Time & Unforeseen Circumstance
A Sailor Moon fanfiction by BenRG
Legal Disclaimer
Naoko Takeuchi created all the characters and the story of Sailor Moon. TOEI Animation produced the original animé 'Pretty Girl Soldier Sailormoon', while DiC Entertainment produced the English Language adaptation of the animé.
This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Worldwide Web. The author intends no breach of any copyright or trademark property.
Author's Notes
This is in response to a thought that I had one night: Exactly how alike is the current generation of Senshi to their equivalents in the Silver Millennium? Would they get along with each other if they met? On the other hand, would they be either too similar or too different for them to tolerate their other selves? I decided to find out by putting the Inner Senshi into a position where they had no choice but to seek out the help of their previous selves.
I know that the underlying idea is similar to that used in another fan story called The Heart Remembers by Meshala. I'm not stealing your story, because you will soon see that the detail of the story is quite different.
Continuity: The Inner Senshi are all 18; Tuxedo Mask is 23; Rini and Heather are both 12. Queen Serenity is about 500 years old; The Silver Senshi are all between 20 and 25; Princess Serenity is 20; Prince Endymion is 25; Sailor Pluto is a walking time paradox and you can't pin an age on her.
Events take place (in our time) two years after the defeat of Chaos and the healing of Sailor Galaxia.
Events take place (in the Silver Millennium) a year before Beryl conquers Earth and attacks the Moon.
Censor: PG
Chapter 3 – The Ultimate Senshi
The Palace Gardens
The Silver Palace, Mare Serenitas, The Moon
Circa 8000 BC
Princess Ami of Mercury had finally decided to take a break from her laboratory. Her queen's command seemed an impossible one. There was no way to determine how to destroy the infestation of Nightshade Crystal inside little Princess Rini without removing some of the infestation from the girl's body. However, there was no way of doing so without killing her.
There is something that I'm missing, the Mercurian noblewoman thought angrily, something obvious… She had left her future self, Amy Anderson, still pouring over the records in the palace's library computer. The girl was sure that the answer lay in the thousands of years of medical case histories stored in the huge memory banks. Ami wasn't so sure. This weapon had the feel of something new to her. She had the feeling that no one, either in the Silver Millennium, or in the future that their counterparts had come from, had ever seen something like this before. Ami had learnt to trust her instincts over the years
So, she had decided to take a walk and try to clear her mind. She was certain that in the serene tranquillity of the palace gardens, she could work out the answer to this seemingly intractable problem.
Suddenly, her communicator began to beep frantically. Ami stiffened instinctively as she heard an animalistic roar of fury and several cries of panic from nearby. She summoned her Henshin Wand and turned towards the disturbance. "Mercury power: transform!" she cried out and her powers immediately caught her, transforming her into Sailor Mercury before she ran off to join the fight.
***
Standing in one of the contemplation shelters dotted around the gardens, Princess Makoto of Jupiter was puzzling over her future self's strangely ambiguous reaction to Nephrite. Then, her danger sense began to tingle. A green-black vortex opened up before her eyes and disgorged a frightful creature, half ape and half lizard with a stooped back, long, clawed forelimbs, a horribly fanged mouth and tiny, half-mad glowing red eyes.
The creature stared about it, snorting in a kind of half-crazed way before it idly tore a tree up by the roots and threw it at a statue, demolishing it.
Makoto's mind snapped into 'drive' when she realised that this was a 'youma', one of the monstrous inhabitants of the Negaverse that Beryl had been using to test the Silver Alliance's defences over the past six months. It looked a tough one too. She pulled her communicator out of her gown and pressed the 'All Call' button. "This is Jupiter. Youma in the gardens near the Serenity Fountain!" The Princess of Jupiter pocketed her communicator, summoned her Henshin Wand to her hand and raised it above her head. "Jupiter power… transform!" she cried out.
A bolt of lightning struck Makoto and her gown melted into the green-and-white fighting garb of Sailor Jupiter, the Senshi of Life and Lightning. Unlike Venus, Jupiter did not like making speeches to introduce herself. She had her own way of making an introduction. "Jupiter thunderclap… ZAP!" she shouted, pointing her outstretched arms at the youma. A golden-white lightning bolt zapped from her arms and struck the creature in the back, making it roar in pain.
The youma, snarling fearsomely, turned to face the green-clad Senshi and lashed out with one of its' pan-shaped clawed hands. The impact smashed Jupiter back through the wooden back wall of the shelter and into the middle of a garden where a few young people were sitting around relaxing. They all looked up in shock as one of the Queen's Senshi skidded to a halt at their feet. More angry than hurt, Makoto looked up at them. "Don't just stand there," she hissed. "Fly, you fools!"
At that moment, the Youma jumped over the partially demolished shelter and dropped down in front of Jupiter, hissing and spluttering in blood-crazed fury. The bystanders screamed (including the men) and turned to flee. The monster looked up and pointed its' clawed hands at them. Black fire began to crawl over its' claws as a globe of what seemed to be black lightning formed in between its' pan-shaped hands. Jupiter didn't know what that dark magic would do, and she didn't care to find out. She launched another Thunderclap Zap attack. The creature snarled and looked at its' small tormentor with mad myopic red eyes and fired it's attack at the Senshi instead.
