Sailor Moon: On The Edge Of Yesterday
Chapter Nine: No Way Out
Artemis could feel himself fading. It was taking everything he had
just to stay conscious. He had long since given up on trying to keep
his eyes open.
*Who is in my mind?* He heard, from the Shogun. *Am I dying?*
*Yes, but I am here to help you. You must hold on. Kyoto needs
you.*
*I want to, but it's so hard.*
*I will help you. Concentrate on why you must stay. Concentrate on
Kyoto. Concentrate on Raye.*
*Raye. Yes. I want to spent the rest of my life with her.*
The cat chuckled, mentally. *So hold on to that life. I will help
you. I will keep you from dying.*
There was a short pause.
*If I die... you are dying too... aren't you?*
There was a moment of silence. *Yes...*
Artemis redoubled his concentration. If his Queen could give her
life to save her world, then he could do the same. He would not let
these monsters get their way. Not after what they did to Raye. Not
after what they did to Luna.
Luna.
*I'm here.*
He felt himself growing stronger. He opened his eyes. She stood
there, next to him, her fur caked with blood, but still standing,
adding her strength to his.
*Hold on, Shogun,* she said in the link. *WE will help you.*
* * * * *
Outside, near the city wall, the rest of the Sailor Scouts were
fighting for another man's life. "Amy..." Togonara said again, as
Mercury held onto him as if her life depended on it. "Your friends...
they're... they're fighting that demon."
"I know," Amy said, beaming, tears running freely down her cheeks
as she let him go. "We'll take care of the demons. That's why we're
here..."
Amy stood, throwing off her kimono to reveal the Sailor uniform
underneath. She closed her eyes, letting the power flow into her. The
moisture in the air around her began to condense, forming a cloud of
ice crystals.
Maybe the others didn't understand why she seemed so brainy and
unemotional all the time, but Amy knew. It wasn't because she didn't
care, she DID care. She DID love her friends, more than anything. Now
she knew that she loved Togonara Kei, as well. That still scared her, a
little. But deep down, she knew that she would always have those
feelings.
"MERCURY!!!" Deep down, Amy knew, those feelings were where her
power came from. "ICE STORM!!!" She twirled, feeling the air around her
chill, gathering the crystals of ice into her hands. "BLAST!!!!!"
"JUPITER! THUNDERCLAP! ZAP!!!" "MOON! SCEPTRE! ELIMINATION!!!"
The Domininator was caught in the three-pronged attack, and
instantly incinerated. It vanished in a glittering explosion of light
and sound, which shook the ground under their feet.
"YESSS!" Sailor Moon said, clenching her fist. "Moon Dusted!"
Mercury ran up to her. "We have to get to the palace! While I
was..." She swallowed. "While I thought Kei was dead, I overheard Luna
call us, telepathically."
She lowered her eyes. "I... I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner."
Sailor Jupiter put a hand on her shoulder. She'd noticed that the
little Scout had started calling Togonara "Kei", almost as if she
weren't even thinking about it. She bit back the jealousy again.
"It's all right, Amy. We understand. The important thing is you
were there for us, in the end."
Mercury took a long, shuddering breath, and Jupiter looked up at
their leader. "Can you do anything for Togonara?"
Amy looked up, her eyes wide. Clearly, she'd been thinking the
same thing. "I don't know..." she said, her voice tense. "Shouldn't
you... save your strength... for the Shogun?"
Mercury sounded so guilt-ridden that Jupiter had to give her a
hug. "I think I have enough strength for both of them," Sailor Moon
said.
But as she walked over to Togonara, she wasn't feeling as sure as
she'd made herself sound. Sailor Moon didn't know if she could use her
power to heal people at all. She'd tried it once, when Tuxedo Mask was
hurt, and she found out that she was really the Moon Princess. But
she'd passed out before she could finish.
In a swirl of white ribbons, Serena transformed into the Princess.
Kneeling next to the warlord, she examined his wounds. He looked her
over almost as carefully.
"That story you told... it was true, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
Serena closed her eyes. The crystal was still imbedded in her
locket, so she hadn't let it transform with the rest of her clothes.
She opened the little case, letting the light play over Togonara.
"Silver Crystal..." she muttered. "If you can... save this man... for
the future... and for Amy."
* * * * *
Artemis wasn't sure how long he stood there, holding onto the
feeble glow of the Shogun's life. Time had long since ceased to mean
anything to him, in the darkness of the world inside the mind and
spirit. All he knew was that the darkness was growing darker.
Really, time meant nothing in the outside world, either, since
they were all in Sailor Pluto's protective bubble. But even the
subjective time inside the Dark Dome had faded before the approaching
darkness. Now there was only the here and now, fighting for each
breath, each beat of the Shogun's heart, as he held onto that fading
thread of life.
