Elegy for the Heavens
By Asura
(Faded_Seraph@yahoo.com)

This is the finished version of chapter 6, finally.
Myapologies to those I've kept waiting, but I've been rather
busy with the college experience, and homework takes a toll.
In addition, my recent engagement has required a bit of
forthought for the coming occasion in a year and a half, so
I've been painfully short on time. Still, I hope to get the
next chapter out relatively soon, which might be possible,
thanks to a temporary lull in schoolwork. Yatta ne! Happy.
In the mean time, I'd like to once more bring attention to the
fact that Naoko Takeuchi and Toei animation own most of the
rights to Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, and that the
American companies DiC and Cloverway own the American
rights to the series, despite our repeated attempts to sic
a very, very depraved walrus on them.

Chapter 6: Ningen no Kage: Kanashii Densetsu - Jadeite's
Home
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The planet of Mars, fourth of the Solar System's
planets, was no longer the barren, red world it had been
during the time of the Sailor Senshis' awakenings. Some
two hundred years had been spent on advanced terraforming
techniques designed to make its atmosphere more similar to
that of the Earth's, so that it could be lived on without
the use of completely pressurized colonies. The entire
process had begun with the introduction of small microbes
that had been enhanced versions of Earthly amoebas and
protozoa. Thanks to the extensive work of people at
several different Universities on the Earth, they had been
able to make these basic life forms more hardy and capable
of producing far more oxygen, while reducing the more
dangerous contents of the atmosphere.

The thin nature of Mars' atmosphere had also required
that it be increased so as to reduce the solar radiation
blasting the planet. This was accomplished by the first
factories on Mars, which were built in the self-contained
manner expected of the first colonies on a new world.
Their emissions, however, had been designed to thicken the
upper layers of the atmosphere, as well as to heat it up so
that the temperatures would be more stable and tolerable to
humans. As years passed, the shielding necessary for the
factories began to become less and less, finally allowing
totally transparent greenhouse like shells to cover the
factories.

As years passed, these were also helped by the
introduction of increasing numbers of simple life being
introduced to Mars, in the forms of various algae and
grasses, as well as mosses and insects. The red sand and
rocks of Mars' surface, however, with their high iron
content, had produced a unique kind of grass which was much
more rigid than that seen on the Moon or on the Earth. In
addition, the rust, which was so common in the soil,
stained the grass red, and to some degree, it affected all
the botanical life of the planet, giving them reddish or
brownish hues. It was not the rule, however, as several
kinds of bushes and mosses, which were quite common,
retained green colors, as did the trees which had been
planted on Mars. Forests covered a great deal of Mars'
surface, in fact, comprised largely of the sakura trees of
Earth's Japan and the maple trees common in the North
American and European continents of that same world.

Once the factories had no longer needed to produce
the excess gasses for the atmosphere, they had been
refitted, and their glass shells had been removed. Many of
the factories had chosen to only partially remove these
shells' framework, however, creating a unique, skeletal
style of architecture that become the predominant style of
construction for the three major cities of Mars. With the
wide, skeletal construction techniques, the cities often
were wide and sprawling, with high speed trains providing
quick movement between the different sections of the city
for those who wanted to get between areas quickly. Cars
were not allowed to be used on Mars, however, for fear of
upsetting the delicate atmospheric balance with their
emissions. Long distance travel, which usually consisted
only of visiting various factories or going between the
cities, was carried out by an immense high-speed subway
system built upon the channels that naturally occurred on
Mars' surface. All of its features made Mars the most
advanced planet in the Solar System apart from the Earth
and Moon.

"Where are these ships coming from?" asked a
panicking man dressed in a red uniform highlighted by white
stripes and seam work. Standing in an expansive room
filled with computers and displays of an abundant nature,
he was the overseer of the Mars Space Traffic Control in
the capital city of New Vandenburg. "I've never seen their
designs before, and they're opening fire!"

"We're notifying the local Watchers, but they're
already under fire from what I understand. We can't seem
to get a solid communications line to any of the facilities
in Toui Sapporo or Agean, either." Another man dressed in
the same type of uniform spoke then, from a seat in front
of a panel filled with various communications systems.

"The radar confirms ships landing at points near all
three of Mars' primary cities, as well as in the outlying
industrial districts of Iron Winds and Steel Town. We've
also been picking up clutter in the sensors that matches
the profile of explosions above standard orbit. It looks
like at least three or four shuttles have been destroyed."
By far the most professional of the three who had spoken,
the third worker of the control center was a slender man of
average build with messy brown hair and a pair of glasses
that contrasted with his slender blond and black haired
coworkers.

"Can you get any communications to the Moon or Earth
to let them know our situation, Steve?" asked a fourth
person, this one a woman, who stood in the center of the
room. The shift manager who was on duty that night, she
was of tanned skin with long auburn hair and a pair of
glasses. Wearing the same uniform as the others, but with
a full gold rank bar on her collar, unlike the half-bars of
the others in the room, she was easy to identify. "See if
you can get the public news station, too. Tell the people
to try and evacuate to the smaller structures near the
center of the city."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but most of our communications are
being jammed, somehow. I'm getting nothing but static from
anything that isn't hardwired. I might be able to get the
news department, though. Give me three minutes." The
communications worker was clearly excited, but like all the
others, he was at least performing under the sudden stress
of what appeared to be a full-scale invasion.

"I think we can possibly get some sort of signal to
Earth if I overload the generators that supply energy to
the radar system. It'd conceivably create a powerful
enough wave of low-end radiation that it'd reach them if we
can't do anything else," said the apparent sensor's
operation commander who had spoken earlier.

"Isn't that a little hasty? We don't know what's
going to happen to this planet just yet. You seem to be
counting on a worst case scenario. That makes sense
though, Mori, when I think about it. You fought in the
Governmental Revolution on Earth, didn't you?" The shift
manager spoke again, allowing a resigned acceptance slip
into her voice near the end.

"I did Miss Junko, yes. If nothing else, war teaches
one to expect the worst of any situation. Do I have your
permission to detonate the power generators?" The
Governmental Revolution had been a major war in which the
remaining seats of political leaders on Earth, who had
survived for many years, tried to deny the Shin-Muun
Kingdom's rule despite the fact that they offered
prosperity and general autonomy for the former nations
under their rule. In a two year war, they had finally been
pushed back and defeated by the Shin-Muun Kingdom's later
disbanded military.

