36: "White Horseman"
The rain soon stopped and it was business as usual for Tokyo. Reports indicated that only a few stragglers still hadn't returned to the city, but with police and emergency aid, the population would be fully relocated before the day was over. Rei Hino, now working full-time as an official senator's assistant, was busier than ever trying to process everything. The only relief she had allowed herself during this tumultuous time was a short trip to the hospital, paying Usagi a bittersweet visit, and an evening out with Setsuna and Reika, which had ended rather...
Her mind was mostly on her work all day: filling out zoning requests, documenting the names of the citizens who registered for reentry, sifting through property evaluation, processing insurance documents (there was no need for that, what with the city fully restored), reassigning various emergency crews to take care of those pockets of trouble, battling the media over what to tell the people and what to leave out, and of course, the tedious everyday affairs that always seemed to get buried under the heaviest loads. She drove herself to distraction in order that distraction would not drive her; she needed time to work out what had happened last night, and what it all meant, and how her future would be affected by it—and her relationship with the other Senshi.
Kaidou surprised her around 11:30, bringing a bentou box and a can of frosty peach tea as he knocked politely at her door. Rei warmed up, beckoning for him to enter, overjoyed to see a familiar face. She drank first, nearly emptying the entire can in a single swig. Rei had forgotten how thirsty she was, and was a little embarrassed to indulge like that. But that was okay; she could trust Kaidou with her quirks.
"This was very kind of you, Kaidou. I feel like I've been glued to this seat for weeks now."
"Nearly. But so has everyone else. Even my wife, who's normally very understanding about all this, has been asking me to take more time for myself. But it's all I can do to keep myself sane. How did you manage it all those years?"
"Grandpa's special regiment," she said wistfully, staring out the window. "Training to be a shrine maiden, those martial arts lessons, attending that girl's school... And then there was my social life. That kept everything else in balance. Of course, that's not to say I never broke down. Sometimes things just hit me all at once. I'd like to think that time's played a factor in it, though. The younger Rei wouldn't have been able to handler this load."
Kaidou was silent for awhile. Rei offered him the rest of her tea, and he graciously accepted. It occurred to him that a moment ago, her lips had touched that can. Kaidou personally hated tea, but he drank this down to its last drop.
"Do you miss him?"
"Every now and then. The pain's less pronounced. Sometimes, when I see a person acting a certain way, I'll think back to the way he acted. Then it gets a little tough. But I'm all right. I've been forced to change, and I think I've adapted rather well."
"It's still awful, what happened to the shrine. I know you...I know you couldn't keep it up on your own, and you needed money, and you wanted to go to college, but..."
"Kaidou, I said it's okay," she replied softly. "Change hurts. But it's necessary."
"Well, I'm sorry if I put you in a melancholy mood," he whispered. Rei stood up, embracing him, eyes full of joy and love. She kissed his cheek.
"My day got a whole lot better when you showed up. It wasn't just the lunch that I needed, it was a good friend. I'm not normally so vulnerable in front of the girls."
"But in your vulnerability there's a strength I can never comprehend. Sometimes I really think I should have..." He trailed off, gazing intently at the floor, slowly crushing the aluminum can. It was better not to finish that thought.
"You should have what? ...Oh, maybe I shouldn't ask. I've got thoughts just like that." Another kiss, and she walked back to her desk, taking the bento box. "But what are we complaining about? This is something that actually matters. It may not be what we've wanted out of life, but it's good work."
"Occasionally," he smiled. They waved farewell to each other, but Kaidou fell over, hitting his head on the wall. Rei immediately bolted out of her chair and ran to him.
"Kaidou!"
"Oww... What the heck was that about? It felt like a tremor." They both screamed as the ground rumbled beneath them, but it was quick and violent, like an explosion. Rei's eyes flashed as another psychic vision struck her.
"What? But..."
