Sailor Moon: On The Edge Of Yesterday
Chapter Eleven: Choices
Sailor Mercury tracked the movements of the Shadow through the fog
as it searched for them. Artemis continued to leap within range, and
then dart away, and the other Scouts circled the Shadow, further
confusing it. There was only one left, but Mercury's fog was beginning
to clear, and they wouldn't be able to distract it forever.
There was a shout from the street, and Mercury noticed Togonara
Kei, finally driving the forces of the Emperor away from the palace. As
she watched him, he turned and looked up at her. She felt her heart
begin to pound faster as their eyes met, and Kei called out to her,
"Amy!"
The Shadow turned at the sound, and its roiling form began to move
toward the Shogun's army. Mercury quickly forced down the sudden flash
of fear. She had intended to reinforce her fog, but she knew that, fog
or not, if the Shadow found its way into the ranks of the soldiers, it
would slaughter them. Her feelings for Kei aside, it was time to
attack.
"Scouts!" She yelled. "Target the spot where I'm aiming my Ice
Storm!"
"MERCURY! ICE STORM! BLAST!" Artemis raced out of the area as
Mercury's wave of frost blasted over the Shadow, freezing him in his
tracks. Jupiter's lightning followed, ripping through the monster in a
sheet of sparkling energy. A flurry of roses struck it at the same
time. The Shadow was swept out of existance, and vanished.
Mercury put a hand to her forehead as she turned back to Sailor
Mars. She could hear Togonara approaching through the fog, but it was
her friend that she was concerned about. She watched Serena for a long
moment, as the little blonde huddled over Sailor Mars, the light from
the Princess's body shining down onto the injured Scout.
From the Princess's BODY?! Mercury cried out as she realized what
Serena was doing. She ran to her side, trying to pull her away, but the
Princess was holding Raye in a death grip, refusing to let her go. Amy
could see the energy flowing out of her, gathering in Sailor Moon's
crystal, and pouring down over Raye's bloodied form.
"NO, SERENA!" Mercury yelled. "DON'T DO IT!" She could feel her
own life energy being drawn out of her, sucked into the Silver Crystal,
but she let it go willingly. Every little bit that she could give meant
that much that Serena wouldn't have to give up of her own life.
"STOP IT!!!!!" She slapped Serena, hard, but the Princess would
not be swayed.
"RAYE!" Amy called out. She jumped over Raye's body, grabbing her
arm, trying to pull her away from Serena. Her skin was still warm, but
pale, deathly pale. "Raye! Come back to us! If you don't, Serena will
DIE! She's giving her own life to bring you back! You can't let her do
it!!!!!"
Just as she thought it was too late, Sailor Mars coughed, and
started breathing. Mercury grabbed the Princess, and shoved her away
from Mars, forcefully. To her relief, she sat up, blinking, weakened
but still alive. Serena doubled over, crying out as if in agony, and
suddenly transformed back into Sailor Moon. She burst into tears,
choking and panting to catch her breath all at the same time.
"Serena..." Mars gasped. "You... idiot... How could you...?"
Sailor Moon just knelt on the grass, weeping. "I had to... I had
to... The Crystal... didn't have the power... I... can't... lose you
again."
"And... if you died... like that... for me... how do you think
that would make me feel...?"
Sailor Moon looked up at her, her face streaked with tears. She
glanced up at Mercury, but the little Scout could say nothing. She
just stared. Serena suddenly leaped to her feet, and, with an arm
across her face, ran from them both.
The other Sailor Scouts turned, startled, as Serena ran up the
hillside past them. Amy started to stand up and go after her, but Raye
pulled her back down.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Raye pulled herself up Amy's
arm. She stumbled up the hill, seemingly getting stronger as she made
her way up after Serena. Mina and Leta watched, concerned, as Amy
looked down at her computer.
"What... what's going on?" Mina asked.
"Unless I miss my guess," Amy answered, "Something that's been
coming for a long time."