"What if this is a mistake, ma'am? Maybe this is all
some staged event," said the panicking radar monitor. "I
mean, no one could really be invading Mars, right? Why
would they want to?"

"I'm sorry, Edward, but we have to act on this. Does
it really look like it's not a serious threat to you? I'm
sorry," said Junko, sighing quietly. With a nod towards
Mori, she spoke again. "Go ahead, Mori. If they're
planning to take this world, then at least they won't be
able to use our radar once they do." With that taken care
of, she then stood up and addressed the others in the room.
"I want this center evacuated as soon as you finish with
your immediate tasks. This explosion will be quite large,
and I don't want any of you caught in it."

"Yes, ma'am," answered a haphazard chorus of workers
around the room. Soon, they were flowing into the elevator
at the back of the room, filling it until no more could fit
within its confines.

"Get going. Anyone else can make it on a second trip
down," said Junko, whose command was quickly obeyed by the
workers in the elevator. Steel gray doors slid shut, and
the elevator departed for the ground some eight hundred
feet below. A bit of movement then caught her eye in the
now still room. It occurred to her, then, that all of the
crew had been able to fit in the elevator, except for one.

"My apologies, my dear Junko, but I need to oversee
this. You should take the elevator down as soon as it
returns," said Mori, who had turned in his chair to look at
her. Over time, she'd learned he had a habit of spinning a
pen between his fingers, and even now he continued to do
so.

"There's not enough time to do that. You know
they're going to blow this tower up any moment," she said.
"It's the only thing that makes sense." She had begun
walking over towards him as she spoke, and when she
finished, she was standing right in front of him. "We had
a good time, these last few years."

"Yes, we did indeed," he responded, pulling her down
so that he could give her a last kiss before he turned and
began typing furiously on the keyboard before him. "The
noise this will create from the pulse ought to interfere
enough with the Earth and Moon's radar stations enough to
make them notice something's amiss here. I'm sure they'll
send some ships to check after that happens, and they'll be
able to get ready for this. To make it work, though, I'll
need you to punch in the system override on the panel next
to me as I finish."

"Tell me when," she responded, sitting down next to
him. "This really isn't fair, you know. We only had a
month to wait until we got married."

"I know. But, so long as the last minutes are with
you, it's not so bad. All right, here it comes. Enter the
code... Now!" He accented his word with a strike at the
enter key on his keyboard, which was matched by fast typing
from Junko. To those outside the tower, the effect was
stunning. The large cylinders that clung to the slender,
arcing supports of the tower that served as power
generators for the radar network exploded in brilliant
balls of glowing orange and red fire, causing a rain of
debris that seemed to be falling from Heavens to the ground
city below. The upper half of the radar control tower then
plunged down, finally landing in a massive heap of twisted
metal scrap. However, every other radar on Mars, and even
those possessed by the mysterious attackers, was blinded
for a brief moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The planet of Venus was colonization project began no
more than two months after the matching project on Mars,
and it was the first planet in the Solar System to yield
edible crops that could be transported to the four planets
of the Shin-Muun Kingdom. Despite terraforming done on the
world, Venus retained a very thick atmosphere that kept the
planet's temperature high, and the effect was not
diminished by the planet's proximity to the Sun. Its
environment, however, made it the perfect tropic world, and
it saw a huge amount of life transplanted to its surface
after the atmosphere was filtered into a state that made it
breathable to Earth's planets and animals.

Venus consisted primarily of two major continents,
and three minor ones, the latter of which were considered
inhospitable despite the efforts of the colonists and
scientists. The size of the two major continents, however,
allowed for significant amounts of animal and plant life
that included the great Amarian Plains, which formed
approximately two thirds of the larger continent. Here,
rice had been cultivated, along with hybrid wheat, and
between those two crops, enough food was made to feed the
vast majority of the Shin-Muun Kingdom's people, even if
all other planets were unable to produce anything. Beyond
these areas, the majority of Venus was covered in jungles
or rain forest, depending on the distance from the large
mountain ranges that formed the edges of most of the
continents.

The three minor continents were the locations of the
vast majority of Venus' settlements. While they were not
theoretically necessary, the main cities, and most of the
minor ones as well, were constructed under massive steel
and screen domes to maintain a more moderate temperature in
the cities, rather than allowing them to be baked in the
constantly near 100 degree temperatures of the majority of
the planet. Unlike the two larger continents, the smaller
three also were marked by the remainders of the planet's
sulfuric seas, which had been kept in check through the
development of highly advanced and complicated machinery
that filtered the oceans. These systems actually served as
one of Venus' most popular attractions for those who
visited the world, as the facilities often ran much of the
coasts of the three continents, making them seem to be
lined with silver to those who had just broken through the
clouds in transport shuttles.

The smallest continent, named Pandora, was the site
of Venus' capital city of Angel's Tear, which also had the
distinction of being the Solar System's most advanced
spaceport. Built under a dome like the majority of the
settlements of Venus, the structure that maintained the
city's environment was known for its sophisticated docking
system that allowed visiting spacecraft to enter the city
and land at the port with minimal disruption to the cooler
atmosphere within. In addition, this process only took a
matter of seconds, providing only slight slow downs to the
busy schedule of flights.

"I really wish we hadn't had to have left so soon
from the Moon," said the soft voice of one of a trio of
women who had just disembarked from one of the large, white
shuttles that bore the markings of the Shin-Muun Kingdom.
Long, soft pink hair guided from a pair of buns into two
long tails fell from her head, where her pale skin framed a
pair of matching eyes. "I already miss Elios."

"It's not a long visit, at least. We're just here to
make sure that the remainders of the Venus Independence
Movement have fully disarmed and gone through with their
offer to return to lives of farming," responded a taller,
more lithe and physical girl, who possessed striking green
eyes and brown hair that was bound into a ponytail. Many
people also could not miss the small but elegant earrings
she wore, made of precious stone in the shape of blooming
roses.

"It's a shame we won't have any time to visit the
museums, though, but at least it's only a few quick flights
around the plains, and then back to the space port. We
won't be here more than two days," said the third woman,
who was distinguished by her long black hair. Rei Hino was
the woman's name, and her violet eyes made people remember
her easily, just as her companions also possessed
distinctive traits.