"Hey, do you smell that? It's smoke! Look, out the window! There's smoke coming out!" Rei's skin crawled as she checked it out. There was definitely a black billowing cloud issuing from the senatorial hall, and it was coming from a populated area. She helped Kaidou to his feet as he called emergency services, wondering if she needed to become Sailor Mars or not. While her alter ego would certainly be invaluable, having a strong affinity and immunity to fire, perhaps it was simply an accident. Her hesitation was almost funny: a few months ago, she would have left it up to the professionals without a second thought, and now she was ready to don the Senshi's uniform at the slightest hint of trouble.
Grabbing everything she thought she couldn't live without, Rei gingerly touched the doorknob, finding it still cool. She quickly opened the door, facing down a hallway flush with smoke, fire, and pandemonium. The alarm had already gone off and the sprinklers were working; a few people even waved around fire extinguishers. The Senate building was beginning to collapse, though, and the fire was getting stronger despite everyone's efforts. She ducked inside a break room and found a water cooler, yanking the tub out and dousing herself.
"Kaidou! Get over here, hurry!"
"Rei?! Are you hurt? There are some people trapped over here!"
"I'll be right there!" A thought just occurred: would Kaidou have abandoned those people in order to save her, if she really needed it? Undoubtedly, and he wouldn't even hesitate. Rei didn't want all that hanging over her head, though, so she dashed out announcing she was fine, but he needed to douse himself and escape.
"Not yet," he said, striking a door with a chair. "The fire department's not here yet and I think I can get to these people."
"Let me help you." Rei landed several fierce kicks to the hinges, then the two of them hurled themselves at the door, breaking it down. The entire floor was covered with flaming planks, and three people were pinned underneath a burning desk. There was smoke everywhere; Rei took off her damp suit and held it over her face, while Kaidou did the same. They hastily picked their way through the fire and carefully put all their strength to one side of the desk, lifting it just enough to free everyone.
"Go, hurry! The hallway is clear!" Kaidou saw to it that the people made it out first, then extended his hand for Rei to take. Her fingers hovered over his palm for a moment as she noticed parts of the ceiling caving in. Without even thinking, she pushed him to safety, taking the full force of the collapse.
"Rei! Oh, God! REI! REEEEEEIIIII!" The flames shot up, fiercer and hotter than ever, too hot for an unprotected amateur to approach. Kaidou hated leaving his longtime friend to her fate, but he was helpless where he stood. Desperately, he ran through the Senate building, screaming for anyone who would hear. Meanwhile, of course, Rei had survived, though only by transforming at the last moment. The fire surrounded Mars, even leaping onto her clothes and skin, but she was one with the flame; she was at home; this was her Self, manifest. It could do no more harm to her than the air she breathed—though the smoke would be a problem.
"Okay, enough of that," she commanded, willing the heat blocking her path to cool. Only recently had she discovered her true mastery of fire, and now that she was augmented by Marduk's gift, the fire not only obeyed, but it actually seemed to fear her. Mars raced through the door, quickly scanning around for anyone else trapped. What she saw chilled her to the bone, despite the intense conflagration.
One of those Shining People was strolling through the Senate building, his feet setting flame to everything they touched, his hands lighting up the walls and doors and anything else he deigned caress. Mars was so stunned by this that she couldn't even move for awhile. The being inevitably saw her, though, and smiled, as though he were a child laboring for the approval and love of his parents.
"Apkallu! Thou art the harbinger of war, aye, mine own acolyte! What happy serendipity to find thee here, at the hour of our ascension!"
"Who are you?!"
"You wound me, Sage, by not remembering thine own arbiter. Once you and I fought the blight of the sky, as was our station. Yet if thou hast forgotten, then remember me as Ninurta. You would do me great honor to join me in my works."
Indignation broke her free from her paralysis. "You've got to be kidding me! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Attending to my purpose. My kinsmen and I are regaining that which has been lost to us."
"And how is burning this place down supposed to accomplish that?!"
"We must not suffer ourselves rivals in rule. Our scouts have informed us this be the epicenter of thy servants' government, Martian-Sailor. Naturally, it must be removed so that the true rulers of this world may take their place."