Sailor Moon stood on top of the hill, her arms wrapped around
herself, staring at the ground. Sailor Mars walked up behind her.
Slowly, almost timidly, she put a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"I saw what you did back there," Raye said quietly. "I saw...
how you took charge. You were trying to protect me, weren't you?"
Serena was silent. "You were very brave, Serena."
"I wasn't brave," Serena said. Her voice sounded choked. "I was
scared to death..."
"But you fought anyway. That's what being brave is all about."
"I almost got us all KILLED, Raye!" Serena turned to her, her eyes
filled with tears -- and pain. "Mercury saw. I was trying to be tough.
And look what it got me. I AM a ditz. I AM a Meatball Head. And it
almost cost me my best friend..."
Raye put her arm around Serena's shoulder, as she began to sob
again. "I'm tired of it, Raye. I'm tired of my friends dying... or
getting hurt... or leaving. I'm tired of being scared all the time."
She was quiet for a moment. "I'm tired of being afraid that I'll
never see any of you again..."
She broke down again, and Raye held her as she cried. "I'm
sorry..." Raye finally said. "I never realized..."
"Serena, you're not a ditz. When you WANT to be, you can be as
brave, and as strong, and as smart as any of us. I've SEEN that in you,
I KNOW it's there..."
She paused, the silence broken only by Serena's sniffles. "I've
been trying to help you... make you stronger. I've been trying to make
you into that Princess that we all know you can be. But... I guess I
didn't... I didn't see... how much it was hurting you."
Serena spoke quietly, her voice so low it almost couldn't be
heard. "I just wish I could be... Serena. Plain, ordinary Serena..."
"I know..." Raye ran a hand through one of Serena's ponytails. "I
know, now. I'll... I'll try to stop pushing you so hard..."
"No... No!" Serena looked up at her. Tears ran down her cheeks, as
she stared into Raye's dark eyes. "I WANT you to push! I WANT to become
that Princess! I want to be everything you want me to be..."
She gave a little sob. "I want you to be proud of me."
"Oh, Serena..." Raye's voice cracked. She could feel the sting of
tears on her cheeks as well. She hugged Serena as tightly as she could,
ignoring the complaints from her ribs. "I AM proud of you, Serena,"
Raye said. "I've never been anything BUT proud of you."
"Raye..."
The two of them turned to see Shogun Takauji standing behind them.
Luna was sitting at his feet, her expression somewhere between
incredulity and amusement.
"Raye... are you all right?" the Shogun asked.
She took a deep breath, wiping away the tears. "Shogun..." Raye
stepped forward, looking the man in the eye. "... I know that you care
about me, and... well, truthfully, I really think that you are a fine
man. But..."
The Shogun held up his hand. "It's all right, Raye. I understand."
"You do?"
He nodded. He smiled a little as he looked at Sailor Moon, then he
looked back at Mars. "You are a warrior. Your heart and soul will
always belong to the one you have sworn to protect... won't they?"
Raye stared at him for a moment, then took both of his hands. "I
really wish I could have gotten to know you better."
"It's better this way," he said. "Come on."
They walked back to the palace wall, where they found Togonara Kei
and Amy, holding each other in a tight embrace. Serena bit her lip.
"Warlord..." The Shogun began. There was then a long moment of
silence, as the samurai and his tiny love stood, motionless. Then, Amy
suddenly hugged Kei fiercely, crying out a little, and then let him go.
She looked back at the Shogun. "You know... don't you?"
Takauji nodded. "You are from the future. My future. You came here
from across time... just like you took me across time to escape from
that trap."
Togonara nodded. "Serena's story. It was true..."
Amy looked back up at Togonara, and the Shogun looked at him as
well. "They must return to where they come from, my friend," he said.
"We must BOTH let them go. This isn't their time."
Togonara stared down at Amy for a long moment. "Would you stay...
if I ordered you to... If I BEGGED you to?"
Amy hugged him. Now it was she who was blinking away tears.