"Ah, that's true. It's good to know that I'll be
able to get back to the Moon soon. I'm going to have to
spend a lot of time planning for our wedding. Hey, Makoto,
do you think I should still ask Hotaru to be my maiden of
honor for the ceremony?" continued the tall and slender
young woman with the pink hair. She had a very proper
bearing to her, giving her an aura of nobility and grace.

"I doubt she'd refuse you such an honor, Chibi-Usa,"
responded Makoto, who had to pause a moment to adjust the
simple but elegant green dress she was wearing for their
diplomatic trip. "Geez, I love this new dress, but it's
being a pain. This is why I try to always avoid dressin'
up."

"Stop complaining, Makoto," said Rei, turning to look
at her and give her a slightly chastising look. "It's only
two days, so why let it give you so much trouble? Besides,
we should be concentrating and helping Chibi-Usa finish up
her latest classes at the University. Let's see if we can
identify some of the incoming ships, all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know it's not long, but you don't mind
wearing dresses," replied Makoto, who then looked towards
the deep red and orange hued sky of Venus. "All right,
let's see what we can find amongst all those clouds." The
green-eyed woman looked up and scanned for a moment, before
extending her arm to point to a trio of black ships just
exiting the shell that protected the spaceport. "How about
those? What type of vessels are they, Chibi-Usa?"

"Well, they look a lot like standard cargo ships,"
said Chibi-Usa, squinting as she looked up at the lazily
descending ships. "They're a little longer, though, and
they seem more sleek. I can't tell what the little bubbles
under their fronts are, either." Chibi-Usa had been
granted good vision, among other things, and she used it to
good use in her observations, which had stemmed from her
habit of watching birds fly about in parks on the Moon.

"It doesn't look like a standard type of cargo ship
or shuttle, does it? I wonder if it's a new customized
design owned by one of the factories," said Makoto, looking
over towards Rei, who she realized had stopped suddenly in
their long walk over to the terminal where the Venus'
governmental officials would be waiting. "What's wrong,
Rei?"

"I..." she began, before falling silent for a moment.
Her cheeks were suddenly flushed, and her eyes were wider
than Makoto or Chibi-Usa could remember having seen them in
quite some time.

"Hey, are you all right?" asked Chibi-Usa, turning
back to look at Rei after she noticed both her companions
stopping. Soon, she had her hand on the dark haired
woman's shoulder.

"No, I'm not all right," said Rei, finally speaking.
"I just got the most horrible feeling. It was unlike any
I've ever had, even those before Pharaoh Ninety, in its
intensity and sheer evil, and then it was gone like someone
had turned it off with a light switch. There's nothing
there, now. Not even the faintest tingling remains." She
was holding her chest with her hand, breathing deeply as
soon as she finished, trying to regain her composure.

Makoto and Chibi-Usa could do nothing but simply
stare at Rei and try to ponder what her words could
possibly imply, since they knew that more often than not
her premonitions were painfully accurate. If what she said
was true, than something had gone wrong on a scale that
rivaled any perils they had ever known. It was not a
pleasant thing to consider in the least, but they had no
choice. Makoto prepared to say something to break the
silence, but she was cut off by a sudden, sharp shout from
Rei.

"Look out!" exclaimed Rei, diving forward to push
both Makoto and Chibi-Usa forward and to the ground with as
strong a shove as she could muster. Chibi-Usa fell flat on
her backside, while Makoto twisted about to come down on
her stomach and absorbed much of the impact against the
hard pavement by using her hands to catch herself. It was
a command that may not have been necessary, but certainly
made them both feel better with regards to what happened
next.

From high above, a fiercely humming, glowing yellow-
green bolt cut through the air, slamming into the ground
several meters behind where they had been standing a moment
ago. A deafening crack split the air as it struck,
unleashing a shockwave that tore a significant hole in the
pavement and sent cracks in all directions for several
meters, stopping just short of Rei's feet. As the air
whipped about them, violently toying with the fabric of
their dresses, they had to shield themselves from lying
pieces of the steel and asphalt mixture that made up the
space port's landing field.

"What the heck was that?" shouted Makoto, springing
back up to her feet and tearing her dress in the process,
which was not made with the athletic prowess or activities
of the woman in mind. "Better yet, who the heck did it?"
Being shot at was, understandably, something that did not
please her in the least.

"It came from those three black ships we spotted a
moment ago," said Rei, who was pulling herself up to her
hands and knees. "I don't understand why they would just
open fire like that. Besides, we wouldn't just let enemies
into the shell, would we?" In theory, every ship that
sought to pass into the spaceport itself was required to
transmit a code which would identify it to the air and
space controllers so that they knew it was safe to allow
the ship in, and to make sure it wasn't on the list of
potential contraband smuggling vessels in the Shin-Muun
Kingdom's criminology databases.

"Oh my! Look at that!" exclaimed Chibi-Usa suddenly,
who had pulled herself back to her feet after rubbing her
sore bottom for a moment. The fall on the concrete hadn't
been painless, but at least she didn't think she had
injured herself in anyway. Now, she was pointing up
towards the partially transparent dome that enclosed the
spaceport. Near the airlock through which the trio of
black ships had just come, an explosion was blossoming out
like some great, orange rose.

"This is insane! It's certainly not a crash, since
they were shooting at us. Does this mean we're under
attack?" said Makoto, shielding her eyes as a bright flash
of electricity rippled over the area of the explosion
above. "That must have been the main power conduit for the
airlocks! If they're trying to capture this place intact,
they're not doing a very good job!" Debris was beginning
to rain down from the dome as well, and as she looked
closer, she saw something that horrified her.

"We'd better get inside fast!" shouted Rei, trying to
make herself heard above the series of groans, snaps, and
outright explosions that were crescendoing throughout the
spaceport. Along at least five separate bright, white and
blue lines the dome began to rip apart, raining down metal
paneling and girders like oddly shaped hailstones as the
entire structure began to crack like an egg being crushed.

