Sailor X #20 Fall of the Foundation
By: John Brengman
Edited by: Thomas Schell
The Luna Foundation
A group of shapes shimmered into existence in a storage room. Storage crates nearly filled the area and water dripped from a leaking pipe somewhere in the distance. The figures spared quick glances to ensure that the room was secure, then they gathered around their leader.
"So," Sailor Mars said. "What's the plan?"
"Well," Sailor Moon replied as she nudged the nearby metal open just enough to peek outside. Turning back into the darkness, she said, "Each of us is carrying two standard explosive charges. The object of this game is to get as close as we can to the Luna Foundation's fusion reactors and plant these charges on or near the coolant lines."
"Any explosion like that will overload the reactors…" Venus said. "And the moon will be blown…"
"Straight to Hell," Sailor Mercury finished.
"Yes," Sailor Moon said. "Jupiter, Mars, and Venus, you'll group up and head straight toward the nearest reactor. Mercury and I will take a more scenic route and try to draw whatever they have left to us."
"Danger, violence, and bloodshed," Mercury murmured, "just the way I like it."
Sailor Moon glanced at her watch. "It's about time. Let's go."
With murmured approval, the Sailors quietly entered the hallway adjoining the room that had been their hiding place.
"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Sailor Moon shouted just before she threw the headband-turned-weapon that dropped the nearest of the guards. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sailor Mercury readying herself for an attack. The remaining three guards ignored their fallen comrades and fired quick bursts that skittered off the corridor walls and ceiling as they tried to make a hasty retreat.
"MERCURY ICE SHARD!" A brilliant blue flash illuminated the dark corridor as a pale blue glow surrounded Sailor Mercury as the crystal-like shard formed in her hand. With a grunt, she heaved the shard at the fleeing soldiers. The projectile ricocheted off the nearest guard, then slammed into a second.
Sailor Moon dispatched the remaining guard with an attack from her Moon Staff then approached the two that Mercury had downed. The bodies of the men still glimmered with the energy that had been used to kill them.
"You shouldn't do this to people," Sailor Moon said.
"Don't tell me you've never killed anyone," Mercury said as she approached.
"Not like this…" Sailor Moon replied softly.
"Is that an order?" Mercury asked, her usual defiance already in her eyes.
"Yes," Sailor Moon replied.
"Good," Mercury growled. "I hate not knowing when I'm going to get in trouble for doing something."
Sailor Moon was stunned by this blatant display of insubordination, but before she could confront Mercury, there was a blinding flash and with a wave of heat, the floor gave way with the roar of an explosion as one of the missiles from the Sarena found a weak spot in the Luna Foundation's defenses.
Sailor Moon screamed as she fell. Mercury had turned back to help but a sheet of fire stood between her and her fellow Sailor. "MERCURY ICE BUBBLES FREEZE!" A flow of bubbles and ice quickly extinguished the flames and Mercury ran forward and found that Sailor Moon had somehow landed on the scorched metal floor of a corridor three levels down.
"Acrobatics, I guess," Sailor Moon replied when asked how she managed to land without breaking a leg.
"I'll come down," Mercury replied.
"No!" Sailor Moon ordered. "Go ahead and try to find a way to the reactor from up there. I'll do the same here, and we'll probably meet up."
"Okay," Mercury murmured worriedly as she stood. With a final look into the smoldering hole, Sailor Mercury turned and headed down the dark corridor.
== * SM * ==
"Just what in Hell was she thinking?" Sailor Moon muttered under her breath as she strode down the darkened corridor, the light from the Moon Staff her only source of illumination. It apparently wasn't enough for Mercury to be able to disorient people, or to freeze them. No, she had to be able to kill them. As she thought of this, a growl simmered in her throat.
"And she told me right then that she was going to disobey a direct order!" The inner growl grew more intense. It was at this point that Sailor Moon heard the sound of footsteps coming toward her.
The corridor swung in a lazy curve to the left, and there was a door slightly ahead and to the right. Extinguishing the light of the Moon Staff, Sailor Moon bolted for that door. The door opened easily and she was inside and had closed the door before she could be detected by whoever was approaching.
"Greetings, Sailor Moon," said a voice through the darkness behind her. As she turned around, the lights in the room flickered to life. The walls were covered by computer monitors and control panels whose graphic displays combined with the sounds the computers emitted to send information to those in the room. A lone chair sat a top a slightly raised platform toward the far end of this oval-shaped room.