Makoto was barely able to roll aside before the black lightning blew a twelve-foot crater in the turf. She flipped to her feet and attacked again. Once again, all she did was make the thing mad at her. The creature charged, lashing out with its' foot-long claws. Jupiter dodged several sweeps of those razor-sharp weapons, but the youma was freakishly fast and was able to block her punches and chops with its' tough muscular arms. She lashed out with a high kick and made the monster's reptilian head snap back as she connected with its' lower jaw. However, she wasn't expecting the back-sweep from its' right arm, which slashed open three agonising lacerations on the inside of her left lower leg.
Jupiter fell to her knees with a cry of pain and surprise, instinctively clutching at her injury. She looked up just in time to see the monster lunging forward, ready to impale her through the chest with those nightmarish claws. "Jupiter Thunder Wall!" she cried out, terror leaking into her voice as she raised her hands. The bubble of electrostatic energy that appeared around her absorbed the attack, but the kinetic force of the youma's charge was enough to knock the brunette Senshi a dozen yards across the ground.
Stunned, Makoto could only lie there as the youma summoned another globe of black lightning between its' hands. Suddenly, a familiar voice cried out: "Mercury Bubbles… BLAST!" and the youma disappeared in a fog bank that suddenly appeared from nowhere. The youma moaned in a frustrated, disoriented way, unable to see its' prey.
Jupiter blew out a deep, relieved breath when she saw Sailor Mercury, the Senshi of Wisdom and Ice, standing at the entrance to the garden. "Are you okay, Jupiter?" Mercury asked, her gentle, precise voice tinged with worry. The blue-clad Senshi ran over to her friend and helped her to get up.
Favouring her wounded leg, Jupiter staggered to her feet. "I'll live," Jupiter said, waving reassuringly. "Let's finish this."
Mercury nodded and raised her hands. "Shine Aqua…"
Jupiter raised her arms too. "Sparkling Wide…."
"ILLUSION!"
"PRESSURE!" The two high-power attacks slammed into the fog bank and interacted, creating a massive explosion. "Ha! That did it!" Makoto said with a vicious grin.
Ami looked up and her mouth dropped open. The Youma had jumped fifty feet into the air and was dropping right towards them. "Mako!" she shouted. "Run!"
The Youma landed between the two startled Senshi and lashed out, knocking them both off of their feet and opening bleeding cuts across their chests. Jupiter tried to crawl clear, but Mercury was too badly stunned to do anything but lie there as the youma loomed over her and raised its' claws to deliver the deathblow.
At that moment, a discus seemingly made of blue-white light struck the youma right in the centre of its' chest, knocking it from its' feet. "Hold it right there, ugly," shouted a familiar voice.
***
Serena had been sitting at Rini's bedside, holding her future daughter's hand, trying to lend her strength to fight the sickness eating away at her when her communicator began to beep at her. She heard Princess Makoto's call and then, through the window of the sickroom, she heard the unmistakable sound of one of Sailor Jupiter's attacks.
Years of bitter experience took over. Without hesitation, Serena stood up and touched her brooch with both hands. "Moon Eternal Power! Make up!" she cried and transformed. Serena threw open the window and leapt into the air over the palace. She landed on top of a tower near the entrance to the gardens and looked around, trying to find the battle. Makoto said it was near the Serenity Fountain, Serena thought. The memories of 10,000 years ago filled her mind. Yes, she remembered the fountain, built to commemorate her great-great-grandmother, the first Queen Serenity. She looked in the appropriate direction and saw the unmistakable dome-shaped white cloud of Sailor Mercury's Bubbles Blast attack.
Serena leapt forwards again as she saw the Youma jump clear of the fog. The young woman immediately spread her wings, the visible manifestation of the power of flight that she gained when she received her Eternal power-up. She glided across the remaining distance and landed on top of a contemplation shelter just in time to see the youma knock the past forms of Mercury and Jupiter from their feet. She immediately launched her Moon Tiara and, much to her surprise, it was enough to knock the monster from its' feet.
***
Ami looked up to see a familiar shape standing on a nearby shelter. It was a short blonde woman whose long hair was up in the Royal style. Princess…? No, that is the Serenity from the future, she realised as she noted the white fuku with blue skirt, blue neckerchief and red bow. It is Sailor Moon!
"Princess! Get out of here!" Jupiter shouted as she leapt back to her feet. "Don't risk yourself!"
Sailor Moon didn't seem to hear the Senshi of Life and Lightning. She calmly replaced her tiara and addressed the snarling youma. "How dare you disturb this place of peace and beauty?" she declared. "I am the Champion of Love and Justice, a pretty girl soldier in a sailor suit, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"
The youma screamed in fury and lashed out with its' black lightning. Sailor Moon was already airborne, jumping clear of the shelter moments before the attack blew it to splinters. She somersaulted through the air, loosing her tiara again, the impact of the magically charged projectile making the youma stagger. Sailor Moon caught her returning weapon as she landed and launched it again.
