remember. There was just so much blood everywhere. She glanced at herself, eyes searching for the fatal wound, but her transparent body yielded none of its secrets, for it still retained the image of her real body. She sighed and glanced at Nephrite. He knelt beside her body, his hands clasped tightly in his lap in silent vigil. His eyes were closed. Lines of grief were etched into his face. As she watched him he didn't seem likely to move anymore. She fidgeted restlessly.

"Why are you here Nephrite?" She murmured aloud. Why was he mourning so deeply for someone he hardly knew and once called enemy? Makoto shrugged; maybe it was just his way. But even as she thought it she somehow sensed it wasn't the right answer. She gazed down both ends of the halls, wondering where the girls were. She randomly chose and drifted in one direction, sparing only a single hesitant glance back at Nephrite and her body before continuing. She really had no reason to linger there.

It wasn't long before she heard voices and came to an open set of doorways and she realized she had chosen the right direction, and upon investigating she'd found the rest of them. Well, the rest of the Shitennou and Minako. Where was Ami? She had listened, fascinated, to Jadeite speak. He seemed to have had a relationship with Rei in the Silver Millennium. She frowned, turning slightly to stare back the way she'd come. Was that why Nephrite so mourned her death? Did he love her from a past life? Had he kill her too? The thought was unsettling in many ways.

She studied Minako's face as the Senshi stood, unnoticed by the two men, and her heart went out to the blonde. There was a transparent quality to Minako, as though she were the ghost and not Makoto. Was Ami dead too? "Oh Minako." There was a fresh and vivid pain in those crystal blue eyes that seemed permanently fixed there. It was disheartening. She couldn't seem to remember Minako the way she'd been, the effervescent girl that had led them so determinedly into battle before. The image just wouldn't come.

From they way she spoke, Makoto assumed Minako knew the history that she could only guess at. Had she been keeping it from them? How long had she known? But she couldn't get too upset about it, she was dead after all. They all were. What did it matter now, about past lives? Her current life now was a past life.

Abruptly, the world around her wavered, and she felt herself being pulled apart. She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming aloud, forgetting that as a ghost, no one would hear her anyway. Everything went black for a moment, and the first thing she saw next was Sailor Mars.

"Rei!" She cried happily. But her joy was subdued as she watched her friend wade viciously through the surging darkness that was youma, destroying them easily. This Rei, this Sailor Mars, was different . More powerful, more intense. Although, Makoto wasn't sure she'd be so different if she were in the same situation. The energy fairly hummed around Sailor Mars as she cut through the enemy, her face in a frozen state of feral alertness and fierce satisfaction. Her uniform was even different, rounded sleeves, gloves past the elbows and knee high boots, double layered skirt and a star brooch. So many other little changes. Every so often, she even thought she saw a glint of wings emerging from the Senshi's back, but nothing ever appeared outright.

Just how had Rei survived when they all saw her die? And how had she regained her powers? She was in awe of the power Rei retained now.

Sailor Mars defeated the Enemy, when they appeared, with ridiculous ease. This was who they feared? These were the two that had wrought so much destruction on the Earth and ruined all their lives? Makoto seethed with anger. It wasn't fair. It was only when she saw her friend head toward the doorway that she snapped out of her rage.

"Don't!" She glided towards her friend and hovered anxiously beside her. "Don't be stupid Rei! It might be a trap! It's too dangerous!"

Rei hesitated, turning slightly to glance behind her and then looked directly at Makoto. Her hopes rose for a minute. "Rei?" But though it seemed the priestess could sense her, she could neither see nor hear her. Sailor Mars looked back at the portal again, eyes narrowed in hatred and barely contained rage, and then walked away.

She would have liked to follow her, but a sudden phantom wind sprang up and pulled her away. Miles and miles away over blurry landscapes until it finally slowed at a large house on a cliff by the seaside.

She stared curiously around her. It wasn't somewhere she'd been in her life. She glided into the house and gazed about. Why would she end up here of all places? It was a nice, poshy place, with brown leather furniture and warm golden floors. Huge windows overlooked the seaside. And then her gaze was drawn to a painting on the wall, and the ones beside it, and suddenly she knew where she was.

As if on cue, the artist walked down the stairs. Her sea green hair was pinned up severely and she dressed in dark skin tight clothing. Her eyes were fierce and yet at the same time they were haunted. A deep scratch, in the beginning stages of healing, started just at her shoulder blade and ran around to the center of her neck. A gun rested easily in her hand, another holstered at her waist. A thick white bandage wrapped around the upper portion of her left arm and bruises mottled her gun arm.

"Oh Michiru," she said sadly. It wasn't an image that she ever imagined on Michiru, but she supposed the times called for adaptation.

