PROLOGUE

Beryl wrenched herself free and whirled around. Mars dropped to the floor, already unconscious. "MOON ZERO MAGIC!" A disk of destructive magic appeared at the tip of the staff and floated outward towards the queen.

Beryl roared as the energy consumed her. Scorching pain seared through the very fiber of her being. Her scream shook the Sailors to their bones as her body disintegrated before their eyes.

A wraithlike entity floated up from the spot Beryl's body occupied only moments before. With an evil laugh, the shadow-form swirled around the room. Beryl's voice boomed, "You still have not defeated me!"

The wraith rushed across the throne room and slammed into Sailor Mercury, knocking her to the ground as it vanished into the floor.

Sailor Mercury opened her eyes. She felt icy all over, and it hurt to breathe. Weakness. She never tolerated weakness. She forced herself to sit up. Jupiter and Pluto grabbed her hands and helped her to stand. She shrugged them off. "I'm fine," she muttered coldly.

Too much had happened for the others to be concerned over what was possibly a quirk of Rachel's combustible personality. The wraith shard buried itself deeply in the background of Rachel's psyche and settled down to wait. It needed time to recover. It had found a new home. If it were careful, it would have all the time it needed…

== * SM * ==

Noruma District, Yotochib Prefecture 2:24 PM

Near the shore of Tokyo Harbor

The rain continued to pour from overcast skies. Prefecture police chief Hikari Kumada grimaced into the sky, the weather matching his mood. He stepped through a large puddle next to the railroad tracks and joined another officer stooped down near some dense undergrowth.

Partially obscured by the brackish weeds was the naked body of a young woman. The rain had washed her clean, but both men could clearly see the thin red line that unnaturally cut across the young woman's throat. Her ripped undergarments hung waterlogged from one leg.

The police assumed that the unidentified woman was the tenth victim of a terribly active insane individual who was terrorizing the slums in this area of the Tokyo-Yokohama-Chiba megacity. The police chief had been called in by city elders who hoped his expertise might shed some light on this old case. At the very least, his presence lifted the morale of the local police, and soothed local fears. The perpetrator of these crimes would soon be in custody and on his way to the maximum security facility on Mikura Island. *

But the perpetrator had not been apprehended, and was not yet on his way to a maximum security facility. While the city maintained its faith in the police chief, Hikari himself was beginning to show signs of his frustration.

"What have you found?" He demanded tersely.

"Not much," Lieutenant Ryunosuke replied as he took pictures of the corpse's neck. "The individual was possibly assaulted and raped. Obviously, she was then killed and dumped here."

"I don't think we have to pay you thirty-five thousand yen a year for that sort of expert observation,"

Kumada replied. Was it him?"

Ryunosuke turned toward the nearby shoreline and scanned the rock-encrusted ground to the north. Taking a few steps, he stooped down to peer at a wilted scrap of paper. Using tongs he carefully placed it in an evidence bag. He handed the bag to Kumada. A line of worry appeared in between the Chief's eyebrows.

It was a playing card, the Queen of Hearts. On the back of the card was a large red heart surrounded by wicked-looking thorns driving deep into the heart.

"It's him," Kumada muttered as the coroner arrived and Ryunosuke continued the picture taking, then gathering the woman's soaked clothing. It was scattered haphazardly manner near the body. The clothes were torn and mangled, a testament to the violence of the crime. Kumada briefed the female coroner, while the Lieutenant continued to pick up debris. Ryunosuke noticed that the coroner was on the verge of tears. Empathy and horror were evident on her features. That must make her job difficult, he thought. Looking at her again, he also felt a flash of pity in his heart. It hurts, but she is a better coroner for it.

Kumada was just finishing up with the coroner when he heard Ryunosuke give an excited shout from a storm drain along the walking path. "Sir," he waved, "here's another one….and she's alive!" The coroner turned her head so that the neither her smile of desperate joy and relief nor her tears would be revealed.

== * SM * ==

Bethany's House 5:07 PM

South side of Tokyo

"And in local news," the television anchor said, "the Playing Card Killer has struck again, this time in the Noruma District near Yokohama. Police reports indicate…"

Sandra, Rachel and Bethany sat transfixed by the news. Precautions in their neighborhood had been taken after the first couple of victims had been found.

Luna originally advised the girls to return to their residence at the foundation headquarters, but Sandra objected. "I think we could all use some time away from there," she said. When Serenity agreed, the majority of the girls headed to Earth for a bit of much needed rest and relaxation. Two days after they arrived, the police reported the first victim. That was three weeks ago today.

The news report continued. "Again, police found the trademark playing card at the scene of the crime…" A picture of the playing card appeared on the screen behind the anchors' head. "Police advise the population that they are making progress on this case. Additionally, there are reports that one of today's victims was found barely-alive…"

"I think we may have to rethink the whole R&R idea," Sandra said quietly. "The base would certainly be safer right now."

