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**DISCLAIMER: All characters from Sailor Moon are the property of Naoko
Takeuchi, Pioneer, Cloverway and any other companies holding rights.
All other characters are the property of the authors of this story and
may not be used or reproduced without consent.**
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Fallen Stars
by
Lady Archanna & Archmage

~~~~~~~~~~
Part 2
Chapter 2
~~~~~~~~~~


"Makoto! Haruka!" Ami called, raising her hand to draw the women's attention
from the guards they were working with.

"Ami!" Makoto called out as she flipped one of the larger guards over her
back with a swift motion, laying him out flat on the ground, a scowl on his
hard face. She smiled down at him, offering her hand. "Never underestimate
your opponent based on stature, Jarred. It can lead to much worse than just
a case of injured pride."

"Hai!" Jarred growled, taking the offered hand and getting to his feet,
casting a sharp glance towards his friends who stood off to the side,
smirks on their faces.

"You men continue to practice your hand-to-hand techniques while I meet
with the Lady Mercury. Then when I'm done we'll see what you've really
learned." Makoto said seriously, turning and walking toward Ami, Hotaru
and Chibi-Usa.

Haruka scowled, watching her guards as the sprinted across the training
field, wondering how a group of Royal Guards could be breathing so heavily
after only twenty laps through the obstacle course she and Nathan had set
up for them. Shaking her head she turned from them and walked over to the
others. Nathan followed quietly, eyes scanning the new group and noting the
strain in their face. The flippant remark died on his lips when he spotted
the look in Chibi-Usa's eyes. 'Oh, no.'

"Ami, Hotaru, Princess." Haruka said, nodding at them as she noted the
serious look on all their faces. "What's wrong?"

"You're aware that there was another attack, ne?" Ami asked, the two
women nodding in response. "We've just spent the last three hours
dealing with the latest casualties."

"How badly were we hit?" Makoto asked, grimacing inwardly.

"Thirty-one dead..." Ami replied.

"Thirty-two." Chibi-Usa corrected, Haruka and Makoto looking at her and
then Ami questioningly.

"Gomen, she's right. Thirty-two dead in the hospital, around twenty more
dead before anyone reached them."

"My gods! How did they do so much damage? Didn't the patrols get there to
stop it?" Haruka asked, her hand clenching into a fist.

"It was over too quickly for our men to react, and it was in one of the few
areas we have yet to wire with our imaging cameras and early warning systems."
Ami said, looking at the ground. "Alexis is supposed to be doing that later
today."

"Damn it to hell!" Makoto growled. "How are we going to make any headway
when they keep staying three steps ahead of us? How are we supposed to do
anything when they keep avoiding all the precautions we're taking to keep
them at bay? How are we going to do anything when we don't even know what
it is we're fighting?"

"But we do know what we're fighting, or at least know what he looks like
and some of how he works." Hotaru spoke up, moving beside Ami, seeing the
dismayed look on the genius's face.

"How?" Haruka asked, her voice less biting than it had been before.

"There was one victim who was brought in still alive, and once we had him
stabilized enough so that he regained consciousness he was able to tell us
what happened."

"I want to speak to him. We need to-" Haruka began.

"You can't." Chibi-Usa whispered, meeting Haruka's hazel eyes. "After
he told us what happened he ... he died." Chibi-Usa's voice cracked,
snapping like an axed chord.

Makoto looked at the pink-haired girl with a small frown and then at
Ami, emerald eyes expressing awareness of the Queen's command. She could
tell the water senshi felt horribly for what the Princess had seen, but
that would have to be dealt with later.

"Ami, what do you want us to do?" Makoto asked finally, wanting to get
things moving before anyone fell apart from the strain.

Ami looked at the brunette with relief. "I want you and the others to
organize a small team to go investigate the scene. From the description
we received I believe we should be able to pick up some readings, but I
don't want anyone to go unprotected."

"Why not? The enemy has yet to attack the same place twice, Ami." Haruka
pointed out.

"I know, but the man told us he heard our enemy say that they would be
attacking again and I am not going to take a foolish chance and send
people out there unprotected." Ami's voice was firm.

"Of course not," Haruka answered quickly, backing up a step as she was
taken by surprise at the harshness in the woman's normally quiet voice.

"Nathan, Rod and I will get a group of guards together immediately. You
can finish the drills here." Makoto said, catching the Knight's eye.

Nathan shook his head. "I'm in. I want a crack at these bastards, too."

"Let me know when you're ready, I'll be coming along to try and gather
some readings." Ami's voice was less harsh, almost back to its normal
tone.

"Hai, of course." Haruka nodded. "You'll be hearing from us shortly, Ami."

With that the two women walked back toward the training grounds, talking
back and forth, deciding how many men to bring. Nathan moved with them,
mostly quiet aside from the occasion suggestion. Ami felt a sense of
relief, knowing that things were in capable hands.

"Hotaru, Chibi-Usa, I've got to go find Alexis. I need to speak to him
about reconfiguring our scanners." Ami smiled, turning to the girls.

"Okay Ami, we'll be okay." Hotaru replied. Chibi-Usa simply nodded,
watching silently as Ami walked away.

"I'm going with them." Her voice was quiet, and Hotaru squinted at
her, unsure if Chibi-Usa had even said anything.

"What?"

"I said I'm going with them," Chibi-Usa repeated, meeting her friend's
violet eyes.

"Chibi-Usa, I don't think that's necessary." Hotaru protested.

"I think it is." The Princess's voice was hard. "I am the Princess of
Crystal Tokyo. More importantly, I am Sailor Moon and it is my duty to
protect this city. I will not simply sit back and let them all handle
it just because they think I'm too young, or because they don't want
to put me in danger!"

Hotaru looked at Chibi-Usa, not knowing how to respond her proclamation.
Part of her knew that the Princess was in the right, she was Sailor Moon
and if this were the Tokyo of the twentieth century she would be expected
to take part in this investigation. But this wasn't the twentieth century;
this was Crystal Tokyo and it seemed that everyone was doing their best to
spare this Sailor Moon the pain and nightmares that plagued the Sailor Moon
that now sat on the throne as Neo-Queen Serenity.

Chibi-Usa grew tired of waiting for Hotaru's response, the pity in her violet
eyes biting into the Princess's heart. Without a word Chibi-Usa turned and
took off in the direction of the palace to get her brooch. She would be needing
it shortly, whether the others liked it or not.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nathan looked quietly around the room, silently going down a quick checklist
in his mind. Looking around he saw Haruka and Makoto, Rod in tow, enter the
room. He nodded toward them, knowing that between their skills and those of
the guards they themselves had hand-picked specifically for this mission,
they would be fine. His lips twisted into a bitter smile. At least he hoped
they'd be. The guards weren't battle-tried, and he wouldn't like to have to
depend on them if it came down to a nasty fight in close quarters.

"Have the men been briefed?" Makoto asked, moving beside Nathan and looking
at the maps of Crystal Tokyo spread out on the table before him, the areas
of the attacks circled in dark red.

"Well, Rod and I know what's going on," Nathan replied, a smile playing on
his lips.

Makoto glared at him, motioning towards the guards that stood on the other
side of the room, awaiting their orders. "Not you, them!"

"Oh, them," Nathan said in mock understanding. "I was waiting for everyone
to arrive before we did that."

"Do you want to find out what it's like to be on the receiving end of a
lighting bolt, Nate?" Makoto offered, a dark smile on her face.

"Nathan, cool it," Rod warned, stepping next to his wife and putting his
arm lightly around her waist.

