Sailor Moon: Ghosts of the Past

by Perentie Fan

Frozen by a magic spell of procrastination and laziness for a thousands years (or so it may have seemed) I have awakened and now completed this, my first fanfiction series! Read and enjoy.

19. To Live for Revenge! An Unexpected Ally

Sailor Moon

Ghosts of the past

A fanfiction by Jonathan Schmidt

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon so don't sue me. There I said it J

This series is based almost entirely on the dub which, despite its shortcomings, I prefer to the original. Judge the story by how well made you think it is not by whether I include those questionable aspects of the original. Try to regard it as a different reality and dimension. It takes place a few months after the end of the Stars season. Any question/comments? Email me at ashmidt@flash.net enjoy.

Text in italics are thoughts.

Text in Triangular Brackets is psychic or telepathic communication

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Episode nineteen: To Live for Revenge! An Unexpected Ally

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"Eugeal?!"

Indeed there stood Eugeal, the first of the Witches 5. She smirked. Uranus and Neptune glared at her. "You…" Uranus clenched her fists and ran at the woman in a rage. Before she could go far though Saturn had grabbed her. It was an odd sight, the soldier being held back by such a small girl. "Let me go!" Uranus growled as she struggled.

"Easy, let's hear what she has to say," Saturn said gently.

Uranus's eyes narrowed in hate as she remembered (we see flashbacks to when Neptune's Heart Crystal was taken). "I will never forgive her for what she did."

Neptune glared at the witch coldly, "nor will I."

"So prone to violence," Eugeal smirked, "I see you two remember me. I guess even Sailors aren't above holding grudges. But before you blast me to atoms don't you want to at least know how and why I am here?"

"Who is this freaky woman?" Mars Knight asked.

Mars didn't take her eyes off the witch, "she's Eugeal, the first of the Witches 5 we faced. But I thought she was long gone."

"We always assumed you died from the wounds Super Sailor Moon gave you when she reflected your Fire Buster," Pluto said eyeing her warily.

Eugeal scowled. "That little burn was nothing compared to what I got from my own people," she narrowed her eyes in anger as she remembered. "That upstart Mimet took it upon herself to punish me for my failures, as if she could do any better. She tampered with my car causing me to lose control and crash into the ocean. As far as everyone with the Heart Snatchers was concerned that was the end of me. Only it wasn't. (We see flashbacks). I was injured but I managed to get to shore just fine. After that I turned my back on the Heart Snatchers, I wasn't about to go back with Mimet there. Since then I've had one thing on my mind, revenge. I thought I lost my chance when you trapped Mimet in cyberspace but thanks to Jedite it seems I have another opportunity. Till now Mimet's been too strong for me to think about taking on but now she's weak and vulnerable I just might stand a chance."

"How did you know about Mimet getting trapped and her injury," Jupiter asked.

"I have my sources and I've made a special effort to keep informed on Mimet's whereabouts since she turned up again in the last several months."

Moon looked perplexed. "But still there's no way you could know about that unless… unless…"

"Unless she's bugged us somehow," Uranus growled.

"Well look at that, I thought it'd take you twice as long to figure it out. It's really a simple little device I put in your Princess's hair a while back." (We see Eugeal in disguise passing Serena in a mall and planting the device.) "Don't worry, it's deactivated and fallen off by now."

"So you're Eugeal," Mercury Knight said as he crossed his arms, "I certainly never thought I'd have the displeasure of meeting you."

"Well look at this, new faces," she commented on the knights as though she had just noticed them.

"What do you want you heartless psycho?" Uranus said angrily.

"That's simple to answer actually. To kill Mimet, to make her pay for the humiliation she gave me. I want you to take me to her. In exchange I will show you the way as unless I am mistaken despite Amy and Dr. Tomoe's help you have yet to find a way to get to Jedite's dimension on your own."

"You're insane if you think we would ever work with you," Venus said dangerously.

"What other choice do you have?" Eugeal asked. "As long as Jedite stays free he's a danger to this city. You can't be everywhere at once. Unless you attack him at the source of all this some innocent man, woman or child will die from his actions. He's put hundreds in hospitals already with his energy draining."

Tuxedo Mask stepped forward, "How do we know we can trust you? You could just as easily lead us into a trap."