Behind her, Michiru clasped Hotaru's hand and led the little girl into the kitchen where she boosted her up onto the counter. Hotaru had seemed to escape any injuries whatsoever, and Makoto was glad. Michiru left her momentarily to open a cupboard. "What do you want to eat Hotaru?"

But little Hotaru looked straight at Makoto and her dark eyes filled with tears.

"Baby what's wrong?" Michiru asked, alarmed, abandoning her search.

"Mako-chan, Michiru-mama!" The little girl chimed tearfully. "Mako-chan with blood all over her!"

"Oh honey, Hotaru, no! They're all fine! You'll see!" Michiru pulled her surrogate daughter into a protective embrace, her face crumpling in distress and grief and anger where Hotaru couldn't see.

Horrified that Hotaru could still see her even without Senshi powers, she could only nod along with Michiru's exclamations and smile, hoping the placate Hotaru. But the violet eyes never wavered in their sadness. How? She wondered, bewildered, how and why was she still so in tune with death? It wasn't fair.

Outside, a motorcycle's roar, along with the ever familiar youma howling, steadily drew closer, and Michiru's head shot up. Her eyes were alight with tension and fear. She pulled Hotaru off the counter and ran upstairs. Makoto attempted to follow, but something pulled her back.

"No!" She cried, fighting to follow them, fearful for their plight. But no matter how much she resisted, the scene surrounding her faded into the once again familiar darkness. "NO!" She cried again, tears falling in frustration. She collapsed to her knees and pounded the darkness with her fists. "Bring me back!" She wanted so badly to help them.

"Mako-chan."

She froze. All the emotion drained out of her, leaving only one, and as she slowly looked up, it intensified and filled her. Her princess stood before her, her hair silver and her eyes ethereal and eternal, containing wisdom that was beyond Makoto's comprehension. But she was still Usagi all the same.

"Usagi," she whispered, her voice breaking on a sob.

Her princess stooped to hug her tightly. "It was difficult to find you, Mako-chan," Usagi teased softly, "you seemed to have found the most remote place to hide."

"Usagi!" It was the only word she could whisper, overcome with emotion as she was.

Usagi released her and stepped back. Her royal gown rustled quietly, somehow bright in this dark. "Time to go back, Makoto." Her tone was fierce. "Time to fight the darkness."

"What about you?" She asked desperately, feeling energy build around her and dreading it, for she knew it would take her away from Usagi.

"Don't worry, you'll be seeing me soon," Usagi winked, and the world exploded in light.


Nephrite didn't know what had happened. One minute, there had been so much hurt inside him that he was frozen, unable to do anything that required being anywhere else. Then Minako had come, but before she had even spoken anything, there had been a dazzling light and Makoto had disappeared and reappeared, standing before him. His mind had overloaded, and he'd been left without a way to react. He did the first instinctive thing, he pulled her to him and didn't let go.

Warm arms, that had been so cold before, curled around him and held onto him.

"It's okay, Nephrite," she whispered into his ear. The voice echoed to him from beyond time and he couldn't help it. He buried his face into her shoulder and stayed there, his tears falling swift and silent. His body trembled. She soothed him with quiet words, one hand stroking his hair softly. Her quiet strength, combined with the comfortingly familiar smell of her body, allowed his senses to return to him and he managed to convince himself to let her go. His head rose up and he gazed at her intensely, ignoring his still wet face.

"How? What happe—"

His voice faded away as she smiled at him, her luminescent eyes sparkling with calm, and then she looked past him and her expression grew somber. He looked behind him to see Minako on the floor against the wall, her knees to her chest and her hands covering her face. Makoto released him and kneeled before her friend. It was then that he noticed that she didn't have a single thing covering her, and as his gaze couldn't help but travel down the pearly length of skin, he shivered again and resolutely lifted his eyes to remain on her face.

"Minako, I'm really here."

A strangled sob sounded from the Senshi's throat, but her hands came down and shining rueful eyes peeked out at them.

"I'm sorry. I just really couldn't handle it if you were a hallucination."

His goddess smiled and reached out. Minako collapsed into her arms and cried there. Makoto murmured gently into her ear. After a moment the blonde pulled back and smiled tearfully. "I'm so glad you're back Mako-chan." They hugged again. He smiled.

"How?" Minako asked, rubbing her eyes.

Makoto stood, pulling her friend with her. "I'll explain everything later. I have to go help the others. Now, how do we get out of here?"

"I'll do it. Just tell me where you need to go."

She smiled at him, reaching out a hand. He took it without a word. He didn't know how he felt. He just didn't want this to be a dream, and if it was, he didn't want to wake up to a nightmare. A sense of calm overcame him, washing away the grief of the last few hours. The future was looking better.

"But Makoto, your powers—" Minako protested, latching on to Makoto's arm.

"—are back, Minako. Everything will be fine." Makoto hugged her sister again, and that seemed to ease some of the worried tension he saw in the blonde Senshi. "Everything will be fine," Makoto repeated, "and we'll be seeing Usagi soon enough."