Bethany agreed. "The novelty of being back here has certainly worn off."

The girls turned to Rachel, still entranced by the news coverage…..

…. she was carried through the dark living room toward her parents' bedroom. Whimpering with panic, she craned her head towards the couch and saw her mother was draped unconscious over the side. A bottle stood on the end table, uncapped. A shot glass lay on its side, alcohol still dripping onto the carpet.

The back of her head cracked against the door frame as he carried her into the bedroom. It didn't hurt. She could not seem to feel normal things. She didn't understand. She didn't have a voice.

The girl was thrown roughly onto the bed with filthy sheets. It was like a silent movie. Hurt and violence twisted on her face, but the scene was carried out in complete, oppressive silence. Before she could scamper away and hide like she always did, his arms pinned her to the blankets. His hand slapped down over her mouth, bringing tears to her eyes.

She squirmed but it was no use. He pushed her nightshirt above her hips. His weight pressed down, compressing her lungs, forcing her legs apart…She gasped silently, mouthing words she couldn't voice, not even knowing what she was trying to say. No.

His hand reached out gripping the nightstand near the bed. A deck of cards tumbled to the carpet. One landed face down…a picture of a heart pierced by thorns….

She tried to leave her body…

"Rachel?"

Rachel jerked out of her past and saw her two friends looking at her with concern. She suddenly stood up and crossed the room, grabbing her jacket and striding towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Sandra asked.

"…hospital…" drifted back through the door as Rachel left the room.

Beth and Sandra exchanged worried glances. "We'd better go with her," offered Bethany. Sandra grabbed her jacket and headed out the door, Bethany a step behind her.

== * SM * ==

Yokohama Regional Hospital 6:48 PM

Rachel wrapped her coat around her body as if to shield herself from harm as she ghosted down the halls of the hospital. She lost Sandra and Bethany easily and got as far as the nurse's station before she was stopped. Stating that she was a relative of the victim she marched firmly into the room.

When she reached the bedside of the woman, Rachel stopped and looked down at the frail figure swathed in bandages. Machines whirred in the background, keeping the battered form alive. Shadows shrouded the room.

A hand touched Rachel's shoulder and she whipped around to see Sandra standing there, forcing a smile. Rachel stiffened and turned her back on the girls. Oblivious to Rachel's uncontrolled emotions, Bethany and Sandra stood and looked at the unconscious form in front of her, letting the sights and sounds of the room wash over them.

A police officer entered the room. "Who here is the relative?" he asked brusquely.

Rachel immediately turned and left the room. The police officer turned and put his arm out to stop her. Sandra started after Rachel, leaving Bethany to face the policeman. Rachel had only a few seconds head start but those precious seconds were enough. Sandra's friend was nowhere to be found. She stopped and scanned the halls. Noticing the stairway she decided that might be the quickest way out of the building.

The door slammed shut as Sandra ran down the stairs. The light glared harshly off the white concrete walls. Sandra ran, searching ahead of her hoping for a sign that she was going in the right direction.

"Stop," a cold voice ordered as Sandra reached the second floor landing. Sandra looked and saw Rachel, her eyes the eyes of a stranger, her face a mask.

Sandra started to jump down over the railing to Rachel, but as she stepped forward, Rachel snarled. A feral noise emerged from her throat. Sandra froze. Rachel backed into the wall, growling like an animal. Sandra steeled herself, and jumped over the railing. Faster than she could have imagined, Rachel moved forward, grabbed the front of Sandra's shirt and slammed her into the wall. Sandra's head smacked hard against the concrete wall and she slumped in a heap on the floor.

Only minutes later, Sandra was seated on a bed while a doctor checked her head. An officer grimly stood guard outside the door. Bethany sat next to her friend as Sandra told her what happened in the stairway.

"She did that?" Bethany's eyes widened with hurt at the thought.

Sandra refused to look up. The officer stepped forward. "Ms. Usagi, we're going to have to ask a few questions."
"We don't have time, officer," Sandra replied as she produced her business card from her purse. "Tell your superiors to call the Luna Foundation's legal offices. They will provide you with a complete report as soon as it's available." She grabbed Bethany's arm and hurried them out of the room. "Where's Rachel?" Bethany asked as they hurried down the hallway toward the exit.

"I don't know," Sandra replied. "Which is why we have to call Luna and have her use the base's scanners to lock in on her."