"Don't even think I'd ever help Mimet or anyone who allies with her!" Eugeal snapped. Her face hardened in pent-up rage, "I hate that stuck up brat with every fiber of my being. Now, help me help you or would you rather wait for Jedite to figure out some other way to attack you?"

Moon looked at her long and hard then closed her eyes and sighed. "What do you need?"

"Sailor Moon!" Uranus gasped.

"You can't really be considering allying with this demon?" Neptune said in shock.

"I won't let Jedite hurt a single other soul in this city," Moon said, looking at them with complete resolution. "I want this battle to be over, now."

Tuxedo put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye, "I want that too, but are you sure this is the wisest way to go about it?"

"Eugeal is right, we haven't had any luck yet on our own finding Jedite's base, this could be our best chance to stop him for good," Moon said emotionally. Choking back her tears she looked to the others, "Look at the devastation Jedite has already caused. If we are going to beat him we'll need to take some chances just like I did when I protected Mistress 9 until Saturn could awaken, just like I did when I chose not to fight Galaxia but to heal her. For the world we protect we must forget how we feel about Eugeal, this is more important than that."

The other Sailors and the Knights stared back at her for a while undecided till they at last, one by one, nodded in resignation.

Eugeal smiled, "Excellent."

*Doctor Tomoe's lab*

Tomoe's eyes widened at the sight of Eugeal; "do I… know you?" Suddenly he convulsed and held his head as if in pain.

Saturn ran to his side in concern, "Daddy are you okay?"

"Fine," Tomoe said wearily, "just… bad memories."

Eugeal smirked. "So you're all that's left of the great Doctor Tomoe, how sad. Were you the one who ordered Mimet to kill me or did she do it on her own? Regardless you didn't care much."

Tomoe seemed to strain to speak, "I… have… trouble remembering things from that time."

"Its to be expected," Eugeal smiled, seeming to take a certain joy in the Doctor's pain. "You weren't exactly yourself back then were you? Frankly I preferred you possessed by that daimon."

"Back off!" Saturn said threateningly pointing her scythe at Eugeal's neck so she couldn't get any closer to her father. "Leave him alone and do what you said you would."

"All right all right," Eugeal replied as Saturn led her father out of the room. "Let me see your scanning equipment so I can compare it with mine and make the necessary modifications."

Uranus glared at her; "One wrong move witch and I'll send you to join your master."

Eugeal merely raised an eyebrow at the threat and tapped her foot impatiently; "I'm waiting…"

Tomoe collapsed against a wall, hand on his head, he seemed drained. "Daddy…" Saturn whispered near tears, "what's wrong?"

Tomoe breathed heavily, "seeing her… brought back so many memories I thought had been blocked out. It's… just difficult to take them all in. Hotaru I'm so sorry I burden you with this, sometimes I wonder if it would have been better if I had died in that fire. Than you would never have had to go through all this with the Heart Snatchers."

"No don't say that!" Saturn cried and hugged him tightly. "Daddy, you're the only reason I survived the explosion. What's past is past, we're together now that's what matters."

Tomoe smiled, "you are so strong…"

Saturn smiled back and helped him up; "you're stronger than you think. Remember how you destroyed Germatoid? You saved all of us, I was so proud of you then. I still am."

Tomoe looked at his daughter lovingly, "if I am strong its only because of your support. As long as you're with me I can do anything. Now, lets go back inside and help the others."

Saturn's eyes shone with concern again, "are you sure you'll be okay with Eugeal there?"

"As you said what's past is past," Tomoe said resolutely. "I want to make myself useful if I can."

As Eugeal worked Jupiter looked over her shoulder. "What makes you think you'll be able to find them when we couldn't?"

Eugeal replied without looking up. "Mimet thinks she's so smart, but everything she knows she learned by stealing ideas from me. The only way Jedite could have stayed hidden this long is with Mimet's help. Thus it makes sense if I scan as I would for my own inventions I'll find where they are."

"You two okay?" Moon asked in concern as Tomoe and Saturn reentered the room.

"We will be," Saturn said glaring at Eugeal, "When this is over."

"Eureka!" Eugeal cried as an image appeared on the scanner on Mercury's computer. "That was quite a bit easier than I thought, it turns out you weren't needed much after all Doctor Tomoe," she said dismissively. Tomoe scowled. Eugeal shook her head and sighed at the sailors, "You shouldn't feel too badly girls, you were really quite close. You just missed a few details."