He felt arms around him. He struggled, at first, not wanting to
break the contact, but he could not fight the grip that pulled him back
to reality. He cried out, almost in fear, but a soothing voice spoke to
him through the darkness.
"It's all right, Artemis. You did it. Serena's here."
It was Mina's voice. He collapsed against her, struggling to stay
awake, almost failing. He blinked his eyes to focus them, saw the white
satin of the Princess's gown as she kneeled over the Shogun. Saw Luna,
unconscious, being carried away by Darien.
He'd made sure Luna passed out, at the end. All it took was a
little touch, in the right place in her mind. He wanted to make sure,
if it came down to it, that he would be the one to make the final
sacrifice. Not her.
Sailor Venus looked him over, worriedly, and Artemis managed to
force a smile onto his face. "Nothing to it," he said weakly, the
hoarseness of his voice putting the lie to his words. "Although I was
wondering how long it would take her to get here."
Mercury scanned the little cat with her computer, and nodded to
Venus. "He'll be fine," she said. She then looked back at Sailor Mars,
who was leaning against the wall. The blood caked on her costume was
beginning to dry, but the pain in her dark eyes could be seen even
without a computer.
"I'm fine, too," she said, as Mercury ran the computer up along
her side.
The slender Scout gave Mars a little smile as she shook her head.
"Those broken ribs you've got tell a different story."
Her smile grew wider as Mars scowled at her. "I SAID I'm fine..."
Mars snapped, then bit back a cry of pain, putting a hand across her
stomach.
Sailor Mercury put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just don't do
a lot of moving around," she said, "and no one will hear it from me."
She fell silent as a blaze of light from Serena's crystal let them
know that the healing had begun. Mercury watched carefully, the
readouts flashing across her visor, as she turned to scan the Shogun,
and the rush of power from the Silver Crystal.
Amy found herself holding her breath. The Princess had only just
barely been able to heal Togonara, and then only because the
Dominator's attack had been dark energy. The wounds he'd taken in the
fall from the parapet couldn't be healed by the crystal, and they'd had
to leave him with a broken arm. If the Shogun's injuries were just as
bad... or worse...
The light of the Silver Crystal flickered in the half-darkness,
then slowly faded away. For a moment, nothing seemed to have happened,
and then the Shogun stirred.
Mercury glanced to her right as Mars stepped past her. She put a
hand on Amy's shoulder to steady herself, then continued on. She drew
up next to the Princess, and looked down at Shogun Takauji.
"I... I am alive." The Shogun sounded astonished. He started to
sit up, then sucked in his breath, and lay back down on the floor.
"Be careful, Shogun." Mars said tightly. "Your back may be broken.
I heard a crack as you... fell."
Mercury looked up. Raye almost sounded like she was crying. She
frowned as she looked back at her readings. Is this what happens to the
men that we love?
But no, she couldn't see any sign of a spinal injury. "I'm reading
a cracked hip, and a broken leg, but I don't think his back is broken,"
Mercury said. "Either it was his leg that you heard, or Serena was able
to heal him."
She stepped closer as Mars kneeled next to the Shogun. "See if you
can help him up."
Mars did so, and the Shogun sat up, grimacing a little, but
clearly trying not to show pain in front of his love. His eyes narrowed
as he looked at her. "Look what they've done to you..." he muttered, as
he reached up to wipe some of the blood from Raye's mouth. "And yet you
still stand. You are like no woman I have ever met before..."
Raye stared at him, her jaw set at a firm line. "You are a brave
warrior as well, Shogun Takauji," she said.
Serena sat back, sighing, her gown fading as she transformed back
to Sailor Moon. She closed her eyes, as if she were dizzy for a moment,
but then sat back up. "We have to get out of here."
For once, Sailor Mars didn't argue. She stepped back as Darien
helped the Shogun to his feet, then took up a position on his other
side, helping to hold him up. Darien looked at her questioningly, but
Raye didn't meet his eyes.
"We must move quickly," Sailor Pluto said. "Now that the Shogun is
safe, the demons will act to destroy the Ashikaga entirely!"
"Ha!" Sailor Moon answered, in a brash voice. "If they do, we'll
turn 'em into Moondust!"
"Don't be too sure," said Mercury. She looked up from her
computer, staring off into the distance, as if looking through the
walls of the palace. Readouts began to flicker across her visor.
"Uh... guys... we've got a problem..."
Sailor Mars suddenly doubled over. As the Shogun turned to her,
concerned, she waved him off. "I sense Evil... POWERFUL Evil!"
