EPISODE 12-A COSTLY VICTORY
I do not own any of the main characters in this story except for Gilded Rose. They are owned by someone in Japan. However, with the exception of Serena Campbell and Amy Anderson, I do own the Americanized names of the characters, as well as many of the supporting characters and villians. To make things easy, we'll just say that anything that has appeared in the manga or anime version of Sailor Moon is owned by someone in Japan, most likely Toei or Naoko Takeuchi. I know the kamehameha wave is from DragonBallZ, which is owned, by the way, by Toei/FUNimation. The kamehameha wave appears courtesy of artistic license.
Wedensday, 9 July, 1986 Beauregard's Country Kitchen, downtown Sunny Hills, 6:45 a.m.
Jake and Amy decided to stop for breakfast on their way to Disneyland. They entered the restauraunt, and noticed the sign said to please seat yourself. They took a corner booth, and a minute later, a waitress came by with menus and water. She then asked for their drink orders.
"Coffee," Jake said.
"I'll have coffee, too," Amy said.
While the waitress left to get their coffees, Jake and Amy looked at the menus. She returned a minute later with two cups of coffee. "So have you two decided yet?" she asked, as she set the coffees in front of Jake and Amy.
"I'll have the Ranch Hand Special," Amy said. "Eggs over easy, O'Brien potatoes, and French toast."
"And for you?" the waitress asked Jake.
"Chicken fried steak and eggs," Jake said. "Over easy, hash browns, biscuits and gravy."
"Got it," the waitress said.
As the waitress left, Jake put four packets of Equal in his coffee, and Amy put a packet of sugar and some cream.
Several minutes later, after the waitress brought their food and refilled their coffee, Jake and Amy began talking. "So what ride do you want to go on first?" Amy asked.
"Matterhorn," Jake said. "I love that ride first thing in the morning."
Meanwhile, in the microdimension
Eudial and Tuxedo Mask are watching the Soldiers through the mist of time and space. "You whelps better enjoy today," Eudial said.
Because tomorrow," the disembodied voice of the Darkness said, "you die."
The next morning, 9:00, Hillcrest Park
Serena, Rae, Amy, Elizabeth, Susan, and Jake had met in the park, near the Fieldhouse. "So what's she doing here?" Jake said, referring to Elizabeth.
"I'm a Sailor Soldier," Elizabeth said.
"Correction," Jake said. "You were a Sailor Soldier."
"Just because I lost my powers doesn't mean. . . " Elizabeth said.
"Hey!" Susan said, trying to bring order to chaos. "Jake has a point. We're fighting a very powerful enemy we know very little about. That is absolutely no place for someone without powers."
"I can still handle myself," Elizabeth said.
"Okay," Jake said, "you can come along. Just hang back, and stay out of it, and if it gets too hairy out there, you get out of there." He then nodded at Susan.
Susan nodded back. "Okay," Elizabeth said, and Susan karate chopped her in the back of the neck, knocking her out.
"She should be out for a few minutes," Susan said. "That should be enough time to get her out of here." She picked up Elizabeth in a fireman's carry, and took her to where Jerry Mauser's truck was parked. She opened the passenger door, and put Elizabeth in the truck. "Get her as far away from here as possible as you can before she wakes up," she said, as she put Elizabeth's seat belt on.
"Got it," Jerry said as Susan closed the door. Jerry reached over Elizabeth and locked the door, and took off quickly.
Meanwhile, Susan made her way back to where the others were getting ready to go into battle. "We ready to do this?" she said.
"Ready as we'll ever be," Serena said, opening her brooch. "Let's do this! Pretty Moon Soldier, Make-up!"
"Pretty Mercury Soldier, Make-up!"
"Pretty Mars Soldier, Make-up!"
"Pretty Jupiter Soldier, Make-up!"
"Transform!"