"Speaking of everyone, has anyone seen Ami?" Haruka asked, her eyes
scanning the room and realizing the blue-haired genius was nowhere
in sight.

"She'll be here," Rod replied, his eyes scanning the maps that outlined
the areas they would be covering.

Makoto was about to ask if anyone had informed the water senshi that
they were almost ready to leave when rather angry voice floated through
the open door. All eyes turned to see Ami, face flushed and her brow
creased in frustration, walking down the hall with an equally upset
Princess following closely on her heels.

"Princess, this is absolutely unnecessary. I need you to understand
that," Ami said, her voice pleading and at the same time annoyed as
the stepped into the room.

"Ami, what's going on here?" Makoto asked, looking from the frowning
Princess to the flustered Ami.

"Nothing is going on," Chibi-Usa replied harshly, turning to face the
others, her eyes hard. "I was simply telling Ami that Sailor Moon will
be accompanying you on this mission."

Rod did a quick double take. "Um, I see…"

"I'm assuming she's not referring to the Queen, is she, Ami?" Makoto
asked, looking pointedly her.

"I wish to the gods she was." Ami sighed, shaking her head.

"No, Lady Jupiter. I'm referring to myself." Chibi-Usa snapped back.
"I am, after all, Sailor Moon and it's my job to make sure this city
is safe."

Rod's jaw dropped another few fractions of an inch. "Right...."

"I would urge you, Lord Jupiter, not to take what I'm saying so
lightly." Chibi-Usa's eyes flashed toward him. "I am quite serious."

Rod blinked, closing his jaw and looking over at his soulmate as his
mind-voice took on a slightly pleading tone. 'You want to handle
this, dear?'

"Princess," Haruka stepped forward, looking at the angry girl.
"Sailor Moon's assistance really won't be needed on this mission,
right, guys?"

"Haruka's right, Chibi-Usa," Makoto said calmly, suppressing a smile
when she caught the look on Rod's face. "This is more of an information
gathering mission."

Nathan spoke up softly. "Why?" The single word brought the conversation
to a crashing halt, but Nathan looked steadily into Chibi-Usa's eyes as
though searching for an answer.

"Why what, Nathan?" Ami's voice was far from gentle.

Nathan, uncharacteristically serious, deliberately ignored her and
focused entirely on Chibi-Usa. Chibi-Usa met his gaze, her eyes
challenging him. "Why what, Lord Mars?"

Nathan spoke softly, voice gentle. "Why do you want to come so badly?"

Chibi-Usa looked at him for a moment, as if trying to decide the
motivation behind the question. Looking at him, it appeared that
he seemed genuinely interested in her reasons, something Ami and
the others hadn't even bothered asking about. "Because I want you
to treat me as an equal. Not as Chibi-Usa, not as the Princess, but
as Sailor Moon. I want to be given the chance to fulfill the duties
that title carries with it." Chibi-Usa's words were still heated, but
some of the anger had left her eyes, replaced instead with determination.
"And I made a promise which I can't keep if I'm made to remain behind the
Palace walls."

Nathan looked at her, eyes tightening. "Promise?"

"Yes." Chibi-Usa's tone was grim. "A promise to a dying man that I'd make
sure we made these monsters pay for what they've done."

"Oh, gods..." Ami whispered, shaking her head in disbelief and frustration.
Makoto and Haruka simply stared at the Princess in stunned silence.

Long heartbeats passed before Nathan spoke softly, voice hard. "Very well,
then. Get ready to leave. We go as soon as the briefing's done."

"Chibi-Usa's presence is not necessary on this mission, Nathan. I thought
we'd already agreed on that!" Ami pointed out, her eyes catching his with
a hard glare.

Nathan looked into her eyes, voice tight. "She gave her word. I, for one,
will not void the promises of my princess."

"Nathan, we're not suggesting that she go back on her word," Makoto
stepped in, trying to diffuse what was turning into a very delicate
situation.

"You're not?" Chibi-Usa spoke up, her voice heavy with annoyance.
"How am I supposed to keep my word when you want nothing more than
to keep me locked up in the Palace?"

Nathan's voice was soft but firm. "I said she's coming, and for once
I will not put up with any dispute." Turning to Chibi-Usa he pointed
to a chair. "Take your seat, my lady."

"Nathan!" Makoto growled, her eyes narrowing. "This can't happen. We
cannot bring Chibi-Usa with us...."

"Fine then you won't." Chibi-Usa said flatly. Rod blinked, head snapping
to the Princess. 'That was too easy....'

"Chibi-Usa?" Haruka looked at the girl, sensing something lying beneath
her emotionless words.

"Chibi-Usa, the Princess won't be burdening you on this mission,"
Chibi-Usa said calmly. She waited a moment, seeing a small flicker
of relief flash in Ami's eyes before she continued. "Sailor Moon,
however, will be." Without another word Chibi-Usa held her brooch
above her head, and in a shimmering of lights and stars she was
transformed into Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon. She smiled at Nathan,
turning from the others and taking her seat at the table.

Nathan gave the others a quiet, grim smile. "Let's get on with it, then."

"This cannot happen...." Ami whispered, her eyes settling upon
Chibi-Usa, no, Sailor Moon where she sat. Looking at the girl, she
still felt the urge to keep her safe, but at the same time, sitting
there, she looked so much like the Sailor Moon Ami had fought alongside
in Old Tokyo. 'Maybe the Queen is wrong.'

"Fine then, let's not waste anymore time." Haruka said firmly, eyeing the
confident image clothed in the fuku of the Moon senshi. 'It seems the
rabbit fills her mother's shoes rather well.'

Makoto simply frowned, realizing the danger having Chibi-Usa along with
them could cause. Sailor Moon or not, they would all be watching her
carefully, ready to do whatever was necessary to stop harm from befalling
her. She silently took her seat as the briefing began.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nathan took the point as they worked through their fourth ruin of the day,
scanning the wreck as they entered. "What have you got, Mercury?"

Mercury looked up at Nathan, her blue visor sliding away from her eyes as
her fingers worked deftly on her small computer. "More of the same; traces
of non-human genetic material, but nothing substantial enough for me to get
any definitive readings."

Rod leaned out of the wrecked door next to her. "All right, tactics change.
Nathan, you seeing what I am?"

Lord Mars smiled slightly. "Yes. The art site was one of the ones that
contributed to the memorial exhibition, wasn't it?"

Rod nodded. "Yes."

Nathan turned to Ami. "The other major contributors that still have their
collections in place?"

Ami tapped a few keys on the slim-blue computer and quickly pulled up a
listing of all the galleries donating their works to the show. She frowned,
her lips tightening. "There's a list of seven major contributors; all but one,
the Moonlight Dreams gallery, have been ransacked and destroyed."

"Why are we talking about art galleries?" Neo-Moon asked, walking up beside the
water senshi and seeing the serious look on her face. "What's going on?"

Nathan smiled grimly. "Our opponent seems to have a taste for art. Especially
expensive art."

Rod nodded. "So if we can get to the next gallery before he does...."

"We might be able to get the upper hand," Jupiter completed her husband's
thought, joining the group. "So what are we waiting for?"

"Let's get going, we don't want to waste anymore time than we already have,"
Neo-Moon said, turning from the group and heading toward the gallery.

"That she did not get from her mother." Makoto commented dryly, shaking her
head as they called the guards toward them and briefed them on the change in
plans.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Space warped and tore, a void blacker then night opening in the heart of the
gallery. A tall being in long purple robes hissed as he stepped into the room,
violet eyes scanning the room hungrily as clawed fingers toyed with the gems
embedded in his rich purple robes. "Excellent, but rather empty."

