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`The Machine`

Summary: Sailor Mars and Mercury are sucked into the DBZ world, changing fate, and bringing back one of the deadliest enemies to conquer the Z fighters.

Chapter 10:

Fortress of Silence; The Scheme of Two Young Ones

*Minako -- Sailor Venus*

Forbidden magic, forbidden to all unless of a matter of utter chaos and/or emergency.

The words echoed through my ears and seemingly throughout my mind as their meaning seemed to finally sink in. Sailor Pluto stood in front of us: Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Moon, and me; Sailor Venus. We were to meet at the bay in one hour and we had to be prepared for the worst.

Sailor Pluto would open the Gates of Time and we would all go in far beyond what we had gone before. Passed the doors, passed the immense gravity, passed the black maze, and, if we made it that far, through the Dimensional Tunnel. There, Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto would combine their strengths and rip a whole through the very tunnel.

But because it was forbidden, and only the Queen had attempted this, killing two of her greatest Sailor Senshi in the process, impossible things were most likely going to happen. I shuddered, the very thought ran chills up and down my spine.

We could encounter anything. And anyone.

"And your sure this is the only way?" Luna asked worriedly.

Setsuna nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. Hotaru has already agreed to this, though she will have no control or recognition of being Sailor Saturn."

"So she's not in full control over her actions." Artemis observed. He was sitting on the bed next to Luna, who was curled up on the bed, eyes watching us carefully. She was apprehensive of what was to happen, and so were we. Yet, even through all that's been going on up to this point, she and Artemis had started to get extremely close after finding out they were to have a future daughter together. Diana, or Chibi-Usa's kitten. "Can that be a problem," Artemis than asked, "if Sailor Saturn decides to you know . . . destroy the Earth?"

"She won't," Makoto answered. Setsuna nodded, as did I. "She listens to Usagi, and to the Outers. Especially Michiru."

I grinned. Despite Michiru's calm and defined composer, she could make almost anyone do almost anything. Most likely it came in handy with Haruka.

"Always the silent and calm ones you have to watch out for." I said. Makoto laughed and Setsuna smiled slightly. When I looked over to Usagi, she was staring down at her hands that were folded neatly on her lap. She had been quiet through this whole conversation, and hadn't even touched the food that was in front of her.

"Usagi," I whispered. "Don't feel bad, we all understand what you did was for the best in the long run. Hotaru included."

The destined Princess looked up, a forced smile on her face. Tears threatened to poor through her eyes but I knew she was trying her hardest not to cry. She thought that if she were strong, we would all be as well. Usagi was always stubborn when it came to protecting the ones she loved.

Shaking her head, she answered, "I know. But no one deserves Hotaru's destiny. She can't even control her actions . . . it makes me feel like I'm the bad guy for putting her through this."