"PLEASE don't do that to me! You don't KNOW how bad I want to stay with
you! You don't KNOW how tired I am of fighting monster after monster,
always worrying about my friends, and what could happen to them..."
She was silent for a moment, and Raye glanced at Serena. The
little blonde was staring at the ground, and Raye put her arm around
her again. Serena looked up at her, startled, and then leaned against
her shoulder.
"Oh, Kei..." Amy held him tightly, her voice slightly muffled as
she pressed her face against his chest. "You don't know how easy it
would be just to let you protect me, and let everything be all right."
She let go of him. "But I can't do that. If stay with you, I'll be
worrying about my friends every moment of every day. And what'll be
even worse... I'll have no way of knowing... whether they're alive or
dead... whether they need me..."
"I have to go," she said simply.
Kei nodded, but then gathered her into his arms. "I will miss
you, little Amy. I will miss you terribly."
There was a moment of silence. Then Amy muttered, so quietly that
Tognara almost doubted that she spoke at all, "One last secret..."
"And... don't be shocked by what I'm wearing..."
There was a sparkling, shimmering blue light from her body. Her
Sailor costume melted, and faded into the one piece bathing suit she'd
been wearing on the boat. She looked up at Kei, blushing a little, but
with tears streaming down her face.
"This one last time... I wanted you to see me... as I really
am..."
"I always did..." Togonara whispered. He leaned forward, and
kissed her.
They remained like that for so long that Sailor Jupiter began to
clear her throat. Amy finally stepped away from the warlord, her hand
reaching towards his face. She walked backwards, her eyes never leaving
Kei's, until she joined the circle of the Sailor Scouts.
"The next stop is the Civil War," Sailor Pluto said, "the next
nexus of the Dominators' interference..."
"I love you, Kei! I'll never forget you!" Amy held her pen aloft
as they all began to combine their powers for the Sailor Teleport.
There was a swirl of sparkling blue water, as she transformed back into
Sailor Mercury.
"Goodbye, Amy!" Kei called out. "I will always love you!"
As the power began to build up around them, Mercury reached out,
and took Sailor Jupiter's hand. Just before the world vanished behind a
blinding white light, she looked up at her taller friend. "Thanks."
"For what?"
Amy gave her a sad smile. "For being jealous of ME... for a
change..."
* * * * *
The Sailor Scouts felt dizzy, disoriented, as they fell through
the blinding brightness of the time stream. They could all feel Sailor
Pluto faltering, as their progress slowed, and began to meander off of
the trail that they seemed to be following.
*I'm... using... the time key to bring us through time... not the
Dominator's time stream. I'm having to force my way... AGAINST the time
stream... in a way...* Her telepathic "voice" seemed to be faltering,
as well. *I need... your help... any... energy you can give me...*
*Of course,* Sailor Moon sent back. The Scouts began to add their
power to Pluto's and their path seemed to move back to a steady course.
None of them knew where they were going, they just trusted Sailor Pluto
to take them safely to the next nexus in time.
They dropped out of a brightly glowing portal, and landed in a
heap on a mossy hillside. "Oh..." Sailor Moon complained, and she tried
to untangle herself from her friends. "Why did I end up at the bottom?"
Sailor Pluto stood up, weaving slightly. "I'm sorry... I... Ow...
I didn't have enough strength to send us through one by one. Since we
all entered the time stream at once..."
Mercury looked up at the portal, about ten feet above their heads.
It closed quickly. "It doesn't seem like you had enough power to choose
our landing place, either..."
She shook her head. "I just tried to make sure we didn't appear
under the ground. Other than that..." She put a hand to her forehead.
"I wasn't sure I'd even be able to get the portal open."
"That's okay," Sailor Moon said reassuringly. "We understand."
"We've got company," Mercury told them.
A couple of horsemen came thundering down the road that wound past
the hill. The lead soldier was in a blue uniform, and his pursuer was
in grey. The man in blue turned back and shook his fist at the other
rifleman, and was shot for his trouble.