A quartet of small, six-limbed creatures slid by the hem of his robe, fanged
mouths working as their four clawed hands clenched and unclenched spastically.
The green-shelled creature looked down at his servants, amused. "Smell something,
my pretties?"

"You might say that." Lights snapped to maximum brightness in the dim gallery,
illuminating two armored men and four fuku clad senshi flanking their opponent.
Nathan smiled wolfishly behind the long slit in his Greek-style helm. "I don't
believe we've been introduced. I'm Lord Mars, also known as Dragon, and I don't
take kindly to those who attack our city!" The long spear spun up into guard
position, point gleaming wickedly.

The tall creature turned toward them, lipless mouth pulling back over
needle-sharp teeth beneath the flattened, reptilian nose. "Indeed." With
a vicious gesture, he sent the four creatures clustered around him charging
straight at the Senshi.

"What are these things?" Jupiter cursed, jumping out of the way just as one
of the creature's razor sharp claws whirred by her face.

"I don't know, but I'm going to blast them into..." Uranus growled, the blade
of her sword striking the deceptively ridged looking outer skin only to go
skittering away.

"Don't!" Mercury cried, her visor moving across her face. "Arctic Blast!"
Mercury called, an orb of ice surrounding the two creatures nearest to her
and sealing them, frozen, inside. "You blast them, you blast us!" she pointed
out grimly.

The green creature laughed, a sound like grating metal. "Quite right. Attack!"
With a crackle, another half-dozen of the vicious little things charged from
the open portal and rushed them.

Rod snarled something profane, bringing his war-hammer down on an enemy hard
enough to crack its shell entirely. "The damn things are hard to kill!"

"What the hell-!" Uranus looked up just in time to see one of the scaly
monstrosities bearing down on her. "Space Sword Blaster!" Uranus called,
aiming her attack at the creature's beady little eyes and falling backwards
from the force of the blast as the demon exploded in mid-attack.

Nathan cursed violently as he was showered with black blood and carapace
fragments. "Careful with that! Place that shot wrong and you'll blow us
to hell, too!"

"This is not the time to doubt my accuracy, Dragon," Uranus grunted, getting
to her feet and grimacing.

The green-shelled creature laughed mockingly, letting loose a solid blast of
lighting that Nathan barely blocked with his spear. "Fools! You can't win. My
Lord will crush your city in the palm of his hand."

"He'll have to get through us first," Neo-Moon growled, stepping from behind
Jupiter who'd taken a position protectively in front of her.

The creature snapped about, eyes burning with new lust. "Ah, the Princess!
My Lord will reward me well for this...." With a complex gesture, a ball
of lightning crackled forth toward Chibi-Usa.

"No!" Jupiter felt the familiar crackle of electricity even as the attack
left the monster's hands. Without thinking she launched herself into the
girl, feeling the searing heat and burning energy scorching her legs as
she and the Princess fell hard to the ground. She cursed loudly, the
white-hot pain bringing tears to her eyes.

"Jupiter!" Mercury cried out in horror, stunned by the sheer speed of
the developing crisis. "Arctic Blast!" She cried, blanketing the room
in a thick mist and buying herself precious moments to reach her fallen
friends.

Rod's eyes burned as he stepped over his wife, the hammer singing in his
hands as he battered the enemy aside. "Dragon!"

Nathan caught his friend's yell, and moved left with a single swift sidestep.
"Ready, Thunderer!"

"Go!" In tandem, twin columns of lightning and a wave of fire lashed out
towards the enemy.

The green creature raised a hand, and energy crackled off a suddenly visible
shield as fire and lightning slammed into it. "I am Avarice, you fools! You
only waste your energy in these pitiful attacks."

"Jupiter?" Neo-Moon breathed, pulling herself from under the fallen senshi.
The look of pain on the brunette's face and the fact that she was in so much
pain because she'd put herself in danger to save the Princess triggered
something within Neo-Moon's heart.

"We are not fools, and you will not win!" Neo-Moon declared, getting to her
feet, to the shock and frustration of her guardians. "I am Neo-Eternal Sailor
Moon, and I will not allow you, or your so-called master to destroy this city
and hurt the people I care about!"

Red eyes narrowed, a scepter appearing in her hands, the crystal embedded on
the top, glowing fiercely. "Crystal Moon Eclipse!" she called, a wave of
energy rushing at Avarice, engulfing him in a column of gold and silver
energy that filled the room with blinding light that burned the smaller
creatures to dust.

Avarice flinched, feeling his shield start to crackle and shiver. 'Dark
gods, but she's strong!' With a crackle of closing space he stepped back
into the portal and vanished as it snapped shut behind him.

"Oh, gods," Neo-Moon gasped, the scepter clattering to the floor as she
fell to her knees, the world exploding into a rainbow of colors.
"W-What's wrong?"

"Princess." Mercury moved to the girl's side, helping her to sit on the
cool floor. "You over-exerted yourself. You expended a lot of energy
trying to defeat him...."

Nathan was at her side in a moment, kneeling beside his princess. "Will
she be all right?"

Ami nodded slowly, picking up the scepter and placing it Neo-Moon's hands.
"She'll be fine, she just has to get used to the amount of energy her attack
requires. It's still new to her."

Chibi-Usa looked at the scepter, still warm from the attack, she then looked
up at Nathan and Mercury with her voice coming in ragged gasps. "Then I
killed him, right? I mean so much power, he's gone for good?"

Rod gave her a grim smile from where he knelt beside Makoto. "Don't
count on it."

"But I thought you said...?" Neo-Moon looked at Mercury questioningly.

"You used a lot of energy, and yes, that is one powerful attack, but
he's a powerful adversary. Its going to take a lot more than that to
get rid of him," the blue-haired woman said frankly, noticing the
flicker of frustration in the younger Senshi's eyes.

Rod looked up at Ami, helping his wife gently to a sitting position.
"Ami, would you mind?"

Ami nodded, leaving the Princess and taking a look at Jupiter's wounds.
"Jupiter, these are pretty bad. You should have been more careful," Ami
commented, taking a small vial out of a pouch on her hip, allowing a few
drops of the liquid to fall into the wound.

"I wasn't thinking about my safety, Ami," the brunette hissed as the liquid
went to work at disinfecting the wound.

Rod looked at her gruffly. "She wasn't the one who needed to be more careful."

Chibi-Usa winced, Rod's words a stinging blow to her face. She blinked back
tears from her eyes and slowly got to her feet, gritting her teeth as the
world around her threatened to start spinning. "I'm sorry," she whispered,
her eyes cast to the floor.

Nathan winced himself, wishing he had a flip remark for this one. None came.
After a long moment, he sighed and waved to Haruka. "Give Rod and I a hand
with Makoto, Ruka. We need to get back to the palace and report as fast as
we can."

"Hai." Haruka nodded, moving to help them get the brunette off the ground.
"I think a Sailor Teleport is in order."

As the other's set to work, Ami snapped shut her computer and stood. "Well,
it wasn't a total loss. I did manage to get some interesting readings, though
I'm afraid it will take Alexis and I a while to figure out what they're telling
us." She moved closer to the others, so that they could get back to the palace
as soon as possible."

"Princess, we're leaving," Haruka said, looking up to see the girl still
standing there, an unreadable expression on her face. "Let's get back to
the Palace."