== * SM * ==

The shard rejoiced. The perfect hiding place…a person with huge emotional resources to feed upon. Gleefully it watched from the inside as Rachel ran through the slums of Yokohama. They grew around the industrial coastline like a fungus. She passed discarded buildings and piles of rubble without noticing, intent upon only one thing…

"Revenge!" The wraith shrieked happily. Then, to ensure that nothing would stop her from carrying out her vengeance, it pulled a memory from her past…

…..Rachel got off the school bus near her house in Noruma where her mother had taken her after the two women were kicked out of the house by her father. The fence protected the adequate yard from debris and trash outside. The battle against the slums was a hard one. Blue paint on the house showed its age. Debris piled up against the outside of the fence, closing in the house. Most of the people on the block were either old or too poor to move themselves to a better neighborhood, or too useless for their families to move them.

This neighborhood had one thing that kept Rachel and her mother here. That was safety. Her father would never find them.

Rachel pulled her key from her pocket and reached for the doorknob. She felt a flash of apprehension as the door opened without resistance. "It's usually locked…Maybe she forgot?" Rachel didn't really think so, and she entered the house cautiously.

There were no dishes to be done in the kitchen. A first. Rachel shrugged off her fears. That's one chore I don't have to do, she thought.

She entered the living room. The curtains were closed, and the lamp was on. At four in the afternoon?

Rachel went to turn the light off, but as she reached the couch she saw her mother lying on the ground behind it. "Mother?" Rachel said.

It was then she noticed the blank stare.

"Mom…." Rachel whispered weakly. Her eyes stung with tears.

The woman's necklace was wrapped too tightly around her throat and a small trail of blood escaped from her nose.

Rachel turned and stumbled from the room. She didn't notice, in the living room, obscured under the coffee table…a playing card…

Not even the wraith could retrieve the memory of what happened after that.

== * SM * ==

The Yokohama slums 7:50 PM

The house she arrived at had not fared well, even compared to the rest of the neighborhood. Parts of the roof had caved in. Some of the walls looked like they were about to. The windows that remained were cracked or entirely gone. This place was no longer a family home.

It was however, an excellent place for a man to hide if he never wanted to be found.

Rachel stepped over the rubble and entered the house, not bothering to hide her movements or mask the noise her feet made, crunching over the debris littering the ground. A familiar coffee table stood along one wall. Gas lamps illuminated the room.

Near the center of the table, on top of a pile of scraps and trash, sat a deck of playing cards, thin from use.

"Can I help you with something?" A rough voice inquired from the doorway. She turned and saw a man in the shadows. Tattered clothes did their best to conceal his body, but the man's skin could be seen through the gaps. His dark hair and stubble blended with the darkness of the doorway.

"This is over," Rachel stated flatly. She walked two steps over to the table and kicked it viciously. The cards spilled to the floor.

The man looked at Rachel blankly. "What?" All I need is a new deck of cards…"

Anger stirred within Rachel. The game, beginning all over again. Act innocent. Act like you haven't done anything wrong.

"NOT the cards!" her mouth turned down, blocking tears. "It's what you DO!"

"Now, I'm not sure that I-" recognition changed his face. A slow smile spread across his decadent face. "Rachel," he hissed.

== * SM * ==

The Slums 8:15 PM

Sailor Moon, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto rushed down the deserted streets. Most of the people who lived here retreated into the rubble before sunset. The Sailors didn't have to worry about being stopped. It was still early for the criminals, and the authorities…well…they didn't have to worry about being stopped by authorities.

"You're sure she's in this area?" Sailor Uranus asked.

"Yep," Jupiter brushed her bangs back from her face. "According to Luna, we're within five blocks of her location."

"I hope we're not too late," Uranus was close to Rachel.

"Hold on, Rachel," Sandra thought to herself. "We're coming."

== * SM * ==

Rachel backed up to the wall near the table.

"I told you what I'd do!" he growled, brandishing his knife as he advanced toward her. "I warned you!"

"Like you 'warned' mom," Rachel fought her own emotions.

"That bitch! She took what I gave her, and deserted me! She betrayed me! Faithless BITCH!"

"You…you…I was NINE!" She couldn't hold back the tears now. Not even the years of living behind herself could stop them now.

"You wanted it!" The words spat out from his twisted mouth.

"I wanted to love you!" Rachel sobbed now, doubled over, hugging herself, squeezing her eyes shut and moaning. ""Daddy!"

With a wordless snarl he grabbed her shoulder and ripped her shirt off. Rachel rocked back and forth on her heels and turned her head away from him. She convulsed rhythmically, eyes swollen from tears. He threw her roughly against the wall and she staggered back to her feet. As he came at her again, she threw her arms out and screamed. It was like a wounded animal inside her mouth. The harsh noise forced him back in surprise.

"NO!" her red face contorted, cheeks shining from tears.

"MERCURY POWER!" As the transformation sequence progressed, the wraith drank in the emotional energy that radiating from the girl. Soon, it would be fully healed… Mercury was screaming in the background.