"Tell us what you found," Venus ordered.

Eugeal smirked again. "It seems Jedite's base is in a pocket dimension the main entrance to which is positioned directly over this very city."

Everyone gasped. "You mean this entire time he's been right under our noses?!" Venus cried.

"Actually a more accurate term might be over-" Mercury started to correct.

"I don't care!" Venus yelled back hysterically.

Eugeal coughed to get their attention, "ahem, of course it doesn't do you much good knowing where it is if you don't know how to get in. The entrances are well camouflaged and I doubt even your dimension hopping princess's abilities could get you in without a map."

"And you can provide that?" Artemis asked as he and Luna strolled into the room.

"Guys, you came" Moon said happily.

"As soon as you called," Luna said glancing at the Knights. "See Artemis what did I tell you, you take one catnap and look at what you miss. Next time it will probably be Serena's wedding."

"Enough with the attempts at levity," Eugeal said, quite put out with having to report to two talking cats. "Yes I can get you in, but its going to take awhile." She looked at the Sailors and Knights, "I suggest you go find something to do. It may take a few hours to finish the computations and I hate being watched while I'm working."

"Too bad," Uranus said crossing her arms.

"We'll keep an eye on Eugeal," Neptune said to the others, "The rest of you should go rest. That was a tough battle we just had and we'll need all our strength."

"We must prepare to enter Jedite's domain," Pluto said darkly.

Jupiter nodded then looked to her Knight, "Ken maybe you should go home. Things could get really bad and… I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

"I agree," Mars said to Mars Knight, "I'm not comfortable with you going with us."

"Jamie… I don't think-" Venus whispered to Venus Knight.

"Mina we're a part of this now," Venus Knight said touching her face tenderly.

Mercury Knight looked at Mercury, "We swore to protect you and the Earth Amy."

"There's no way we're being left behind on this Raye," Mars Knight said taking Mar's hand.

Finally Jupiter Knight turned to Jupiter, "Lita, I worry every time you have to fight, but there are more important things than that. If we can be of any help we have to come."

Jupiter got teary, "I know I just… love you so much…"

"I should add that touching sentimentality also interferes with my work," Eugeal said with a disgusted growl. "Will you go please." She promptly received angry glares from everyone as all but Uranus and Neptune left the lab. She couldn't care less.

Some time later Trista paused as she passed Hotaru's room, spotting the young girl lying on her bed looking at a book. "Mind if I come in?" she inquired as she tapped on the doorframe.

"Of course not," Hotaru beamed happily. "I was just looking through one of my old albums. Do you want to see it?" she inquired hopefully.

Trista smiled, "I'd enjoy that little one."

Ken sighed as he lay on the couch; Lita snuggled on his lap asleep. "I honestly never thought my life would turn out this way."

"Would you rather it hadn't?" Lita asked, opening one eye and smiling.

Ken smiled and shook his head, "No, ever since I got my memory back I feel so much more complete and full. I don't remember everything of course, just the important stuff. Still, its as though I understand myself and my place better than ever before."

"And what is your place?" Lita asked as she snuggled closer.

Ken looked down at her lovingly, entranced by her beautiful green eyes, "With you, protecting our world."

"I think I see now more than ever that that is my place too," she said with a happy sigh as she drifted back to sleep.

Michelle had a far off look in her eyes, her face troubled at the foreboding roaring of the sea. Amara noticed and took her hand, gently playing with her fingers. Michelle looked at her and smiled. Their moment was interrupted when Eugeal noticed.

"What is with you two anyway?" she asked with a scowl.

Amara looked at her irritated, "What do you mean?"

"You're always with each other, heck you live together. Rather odd for cousins, what are you secret lovers or something?"

Michelle closed her eyes as she considered her answer. "If you're asking if we love each other than yes, we're closer than sisters."

"Not that we would expect you to understand that," Amara said spitefully.

Eugeal scowled again, "I don't want to understand. What's the point of a relationship if you don't get physical enjoyment out of it?"

Amara narrowed her eyes, "There's a lot more to love than physical pleasure. There are many kinds of love just as there are many ways to love someone."

"We are soul mates," Michelle said, "I doubt I'll ever find a man who completes me as much as Amara does. But that doesn't mean we have to act as a man and woman do. We simply believe it isn't right."

