Sailor Moon yawned and flung herself to the ground, jostling Mars, who shot her a glare and then shifted to give her more room. Across from them Jupiter sat down with a thump, and Venus flung herself face down on the ground with a moan.
"You do hate me." Venus groaned.
Moon raised an eyebrow before shutting both eyes and getting comfy, "You just need to work on muscle building, Venus, and not keeping the weight off."
Venus groaned, "But muscle makes me look fat!"
Mars sighed, "Does Angelina Jolie or Jessica Alba look fat? No! They're fit! You need to be as well! Screw what your agent says."
Venus sighed.
"Scouts, the reason I called you here was because I believe it is time to start spending all our time looking for the Princess. There is only one Rainbow Crystal to collect, and we need her before we can combine them into the Imperial Silver Crystal." Luna and Artemis appeared, both looking tired.
Moon sat up and snapped her eyes open, "Correction. We need to get the last crystal yes, but we also need Mercury and the crystal the Negaverse took from the Negaverse before we can find the princess."
Luna glared at her, and Moon folded her arms.
"Sailor Moon, you know where the princess is, don't you? You mentioned her some time ago, I recall."
Artemis and all the girls stared at her in shock. She glowered at them, "What?"
"You've known where Serenity is all this time?" Demanded Mars hotly.
Sailor Moon sighed, "Give me a break, will you Luna, geez. Yes I've known where she is for a while. I explained to you at the time that once she remembers who she is she will join us, since she won't be able to hide her massive aura."
Tuxedo Mask who had been listening quietly, made a mental note to ask her how she was actually doing just that.
"But for now, I'm not confident enough in our abilities to wake her. Also, I think we should at least be able to give her all seven crystals."
"She has a point," Jupiter muttered, "I don't think we can really get Serenity to join us and then go, 'oh, yeah, we have to go rescue Mercury and we haven't got all the crystals for you yet."
Sailor Moon nodded, "What she said."
Luna glowered at her, "Alright, I understand, you've made your point. We'll wait to get Serenity. However there was something else, Sailor Moon."
Sailor Moon looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything.
"I think you should give me the crystals."
Sailor Moon blinked, "Why?"
"Because the Negaverse knows you have them. And that makes you a target."
Sailor Moon opened her mouth but Luna forestalled her by adding "And I know you don't particularly mind being a target, after all, the way you shoot your mouth off at the poor nega generals is proof of that, but I don't want to run the risk of losing any more crystals to the Negaverse. Selenity warned you against what would happen if they got a hold of them, I recall."
Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus shifted uncomfortably, and exchanged glances.
"I don't think that's a good idea..." Said Sailor Moon slowly, "I'm the only one so far who has the knowledge to use them. Mars never bothered to learn crystal lore, Jupiter is still working on controlling her lightning, and Venus lacks the focus-"
"I do not!"
"- to use them. Luna, Artemis, can you use them?" Sailor Moon continued, ignoring Venus' squawk of outrage.
Luna and Artemis exchanged glances.
"I can." Luna said at last, "Artemis never learned crystal lore in the Millennium either."
Moon nodded, she had known that already of course, "So shouldn't I keep some and you keep some? That way we split them up and the ones that can use them have them if they need them?"
Luna thought about it, and then turned to Venus, "Venus, you're the leader, you decide."
Venus winced inwardly, choosing between Sailor Moon – who she didn't know very well and trusted less, and Luna? What, was this a trick question?
"I think Luna should have them all. That way if Sailor Moon becomes the focus of the attacks, they won't get any of the crystals." She announced.
Sailor Moon huffed, "You're assuming I would lose." She muttered.
There was an expectant silence, and Sailor Moon shifted a little with a sigh, and waved a hand. The five crystals they had collected appeared floating in the air in front of her.
Mars reached out and touched the red jewel as if in a trance, with one finger, "It's so warm!" she murmured.
Jupiter came over and touched the green jewel, "Wow..." she murmured, "this one feels new... and young."