Sailor Moon gasped as the soldier fell off of his horse, and the
man in grey stopped next to him. He dismounted, and began to search
through the man's pockets. Suddenly, he whirled on the Sailor Scouts,
pointing his rifle right at them. All five of the girls raised their
hands at once, Darien raising his only a second later.
"What th' hell?" He said, looking the girls up and down. "You
ain't Yankees... What's with th' weird get-ups?"
Sailor Moon looked terrified. "What'd he say, Mercury?"
"He's not sure who we are," she answered.
Mars put one hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder. "Everybody just stay
calm," she said. "We'll be all right if we don't scare him."
"Hey..." He pointed at them. "You CHINESE... ain't ya?"
Artemis walked forward. "Meow?" He moved up to the soldier slowly,
carefully, but making it seem like he was just an ordinary, curious
cat.
"Well, hello, fella..." the man muttered. He looked down as
Artemis rubbed up against his leg. "You friendly, ain't ya? You an' yer
chinese friends shouldn't be out here. Ya might get shot..."
He pointed his rifle at the others. "All right... any a' you
Chinks know how ta talk English? What are y'all doin' here???"
"No shoot!" Serena said, in the best English she could muster. She
stared, wide-eyed, at the gun. "We lost!"
"No kiddin'," the soldier said. "Well, I guess none a' ya speak
English. I'll have ta hold you until I get a translator..."
He waved the gun. "You understand? Stay there. Don't move. I won't
shoot ya if you don't move."
Sailor Moon seemed to relax a little, so it seemed that she caught
it. Mercury studied the man closely. "We should probably continue to
pretend that we don't speak English. They'll keep us alive until they
can ask us some questions. The longer we play dumb, the better off we'll
be..."
"Since he's Confederate, though, we should probably make him think
we're on his side..." Tuxedo Mask put in.
The soldier perked up. "Confederate?" He'd heard that.
"Confederate," Tux said. "We... help... Confederate..."
"Careful..." Mercury hissed.
"You on our side, eh?" He said. "Well, I'll wait 'til I can get
someone who speaks yer language afore I trust ya. Just don't move,
okay?"
"Don't move... okay," Tux repeated.
At that moment, there was the sound of horse's hooves up the road,
and another soldier in grey appeared. A few more soldiers followed
behind, some on horseback, most on foot.
Their captor saluted as the other soldier approached. "Major
Ferguson! I caught a Union spy, sir. Shot him. He may have some ammo, I
didn't finish searching him..."
One of the footmen knelt over the body, and began to loot it.
Sailor Moon put a hand to her mouth. "That's horrible..." she
commented.
"The South was always low on supplies during the war," Amy told
her. "They need to get whatever ammunition they can find."
The horseman looked over at her. He'd heard the word "South."
"Who are these... girls?"
"I dunno, Major. I caught 'em wandering around out here. One of
'em said they's lost, and I think another was tryin' to say that they
work fer us. But I ain't heard a' Lee bringin' any Chinks down here..."
The Major was studying them. "One thing's for sure... they ain't
hidin' any weapons in them little skimpy outfits." He grinned at the
soldier. "So they can't be much of a threat."
"I hear Chinese wear weird clothes. The ladies wear dresses with
big bows on 'em." He pointed at the Scouts' costumes. "I guess this is
what they consider normal where they come from."
"Maybe..." Major Ferguson studied Tux's tuxedo for a moment. "Take
'em into camp, Corporal. Then we can find out what they're doing here,
an' what they know..."
The soldier nodded. Then he pointed his rifle at the Sailor
Scouts. "Okay... all of you, move. Yer comin' with us..."
Darien stepped forward, still holding his hands up, and the girls
followed. He fell in line behind some of the infantrymen, as a couple
more of them took up a position behind him, pointing their guns at him.
He folded his hands behind his head, as they all started to march along
down the road.