A loud, booming voice cut through the room. "SAILOR SCOUTS...
FOOLS! DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE WON? ALREADY IT'S TOO LATE! YOU WILL
PERISH... ALL OF YOU... NOW!"
The Sailor Scouts cried out as a swirl of black energy appeared,
circling around them. Sailor Mars collapsed, the intensity of the pain
shooting through her body almost too much to withstand. Most of the
other Scouts fell to their knees, as well, crying out in agony. The
blackness spread rapidly, almost solidifying, until the entire room was
cast into inky darkness.
"THIS BUILDING WILL BE YOUR TOMB! YOU HAVE COME INTO THE PAST FOR
NOTHING!!!!!"
"COME ON OUT HERE AND FIGHT!" Tuxedo Mask challenged, somehow
managing to keep both himself and Takauji upright. He shook his fist at
the ceiling. "WE'LL NEVER LET YOU DEFEAT US! *NEVER*!!!"
"Help me!" The Shogun cried out. Tux's hold on him gave out, and
they both fell to the floor, crouching next to Raye. Blood seeped into
the Shogun's ornate robe, as several of his wounds were re-opened.
"I... I can't... take this... much longer..."
"What's happening!" Sailor Moon screamed, clearly terrified. "I
don't wanna die!" She screamed again, this time in pain, as the field
of black closed in around her.
Artemis ran up to the Shogun. His Mind Meld beam winked back on
again, and Takauji managed to force himself up onto his hands and
knees.
"Raye..." he muttered. He crawled over closer to her. The black
haired Scout was writhing in agony, the darkness tearing at her
weakened body. The Shogun grabbed her, trying to hold her still. Her
blood was already beginning to form a puddle under her right side.
Artemis looked down at Raye. His mental beam flickered, then
started to split, forming two beams. But strain was clearly too much
for the weakened cat. Artemis closed his eyes as the beam began to
fade. Instead of returning, however, the cat's white fur began to glow
with golden light.
Luna, laying nearby, stirred. "Artemis... what are you doing?"
"I'm not really sure..." The cat quipped.
As Luna joined him, the golden energy began to spread, shielding
Darien from the smothering darkness, as well as Mars and the Shogun.
Serena crawled into the radius of the light, as did Sailor Jupiter,
helping Venus along as they crawled across the floor. All three
collapsed in front of Artemis, breathing hard.
"Raye..." Sailor Moon said, looking up at the wounded Scout.
Further away, Sailor Pluto sat crouched on her knees, her eyes
tightly shut. A nimbus of gold began to appear around her head, and
then she looked up at the Sailor Scouts. Sailor Moon pointed behind
her. "Amy!" She yelled. "Get Amy!"
The smallest Sailor Scout was clawing at the stone floor, trying
to pull herself towards her friends, but the pain was too much for her.
Pluto forced herself to her feet, and gathered up Mercury, stumbling as
she made her way towards the others. As she neared, Artemis's field
grew, forcing away the jet black energy that surrounded them.
"Amy... what..." Sailor Moon winced. "What is going on?"
Mercury forced herself to sit up. It still felt like a thousand
needles were being plunged into her skin, but at least now it was
bearable. She punched keys on her computer, trying to make sense of
what her visor was showing her.
"It's some kind of... dark energy. I can't get... I can't get
exact readings. But I think there's... there's four Shadows,
surrounding the building on all sides. They've created this field... it
surrounds the palace."
"It's a variation on my Dark Dome," Pluto said breathily. "It's
disrupting... It's disrupting space itself... literally... tearing us
apart..."
Mercury nodded. "There's another Dominator... there shouldn't be
any left... but I picked it up right before the field went up... to the
north." She gasped, her body tensing from the pain, then returned to
the computer. "I'm reading... something... climbing up onto the roof."
"I don't understand. I thought we got them all..." She looked up
at Sailor Mars. "Maybe you can... sense the Dominator... better than I
can."
Mars was gritting her teeth, the pain so intense it was bringing
tears to her eyes. "I... I don't think so... This field... it's all
dark energy. I can't sense anything through it... I can't sense
anything BUT it!"
Serena was staring intently at Sailor Mars. "Is there another way
out of here?" Artemis asked.
"Behind the throne..." The Shogun pointed. "A secret passage..."
Mercury managed a smile. "Thanks, Shogun! You just saved me a
scan!"
Artemis nodded. "Let's go... everybody all together."
Sailor Moon looked out at the darkness around them, her eyes wide.
"You don't have to tell me..."
Tuxedo Mask helped the Shogun to the throne, Artemis, still
glowing with golden light, perched on Takauji's shoulder. Sailor Pluto
followed, the nimbus of light surrounding her body, as well, as Jupiter
and Venus stuck close behind her. The Shogun triggered a secret catch,
and the throne slid to one side, revealing a hole in the floor.