Tears welled in Minako's eyes, and she loosened her grip, stepped back, and actually managed a genuine smile.

"Tell the others," Nephrite added. "We'll try to come back with supplies. I know we need them. Especially for your arms."

The blonde Senshi nodded silently.

He looked at Makoto. "Ready?"

"Actually," she laughed, extricating her hand, "I need to transform first."


"This is strange," he muttered. "Where are the youma? They should be attacking by now." He and Sailor Jupiter walked down the middle of the street, him trailing slightly behind to allow her to lead.

"Sailor Mars has been through here."

It was all the reply he got, but it was more than enough. It seemed things were turning. The Senshi weren't dead, and they now had their powers. He couldn't help but smile. Things were definitely looking up. And then all of a sudden she stopped, and his focus turned back to his surroundings. A doorway stood in the middle of the street, its destination into somewhere he wasn't sure he wanted to go. The feeling he got from it was similar to memories he hated with a passion. He glanced up. The stars twinkled dimly behind blue skies, clamoring in fear at the darkness that was so near to them.

"Are we going through there?"

Sailor Jupiter shook her head, turning away from him, her eyes searching. And then her face broke into relief, and he followed her line of sight to see Sailor Mars appearing from the tree line, an anxious civilian in tow. She approached them, and he saw that she'd been fighting hard. Her uniform was even ripped in places—something he knew, through experience, was difficult to do to a Senshi uniform. They rivaled, and were infinitely more comfortable than, any armor he'd ever worn. The women embraced tightly, and he thought he saw the shine of tears, but neither woman cried.

"Usagi?" Mars asked when they pulled back.

Jupiter nodded.

"They killed Ami."

Jupiter nodded again, this time more slowly. "We'll make them pay," she vowed, her eyes shining with promise.

Mars didn't reply but the look on her face told him that the enemies would regret ever messing with the Senshi.

He smiled. "I'm glad you're okay Sailor Mars," he said sincerely.

The smile she returned was small, but it melted some of the grimness away from her face.

"We have to go help Michiru, Mars," Jupiter said, "and Hotaru. I know where they are. They're running out of time."

He frowned slightly. His was an inquisitive mind, not scientific like Zoisite's, more along the lines of the why behind existence and the purpose of life and so forth. And they were making him curious. Again he wondered, just how, how did she know? He'd come back from the dead himself, but it wasn't like he knew what had happened to Endymion or anything else for that matter. No great Truths had ever been revealed to him. The stars weren't even telling him anything much. And yet, the Senshi seemed to know such things. He mentally shook his head and focused on the women again. There would be time for questions later.

"I can't," Mars replied. She gestured to the woman beside her. "This is Anna. I found her just now and she says that there are a lot of people hiding out in the sewers."

The woman nodded, her dark curls bouncing tiredly. Just like the rest of her. Her large brown eyes lacked luster, sporting several bags and her chubby face was beginning to cave inwards. But despite her ill appearance she seemed to have escaped any serious injuries. Which is a miracle considering how many injuries we've sustained ourselves over these past few days.

"My father's a policeman, he knew we didn't have a chance of holding the monsters off in our houses so we got most everyone on our street to evacuate into the sewers. The monsters were too big to fit through the hole and by the time they punched through we were long gone. They can't even track us by scent cause it smells so awful down there."

"Your father's a smart man," Nephrite said. He didn't like to think he was vain, even if he didn't have any way of defending himself, but he never would have thought of the sewers.

Anna's mouth quirked up into a soft smile and her eyes grew slightly moist. "Yes, he was a lot of things."

He winced at the past tense. "I'm sorry," he automatically began to say, but Sailor Mars interrupted him.

"And you're trying to make your way out of the city. Forty-three people in all right?" At Anna's nod, Mars looked at Jupiter again. "Unfortunately, no one knows which way to go to get out of the city. The theory is that all the pipes should head to the Sekona Center for processing, which sits very near the edge, but so far they seem to only be lost."

Jupiter nodded. "I get it. We'll just—"

The Senshi of Fire shook her head. "It's not that simple, Jupiter." She nodded her head in the direction of the doorway. "We still have that to deal with. We can't risk having anyone run through it by accident, even worse, we can't have anything come out of it that's worse than anything that's already here. So far I haven't seen activity, but…" Mars shrugged.

He studied the doorway, and being himself, he offered the most reasonable suggestion. "Have you tried destroying it?"

Sailor Mars gave him a cool look. "What? And risk releasing that energy so it can spread? Or maybe destroying the only thing that makes it visible so that the chance of accidental entry will rise?"

He shrugged. "Well yes. Last I left, I don't think any of the others are up to guarding this gate. You could stay here while we go get your friends and then you'll be free to lead the people when we get back, but that's pretty brutal seeing as how sewage air isn't exactly healthy and it's going to take time and planning to find the way out anyway."