"But again, I doubt you'd understand that," Amara said then her face softened. "You know, I still hate you for what you did but I also see why Serena pities you. To lose the ability to know love is the greatest loss anyone can experience and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, even you." Eugeal only growled in reply and got back to her work.

Chad gaped as he looked over the huge selection of food in Tomoe's refrigerator. "Man, Hotaru's dad must be loaded."

Raye raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You didn't get that impression from their mansion sized house?"

"Someday I'll be rich too, when I become a star," Mina's eyes turned into stars as she fantasized.

"Maybe I could travel with you," Jamie suggested. "I don't have many plans for after High School and it could get lonely on the road all by yourself."

Mina smiled and looked at him tenderly; "There will always be room for you my Jamie."

Meanwhile Amy and Greg were filling Serena, Darien and the cats in on the battle. "Jedite looked really weak by the end of it," Greg said. "Unless he recovers fast that could mean we'd have an advantage in the battle."

"Perhaps," Darien admitted, "But we'll still be in Jedite's realm. There's no telling what we may face in there." Darien looked at Serena in concern, "Are you sure you're up to this? Most likely the only option will be to destroy both Jedite and Mimet along with the Negaforce."

Serena sighed and laid in her chair, "I'll do what I have to. It's like you told me a long time ago, 'If forced to we must fight… for what we believe in.'"

"Let's just hope Eugeal doesn't create more problems than she solves," Amy said.

Hotaru pointed out a large bright picture of her mother and father and her at the park. "This one was taken only a few months before the explosion," Hotaru said, her face growing sad. "If I'd known what was going to happen I would have tried to treasure that day more."

"It has been my experience that many people take the time they have for granted," Pluto said looking at the picture with interest. "They get so caught up in their fast-paced lives that they forget to live life as it should be lived, moment by moment." She looked Hotaru in the eye; "You are not one of those people."

Hotaru smiled and looked down, "Thanks Trista. You know… no one could ever take my moms place but especially over the past few months… you've… been like a mother to me." She blushed slightly at the admission.

Trista tried to not let her joy and shock at hearing those words show and failed. Well it seems between Hotaru and Rini you have two people who see you as a mother figure. I never would have expected it, she thought to herself. She took Hotaru's hand and squeezed it.

Hotaru squeezed back and looked at her as a thought crossed her mind. "What about you? Do you take time for granted? In all the years you've lived I don't see how you couldn't sometimes."

Trista sighed, her ancient eyes wondering amidst the great stores of wisdom behind them. "I view time differently little one, but… I treasure every moment I can. Its moments like these I treasure most of all." Hotaru snuggled up against her and the two enjoyed a long tender hug.

A few hours later everyone stood gathered outside. "We don't have all day," Lita said impatiently to Eugeal, "You said you were ready."

Eugeal took one last look at her laptop to double-check the readings and took her glasses off. "All right, just give me a moment to bring my car around," Eugeal said as she pressed a button on a small remote in her hand. Within seconds her car (it looks just like her old one) had driven up from in front of the house.

Serena looked perplexed, "When did that get here? We walked."

"My cars possesses an artificial intelligence and is controlled by remote. It was able to drive itself here, probably freaking out a few people along the way," Eugeal said as she approached it. Opening up the car she pulled out a large shoulder mounted incinerary device. "Meet the Fire Buster Model 3," she said proudly, "The most powerful yet. I've been working on it ever since my betrayal."

"And how do we know you won't use that thing on us?" Amara asked.

"We should by all rights leave you behind now that we know where the base is," Michelle said.

Eugeal seemed unperturbed. "I don't see what you're getting so upset about. You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. All I want is Mimet. Besides," she said looking to Serena, "You promised me. Will you go back on your word when I proved trustworthy on my end of the bargain?"

Serena shook her head and looked at her sympathetically, "I'll do as I said, but I do ask that you reconsider this. Is it really worth it Eugeal?"

"Believe me its worth it," Eugeal said, her voice dripping with anticipation, "My life has been a living Hell ever since that day. Now I can end it," she said with finality.

"You say that as though you don't plan on coming back," Tomoe said, his voice concerned.

"I don't," Eugeal replied flatly.

"Lets transform," Trista said, "While there's still a chance of the element of surprise."