Venus touched the orange one, and shuddered, pulling back, "Vengeance." She muttered.
Sailor Moon nodded, "Seven jewels for the moon will fight, and combine to show their might, Red for love. Orange for vengeance. Yellow for healing. Green for creating. Blue for remembering, Indigo for power. And Violet for protection."
Luna changed into human form, and reached for the crystals. They floated into her hands, and with a strange movement on her part, they disappeared into her subspace pocket.
Jupiter stretched, "One of these day's you guys are going to have to explain you do that without spells. For now, I'm going home to bed."
"Wait," Sailor Moon said as she got up to go, "I have something to say, and it concerns you all. It's about Amy, and more specifically, her mother."
They stared at her, and she grimaced, "I told her who Amy really was. She knows her daughter was Sailor Mercury. I didn't tell her anyone else's identities, but you have to remember this woman was chosen to be mother of Mercury in this time. She's smart. As if she couldn't be, being a doctor and all. Anyway, be on the alert, she may figure out who you are."
"You told her everything?" Luna asked sharply, "I would think that you could have mentioned it to us before hand!"
Sailor Moon fixed her with a direct, unsettling look that was a cross between irritation and resignation, "Have any of you bothered to check on her lately? She hasn't been sleeping, and she has taken a leave of absence from work. She also hasn't been eating."
"You've been keeping tabs on her?" Mars asked quietly, surprised.
"Of course I have. I keep tabs on all of our families and you in your human forms." Sailor Moon snapped to general murmurs of astonishment, "In case I have to remind you, we are fighting the Negaverse. The most insidious, sly and cruel masters of the dark! They will find your families if they can, and they will hurt them if they can."
Venus sucked in a breath, "The aura suppression you are using... you've placed it on all of us?"
Tuxedo Mask sighed, they were so far from what they had been, "I asked her to keep an eye on all of you." He interjected quietly, and didn't miss the surprised glance Sailor Moon shot him. He hadn't asked her to do any such thing, but he was sick of seeing her as such a target within the group. It seemed as if anything that went wrong was her fault, and any time she acted precipitously was looked upon with -at best- distrust.
"We cannot allow our work if we are distracted by family." Tuxedo Mask said sternly, "As callous as that sounds, our top, our only, priority is to defeat the Negaverse."
"What about the Generals?" asked Mars quickly, eyes wide with horror.
He shook his head, and Venus, feeling the roiling emotions within the Prince, spoke up to spare him, "Even the Generals must take second place, much as that will pain us."
Jupiter sucked in a breath to protest but Venus held up a hand, and looking at the diminutive blond, they could all see the fire in her eyes, pain and passion, it reminded them of the old Sailor Venus and they fell silent.
"It will hurt us. It will hurt so, so much, but we cannot let our feelings for anyone, family, friends, lovers stand in the way of what we must do. The Negaverse must be stopped. They must not unleash the catastrophic force of Metallia, child of Chaos. They must NOT break through to Earth. Earth, the last of the free Jewelled Kingdom's, must NOT FALL to them. "
She took a second to stare around at them, meeting their eyes one by one. Mars was watching her in horror. Jupiter in defiance. Luna and Artemis were nodding in agreement. Endymion and Sailor Moon were smiling a little at her, proudly?
"So," Said Sailor Moon quietly, her eyes still shining with pride, "We will fight. We will fight until we can fight no more, and then keep on fighting. Even if Beryl drives us to our knees, we will not give up. We cannot. The last free kingdom in the universe is ours, and we must protect it."
There wasn't much to say after that, and the meeting broke up quickly.
Sailor Moon headed home slowly, and sure enough she was about halfway home when Tuxedo Mask joined her.
"No stalking today?" she asked lightly, looking out over the lights of Tokyo, lips twisting wryly.
"Not today. I learnt my lesson, thank you very much. You'll have to teach me that headlock move sometime." He took of his hat and smoothed his hair reflexively, memories of the noogie from hell haunting him.
