Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or her characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.
Endings and Judgements
Friday: Day Twenty Six continued...
When the fighters arrived they carefully checked around for threats and when they found none they focused on the only building there, the Starlight Tower. They looked up at the tall tower and exchanged wary looks before they headed for the entrance. It was unlocked and they went in single file through the doorway.
There was a short discussion on whether they should take the elevator or use the stairs since they thought Kunzite was most likely at the top. They worried the elevator was booby trapped and they didn't want to take it on that bases, but if they took the stairs they would be tired by the time they got to the top of the twenty floor tower.
They eventually decided on taking the stairs incase Kunzite wasn't on the very top floor, and forgo the elevator since it was most likely a death trap.
They reached the top floor unchallenged and cautiously opened the exit door and stepped through. They discovered it was an open floor plan with the elevator on the opposite side from the door leading to the stairs, and floor to ceiling windows on the other two sides of the floor space.
At first they thought Kunzite wasn't there but on closer inspection they saw that he was standing still in a corner watching them, almost concealed in shadows, which was strange with all the light being let into the space from all the windows.
Is it just me or does he look... Usagi began saying to Mamoru but floundered for the right word.
Off? Mamoru finished as he eyed his former general.
Yeah. She agreed as she looked at the others. They all looked like they sensed or saw the same thing. I'm unsure if he looked that way earlier or even yesterday.
Let's just be careful. He said as he continued to watch the man.
"I'm here as you demanded." Sailor Moon said as she stepped forward slightly, not wanting to put herself too out there. "You ready to finish this?"
Kunzite stepped forward. "Definitely." He replied before quickly launching an attack. A wave of gray light flashed out of his hand, a bright white light flickering within it.
Everyone ducked until the light had passed, and Sailor Venus came up immediately firing off her crescent beam attack.
Everyone spread out and began firing at him. Tuxedo Kamen launched dozens of roses, Sailor Moon shot a pure white light from her Crescent Moon Wand, a bolt of lightning raced out of Sailor Jupiter's hand, balls of fire sailed through the air from Sailor Mars' fingertips, and Sailor Mercury fired off her freezing bubbles.
Kunzite managed to expertly dodge all the attacks before returning fire with another intense wave of gray light. He then jumped up and levitated up into the air to avoid another round of attacks, and a massive black portal opened up beneath him and out walked five youma.
One had skin that looked brownish gray. Its upper body was that of a male since there were no breasts, and the rest of the body tapered off into a long slick serpentine tail. The head was bald with no ears, and it had webbed hands and solid black eyes. It was obviously some sort of eel youma.
The next clearly looked like some sort of hellcat. It looked like a large tiger-sized black cat with thin large wings on its back with red membrane instead of feathers, black eyes, and a long thin tail. Its body seemed to have an inner golden red glow that could be seen through its fur and eyes.
Another had the figure of a female and was dressed in a shiny silver body suit with long silver hair and shiny gray eyes. She was barefoot and seemed to be unremarkable aside from her paper white skin. There was no telling what she could do.
The next one had a tall humanoid figure. It was covered in light green leaves for skin, and where its hands and feet should have been were brown branches and roots. Deep green eyes were clearly visible in its face.
The last was a fire bird the size of a child. It had black eyes, was covered in forest green feathers, and was surrounded in black flames.
As the fighters watched the youma's spread out and moved toward them it became clear that the youma had already selected which of them they wished to fight.
Jupiter slowly stepped back as she found herself faced with the tall youma with branches for hands. Suddenly arms came up like lightening and the branches rapidly extended toward her so fast she barely had time to dodge.
Still, she wasn't quite fast enough as she was nicked in her side, her body suit slightly ripped. She raised a hand and fired her lightening but the youma dodged as well before it began to speed toward her, its roots blurring with how fast it was moving.
The eel youma began to slither slowly toward Mercury as if giving her a warning that it was her opponent before it sped up. She made a surprised sound before she shot her freezing bubbles at it, knowing it was moving too fast for her to dodge since she hadn't expected the speed.
She jerked as she felt herself lifted off the floor and pushed back away from the others. She cried out as she felt herself slam against a hard surface, and she glanced over to see it was a window.
She blanched as she looked back at the youma, its webbed hands gripping her shoulders, realizing how lucky she was the glass hadn't broken. It had cracked from the impact, but it was obviously thick enough to remain held together.
The hellcat youma spread its wings and took flight, its path directed rapidly for Tuxedo Kamen. He threw himself to the side to avoid getting hit and immediately rolled into a crouch and looked for the youma.
It seems he wants to fight you alone. He said to Usagi as he watched the flying cat.
Yeah. There seems to be a youma for all but one of us. He obviously prepared for me not to come alone. She replied. She wanted to look over at him but she didn't want to take her eyes of the remaining youma just in case one came at her, and if not one of them then definitely Kunzite.
The hellcat came back at Tuxedo Kamen and he stood before launching a few of his piercing roses. He wanted to see how hard it would be to hit, and discovered that the youma was good at evading despite its large size.
He needed to get it on the ground so he pulled out his exploding roses and began to aim, but was surprised when it suddenly shot a golden red beam from its mouth. He dodged it but it managed to hit his cape, burning a hole through it. He glanced back to where it hit and saw a small smoking hole in the wall.