All standing again finally, the trio of women began
sprinting for the primary concourse of the spaceport, their
eyes often catching the flashes and their resulting
explosions caused by the weaponry of the unidentified black
ships. The dome had yet to collapse inward, but it was
painfully close, and the sound of straining metal was
impossible to miss despite the roar of explosions and newly
started fires.

Makoto reached the door to the concourse they were
heading for first, and she wasted no time in letting her
foot lead her way, the flat heels of her shoes, which were
fortunately of a more normal manner than the high heels
worn by both Chibi-Usa and Rei, striking and flinging open
the metal door. A loud metal clang echoed through the
inside of the secondary concourse, which was primarily
concrete and steel, unlike the much more pleasant and well-
decorated interior of the main concourse. As soon as she
stepped in, passing the door, which had partially been
knocked off its hinges, she heard the low, monotonous drone
of the warning alarms that were in place to warn in case of
massive structural failure or emergency.

"Makoto, was that much force really necessary?" asked
Chibi-Usa as she came in behind Rei, who stood next to the
momentarily stopped Makoto. The youngest of the three
women found herself looking about quickly, trying to
determine what was going on inside of the building, but all
that greeted her eyes was the same chaos which had made
Makoto pause.

"I don't think it's going to matter in a few
moments," said Rei, her violet eyes staring at the chaos
which was running rampant just beyond the next door. They
had arrived in a small entry room, and beyond that was the
main area of the secondary concourse. People were running
about, and the sound of shouts and screams made the air
overbearing and harsh, which seemed to be the results of
not structural damage, but of men dressed in black uniforms
with silver and gold trim that were firing at them with
slender, matte black rifles that fired what appeared to be
beams of blue light.

"We really don't have much choice at this point, do
we?" asked Makoto, though her tone of voice made the
question more rhetorical than a real inquiry. She had her
hand tucked down into the small, sequined green purse she'd
brought with her as she spoke, clutching lightly something
in her grasp.

"I'm not sure who or why, but they're attacking, and
it's our duty to come out and fight," said Rei, who
similarly was reaching for her own red purse. She pulled
out a small, pink colored cylinder not unlike a slightly
larger version of a lipstick case, decorated by a white
guard and a pair of wings at the top, as well as a softly
gleaming ruby. "You'll be fighting as well, Chibi-Usa?"

"I will, of course. I have to protect my mother's
kingdom." Chibi-Usa, unlike her two companions, simply
reached up to her chest and gently pulled free a heart
shaped brooch decorated with gold highlights and several
small gems on a soft, pink lacquered form. She held it
high above her head as soon as it was free, her eyes turned
skyward to match as she called out the phrase that unlocked
the power within both herself and the brooch.

"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" came the words, and
almost immediately translucent pink ribbons spun out,
coiling around her and wrapping themselves about her form.
As they steadied around her, the ribbons quickly began to
change forms, becoming clothing of the purest, soft white
in the form of a sailor fuku accompanied by elbow length
gloves and calf high boots, trimmed in pink. A pair of
ornaments decorated the two buns in her hair, and a tiara
appeared on her forehead, a gemstone softly gleaming in the
light.

"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!" shouted Makoto,
holding up her slender pink and white device, which soon
gleamed with a crystal atop that shone with emerald light
coming from the astrological symbol of that planet, trapped
within. Soon, circles of lightning surrounded her,
rotating and spinning as her outfit disappeared, only to be
replaced by a sailor fuku and gloves similar to those that
had just appeared on Chibi-Usa. However, instead of the
simple low-heeled boots of her companion, she possessed
laced high-heeled shoes, of deep green color, to match the
trim of the rest of her outfit.

"Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!" said Rei, speaking in
a quieter voice than either of her two friends. Her
device, like that of Jupiter's, was a slender pink stick
with white accents and a gem atop, save that unlike the
other, hers contained a blazing symbol for Mars, which
spread out deep red and orange light just before she was
suddenly surrounded by a ring of fire, her previous outfit
disappearing to be replaced with a fuku to match those worn
by the others. Red trim and low cut high-heeled shoes,
befitting the fire she was known for, completed the uniform
that identified her as Sailor Mars.

"We need a plan, but we don't even know what we're
going up against," said Sailor Mars, who had rushed forward
to the door so that she could peer out through it to
observe the chaos reigning within the concourse. More
people were being chased through buy the black uninformed
men, who seemed to hold no qualms about shooting them in
the back or kicking them when they were down to make sure
they had been killed.

"Do you have any idea who they are?" asked Sailor
Moon, who stood just behind Sailor Jupiter. Jupiter had
taken up a position opposite Mars, so that she could also
look through the doorway. "Better yet, do you have any
idea what they're trying to do?" It was deeply troubling
to consider that people would have such a blatant disregard
for human life, and even more so that they could exist in
this large a group within the Shin-Muun Kingdom.

"I've never seen their like before," said Sailor
Jupiter, shaking her head slightly. "Whoever they are,
they look pretty tough for just normal people," she added,
noting that they were dispatching most of the people whom
fought back without even firing their weapons. At least,
they didn't fire until they'd knocked the people to the
ground and put them in a condition where they couldn't
fight.

"I remember reading that Venus has a subterranean
system for storing all the water and emergency supplies.
Maybe we could guide the people there so they can be safely
hidden while we try to fight off these invaders," said
Sailor Moon, who was shifting her stance anxiously. She
dearly wanted to help the people of her mother's kingdom,
and it was horribly painful to watch them be killed before
her eyes.

"We'll need to distract them, somehow, if we're going
to get the people away safely," said Mars, who began to
lower her stance, as if preparing to sprint. "Jupiter, can
you help me attack them, while Sailor Chibi-Moon goes and
guides them into the underground areas?" She paused a
moment as she finished, then looked at the pink-haired
Senshi who now stood beside her. "I'm sorry. I know,
you're Sailor Moon now."

"It's all right, Mars, but I don't know where the
entrance to the underground areas is," replied Sailor Moon.
"How am I going to get them there if I can't find where I'm
taking them?" It was a legitimate concern, but Sailor Mars
seemed to be getting a bit impatient, despite her implicit
trust of the new and younger Sailor Moon.