This time the youma was ready. It raised a hand and concentrated its' shielding there. The Moon Tiara struck home, but bounced off the reinforced shielding causing no damage. Sailor Moon frowned and suddenly had a plan. If it can concentrate its' shielding in one place, maybe the rest of its' shields will be weakened… How odd that Mercury hadn't already figured out this creature's weakness.
Mistaking Sailor Moon's pause for fear, the youma decided to press its' advantage. Snarling maniacally in triumph, the creature charged, leading with its' claws. Sailor Moon dodged several sweeping slash-attacks before giving the monster a Sailor Kick on the jaw. The creature tried the same trick it used on Jupiter, but Sailor Moon was no longer there, she had continued the motion of the kick to back-flip through the air and land several feet away from the monster.
The youma charged forward again, but Sailor Moon ducked under the clumsy swipe from its' left hand. As she came upright, she slashed her Soul Blade along the outside of the monster's arm, making it roar in pain. The creature, reacting instinctively to the pain, delivered a backhanded slap with its' wounded arm that sent the Senshi of Love and Justice sprawling just as she was about to drive her soul blade through its' back. "Ow! Nuts!" Sailor Moon wailed as she fell to the ground.
With a roar the youma turned to attack the stunned young woman. The other two Senshi recovered from their shock at seeing the future version of their princess fighting so effectively. She was in danger, and protecting the Princess, no matter when she was from, was a Senshi's job. "Let's cover her!" Jupiter hissed. "Jupiter thunderclap zap!"
"Mercury ice bolt!" A blue-white star of elemental ice energy shot from Mercury's hand as Jupiter generated another thunderbolt. The combined impact made the monster stagger and it turned back to the other two Senshi, roaring in fury. It decided to remove the gnats before handling the far more dangerous enemy dressed in red, white and blue.
The distraction was enough for Sailor Moon to recover from the youma's unexpected attack. She flipped to her feet and pulled the Moon Tiara from her brow. "Hey! This isn't over yet, gruesome!" she hollered.
The monster looked around at Sailor Moon just in time to see her loose her tiara. The monster span to face the Senshi of Love and Justice and focussed its' shielding in its' outstretched hand again as the weapon zipped toward it. Much to everyone's shock, the tiara shot right past the monster at a comfortable distance. "How could she miss with a magical weapon?" Mercury blurted. The monster chuckled, a booming demonic laugh, and advanced on the seemingly unarmed Moon Princess. Much to the surprise of the other two Senshi, the blonde girl was smiling in a confident way.
Sailor Moon raised her right hand. "Moonbeam… blast!" she cried out as a sphere of blue-white light appeared in the palm of her hand. A blue-white energy beam shot out from the light and struck the youma. The creature had just enough time to raise it's hands again to boost its' shields. Even with this measure, the attack pushed it back six feet, the talons on its' feet digging deep furrows in the turf. The youma howled in pain and fury as the lunar elemental energy began to burn through its' magical shields.
At that moment, the Moon Tiara, which had just completed a looping turn, guided by its' mistress' will, returned and struck the youma in the small of its' back. The monster had focussed all its' shielding on its' front quarter, leaving its' back undefended. There was a blue-white crescent-shaped flash of light and the youma screamed in unholy agony. Blue-white fire crackled across the contours of its' body, turning yellow-green scaly flesh into grey, lifeless dust.
The grey statue that had once been a youma stood in the middle of the small garden area for a few moments before a breath of wind scattered its' substance to the four corners of the Moon.
There was a brief pause as Sailor Moon casually resettled her tiara on her forehead. "Moon-dusted," she said smugly. "That was an easy one, ne minna?"
Jupiter gasped in horror. "You call that easy?" she blurted. "Highness, you could have been killed! That was the most powerful monster I've ever faced!"
"That thing?" Sailor Moon asked in puzzlement. "That was the weakest monster that I've faced for years…!" Sailor Moon stopped and covered her mouth as she realised something. "Oh, Kami-sama, I forgot that this was the past!" Sailor Moon laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck as a massive droplet of sweat appeared at the side of her face.
"You mean that the monsters in the future are stronger than that?" Mercury asked, sounding terrified. Sailor Moon shrugged and grinned apologetically.
***
In a dark parallel dimension, a monstrous woman with bright red hair looked at the discussion between the three Senshi through her crystal ball, her face twisted with a furious scowl. She had hoped that the Snakeskin Youma would have lasted a bit longer than that. She had confidently expected that it would even kill, or at least incapacitate, at least one Senshi. However, it had failed, just like all the others. However, the deciding factor that led to this defeat seemed to have been this new Senshi in red, white and blue.
She pointed at the image of the new Senshi with her staff. "Who is that?" Queen Beryl snapped. Around her in her court, various demons, dark wizards and agents of chaos looked around helplessly and tried not to catch their notoriously short-tempered queen's attention. "Well?" Beryl screeched. The silence dragged on for a few seconds. "Krenlin! Attend me!"
After a few moments, a dark-haired sorcerer with a sharp triangular beard stepped forward. "Yes, oh Dark Queen?" he asked nervously.
"This new Senshi! Who and what is she?" Beryl asked imperiously.