Venus watched the female looking youma calmly walk toward her, and she moved away from the others since she was obviously going to be her opponent. She kept her eyes on the youma and watched as she spread her arms, but she cried out as she was suddenly blinded by bright light.
She could hear other surprised cries and knew it had caught some of the others off guard as well.
She suddenly grunted as she was kicked in the stomach for her distraction, sending her flying back. She rolled and skidded until she came to a stop on her back. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, slightly dizzy and still seeing spots from the bright light.
She looked around and saw the youma once again walking toward her. Only now she looked completely silver and shiny, like she was reflecting all the light in the room and the surrounding surfaces.
Mars quickly glanced around and moved to an open space as she saw the fiery bird look in her direction. She guessed that it was coming after her and not Sailor Moon, and was proven right as it took flight and flapped its way toward her.
As it got closer it shot a stream of black fire at her from its beak. Her eyes widened and she threw her hands up and sent a continuous volley of fireballs to counteract the fire stream. The attacks canceled each other out and Mars watched as the bird circled her, feeling uncomfortably like prey.
She needed to get it to the ground, but she wasn't sure how. Her fireballs wouldn't do it and she wasn't sure her fire would even effect it since it could use fire as well.
With Tuxedo Kamen and the Sailor Senshi occupied Kunzite focused on Sailor Moon. He looked to her and saw that she was staring at him, waiting.
He raised a hand and she summoned her Crescent Moon Wand again. A dark gray beam shot out of his hand and a white light beamed from her wand. The powers collided and created a small explosion that pushed the both of them back. But once they were steadied they were instantly at each other again, firing their attacks and dodging.
Kunzite shot another gray energy blast at Sailor Moon and levitated himself out of the way of a returning white energy blast, but she seemed to have anticipated that and aimed another at where he would be. He had no choice but to teleport away. He appeared behind her in an instant, and kicked her in the back.
Sailor Moon cried out as she went flying forward and fell to the ground. She rolled into a crouch but quickly dodged to her left as she saw a series of dark gray energy blades flying toward her. She looked over and blanched at the deep gouges in the marble floor.
She looked back to Kunzite with a frown as she tried to figure out how to get a hit in on him. She couldn't use her tiara since she wasn't wearing it, and even if she was it wouldn't work on him anyway. Fighting physically meant getting close to him and she wasn't sure she wanted to do that; the same went for using her sword. She couldn't fly or teleport. The only thing she could do was jump high, and that would leave her vulnerable in the air.
Kunzite sent more energy blades at her and she decided to take a chance. She jumped high over them, flipping forward and aimed a kick at him as she came speeding back down. He side stepped out of the way, and she summoned her sword as she landed before she spun and sliced him across his back. He cried out and she quickly aimed her wand at him and sent a blast of white energy at his back causing him to fly forward and skid across the floor.
Mercury kicked the youma in the chest which was thankfully enough to loosen its grip on her so she could get away.
I can't use my bubble fog against this youma. Not only would it interfere with everyone else's fights, but I'm not altogether sure it will work against this youma since it looks like a water user. She considered. Besides that I only have my freezing bubbles and my water harp, and I think this youma might be too fast for me to really use either on it. She worried.
She was pulled out of her thoughts as the youma opened its mouth and shot a stream of brown sludge like water at her. She dodged it and saw a smoking puddle where it landed. She realized in that moment that it wasn't water, and that it was probably acid.
She activated her visor and focused on the youma, knowing she was going to need every advantage she could get.
Black fire came streaming down at Mars again and she dodged as she shot fireballs back at the youma, and growled in frustration that her fire did nothing as it impacted the birds wings. Her fireballs were all she had and they obviously weren't powerful enough to deal with the youma.
I wish I had something else to use. She thought in frustration, but as soon as that thought crossed her mind she realized that was probably how Mercury had felt when she only had her fog to throw at their enemy. She was glad Mercury had more now, but that sentiment did nothing to help her current situation.
The bird started to get aggressive as it circled her, shooting streams of fire so quickly that she barely had time to dodge. It was beyond frustrating and it angered her to no end that she was being beaten by fire. Her own element! And there didn't seem to be anything she could do about it.
A lightning bolt flew from Jupiter's outstretched hand toward the tree youma, but it dodged and quickly stretched its arms and fired sharp green leaves at her. She dropped to the ground to avoid the sharp projectiles, then quickly rolled before she could be trampled by the youma's roots.
She moved into a crouch and immediately fired off her lightening attack, but once again the youma dodged then surprised her by firing off a blast of energy. Her eyes widened and she sent her lightening at it as she stood. The attacks collided and caused a small explosion powerful enough to knock her off her feet.
She groaned as her back hit the ground but she pushed passed the pain and lifted her hand to shoot another lightning bolt at the youma.
Venus breathed quickly as she dodged thick shards of what looked like glass fired her way. She was getting tired of this youma and its bright light and strange skin. So far her beams had done nothing but bounce or slide off it when she hit it, and she hadn't been able to get close enough to fight it physically since it always blinded her with its bright light.
She was getting frustrated because she couldn't even close her eyes or shield them because it would block her view of the youma and leave her vulnerable. She threw herself to the side to dodge another volley of glass shards and saw Jupiter's lightening miss her opponent and hit her youma instead.