"You're insane!" she screeched, glowing white-hot with rage. Ninurta seemed genuinely hurt and confused. He and the other gods had been led to believe the Sailor Senshi, whom they associated with the Apkallu, had been on their side all along, emerged from long slumber as they had been to act as aegis and vanguard against the tide of evil. With the greatest of the fiends defeated, what else stood between the gods and their rightful place in the world? And since the Senshi were supposedly these Wise Sages whom even the gods revered, would they not join them in these struggles as well? It was disheartening to hear her say such things at the hour of his need.
Unless...
"Do you truly ascribe my actions as madness? Dost thou not approve?"
"Approve?!" she screeched. "If you don't stop right now, I'll kill you!"
Ninurta drew up indignantly, frowning gravely, studying the fierce woman before him. While it was true that he often quarreled with the other gods, and had even gone to war with them (that was in his nature), he held the Sages in the utmost regard, and would have quelled his tempestuous bloodlust for their sake. Yet this was the basest and truest necessity: the Sages would have wanted the world under their rule as much as they did. The Apkallu would not be stopping them, nor would they disagree with their methods. Ninurta didn't want to make this conclusion, but everything pointed in that direction:
Either the Sages had turned against them, and had been their enemies all along...
Or they were not the ones he believed them to be.
"Understand this, Martian-Sailor," he announced: "it is not my wish to kill. Rulers cannot attain their station if all they rule is emptiness and waste. If it is wanton destruction thou accuse me of, then desist. For this grand endeavor I am only interested in strategic maneuvers and precise strikes. Those who cooperate will be spared; those in opposition, crushed. Deliberate carefully upon which side you serve."
She didn't need to, of course. Her answer came in the form of an all-consuming fireball.
The strength of her attack had been so great that it actually suppressed the other fires in the hallway, blackening the walls, floors, and ceiling. The only thing that had escaped its touch was Ninurta, who stood with a raised hand that smoldered and smoked. His eyes narrowed angrily.
"How disappointing. Betrayed by the one person I believed would understand me best."
Mars had the perfect sassy comeback already lined up, but she didn't even get the chance to draw breath: the god struck her with an invisible force that repelled her all the way back to the other end of the hallway, and kept her pinned to the wall, crushing with enough power to splinter the plaster. Mars struggled to move, but she couldn't even breathe: her throat was being squeezed by the same energy that kept her paralyzed. She fought hard, summoning up all of her athletic ability, all of her Shinto discipline, all of her experience as a Senshi. She imagined one of her friends in mortal danger—Kaidou, Usagi, Minako, Ami, Sarashina, it didn't matter. She imagined herself being violated, needing freakish adrenaline-fueled strength to see her through the evil. She grit her teeth, imagining that if she could only be freed, then mother would come back to life: she tried every desperate tactic she knew of, everything that had worked one time or another in the past. Very soon she realized she had overestimated her own abilities, because the god's strength had amplified considerably, and as he approached her with the fury of heaven in his eyes, it grew stronger still, until all she could do was groan under the pressure.
"What are you?" she heard the being whisper, as it drew near enough to touch her. No contact was made yet; Ninurta still held her with his invisible hands. But if he so desired he could grasp her and burn her flesh off, incinerate her bones, turn her to dust... "What ARE you?" he demanded, his voice causing the Senate hall to shudder. "Ye cannot possibly be Apkallu. Thou art too foolish to be Sage, too unruly to be an acolyte, yet too powerful for a servant. I think thy lot has been mysterious long enough. Now I shall uncover thee for what thou art!" Ninurta lunged, slamming his palm on her chest, touching the very essence of who Sailor Mars was. Intense red and white light shot out of her as he made contact, and Mars went into hysterical convulsions, so overcome with agony that even Ninurta's power could not restrain her. She only screamed once, when he stole her from herself and held it in his hand, awestruck.
It was a sound only the damned make.