Krenlin looked around, looking for someone to take the blame and found no one. "Er… she identifies herself as 'Sailor Moon, the Senshi of Love and Justice'," he said at last.
Beryl scowled at her most senior advisor dangerously. "I know that, you idiot," she said. "However, the Moon has not had a Senshi for millennia. So, the question remains: Who is she?" Krenlin smiled appeasingly and raised his hands in a gesture that he hoped communicated helplessness, ignorance and innocence. Beryl rolled her eyes. "Incompetent imbecile," she sighed in a long-suffering tone. "Don't just stand there! Find out!" Krenlin fled, very glad to have escaped with his life. Right now, he had to think of a way to get his Queen her answers before her minimal patience ran out.
Beryl stared around at her court for a few moments. She had something else that she wanted to do… Ah yes! Now she remembered. "Vyle," she said, looking at her chief genetic engineer. "You assured me that the Snakeskin Youma could defeat any of the Senshi."
Vyle looked around himself nervously, noticing that suddenly all the people who had been standing near him were now standing somewhere else. "Y… yes, Majesty," he said nervously, wringing his hands in terror. "However the powers of this new Senshi…"
"That is irrelevant!" Beryl screeched, making Vyle jump and close his mouth hurriedly. "Your creation should have been equal to handling a few unexpected powers. Instead, it proved to be a weak, useless failure! Just like you!"
Vyle dropped to his knees, his arms outstretched in supplication. "My Queen! Have mercy!" he begged. "I guarantee that my next youma will be ten times as strong! Even this Sailor Moon…"
Vyle's desperate pleas were cut off as he was consumed by a red-purple ball of energy that Beryl had casually projected at him from the palm of her left hand. The whole court watched as the tongue of red flame that had been the sadistic scientist faded from view, taking with it the last echo of his death scream. "That is the price of failure!" Beryl screeched. "Sada!"
An aqua-haired woman, who had been the late, unlamented Vyle's assistant stepped forwards. "Y… yes my Queen?" she stammered, as she dropped to one knee in humility, terrified that the Dark Queen's bloodlust might not yet be sated.
"Sada, you are in charge now," Beryl announced. "Create a monster that nothing can beat, even this 'Sailor Moon.'" Sada bowed to her queen and turned to leave. "And Sada," Beryl added. The young woman looked at her Queen, her eyes filled with fear. Beryl gestured to the pile of dust that had been Vyle. "Sada, do not fail me as did your predecessor."
Sada nodded in a stiff, terrified fashion and fled the court of the Dark Kingdom.
***
The Princesses of Mercury and Jupiter were returning to the palace, accompanied by a future Princess of the Moon, who managed to look a bit embarrassed at the acclaim she was getting. "Her lowest-power attack sent that thing sprawling when it could shrug off my attacks like they didn't exist!" Makoto was repeating to Ami as the shorter girl scanned a de-transformed Serena with her TACS handset. "Just how powerful are you, Sailor Moon?"
"Come on, I'm not that all conquering," Serena said. "I would have had to hit it a lot harder if you two hadn't weakened it!"
Ami shook her head. "We barely touched it, Serena, you know that," she responded calmly. "It was your attacks that made the difference to the outcome of this battle." Ami looked at the screen of her handset and looked at Serena's power generation curve, her eyebrow raised in surprise. "According to this, Serena, your power output is stronger than that of Sailor Uranus. I suspect that your peak power levels are at least 1,000 times greater than those you used today."
"Oh, I know that," Serena demurred. "I could have vaporised that thing right away if I had used my Rainbow Moon Heartache attack, but I wanted to know how powerful it was before I started cutting loose. Besides, there was no need to waste energy on a little thing like that!"
"There she goes with the 'easy' thing again!" Makoto said, shaking her head. "I don't know how powerful the monsters you usually face are, Serena, but I'm glad that I don't have to face them on a regular basis!"
"Mako-chan, you are almost as strong as me!" Serena protested. She was frantic. Why were these two acting as if that piddling little youma was something special? The Senshi of the Silver Millennium couldn't be that weak, could they? So far, everything she had seen indicated that they were at the same skill level that her friends achieved by the end of the brief conflict with the Doom Tree Twins, if at a noticeably lower power level. However, Serena had not forgotten that they had only defeated Beryl at the cost of their lives. It was ultimately the presence of Darien, and Serena's discovery that she could focus the power of all the Senshi through the Silver Crystal, that made the victory possible.
Serena shivered a little, remembering how difficult the first few battles she and her friends had fought had been. Against the full might of Beryl and Metallia, they wouldn't have stood a chance. She shivered again, as she looked around the palace, remembering the ruins that existed in her own time. They don't stand a chance, she realised. This is why Beryl won so easily…
At this point, Venus, Mars and Endymion raced out of the doors of the palace in full fighting gear. "What happened?" Venus demanded. "Where is the monster?"
"Ease down, Minako," Makoto said with a smug smile. "We've already mopped up the mess!"
"An easy one?" Mars asked.
"Only to Sailor Moon here," Makoto said, slapping an embarrassed Serena on the back. Noting her friends' confused expression she told the tale of the battle again. "And she calmly reduces this thing to dust, puts her weapon back on her head and acts as if it is nothing!" Makoto concluded. The others were very impressed.