"There'll be a yellow and black radiation warning on
the right doors, so you should have no trouble. If we
don't hurry, there aren't going to be any people to help,
so we need to go, and now!" said Mars, her purple gaze
almost set aflame by her rising anger. It was not wholly
Sailor Moon who was the cause, however. These invaders had
appeared from nowhere, evading all the methods of detection
that could have possibly found them, and begun killing
people without concern or mercy. Such slaughter hadn't
been known for years.

"Sailor Mars, use your Burning Mandala, and I'll dive
under it, so I can attack from inside the room," said
Sailor Jupiter, who got down into a stance akin to a runner
about to begin a race. "Then, while I'm doing that, you
can get to the people and start guiding them out of here,
Sailor Moon," she added, before turning her green eyes onto
Sailor Mars before giving a nod of her head.

"All right, here it goes," said Mars, taking a deep
breath before she brought her hands up in front of her.
Swirling, angry red and golden flames burst into life in
her grasp, quickly swirling into a roiling inferno that she
pulled back and then lashed out into the doorway. "Burning
Mandala!" she yelled, and from her hands shot dozens of
small, thin discs of flame, almost rotating like some sort
of gatling gun as they shot through the air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were very few fields outside of Crystal Tokyo,
due to the nature of the land that surrounded it. However,
thanks to the evolutions in incorporating nature and
technology, and the ability to coexist with one another
safely, there had been a resurgence in the plants and
animals of the Earth. Here, like many other places, there
now existed forests and green fields that were popular
places for the people of the Solar System to visit. Now,
however, it would serve a very different purpose than to be
the destination of sightseeing tourists and nature lovers.

A cool, lonely wind caressed the short grass of the
field, making long ripples along the land before it rose up
to rush between the leaves of the trees. Not a single
person dared stand in the area as a black shadow fell upon
the field, its breadth sufficient to nearly create night
from day. At first, at least, it seemed that no one was
there. Two lone figures stood a meager distance from the
edge of the tree line, watching as a large black ship
shaped much like a normal shuttle but of much greater size
and menacing angles to its construction descended towards
the center of the field. Perhaps most disturbing of all
its features was the simple insignia painted on its nose.
Obscenely proud, it was a bastard sword, its silver blade
dripping blood that seemed to pour from the guard.

Both of the figures, which were discernible as women
almost immediately, wore sailor fuku outfits of matching
dark blue-green and dark blue. One possessed hair only a
shade lighter than her fuku, while the other possessed
short, but slightly wavy blond hair that didn't seem at all
similar to the fuku itself, instead matching the yellow bow
that rested at the front of her uniform.

"It's something of an inappropriate day for this sort
of thing, don't you think?" said the woman with the blue-
green hair, reaching up to flip it up from her neck
slightly. "The sky is so blue, and there are wonderfully
lazy white clouds floating above." True to her words, it
was a startlingly beautiful autumn day, and the crispness
in the air did nothing to detract from it.

"Heh. Yeah, I know what you mean," responded the
blond, who had her arms crossed in front of her in a
business-like manner. "It seems much to nice for this sort
of thing to happen. It is, though, and we're all going to
be fighting." Her eyes focused on the ever growing ship,
as it continued its descent towards the ground. "You said
that only Mercury and Saturn were on the Earth right now,
right?"

"They're in Crystal Tokyo right now, fighting off the
troops and youma that got into the streets. I've never
seen youma quite like that, I have to admit. It's all the
soldiers can do just to keep them in check. If it weren't
for the other Senshi, then they'd be doomed," said the
other woman, speaking again.

"That leaves Pluto on the Moon by herself, doesn't
it?" The blond seemed somewhat surprised, looking up
suddenly towards the moon, which was visible even in the
daylight. "I don't doubt King Endymion will protect her,
but it seems that there's too much danger for her to be the
only one there. Maybe we one of us should go up and make
sure she's safe, Michiru."

"Haruka," said Michiru, or at least Sailor Neptune,
which was her name in the Senshi form she now too, "it's
not as if Pluto can't take care of things long enough for
someone here to get to the Neo-Queen, and Sailor Venus is
there as well, I think. With luck, this battle will be
taken care of quickly, and we'll be able to return home.
Together." The last words were accentuated by a soft kiss
placed upon the lips of the taller Sailor Senshi.
"Besides, we've even got Sailor Mercury, Sailor Saturn, and
the Guardian of the Earth here. There's no reason to think
we won't win."

"You sound pretty confident," said the other Senshi.
"Perhaps we'll have to see if they can colonize one of my
planet Uranus' moons so that we can have a place to stay in
our original homes, once this is done. Enough of that,
though. We've got business to take care of now, it seems."
Her last words were accompanied by an extended index
finger, pointed towards the black ship, which had extended
what looked like black, iron skis to land with.

"Do you think they've brought us any presents?" asked
Sailor Neptune, smiling coyly with a sidelong glance
towards her companion.

"I'm sure they brought something for us to play with,
at least," replied Sailor Uranus, who leaned her head back,
letting the wind pick up her hair and pull the soft bangs
out of her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This wouldn't be such a problem if we didn't have to
worry about the city itself," said Sailor Mercury, who
stood in a stalwart, battle ready pose, her knees together
and her feet spread to the sides slightly. "From what I
make out, there's only five or six youma among the enemy
soldiers, but they're spread out and it's more than enough
to keep the Watchers busy."

"I think we've almost got this one." A shout carried
the words, which echoed through the street over the sound
of distant screams and yells, intermixed with explosions
both large and small. "Hey, look out behind you!" The
voice was female, and it was easily identified as Sailor
Saturn, who seemed to be slightly upset by the fact she had
to yell. Outright warfare was not something the Senshi
really had expected, under any circumstances.

"What? Ah!" Mercury looked over her shoulder, before
cupping her hands. "Shine Aqua… Illusion!" she said with a
quiet, unyielding force to her words. She spun, and her
hands came forward, before spreading out widely to unleash
a swarm of icy shards that lanced out from a momentarily
glittering sphere of water that had been in her grasp. The
sun's high position gave it the perfect angle to cast its
rays down, causing the miniature icy spears to glitter like
diamonds as they flew towards the squad of black uniformed
soldiers, who bore bronze and copper marks of rank and
honor upon them.