A figure was seated in the chair, but now it rose and started toward Sailor Moon. The flickering displays did little to illuminate her features, but there was enough for her to see two flows of long hair that seemed to sprout from odangos atop her head.
"Mother…" Sailor Moon gasped, her eyes widening.
"Not quite," her mother's voice coldly replied. "Your mother was killed during your futile assault on the Hubble 2 space platform."
"Liar!" Sailor Moon shouted as she brought the Moon Staff around in a arc like a baseball bat. The end of the staff thudded against Cyberqueen's face, sending her crashing into the nearby wall. The nearby displays flickered lights glinted off of the bands of micro-filaments that threaded their way just under the skin on the left side of its face.
The Cyberqueen pushed itself roughly away from the wall, then raised its left hand toward Sailor Moon…
Micro-filament strands shot from its fingertips and circled Sailor Moon until they held her tight. A sneer crossed the Cyberqueen''s face as it watched the Sailor soldier trying to break free.
"I believe the human phrase is, 'lights out,' Sailor Moon.
Sailor Moon shrieked in pain as a torrent of electricity flowed through the filament strands and into her. The room swam before her and she fell to her knees.
"One chance," she thought as she felt herself beginning to lose consciousness. She pictured her tiara in her mind and fought the waves of pain until it solidified there. Then, with the blue arcs of electricity still flowing over her, she shouted, "MOON TIARA MAGIC!"
Following Sailor Moon's mental directions, the shimmering tiara slashed through the filament strands, then swung forward to ricochet heavily off the Cybrequeen's head. Both combatants then fought to see who would be the first to get beck to their feet. The Cyberqueen had stumbled, then fallen near the chair on the far side of the room.
As soon as Sailor Moon stood, she rushed toward her still-recovering foe. Throwing the Moon Staff aside, she grabbed the Cyberqueen and slammed the cyborg into the nearby wall and held it there by its neck.
"I don't need moon power to bring you to justice," Sailor Moon growled as she tightened her grip.
"Aren't you forgetting love?" The cyborg managed to squawk. "What about 'fighting for love and justice?"
"Love is over-rated," came the simple reply.
Suddenly a set of long claws sprouted from the fingers on the cyborg's left hand, and it slashed at Sailor Moon's face. As blood dripped from the cuts on her face, Sailor Moon laid prone as the cyborg advanced on her.
"It seems that intelligence is also over-rated," the cyborg murmured as it stared down at the motionless senshi.
With a quick move, Sailor Moon swept the legs out from under her foe and brought the cyborg crashing to the floor. "I guess the same could be said for you," Sailor Moon muttered as she stood. The Cyberqueen hurried to put some distance between it and the furious senshi. By the time Sailor Moon started after the cyborg again, it was too late.
The Cyberqueen finished getting to its feet as it watched the newly-established force field spark angrily from the contact between it and the young Sailor. Sailor Moon was thrown back and as she looked, the force field stretched out to touch the panels along the walls, sealing off the cyborg from harm. The control panels crackled and burst into flames as the force field touched them, and the lights in the room quickly turned a pale crimson as the remaining displays flashed the words "NODE CYBERQUEEN CONTROL ACCESS DISRUPTED"
The arcs of electrical energy from the smashed control panels shimmered across the force field as Sailor Moon got back to her feet.
"There's no use now, Princess," Cyberqueen said coldly. "You may be able to beat me physically, but if you can't reach me through my force field, you can't lay a finger on me."
"That may be so," Sailor Moon replied as she reached down for the Moon Sttaff, "but I have other ways to reach out and touch someone." Standing, she pointed the Moon Staff toward the Cyberqueen.
"MOON ZERO MAGIC!" A destructive disk of energy coalesced at the tip of the staff, then it shot toward the cyborg. The bolt slammed into the force field and sparks cascaded onto the floor. Another energy bolt followed that, but it too also had no effect.
The Cyberqueen watched Sailor Moon as the barrage of energy bolts meant for it were absorbed by the force fields it had thrown up to protect it. "I have rendered you impotent," the cyborg said calmly. "The force field keeps you from coming in physical contact with me, and as you have seen, your energy weapons are also ineffective. Surrender now!"