They jog to the other side of the Fieldhouse, and waited for their enemy to appear. they only had to wait a minute, until an interdimensional portal opened, and out stepped Eudial and Tuxedo Mask. Eudial was wearing a gauntlet on her right hand, and she took it off and threw it at the Sailor Soldiers, and it landed at Gilded Rose's feet. He reached down and picked it up. "Looks like you threw down the gauntlet. Let's get it on!"
He rushed at Eudial. "Uh, listen," she said. "You wouldn't hit a lady, wouldn't you?"
"No, I wouldn't," he said, and punched her in the face. "Lucky for me, you're not a lady."
"Ooh," she said, rubbing where she was hit. "You're going to pay for that. Tuxedo Mask, get him!"
Tuxedo Mask shot several bolts of energy from his hands, which Gilded Rose avoided with ease. He then shot a beam of energy from his staff, which barely missed, but exploded behind him, knocking him down.
As Gilded Rose was about to do battle with Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon heard his voice in her head. Sailor Moon, he said, help me. I don't really want to hurt you, but I can't help it. I'm trying to escape their control, but I can't do it on my own.
The astral plane
Sailor Moon found herself in the astral plane, with a visibly weakened Tom Chiba. I'm here, she said. I'll give you support, and protect you, but you have to rebuke the Darkness, I can't do it for you.
I don't know if I can do it, Tom said. The Darkness is too strong.
Sailor Moon held Tom's hands in her own. I'm here for you, all you have to do is say you rebuke the Darkness.
Having Sailor Moon hold his hands seemed to give Tom the strength he needed. Powers of the Darkness, he said.
Back in the real world
"I rebuke you!" Tuxedo Mask said. "Now and forever!" His eyes lost their evil red glow, just as Gilded Rose was about to land a punch to the face. Gilded Rose managed to pull his punch just in time.
"Welcome back," Gilded Rose said.
"Thanks," Tuxedo Mask said. he then pointed at Eudial. "And now, you're going to pay big time."
"I don't think so," Eudial said. "I'm going to destroy you all."
"Not today sister," Sailor Moon said, pointing her scepter at Eudial. "Moon Scepter, Elimination!" She shot a crescent-shaped beam from her scepter, which struck Eudial full-on.
"You haven't won yet," Eudial said, as the beam hit her. "The Darkness will. . . " was all she got out before she was destroyed.
"We will win," Gilded Rose said. "Because we foght on the side of good."
"Don't be so sure of yourself," a disembodied voice said. "For we are the Darkness, and we cannot be defeated. You puny humans will fall, and with your destruction, the Earth will fall." As a punctuation, a powerful bolt of black energy shot out of nowhere, towards Sailor Mercury. Sailor Jupiter tried to knock Mercury out of the way of the bolt, but was a step too slow. The bolt hit Mercury with the force of an atomic bomb.
The scream Sailor Mercury let out when the bolt of black energy hit her was one of both pure terror and excruciating pain. The scream continued until she struck the outer wall of the Fieldhouse, hitting it about three feet off the ground. She struck the wall with a dull, sickening thud, which along with her screams of pain and terror, would haunt the Sailor Soldiers team for the rest of their lives. "Mercury!" the remaining members of the team yelled as she hit the wall. She slid down the wall to the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind her, and a pool of blood on the ground. The other members of the team rushed to her, and Sailor Jupiter checked the body, hoping that what they thought wasn't true. Unfortunately, her face told them that it was. "She's. . . she's dead," Jupiter said through her tears.
Gilded Rose's grief quickly turned into rage. "Show yourself, murderer!" he yelled. "I will destroy you if I have to use my last ounce of strength to choke the life from your goddamned body!"
"Gilded Rose!" Sailor Moon yelled. "What the Hell are you trying to do?"
"I am going to destroy the Darkness once and for all," he said. "or die trying."