The battle, and in fact, the entire invasion, had
begun with little warning. Despite the sightings of the
massive black ship drawing near to the inner planets of the
Solar System, there had been little warning before the
first ship burned into the Earth's atmosphere. The sudden
chaos caused by the appearance of what had to be several
thousand troops of zealous devotion to slaughter and with
weaponry that fully matched that possessed by the Shin-Muun
Kingdom's Crystal Watchers, even exceeding it in some
cases, had been without limit. The outer sections of
Crystal Tokyo were now a battlefield, the line dipping as
far inward as the downtown area of the city.

"It ends here," spoke a quiet voice that came in the
wake of the sound of falling and shattering chunks of ice
and the bodies of soldiers. Jadeite, his body stretched
forward in a lunge, held a gleaming, thin bladed silver
sword of what appeared to be ancient make in his hand with
its point piercing the chest of a ruby skinned figure that
appeared to be female, but with a slick, scaly texture to
its skin and a lion-like mane of black fur. It had been
stepping to the side and back a bit, just barely avoiding
the double crescent blade of the Silence Glaive, but that
had been simply a move designed to push it into the right
position for Jadeite to finish it off.

"Great job, you two," said Mercury, turning from her
small encounter to once face the now, deeply breathing duo
of Sailor Saturn and Jadeite. "It doesn't feel like we're
making much progress, though. There's at least..." She
paused in her words, turning to look about slowly with the
transparent blue visor of her computer covering her eyes,
its surface intermittently lit up by flickering golden
writing. "There's at least five more, mostly to the south
and east of us."

It was a stroke of luck that the Sailor Senshi of
Mercury had been needed to return to the Earth, so that she
could oversee an emergency operation. She'd just finished
operating when the first shots were fired, and with a bit
of effort, it had been possible to find Hotaru and Jadeite,
who were working at the laboratory of Professor Tomoe.
They'd quickly been able to get together, along with
Michiru and Haruka, who were heading for an observatory so
that they could get more conclusive images of the black
ship.

"We need to find the commander of the Watchers and
find out how the lines are holding. This lack of
communication is driving me mad. They were never equipped
to handle this sort of occurrence, it seems," said Jadeite,
gritting his teeth slightly as he finished speaking and
glanced down the street, which was littered with debris and
defenders of Crystal Tokyo, both moving and unmoving.

"He's supposed to be on Third and Fourth Street's
corner. It's deep enough in the city that it shouldn't
have been in any danger, yet," said Saturn, bringing her
Silence Glaive up to rest comfortably in both hands at her
waist. "Neptune and Uranus went out to meet the big ship,
so we can't count on them for help. We're going to have to
find a way to get rid of these commanding youma more
quickly."

"Maybe if we can find the center of their line, then
we can get through and bring up the Watchers," said
Jadeite, wiping off the green, brackish blood that had
clung to his blade after he slew the youma. "What we
really need to do is get behind them. Could you use your
fog to cover us, Senshi of Mercury?" he then asked, turning
to look at the Senshi with blue hair.

"I can do it, but they'll probably find that unusual
on a day like today, considering the weather. It'd be a
pretty obvious beacon. We'd be hidden within it, but it'd
be obvious something was going on," replied Sailor Mercury,
who put her fingers against her chin as she pondered.
"Still, it might give us an advantage. We could get around
behind them, if it's in the right place."

"What if we go along the rooftops? There are still
catwalks from the construction in the old section of the
city, where they were renovating to the new building
standards. We could use the fog as a distraction, then,
since they'll search it, and they'll have less to fight us
with when we come down on them from above," said Saturn,
gesturing with the Glaive towards another section of the
city.

"That could work," said Mercury, nodding as she let
her visor disappear from in front of her eyes. "The fog
will burn off within half an hour or so, I think, so we'd
better hurry once we've got it in place, or they'll be
returning to their former spots since they'll figure it was
a trick. If we get this done, then we can also go and help
Uranus and Neptune. If that ship has many troops on it,
they're going to be in trouble very quickly."

"Once we're behind them, we should be in the park
area. We can be slightly more liberal with our powers
there, so it should be much easier to defeat the youma."
Jadeite took a moment to slide his sword into the white
sheath that adorned his hip, then adjusted the pair of
matching gloves he was wearing. "Let's give them our best,
shall we?" he then added, smiling faintly towards Saturn,
and then to Mercury.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moon Palace City had remained, to a point, generally
ignorant of the sudden and dark portents that had suddenly
introduced themselves throughout the Solar System, but it
was a security blanket, woven only by unintentional
ignorance, that was to be blown away all too easily.
Despite the inexplicable jamming of communications from
Crystal Tokyo, and indeed, most of the surrounding
continents, there was still a source of information on the
Earth's status.

The singular, most powerful source of information
from Earth, unfortunately, was able to only communicate at
speeds made possible by the flesh, and Sailor Pluto,
shocked from her meditations within the Crystal Watcher's
Spire, was forced to make her way to the Moon Palace so
that she might seek out Neo-Queen Serenity and King
Endymion to warn them of the impending battles that were
about to spring up like wildfires on the Earth. Still, she
was an able person, and it took her only the shortest
period of time to successfully enter the halls of the Moon
Palace and bring the information to attention so that it
could be acted upon.

While that problem was arising elsewhere in Moon
Palace City, Minako Aino was having a very different sort
of situation, though one she would later suspect was
infinitely more pleasant than tidings of impending war
against unidentifiable foes. Her concerns were dominated
by a myriad of different matters focusing on the same two
central issues in her life, at the present. Her career, of
course, and the quest to become a true idol singer, was her
number one priority, and she also found herself spending
time with the new, mysterious individual who she knew as
Nisei.

The pleasant nature of the restaurant they were
spending their late evening in was a perfect match to their
quiet conversation, which focused on subjects that
truthfully were not all that interesting, save for the fact
that they were engaging the pair. The topics drifted from
weather, to the music industry and the larger entertainment
business itself, and to the decor of the restaurant itself,
which featured a large number of flowers of a rainbow of
hues and soft background colors that made the inside seem
larger than it really was.

"I've never had any really big hits down on Earth,"
said Minako, smiling a bit ruefully. "It's not too hard to
travel between there and the Moon, but we it's getting
around once you're down that's part of the problem, because
of the limited number of places to leave the planet from.
It makes it too hard to schedule good concert tours that'll
include both places, and so I can't really keep my image
constant in both places, and the industry moves so quickly
that it causes major trouble."