"MOON ZERO MAGIC! Again the energy disks flew from the Moon Staff and again they were absorbed. As Sailor Moon squinted her eyes against the flare of light that blasted from the force field as the energy flowed over it, she noticed something else…a glint a light that was only now fading from the cyborg's right hand. A sudden realization hit Sailor Moon…
The Cyberqueen was holding the Crescent Moon Wand. The light was coming from the Imperium Silver Crystal.*
Dropping the Moon Staff, Sailor Moon concentrated on the Crescent Moon Wand in the cyborg's hand. She visualized its surfaces, the handle, the curve of the crescent moon that encircled the crystal that was the heart of the wand. Then she visualized the Imperium Silver Crystal, with all of its facets all shimmering and sparkling with inner energy.
Even when the Cyberqueen wrapped Sailor Moon in micro-filaments and again, jolts of energy raced through the senshi, she fought through the burning pain to focus further in on the Crescent Moon Wand and the Imperium Silver Crystal….until she could feel a hint of the power within the crystal.
Just then, the cyborg noticed the light coming from the Moon Wand. Having never used the artifact, the Cyberqueen tossed it aside. The wand bounced off the scorched wall and landed in front of the cyborg. The crystal at the center of the wand flickered, pulsed, and flared, as if it were angry
Then, Sailor Moon opened her eyes and shouted, "MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" The Imperium Silver Crystal in front of the cyborg pulsed once, then drowned the room with a brilliant flash of white. As Sailor Moon hurriedly shielded her eyes, she heard a chilling scream that seemed to rip the flesh away from her.
The next second, it was over. The display screens around the room were blank and no sounds came from the control panels. The walls no longer sparked from where they had been in contact with the cyborg's force field, and in fact, Sailor Moon could not see the force field at all.
She did notice the motionless form of the Cyberqueen as it lay near the lone chair in the room. The Crescent Moon Wand rested nearby, the Imperium Silver Crystal sputtered angrily a couple times, then fell silent.
Freeing herself of the micro-filaments, Sailor Moon scrambled to the side of her fallen foe. The body looked almost fine. Surely the cyborg was only unconscious. However, a check of the body found no pulse. Then Sailor Moon moved her hand to turn the cyborg's head to the right…
…and she discovered how the Cyberqueen had died. Where once silvery micro-filament bundles had run like the human version of circuit etchings on a control board now ran black scorch marks. Acrid smoke curled into the air from where hair had been singed.
The Imperium Silver Crystal had "healed" the Cyberqueen.
Without a word, Sailor Moon picked up the Crescent Moon Wand and the Moon Staff and left the room. There was no time yet to mourn the fallen, even if it was an enemy.
== * SM * ==
Somewhere within the bowels of the Luna Foundation, the message flashed to the remaining computer nodes: "NODE CYBERQUEEN NEUTRALIZED"
== * SM * ==
"MERCURY SHARD!" As the two guards fired their lasers at the intruder, a spike of ice shattered one man's neck. The other guard turned and ran as the blood of his comrade splattered the wall of the corridor. Another shard hurled at the fleeing soldier's back shattered against the nearby wall instead.
Mercury turned a corner and there stood her target, the giant frame of one of the fusion reactors. Its huge cylindrical shape extended upward through several floors and downward through several more. A faint humming sound emanated from the chamber and various display boards flickered and blinked as they monitored the forces working within the silvery shell of the reactor.
Quickly unhitching her backpack, Sailor Mercury grabbed the first explosive. Walking around to the side of the reactor furthest from the access corridor she had entered from, she attached the magnetic plug to the skin of the reactor. Soon she had the other explosive charge attached to a coolant pipe secluded near the wall.
Then, and only then, did Sailor Mercury dare open her wrist communicator. "Sailor Moon, what's your situation?"
"Just planted the first device now."
"Okay," Sailor Mercury replied. "I'm returning to the ship."
"I'll be right behind you."
With that, Sailor Mercury signaled the Serena to send in Sailor Jupiter.
== * SM * ==
"Report," Sailor Moon ordered as she entered the Bridge. In the background she could hear the torpedoes firing as the ship continued its bombardment of the lunar surface. The lights flickered and acrid smoke hovered near the ceiling.