"The curtain parts," he said, releasing his hold on her. Rei collapsed to the ground, lifeless and wide-eyed—and it was truly Rei, for the fate of Sailor Mars was literally in Ninurta's hand. He gazed at his stolen treasure for quite awhile, the jaded eyes of a god opened and awed. It could only be described as Sailor Mars—not her earthly body but everything it represented, fought for, and empowered. This was Rei Hino and yet so much more: everything she could become, every sacrifice and scar and bittersweet victory, every passion and every disappointment. Not even Rei had yet fully grasped what it all meant, and it had been her entire existence; how could someone else, even a god, comprehend it?
So instead of looking at Sailor Mars, he looked at Rei Hino. "This is the answer: thou wert deceptive. You perpetrated this hoax—to what end, I know not—and raised the hopes of my kinsmen, only to smash it to pieces. You are a child at play, an actor making believe she is something else, a fantasy momentarily made true. Mind carefully, foul servant, for this is how Ninurta repays a false prophet!"
Rei Hino winced sharply as he crushed her Senshi's essence in his hand. Then, without saying a word, he walked away, setting everything he touched ablaze. Rei slowly blacked out, too weak to move, too jarred to do anything but watch as the smoke surrounded her, the flames licked at her heels, and the ceiling slowly caved in above. And then, nothing.
…...
With the Senate building awash with flames, Ninurta stalked down the street with a warrior's swagger. He was supposed to report to his fellow gods that the mission had been a success, but he was consumed with conquest and revenge now. The next logical step in his plan would be to either enlist or subjugate the city's law enforcement, but he really wanted to hunt down the other eight Sages, and determine if they were on his side or not. Pausing, he held his shining hand over the ground, commanding a squadron of stone-soldiers to emerge. The trees bent to his will as well, forming giant wooden centurions to command his host; even the steel and metal from abandoned cars fused into warriors. They all bowed before him, he who had given them life.
"Find the Apkallu. Report their location to me." The wood and steel and stone melted into their surroundings again, and Ninurta vanished too, bending the boundaries of time and space. As he drifted through the void, he heard whispers of the Jovian-Sailor fighting in the north, as well as the Hadean-Sailor searching around the area Azhi Dahaka had first emerged. He was much closer to the Hadean-Sailor, so he stole through the fabric of reality and emerged a few steps away from a nondescript reddish building that rose several stories high, covered by windows. Like most of the gods, he could sense the energy of the Sages if he was close enough to them, and this one was giving off a particularly pronounced signal. Bending his knees, Ninurta leaped, vaulting all the way to the roof in a single bound. He heard a scream, and glared powerfully at the green-haired woman staring out at the city.
"What the hell are you?" she hissed, terrified out of her wits.
"Know me not, Hadean-Sailor? But we did battle against ferocious Zur."
"Y...yes, I remember," she whispered, slowly calming down. "You are...Ninurta, god of war, correct?"
"Aye, and tis' time for conquest. The world of the servants must be ours again, and I entreat thee, Apkallu, for thy aid. Let me only warn thee once: I have already been betrayed by one claiming to be of thy ilk, and I shall not suffer myself another. Seven of you there were, so perhaps there are imposters about. I pray you be not one of them."
"Betrayed?" she whispered, feeling a chill crawl down her spine. "What do you mean...?"
"T'was my own acolyte," he answered painfully. Sailor Pluto felt herself go tense with rage.
"Sailor Mars? What did you do to her?!"
"The Martian-Sailor is no more," he answered. Unfathomable anger poured out from her; her fists clenched and trembled, her teeth ground into each other, her eyes flared. Killing a friend of hers was one thing, but Setsuna had begun to truly feel affectionate towards Rei; their night spent as lovers had reawakened Setsuna's cynical, apathetic heart, had given her something she thought was lost, had brought beauty and truth into her empty world. And now it had been ripped away from her.
"Then she will soon have her revenge," she growled, "for I will send you to meet her!" Pluto roared and struck, but Ninurta was inconceivably fast, first breaking her Time Staff, then her spirit. He thrust his hand into her chest and tore out Pluto's essence, smashing it between his fingers just as he had Sailor Mars'. Setsuna reeled back, teetering over the edge, slipping, catching herself on the ledge. She clung tight, gasping and trembling, driven mad from the loss of her self. Ninurta snorted and towered over her.