The lightening had no effect on her youma but it gave her the idea that they should switch youma since they all seemed to be having a hard time with the ones they were facing. She was closest to Tuxedo Kamen so she moved in his direction. Once they were back to back she told him of her idea.
"Good idea." Tuxedo Kamen agreed. "I'll happily switch with you."
He was tired of dealing with the large flying cat. It was good at dodging his roses and he was wary of randomly tossing his exploding roses since he didn't want to hit any of the senshi. Not to mention he couldn't get the thing to land, so he could fight it or use his cane on it.
Beyond that he was worried about his princess. He knew she was good enough to hold her own for now, but they had all sensed something off about Kunzite and he didn't want to leave her to deal with him on her own any longer than necessary.
"What are you up against?" He asked Venus.
"A female that likes to flash blinding light and shoot glass shards. My attacks just slide off it." She answered. "What about you?" She asked in return.
"A hellcat that can fly and shoot beams from its mouth strong enough to burn through objects." He answered.
"Okay." Venus said with a nod. "Switch?" She added.
"Yeah." He said and they instantly spun around each other and attacked their new opponents.
Tuxedo Kamen launched his exploding roses at the female, and Venus used her crescent beam on the flying cat. Both attacks connected and blasted their opponents, one went flying back and the other fell from the air.
They grinned in satisfaction before attacking again.
Mercury dodged another shot of the acid sludge but was at an angle to see what Venus and Tuxedo Kamen had done. Her eyes widened as she realized what they needed to do. Obviously they needed to face an opponent their powers would work against.
She launched her freezing bubbles at the youma before spreading her fog and making a run for Jupiter and Mars.
"Jupiter! Take my youma!" She shouted as she attacked the one circling Mars, knocking it out of the air with her freezing bubbles.
Mars blinked as she looked around in confusion. She saw Jupiter running for the slimy eel looking youma, and understood what Mercury wanted. She turned and ran, shooting her fireballs at the tree looking youma Jupiter had been fighting.
She continuously shot her fireballs, determined to hit the youma since just by looking at it she knew she could do actual damage with it looking like wood. The youma dodged quickly sometimes contorting its body to avoid the fireballs, then fired off sharp green leaves. Mars jumped high over them and rained down fireballs as she descended, wanting to set the youma on fire and be done with it so she could help the others.
Jupiter stretched her arm and a bolt of lightning shot from her hand toward the eel youma Mercury had been dealing with up until then. It curved its body causing the bolt to go right by it before it spit out a stream of brown sludge at her.
She quickly moved to the side, but quickly realized she could use the youma's own attack against it. She aimed for the stream that was still coming out of the youma's mouth and sent her lightening at it with as much power as she could. The youma tried to stop the streaming sludge but it was too late. The bolt of electricity traveled up the liquid and into the youma's mouth causing it to explode.
Mercury continued to shoot her freezing bubbles at the fire bird, freezing its wings with her rapid attack. Not wanting to take the chance that its fire could melt her ice she quickly called up her water harp and attacked it again.
The water circled the bird as it struggled with the ice on its body, steam rising as it shot off streams of fire to try and combat the approaching attack, but to no avail. The water surrounded the bird, covering it and enclosing it, leaving no escape, before it exploded.
Tuxedo Kamen ran forward as he threw his piercing roses at the youma's feet and legs, keeping it from getting up, but had to dodge a group of glass shards aimed at his face. He looked back to the youma and saw that pieces of her skin looked like it had broken off, and wondered idly if it was actually made of glass.
He shook off the thought and launched a group of his exploding roses just as it flashed a blinding light. He closed his eyes and quickly moved his position so he wasn't just a standing target, but it turned out to be unnecessary. He heard his roses explode and the bright light cut off abruptly. He blinked his eyes open to see the smoking remains of the female youma begin to turn to dust.
Venus quickly threw herself out of the way of a golden red beam the youma sent as it landed. She rolled into a crouch and fired off her own beam, striking the youma as it was about to try and take flight again. She squinted suddenly at a bright light coming from off to her side, but kept her eyes on the youma she was facing, and was glad for it as she saw it close its eyes and look away from the light.
She quickly launched another beam and as soon as it hit she fired off another, and then another, continuing and moving closer to the large cat until it was no longer moving. She stopped and gazed at the youma's still form cautiously before relaxing as it began to turn to dust.
She looked around just in time to see the last youma remaining burst into flames before crumbling to dust. She looked toward her princess who was still fighting as she and the others began to move back together, watching the fight as well.
They watched as she ducked a swinging kick from Kunzite then block a swing from one of the energy blades he held with her wand before she swung her sword down toward his chest.
He leaned away to avoid it and she snapped her leg out, kicking him in his stomach causing him to stumble back. He threw one of his blades at her and she blasted it away with her wand before she had to take a step back and fall onto her back to avoid the energy blade he swung at her as he came running toward her.
She rolled backward and into a crouch with her momentum before she pushed off into a bit of a run and swung her sword, trying to cut him in half through his stomach. They could see he was cut but he still managed to avoid being sliced through, but not the blast from her wand that immediately followed it, sending him careening back until he slammed into a far wall.