"Sometime." She responded airily, and was about to leap to the next roof when he caught her arm.
"What did she say to you? Dr Mizuno?" he asked gently, those damn eyes of his full of compassion.
She blinked at him, surprised for a second, before glowering. "I hate how you can do that, you know." She grumbled.
"Do what?"
Her eyes lit a little with mirth, "Read my mind."
He chuckled and pulled her into a gentle but firm embrace. She coiled a hand in his shirt and rested her head against his chest.
"What did she say when you told her about Amy?"
"She didn't believe me at first. And then when it started to make sense she accused me of being an alien."
He snorted, "You are. From the moon, no less."
"She didn't react very well when I told her that." Sailor Moon muttered.
"Oh?"
"Well, I think she believed me, and that made her question her sanity."
"Oh dear."
"Yeah." She shrugged against him, "But she believed me in the end. She wasn't happy about, of course, and never wants to see me again. And when I get Amy back – she thinks I will – she wants me to make it so that she never has to transform again."
"Hmmm. Shouldn't Amy have a say in that?"
"That's what I told her. I wasn't popular."
He remained silent and she sighed, "To be honest, I think I'll do that anyway."
"What, remove their Sailor Powers?" he asked in shock.
"Yeah. Once we defeat Beryl and Metallia if we have to, they won't be needed anymore. I won't remove memories of course, just the powers. That way they won't feel the need to do a Sailor V and fight crime and injustice, blah, blah, blah. They can live normal, happy lives."
Tux frowned, "I think you should probably ask them that before doing anything."
"I will. It's up to them. I know what I'd prefer in their situations of course, but I'll leave it up to them."
"Good." He turned her a little and kissed her, long and gentle, before letting her go, "Now, go home and get some sleep."
But Serena found herself unable to sleep, despite her physical exhaustion from the training. Her mind simply refused to shut down and her thoughts flitted from Darien to Mrs Mizuno to her family, to Beryl, to the Generals and back again.
Finally, after a couple of hours of trying, she gave up and reached into the top drawer next to her bed and pulled out the locket that Endymion had given her. she flipped it open and set it on her pillow by her head. The soft, familiar melody lulled her into sleep almost immediately.
A sleep so deep, in fact that she didn't notice Luna enter the room and stop dead.
Luna stared at the figure in the bed, her eyes wide, her hair standing on end as every fibre of her being reverberated with the familiar tune. Serenity had shown her the locket a couple of times, long ago.
And now it was here.
Everything clicked and the cat sat where she was and stared at the girl who she should have recognised. She should have seen it. Should have known.
The next day, Serena was on her way to school, feeling refreshed even after the small amount of sleep she had had the night before. When she had woken up she just felt good. Luna had been absent, which was unusual, but considering she was still catching up with Artemis she wasn't surprised. She bought a muffin from a bakery and munched as she walked, humming a little and picking out the blueberry pieces before eating the rest.
She almost missed the strange feeling, but dropped her phone and stopped to pick it up. Then she felt it, even as her hand clasped the mobile.
Slowly, she straightened, eyes searching the area warily, good mood gone.
It was a quiet morning, so the carrier of the crystal was immediately visible. A boy or young man, really. He was about the same age as her, sixteen or seventeen, wearing a school uniform.
And looking very, very nervous.
Serena watched him for a second, and with a start, the young man looked up, and their eyes met. His eyes, mousy brown and fearful, widened even more, and Serena realised with a start that he recognised her. She blinked in astonishment.
He ran.
"Hey," Serena started after him, "Hey! HEY! WAIT!"
She took off after him, dashing across the road and dodging cars (that honked at her) and leaping over the safety rail with ease before sprinting after him, "WAIT! I WONT HURT YOU!"