"Live or die, tis' no consequence of mine. Were you two the only villains, or are all of thee conspirators? All shall be clear soon." He then left Setsuna, who in her sudden frailty, felt her grip loosen. A seven-story plunge to annihilation stared up at her as one of her arms slipped.
He traveled north, furious and deeply stricken, hoping against his better judgment that the Jovian-Sailor would be his ally. She was Adad's acolyte, and he and Adad always had an understanding between them, even if they rarely got along. Hopefully that mutual respect would transfer through...but considering his own acolyte's reaction, there was little to hope for. At first, when Ninurta arrived, he felt at ease. Sailor Jupiter was fighting a handful of reptilian beasts splintered off from one of the Druj, just as any Apkallu might. When she finished, he bowed to her, even smiling.
"Oh, it's you. Sorry, but I took care of them all. Is there something you need?"
"Only thy help, Jovian-Sailor. A dread cloud has covered my sacred mission, and I fear my own strength will not suffice. I implore thee, loan thy strength to me so our enemies will be scattered to the winds."
"What mission is that?" she said cautiously. Ninurta took a depressing breath and explained everything: the gods had once ruled the world, and with their absence came chaos, anarchy, pandemonium, and rampant evil. Sensing this deep-seated lawlessness, they returned to conquer again, for once and all. Ninurta explained how he had overthrown the city's rulers, and more importantly, how two of the nine Sages had ended up betraying him. Jupiter appeared stricken, no doubt sharing his pain, but soon her agony turned to fury as well, and she crackled with the judgment of the heavens.
"Who betrayed you?"
He prepared for the worst. "The Martian and Hadean Sailors."
"And I'm next, I suppose?!"
"It is my deepest wish that you are not." She threw a pulsating orb at him; he grabbed it and flung it away, feeling his hands go numb from the energy. The two glared at each other, hate meeting hate.
"I'd rather die than join up with a monster like you!"
"Mind thy words, false prophet," he pointed: "there are fates much worse than death." To demonstrate, he blurred across the street, faster than she could see. She threw a desperate punch his way but Ninurta flattened her to the street, only to lift her up, yank her essence from her body, and shatter it before her eyes. He then shoved her away, but she was still relentless, crawling after him and cursing wildly.
"You...bastard! I'll make you...nnf...pay for...ugh..."
He threw a blast of energy her way, and once the piercing screams stopped, she was silent.
"Damnation," he grumbled, setting the world on fire with every step. "They were all false, every one! My vengeance shall be swift, deceivers! Ere this is over, you shall all beg for death!"
…...
Everywhere Ninurta went, more and more of his soldiers emerged, multiplying his forces exponentially. It was only a matter of time before the remaining politicians, police, and the media noticed, and a decisive attack was planned. However, Ninurta had been busy sending his scouts to the other gods, compelling them to act in their own best interest. Shamash, the sun-god, who felt most shamed by Ninurta's accusations, was the first to join, calling forth his scorpion-soldiers to add to the cause. Adad had the storms act in his favor, cutting off ships from port; Nanna sent majestic giant bulls to crush the national guard as they launched their attack; Inana charmed the city's most influential people to her side; even Anu acted, pouring forth legions of star-soldiers to overrun all of Tokyo. In no time at all, the city's police forces were overtaken, its people given a chilling choice: allegiance, or death.
Ami Mizuno was still working on the charred body when storms of glittering warriors filed into police headquarters. The body was quickly destroyed, while she was dragged outside to confront the leader. Ninurta recognized her at once, and snarled.