Sailor Moon put an arm around Mars, helping her up. Raye turned to
give her a dirty look, but then doubled over as the Shadow's field
ripped into her. She looked up at Luna, who glowed faintly, on Sailor
Moon's shoulder, and then relaxed, nodding her head slightly. Mercury
took a position on her other side, and the two girls helped their
friend to the throne.
As they stumbled towards the passage, a terrible pounding suddenly
began on the ceiling above them. Sailor Moon looked up at the ceiling
above her, but said nothing. Her jaw set at a firm line, she kept her
grip on Sailor Mars as she and Mercury helped her into the hole. There
was a massive explosion, and chunks of stone began to rain down on her
from the ceiling, and yet she still did not cry out.
"It's the Dominator." Sailor Mercury said. "It's coming through
the roof. Get Mars out of here, I'll close the door."
Sailor Moon nodded, still strangely calm, as Mercury triggered a
switch on the wall near them. The throne began to slide closed, as the
pounding of stone blocks, falling onto the palace floor, shook the
ground underneath their feet. It sounded like the entire palace was
collapsing on top of their escape route.
Sailor Moon, Mars, and Mercury caught up with their friends
quickly, as they had all stopped in the passage ahead of them. Mercury
hurried forward, to find that their progress was blocked, by a field of
solid black.
She put her hand up to the field, and drew it back quickly, with a
cry of pain. She then looked down at her computer, pressing keys
rapidly as she scanned the barrier.
"It's the edge of the Shadows' Dark Dome," Sailor Pluto said.
"There's no way to get through it."
"We can't have come this far just to be stopped HERE!" Sailor
Jupiter wrapped her arms around herself, in a vain attempt to ward
off the awful stinging pain of the darkness around them.
Mercury examined her readings. "The energy is concentrated here,
to the point where it's... well, it's completely solid. We could
teleport through... but we wouldn't be able to take the Shogun with
us."
"We can't leave him here," Artemis said. "He'd never survive."
"Then we're trapped." Sailor Mercury looked back at her friends.
"And that Dominator is right behind us. It won't take him long to find
this passage..."
"What are we gonna do?" Sailor Moon asked, the terror beginning to
return to her voice. But when Mars looked up at her, Sailor Moon seemed
to gather herself up, forcing the fear away from her face.
"Mercury?" she asked, not quite succeeding in keeping the
desperation out of her voice. "Is there any way to get rid of this
energy... channel it somewhere else?"
Sailor Mars looked at her friend oddly, as Mercury continued her
scans. "I don't think so... This field is drawn from the fabric of time
and space itself. I wouldn't begin to know how to channel it...
although Sailor Pluto might..."
They all looked at the older Scout, who shrugged sadly. "If this
were purely time energy, I might be able to use my staff... but it is
filled with Dark Energy. I don't dare touch it... the Dominators could
use that contact to gain even more control over the time stream."
"Oh, all this trouble over time!" Venus exclaimed. "Why can't we
just go back in time and do all this over... just set it all right!"
Sailor Pluto shook her head. "What's done is done. Even I can't
change that. Maybe if the entire time stream was in danger... but even
then, there are rules that I have to follow."
"But can't we just go back a little ways... a few minutes, to
before the Shadows summoned this field?"
"I don't think so," Mercury said. "And besides, the Dominators
have control of the time stream right now. If we..."
"Wait a minute," cut in Sailor Pluto. "Mercury, you said that
there was an additional Dominator, one you hadn't accounted for, up on
the roof."
Sailor Mercury nodded. "After Sailor Moon saved..." She paused,
for just a moment. "After Sailor Moon saved Togonara, I scanned the
entire area. There were no Dominators left, only five Mystic Shadows.
One of them was killed, here in the palace. That left four Shadows, the
four that are outside. But I did NOT detect another Dominator until a
few moments ago."
Pluto looked at the ceiling, thoughtfully. "If he was waiting just
outside of this time... in the time stream, as reinforcements maybe...
then that might explain where he came from. If so, there should be a
time rift in the area, one that he just came through."
Mercury was scanning again. "I'm detecting something out of the
ordinary. It could be a time rift. It seems similar to the one that I
scanned in 1969, only not as strong."
Pluto nodded. "Yes... Maybe I can use it, as well. Gather around
me..."
The Sailor Scouts moved in closer to her, joining hands as they
formed a circle around Sailor Pluto. Sailor Mars waved Moon's help
aside, joining the circle, as the cats and the Shogun crowded inside
with the Scout in black. She raised her sceptre in the air.