He ran down the street a whole block, and even with her Sailor Powered legs she couldn't catch up. This puzzled her momentarily, but she pushed the thought away as she powered around a corner,
Only to have something slam into her chest, hitting her across her collar bone and stopping her forward momentum. Her feet flew up, she got a glimpse of the blue sky, and then she was on her back, her chest burning and gasping for air.
Malachite sneered down at her,
"My my, we are eager, aren't we?"
Serena coughed and rolled onto her side before pushing herself to a crawling position.
Malachite, apparently not concerned with her, turned to the boy, who was cowering against a wall nearby.
"So, boy, are you going to make this easy?" he asked in a smooth, easy voice.
Serena pulled herself to her feet. Whatever Malachite had hit her with had been hard. Damn hard. If she had been human she would have a broken collar bone now.
The boy was trembling before Malachite, "D-Don't try to c-convince me you're nice! I've seen what you'll do to me! You're a monster!"
Malachite's amiable expression fell, to be replaced by a fierce scowl. "As you wish. I prefer to be honest anyway."
The General drew his sword, and the metallic hiss it made as it came from it's sheath had the hair on Serena's arms standing on end.
Serena swallowed and pressed the button on her communicator, praying silently that the others would be here in time.
"What is your name, boy?" Malachite asked softly as he advanced.
The boy swallowed, "Greg."
Malachite nodded, "Goodbye, Greg." He raised his sword above his head and bought it crashing downwards with terrible force.
CLANK!
Malachite blinked in astonishment. Before him stood the girl he had knocked to the ground without a care. She stood with her feet braced her shoulder width apart, and her body tense and controlled. The palms of her hands were pressed to the flat of his blade, pressed so hard that she had stopped it.
She had caught the blade.
Blue eyes the colour of the earth's sky shone cooly at him and for a second he thought he recognised those eyes, but then the knowledge was gone.
"Now, Malachite. Don't be thinking I'll let you have the crystal. And while we're on the subject, I'd like Sailor Mercury, General Zoisite and the Indigo Crystal back. Thanks very much."
And she shoved her hands forwards, keeping the blade between them. His muscles were slack with shock, and she used it to her advantage and slammed the hilt of the sword backwards into his stomach. He bent double with a 'oof' of surprised pain and Serena raised one arm and conked him on the head with her elbow, driving it down hard on the base of his neck.
He hit the ground face first and she spun to grab the boys arm, "Time to go! He won't stay down long!"
She dragged the fearful boy away, down and alley and towards the less populated part of town. They ran for three minutes uninterrupted and Serena was just beginning to hope that Malachite wasn't following them, when she glanced over her shoulder.
"DUCK!" she screeched, and flung the boy to the ground before following him she skidded hard on her hands, taking a layer of skin, but the fireball that the General had shot at her sailed harmlessly over their heads and impacted a nearby light pole before exploding and cutting the pole in two.
The boy screamed in fear as the broken part of the pole fell towards them, but Serena was already moving again, rolling sideways and pulling the boy with her.
Then she was on her feet again, trying desperately to get him up too, "GET UP, GET UP!" She shrieked, looking over her shoulder at the quickly advancing general.
The boy staggered to his feet, and they ran again.
Whoosh!
Serena darted to the side, dragging the boy with her, and another fireball shot past them.
Serena kept running, kept pulling him along, looking for somewhere, anywhere, to hide long enough to transform...
A mall! Huge, glass windows beckoned her, glinting prettily in the early sun.
She dragged the boy through the large glass doors. It was early, so it was relatively empty. She skidded to stop, halting him as well and looked frantically for somewhere to hide.
Someone screamed and a terrible noise filled the air, reverberating through her, making her teeth chatter and clench.
She spun and saw the whole front of the mall, all that pretty glass, exploding inwards and all those glittering, beautiful fragments shot rainbows through the air even as the thundered down towards them in a hail of deadly spikes.
Greg ducked, knowing it was useless. He and the strange girl would die, no one could survive the glass falling on them, oh, god they were going to be cut to ribbons. Would his parents have to identify his body? Would there be enough of him left to identify? Would-
Waitasec.