"Don't you ever touch me again!"

The man snarled with rage. He lunged at Mercury, who slammed her foot into his stomach and sent him flying into the far wall.

"You BITCH!" he screamed as he tried to stand.

Mercury ignored his words, his unimportant words. He was like a distant fog to her as she prepared to call upon her full powers.

A globe of ice enveloped her, then began expanding, filling the room. The pale blue light imploded all the lamps and blew out the windows. The wind howled through the room savagely.

"My thanks, Sailor Mercury," Queen Beryl howled with joy. "I am whole once more!"

The temperature in the room plummeted as Queen Beryl emerged from the shell of Rachel's body.

"My gift to you," Beryl sneered within Mercury's mind. "Arise, ETERNAL SAILOR MERCURY!"

Snakes of pure energy swarmed out of her ruined body and snaked around the room, eagerly searching out energy. Wisps of blue fog descended upon Rachel's father, tearing into him, leaching every ounce of energy from his twisted form.

The darkforce bloomed within Rachel as the death energy flooded her being. Searing shards of light ripped every bit of flesh from the corpse, and blasted the bones into rubble.

Her task finished, Mercury tried to release the power and sink into oblivion…and found she couldn't. As she tried, a blanket over her consciousness forced her into a corner of her mind. Falling into a trance, she hummed an eerie melody.* Wavering a bit as she hit the high note, the sphere of primal energy blasted out of the house, tearing open the walls.

In the depths of Mercury's mind, Beryl laughed cruelly as the deadly sphere expanded.

== * SM * ==

"Oh My God!" The words escaped Uranus' mouth as she stared in horror at the sphere of light.

"What is that?" Jupiter pointed to the blue sphere.

Sailor Moon snapped out of her mental fugue "Whatever it is," she gulped. "Luna just messaged me. Its off the scales. We're getting the hell out of here, now."

"Mercury!" Uranus started towards the bubble.

"She's in the center of that!" Sailor Moon shouted through the howling wind as she pointed to the frozen light, expanding in its deadly circle. "We can't get to her! Sailor Jupiter, do it, now!"

The Sailors vanished as Jupiter teleported them to safety.

== * SM * ==

The Crystal Palace

Neo-Queen Serenity entered the Star Chamber with silent footsteps. The walls were made from quartz crystal and lighted by a large circle of nine clear crystal globes. Each crystal represented a planet dedicated to the defense of the Moon Kingdom. The queen entered the circle in silence and stood at its center, briefly noting that the blue crystal representing Mercury was dark.

Suddenly, she tilted her chin up. "May the use of this power protect the innocent!" Serenity cried. "PLANET POWER!" The planet crystals flared to life, bathing the room in harsh crystal fire. Serenity raised her royal scepter and shouted, "MOON REJUVINATION MAGIC!"

A bright beam of intense light bloomed in the chamber and shot through the ceiling. Shooting through space, the magical energy circled the moon once, then sped for Earth.

== * SM * ==

The moonbeam slammed into the blue dome. Waves of energy ripped over the sphere, engulfing it. Both the sphere and the moonbeam vanished.

In the slums of Yokohama, nothing stirred. Within the crater, Sailor Mercury was gone.

== * SM * ==

"Are you sure?" Brandy demanded intently. The Sailors were gathered at the Luna Foundation, on orders to recuperate as best they could.

Sandra turned her head away from the window, tearing her eyes away from the view of the Earth. "She is alive, that's all we know," she said.

"What can we do?" Brandy asked impatiently. "Let's do it now."

"Nothing," Sandra stated firmly. "She doesn't want to be found. The Foundation has contacted the authorities in Tokyo. If they find her, we'll know."

Brandy swallowed the tears in her throat and left the room. "We have to help her…" Tears spilled over her cheeks and she walked faster, towards the privacy of her room.

FINI

FOOTNOTES AND EXPLANATIONS

Notes:

1: While this story is not hentai or ecchi in nature, an advisory will be posted due to its content.

2: Mikura Island, also called Mikura Jima is located approximately 150 km southeast of Tokyo.

3: The melody Sailor Mercury sang to unleash the primal sphere was taken from "Smack my Bitch Up", by

Prodigy, copyrighted 1997. (The above title is a guestimate…the album labels substitute a picture of an ant for the word "bitch"

Fanfic ã1999 – John Brengman and Artemis Publishing

Sailor X series inspired by Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon,

ã 1992 by Toei Animation Co Ltd. and based on Kodansha's

manga production of "Sailor Moon", written by Naoko Takeuchi

This fanfic is freely distributed.

Release date: September, 1998

Edited: November 11, 1999

Release: 2^nd Edition: November 11, 1999

Release: 3^rd Edition: January 16, 2001