"PLUTO! POWER!"
Chapter Nine: No Way Out
Artemis could feel himself fading. It was taking everything he had
just to stay conscious. He had long since given up on trying to keep
his eyes open.
*Who is in my mind?* He heard, from the Shogun. *Am I dying?*
*Yes, but I am here to help you. You must hold on. Kyoto needs
you.*
*I want to, but it's so hard.*
*I will help you. Concentrate on why you must stay. Concentrate on
Kyoto. Concentrate on Raye.*
*Raye. Yes. I want to spent the rest of my life with her.*
The cat chuckled, mentally. *So hold on to that life. I will help
you. I will keep you from dying.*
There was a short pause.
*If I die... you are dying too... aren't you?*
There was a moment of silence. *Yes...*
Artemis redoubled his concentration. If his Queen could give her
life to save her world, then he could do the same. He would not let
these monsters get their way. Not after what they did to Raye. Not
after what they did to Luna.
Luna.
*I'm here.*
He felt himself growing stronger. He opened his eyes. She stood
there, next to him, her fur caked with blood, but still standing,
adding her strength to his.
*Hold on, Shogun,* she said in the link. *WE will help you.*
* * * * *
Outside, near the city wall, the rest of the Sailor Scouts were
fighting for another man's life. "Amy..." Togonara said again, as
Mercury held onto him as if her life depended on it. "Your friends...
they're... they're fighting that demon."
"I know," Amy said, beaming, tears running freely down her cheeks
as she let him go. "We'll take care of the demons. That's why we're
here..."
Amy stood, throwing off her kimono to reveal the Sailor uniform
underneath. She closed her eyes, letting the power flow into her. The
moisture in the air around her began to condense, forming a cloud of
ice crystals.
Maybe the others didn't understand why she seemed so brainy and
unemotional all the time, but Amy knew. It wasn't because she didn't
care, she DID care. She DID love her friends, more than anything. Now
she knew that she loved Togonara Kei, as well. That still scared her, a
little. But deep down, she knew that she would always have those
feelings.
"MERCURY!!!" Deep down, Amy knew, those feelings were where her
power came from. "ICE STORM!!!" She twirled, feeling the air around her
chill, gathering the crystals of ice into her hands. "BLAST!!!!!"
"JUPITER! THUNDERCLAP! ZAP!!!" "MOON! SCEPTRE! ELIMINATION!!!"
The Domininator was caught in the three-pronged attack, and
instantly incinerated. It vanished in a glittering explosion of light
and sound, which shook the ground under their feet.
"YESSS!" Sailor Moon said, clenching her fist. "Moon Dusted!"
Mercury ran up to her. "We have to get to the palace! While I
was..." She swallowed. "While I thought Kei was dead, I overheard Luna
call us, telepathically."
She lowered her eyes. "I... I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner."
Sailor Jupiter put a hand on her shoulder. She'd noticed that the
little Scout had started calling Togonara "Kei", almost as if she
weren't even thinking about it. She bit back the jealousy again.
"It's all right, Amy. We understand. The important thing is you
were there for us, in the end."
Mercury took a long, shuddering breath, and Jupiter looked up at
their leader. "Can you do anything for Togonara?"
Amy looked up, her eyes wide. Clearly, she'd been thinking the
same thing. "I don't know..." she said, her voice tense. "Shouldn't
you... save your strength... for the Shogun?"
Mercury sounded so guilt-ridden that Jupiter had to give her a
hug. "I think I have enough strength for both of them," Sailor Moon
said.
But as she walked over to Togonara, she wasn't feeling as sure as
she'd made herself sound. Sailor Moon didn't know if she could use her
power to heal people at all. She'd tried it once, when Tuxedo Mask was
hurt, and she found out that she was really the Moon Princess. But
she'd passed out before she could finish.
In a swirl of white ribbons, Serena transformed into the Princess.
Kneeling next to the warlord, she examined his wounds. He looked her
over almost as carefully.
"That story you told... it was true, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
Serena closed her eyes. The crystal was still imbedded in her
locket, so she hadn't let it transform with the rest of her clothes.
She opened the little case, letting the light play over Togonara.
"Silver Crystal..." she muttered. "If you can... save this man... for
the future... and for Amy."
* * * * *
Artemis wasn't sure how long he stood there, holding onto the
feeble glow of the Shogun's life. Time had long since ceased to mean
anything to him, in the darkness of the world inside the mind and
spirit. All he knew was that the darkness was growing darker.
Really, time meant nothing in the outside world, either, since
they were all in Sailor Pluto's protective bubble. But even the
subjective time inside the Dark Dome had faded before the approaching
darkness. Now there was only the here and now, fighting for each
breath, each beat of the Shogun's heart, as he held onto that fading
thread of life.