The glass hit the floor all around him, but it did not touch him, and when he looked up, he saw why.
Sailor Moon stood above him, arms out and feet braced apart. In front of her was a glowing shield of silver light.
He slowly got to his feet.
"Ok Greg." She said over her shoulder, dropping the shield, "I'm Sailor Moon, and I need you to stay close. Ok?"
He nodded, realised she couldn't see him, and spoke, "Yes."
Malachite stepped over the broken glass, it crunched under his boots, "Well well, Sailor Moon. How... interesting..." he grinned suddenly, "I'm looking forwards to the rematch!"
Sailor Moon clenched her fists, "Bring it, Malachite. Just bring it."
Malachite sneered at her, pulled back a hand and flung another fireball at them. Sailor Moon threw up the shield again, and Peter watched as she gritted her teeth, and skittered out of the way as she skidded backwards.
Sailor Moon didn't bother waiting for an invitation, she charged. Greg watched in amazement as she leap at the last instant and bought her fist crashing downwards towards Malachite's head. Malachite threw up and arm to block, and she missed, but turned her body in mid air, swinging out with a leg and catching him in the side, just under his arm. He grunted and staggered sideways,
Sailor Moon landed easily, and back flipped to a safer distance, out of reach.
They stayed still for a second, glaring at each other, and then they charged again. This time Malachite aimed a punch at her face, but Sailor Moon ducked and slammed a hand into his sternum, and when he doubled over she executed a swift uppercut to his nose.
He staggered back, bleeding, and glared some more.
Sailor Moon stayed still, "Malachite, try and remember who you are."
Malachite sneered, and Sailor Moon felt a sense of foreboding, "You keep trying to trick me, to turn me against my queen, but I'm stronger than that! I will not betray my queen!"
Sailor Moon sighed, "At least you're loyal, I guess."
Malachite drew his sword and Sailor Moon winced. Damn, I'm no good against the sword. Where is everyone?
As if reading her mind, Malachite laughed, "Are you wondering where your precious team members are?"
Sailor Moon tensed, but didn't say anything.
"They won't be coming to your aid, my dear." Malachite gloated, and sank into a drill pose she didn't recognise.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded, summoning her sceptre with a flick of her wrist.
Malachite's smirk was really starting to grate on her nerves, "Oh, nothing... nothing... merely that I have arranged a special greeting for them... and their families... and your family..."
He paused and looked at her, and she felt a sweep of nausea roll through her stomach, "and your family too, I feel compelled to add, Miss Tsukino."
Sailor Moon gasped, all air leaving her as if she'd been socked in the stomach, "What?"
He smirked some more, "You heard me. I know who you are, and I know who all your pitiful friends are."
"MOON SCEPTRE POWER!"
A thick beam of silver light sped towards him, and she watched in disbelieving horror as he swung his sword and deflected it with ease.
"I can see you're wondering why I am suddenly more powerful." Malachite spoke as if he hadn't just cut a beam of light with his sword, "the answer to your question is, of course-"
"Shut up already."
Malachite stopped and blinked at her.
"I know. Beryl is ready to unleash Metallia she has stockpiled enough energy, and that allows you to take any leftovers and use it yourself. What, have you got a dark crystal on you?" Sailor Moon's voice was flat and cool.
Malachite didn't answer and she continued, "Just fight, Malachite. I'm sick of this. All of it, and if it's time for it to end, then so be it."
AN: Hey all sorry it took me so long. I was originally going to have the whole battle scene in this chapter but that line provides just too much of a opportunity for a cliffhanger.
Sorry. ^_^
Ok, so as far as I can tell, you'd all like updates more often, but shorter in length. I'll do my best to provide that.
Also, I know I only replied to some reviewers. Sorry to those of you I haven't replied to. I have read them all and am glad to receive them, but I haven't had time to reply. Sorry!