Chibi-Usa looked up, her mind reeling with disbelief. Not a single one of
them had tried to tell her it wasn't her fault. No one tried to assure her
that she needn't feel guilty. With a knot deep in her stomach she moved
toward the others, fingering the scepter weighing heavily in her hands.
She wondered if she truly was ready to be Sailor Moon, she wondered if
she could survive without the protection of the Senshi. At that moment,
she highly doubted it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Molten magma lapped at the edge of the obsidian path that led across it,
reaching hungrily for the ornate purple robes that hung about Avarice as
he picked his way toward the tiny island that served as his master's private
sanctuary. Long limbs and razor-edged carapace gleamed in the red glow,
giving him a sleek beauty that would have stunned many. At the moment,
however, he was too busy fighting down the gnawing fear that crawled about
in his innards to take his usual pride in that. A summons to the master's
presence was rarely good news.

As he reached the island at the center of the burning lava, Avarice knelt
with a tremor of fear leaking into his voice. "My lord?"

"Avarice." The black robed man who stood at the opposite edge of the island
did not turn to look at his servant, but his voice was razor-edged ice.

Purple eyes downcast in slowly growing desperation, Avarice shifted nervously
as the silence lengthened. "You called…?" The words died on his forked tongue,
strangled by the icy silence that filled the room in spite of the molten heat.

Long heartbeats later, the dark one began to speak with a whip-crack precision.
"Do you have the first clue what you have cost me, servant?"

Avarice flinched as though struck. "Master?"

The voice went on with the quiet ferocity of a serpent's hiss. "You have cost
me ten hell hounds, Avarice, but more than that you have cost me the shroud of
anonymity I have been so carefully maintaining. By becoming predictable, you
have given the Senshi an enemy to fight and shown them that they can win. Now,
Avarice, what shall I demand of you in repayment?"

The trembling redoubled as Avarice felt cold panic sink its claws into him.
"My liege?"

Ebony black robes shifted slightly as the other raised a gloved hand. "Enough.
You will turn over all your stolen goods to Daemeon, and will be removed from
any further visits to Crystal Tokyo until I say otherwise. Clear?"

"Sire!" The word was almost a shriek of pain as Avarice contemplated being
stripped of his chosen prizes.

A dark chuckle filled the air. "Perhaps you would prefer I reconsider your
punishment?"

Avarice jerked back as though scalded. "No, my lord."

"Then get out of my sight."

Without another word, Avarice turned and fled. Behind him, the red eyes
looked out over the field of roiling lava. "So, Serenity. Now you think you
know who we are. Perhaps it is time for you truly see just what you are dealing
with." A black glove touched the golden circlet that hung around his hood,
remembering the vision of those who had ambushed Avarice. "And to see what
opposing me will cost you."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Serenity's footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell as she made her way
upstairs to the conference room where the Senshi and Knights were gathered.
Her eyes were hard and her mouth was fixed in a slight frown. As she pushed
open the large double doors she found that everyone was already present,
waiting for her. Endymion looked up from one of the two seats at the head
of the table, meeting his wife's eyes from across the room. 'All present
and accounted for, love.'

Serenity nodded briefly at her husband, her eyes scanning the faces of the
Senshi as they turned to her. All faces were serious, eyes showing frustration
and signs of fatigue. She knew they'd all been working diligently at fulfilling
her orders, but she also knew that all of them had yet to fully complete their
tasks. As she moved through the room, her eyes drifting for a moment out the
window that made up one of the walls of the conference room, she looked out at
her city. There was something different about it indeed, a dull gray cloud
seeming to have settled over it, dimming its shimmering beauty.

With a small sigh Serenity took her seat. "I want to know what's going on
out there." Her voice was calm, but there was an underlying hint of urgency
behind her words. "I want to know what happened at that art gallery and what,
if anything we gained from it."

Alexis tapped the report in front of him. "Well, we did get a bit of a windfall
in terms of data on our opponents."

Nathan interrupted Alexis with a snort. "We nearly got our butts kicked, Alex.
I wouldn't call that a victory by any stretch."

"First, there was the initial attack on the Night Star Gallery." Serenity shook
her head. "Even with all the precautions and protocol we've put into place that
monster still managed to destroy the entire building, kill nearly a hundred people
and get away unscathed. That is not acceptable under any circumstances. I understand
that you are all working at this, and I know you're all putting great amounts of
effort into it, but somehow we're still falling short."

Rod winced at the Queen's tone. 'Here it comes….'

"Second there was the 'information gathering' mission that Nathan, Haruka, Rod,
Makoto and Ami were part of," Serenity's tone grew hard. "I would like to know
how in the world it turned from that into an all out confrontation with a
virtually unknown enemy in such a confined space where innocent people could
have been injured?"

Nathan took a deep breath. "I really wasn't expecting to find anything,
initially. Once we knew the next site that might be hit, we thought we'd have
surprise on our side. Apparently we were wrong; we managed to get the people out,
but that was about it."

"How can you have the element of surprise when your enemy is nothing more than a
mystery to you? Nathan, you had no idea as to how he worked, whether or not he
worked alone or how powerful he was. I'd say he had the upper hand before he even
arrived." Setsuna spoke up from her seat beside the queen. "If the Princess hadn't
been there, I doubt things would have turned out nearly as well as they did; I doubt
any of you would be sitting here right now, unless by some chance the enemy had
decided to allow you to live."

Rod's voice was a growl when he spoke. "And what were we supposed to do, Sets?
Sit back and let him hit the gallery unhindered? There wasn't time to call in
the group and discuss it by committee."

"Perhaps not," Setsuna met Nathan's eyes, disapproval clear in her voice,
"but if I'm not mistaken, your communicators were working perfectly fine."

Rod's teeth gritted. "There wasn't time, Sets. He could have arrived at any
time, and calling for backup would have taken an hour to get up a response."

"Then you should have let it pass." Mark's voice was soft but icy hard.

"Let it pass?" Haruka sneered. "You mean we were just supposed to ignore a
chance to possibly stop the enemy? To gather information on him?"

Makoto shook her head. "If we'd let it go, more innocent people would have
been hurt, and that's what we're trying to stop."

Mark continued to speak softly with the grim force of a schoolteacher
talking to a stubborn class. "And what did you accomplish? You saved a
handful of lives, and in exchange you gave the enemy information that will
almost certainly lead to the loss of more. You didn't think he was studying
you, too? You don't think that someone smart enough to anticipate our moves
like he has didn't find your little display of power useful?" Mark sat back
with a bitter chuckle. "The next time will be harder."

"We did what we thought was necessary," Haruka said through clenched teeth.

"Then perhaps you didn't think things through as well as you should have,
Haruka." Serenity said calmly, meeting the shocked look the blonde gave her.
"Mark is right, you've handed our enemy information about us and we still have
nearly nothing on him."

Serenity's eyes narrowed slightly. "All you ended up with was a wealth of data
that will take weeks to sort through and two injured Senshi." Serenity's eyes
fell to Ami. "One of whom was not even supposed to be there."

Endymion blinked at his wife. Even he thought she was laying it on a bit thick,
and he agreed with her.

Ami's eyes could not meet the queen's but fell to the table before her. She knew
she'd let her Queen down by allowing the Princess to come along on the mission,
and that knowledge stung. Nathan turned, meeting the queen's eyes as well. "I
supported it in the first place, Majesty. If there is blame, it is more mine
than any other's."

"Serenity, the Princess's presence was not what lost us that battle," Makoto
spoke, wanting to draw the Queen's attention from the blue-haired woman.
"Besides, it was a unanimous decision to take her along."