"Mercurial-Sailor... No, thou art witch and fiend. Thou has deceived beloved Marduk and Ea, but thou shalt not perform thy treachery on me!" He drew her to his hand with a gesture, reaching in, stealing Mercury away from her, shattering it mercilessly. He then ordered his loyal army to restrain her, and anyone else who would pose a threat to his regime. A stockpile of police weaponry was thrown at his feet, and he erected a barrier over it that only his officers could penetrate; then Chief Hari was brought before him, and given an ultimatum. She was wise enough to realize defiance was useless, so in lieu of any other option, and to preserve her charges, she reluctantly chose "allegiance".
"Very prudent, Indian. Seeing as how you hold sway over these servants, you shall keep your position. See to it that none of them attempt any foolish ventures." She mutely nodded, and he left as soon as he appeared. As more and more of the gods' forces came out to join the campaign, Tokyo's centers of power were being taken over, her citizens repressed and imprisoned—or killed, if they resisted. Naturally, all this drew the attention of Sailors Venus, Uranus, and Neptune, and they raced to stop this madness before it could spread any further. It was a futile effort, though, for if Ninurta could defeat four Senshi so easily, what threat would three more offer to him?
"Four?!" Venus snarled. "You said you already got four of us?!"
"Aye, Venusian-Sailor," he announced proudly: "your Martian, Hadean, Jovian, and Mercurial friends! By now three are surely dead, and the other imprisoned."
"You liar!"
"I see thou hast loved them! Shall I send thee to their side?" Venus powered up her Shooting Star, while Uranus and Neptune each summoned their totemic avatars, eclipsing the sky with a gigantic dragon and turtle. Ninurta thundered with indignation that Marduk's strength should be turned against him so flagrantly, and summoned two of Nanna's colossal bulls to fight them. Meanwhile he called forth his personal steed and thundered after Venus, shooting fire from his eyes and lightning from his mouth. Not having enough time to fully power up, Venus released what little energy she had stored, only to see it swatted away. She screamed and dove aside as Ninurta charged after her, firing a Love Me Chain and looping it around him. The chain snapped as soon as it went taut, and Ninurta turned around for another charge. This time she called up a Love and Beauty Shock.
"Okay, you psycho, this one's coming straight from the heart! Eat it, boy, eat it!" She flung the twirling heart-shaped orb, but Ninurta caught the blast, sending him falling off his horse. Having blocked three powerful attacks all in the same day was beginning to damage his hand, and he stared at it curiously, wondering how he could be experiencing this.
"So...this is pain, eh?"
"Not even close, you bastard! THIS is pain!" He looked up to see Uranus and Neptune diving toward him, their respective attacks ready to fly. He threw open his good hand, sending a wave of energy that forced them to crash into each other, and their attacks to fuse. As they canceled each other out, they sent out a horrendous shockwave, slamming Uranus and Neptune to the ground, where they lay struggling and groaning. Ninurta casually walked over their bodies, hovering his good hand overhead. He thrust, and both essences drew out simultaneously, mixing and coalescing into one, as only theirs could. It might have been poetic on any other occasion to destroy Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune at the same moment, but all they knew was anguish.
Sailor Venus stood aghast, unable to come up with a sufficient curse. "You...you...GYAAAAH!"
"Silence, filth!" She charged bravely but was struck down, screaming horribly as Sailor Venus was ripped right out of her and smashed. They were then surrounded by Ninurta's soldiers, while he went on to eliminate the final two.
The only thing Sailor Saturn could do was watch helplessly from the shadows...and, perhaps, follow him. There was only one place left for him to go, and if she acted quickly...and wasn't afraid to give up her own soul...then, maybe, she could preserve the Sailor Senshi.
"Same old duty," she whispered to herself: "Protect Sailor Moon at all cost."
…...
Nearly all of Tokyo was overrun and overtaken by the gods and their forces. Bastions of resistance were crumbling, or surrendering, or else fleeing in fear. Politicians had been locked away, the police had bent their knees, and all citizens were processed and kept off the streets. Those entering Tokyo for the first time since the exodus found they could not leave, and those who had been living there since their return found themselves prisoners in their own city. The campaign had been swift, and relatively bloodless. There were at least two bright spots to this grim affair: one, all of the creatures summoned there by the Druj were being systematically hunted down and killed (of course, any human perpetrating a crime was similarly dealt with, which explained the charred body Hayashida found); two, there were still Senshi out there. And as long as one of them was still standing...