"It seems like it shouldn't be so bad, if you have
someone adept at planning your stops in a skillful manner,"
replied Nisei, furrowing his brow slightly, though he
maintained a faint smile as he did so. It always seemed
that he had a positive, if subtle, exterior, to Minako.
"It's almost mathematical, really, though I confess that's
not my area of expertise; or even proficiency, for that
matter. I'm quite bad at it, in fact."

"That's all right, I used to be terrible at that kind
of stuff when I was in school," responded Minako, laughing.
It pleased her to know that she wasn't going to be at some
major disadvantage with Nisei in regards to their academic
knowledge, which was perhaps a bit silly, when she thought
about it, but nice nonetheless. "It's not a bad idea, but
we try to keep the concerts fairly random and
unpredictable, mainly because there are some fans who get a
little too zealous and follow you around to every
performance. It's not too healthy for the poor guys to do
that."

"I can imagine keeping up with a rigorous schedule is
quite trying, even to those who know it in advance. So, is
the idea then to just limit those trailing you to the
genuinely devoted stalkers and obsessive types?" said
Nisei, laughing quietly.

"I suppose it has that effect," she replied, laughing
as well. "It's easier to spot them that way, though. Just
see who has tickets to every single place I've been in the
last two months." Indeed, it was actually the method used
by her small cadre of bodyguards, who ensured her safety on
the road, though in truth she was quite safe on her own,
due to her alternate identity as the Sailor Senshi of
Venus.

"I haven't noticed anybody beyond your group and
manager around here. Do you have any security staff to
keep track of things?" The insight was a bit surprising to
Minako, but she'd come to expect that sort of perception on
his part over the last few weeks she'd known him. He
always seemed to be able to connect information, even if it
was distantly related and seemed to be impossible to deduce
without some detective work.

"I do, yes, but they only go with me when I'm on
Earth. The Shin-Muun Kingdom is very safe, but Earth still
has the widest range of population, from the rich and
prosperous to the poor and desperate. There's only so much
that can be done to help them, I guess, but we never stop
trying. Those that are left at the bottom are usually
there by choice, in our society. Well, really, they're not
poor. The poor are usually well taken care of. It's the
criminals that reside in the few shadows of the Earth even
today that are the problem. Nothing like that happens here
on the Moon, though."

"It seems like society has come a long way. My
grandfather always used to tell tales about how horrible
things used to be. We always attributed it to his being
senile, though," said Nisei, smiling faintly and chuckling.
"No person in their right mind tries to walk thirty miles
when they have a vehicle in the garage, and it's one in the
morning."

"Not usually," laughed Minako. "He actually did
that, huh? Sounds reminiscent of something one of my old
friends would have done in High School. We used to say she
was senile, too, though we never meant it."

"What are friends for, after all," replied Nisei,
with a sly grin. "It's just one of the duties of people
who are close, right?" It looked as though he planned to
continue, but his words were changed at the last moment.
"I hear a distinctly communication style beeping. Is your
phone ringing?"

"It seems that way," responded Minako, who held up
the watch on her left wrist, which had begun to incessantly
make known an incoming call for her. "It find this a lot
easier than a normal phone," she added, before pushing a
button and holding up the device so she could clearly see
the small screen on it. Her conversation was quick, and
whispered, with her expression being kept perfectly neutral
until the end, when she frowned slightly, and ended the
call.

"It seems we have a tendency to be interrupted," she
said, offering another rueful smile. "I'm needed
elsewhere, it seems, and it's rather important. You'll
give me a call, right? I really would like to go out and
do something again, and soon."

"It's quite all right," he said, dismissively waving
his hand. "Business is business, after all, and I can
hardly hold it against you. A shame, though. Things were
just getting interesting." He offered her a smile and a
wink, before standing up and helping her from her seat.
"We'll meet again, most certainly."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I am Kanashii, and my associate here is Kessen.
We're here to insure that this city falls under our
shimmering steel gauntlets. Who dares to stand before the
fury of the Knight Adepts and our Blades of the Lost
Kings?" The speaker was a tall man, whose outfit was
notable primarily for two reasons. It shared threads
common to the uniforms worn by the men even now leading the
battery of youma that had beset the city of Crystal Tokyo,
and it was also of eclectic, rich and warlike design.

Strips of armor, fashioned into elongated diamond
shapes, immediately caught the sunlight that angled towards
the place the two Knight Adepts were standing, highlighting
their broad shoulders and their thighs as well. The
placement was typical of any type of armor that had ever
been made, but their outfits had differing characteristics
as well. The one who identified himself as Kanashii had
violet vines etched into the surface of the half-chest
plate of silver that covered his chest, while the one known
as Kessen instead had a red sword of fine detail emblazoned
upon his, which was also a darker shade, slipping towards
bronze.

Both of the men had swords resting at their sides,
which rest in sheaths that were colored in the same hue as
that of freshly spilt blood. The guards of the weapons
were colored to match the symbols on their chest plates,
and the hilts wrapped to match the black, skin-tight
material that covered the rest of their bodies, which
appeared to be a leather derivative.

"Sadness and war? Nice names. Sounds like you two
came from a rather dismal place," said Sailor Neptune, who
brushed some of her sea-green hair away from her neck in a
slightly coy fashion, before looking to her companion,
Sailor Uranus. "You think we should tell them who we are?"

"I think it won't make a difference, but since they
asked so nicely for our introductions, why not? It'll make
a good bit to talk about before we kick them out of our
Solar System." Looking towards them, Sailor Uranus put her
hand on her hip and prepared to give their introduction as
the Sailor Senshi of Elegance and the New Age.

"Sailor Senshi Uranus and Neptune, among the most
powerful beings to live in this galaxy, in theory. We know
of you already," said Kessen, his voice a lilting, tired
melody to match the soft, timeless voice of his companion.
"You will oppose our new order, of that we have no doubt,
and so there is no recourse other than battle. Still,
order is important in battle, and so we request the format
of sequential duels. If you refuse, we will open fire with
our ships main gun on Crystal Tokyo, and kill as many
civilians as possible. Now, which of you will fight
first?"