Tuxedo Kamen and Venus couldn't help sharing a pleased proud look at Sailor Moon's performance, knowing their training with her allowed her to do so well, before they all moved to stand with her and face off against Kunzite.
Kunzite got to his feet with an angry growl and looked to Sailor Moon, only to see all the others standing with her ready to fight. He looked around and saw that all the youma he summoned had been defeated.
He realized that without the youma distracting the rest he was going to have to fight them all, so he blasted out a window and jumped out before levitating and sending a large energy blast back inside at the level the Senshi were, intending to destroy the building and them with it.
Tuxedo Kamen and the Senshi weathered the blast and briefly considered following Kunzite out the window but instantly thought better of it. It was one thing to jump out a window onto a roof or fire escape, but another altogether to jump twenty stories straight to the ground. They had no idea if their bodies would hold up to that.
The group rushed back through the exit instead, avoiding falling debris, and down the stairs and out the building before the tower could collapse with them inside. They barely made it out in time and moved away from the collapsing tower, ready to continue the fight.
Kunzite stared down at the fighters as they stared up at him, the only sound made was the building continuing to collapse and settle.
Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon fired off beams of white and orange just as Tuxedo Kamen launched a series of his exploding roses up at the dark general.
Kunzite allowed himself to drop beneath the attacks, but was forced to dodge fireballs surrounded in lightening as he did so. He sent a blast of gray energy at them then teleported away and sent another one from the other side to blast them back in the opposite direction and disorient them.
The Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen covered their faces and heads as they squinted their eyes, trying to see through the gray energy and stay upright.
Sailor Moon saw Kunzite's figure standing at a distance in front of them and aimed her Crescent Moon Wand at him and fired off a white beam of power, hoping to hit him. He teleported away and the attack streaked through the place he had been.
Jupiter fired a bolt of lightning behind them as Kunzite appeared but he teleported away, frustrating the thunder senshi as he disappeared from sight.
"Above us!" Mercury suddenly cried out as she launched her freezing bubbles. Venus added her crescent beam to the attack, but he once again teleported away and out of sight.
Mars cried out as she felt her side burst into pain and looked down to see a cut in her side. She looked around and saw one of the dark generals energy blades spin away. She followed its path and when she saw Kunzite she launched her fireballs at him, hoping he wouldn't be able to teleport and grab his energy blade at the same time.
Sailor Moon added her attack, but he once again teleported, doing it so quickly he was able to grab his energy blade and get away from the attack.
Sailor Moon made a frustrated sound.
This is getting frustrating and tiring. We need to stop him from teleporting to be able to hit him. She told her prince as her eyes searched for the general.
I'll see if I can distract him from teleporting. Speak to the others about an attack plan. He replied.
Okay. She agreed and moved over to Venus, who was closest to her, already having an idea of what they should do.
"I think we need to attack him all at once. Tuxedo Kamen is going to try and keep him from teleporting." She explained quietly.
"I'll tell the others." Venus said with a nod. "Then we'll just have to wait for the right moment."
Sailor Moon nodded and watched Venus casually move over to Mercury and begin whispering to her. She then looked to Tuxedo Kamen just in time to see him spot Kunzite and run toward him as he pulled out his cane.
He swung the cane at his former guardian general and Kunzite blocked with one of his energy blades. She looked back over to the others and saw Mars talking to Jupiter before she looked over and nodded. She nodded in return and turned her attention to Tuxedo Kamen.
Everyone's on board for a combined attack when you're ready. She told him.
Okay. He said as he managed to kick Kunzite away from him. The general fell back and rolled before he levitated into the sky to avoid a few roses coming at him.
Tuxedo Kamen put his cane away and distracted Kunzite by rapidly throwing his exploding roses at him to give the girls the opportunity they needed.
The Senshi exchanged nods and fired off their attacks. A thick white beam of light shot toward the dark general before it was joined and surrounded by red fire, green lightening, blue water, and an orange beam. The combined attack raced for the general and hit him in his side, knocking him from the air as he yelled in pain.
Kunzite laboriously climbed to his feet and surprisingly threw his energy blades, one at Tuxedo Kamen and the other toward the Senshi, hoping to hit one of the girls.
Tuxedo Kamen used his recently summoned cane to deflect the blade back at him, and Sailor Moon stepped forward to do the same with her wand. Both blades connected with him sharply and he dropped to the ground.
Kunzite's body began to slowly crumble to dust but suddenly exploded, a black mass hovered in the air where his body had been before eyes suddenly open and a slit opened to form a grin.
A thick rope of the mass shot out like lightening and stretched toward Sailor Moon, snagging her by her neck before anyone could react and yanked her forward rapidly. Tuxedo Kamen ran after her and managed to grab on to her booted ankle and was dragged with her as she was pulled toward the entity.
"Usagi!" Most of the Senshi cried out in surprise and alarm.
"Mamoru!" Mars cried out instead as the royal couple was absorbed into the entity.
"What the hell is that?!" Jupiter asked as she stared at the black mass.
"That's the entity I told you about." Venus replied gravely. "That's the evil that brought about the end of the Silver Millennium, and currently wants the silver crystal and to destroy the earth."