Serenity gave a wry smile. "So all of you agreed to disobey a direct order
from your queen together?"

Nathan took a deep breath. "In a word, yes."

"I want to make one point perfectly clear from this moment on," Serenity
began, her tone icy. "The Princess is not to be brought into any battle
situations unless the King or I are there alongside her. True, she is Sailor
Moon and she possesses within her the power to defend herself, but she is still
learning to master those powers. There is no reason at all that she should be
put into a situation where she is forced to over-extend those powers when there
are fourteen able-bodied warriors that could be there within moments to help.
I will not stand for it again, I will not allow her to be put into such danger
when it is not necessary."

"How dare you!" The Princess's voice caused all eyes to turn toward the door,
a heavy silence descending over the room.

"Chibi-Usa!" Serenity gasped, blue eyes meeting her daughter's burning glare.

"Chibi?" Hotaru's eyes widened, sensing the deep seated feelings of anger and
hurt surging through her friend. She bit her lips, waiting for the explosion
she knew was coming.

"First ... First you totally exclude me from this meeting, not even bothering
to tell me about it. Then you use it as a means to tighten your control over
my actions? Over the things I'm allowed to do?" The Princess stalked into the
room, slamming her hands down on the far end of the table, directly opposite
her shocked parents. "I want you to stop this! Stop trying to run my life!
Stop trying to fix things that aren't wrong!"

"Chibi-Usa, you don't understand." Serenity pushed her chair back, getting
ready to stand.

"Don't bother getting up, Mother. I want you to sit there and listen to what
I'm saying this once." Chibi-Usa's tone caused the senshi to exchange worried
looks, Setsuna's eyes focusing on the girl. Mark raised an eloquent eyebrow
toward his wife, his face displaying a slight hint of surprise as well.

"I want you to stop trying to protect me. I am not a child; I am not some
glass figurine that needs to be kept from shattering. I thought you understood
that when you gave me this," Chibi-Usa held up the brooch for all to see. "Was
I wrong? Do you not believe I'm capable of handing the power that you, yourself
handed to me on my birthday? Have you already forgotten your words, your reasons
behind giving me this?"

"Chibi-Usa that is enough!" Serenity's voice was hard, her eyes fixing on her
daughter's. "You will stop this childish tantrum right now and wait to discuss
this at a more appropriate time! I will not be forced to explain my motives
here and now, not when there are other matters that need my attention."

Chibi-Usa's lips twisted into a hurt smile. "I'm sorry, mother, I forgot how
low I rank on your list of priorities. I'll leave and allow you to concentrate
on things more worthy of your attention. When you're ready to talk about this
with me, you can come and find me, because I will not be forced to come and seek
you out like one of your little followers."

"Small Lady!" Setsuna whispered, her eyes wide with shock. She'd never heard the
girl speak with so much anger.

Serenity could not speak; all she could do was look at her daughter, the hurt
clear in her crystal blue eyes. She sat back in her chair, her fingers grasping
the armrests tightly; she wanted to get up and run to her daughter, she wanted
to wrap her in her arms and apologize for making her feel this way, but she
couldn't. She couldn't give into this tantrum, she could not allow her mind to
be changed by this display, not when all she was trying to do was protect her
daughter, her one treasure.

Mark stood, a single smooth motion. "My lady, it would by my honor if you would
take my seat for the remainder of this meeting."

Nathan rose a moment later, offering his own chair. Rod and Alexis's eyes met
across the table, and almost as one stood to vacate their seats as well.
Chibi-Usa stood slack-jawed, watching as one by one the Knights stood. A
small smile of satisfaction tugged slowly at her lips when she looked up
and saw the look of shock and anger rising on her mother's face. She did
not, however, move to take any of the offered seats but waited for a
reaction instead.

"Gentlemen, you will please take your seats," Serenity instructed, her
voice cold as ice as she rose from her seat as her eyes met theirs one
by one.

Nathan flinched as Serenity's eyes fell on him, but remained standing.
Rod and Alex both looked from their friend to the queen indecisively,
then elected to stay where they were. Mark just stood there with a half-smile
on his face, waiting.

Rei looked from Nathan to Serenity, her violet eyes wide with disbelief.
'Nathan this is not the time for this!' she hissed in his mind, reaching
over and placing her hand on his. 'Please!'

Ami looked at Serenity and flinched. "Alexis..." she whispered, looking up
at him pleadingly. Makoto, along with Haruka and Michiru simply sat there,
silently watching with mild shock as things unfolded, hoping they did no
escalate any more than it already had. They could not believe that the
Knights would so easily disregard their Queen's direct order, but at the
same time wondered if she was making the right decision.

'Chibi-Usa….' Hotaru pushed slightly away from the table, wanting so badly
to go to her friend, but Setsuna's eyes stopped her. The Time Senshi gently
shook her head, indicating that the girl stay put.

"I will say this once more. Knights, take your seats immediately." Serenity
said, placing her palms down on the table and leaning forward. "I will not
ask again."

Nathan took a deep breath. "With respect, your majesty, I feel that the
Princess should at least be present at this meeting. I beg your pardon for
my insubordination, but I cannot in good conscience accept the decision
to exclude her."

Alexis spoke softly. "Nor I."

"Nor I." Rod's grim addition was soft but firm as granite. Mark didn't
answer at all. Indeed, his expression changed not a fraction. He did,
however, remain standing.

"Gentlemen, your Majesty, may I remind you all of something?" Setsuna's calm
voice broke through the heavy silence that followed the men's declarations.
"We are working under strict time constraints. The longer we spend quarreling
amongst ourselves, the more time that leaves the enemy to strike."

Serenity blinked, her eyes slowly moving toward Setsuna, still cold as ice.
"You are right, Setsuna. This is not the time, nor the place for such a show
of such utter and complete disregard for your Queen's orders." Serenity's
eyes left Setsuna. "I will ask you gentlemen to once again take your seats,
and the Princess to take hers."

Serenity motioned toward the chair to her left as she sat down, her
expression hard. "If anyone has a problem with those orders, then they can
leave now and will be dealt with accordingly."

The Knights paused for a moment, waiting for Chibi to start to move. As she
did they all slowly slid back down into their seats. Chibi-Usa felt all eyes
on her as she made her way slowly to her chair, lowering herself into it
without a word.

"Now, can we begin this meeting again?" Serenity asked, some of the harshness
gone from her voice.

Endymion tentatively tapped the table, trying to clear his mind of the shock
that had left him totally floored by the argument between his wife and daughter.
"Back to the subject at hand. What does our major problem with the enemy seem to
be?"

Alexis tapped the table slightly. "Our biggest problem seems to be our lack of
data on his movements."

Nathan snorted. "Our problem is that the bastard won't stand and fight, and won't
challenge us directly. Just hit and run."

Just as the last words left his mouth, the entire building rocked with a shock
wave as a massive boom filled the room, echoing even through the built-in
soundproofing. Pivoting, Endymion found himself staring through the now
crack-webbed window out into a maelstrom of rising dust and debris form
the city below. "Dear gods, that must have been big enough to wreck a city block!"

"What the hell was that?" Haruka hissed, getting up from her seat, her eyes
drifting toward the hellish scene beyond the glass with everyone else's.

"It seems you're about to get your wish, Nathan," Setsuna said quietly,
carefully regarding the scene outside.

Mark whistled softly, impressed in spite of himself at the sheer size of the
damage. "I think someone just threw down the gauntlet." Outside, the smoke
curled upward like a beckoning hand.