"You rat, what kind of an honorable tactic is that?
You're a walking ball of hypocrisy!" exclaimed Uranus,
raising her fist in a threatening manner towards Kessen,
who simply smiled faintly in response. "Saying you want to
duel and then pulling a stunt like that is insane!"

"We have our reasons," said Kanashii, crossing his
arms over his chest. "Now, will you conform or will the
innocents in the city instead be the ones to bow to us in
death?"

"We haven't got a choice right now," said Sailor
Neptune, resting a comforting hand on Uranus' shoulder.
"I'll deal with the first one, if you don't mind. It's
certainly got to be done, after all."

"No, I'll fight first. I want to make them see the
folly of their ways," responded Uranus, narrowing her eyes
as she brushed a few strands of her blond hair from her
eyes. "Just make sure they don't open up with those guns
on the people in Crystal Tokyo while I'm occupied, all
right?"

"Naturally. Don't worry. So long as I have life in
my body, they won't destroy Crystal Tokyo," replied
Neptune, smiling softly. "Good luck, and be strong." With
those words, Neptune stepped back from Uranus, moving
behind her to see who would be nominated to fight against
the other Sailor Senshi.

"I'm pleased you see it in our way. I shall be your
opponent, and Kessen will stay aside to insure that your
companion, Neptune, does not interfere in our battle."
With a deliberate, slow motion, the tall Kanashii, his
long, elegant black hair flowing in the wind, reached to
his side and slid forth the blade at his hip. The violet
highlighted weapon was serrated on one side, though finely,
and etchings of vines ran the full length of the mirrored
blade.

"Heh, I'm glad to oppose one of your idiom," said
Uranus, pulling from her chest in a gleam of golden light
the slender, jeweled scimitar known as her Space Sword, one
of the talismans whose history fell through the ages. "I
hope you've made your peace with whatever higher power you
claim to follow."

"I've more than made peace. I've made war." With a
faint grin, the Knight Adept raised his sword into a guard
position, to match that made by Sailor Uranus, while Kessen
and Sailor Neptune moved away from the soon to be
battleground. It was a sight to behold, truly, as the two
faced off, their blades catching the sunlight and becoming
blinding as they waited for each other to make the first
move. Soon, the sound of blades clashing and of blood
being drawn would echo throughout the clearing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was amongst the gloom and shadows of fog that many
of the soldiers and youma from the unknown source were
scouring the streets and field on the edge of Crystal Tokyo
in an attempt to find the source of the sudden climactic
abnormality. Many remained at the edges, hanging back to
provide quick, hard support when the time was right to
strike at the fools who dared to mock them with such
unusual tactics. Unfortunately, the back line was not back
far enough.

"Take this," spoke the cool voice of Jadeite in a
harsh manner, his right hand drawing back so that it could
hold a crackling orb of lightning, the tendrils of which
flickered around him and brought the scent of ozone to
prominence in his area. It was set to a count of sixty,
and only a few scant moments remained. Then, it was time.
He shoved his hand forward, and the glittering ball of
electricity vaulted forth, arrowing towards a cluster of
soldiers some twenty to thirty meters before him.

The ground shuddered, and he knew it wasn't only from
his attack, but the combined force of Sailor Mercury and
Sailor Saturn unleashing their abilities as well. The
glimmer of water catching sunlight, despite the fog, caught
his attention for an instant, as ribbons of icy cold liquid
lashed out from nearby the concealed position of Mercury,
before the true most devastating power was unleashed. The
source of the shaking earth was the rapidly expanding field
of purple energy, which was immolating a large crowd near a
building not far away. Words reached his ears, appropriate
to each attack used by the Senshi, their voices intertwined
as they called out those phrases.

To add to the effects of the Silence Glaive Surprise
and the Aqua Rhapsody was the echoing crack of thunder,
which struck out in the wake of an expanding wave of
interlaced arcs of electricity that wove through a group of
the soldiers, and a few youma as well. In the wake of the
devastating trio of impacts, some of the soldiers stood
stunned or surprised, while others were holding their ears
from the concussive force of the thunder. Still, plenty of
them remained upright and ready to fight.

Tearing through their ranks was not as difficult a
task as Jadeite first suspected it might be, as he made
deft, killing motions with the polished white and silver
sword in his hand, rushing through in the wake of the
strikes by he and the two Senshi so that they might join up
with one another near the building to give them a place to
fight from without the chance to be surrounded. The
soldiers had gathered their wits quickly, and had come to
rely on the blades at their sides to fight instead of their
ranged weapons, which were quickly rendered useless in the
massed group that sought to fight only a few.

Mercury had the most trouble making her way through
the body of soldiers, though she did not waste any time in
trying to fight them physically, instead using her
abilities to knock them away left and right so she could
meet up with the other two. Ice clung to those around her
and weighed them down, when it didn't freeze them or
occasionally make them drop and shatter some portion of
their body, which Mercury did her best not to notice.

Saturn seemed to have little trouble, her Silence
Glaive keeping a wide berth devoid of enemies around her.
Even some of the youma that ventured close found themselves
significantly reduced in size by the wickedly sharp edge of
the blade, which Saturn had increased her understanding and
skill with in the recent time past the battle with the
first youma in Crystal Tokyo. Finally, she reached
Jadeite, whom, much to their mutual surprise and
subconscious action, reached out to take her willing hand
for a moment, before they turned with their backs to one
another and began to fight towards Mercury.

"All right, we've got this part of the plan done!
Now we just need to wait for the Crystal Tokyo Soldiers to
meet us and then we can get rid of these guys," said an
excited Sailor Mercury as the two reached her. It was
always satisfying to see a plan proceed well, and it gave
her a great sense of accomplishment.

"Right. We'll be able to clean up this mess and then
get down to figuring out where they came from," said
Jadeite, still back to back with Sailor Saturn, who was
wielding her Silence Glaive in harmony with his sword to
leave little or no openings for the soldiers to exploit.

"The price will be high, though, I am afraid. Still,
the price which is exacted upon them shall in turn be
higher, as is necessary," said Saturn. She was not
vengeful, nor was she particularly cruel, but her nature as
the Senshi of Destruction made her also understanding of
the fact that her sphere of power was being called on to
settle this war, which she had a distinct feeling would be
one that saw no quarter given them by their enemy.