They watched it slowly get bigger as it began to rise higher. Suddenly Venus shot her crescent beam at it and the others gasped, shaken from their shock by her action.
"What are you doing?!" Mars asked incredulously. "Usagi and Mamoru are in there!"
"We can't just stand here and do nothing." Venus said. "We have no idea what their condition is in there. If they're injured, dead, or alive. In either case, we still need to deal with that entity." She explained as she gestured toward the black mass.
"Mercury can you tell if they're okay?" Jupiter asked in concern and watched her friend activate her visor and pull out her computer.
Mercury scanned the evil entity they faced and after a few minutes she shook her head.
"I'm not getting anything." She said as she put her computer away. "My visor and computer can't even tell me they're in there."
The Senshi looked at each other as they tried to decide what to do. They knew their princess and her prince were inside the entity, but that was all they knew. Venus was right. No matter what they needed to stop that thing before it could do anything.
They all nodded as they silently agreed that action was needed. They fired off their attacks, sending them at the black mass, but they had no effect. It was like the entity was absorbing their attacks.
They watched helplessly as it continued to get bigger, beginning to blot out the sky in their area with a cruel rumbling laugh that made them shiver in dread.
"What can we do?" Jupiter asked quietly. "Our attacks have no effect, and that's all we have. How are we going to stop this thing?"
They were all quiet as they thought, keeping their eyes on the entity as they tried to come up with something.
"We do have another option." Mercury said quietly.
"What is it?" Venus asked.
"We can use our transformation pens." She answered.
Venus looked to Mercury with wide eyes, understanding what that meant, and then nodded slowly. They didn't have much of a choice.
"Our current situation does call for a last resort option, and we don't have any other options." Venus agreed quietly.
"What are you guys talking about?" Mars asked in confusion.
"Unlike when we use our attacks using our transformation pens will access our power directly, and doing that, using it against this entity can and will likely kill us." Venus explained and watched Mars and Jupiter stare at her with wide eyes.
"We can either try this and hope it works or do nothing since there's nothing else we can do." Mercury said.
The Senshi stared at each other before looking to the ever growing entity and then back to each other. They nodded and pulled out their pens and faced the entity.
"Venus Power!"
"Mercury Power!"
"Mars Power!"
"Jupiter Power!"
Their powers caused first their bodies then their pens to glow with their planetary color before the power shot from their pens in beams of thick bright light at the entity. As they held their pens and watched their power flow into the entity their transformations began to unravel in bright flares of light, leaving them in their normal clothes.
As the power continued to flow they weakened and collapsed to their knees. A few minutes later the power flow stopped and they sat struggling to breathe in their weakened state.
The entity rumbled a menacing laugh before shooting a blast of energy that was black but looked like it had swirls of their powers mixed in at them.
The girls screamed as they were hit and blasted onto their backs and rolled and tossed around before it stopped. They lay unmoving in the positions they landed in, their clothes dirty, ripped and torn, their pens laying nearby as if they had lost hold during their last landing.
It was quiet for a few moments before the entity began to laugh once again, louder than before as the girls remained still, confident that it had killed the girls and finally gotten the powerful silver crystal.
As the laugh continued darkness began to spread around Tokyo and continued throughout the entire planet, like a speeding cloud, causing chaos.
The sky darkened to night, power went out, buildings crumbled, and youma ran free and wild attacking people. People were even attacking one another as the darkness began to corrupt them.
Tsukino family POV
Keys jingled in the front door and Ikuko hurried out of the living room and to the door in time to see Shingo hurry through the door and slam it shut.
"Shingo!" She cried out and pulled him into a tight hug. "Are you alright?" She asked as she pulled back and looked him over.
"Yeah." Shingo answered.
"Where have you been?" She asked.
"I went to one of my friend's house after school, but I decided to go home after I saw all the youma's on TV." He answered. "I didn't run into any on my way here, but I saw the sky get really dark off in the distance and it reminded me of the guy in the sky earlier so I decided to hurry here." He explained. "It's spreading though; the darkness. I saw it when I was almost here."
"Well, I'm glad you're home and safe now." Ikuko said with a nod.
"Is anyone else home?" He asked curiously.
"No. Your father and sister aren't here." She said with a worried sigh, and Shingo hearing it decided to go up to his room and stay out of her way.
Ikuko sighed and walked back into the living room to wait for her other child to return. She stared at the TV switching from news channel to news channel to see if there was any new information, but all they talked about was the youma attacking all over the place and how Sailor Moon was nowhere to be seen nor was any of the other senshi.
It only added to her worry over her family. Her husband was still at work from the last time she spoke to him, and she hoped that he was okay there. What really worried her was Usagi. She had gone out into that danger. Her daughter.
She could get hurt, and supposedly all because her friends needed her? The same friends that she was trying to rebuild a friendship with. Did that include the Rei girl she was thinking of ending her friendship with?
And Mamoru. He didn't try to stop her or if he did he did it before they were about to leave. Was he still with her? Where were they?!
Once again she heard keys at the door and she popped up from her seat and hurried over.
"Usagi?" Her daughter's name slipping from her lips as she jerked the door open only to see her husband on the doorstep. "I thought you were staying at work." She said in surprise as he came in and closed the door.