Without a word the Senshi and Knights slowly crackled into their battle
forms, ready for whatever lay beyond the crystal wall of the Palace.
Chibi-Usa hesitated a moment, then she picked up her brooch preparing
to transform as well.

"No," Serenity said flatly, her hand reaching and holding the Princess's
in place. "Endymion, you and the Senshi and the Knights go see what in the
name of the moon that was ... The Princess and I will be along shortly."

Endymion winced at his wife's tone, but he knew better than to waste time.
"On my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark." And in a flash of brilliant light, the
Guardians of Crystal Tokyo were headed for battle.

Chibi-Usa watched the others disappear in silence, and slid back silently into
her seat, waiting for her mother's words. There was a knot forming in the pit
of her stomach, and she knew that what was to come would be far from pleasant.

Serenity looked down at her daughter, noticing that the girl refused to meet
her gaze, wondering how much of it was anger and how much of it was worry of
what was to come. Crystal blue eyes closed, and the queen took a deep breath,
trying to calm the roiling mass of emotions bubbling within her.

"You're angry with me, aren't you?" Serenity asked, her calm voice surprising
both her and the princess.

Chibi-Usa looked up at her mother, nodding slowly, not sure what to make of
the question.

"You're upset because you can't understand the motives behind my actions, am
I correct?" Serenity asked, sitting beside her daughter, forcing their eyes
to meet.

"Not because I don't understand them." Chibi-Usa began carefully, resisting
the urge to launch into another tirade of screaming. "It's because lately
you seem to be a walking contradiction when it comes to me. One moment you're
handing me this brooch, telling me I can use its powers to protect myself so I
can fight in battle. The next you're hovering about me, forcing the other Senshi
to baby-sit me, making them doubt my abilities."

"Your abilities, your innate powers have never been doubted or questioned,
Chibi-Usa. We all know you carry within you great power." Serenity's voice
was calm but firm, wanting to get through to her daughter. "The problem is
that your powers have not yet been tested, they have not been fully practiced
as much as they should have been. Perhaps that is my fault for not encouraging
you to use them, even just for practice. Maybe it was a mistake to make your
training as a Senshi seem not as important as learning how to be a ruler of
Crystal Tokyo, but it was done for your own good."

"My own good?" Chibi-Usa's eyes flickered with anger. "How can you say that?
Turning me into ... into something that needs protection, someone that is not
able to use her powers, that was for my own good? Sheltering me from reality
has not helped me, mother. If anything it has hurt me more than you could ever
realize."

"Chibi-Usa!" Serenity gasped, shocked at the harsh words. "I've never done
anything to hurt you, and surely saving you the hardships of being a warrior
has not damaged you! If nothing else it has saved you from the living nightmare
that I and the other Senshi had to face when we were given our powers and thrown
head first into our destinies. I've done everything in my power to save you from
that trauma, that pain, and I will not be made to feel guilty about it!"

"I'm not asking for guilt, mother. I'm asking for an apology and a chance to
live my life the way I see fit." Chibi-Usa snapped turning away and looking
out the window, noting that the dust had settled over the city and now blanketed
it in a shimmering haze.

"Dear princess, that is something that neither of us have been, or ever will be
granted." Serenity replied, a slight bitterness in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Chibi-Usa huffed, rolling her eyes.

"I mean that we, as part of the bloodline of the Moon Kingdom, will never be
afforded the luxury of living our lives as we please. The same goes for every
Senshi that you call a friend; we are allowed to live our lives as best we can
while remaining within the constraints of what destiny has laid out before us.
Whether we want to face it or not, we are on a path and we don't have the choice
of changing it."

"You just don't want it to change!" Chibi-Usa's head snapped around, her red
eyes hard. "You don't want to because you're afraid of what you'd face if you
stepped off of the path that your precious fates have placed you on!"

"What?" Serenity's eyes narrowed.

"You're afraid that if you stepped off that path, if for once you did what you
wanted, not what anyone else wanted or expected, but what you wanted your world,
your life would come crashing down around you!"

"How dare you!" Serenity's voice was cutting, but Chibi-Usa did not flinch.

"I, on the other hand, have nothing in this life; there's nothing that I've seen
on this path to hold me to it! I would gladly step off of it into the unknown
just to taste what life has to offer me!"

"Chibi-Usa, you don't mean that-"

"The hell I don't, mother! You've always had the Senshi and father to hold you
to your path. What have I got? I've got nothing! I've got people that look at
me like something to protect. And I've been condemned to live my life alone,
without Senshi, without anyone!"

Serenity blinked, as if suddenly seeing her daughter's pain all to clearly,
and wishing she had the words to take it away, wishing she could just make
it stop right there, but she couldn't. She had to press on, to stop this
before it snowballed out of control.

"That is not true, and you know it," Serenity's voice softened slightly, as
her gaze tried to capture her daughter's. "You will always have the Senshi
and the Knights. They will always be there for you, no matter what. They all
love you just as much as they love me, if not more. Besides that, you will
always have your father and I, we will always be here for you. You will never
be alone when you truly need us and our support. No matter what we will be right
there beside you."

Chibi-Usa sighed. "It's not the same...."

Serenity opened her mouth to speak but stopped short, a worried look crossing her
face. She closed her eyes and concentrated, then released a gasp.

"They're in danger. We have to go," she said, standing up and looking down at
the Princess. "We haven't the time to sort this through; the Senshi and the
Knights and your Father are in danger."

Chibi-Usa nodded, standing and taking her place besides her mother without a
word. As they flickered out of existence, Chibi-Usa had to wonder if she was
being brought along to help, or so that she could be watched.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Endymion flickered into being at the lead point of a phalanx made up of Senshi
and Knights, all with weapons out and ready for battle. Before them rose a
massive skeleton, the shattered mass of what had once been the Star Crystal
Stadium rising before them. It had been beautiful once, one of the brightest
stars in Tokyo's crown. Now it hung like a broken thing, an entire side blasted
away and the others fragmented and leaning dangerously outward. The group spread
out, advancing carefully toward the entrance with care.

Venus and Jupiter exchanged glances, both warriors eyeing the massive crater that
lay several feet to their left. It truly appeared that they were in the middle of
a war zone. Jupiter's gaze drifted toward Mercury, the other woman's visor covering
her eyes as she searched for any possible threats.

"There's a lot of energy floating around out here." Mercury said, her voice
reaching the others with a warning tone. "Be on the look out."

Neptune nodded, her mirror clasped in her hand, though it had shown her
nothing when she'd called upon it. She noted that even Uranus was tense,
her fingers wrapped tightly around her sword. As they moved forward, Rod's
eyes raked across the wreckage and caught a momentary glimpse of a being in
long purple robes and with a familiar green skin. The creature waved and gave
a mocking half-bow before slipping back into the wreckage. Rod snarled something
profane and roared a challenge. "Avarice! Stand and fight, you coward!"

Nathan pivoted with lightning swiftness to face toward the spot toward which Rod
was looking. "Trouble, people! Watch yourselves!"

The group moved forward swiftly, and as if in response there was a hideous shriek
of stressed metal and glass as yet another section of stadium collapsed under its
own weight.

"What was that?" Mars asked, her eyes narrowing as she tentatively stepped toward
the new wound in the side of the stadium.

"That was our friend Avarice." Jupiter replied, her voice dripping with contempt.

"He's the one we faced off with at the gallery," Nathan added, moving up beside
his wife with spear at the ready in his hand. Mars looked back at him and nodded,
not questioning any further. She could hear the tension and the caution in their
voices. She'd seen what that creature had done to the gallery, and she knew he
was not something to be trifled with.