Except the problem was that there was only one still standing; the second was in a coma. Still, Sailor Saturn raced to the hospital, borrowing an empty car and tearing down the highway. The streets were littered with soldiers of the gods, and many of them gave chase. She had to plow her way through several of them, turning a pristine automobile into a mangled wreck. She eventually crashed into a cluster of them and was quickly surrounded, but cut her way through, killing three or four with every twirl of her glaive. With more on the way, she raised her arm, calling forth the Phoenix, and hung on tight as its talons wrapped around her arm. One of the heavenly bulls spotted her as she flew away and gave chase, but the Phoenix wrapped itself in a death-shroud, blackening the sky and choking the bull until it collapsed onto the ground, stone dead.
Meanwhile, Juban Primary Hospital was in a panic. Ninurta and his forces had already arrived, and were loudly demanding that "the Moon-Sailor" show up. A security force was dispatched, but their shots deflected off Ninurta's body harmlessly. He shoved them with an invisible force, sending them crashing to the ground, and walked over their bodies, bellowing for any who would hear him. Saeko Mizuno was near Usagi's room at the time, doing everything she could do bar the entrance. Naru Osaka was there as well, fretting terribly, forcing herself to help the doctor or else lose her mind.
"Who is he? What does he want? Where is everybody?!"
"I don't know. Keep boarding it up. We can't let him have her." Saeko feared for her daughter just as much as she feared for Ikuko's child, and the fact that she couldn't be there for Ami when she needed her—just like so many times before—was tearing her up inside. She, too, labored so she wouldn't succumb to the madness.
"So you know about...her?" she heard Naru call. Saeko looked up and nodded.
"Her mother and I were very close...are very close friends."
"And...Sailor Mercury?" She smiled faintly; Naru went back to work. "Since when?"
"Recently. And you?"
"Almost from the very beginning. Best friends know these things about each other."
"And yet it seems a mother isn't prone to those kinds of secrets," she murmured. Naru paused for a moment to catch her breath.
"Don't be like that! Even Usagi's mother didn't know about it for years. She took it a whole lot better than her brother, though! Shingo used to have a huge crush on Sailor Moon, so just imagine how he felt when he learned she was really his sister!"
"I'm sure it was hilariously awkward," she chuckled softly. A terrible crash forced them out of their moment: Ninurta had broken through a wall, and was heading their way.
"Ah, her guardians, I presume? Though weak, I can still sense the false power she keeps within her. Begone, vile servant! And thou! I shall finish what I ought to have begun, and take thy head!"
"You'll do no such thing!" Saeko snarled, standing protectively before Naru. She took a hypodermic needle from her coat pocket and removed the top. "This needle's loaded with rycin. It's seventy times deadlier than cyanide. If I stick this so much as a millimeter into your skin, you'll be dead on your feet!" Ninurta's eyebrows twitched as a flicker of concern flashed across his face, but soon he was grinning again. He raised his hand, prying the needle out of Saeko's hand and turning it to face her. She and Naru both stood petrified as the needle inched its way to her skin...
Shattered in midair...
And fell broken to the ground, next to a fresh red rose. Naru felt her skin prickle.
"Wah...is that...?"
"Leave those fair damsels alone, cowardly villain, or else face the wrath of...TUXEDO UMINO!" Astonished, Ninurta whirled around, coming face-to-mask with a young man dressed for a night on the town. He would have laughed if he weren't so surprised by it.
"Umino!" Naru shrieked. Umino smiled brazenly, crossing his arms.
"Fear not, Naru! Tuxedo Umino has come to save you! Now take Usagi away from here while I deal with this trash! Don't worry about me!"
"You idiot, run! You don't stand a chance!"
"Never mind that! I'll distract him! Just get going!"