"Or we could just block it off from all four sides and hope nothing comes out of it," Jupiter commented. "There are plenty of abandoned cars lying around."

He shook his head. "I still vote for trying to destroy it, if it doesn't work we can still contain it. We wouldn't be any worse off than we are now, right? And you're a priestess right? You have seals. Shouldn't it be enough to hold it?"

Her eyes narrowed in thought, and his eyes skipped to Anna, who still stood just behind her. He suddenly wondered what and who she thought they were. Or did she simply not care? The world was already full of horrors, how would three obviously strange people be of any serious affect? She might have even thought they were crazy the way her wide eyes were darting between the three of them. After all, she couldn't feel the darkness permeating from the doorway, even if it looked sinister enough. But she hadn't bolted yet and so she must have had some iota of doubt or hope that they could help her and her people.

"Alright, we'll try it," Sailor Mars finally announced at last. "My Senshi powers augment my spiritual abilities, and if anything, we should at least be able to contain it." There was still doubt lingering in her eyes, but her manner was confident.

"But why do we even have to destroy it anyway?" Jupiter argued. "If you could seal it like that why don't we just leave it sealed until we get back? It shouldn't take that long, they couldn't be too far from where I saw them last. Or just stay and guard it Mars, the sewers might not be healthy but they're alive, which is what our friends won't be if I don't get there now!"

Mars shook her head. "Without myself to supply energy, the seals won't hold against serious attack. It'd be pretty much useless. This way if there is some reaction from our attack, I have a better chance of containing it. We can't be careless, Jupiter!"

"You would risk Michiru's life? What about Hotaru's? She's only eight years old!"

"That's not what I'm talking about! This is not the time to be brash, Jupiter! Would you really want the life of an innocent hanging over you? I know—"

"You didn't see what I saw Rei! And the whole world is dying! I'm sorry, but I want to go save the few people who might have a chance of saving what's left of it!"

The Senshi were facing off now, and Jupiter quite obviously radiated anger and distress, but it unnerved him that he could read no reaction from Sailor Mars. Her face was that of still waters and her body remained relaxed. Though her dark eyes flashed from time to time he could not read what it meant.

"We can't be careless, Jupiter," Sailor Mars reiterated, but there was no heat in her voice.

He shrugged and reached out to take both Senshi gently by the arm. "Look, I'd feel better if there wasn't an evil dimensional doorway in the middle of the street anyway. So let's just destroy the damn thing and go save your friends. It's taking longer to argue about it then to just do it isn't it? Now, do we need all three or are two Senshi enough?"

"Actually, you and Jupiter will be doing it. I have to be ready to activate spells." Mars moved away from them without another word and began pulling spell bound papers seemingly out of thin air, praying over them before placing them in various positions and layers around the dimensional door.

Beside him Jupiter remained quiet for a moment more, watching her friend prepare. Then she looked down and when she looked back up, a tight little smile had appeared on her face. "Alright, let's do this." She glanced at Anna. "I think this is where you go stand by the trees, just in case." The girl nodded, her face a little pale, and fled to the safety of the tree line some distance back. She looked at him. "Ready?"

"As ever," he replied with a grin. He couldn't help but feel a little thrill, because even though they were just blasting a doorway, he was fighting beside her and not against her, which was where he had always belonged. His grin grew even wider as his power welled up within him, for it had been millennia since he'd felt it and used it and it seemed to complete something in him.

He watched his hands in anticipation and sure enough, raw power the color of shimmering rubies surrounded them, dripping to the ground and scorching cement where it impacted. He glanced at Sailor Jupiter and sure enough her smile had grown into a grin that echoed something like his own.

"Ready!" Sailor Mars yelled, and he saw that she had seated herself some distance away from the grid of seals she'd placed around the door.

He caught Jupiter's eye and nodded once before clapping his hands together at chest level, his thumbs and forefingers connecting to form a triangle, his focus solely on the doorway. Green light flared in his peripheral.

"OAK EVOLUTION!"

A flurry of razor sharp leaves flew towards the doorway, leading the way for the glittering globe of red that followed closely behind it. The two manifestations of energy slammed into the doorway, and as he watched in shock, much of it absorbed directly into the darkness. But then the darkness twisted and pushed outwards. The doorjamb melted away. For a moment it seemed like Sailor Mars succeeded in keeping it contained, as inky blackness spread against the invisible barrier, spreading into a dome. Laughter filled the air, multitudes of voices leering and jeering at the three of them.

"FUCK!" Jupiter yelled.

"RUN!" Mars screamed.

But there was no time. And he had only a glimpse of her strained face, her mouth moving furiously in silent incantation, before a soundless explosion rocked the air and he knew no more.