He felt arms around him. He struggled, at first, not wanting to
break the contact, but he could not fight the grip that pulled him back
to reality. He cried out, almost in fear, but a soothing voice spoke to
him through the darkness.
"It's all right, Artemis. You did it. Serena's here."
It was Mina's voice. He collapsed against her, struggling to stay
awake, almost failing. He blinked his eyes to focus them, saw the white
satin of the Princess's gown as she kneeled over the Shogun. Saw Luna,
unconscious, being carried away by Darien.
He'd made sure Luna passed out, at the end. All it took was a
little touch, in the right place in her mind. He wanted to make sure,
if it came down to it, that he would be the one to make the final
sacrifice. Not her.
Sailor Venus looked him over, worriedly, and Artemis managed to
force a smile onto his face. "Nothing to it," he said weakly, the
hoarseness of his voice putting the lie to his words. "Although I was
wondering how long it would take her to get here."
Mercury scanned the little cat with her computer, and nodded to
Venus. "He'll be fine," she said. She then looked back at Sailor Mars,
who was leaning against the wall. The blood caked on her costume was
beginning to dry, but the pain in her dark eyes could be seen even
without a computer.
"I'm fine, too," she said, as Mercury ran the computer up along
her side.
The slender Scout gave Mars a little smile as she shook her head.
"Those broken ribs you've got tell a different story."
Her smile grew wider as Mars scowled at her. "I SAID I'm fine..."
Mars snapped, then bit back a cry of pain, putting a hand across her
stomach.
Sailor Mercury put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just don't do
a lot of moving around," she said, "and no one will hear it from me."
She fell silent as a blaze of light from Serena's crystal let them
know that the healing had begun. Mercury watched carefully, the
readouts flashing across her visor, as she turned to scan the Shogun,
and the rush of power from the Silver Crystal.
Amy found herself holding her breath. The Princess had only just
barely been able to heal Togonara, and then only because the
Dominator's attack had been dark energy. The wounds he'd taken in the
fall from the parapet couldn't be healed by the crystal, and they'd had
to leave him with a broken arm. If the Shogun's injuries were just as
bad... or worse...
The light of the Silver Crystal flickered in the half-darkness,
then slowly faded away. For a moment, nothing seemed to have happened,
and then the Shogun stirred.
Mercury glanced to her right as Mars stepped past her. She put a
hand on Amy's shoulder to steady herself, then continued on. She drew
up next to the Princess, and looked down at Shogun Takauji.
"I... I am alive." The Shogun sounded astonished. He started to
sit up, then sucked in his breath, and lay back down on the floor.
"Be careful, Shogun." Mars said tightly. "Your back may be broken.
I heard a crack as you... fell."
Mercury looked up. Raye almost sounded like she was crying. She
frowned as she looked back at her readings. Is this what happens to the
men that we love?
But no, she couldn't see any sign of a spinal injury. "I'm reading
a cracked hip, and a broken leg, but I don't think his back is broken,"
Mercury said. "Either it was his leg that you heard, or Serena was able
to heal him."
She stepped closer as Mars kneeled next to the Shogun. "See if you
can help him up."
Mars did so, and the Shogun sat up, grimacing a little, but
clearly trying not to show pain in front of his love. His eyes narrowed
as he looked at her. "Look what they've done to you..." he muttered, as
he reached up to wipe some of the blood from Raye's mouth. "And yet you
still stand. You are like no woman I have ever met before..."
Raye stared at him, her jaw set at a firm line. "You are a brave
warrior as well, Shogun Takauji," she said.
Serena sat back, sighing, her gown fading as she transformed back
to Sailor Moon. She closed her eyes, as if she were dizzy for a moment,
but then sat back up. "We have to get out of here."
For once, Sailor Mars didn't argue. She stepped back as Darien
helped the Shogun to his feet, then took up a position on his other
side, helping to hold him up. Darien looked at her questioningly, but
Raye didn't meet his eyes.
"We must move quickly," Sailor Pluto said. "Now that the Shogun is
safe, the demons will act to destroy the Ashikaga entirely!"
"Ha!" Sailor Moon answered, in a brash voice. "If they do, we'll
turn 'em into Moondust!"
"Don't be too sure," said Mercury. She looked up from her
computer, staring off into the distance, as if looking through the
walls of the palace. Readouts began to flicker across her visor.
"Uh... guys... we've got a problem..."
Sailor Mars suddenly doubled over. As the Shogun turned to her,
concerned, she waved him off. "I sense Evil... POWERFUL Evil!"
A loud, booming voice cut through the room. "SAILOR SCOUTS...