"You will have to teach us a few of your tricks, Serena," Venus said with a grin.
Serena looked at the woman who was so like her best friend and managed to stammer out a vague reply without saying yes or no. Now she knew why Pluto detested her position as Guardian of the Time Gate so much. The temptation was so great, and the price of duty so very, very painful.
There was a long pause before Endymion spoke. "So… uh… you killed it?" he asked. Serena nodded. The Prince of Earth was giving her an odd look. "Is my Serenity as strong as you are?" he asked.
"If she were properly trained, I am sure that the Princess could emulate all of Sailor Moon's abilities," Ami replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "They are essentially the same person, after all." Endymion looked a bit nauseous at hearing this and raced off.
"What is eating him?" Venus asked as she de-transformed.
"Offended masculinity," Rei suggested. "He has just realised that he is engaged to a girl who could reduce him to molecular dust with a gesture." The Silver Millennium Inner Senshi laughed at that image, while a surprised Serena looked on.
"Well, it good to know that we can handle anything that comes from the Negaverse," Ami said and then stopped, a look of utter surprise crossing her face.
"Ami? Ami-chan, are you okay?" Minako asked, waving her hand in front of the small blue-haired woman's face.
"I'm an idiot!" Ami said. "I've suspected for years that I was a fool, but I've never had the proof before now! It is so simple!"
"What?" Rei almost shouted.
"The little princess!" Ami said. "I know now what I've missed!"
"You know a cure for Rini?" Serena asked, hope flaring in her heart.
"A cure? No," Ami replied. "However, I do know where we can find the information that may be the key to finding a cure."
***
Queen Serenity sat on her throne in the Inner Court, feeling again the empty space where her dear, beloved Odysseus once sat at her side. It was at times like this that she felt she needed her dead husband's strength and his calm confidence. More than anything else, she wished that she could be in his arms just one more time.
She had heard the alarm and had sensed the battle. Then, much to her dismay, she had felt what she initially believed was her daughter joining the struggle. Then she realised that it was Serena, Sailor Moon, who had engaged Beryl's latest unnatural soldier. The surge of power from the young future Senshi was breathtaking and now she was contemplating what this implied.
I had long suspected that we have become weak and complacent, she thought as she sat back in her throne with a far-away expression. Now I have the proof of that. Two of my elite warriors were nearly defeated, but just one of their future incarnations, one who ought not to be as accomplished a warrior as the others, swept the threat aside. Serenity sighed and began to rub the bridge of her nose in exhaustion. I begin to fear for the future of the Silver Alliance, she finally admitted to herself. If our warriors have fallen so far from their peak condition…
Serenity frowned and, coming to a decision, she summoned the Silver Imperium Crystal from its' resting place. She stared into the unblinking radiance of the ancient concentration of magic and began to assemble a powerful spell. The Senshi of the Silver Alliance needed time to hone their powers so they were ready for the struggle against the forces of Chaos, time that it seemed they did not have. However, the visitors from the future indicated that there might yet be a way to solve that problem. Of course, it would be a deadly solution for her, but so long as the others had a chance…
"Your Majesty!" one of the guards suddenly declared. "The Princess of Mercury, Ami, and the Princess of Gaia, Serena!" Gaia was a human-inhabited world in the nearest major star system to the solar system. Serenity had decided to claim that the visitors from the future were actually members of the royal family of that distant world, thinking (rightly) that no one would know the Gaian Royal Family if they saw them.
"Yes, Ami, Serena, what can I do for you?" the Queen asked, quickly dismissing the Silver Crystal.
"Majesty, I believe I have discovered the key to curing Princess Rini," Ami said calmly. "However, it will be difficult to acquire the materials we need."
"For 'difficult' read 'practically impossible,'" Serena added, looking a bit worried.
"Nothing is impossible, child," Serenity assured the future form of her daughter. "What is it you require, Senshi Mercury?" she asked. "If it is anything within my power, I will acquire it for you at once."
Ami drew in a deep breath. "We need to get a Nightshade Crystal so I can examine it and find how to neutralise one."
There was a long silent pause in the chamber. "Senshi Mercury, the Nightshade Crystal is native to the Negaverse, or so our guests have told us," the queen said at last.
Serena nodded. "That's right," she said. "So it means that if we are to get one of these things for ourselves, we will have to invade the Negaverse!"
***
"So, how did she take it?" Darien asked. He was sitting with Serena in the public square outside the main gates of the palace. Wearing the clothes of a mid-level noble and with Serena's hair in a French braid rather than her ondangos, the two were nearly unrecognisable to a casual glance.
"Well, she hasn't decided yet," Serena said. "She was shocked of course. I would be too, but Ami's reasoning is good."
Darien nodded and grinned. "As if it would be anything else," he said with a laugh. Serena laughed too. "I'm coming, of course," he continued.
"Darien!" Serena scolded. "We haven't even decided if anyone is going yet! Besides," here, Serena leaned close to her fiancé and continued in a discreet tone of voice, "the Senshi of this time aren't exactly the most powerful of protectors. I need someone more powerful here to protect Rini while the girls and I are out on our field trip in the Negaverse."