"I was but the building was attacked, and it wasn't safe to stay so I left with everyone else." Kenji replied with a weary sigh. "So what's going on? Why did you think I was Usagi?" He asked and listened to his wife explain what happened with their daughter as they moved into the living room.
"What could have been so important that Usagi would go out to friends she isn't even that close to anymore when the city is in danger?" He asked angrily with a worried frown. "And I can't believe that Chiba boy went with her! Just when I was coming around to him he goes and takes my daughter out into danger!" He said with an angry huff, and then paused as a thought came to him.
"Where's Shingo?" He asked immediately.
"He's up in his room. He came in a few minutes before you." Ikuko answered.
Just then they heard running footsteps and Shingo came running into the room.
"The darkness is spreading!" He cried out and they all moved to the window in time to see it pass over their area like a wave, blocking the day sky and making it look darker than night.
They huddled together as they looked out the window, wondering what in the world was happening, where Usagi could possibly be, and if she was safe.
Luna and Artemis' POV
Artemis and Luna sat in Minako's bedroom looking out the window and listening to the news after Minako left to meet up with the girls. They were both worried when they saw the message with the dark general, and were even more worried when the girls decided to go to fight the general.
Luna was especially worried that Usagi was going to the general like he wanted. The girls were with her and apparently so was Mamoru, but she still wondered if Usagi was ready to face the general. Especially since he was obviously the most powerful of them.
"Let's go up to the roof." Artemis suggested as he cut off the TV. "We might see something from up there, and if nothing else we'll be able to see Minako returning."
"Alright." Luna agreed and they made their way out the house, and up to the roof where they carefully sat on the sloping roof tiles.
"Try and have some faith in our girls." Artemis said as he watched Luna shift uneasily.
"I do but I'm still worried about Usagi. I don't think she's ready to fight the dark general." Luna said with a sigh.
Artemis silently stared at Luna in disbelief for a long moment.
"You need to have some faith in Usagi." He finally said. "She's trained with both Minako and Mamoru, who trained her properly and worked with her on her problem areas. They even taught her how to use a sword."
"From my understanding she's fought very well against the youma she's faced since she returned to the team, and don't forget she killed the last general she faced." He added.
"I know the current general is powerful and they're in danger, but you're still thinking of Usagi as she was before she quit the team." He said pointedly. "You still haven't had a chance to have a conversation with her. She's different from how she was. She's much better trained, better prepared, and has confidence."
"If you want to worry about something besides the girls being in danger you should worry about the team dynamics." He told her bluntly. "Usagi only trusts Minako out of all the girls, and both she and Mamoru are especially untrusting of Rei. Not to mention all the girls besides Usagi and Minako are unused to fighting with Mamoru despite the fact that he's been helping them all these months. He was always on the sidelines and not really fighting directly with them. Those things are bound to affect how they work together."
Luna sighed and looked away from her companion and out into the distance. Artemis was right and she was embarrassed that he had to call her out on it.
She may not have spoken with Usagi but from what she had seen of her and heard from others she knew she was different, and definitely in a good way. It was just like her disbelief at learning Usagi was the moon princess. It was hard for her to believe the differences without seeing them with her own eyes since she had seen her previous behavior for months.
She also thought she might still be biased by the things she had heard in the months before she quit from all the girls; all the complaints, the excuses, and the whining. She didn't like that since she knew all the girls except maybe Rei had put those things aside. She wanted to be able to do that too, but for some reason she just couldn't. Maybe it was because she didn't have the contact with her and didn't see all the changes happen first hand.
Either way she didn't like the similarities between her and Rei, especially since she didn't have the excuse of having feelings for Mamoru.
As that disquieting thought finished passing through her mind there was a sudden darkness in the sky off in the distance. She and Artemis watched as the darkness began to get bigger over the next few minutes then gasped as it began to spread rapidly, speeding across the sky until it passed them and continued on as far as the eye could see.
"What is that? What does it mean?" Luna cried out in alarm.
"Something must have gone wrong or something unexpected happened." Artemis said with a frown in his voice. "It looks like the entity that took over the Earth and caused the downfall of the Moon Kingdom."
City POV
Chaos. Turmoil. Pandemonium. The city was rampant with it. It looked like what some would call hell on earth.
In suburban neighborhoods people fearfully stayed in their homes, doors and windows locked, curtains drawn even though it was fairly quiet. It seemed youma weren't interested in places where there were less people.
In the downtown areas it was a different story all together. People ran screaming down sidewalks and across streets, others collapsed in unexpected exhaustion, cars crashed into each other.
Youma's were everywhere. With the darkness they seemed to multiply and appear out of nowhere. Crawling up and down buildings like bugs, smashing through windows, landing on moving cars, floating in the air. Some were attacking and chasing people, and others were destroying buildings.
Some had made it inside the buildings, forcing people to abandon their hiding places, and decided to use windows as their exits or made holes in the walls.
That was bad enough but some people were also attacking each other. Some suddenly turning on their companions, others traveling in small groups attacking random people and vandalizing stores and cars, seemingly unconcerned with the youma's in their midst.
Usagi and Mamoru's POV
"Mamoru!" He heard Rei calling his name and he pursed his lips as he held on to his princess' ankle. Now was not the time to be thinking over that, but he would not forget it regardless.