"So, are we going to sit here and contemplate our enemy, or are we going to
follow him?" Uranus asked impatiently, wanting to settle things swiftly.

"This is not the time to be brash, Uranus," Pluto commented, stepping up
beside the blonde. "You saw what he's capable of, and you've already fallen
into one of his traps; unless you wish to repeat that mistake, I suggest you
restrain yourself."

Hazel eyes flashed with annoyance, but she stepped down, looking toward Endymion
for some direction. "So, Majesty, what is it going to be?"

Just as the King opened his mouth to reply, his eyes snapped to his left where
a bright flash of silver light was blossoming. Cerulean eyes met cobalt ones
as the queen and princess appeared, both looking ready for a fight. One glance
at the strained look on both women's faces told him that things were far from
settled between the two. 'Is she ready for this?' he asked silently as Serenity
moved toward him, Chibi-Usa lingering behind her.

'I don't think the question is if she's ready. I think the question is,
am I ready.' Serenity answered, moving to her husband's side and glancing back
at the Princess.

"What happened?" Neo-Moon asked as she moved toward the group.

"We're not sure yet," Saturn replied, meeting her friend's eyes, "but we do
know that there's more than likely trouble waiting for us on the other side
of that wall."

"Hai, she's right." Neptune agreed. "We've already spotted your friend
from the art gallery."

Red eyes flashed, first with trepidation then with determination. She
would not let that monster best her again, and she wouldn't repeat her
mistakes. "Well then, why don't we get this reunion started?"

Serenity looked at her daughter and nodded, a knot of fear forming in
her stomach. She could sense her daughter's desire to prove herself
this time, she just hoped that it didn't lead her into a situation she
wouldn't be able to handle. 'Its okay, love. We're here to make sure
that doesn't happen.' The King squeezed her hand reassuringly before
motioning for the others to start into the stadium.

Carefully the Senshi moved forward, all of them aware that they could
very well be walking into a trap; they slipped quickly into position,
eyes scanning the rubble that had once served as a gathering place for
all of Crystal Tokyo. The stadium resembled the ancient ruins of a Greek
coliseum now, except this had not been sitting for hundreds of years
unused but had been flattened within a matter of moments by a stunningly
destructive force. A small shiver passed through Pluto, causing her grip
to tighten on her staff as a flash of great pain flickering in wine-colored
eyes. Her eyes looked first to the queen and then to Sailor Moon, both
standing toward the head of the group, ready to face whatever came at them.

'I don't think either of you are ready for it.' she thought bitterly,
wishing for the ability to spare the group of warriors standing before
her the trials they were to face but knowing she couldn't. 'I'm so, so
sorry.'

"Minna, something's coming-" Mercury's warning came even as the air
around them filled with an acrid, roiling mist that stung their eyes.
There was a moment of heat, and then the mist swept away to reveal what
had been the heart of the stadium.

In the center of the blasted field, rising clouds of smoke swirled away
to expose a lone figure who floated slowly upward above the twisted wreckage.
Long black robes swirled out in a shimmering arc, gloved hands crossed slightly
in front of him as red eyes gleamed from within a shadow-filled hood. The
acidic gases swirled about him in a roiling column that parted to let all
the Senshi and Knights have a clear view.

"Hello, Serenity."

Serenity's eyes narrowed, her gaze meeting that of the stranger before her,
her blue eyes hard. "So, you've finally risen from the shadows to face us
yourself?"

The voice from within the hood was soft, but echoed across the stadium with
resonant power. "I thought it would do well to meet the woman whose city I'll
be taking from her."

"Excuse me? How dare you make such an insane claim? Who are you, that you
believe you will actually accomplish such a arrogant goal?"

The voice crackled with dark amusement. "I have more than a few names.
I've been called God, Deathbringer, Master, Lord, and a thousand others.
But for your purposes, you may call me as the residents of the last world
who opposed me did." Red eyes burned fiercely. "Lord Reignfire." A laugh
as mocking as a viper's hiss issued from within the hood, dark as a starless
night. "You needn't worry, they won't object. They're all dead anyway."

Serenity's hand tightened into a fist at her side at the sound of Reignfire's
cruel and empty laugh. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jupiter and Venus
take a step toward her, their eyes trained on the figure before them, and she
could sense Endymion's presence beside her. "The only thing I wish to call you,
sir, is gone." Serenity replied, her eyes meeting his burning gaze. It felt like
acid, but she did not flinch; she would not turn away.

Reignfire threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, no, little queen. You'll have
no such luxury." Red eyes lowered to burn into hers. "Not until you and yours
have ceased to provide any amusement for me or my servants."

"You bastard! How dare you make such presumptions? How dare you threaten us?"
Jupiter growled, stepping up beside and slightly in front of Serenity.

"We are not here for amusement. We are here to protect our world from
monsters such as yourself," Mars' voice came from Serenity's other side.
Serenity then realized that the Guardians were deliberately moving toward
where she, the King and the Princess stood.

Reignfire's voice dropped with mocking condescension. "I dare because I have
the power to rule; I am afraid that if protection is what you aspire to, you
are sorely overmatched."

"Would you care to test out that assumption?" Uranus growled under her breath,
drawing a sharp look from Sailor Pluto and a worried glance from Neptune, her
aqua eyes snapping to look at her lover.

"Reignfire, simply having the power does not mean you carry the ability to
rule," Serenity spoke up. "It takes more than brute force to lead a society,
a world."

Red eyes gleamed fiercely. "Oh, yes. Cunning, ruthlessness, willingness to
sacrifice; ruling takes quite an extensive resume. Of course, sometimes
unqualified rulers do slip through. I'm sure your citizens could agree."

Serenity flinched, feeling the tension in the air increasing tenfold. She
could see the Senshi and Knights shifting, wanting to show this monster
just how wrong he was, but they knew this was not the time to get trigger-happy.
It was all too clear that this would not end peacefully, however much she wished
it could.

"Your hollow remarks ring as false as your claims, Reignfire. You don't know me
or you would know that I give all I have to my people." Serenity said, her eyes
suddenly catching a flash of midnight blue to her left.

'Gods, be careful,' she sent to his mind, his intention to try and take
out the enemy rapidly becoming instantly clear to her.

Reignfire gave her a mocking smile. "Indeed, little queen? Then why do you
shelter your daughter so? Would she not make a better warrior for your people
than an ornament in your palace?"

"My daughter will embrace whatever path destiny has laid of for her, sir, and
I will not stand in its way." Serenity's voice rose in annoyance and anger.
"Nor will I throw her to the wolves when she is not yet ready."

Reignfire laughed darkly. "Indeed."

In a sudden twist, Endymion abruptly finished bringing his staff up and
launched a volley of high intensity golden bolts towards the side of
Reignfire's chest. "Enough!"

The energy bolts flashed home ... and vanished as they were absorbed by
the energy shield Reignfire summoned with a flick of his hand. "Fool.
You think to challenge me directly?" The voice was low, mocking. "Would
you like to see who I brought along for a surprise?" As if in answer to
a silent call, dozens of the creatures Rod and the others had fought at
the Starlight Gallery rose from the rubble with claws gleaming, voices
clicking and hissing as they snapped their jaws at the Senshi and Knights.