"Surely they aren't that bad!" Darien protested.
"Their power level is about the same that we were at during our war with Beryl," Serena said. "They have the same skills that we had when we were fighting Ail and Ann, but their power levels are lower." Darien was shocked. "I think it is because the Silver Alliance has been at peace for so long," Serena continued. "They haven't had the need to hone their powers as we have."
Darien nodded sadly. "I think I know what happened to the Silver Alliance," he said after a while. Serena nodded too. Her face was a mask of tragic sadness, and she accepted her Prince's embrace gladly.
Later on, Serena would complain petulantly that it was typical that the moment she and Darien had got down to some serious loving, that the Negaverse, or whoever the bad guy du jour was, would interrupt. The first hint of trouble the two lovers had was the sudden static in the air that made Serena's hair almost stand on end. Then there was an enormous blue-white flash of light. When everyone could see again, what they saw was an 18-foot-tall insect like a madman's cross between a cockroach and a preying mantis.
"What the…? Yuck!" Serena said with a grimace. Both she and Darien could sense the taint of evil in this creature. Despite its' size and outlandish appearance, it was doubtless a youma.
***
Up inside the tower of one of the palace's outbuildings, Princess Minako stared at the creature in disbelief before drawing her Henshin Wand. "Venus power… transform!" she shouted, transforming into the ever-beautiful, ever-courageous and ever-stunning Senshi of Love and Light, Sailor Venus. "Okay, let's do it," she said to herself with a confident grin.
Venus pushed open the window where she was standing and leapt towards the public square, a golden-orange streak against the sky. After hearing of Sailor Moon's victory earlier today, she was pumped up and ready to start kicking Negaverse hide!
***
The monstrous creature lunged towards the fleeing panicking citizens, intending only to cause havoc and attract this place's champions so it could fulfil its' reason to exist: Destroy the Sailor Senshi. The bug-like youma cornered a woman against a tower and was about to bite her in half with its' lethal mouthparts when a single blood-red rose dropped in front of it. The youma looked at the rose in puzzlement for a few seconds before the flower exploded into bright light and made the monster stumble back with a shriek of pain.
When the creature's vision cleared, it was shocked to see a man, standing on the roof of a kiosk, wearing a black formal suit over a white shirt, a top hat and carrying a European longsword. A white domino mask covered the man's eyes, but this didn't disguise his total confidence. "How dare you terrify the innocent of this peaceful world?" the man declared. "For this, I, Tuxedo Mask will not forgive you!"
The bug-youma shrieked and charged Tuxedo Mask, who stood there for a long moment with a mocking smile before he leaped over the charging monster. The bug lashed out with its' sabre-like forelimbs but all its' attacks missed. The creature was so focussed on the Champion of Earth that it didn't notice Sailor Moon jump up on top of the kiosk where Tuxedo Mask had stood seconds before. It didn't notice her at all until she raised both hands, palms raised. She cried out: "Duo Moonbeam… BLAST!" and fired off a double beam of lunar elemental energy that sent the creature tumbling across the square.
Sailor Moon watched as the creature leapt to its' feet. This one is much tougher, she decided. It was barely phased by that attack!
With a roar, the youma lashed at the air with its' claws, sending dozens of small razor-sharp chitinous blades hurling through the air towards the Champion of Love and Justice. "Sailor Moon! Watch out!" Tuxedo Mask shouted. He need not have bothered. Sailor Moon had already effortlessly leapt over the attack and had launched her Moon Tiara into the air. The magical projectile whirled around the bug-youma, trailing a thread of Moon Moth silk, which quickly bound the creature's upper limbs to its' side.
"Ha! Not so smart now, are we?" Sailor Moon mocked. "Now, the only question is how I get rid of you? Should I use my sceptre or just a giant can of 'Raid'?"
The youma shrieked in fury and spat a black gob of saliva at the future Princess of the Moon. Sailor Moon jumped clear, which was a good thing considering the way the black goo was hissing and eating into the paving at an alarming rate. With an ear-bursting roar, the youma tore off its' restraints by the simple expedient of flinging its' arms out to its' sides. Then the creature lunged forward, lashing out with a foot to trip Sailor Moon over as she back-pedalled and then driving a four-foot-long claw towards her chest.
When the claw hit the ground, the Senshi of the Moon wasn't there. She was twenty yards away in Tuxedo Mask's arms. "Nice catch, Tux," Sailor Moon teased.
The creature turned its' impressive armoured head around, trying to find its' prey. Then it saw them and was about to charge when it was interrupted. "Hey, you! The grotesque one!" The creature turned to see Sailor Venus standing on top of the palace gates. "A creature like you is simply too ugly to be permitted to befoul this world! I am the beautiful Sailor Venus, and in the name of Venus and the Moon, I will destroy you!" Sailor Venus raised a hand. "Venus meteor… shower!" she shouted, and launched a stream of golden-orange energy projectiles at the youma.