They passed through the black mass of the entity he knew to be Metalia, and Mamoru felt squishiness surrounding them before they were dropped in the dark onto something that felt squishy and wispy.
Usagi? Usagi? Mamoru called rapidly as he released her ankle and crawled along her body.
I hear you. Usagi said as she began to sit up, rubbing her neck.
She hugged him as he sat next to her, very uncomfortable with the darkness and silence surrounding them. It was so thick they couldn't even see each other even hugged up as they were, and the silence was the kind that was loud and tricky on the ears.
What are we going to do? She asked.
We have to find a way out. He answered simply as his eyes darted around despite the darkness.
How? We can't see anything and I doubt there's a door. Usagi replied.
I don't know. He said, his mind already working furiously for a solution. Since Metalia hasn't tried to hurt us it must just wanted to absorb us, or absorb you and I just came along for the ride.
The Negaverse, or at least Beryl, wanted my silver crystal. What if it was actually Metalia that wanted it? She asked thoughtfully.
And by absorbing you it would get your crystal. He added.
Yeah. She agreed. Does absorbing us mean it'll begin...digesting us? She asked hesitantly.
Probably but I really don't want to find out, so we need to find a way out. He answered.
Usagi nodded and looked around even though she couldn't see, and wondered about the girls. Were they okay, were they fighting Metalia, were they holding back because they were inside?
I wonder if I can use my crystal to help us get out of here. He wondered.
It's as good as anything. Usagi said and considered it for a moment. I wonder if I can use my crystal as well.
Metalia's after your crystal. Mamoru pointed out.
As soon as you use yours Metalia will probably want yours as well, and be happy she absorbed you. At least if I use mine with yours we'll have a better chance of busting out. She reasoned.
Busting out. He repeated. That's exactly what we need to do. We need to force our way out instead of trying to find a way out.
We're agreed then? She asked.
Yes. Mamoru said with a nod.
Once they were in accord they both summoned their crystals, finally gaining enough light to see each other from the natural light the crystals gave off. They decided to focus their power directly into Metalia at a single point and hope it was enough to get them out.
They sat on their folded legs in front of each other, their powers causing their bodies to glow, and channeled their crystals power directly above them, tilting their crystals so the power flow combined and became one.
They didn't know how long they sat their pushing out their power, but the area around them began to glow until they couldn't see anymore.
"Power. I can feel the power. Finally, I have the legendary silver crystal!" Metalia rumbled out to herself then paused as she noticed something. "What's this? Something more? Yes, more power. I like this. More! I want more!"
Metalia rumbled in pleasure as the power continued to grow, but as time passed she realized it was too much. It was too pure, it was hurting her, and she couldn't absorb it.
Just as that realization struck a hole was blasted through her, and golden white light could be seen shooting up high into the sky, cutting a hole through the darkness that covered the sky. Then, before she could even make a sound of pain, she exploded in a spectacular burst of the golden white light, destroying her once and for all.
Artemis and Luna decided they would go crazy just waiting around after what they saw, so they headed for the Starlight Tower needing to see if the girls were okay. They knew well enough not to get in the middle of the fighting, but they needed to know if they were fine.
As they ran they could clearly see the madness around them. People running, screaming, youma's chasing people, destroying buildings, even people attacking other people, laughing at their pain.
It was frightening but they ducked and dodged as they focused on their destination. After a few minutes they saw a bright explosion a bit of a distance away from where the tower was. They wondered what it was, wondered if the girls were there, but decided to check the area around the tower first.
When they arrived they slowed down and moved carefully, disturbed by the thick silence where there should have been sounds of battle. Then they stopped abruptly in shock at the sight of four of the girls laid out, scattered on the ground.
Luna cried out and ran toward them, Artemis right on her heels. They got to the girls and Artemis automatically went to Minako first.
"Minako? Minako?" He called as he came up to her still form. She didn't respond and he shook her with his front paws, but still she didn't respond.
He looked around in confusion and finally spotted her transformation pen only a foot or so from her, and that's when he checked her pulse. He keened lightly as he realized she was dead. He looked over when he heard Luna's yowling scream and saw her next to Ami, and knew then that they were all dead.
Where are Usagi and Mamoru? Artemis wondered gravely since their bodies weren't present.
He looked to Minako once more with pained eyes before he began to head toward Luna.
Mamoru groaned as he came to, and rolled onto his back. He opened his eyes to the sight of a pitch black sky and was confused as he sat up. He was back in his regular clothes and everything around him was destroyed.
He frowned as he tried to recall the last thing he remembered, and just like that it all came rushing back. Being absorbed into Metalia, him and Usagi using their crystals to break out, and the explosion that knocked him out.
"Usagi." He said weakly as he got to his feet. He struggled at first but then a surge of energy suddenly flooded his body and he was able to move fine.
"Usagi?" He called out as he walked around the area looking for her. "Usagi?" He called again before he finally spotted her, collapsed on the ground.
He ran to her, dropping to his knees next to her, and saw that she was back in her school uniform, and alarmed to see the brooch she used to transform was shattered, only the outer shell still recognizable.
"Usagi?" He called as he lifted her to his lap, but she didn't respond to his voice or action.