"Well..." he commented. "Here we go again..."
Chapter Eleven: Choices
Sailor Mercury tracked the movements of the Shadow through the fog
as it searched for them. Artemis continued to leap within range, and
then dart away, and the other Scouts circled the Shadow, further
confusing it. There was only one left, but Mercury's fog was beginning
to clear, and they wouldn't be able to distract it forever.
There was a shout from the street, and Mercury noticed Togonara
Kei, finally driving the forces of the Emperor away from the palace. As
she watched him, he turned and looked up at her. She felt her heart
begin to pound faster as their eyes met, and Kei called out to her,
"Amy!"
The Shadow turned at the sound, and its roiling form began to move
toward the Shogun's army. Mercury quickly forced down the sudden flash
of fear. She had intended to reinforce her fog, but she knew that, fog
or not, if the Shadow found its way into the ranks of the soldiers, it
would slaughter them. Her feelings for Kei aside, it was time to
attack.
"Scouts!" She yelled. "Target the spot where I'm aiming my Ice
Storm!"
"MERCURY! ICE STORM! BLAST!" Artemis raced out of the area as
Mercury's wave of frost blasted over the Shadow, freezing him in his
tracks. Jupiter's lightning followed, ripping through the monster in a
sheet of sparkling energy. A flurry of roses struck it at the same
time. The Shadow was swept out of existance, and vanished.
Mercury put a hand to her forehead as she turned back to Sailor
Mars. She could hear Togonara approaching through the fog, but it was
her friend that she was concerned about. She watched Serena for a long
moment, as the little blonde huddled over Sailor Mars, the light from
the Princess's body shining down onto the injured Scout.
From the Princess's BODY?! Mercury cried out as she realized what
Serena was doing. She ran to her side, trying to pull her away, but the
Princess was holding Raye in a death grip, refusing to let her go. Amy
could see the energy flowing out of her, gathering in Sailor Moon's
crystal, and pouring down over Raye's bloodied form.
"NO, SERENA!" Mercury yelled. "DON'T DO IT!" She could feel her
own life energy being drawn out of her, sucked into the Silver Crystal,
but she let it go willingly. Every little bit that she could give meant
that much that Serena wouldn't have to give up of her own life.
"STOP IT!!!!!" She slapped Serena, hard, but the Princess would
not be swayed.
"RAYE!" Amy called out. She jumped over Raye's body, grabbing her
arm, trying to pull her away from Serena. Her skin was still warm, but
pale, deathly pale. "Raye! Come back to us! If you don't, Serena will
DIE! She's giving her own life to bring you back! You can't let her do
it!!!!!"
Just as she thought it was too late, Sailor Mars coughed, and
started breathing. Mercury grabbed the Princess, and shoved her away
from Mars, forcefully. To her relief, she sat up, blinking, weakened
but still alive. Serena doubled over, crying out as if in agony, and
suddenly transformed back into Sailor Moon. She burst into tears,
choking and panting to catch her breath all at the same time.
"Serena..." Mars gasped. "You... idiot... How could you...?"
Sailor Moon just knelt on the grass, weeping. "I had to... I had
to... The Crystal... didn't have the power... I... can't... lose you
again."
"And... if you died... like that... for me... how do you think
that would make me feel...?"
Sailor Moon looked up at her, her face streaked with tears. She
glanced up at Mercury, but the little Scout could say nothing. She
just stared. Serena suddenly leaped to her feet, and, with an arm
across her face, ran from them both.
The other Sailor Scouts turned, startled, as Serena ran up the
hillside past them. Amy started to stand up and go after her, but Raye
pulled her back down.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Raye pulled herself up Amy's
arm. She stumbled up the hill, seemingly getting stronger as she made
her way up after Serena. Mina and Leta watched, concerned, as Amy
looked down at her computer.
"What... what's going on?" Mina asked.
"Unless I miss my guess," Amy answered, "Something that's been
coming for a long time."