FOOLS! DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE WON? ALREADY IT'S TOO LATE! YOU WILL
PERISH... ALL OF YOU... NOW!"
The Sailor Scouts cried out as a swirl of black energy appeared,
circling around them. Sailor Mars collapsed, the intensity of the pain
shooting through her body almost too much to withstand. Most of the
other Scouts fell to their knees, as well, crying out in agony. The
blackness spread rapidly, almost solidifying, until the entire room was
cast into inky darkness.
"THIS BUILDING WILL BE YOUR TOMB! YOU HAVE COME INTO THE PAST FOR
NOTHING!!!!!"
"COME ON OUT HERE AND FIGHT!" Tuxedo Mask challenged, somehow
managing to keep both himself and Takauji upright. He shook his fist at
the ceiling. "WE'LL NEVER LET YOU DEFEAT US! *NEVER*!!!"
"Help me!" The Shogun cried out. Tux's hold on him gave out, and
they both fell to the floor, crouching next to Raye. Blood seeped into
the Shogun's ornate robe, as several of his wounds were re-opened.
"I... I can't... take this... much longer..."
"What's happening!" Sailor Moon screamed, clearly terrified. "I
don't wanna die!" She screamed again, this time in pain, as the field
of black closed in around her.
Artemis ran up to the Shogun. His Mind Meld beam winked back on
again, and Takauji managed to force himself up onto his hands and
knees.
"Raye..." he muttered. He crawled over closer to her. The black
haired Scout was writhing in agony, the darkness tearing at her
weakened body. The Shogun grabbed her, trying to hold her still. Her
blood was already beginning to form a puddle under her right side.
Artemis looked down at Raye. His mental beam flickered, then
started to split, forming two beams. But strain was clearly too much
for the weakened cat. Artemis closed his eyes as the beam began to
fade. Instead of returning, however, the cat's white fur began to glow
with golden light.
Luna, laying nearby, stirred. "Artemis... what are you doing?"
"I'm not really sure..." The cat quipped.
As Luna joined him, the golden energy began to spread, shielding
Darien from the smothering darkness, as well as Mars and the Shogun.
Serena crawled into the radius of the light, as did Sailor Jupiter,
helping Venus along as they crawled across the floor. All three
collapsed in front of Artemis, breathing hard.
"Raye..." Sailor Moon said, looking up at the wounded Scout.
Further away, Sailor Pluto sat crouched on her knees, her eyes
tightly shut. A nimbus of gold began to appear around her head, and
then she looked up at the Sailor Scouts. Sailor Moon pointed behind
her. "Amy!" She yelled. "Get Amy!"
The smallest Sailor Scout was clawing at the stone floor, trying
to pull herself towards her friends, but the pain was too much for her.
Pluto forced herself to her feet, and gathered up Mercury, stumbling as
she made her way towards the others. As she neared, Artemis's field
grew, forcing away the jet black energy that surrounded them.
"Amy... what..." Sailor Moon winced. "What is going on?"
Mercury forced herself to sit up. It still felt like a thousand
needles were being plunged into her skin, but at least now it was
bearable. She punched keys on her computer, trying to make sense of
what her visor was showing her.
"It's some kind of... dark energy. I can't get... I can't get
exact readings. But I think there's... there's four Shadows,
surrounding the building on all sides. They've created this field... it
surrounds the palace."
"It's a variation on my Dark Dome," Pluto said breathily. "It's
disrupting... It's disrupting space itself... literally... tearing us
apart..."
Mercury nodded. "There's another Dominator... there shouldn't be
any left... but I picked it up right before the field went up... to the
north." She gasped, her body tensing from the pain, then returned to
the computer. "I'm reading... something... climbing up onto the roof."
"I don't understand. I thought we got them all..." She looked up
at Sailor Mars. "Maybe you can... sense the Dominator... better than I
can."
Mars was gritting her teeth, the pain so intense it was bringing
tears to her eyes. "I... I don't think so... This field... it's all
dark energy. I can't sense anything through it... I can't sense
anything BUT it!"
Serena was staring intently at Sailor Mars. "Is there another way
out of here?" Artemis asked.
"Behind the throne..." The Shogun pointed. "A secret passage..."
Mercury managed a smile. "Thanks, Shogun! You just saved me a
scan!"
Artemis nodded. "Let's go... everybody all together."
Sailor Moon looked out at the darkness around them, her eyes wide.
"You don't have to tell me..."
Tuxedo Mask helped the Shogun to the throne, Artemis, still
glowing with golden light, perched on Takauji's shoulder. Sailor Pluto
followed, the nimbus of light surrounding her body, as well, as Jupiter
and Venus stuck close behind her. The Shogun triggered a secret catch,
and the throne slid to one side, revealing a hole in the floor.