"Something tells me Jedite will know we're there as soon as we arrive," Amara said.

"Regardless we can't afford to delay any longer," Michelle said.

"For the sake of our way of life," Darien said.

"And for all the people in this city," Mina said.

"We'll strike the final blow," Lita said.

"And end this game for good," Amy said.

Serena nodded, "Let's do it."

"Yeah! Let's rock!" Chad cried.

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

"Mars Crystal Power!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

"Venus Crystal Power!"

"Pluto Crystal Power!"

"Neptune Crystal Power!"

"Uranus Crystal Power!"

"Saturn Crystal Power!"

"Mercury Planetary Power!"

"Mars Planetary Power!"

Jupiter Planetary Power!"

"Venus Planetary Power!"

Darien took out a rose and transformed into Tuxedo Mask in a flurry of light.

"Moon Eternal Power!"

*Long transformation sequence as "Sailor Soldiers" theme plays*

Luna addressed the group of soldiers, "Everyone, get ready to Teleport."

"Can we really do this?" Mars asked as they formed the circle. "We've never transported so many before."

"The Knights and Tuxedo Mask have star powers just like ours so its not like they're really passengers, only Eugeal is," Mercury explained.

"Still it's the biggest teleport we've ever done," Venus said, "Let's hope nothing goes wrong."

"I've inputted the data you need in your computer to get there," Eugeal told Mercury as she handed the laptop back and got in the center of the circle. "Follow my route and we'll be just fine."

Mercury nodded grimly. "I still don't trust you, I'm doing this for Sailor Moon's sake and the sake of this city.

"As am I," Uranus said, the disdain clear in her voice.

"I don't care," Eugeal replied with a glare, "Just get to it."

"Be careful everyone," Artemis said.

"We will be," Venus replied.

"I promise daddy," Saturn said warmly to Tomoe. Auras soon surrounded everyone as they concentrated their powers and called out:

"Sailor Teleport!"

The ground beneath them cracked apart as a great amount of energy rose up around them till they disappeared. "There they go again," Luna said with a sigh.

"I'm worried too," Artemis said gently rubbing himself up against Luna in comfort as cats do, "But you have to admit they've really become self sufficient."

"Sometimes I wonder what's tougher…" Tomoe said to them as he sat down on the grass and looked at the place the sailors had just been, "The going or the waiting…"

Mercury Knight opened his eyes, finding himself floating in a massive energy sphere with the others, their hands still linked as they traveled through a pitch black darkness, "Real teleportation… that was incredible."

"No matter how many times you do it it still feels amazing doesn't it?" Saturn said with a smile.

Neptune smiled back, "It certainly does."

"Okay," Eugeal said from her place floating in the center of the circle, "Jedite's been hiding in the vast empty space that exist between dimensions. His presence should have created a sub or pocket dimension within this expanse that my scanner can detect. Otherwise it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack the size of a small galaxy." She handed her scanner to Mercury who quickly scanned its information with her own.

"I know where to go now," Mercury said, "Everyone, concentrate on my mind and we should all be transported inside it." The others nodded and again the group disappeared in a great flash of light.

*Jedite's base. We cut from a view of the base floating in a vast expanse of black to an inside view of one of the passageways*

"I don't believe it," Moon gasped as she looked at the walls and tunnels.

"This place is definitely the same as Beryl's base," Tuxedo, the only other one who had entered it in the past, said. "Jedite must have raised it from beneath the Arctic after he awakened."

"So," Neptune said taking her surroundings in, "This is where our first enemies lived?" Even now she could sense the strong dark forces around her.

"Yes," Moon replied, "This is where Queen Beryl operated from. I thought it was completely destroyed by the Silver Crystal… but then I also thought that the Negaforce and Jedite were gone for good too…"

"Where do we go now?" Venus Knight asked.

Mercury brought out her laptop. "My computer can scan the passageways ahead of us to help us know where they lead but not very far, all this dark energy is interfering with its scanner."

"Same here," Eugeal said as she examined her equipment.

"Then we'll work with what we have," Uranus said.

"Tread cautiously," Tuxedo Mask said. "Jedite knows we're here, I felt his anger rise the moment we arrived when I touched the stone wall. His mind's energy must be networked through this whole place so he can sense any intruders immediately."