Almost as one the Guardians turned, forming a loose circle around the
queen as they faced the snarling beasts that rose to meet them. Grunts
and gasps rose from the circle as they fought off wave after wave of
the advancing creatures. Serenity's eyes focused on Endymion where he
stood, so far from her and so close to Reignfire, and her heart twisted
with worry. She didn't even notice as Chibi-Usa moved from behind her to
join the Senshi until she heard the girl's cry. Her golden head snapped
around, blue eyes wide as she watched Sailor Moon blast a creature into
nothingness with her silver tiara as she stood protectively in front of
a fallen Saturn. Hotaru's violet eyes were shut tightly, her hand covering
a gash in her leg. "Chibi-Usa!" Serenity gasped, seeing two creatures
advancing toward her daughter.

One of the creatures lunged at Chibi-Usa, then screamed in agony as a
razor-edged glaive blade ripped in under its carapace and tore it nearly
in half. Chibi-Usa let out a cry of surprise as she fell backward, landing
hard on the ground as Mark stepped in front of her. She looked up and saw
Pluto standing beside her, and took the gloved hand offered to her.
"Watch yourself, Small Lady." Pluto said, her eyes scanning the chaos
ensuing around them.

"I wi- Neptune!" Chibi-Usa's cry of warning came just as one of the
creatures sank its claws into the other woman's thigh, bringing the
aqua-haired senshi to her knees.

Nathan grunted as he smashed the creature aside, covering Neptune as
she fell. "Tighten up, people! If they get around behind us, we're dead!"

Reignfire looked down in amusement as the Guardians tightened their
formation, hovering just beyond the waves of creatures charging them.
'Very impressive, but still insufficient.'

"That is enough!" Serenity cried, her voice rising above the blasts
and dying screams of the creatures. Her eyes focused on Reignfire.
"This will stop now!" Serenity's hand rose, her crystal cupped between
her palms, and suddenly a great white light issuing from her hands,
sweeping across the field. As the light touched each creature they
burst into flames, and within moments were reduced to smoldering piles
of ash. As she completed her arch, the Senshi moved in closer,
tightening their circle, the Queen and Sailor Moon still in the
center. They were still on guard, but smiles of triumph were
beginning to creep onto their faces as they saw what their Queen
had done.

Reignfire's eyes glimmered mockingly. "Now, now. Such unsportsman-like
conduct." Reignfire lifted a hand and ashes rose and coalesced into
new waves of the creatures that launched themselves forward with animal
ferocity. "And just to ensure that you don't feel the need to try
again...." With another gesture, a dozen blazing creatures of fire
that stood nearly ten feet tall and brandished deadly-looking claws
rose from the earth and began lumbering toward the Senshi.

Endymion grimaced, eyeing the new arrivals. 'This is getting us nowhere,
Usako. Shall we try for the head of the monster instead of the limbs?'

Serenity looked toward her husband and nodded. She could see her Guardians
weakening, and more and more of the creatures were bearing down on them.
They had to try and take Reignfire out directly. Quickly she moved beside
Endymion, the crystal once again in her hands, waiting for the right moment.

Endymion leaned slightly to the side, signaling. Nathan nodded, then let
loose with a blast of fire that shred a half-dozen creatures ahead.
Endymion took the opening and bolted forward, putting a volley of energy
bolts into Reignfire's shield from the left.

As Nathan and the King attacked, Mars, Jupiter and Pluto moved closer to
Serenity, blasting the creatures that came toward her to dust as she called
upon the power of the crystal, rising slowly from the ground. Encased in an
orb of pure white light, Serenity concentrated a sphere of the Ginzuishou's
power between her palms, launching a steady blazing stream of energy at
Reignfire. There was a blinding flash as it struck home, encasing him in its
pure energy. The shield around Reignfire shimmered with light, but held strong.
The man extended a hand to either side, reinforcing the shield, and laughed.

"What the hell?" Serenity heard Jupiter curse as she joined Mars and Pluto in
fending off the creatures that continued to attack them. She winced when she
heard Mercury's voice cry out in agony as one of the fire-creatures slashed
her midsection with a fiery claw.

Alexis blasted the creature aside, eyes burning with fury as razor-sharp ice
slashed out into the enemy. 'This is not good.'

Serenity heard all this, but she kept her mind focused on the crystal,
increasing the amount of energy she sent toward Reignfire. 'Give up, damn
you!' she cursed him in her mind.

Reignfire's laughter rang off the shattered bleachers. "Oh, little queen,
you'll not best me so easily." With an almost casual gesture, he hit both
Endymion and Serenity with a pulse of force that knocked the couple to the
ground.

Endymion rolled sideways, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
'What in the name of the gods?'

A fraction of a second later Serenity let out a cry of pain as she was forced
to the ground, her shoulder slamming into a chunk of broken concrete. Through
tears of pain that rose in her eyes she watched the unthinkable unfold before
her, no air left in her lungs to even call out for it to stop. Chibi-Usa's
eyes widened as she watched her parents flung like rag dolls to the ground,
and her fingers tightened around her scepter. Her eyes rose to the hovering
form of Reignfire, and before even the Senshi could register it, she was
running toward him, preparing to attack.

"Small Lady, no!" Pluto screamed, bringing her Time Staff down hard on the
skull of a creature and not even noticing the sickening crack as the blow
struck home. All she knew was fear. Mark shifted, pivoting to attempt a block
of the girl's rush, but there was no time or space for even someone with his
remarkable reflexes.

Reignfire's eyes shifted, focusing on the girl charging him. 'Yes.'

"You will not win!" Chibi-Usa growled, raising her scepter, preparing to
attack. She knew that she'd never be able to penetrate his shield from a
distance. But from point blank range, she was sure she stood a chance of
burning through.

The energy wave washed out toward Reignfire and over his shield, a burning
hemisphere of light. The sphere seemed to shift ... and Reignfire moved
impossibly fast, blurring into a black shadow as he split shield and attack
both to reach out and grab Chibi-Usa about the waist. Space warped and
shuddered, and they were gone in a fraction of a second.

"CHIBI-USA!" Serenity screamed, struggling onto her knees.

"Princess...?" Saturn's glaive hovered, ready to attack the empty space
where Reignfire had been a second before. Tears burned in her eyes as she
lowered the staff, her fingers tightening around it.

"No!" The Queen's frantic cry echoed off the crumbling walls, everything within
the stadium pausing for the briefest moment, the golden light of her crescent
moon filling the air. The blinding light was followed by a wave of energy washing
over the field, vaporizing Reignfire's beasts, leaving fifteen stunned Guardians
standing among the ruins.

The dead silence that followed was finally broken by Serenity's muffled sobs.
The Senshi and Knights watched mutely as their King rose to his feet, his face
pale. With heavy steps he made his way to his wife's side and sank slowly to his
knees beside her, enfolding her shaking body in his arms as he tried to draw away
her pain with his love even as his own grief threatened to consume him. "We'll get
her back, Usako," he whispered, as much for himself as for her. Around them and
their allies, the smoke swirled in silent vigil above the ruins of a broken dream.

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Special thanks goes out to all those that have made this possible, including
Soul for doing the first round of edits and helping with our sometimes horrendous
spelling and typing skills, and Liz for doing the final round, making sure everything
fits and correcting the little mistakes we'd never pick up.

Additional thanks to my wonderful beta readers - Lena and Mako the 38th. Your
questions and feedback helped me make this even better. And of course, thanks
to all the readers that have writen and commented on Fallen Stars. You're part
of the reason we do this. ^.~

Fallen Stars has been a year in the making, hopefully it lives up to all expectations.
Feel free to contact us with any praise, comments, moans, groans or suggestions.
Feedback is a good thing. ^_^

Email: fallen_star715@yahoo.com
AIM sn: FallenStar715