Sailor Moon put an arm around Mars, helping her up. Raye turned to
give her a dirty look, but then doubled over as the Shadow's field
ripped into her. She looked up at Luna, who glowed faintly, on Sailor
Moon's shoulder, and then relaxed, nodding her head slightly. Mercury
took a position on her other side, and the two girls helped their
friend to the throne.
As they stumbled towards the passage, a terrible pounding suddenly
began on the ceiling above them. Sailor Moon looked up at the ceiling
above her, but said nothing. Her jaw set at a firm line, she kept her
grip on Sailor Mars as she and Mercury helped her into the hole. There
was a massive explosion, and chunks of stone began to rain down on her
from the ceiling, and yet she still did not cry out.
"It's the Dominator." Sailor Mercury said. "It's coming through
the roof. Get Mars out of here, I'll close the door."
Sailor Moon nodded, still strangely calm, as Mercury triggered a
switch on the wall near them. The throne began to slide closed, as the
pounding of stone blocks, falling onto the palace floor, shook the
ground underneath their feet. It sounded like the entire palace was
collapsing on top of their escape route.
Sailor Moon, Mars, and Mercury caught up with their friends
quickly, as they had all stopped in the passage ahead of them. Mercury
hurried forward, to find that their progress was blocked, by a field of
solid black.
She put her hand up to the field, and drew it back quickly, with a
cry of pain. She then looked down at her computer, pressing keys
rapidly as she scanned the barrier.
"It's the edge of the Shadows' Dark Dome," Sailor Pluto said.
"There's no way to get through it."
"We can't have come this far just to be stopped HERE!" Sailor
Jupiter wrapped her arms around herself, in a vain attempt to ward
off the awful stinging pain of the darkness around them.
Mercury examined her readings. "The energy is concentrated here,
to the point where it's... well, it's completely solid. We could
teleport through... but we wouldn't be able to take the Shogun with
us."
"We can't leave him here," Artemis said. "He'd never survive."
"Then we're trapped." Sailor Mercury looked back at her friends.
"And that Dominator is right behind us. It won't take him long to find
this passage..."
"What are we gonna do?" Sailor Moon asked, the terror beginning to
return to her voice. But when Mars looked up at her, Sailor Moon seemed
to gather herself up, forcing the fear away from her face.
"Mercury?" she asked, not quite succeeding in keeping the
desperation out of her voice. "Is there any way to get rid of this
energy... channel it somewhere else?"
Sailor Mars looked at her friend oddly, as Mercury continued her
scans. "I don't think so... This field is drawn from the fabric of time
and space itself. I wouldn't begin to know how to channel it...
although Sailor Pluto might..."
They all looked at the older Scout, who shrugged sadly. "If this
were purely time energy, I might be able to use my staff... but it is
filled with Dark Energy. I don't dare touch it... the Dominators could
use that contact to gain even more control over the time stream."
"Oh, all this trouble over time!" Venus exclaimed. "Why can't we
just go back in time and do all this over... just set it all right!"
Sailor Pluto shook her head. "What's done is done. Even I can't
change that. Maybe if the entire time stream was in danger... but even
then, there are rules that I have to follow."
"But can't we just go back a little ways... a few minutes, to
before the Shadows summoned this field?"
"I don't think so," Mercury said. "And besides, the Dominators
have control of the time stream right now. If we..."
"Wait a minute," cut in Sailor Pluto. "Mercury, you said that
there was an additional Dominator, one you hadn't accounted for, up on
the roof."
Sailor Mercury nodded. "After Sailor Moon saved..." She paused,
for just a moment. "After Sailor Moon saved Togonara, I scanned the
entire area. There were no Dominators left, only five Mystic Shadows.
One of them was killed, here in the palace. That left four Shadows, the
four that are outside. But I did NOT detect another Dominator until a
few moments ago."
Pluto looked at the ceiling, thoughtfully. "If he was waiting just
outside of this time... in the time stream, as reinforcements maybe...
then that might explain where he came from. If so, there should be a
time rift in the area, one that he just came through."
Mercury was scanning again. "I'm detecting something out of the
ordinary. It could be a time rift. It seems similar to the one that I
scanned in 1969, only not as strong."
Pluto nodded. "Yes... Maybe I can use it, as well. Gather around
me..."
The Sailor Scouts moved in closer to her, joining hands as they
formed a circle around Sailor Pluto. Sailor Mars waved Moon's help
aside, joining the circle, as the cats and the Shogun crowded inside
with the Scout in black. She raised her sceptre in the air.
"PLUTO! POWER!"