Sailor Moon stood on top of the hill, her arms wrapped around
herself, staring at the ground. Sailor Mars walked up behind her.
Slowly, almost timidly, she put a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"I saw what you did back there," Raye said quietly. "I saw...
how you took charge. You were trying to protect me, weren't you?"
Serena was silent. "You were very brave, Serena."
"I wasn't brave," Serena said. Her voice sounded choked. "I was
scared to death..."
"But you fought anyway. That's what being brave is all about."
"I almost got us all KILLED, Raye!" Serena turned to her, her eyes
filled with tears -- and pain. "Mercury saw. I was trying to be tough.
And look what it got me. I AM a ditz. I AM a Meatball Head. And it
almost cost me my best friend..."
Raye put her arm around Serena's shoulder, as she began to sob
again. "I'm tired of it, Raye. I'm tired of my friends dying... or
getting hurt... or leaving. I'm tired of being scared all the time."
She was quiet for a moment. "I'm tired of being afraid that I'll
never see any of you again..."
She broke down again, and Raye held her as she cried. "I'm
sorry..." Raye finally said. "I never realized..."
"Serena, you're not a ditz. When you WANT to be, you can be as
brave, and as strong, and as smart as any of us. I've SEEN that in you,
I KNOW it's there..."
She paused, the silence broken only by Serena's sniffles. "I've
been trying to help you... make you stronger. I've been trying to make
you into that Princess that we all know you can be. But... I guess I
didn't... I didn't see... how much it was hurting you."
Serena spoke quietly, her voice so low it almost couldn't be
heard. "I just wish I could be... Serena. Plain, ordinary Serena..."
"I know..." Raye ran a hand through one of Serena's ponytails. "I
know, now. I'll... I'll try to stop pushing you so hard..."
"No... No!" Serena looked up at her. Tears ran down her cheeks, as
she stared into Raye's dark eyes. "I WANT you to push! I WANT to become
that Princess! I want to be everything you want me to be..."
She gave a little sob. "I want you to be proud of me."
"Oh, Serena..." Raye's voice cracked. She could feel the sting of
tears on her cheeks as well. She hugged Serena as tightly as she could,
ignoring the complaints from her ribs. "I AM proud of you, Serena,"
Raye said. "I've never been anything BUT proud of you."
"Raye..."
The two of them turned to see Shogun Takauji standing behind them.
Luna was sitting at his feet, her expression somewhere between
incredulity and amusement.
"Raye... are you all right?" the Shogun asked.
She took a deep breath, wiping away the tears. "Shogun..." Raye
stepped forward, looking the man in the eye. "... I know that you care
about me, and... well, truthfully, I really think that you are a fine
man. But..."
The Shogun held up his hand. "It's all right, Raye. I understand."
"You do?"
He nodded. He smiled a little as he looked at Sailor Moon, then he
looked back at Mars. "You are a warrior. Your heart and soul will
always belong to the one you have sworn to protect... won't they?"
Raye stared at him for a moment, then took both of his hands. "I
really wish I could have gotten to know you better."
"It's better this way," he said. "Come on."
They walked back to the palace wall, where they found Togonara Kei
and Amy, holding each other in a tight embrace. Serena bit her lip.
"Warlord..." The Shogun began. There was then a long moment of
silence, as the samurai and his tiny love stood, motionless. Then, Amy
suddenly hugged Kei fiercely, crying out a little, and then let him go.
She looked back at the Shogun. "You know... don't you?"
Takauji nodded. "You are from the future. My future. You came here
from across time... just like you took me across time to escape from
that trap."
Togonara nodded. "Serena's story. It was true..."
Amy looked back up at Togonara, and the Shogun looked at him as
well. "They must return to where they come from, my friend," he said.
"We must BOTH let them go. This isn't their time."
Togonara stared down at Amy for a long moment. "Would you stay...
if I ordered you to... If I BEGGED you to?"
Amy hugged him. Now it was she who was blinking away tears.