Cautiously we all looked at each other, but said nothing. There was virtually zilch we could say to cheer up Usagi.

~~~

*Setsuna -- Sailor Pluto*

There we were, all of the Sailor Senshi, with the exception of two, standing at the bay. Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus stood together opposite of Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus, and Sailor Saturn. I, Sailor Pluto, stood alone, facing all of them. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they feared what was about to happen,, but they were willing to sacrifice their fears for the safety of the Princess and their fellow Senshi.

"Shall we continue? It is not too late to turn around," I said.

There were going to be many dangers ahead, things they never thought possible would unveil themselves. The Dimensional Tunnel, as it was now called, would duplicate their worst fears ten times greater than they already were.

The six said nothing, they didn't have to. Never abandon thy fellow Princess, thy fellow prince, and never thy fellow Senshi. The code of the planetary warriors. We've all followed that rule fairly well, but through time we've learned from our past mistakes.

I nodded to each of them, and now we were all ready. "Chromos, guardian of time and space, I call upon your power! Open the Gates of Time and take us to the Dimensional Tunnel!"

I held my time staff over my head, aware of the waves crashing along the shore, the wind blowing my long hair and forcing it too nip at my face. My eyes were closed and I slammed down my staff. The ground around us shook powerfully as mist settled here and there at the bay.

The ground opened up, and a metal set of double doors rose slowly from the ground. The doors glowed a crimson copper before fading. I couldn't help but be a bit frightened myself. I had only been there once before, barely escaping with my life and Queen Serenity. Unfortunately, two Sailor Senshi weren't as auspicious. Sailor Star and Sailor Sun, the twin Sailor Senshi.

They risked their lives on attending with us, insisting that they went no matter how much Queen Serenity begged to differ. We had made it only half way when things went bad. One minute we were all walking, protectively surrounding our Queen, and the next we were separated.

"When we get in there, we'll all be separated soon, right?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

"Which is why we must all stay close for a while. The probability of staying in a pair is greater than anything else, right Pluto?" Sailor Uranus asked.

I nodded. "Just stand together, if we make it, then all of us will meet soon. The paths all lead to one place." Saturn said. Her memories had returned fully, and she too, remembered that day.

"Everything is an illusion, right?" Sailor Moon asked uncertainly.

"Most things are, but not all." Neptune answered. "And even if they are illusions, they still have the power to hurt us. So don't take anything lightly."

A simultaneous chorus of "Right's" echoed through my mind as I pushed open the doors. "Let's be on our guards," Sailor Venus warned.

And the mist disappeared, the doors closed, and we were left in darkness.

*Michiru -- Sailor Neptune*

Silently we walked through the black maze, holding our heads high, despite the fact that the gravity around us was greater than Earth's. It was getting darker to see after every step we took, and the worst part was, we could see almost nothing, not even the hands in front of our nose. we were forced to walk in a straight line, each with one hand on a wall that I wasn't even sure was there. Sailor Venus was first, followed by Jupiter and Saturn. Sailor Moon came next, followed by Pluto, Uranus, and then myself.

A drowning echo of our footsteps sounded in my ears and I could have sworn that my heart was beating louder than anything I've ever heard before. We had walked for what seemed like days, but was actually only forty minutes to the least.

"it's them . . ."

". . . . are you sure . . .?"

"yes . . . I recognize them . . ."

I stopped suddenly. Voices, in whispers all around me. What was that? Who was there? Someone bumped into me and I swung around punching blindly whatever was there. They caught my fist and I was going to prepare for an attack had their voice not stopped me, "Michiru!"

'Haruka?' My mind raced. How was I really supposed to know that was her? We were all going to be fooled by illusions, maybe she was one of them! I swallowed my fears and stepped closer, just barely making out a pair of eyes and the glowing razor point of a sword.

I exhaled, she really was my lover after all. "Don't do that," I muttered.

"You're the one who almost punched me." Uranus retorted, and I could picture her half grinning, half smirking face even if I couldn't see it.

"Did you hear those voices?" I then asked as we walked, but then once again I stopped. Haruka was supposed to be in front of me. . .

I jumped to the side, just in time to miss the swipe of a sword. Without too much trouble, I jumped from the darkness again, blindly reaching for the ground that I couldn't see. As I looked back, a red flash of flames erupted from where I had fallen.

Just barely my eyes made out the figure as it ran towards me. Now, I realized, it was not Haruka, but just an imposter. I raised my hands over my head, a giant tidal wave surround me. "Deep Submerge!" My vocal chords scream as I amputate the water, creating a giant blue ball of pure energy from the planet Neptune. It shoots out, taking the shape of my beloved planet and disintegrates the shadow. It dies with a scream, barely audible over my panting.

Looking around, my blue eyes darting this way and that, realization sinks in reluctantly as I rise to my feet unenthusiastically.

We were separated. And I was stuck alone.

|

~*^*^*~

*Chibi Trunks*

Bored out of our wits, Goten and I wandered aimlessly around Capsule Corporation. We weren't aloud to do anything, not with all that's been going on. Mirai Trunks came back from the future and was infected by some virus, and now everyone was trying to cure me. Or, uh, him.

Other than that little information, we knew nothing else. My mom was hiding something and so were Rei and the others, but I shrugged it off. If they didn't want me to know, then I'd figure it out on my own . . . later.