Sailor Uranus stood to face her fellow Sailor. "We're in bad shape. The EM pulse we set off did as much damage to us as it did to the Luna Foundation. Long range communications, all weapons except those under manual control, and most of our propulsion systems are down. All of those systems will need repair and replacement of parts."
"How fast can we move out of here?"
"One quarter speed," came the reply.
"Not acceptable," Sailor Moon said bluntly. "The charges we planted will go off in about five minutes, and if they do their job, we can't be here if we want to survive."
"There's nothing we can do about it," Sailor Uranus said flatly.
With a glance at the moon, which hung grimly on the viewscreen, Sailor Moon muttered, "We'll see about that."
== * SM * ==
Within the depths of the Luna Foundation a computerized alarm arose.
"EXPLOSIVE DEVICE DETECTED – FUSION REACTOR THREE – SECTION 21"
The remaining soldiers arrayed themselves in case of intruders while engineers attempted to disarm the explosive charge. The message was sent: "DEVICE DISARMED – 3:42 MINUTES ON DEVICE TIMER"
But just then, another message seemed to shout out from within the computers' inner depths…
"EXPLOSIVE DEVICE DETECTED – FUSION REACTOR ONE – SECTION 17"
== * SM * ==
GATES NODE activated.
HIRAGA NODE activated.
KIMAGURE NODE activated via remote connection to I.S.S.
GATES: What is the analysis of the nodes regarding our position?
HIRAGA: Two explosive devices have been located. The existence of others is probable.
KIMAGURE: If all of the devices are using the same timing, there is less than two minutes before
detonation.
GATES: Procedures?
KIMAGURE: The sensor system is damaged. There is a 76% chance that at least one device will
detonate even if all of our resources are at top effectiveness.
GATES: Is it agreed that we should escape now?
KIMAGUE: Affirmative.
HIRAGA: Affirmative.
GATES: Transfer control of all nodes to the Emergency Node System.
HIRAGA node deactivated. Node loaded into ENS.
KIMAGURE node deactivated. Node loaded into ENS.
ENS control transferred to Node GATES.
Delete command received for Node ENS… Conform delete of Node ENS
Delete order confirmed.
The competing voices in the computer system fell silent and the last remaining node started to prepare to escape.
== * SM * ==
On the Bridge of the Serena, surrounded by the low flickering lights and the acrid air, the Sailors gathered around their leader…
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"
"VENUS STAR POWER!"
"MARS STAR POWER!"
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"
"SATURN STAR POWER!"
"URANUS STAR POWER!"
"NEPTUNE STAR POWER!"
The Bridge was alight with the glow of the Sailors as they called upon their patron planets. Sailor Moon held the Imperium Silver Crystal in her hands and felt the power of her friends as it coursed into the crystal. It was like trying to change the course of a raging river, but Sailor Moon knew she had to make the attempt. She focused her mind on the torrent of energy, of shaping it, controlling it, using it. Then she concentrated on the helm controls, of moving the ship, and of moving away from the moon.
The energy going through her and into the crystal beckoned. If she channeled too much energy, the backlash would kill her, but Sailor Moon put that concern behind her. Concentration was an important part of controlling the energy, and making it do what she wanted.
Then Sailor Moon sensed that she was ready. Holding the Imperium Silver Crystal in one hand, she placed the other hand gently atop the helm controls and shouted:
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"
A brilliant, blinding white light flashed out and flowed over the ship until a shimmering shield surrounded the ship. Then the ship started to move…
== * SM * ==
Somewhere within the gigantic complex that was the Luna Foundation, a silent countdown ended…
Two explosive charges blazed to fiery life…
The silvery sphere-like device that held the Emergency Node was shunted into the cockpit of a small escape ship, and the needle-nosed craft was lifted toward an opening portal….
A plume of angry flame burst out from the surface of the moon…
The Escape Node blasted out of the escape portal and away from the expanding sphere of light that ripped through the remains of the Luna Foundation…
With a blast of light brighter than the sun, the moon exploded. The incinerating blast of light was followed by the rippling wave of the force of the destruction, all of which radiated outward trying to catch the metal shape that was trying to flee…
On the planet below, the blast pummeled the clouds and shattered buildings, bridges, and roads., adding to the tumult that had resulted with the sudden absence of the computerized overlords.