"PLEASE don't do that to me! You don't KNOW how bad I want to stay with
you! You don't KNOW how tired I am of fighting monster after monster,
always worrying about my friends, and what could happen to them..."
She was silent for a moment, and Raye glanced at Serena. The
little blonde was staring at the ground, and Raye put her arm around
her again. Serena looked up at her, startled, and then leaned against
her shoulder.
"Oh, Kei..." Amy held him tightly, her voice slightly muffled as
she pressed her face against his chest. "You don't know how easy it
would be just to let you protect me, and let everything be all right."
She let go of him. "But I can't do that. If stay with you, I'll be
worrying about my friends every moment of every day. And what'll be
even worse... I'll have no way of knowing... whether they're alive or
dead... whether they need me..."
"I have to go," she said simply.
Kei nodded, but then gathered her into his arms. "I will miss
you, little Amy. I will miss you terribly."
There was a moment of silence. Then Amy muttered, so quietly that
Tognara almost doubted that she spoke at all, "One last secret..."
"And... don't be shocked by what I'm wearing..."
There was a sparkling, shimmering blue light from her body. Her
Sailor costume melted, and faded into the one piece bathing suit she'd
been wearing on the boat. She looked up at Kei, blushing a little, but
with tears streaming down her face.
"This one last time... I wanted you to see me... as I really
am..."
"I always did..." Togonara whispered. He leaned forward, and
kissed her.
They remained like that for so long that Sailor Jupiter began to
clear her throat. Amy finally stepped away from the warlord, her hand
reaching towards his face. She walked backwards, her eyes never leaving
Kei's, until she joined the circle of the Sailor Scouts.
"The next stop is the Civil War," Sailor Pluto said, "the next
nexus of the Dominators' interference..."
"I love you, Kei! I'll never forget you!" Amy held her pen aloft
as they all began to combine their powers for the Sailor Teleport.
There was a swirl of sparkling blue water, as she transformed back into
Sailor Mercury.
"Goodbye, Amy!" Kei called out. "I will always love you!"
As the power began to build up around them, Mercury reached out,
and took Sailor Jupiter's hand. Just before the world vanished behind a
blinding white light, she looked up at her taller friend. "Thanks."
"For what?"
Amy gave her a sad smile. "For being jealous of ME... for a
change..."
* * * * *
The Sailor Scouts felt dizzy, disoriented, as they fell through
the blinding brightness of the time stream. They could all feel Sailor
Pluto faltering, as their progress slowed, and began to meander off of
the trail that they seemed to be following.
*I'm... using... the time key to bring us through time... not the
Dominator's time stream. I'm having to force my way... AGAINST the time
stream... in a way...* Her telepathic "voice" seemed to be faltering,
as well. *I need... your help... any... energy you can give me...*
*Of course,* Sailor Moon sent back. The Scouts began to add their
power to Pluto's and their path seemed to move back to a steady course.
None of them knew where they were going, they just trusted Sailor Pluto
to take them safely to the next nexus in time.
They dropped out of a brightly glowing portal, and landed in a
heap on a mossy hillside. "Oh..." Sailor Moon complained, and she tried
to untangle herself from her friends. "Why did I end up at the bottom?"
Sailor Pluto stood up, weaving slightly. "I'm sorry... I... Ow...
I didn't have enough strength to send us through one by one. Since we
all entered the time stream at once..."
Mercury looked up at the portal, about ten feet above their heads.
It closed quickly. "It doesn't seem like you had enough power to choose
our landing place, either..."
She shook her head. "I just tried to make sure we didn't appear
under the ground. Other than that..." She put a hand to her forehead.
"I wasn't sure I'd even be able to get the portal open."
"That's okay," Sailor Moon said reassuringly. "We understand."
"We've got company," Mercury told them.
A couple of horsemen came thundering down the road that wound past
the hill. The lead soldier was in a blue uniform, and his pursuer was
in grey. The man in blue turned back and shook his fist at the other
rifleman, and was shot for his trouble.