"Too bad your psychometry can't tell us how strong he is," Venus said.

Meanwhile Jedite brooded from his throne, do not think that I am defenseless Moon child, if necessary I can create warriors from these very stones… He stood up and concentrated his power, drawing energy from their stores in the base and using it to bring to life the inanimate objects in front of him. His eyes glowed hauntingly as the stone ground around him tore apart, the rocks forming together into four hulking giants (creatures made up entirely of boulders like the creature in Galaxy Quest.) Jedite's eyes narrowed. "Go, use any means to eliminate them."

The rock creatures lumbered off and Jedite returned to his brooding. "Do you actually think they will stop them?" the Negaforce hissed.

Jedite replied flatly, "No."

"I have my own contingency plan Jedite but I will wait and see if you can figure out a solution on your own."

Jedite clenched his fists. First the defeat of his greatest creations, the Pseudo Galaxias, and now the Sailors had found their way to his base. His anger and frustration threatened to explode at any moment. This can't be happening! Suddenly an idea occurred to him. He smiled evilly. Of course… he thought. Even at her mightiest Sailor Moon has one fatal flaw that makes her easy to overcome. It is time I took advantage of it…

As they walked Moon moved up next to Eugeal. "I want to thank you for helping us, I know you didn't have to."

Eugeal chuckled to herself, "that's where you're wrong. You see when Mimet drove me from the Heart Snatchers she took away everything I had. My home, my job, everything. Now I'll take her life, it's the only thing I have left…"

Moon's eyes shone with compassion, "But… there are so many things you could do for people. You're a genius and pretty too, why not give this grudge with Mimet up and go on with your life?"

Eugeal looked at her scornfully. "You are so naïve. Do you have any idea what was required of those who joined the Heart Snatchers?" Before Moon could try to answer she continued, "I in effect sold my soul to them to receive my powers and the chance to survive the Silence. There was no turning back for us Witches 5; our human lives were over. Our families, friends, they meant nothing anymore and they still don't. I am like a phantom now, all that I lived for has died and I am left with one last task before I too fade away into the eternal darkness where my Master now resides because of you. The power of Pharaoh 90 still lives within me reminding me every moment of that fact."

"But why?" Moon looked at her emotionally. "How could you give up all those things?"

"Why do you think?" Eugeal snapped, "power! The Heart Snatchers offered us great power and immunity from the destruction that was about to overcome Earth. There was no other choice in my mind, so I accepted the Daimon power and became a servant of Pharaoh 90."

"Well you're a fool then," Uranus said. "The Heart Snatchers never intended for anyone else to survive. The first thing Mistress 9 did after awakening was kill Kaorinite."

"And even she was betrayed in the end," Neptune added.

Saturn said nothing but noticing her troubled expression at the topic of conversation Pluto gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Moon's face grew troubled at the terrible memories. "Yes, Pharaoh 90 attacked Mistress 9 with an energy blast when it was entering our world. It wanted only itself to survive the Silence."

Eugeal didn't reply, her face merely hardened. The soldiers could only guess what thoughts were going through her mind.

"All right which way do we go?" Venus Knight asked as they arrived in a large chamber that exited three different ways.

Neptune and Mars immediately were on it. They stepped ahead of the others, Neptune bringing out her Deep Aqua Mirror, and concentrated as Mars began to channel her own forces. They raised their hands and… pointed in opposite directions (they say "this way" at the same time).

Mars sweatdropped, "talk about déjà vu…"

Neptune smiled, "how about we go your way this time?"

Mars Knight looked confused, "what are you talking about Raye?"

Moon giggled along with Uranus, "oh yeah now I remember. You told us about this awhile ago." Mars Knight remained confused but before any further explanation could be done Mercury announced the results of her scan.

"Actually it's this way," she said simply and pointed down the center passage.

Now it was Neptune's turn to sweatdrop with Mars, "we must be losing our touch."

"Pathetic," Eugeal grumbled. "It's hard to believe you dolts destroyed Pharaoh 90, let alone imprisoned Chaos. Oh wait, now I remember," she said sarcastically, "you didn't actually do any of that. You ended up relying on Sailor Moon as always. Such helpless schoolgirls you are."

The Sailors glared at her and Jupiter raised a fist, "watch it witch-" she began dangerously.