"Come on Goten, I'm bored. Lets go do something." I suggested.

"But your mom said that we couldn't because of Cooler and Freeza." Goten reminded as he took a sip of his juice.

I sighed. "Now way! I'm not gonna be bored to death over to guys named after parts of a fridge. And besides, when have we listened to things grown-ups tell us to do?"

Goten shrugged. "What can we do? Its not like we can go looking for our dads ourselves. We tried that and found Rei instead."

My head shot up from where it was looking at the grown, trying to think. "Goten you're a genius!" I shouted. "Come on, lets go!"

Quickly I sprinted down the halls, unconsciously grinning like mad. Now we would be able to do something and help. We had saved the world before, how hard could this be? We've gone through Buu and Brolly, this would be a cinch!

I ran out the door and cupped my hands over my mouth. No use letting everyone know we were gone. "Nimbus!"

Goten appeared behind me with a grin on his face. We jumped on Nimbus just as Goten asked, "So where are we going, anyway?"

"Okay, Nimbus, take us to Kami's Lookout!"

Nimbus complied and we were off. "Trunks, why are we going there?"

"Because," I answered confidently, "remember when we had to go there during the Buu-monster?" Goten nodded. "Well I remember seeing some dragon balls there. If we can get them we could wish for everyone back. Then your dad and mine can beat up Cooler and Freezer."

"I thought it was Freeza . . ."

With a shrug, I answered, "Their both named like parts of a fridge. Same difference. And what's it matter anyways? Once we get the dragon balls, and our dads our back, those two will be gone."

Goten grinned. "Yeah! Come on Nimbus, step on it!"

~*^*^*~

*Ami -- Sailor Mercury*

"So you're saying they could train us?" I repeated tentatively, without looking up from the computer. I was in my transformed state, Sailor Mercury, and was looking over files of the samples we received from Mirai Trunks' tissue samples and blood tests.

"Yes, Ami. Tenshinhan could train us, and so could Trunks. He said it's all about concentration and skill. You have plenty of both, and so do I. We're Sailor Senshi, it should be a piece of cake." Rei answered.

She was hovering over me, having nothing other than to do now that Mirai Trunks was with Bulma and Tenshinhan was close behind the two. I held back a cringe. With what they all did, it sounded interesting enough, but still. We needed to research all of this.

"Rei . . ." I said. "We need to take some tests, and Trunks isn't well yet. Not only that, but I'm working on a tracking device to locate the spheres."

"Trunks is fine," Rei began, and the tone of her voice made me wonder if she was talking about him being well, or him being fine. "And if not then I'll heal him. I wont do it fully so you could run more tests, if it's that important. And since you're so busy, I wouldn't mind training with him alone . . ."

Her voice wavered as she cast a glance at the twenty-year old. I almost face-faulted. "You act more and more like Minako and Makoto than you think." I mumbled. "The next thing I know, you'll be telling me he looks like your old sempai."

"Wow, Ami," Rei sarcastically muttered with a grin. "I think the stress is going to your head, you just made a joke. Why does this surprise me so?"

I blushed. "Okay, so I'm a little stressed. Not only are we fighting along guys who are stronger than us, but we're fighting against guys who are stronger than them, and we're in a different dimension. Jeez I'm not going to be too ahead of my studying. Do you think they have the kind of books we used at school?"

Rei had s sweet-drop on the side of her head. "Don't you ever think of anything besides studying, Ami?"

I didn't reply for a few seconds, but nodded. "I play chess." I said finally.

Rei sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you Ami. A boyfriend might do you some good though."

I smiled and blushed. 'It might be nice.'

~*^*^*~

*Rei*

Nervously I followed Mirai Trunks without saying a word. In minutes we would begin my training. He promised to help teach me how to fly and how to learn Ki blasts. As I promised Ami, I had healed him with a small spirit ward and now the virus was gone.

Not completely, but only small traces of it remained. It would take over a day for his condition to falter, which left some time for my training.

I gulped. This was definitely going to be a long day. "We'll train in the gravity room. That way people wont be curious as to what we're doing, and you can't unintentionally hurt someone who's in the way of a Ki blast." Mirai Trunks explained.

"You think I'll learn this soon? I thought it'd take . . . days or something."

He shook his head. "You're energy signature is already stronger than any human's on the planet, and since you already seem to be able to focus well, it wont take anymore than a day."

My eyes were wide in disbelief and my cheeks flushed. "If you say so . . ."

We walked the rest of the way in silence, until stepping outside to view a giant circular dome. 'This must be the gravity room.' I thought as we walked in. The door closed behind us and Trunks walked forward until he was a few feet in front of me.

He circled me a few times, his arms folded tightly across his chest, studying me. A blush rose to my cheeks again. 'Does he have to do that?' I couldn't help but wonder. As if reading my thoughts, he stopped, once again facing me.

"Alright, I think the first thing you need to learn is how to control your Ki. You have enough of it so it shouldn't be hard. Do you have any fighting experience at all?" He asked me.

I nodded. "I've had my share of fights in the past. Haruka and Makoto also taught me the basics from time to time. And uh, most people said I needed to control my temper." I admitted sheepishly, wondering why I was so self-conscious around this guy.

He sat down crossed legged, and gestured for me to do the same. I did, and we both sat facing each other. "All you have to do is relax and concentrate . . . once your mind is clear, imagine a flame is residing within you, and picture yourself pulling it out of your body, and through your hands." Trunks instructed.

I nodded, preparing to do as I was directed.