The creature staggered back with a howl of pain, raising its' huge forelimbs to protect its' face. With a rebel yell, Sailor Venus somersaulted from the top of the gate, drawing the Crystal Sword, her symbol of office as commander of the Inner Senshi, from its' back-mounted scabbard as she did so. "Crystal Sword blast!" she shouted, loosing an energy bolt at the creature from the blade of her weapon. This attack wasn't as effective. The creature seemed to barely notice the attack, rather it lashed out with its' sabre-like forelimbs again. Venus danced clear, but only barely, and she immediately found herself on the defensive as the long claws and the front pair of legs came at her from seemingly every angle.
"Hey! Ugly!" shouted Sailor Moon. "Duo moonbeam blast!" Another pair of blue-white energy beams struck the creature in the side, making it stagger sideways. A moment later, Tuxedo Mask threw three roses flower-first, at the creature from the other flank. On impact, the roses turned into massive explosions that made the creature stagger the other way.
"Crescent beam smash!" Venus shouted, firing an orange energy beam at the disoriented creature's head. The creature stepped backwards with a roar. "Yeah! You lose!" Venus shouted, leaping into the air to decapitate the horror with the Crystal Sword. To her utter shock, the creature blocked the cut with one of its' forelimbs and lashed out at her with the other.
Sailor Moon looked on in horror as Sailor Venus went down, blood fountaining from an awful chest wound. "V-chan!" she screamed.
***
Mina was talking to Ami about what they might need for the proposed sojourn to the Negaverse when she suddenly collapsed with a cry of agony. "Mina! What's wrong?" Ami asked in horror.
As Amy rushed over to help her past self, Ami grabbed at the Sailor Venus from the future, who was suddenly writhing in agony, as if she were suffering from a powerful fit. To her horror, her hand passed right through Mina's body as if she were nothing but a sophisticated holographic image.
"Mina-chan!" Amy screamed, "hang on! Don't give up on us!" She was weeping in terror as Mina began to fade from view, surrounded by a swarm of sparks of light, like an invasion of fireflies. "She's fading from existence!" Amy cried out. "Something must have happened to this era's Sailor Venus!"
Ami reacted immediately. She pulled out her communicator and pressed the button for Senshi Venus' communicator. "Venus, come in!" she called. "Venus? Mina-chan!"
***
"V-chan!" Sailor Moon gasped as she dropped to her knees beside her best friend's past self. She could see the light of life quickly fading from Sailor Venus' eyes. The horrible wound across the other woman's chest, which had exposed the inside of her chest cavity, was simply too large for her to staunch the bleeding in any way.
"I… I'm sorry… princess…" Minako whispered as she felt her life slipping away.
The youma shrieked in triumph and lunged forwards, intending to deal with the distracted Sailor Moon also.
However, much to its' shock, its' claws were deflected by a heart-shaped energy shield. The shield was generated from a white rod ending with a golden valentine's heart and a silver crescent moon, with a shining blue-white gemstone in between the horns of the crescent, which Sailor Moon was holding in her right hand.
Before the youma could react to a shielding spell capable of blocking its' attack, Tuxedo Mask suddenly swooped down, severing both of its' sabre-like forearms with a single sweep of the Earth Guardian Sword. The creature raised a secondary pair of arms with clawed humanoid hands, but before it could attack, the Prince of Earth projected a sparkling red-gold sphere of Earth elemental energy from his the palm of his right hand that threw the monster across the square. The Youma collapsed where it fell and was still for a few moments.
As the youma slowly dragged itself to its' feet, Sailor Moon shoved Tuxedo Mask aside and strode towards the creature, her fists clenched at her side. "You hurt my friend, you monster," Sailor Moon cried out in a low, furious tone of voice. "For that I will punish you! Moon…" Serena raised her arms and pointed her fists at the creature. "Heart…" Scores of valentine's heart-shaped blue-white energy projectiles appeared and began to whirl around Serena's forearms. "SPIRAL!" The horizontal tornado of energy projectiles flashed outwards and struck the youma in the centre of its' chest. The monster didn't even have time to scream. It didn't so much turn to moon dust as it literally flew apart at the atomic level. There were a few wisps of blue-white plasma and an echo of a cry and then the creature was gone.
"Well done, Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask said in a grave tone of voice, only too well aware of the torment that his beloved was feeling.
"V-chan, please be alive," Sailor Moon cried, dropping to her knees beside the horribly wounded Senshi again. Senshi Venus was not breathing and the blood had stopped flowing, a very bad sign. Worse still, Serena could feel her friend's soul beginning to fade away. "No! I won't let you die!" She grabbed both of the other woman's hands and concentrated. "Moonlight honeymoon therapy… kiss!" she cried out.
[DISCONTINUITY]
Minako blinked. Everywhere there was mist and cold. She was dying, this she knew, but she couldn't understand why her sense of self still existed. Suddenly, she was aware of an intense light from somewhere ahead of her. As she looked on, a goddess flew into sight on white dove's wings. The goddess resembled her princess except that her princess didn't have wings, and rarely went around naked except for the Silver Imperium Crystal blazing forth from in between her breasts.
Princess…? Minako asked.
Almost, the goddess replied. It is time to come back, Minako, daughter of Aurora.