"Wait a second," Pluto said as she motioned them to be quiet. All eyes turned to her. "Do you hear that?" In the distance the echoing of heavy footsteps could be heard.

Venus lowered her ear to the floor; "something big is coming."

"Several somethings." Mercury's scan showed the rock creatures plainly as they lumbered down the passage.

"Hey, where's Eugeal?" Uranus asked suddenly noticing the witch had vanished. As she spoke the four rock Youma appeared in the center passage lumbering toward them.

"It doesn't matter now," Venus said and turned to Moon. "You go on ahead with Pluto and we'll handle these things."

"Are you sure?" Moon asked.

"This shouldn't take long, then we'll catch up. In the meantime we'll cover you while you sneak past these overgrown rock piles." Venus was right about needing to clear a path, the four rock Youma had totally blocked the passage as they continued to move forward. As they neared Venus narrowed her eyes. "Now Mercury!" she ordered. "Give us some cover and I'll trip them up!"

Mercury nodded, "On it! Mercury Bubbles Blast!"

The mist filled the area and the Rock Youma appeared disoriented despite not having any visible eyes. Venus whipped her chain forward, wrapping it around the legs of one and causing it to fall into the others. In the resulting confusion Moon and Pluto slipped past them. As the mists cleared the Youma found themselves facing the remaining twelve soldiers.

Be careful Serena, Tuxedo said to himself, knowing Venus was right in not having him come with her. Pluto was extremely experienced and it was easier for two to get past the creatures than three. Plus he had noticed there to be a special, very close bond of friendship between them. They would work well together.

Eugeal walked slowly amongst the vials and beakers in Mimet's spacious lab. "Not a bad set up," she noted. Her lips turned up in an evil grin as she spotted her quarry, lying on a stone bed surrounded by the dark vapor healing her. "Mimet…"

As they walked Sailor Moon turned to Pluto, "I hope I don't sound weak by saying this but I'm really glad you're with me Pluto. Last time I was in this place I was all alone," she said remembering the turmoil she felt at having to face the brain washed Prince Endymion.

"A wise princess taught me that having help is never a sign of weakness," Pluto smiled, "besides as I recall you handled yourself just fine back then."

Moon blushed at the praise, "yeah, but only because the spirits of the other sailors came to help me."

"Know this Serena," Pluto said tenderly as she took her hand. "You will never be alone, we are always with you in one form or another. Time, space, death itself cannot break the bonds between us. Not even the foolish beliefs of separation that I once lived by…" she said in regret. Moon put a hand on her shoulder and they embraced briefly.

Eugeal moved up to the flat stone slab on which Mimet lay asleep and stopped, savoring the moment. "I have waited so long for this." She took the small black star she wore over her neck off and placed it on the slab. "And it wouldn't be complete without you being awake to experience it." Eugeal turned one side of the star against the other till it locked in place and began to beep, slowly at first then ever faster. She stepped back as the star detonated, destroying the recovery bed.

Mimet went flying and landed in a heap. The witch stood up completely bewildered at what had happened then was even more stunned at the sight before her. "Eu-Eugeal… you're… alive? How-how is that possible?"

Eugeal smirked. "Poor simple Mimet. Did you actually think a little car crash into the ocean could kill a Witches 5 member? Still, you ended what could have been a very good career for me. Now the time has come to pay the piper."

"What do you mean?" she asked, still shocked.

"I mean I'm here to end your wretched, betraying, worthless existence."

Mimet stepped back, her eyes going to her Charm Buster rod which lay on a table about ten feet away. "Can't we… talk about this?"

"I've waited years for my revenge," Eugeal said her eyes narrowing. "I'm not about to play nice."

As Eugeal said this Mimet willed her rod to come to her. It flew into her hands and she unleashed a blast of energy from it. "Neither am I," she said coldly.

Eugeal rolled away from the blast, which cleared a large area of the room of the tables that had been there, and glared at her as Mimet continued. "You were always holding me back in the Heart Snatchers, keeping me from the front lines. And it was your wretched invention that confined me to cyberspace all that time ago. You should have stayed dead Eugeal because you're not the only one who wants revenge. Now you'll see what power the Negaforce has to offer."

"Enough talk!" Eugeal roared and leveled her Fire Buster at her rival. Mimet assumed an attack pose and started to charge her weapon.