"Both of you be SILENT!" Ninurta's roar shook the entire hospital, throwing Naru, Saeko, and Umino far away. All of the barriers placed before Usagi's room were lifted and discarded without a moment's pause, and the door shattered to pieces. Usagi lay helpless before him. "For thy deeds, Moon-Sailor, and thy valiant behavior in the face of our bane, I shall grant thee a painless separation from thy foul deception. Power such as the one you have stolen belongs not in the hands of lowly servants, regardless of how they use it. A pity that this should be my thanks."
Before he could take a step, Ninurta felt something sharp prick him in the side. Saeko had risen and buried half of the poison-filled needle in his leg. Before he could kick her away, a red flower lodged itself in his arm, but burned away. Saeko recoiled, unable to stand next to the god's glory for long, and the needle melted.
"Just back away from there," Umino grunted, struggling to stand again. He drew out another rose, his arm quivering, his mask broken off, his clothes in tatters. "Back away, or you'll get more of the same."
"Thou fool!" Ninurta screamed, sending an even stronger shockwave out. Umino was blown clear out of the hallway; Naru screamed after him, but was battered away. "Ingrates! Slaves! How dare you assume you could challenge the gods! I am the very essence of divine right, he who controls the tides of war! The very rocks and trees rise to do my bidding! The land is fertile only because I see fit to make it so! Kings infinitely mightier than thee have killed their own progeny on my alters! Thine actions go beyond blasphemy or heresy! What could have compelled thee to—"
He froze, suddenly feeling a much sharper pain in his back. Ninurta turned around growling, seething, blinded with bloodlust. Standing before him was Sailor Moon, slumped over, tiara in hand.
"Damn, but you freaks like to hear yourselves talk," she huffed. Saeko sat up, astonished that her patient should recover from her coma so quickly.
"Oh my word! This is impossible! How did you..."
"Your fight's with me, you creep," she said, gasping feebly. "You leave these three alone."
"Gladly," he purred, summoning tendrils of energy to his fingertips. Sailor Moon could barely stand, let alone fight. Three days and more spent atrophying had taken its toll, not to mention the transformation into Eternal Sailor Moon. That attack was all she had left—that, and her usual bravado. Luckily, she wasn't alone.
"Don't forget about me! I am Sailor Saturn, a champion of justice, and in the name of Saturn—"
"Hotaru! Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"Wah?! Not even a 'thank you', Usagi?!" she shrieked. Ninurta snarled at this latest development, but then began laughing. Although he knew the latest addition to the False Sages had strength enough to challenge him, he also had the remaining threats to his regime right where he wanted them.
"Well, what delays thee, champion? Come slay me, if you can!" Saturn charged, couching her glaive; at the same time, Sailor Moon threw her tiara. Ninurta raised his hand to catch it, but after absorbing so many prior attacks, it didn't have the strength left, and was cut clean off. Wincing at the unexpected and unprecedented pain, he drew Sailor Moon to him, clasping his only good hand over her chest, tearing her birthright away from her. As she fainted, Sailor Saturn struck, plunging her glaive through his body with such force that both the blade and the first few centimeters of the shaft protruded from his chest. Ninurta spat out sacred blood, but refused to die without a fight, so he pulled forth all his effort to turn around, snapping the glaive in two. He grabbed Sailor Saturn with his hand and summoned up all his strength to cleave her from her powers.
"Worthless wench! Even you...cannot kill me! Our reign...shall be eternal...this time!"
Saturn resisted, but she couldn't keep hold of herself for long; the god's power was too great. She decided to go for broke, uttering the three words no living soul rejoices to hear: "Death... Reborn Revolution!" The attack shot out just as Ninurta removed Saturn's essence, consuming him completely. He and Hotaru both issued a piercing scream, but in the bright flash that followed, only one fell to the ground still breathing. The other was slowly dissolved into nothing: first the body, then his roaring head, and finally the hand that grasped Saturn's power. Eventually there was nothing left at all, save the ruined hospital and five unconscious people.
Yet even after all that, Tokyo was conquered. The gods had won.
And the Sailor Senshi were no more.
To be continued...