He called on his power, idly realizing his crystal had returned to his body, and tried to figure out what was wrong. He found that his princess was severely exhausted. All the fighting before and using her crystal to such an extent must have been too stressful on her body.
He realized in that moment that he had been weak as well, but the Earth must have restored his energy with the earlier surge.
Mamoru lifted Usagi, holding her upper body up with his arm, and kissed her, allowing his healing energy to flood her body and restore her own energy.
Usagi groaned tiredly then sighed in relief before she opened her eyes to see Mamoru's worried face.
"Are you alright?" He asked, wanting to make sure.
"Yes." She answered, content to lay in his arms. "What happened?" She asked in confusion and listened as he reminded her about fighting Kunzite, being absorbed into Metalia, using their crystals to break free, and explained his restoring her energy.
"Are you alright?" She asked him once she remembered.
"I'm fine. The Earth restored my energy." He reassured her.
He helped her stand and they looked around at all the destruction and the still black sky. They could tell that they had obviously destroyed Metalia, but as they continued to look around at all the destruction and darkness they realized that Metalia's influence was still there even though she was gone.
Neither one of them had the slightest idea what to do about what they were seeing or if anything could be done.
"Maybe...maybe mother has some idea of what to do." Usagi said hesitantly. "If she's still there anyway."
"That's better than nothing." Mamoru said with a shrug.
Usagi nodded and stepped close to him and wrapped her arms around him. She called on her silver crystal and asked it to take them to the Moon, to the Chamber of Prayer. They were enveloped in an orb of soft white light and in an instant they were on the Moon standing before the Crystal Tower.
"Mother?" She called hopefully as she stepped away from Mamoru.
"Serenity." They heard a soft regal voice say, and turned to find the tiny form of the former Moon Queen floating in front of the Crystal Tower.
"Please. We need your advice on what to do about the Earth." Usagi said as she stepped toward her mother.
The former Queen nodded slowly, having seen everything that had happened.
"You must use your powers to heal the planet and the people." Queen Serenity told them. "After this current crisis you two have become more powerful. Together the two of you can accomplish anything you set your minds to."
"I must go. My time here is done." She informed the young couple. "I wish you both joy and happiness. I love you. Goodbye my Serenity, Endymion." She said with a smile before her tiny translucent body began to glow, brightening until they were forced to close their eyes.
When they opened them again in place of where the Queen had floated was a new golden brooch as if the Queen had left it behind. It was pink and gold with a large five point star on the front that had a crescent moon at its center. Around the star were four tiny gem stones in the colors of green, red, blue and yellow.
Usagi grasped the brooch and gasped slightly as she was able to feel the warmth and love of her mother. She smiled as she realized her mother had in fact left it behind to replace her shattered one. She removed the broken brooch from her uniform bow and replaced it with her new one.
She turned to Mamoru and he smiled softly at her happy that she had a new brooch and glad she had something to soften the blow of losing her mother a second time even if she wasn't there for the first.
They came back together and returned to the Earth the same way they had left it. Nothing had changed. The darkness lingered and the destruction was still very evident. The two royals nodded to each other before silently summoning their crystals.
Usagi willed her silver crystal to heal the Earth of the dark influence, and a bright white beam of power rose from her crystal before spreading like a wave, killing off the remaining youma's, and restoring the damaged buildings, cars, and lands.
Mamoru willed his golden crystal to heal the people and animals of the dark influence. A bright golden beam shot up from his crystal and spread like a wave out across the city, restoring those who were injured and bringing back those who died as a result of Metalia's presence.
The two awesome powers continued to spread, beyond the city and washed over the planet in a bright continuous wave banishing the black blanket that covered the bright sky.
When they were sure the planet was completely rid of Metalia's evil taint they went to where they had last seen the Senshi, and found the girls on the ground slowly waking and sitting up with Luna and Artemis moving around them, looking on in shock.
"Is everyone okay?" Usagi asked the group and everyone nodded and said they were fine.
"Where were you two?" Luna asked the couple.
"Perhaps we should move this to the park so everyone can sit while explanations are given." Mamoru suggested and they relocated to the nearby park.
The group did just that, sitting on benches and in the grass, and took turns explaining to Luna and Artemis what happened with the dark general before going in to what happened to each other after Usagi and Mamoru were absorbed.
Usagi and Mamoru were shocked that the girls had died and they hadn't even known, and the girls were surprised that while they were inside Metalia they hadn't heard or felt anything that was going on outside.
The royal couple then explained how they had gone to the Moon and spoke to the Queen's spirit, and she had explained what to do and given Usagi a new brooch before moving on. They had then returned to the Earth and used their crystals to restore order: getting rid of the dark influence including the youma's, repairing all the damage, healing and bringing people back to life.
The girls understood then that they had Mamoru to thank for bringing them back to life, and did just that.
They all sat around after the explanations were done just taking in the fresh air.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Makoto asked, breaking the silence, and they all looked at each other.
"Go on with our lives." Usagi answered quietly. "The fighting is done." She said and her eyes drifted down to her new brooch. "At least for now." She added. "We don't have to worry about youma's attacking at any moment or worry about our secret getting out. We can be ourselves."
They all smiled and exchanged happy looks, liking the sound of that.