~~~

I glared at my hands, trying to will the flame I saw in my mind to transfer to my fingertips. I concentrated harder and harder on the mental image; the flame was clearly visible, like a white stripe on a black board. Yet, it wouldn't come forth, no matter how much I wanted it to.

'No wonder normal people can't summon this stuff.' I thought, feeling beads of sweet roll down my face. I had been at this for quite a few minutes now, and I was finding this unsurprisingly strenuous.

In front of me, Mirai Trunks was waiting patiently. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing my eyes. Maybe if I didn't have any observable distractions, it'd be easier.

I imagined the flame again, and to my astonishment, it began to grow. I felt its warmth spreading through my body and I reached out to it, enjoying the comforting feeling it gave me. The flame began to warm my torso, then it began to climb up my stomach, onto my shoulders, down my arms, and stopping short of my fingertips.

I wielded it to as large as I could get it, and I could feel the energy leaving my body slowly. The flame began to disappear, turning into a ball of energy. I smiled broadly, but stopped short.

My excitement almost broke my concentration, and I almost lost my ball of red light in the process. I took another deep and steady breath, and slowly opened my eyes.

A small, red energy ball was floating between my palms. It had only taken me twenty minutes to master my Ki!

I smiled up at Trunks who nodded in return. "You did well," He said.

I nodded. "It's not to big, but practice makes perfect, right?"

He nodded. "Now let it go."

"W-what? Why?!" I stammered in skepticism. "I just got it!"

"Yeah, but you have to summon it quicker. If you're going to help, then you'll need to be quick. Your enemy won't wait."

With a sigh, I reluctantly let the blast dissipate and get ready to retrieve it from my soul yet once again.

***********

End of chapter.

I hope you all like my fic so far, and thanks to all those that have reviewed! Keep them coming please! Gomen, if I sound greedy, but I want to know what people think of my fic. Don't be afraid to flame, or to ask questions, or to write a long review.

Well, next chapter out soon!

~*~LunaDragon.~*~