"You are half right," the voice said, as the creature called the Darkness finally showed itself. The Darkness was a three-dimensional shadow, seven feet tall, with a strongman's body shape. Its voice sounded like several thousand voices speaking in perfect unison. "You will die trying to destroy us."
"Enough talk," Gilded Rose said. "You and me, to the death!" He rushed the Darkness, and the two engaged in mortal combat. No quarter was asked, no quarter was given in their combat, just two beings out to completely destroy each other. No blow was wasted, each one was meant as a killing blow. The battle went on for almost an hour, neither combatant getting an edge, until the Darkness got in a lucky blow, which sent Gilded Rose down. As the Darkness went in for the kill, Tuxedo Mask threw a rose at it, and it caught the rose, and crumbled it in its hand. All seemed lost, and the Darkness went in for the kill, and was staggered back by a bolt of energy from out of nowhere.
Gilded Rose looked from where the bolt of energy came from, and saw Cyprine and Puchirol, staffs crossed. "Quickly," Puchirol said. "Finish the Darkness off."
"Look inside yourself," Cyprine said. "You'll know what you have to do." Teh twins disappeared as suddenly as they appeared.
Gilded Rose knew almost immediately what he had to do. He knew he would only have one shot, and he had to make it count. This is it, he thought to himself. I'm only going to get one crack at this, so I better make it a good one. He quickly got up and brought his hands to his right hip. It's now or never, he thought.
"Is he really going to do what I think he's going to do?" Sailor Moon asked.
In answer to Sailor Moon's question, Gilded Rose began to mass energy in his hands.
"Looks like it," Sailor Mars said.
"Kaaaaaaaa!" Gilded Rose said.
"He's serious," Sailor Mars said.
"Meeeeeeeee!"
"You can do it" Sailor Moon said.
"Haaaaaaaaa!"
"We're counitng on you," Sailor Jupiter said.
"Meeeeeeeee!"
This one's for Sailor Mercury, Gilded Rose thought to himself.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaa!" With a determined look in his eyes, Gilded Rose thrust out his hands, and shot a large ball of pure energy at the Darkness. The legendary Kamehameha wave.
The Kamehameha wave grew in size as it flew towards its target. The wave hit strong and true. "Nooooooooooooooooo!" the darkness screamed as the Kamehameha wave ripped through its body.
The destruction of the Darkness created several waves of energy that buffetted the Sailor Soldier team. Fortunately, these waves only lasted several seconds, and did no harm to the team.
The team was not unaffected by the waves, however. They found themselves transformed back into their civilian identities, their implements of transformation gone. Jake fell to his knees. "It's over," he said. "The Darkness is defeated. The world is safe."
Meanwhile, in another place
Amy Anderson had watched the final battle. She had seen Gilded Rose fight with a fury he had never shown, even during their encounter with Draevyn. She had seen the aftermath, after the other members of the team were stripped of their powers. She saw the sorrow on their faces as they looked on her lifeless body. "Don't be sad for me," she said. "I'm in a better place." She turned and walked towards a gold and pearl gate. There was a man at the gate. "I'm ready now," she told the man. "Ready for what lies ahead."
"Welcome," the man said. "to the kingdom of Heaven, Amy Anderson. Go, and may peace be with you for eternity."
Meanwhile, back on Earth
A crowd had gathered around where the final battle occured. Elizabeth Minako had somehow made it back to the park, and was making her way through the crowd to where the former Sailor Soldier team was mourning the loss of one of its own. "What's happening?" she asked.
"Elizabeth?" Serena asked. "Is that you?"
Jake took a more direct approach. "Let her through," he said, and the crowd parted to let Elizabeth through.
She gasped when she saw Amy's body. "What happened?" she asked when the initial shock wore off.
"She took a direct hit of Darkness energy," Jake explained. "She went almost instantly. She died a hero's death."
Next time on American Senshi
The Darkness Saga concludes, as the sailor Soldier team says goodbye to one of its own in
GODSPEED AMY ANDERSON