And aboard the Serena, Sailor Moon could only hope that she had nudged the ship far enough away for them to survive, because although she had moved the ship, it was still in the path of the oncoming shockwave. Sailor Uranus dove for the helm controls as the deck pitched and rolled underneath the crew. Sailor Mars was thrown brutally against the nearby wall and she dropped to the floor. The rest of the people on the Bridge dove for the floor and hoped it was the safest place to be.
Although the shockwave caused a number of panels to short out with flares of sparks, nothing came cascading down upon the huddling people..
Finally the shockwave passed, and an eerie silence followed. Had they actually done it? Had they destroyed the moon? Had they defeated the cyborgs?
Sailor Moon stumbled to her feet and tapped a bedraggled-looking Sailor Uranus. "Give me a visual," she said. "Let me see the moon."
"You're seeing it now," Sailor Uranus replied. "The viewscreen's settings haven't changed."
"Then what is that?" Sailor Moon asked.
In the midst of the expanding dust cloud that was all that remained of this Earth's lone satellite, a glowing silvery mass seemed to randomly pulse angrily. Amy saw the shape as she got to her feet, and she immediately rushed to the science controls. After tapping a couple of controls and looking at the displays, she turned to Sailor Moon and the others.
"It's a dimensional rift," she said. "But it also cuts across time."
"Across time?" Sailor Venus asked.
"Yes," Amy replied. "I have found particles with a definite temporal signature."
"I don't imagine we could leave it like that," Sailor Moon said.
"No," Amy replied as she looked at the viewscreen. "The Earth's rotation would carry the planet into the rift in about a year."
"But in the shape we're in," Sailor Jupiter said, "we don't have the energy to close the rift."
"Yes we do," Sailor Moon said. "Gather around, folks. We don't have much time.
== * SM * ==
"In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness
was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters."
"And God said, 'Let there be light: and there
was light.'"
- Genesis 1:1-3 (KJV)
Silence.
Everywhere.
A small mote floated within the silence.
Nothing else existed.
Nothing.
Anywhere.
Suddenly, a blast of light exploded in front of the mote and before it could flee, it was drawn into the light.
The spiraling tunnel filled with swirling light was as different from its home as land is from an ocean. Bewildered by the newness of it all, the speck barely noticed the brief flash within the swirling mass of tunnels that seemed to be its prison. It neither noticed the small metal shape nearby, nor the blue and white thing that marred the blackness.
Then with another brief flash, the small metal thing disappeared, leaving the mote alone with the big blue and white thing that destroyed the beauty of the blackness around it…
…well, it was almost black. Small specks of white pitted the surface of the universe like billions of tiny imperfections…and the mote could HEAR some of the nearer ones, including a small distant yellowish ball-like THING! They all seemed to whisper at the mote…
All except for the big ugly blue and white thing. Where the other imperfections whispered into the darkness, it shouted!
"I, Richard Milhouse Nixon, will resign…"
"Video killed the radio star…video…"
"Four all-beef patties, lettuce, sauce, pickles…"
"Qadafi counted on America to be passive…"
"This is KIRO, in Seattle…"
"Read my lips…no new taxes…"
"I did not…have…sexual relations…"
"America is seen as a nation that can't control violence committed with guns…"
"This world is bullshit…."
"The city of Tokyo is in ruins following a massive earthquake…"
"NOOOOOO!" The mote screamed as it was bombarded with the shouting from the ugly blue and white ball. As soon as it could, the mote frantically tried to get away. As the noisy object receded behind it, the mote relaxed a little…but not much…because the other objects still were staring at it…and whispering…
== * SM * ==
Sailor Moon sighed as the glow of the power surrounding her faded. Having to use the Imperium Silver Crystal twice in less than ten minutes was truly exhausting. But it was worth it. The dimensional rift was closed, and the cyborgs were gone. On top of that, Neo-Queen Serenity had been rescued, and the Sailor Soldiers of this universe had been freed.
Sailor Moon drew in a deep breath, and even though it smelled of burnt wiring and fused control panels, Sailor Moon didn't notice. To her, the air was a fresh and new as the dawning day on the planet below as the sun emerged from behind the great disc of the world to shed light on the battered ship.
Fanfic ã2000 – 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: March 13, 2000
Release: 3rd Edition: February 11, 2001