But… I'm dead… aren't I? Mina protested.
The goddess knelt beside Mina and took her hands into her own. It is not your time, Minako, she said. You have so much to live for. Besides, you cannot die or my best friend will never live.
Minako nodded, although she didn't know what she was agreeing to. I don't want to die, she admitted.
No one of this kingdom would want that, Minako, the goddess said. You are too greatly loved by all, including your Princess. And including myself.
As if in a dream, Minako stood and hugged the winged goddess, then allowed her to lead her back into the blazing light from which she had come.
[DISCONTINUITY]
As many times as Darien had seen Serena use Moonlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss, he was still in awe of his love's incredible power. Intense blue-white light had surrounded her and the body of Sailor Venus. Serena's head was tilted back, her eyes wide and sightless and her mouth half-open in exertion. Darien could swear that he could see pure white wings like those of a dove spreading from her back.
Suddenly, the wound on the Silver Millennium Senshi's chest healed up and vanished as if it had never existed. Then Minako opened her eyes and gasped in a breath.
As suddenly as it had begun, it ended. Serena slumped forwards and released Minako's hands. The blue-white aura disappeared and everything seemed normal again. Darien knelt at his soul mate's side, subtly transferring a little strength to her as she recovered from the enormous amount of effort needed to summon a soul back from the next life.
"You… saved me!" Minako gasped as she stood. "How?"
"Just one of many marvellous talents that time has taught me… has taught all of us," Serena said in a shaky tone of voice. Then the palace healers surrounded them all and they were lost to the other's sight.
***
"Damn it!" Beryl screamed. "We were so close to destroying that orange-clad nuisance once and for all!" The Queen of the Dark Kingdom lashed out, vaporising some luckless minion. "Get me Sada now!" she shrieked. "And someone tell me: Who are 'Sailor Moon' and 'Tuxedo Mask'?"
***
"I'm just glad that you didn't vanish on us, Mina-chan," Serena said in a relieved tone of voice as she hugged her best friend tightly.
"Yeah, well just don't cut the rescue so close next time, Sere-chan," Mina said with a laugh, which covered over a lot of raw fear. That had been too close. She had felt her existence unravelling for a few seconds there before she opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by palace healers and with a sobbing Amy hugging her as if she dare not ever let go.
Suddenly, with a whisper of silk on stone, Queen Serenity entered the small study where she had asked to meet with the Senshi from the future. "I understand that I have to thank you for saving the commander of my Senshi, daughter," she said with a smile
Serena smiled and shrugged modestly. "I would have done it for anyone," she said quietly.
"I'm sure," the queen replied with a gentle smile. She sat down at a desk at one end of the study. "I'm here to tell you that I have decided to approve the mission to the Negaverse to find a Nightshade Crystal for Senshi Mercury's experiments," she announced. She saw the glee on the six youngsters' faces and smiles.
"Thank you, mother," Serena almost cried. The other future Senshi were almost dancing with joy. "We can leave immediately…"
"Not immediately," Serenity said, raising a hand in an arresting gesture. "We have to wait on Mercury clearing Venus for active duty again."
Serena paused. "Minako is coming with us?" she asked in some surprise.
The queen smiled grimly. "So is Mars, while I would ask that Mina and Raye stay here and help my Senshi guard the palace in the absence of their commander and second-in-command."
Serena looked at her mother and tried to think of a tactful way to say this. "Mother, that is a very generous thing to do," she said. "But it isn't necessary. My Senshi and I have the experience in operating in hostile territory against unpredictable threats that the Senshi of this era do not."
"Besides which, they are weak and would be a liability, right, Serena?" Queen Serenity's sculpted brows raised in a mocking way, making the future Senshi fidget like schoolgirls caught out in some mischief. "I know how you feel about your past selves, my young friends. However, please remember that they have benefited from a structured training regimen and have experience with magic that you do not."
"But for all their experience, they are weak!" Raye exploded. "They'll be a liability!"
"Raye!" Serena was horrified at her friend's tactless insubordination.
To everyone's surprise, the queen just laughed. "There is more to strength than raw power, Raye," she said. "I think that Venus and Mars might yet surprise you, for all you have attained to a higher power level than they." The queen stood to look out of the window of the study. "I have been aware of the discord and mistrust between you and my Senshi," she said. "I do not want either side to feel slighted in who conducts this mission, so I have decided that that we will send two Senshi from either group, and, of course, Serena, my daughter, whose great power may make the difference between success and failure."
Serena opened her mouth to protest again, but her mother cut her off. "This is not a matter for debate, my daughter," she said quietly.
Serena closed her mouth and looked in her mother's eyes. Seeing certainty she acquiesced. "By your command, my Queen," she said, curtseying before her mother. After a moment's hesitation, the other four Senshi followed suit.
"Do not be resentful, my young friends," the queen said. "You have nothing to prove to me, but my Senshi have much to prove to themselves. I believe that both you and they will benefit from this experience. Besides, there are also other… strategic issues that I believe that this will benefit."
"I trust your judgement, mother," Serena said with a slight smile. In truth, she wasn't looking forward to this, but she was determined to do whatever it took to save Rini.
To be continued…