Sailor Moon gasped as the soldier fell off of his horse, and the
man in grey stopped next to him. He dismounted, and began to search
through the man's pockets. Suddenly, he whirled on the Sailor Scouts,
pointing his rifle right at them. All five of the girls raised their
hands at once, Darien raising his only a second later.
"What th' hell?" He said, looking the girls up and down. "You
ain't Yankees... What's with th' weird get-ups?"
Sailor Moon looked terrified. "What'd he say, Mercury?"
"He's not sure who we are," she answered.
Mars put one hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder. "Everybody just stay
calm," she said. "We'll be all right if we don't scare him."
"Hey..." He pointed at them. "You CHINESE... ain't ya?"
Artemis walked forward. "Meow?" He moved up to the soldier slowly,
carefully, but making it seem like he was just an ordinary, curious
cat.
"Well, hello, fella..." the man muttered. He looked down as
Artemis rubbed up against his leg. "You friendly, ain't ya? You an' yer
chinese friends shouldn't be out here. Ya might get shot..."
He pointed his rifle at the others. "All right... any a' you
Chinks know how ta talk English? What are y'all doin' here???"
"No shoot!" Serena said, in the best English she could muster. She
stared, wide-eyed, at the gun. "We lost!"
"No kiddin'," the soldier said. "Well, I guess none a' ya speak
English. I'll have ta hold you until I get a translator..."
He waved the gun. "You understand? Stay there. Don't move. I won't
shoot ya if you don't move."
Sailor Moon seemed to relax a little, so it seemed that she caught
it. Mercury studied the man closely. "We should probably continue to
pretend that we don't speak English. They'll keep us alive until they
can ask us some questions. The longer we play dumb, the better off we'll
be..."
"Since he's Confederate, though, we should probably make him think
we're on his side..." Tuxedo Mask put in.
The soldier perked up. "Confederate?" He'd heard that.
"Confederate," Tux said. "We... help... Confederate..."
"Careful..." Mercury hissed.
"You on our side, eh?" He said. "Well, I'll wait 'til I can get
someone who speaks yer language afore I trust ya. Just don't move,
okay?"
"Don't move... okay," Tux repeated.
At that moment, there was the sound of horse's hooves up the road,
and another soldier in grey appeared. A few more soldiers followed
behind, some on horseback, most on foot.
Their captor saluted as the other soldier approached. "Major
Ferguson! I caught a Union spy, sir. Shot him. He may have some ammo, I
didn't finish searching him..."
One of the footmen knelt over the body, and began to loot it.
Sailor Moon put a hand to her mouth. "That's horrible..." she
commented.
"The South was always low on supplies during the war," Amy told
her. "They need to get whatever ammunition they can find."
The horseman looked over at her. He'd heard the word "South."
"Who are these... girls?"
"I dunno, Major. I caught 'em wandering around out here. One of
'em said they's lost, and I think another was tryin' to say that they
work fer us. But I ain't heard a' Lee bringin' any Chinks down here..."
The Major was studying them. "One thing's for sure... they ain't
hidin' any weapons in them little skimpy outfits." He grinned at the
soldier. "So they can't be much of a threat."
"I hear Chinese wear weird clothes. The ladies wear dresses with
big bows on 'em." He pointed at the Scouts' costumes. "I guess this is
what they consider normal where they come from."
"Maybe..." Major Ferguson studied Tux's tuxedo for a moment. "Take
'em into camp, Corporal. Then we can find out what they're doing here,
an' what they know..."
The soldier nodded. Then he pointed his rifle at the Sailor
Scouts. "Okay... all of you, move. Yer comin' with us..."
Darien stepped forward, still holding his hands up, and the girls
followed. He fell in line behind some of the infantrymen, as a couple
more of them took up a position behind him, pointing their guns at him.
He folded his hands behind his head, as they all started to march along
down the road.
"Well..." he commented. "Here we go again..."