"Fire…"

"Charm…"

"BUSTER!"

A huge tongue of flame shot from Eugeal's device as a surging stream of black energy stars fired from Mimet's staff. The attacks struck each other, the shock wave being felt throughout the base as they collided with intense power and a great explosion.

Tuxedo yelled as he threw several roses at one of the rock Youmas. Each rose that struck a boulder soon caused it to fragment and explode in a burst of light. Having lost part of its legs the creature tumbled forward and collapsed in a pile of rubble. Within moments however, the remaining parts of the creature had rearranged themselves into a new body.

Jupiter Knight struck forward with his sword, slicing the arm off one of the rock creatures. "All right!" Even as he spoke the rock creature's arm reattached itself like a magnet. The Youma then swung at him before the stunned Knight could react.

Suddenly Jupiter's hand caught the creature's arm. "Don't touch him," she said dangerously then, her strength enhanced by Adrenaline Surge, she slammed it into a wall.

Thinking that was the end of it Jupiter turned around and started to walk toward Jupiter Knight even as the rock creature rose up behind her. "Jupiter, look out!" The knight cried and dove toward her, knocking her out of the way the creature slammed its arms into the floor she had just been standing on. The two soldiers ended up lying on the floor, face to face with Jupiter Knight on top of Jupiter. Both blushed furiously and stood up.

"Sorry!" he said hastily.

"No, my fault," Jupiter replied still blushing.

Uranus glared at the creatures as she flipped away from another hit. "These things are getting on my last nerve."

Mercury narrowed her eyes as she scanned, "the power that holds them together is strong, it seems they are made more for durability than power. They can't be hurt because they have no vulnerable points; they're simply a bunch of stones that have been animated. The only way I can see to stop them is to disrupt the energy holding the boulders together or to completely disintegrate them."

Mars held up a tag, "maybe one of my spells will be able to break the spell that bonds them like two magnets pressed together."

"Any time would be great guys," Saturn strained as she held her shield up against the strikes of the four rock creatures.

Mars held up several tags and concentrated. "Evil Spirits Disperse!" She threw the tags with great speed and accuracy. The two lead creatures were struck and fell apart almost instantly.

"That was hot Raye!" Mars Knight cried. Mars winked at him.

"I'll take out the rest," Saturn said as she charged her scythe. "Ebony Silence Scream!" The other two were hit by the large black orb and disintegrated in the resulting explosion.

As they walked down the path Pluto suddenly stopped. Moon looked back at her, "What's wrong?"

"Listen closely and you'll hear it too," Pluto said ominously.

Moon closed her eyes and concentrated, she could hear a distant whirring coming ever closer. "What is that?"

"Get behind me," Pluto ordered and Moon did so. She leveled her Garnet Rod and waited. In a split second they were upon them, three razor-edged devices spinning and levitating on their own (think those cutting devices the Green Goblin used in the Spider Man movie). Pluto spun her garnet rod, deflecting them each expertly. They ricocheted off the walls and cut through the stone, then turned and came back at them. "Get down!" Pluto cried to Moon just as the Time Warrior jumped up. One blade spun through where the two had just been as Pluto diverted another one's course with her rod. The two devices smashed into each other and were destroyed.

"Moon Crystal Encase!" Moon stood up and threw her right hand forward, releasing an orb of energy that struck the remaining device and entombed it in crystal. "Good team work," she said happily.

Pluto nodded, "We must stay alert, Jedite may have other traps."

Back with the other sailors a struggled hissing breathing suddenly filled the air. "What now?" Mercury Knight asked, not wanting to know the answer.

From the first tunnel emerged a horrifying sight. With tendons hanging off its body and much of its skeleton showing the thin, tall, desiccated creature that stood before them looked like a half decomposed corpse or at least parts of many different corpses.

Neptune covered her mouth in surprise and disgust, "What is that thing?"

Jupiter narrowed her eyes; "It has to be the ugliest Youma I've ever seen."

Mercury, as usual, scanned it. "Jedite must have had a bit of biological material left, but only enough to make this … incomplete creature."

"Incomplete…" the creature hissed.

Venus rolled her eyes, "Great, you guessed its name."

Uranus held her sword at the ready, "Let's see what this thing's capable of."

"Incomplete…" it hissed again and its one useable eye flashed red. It's hands unclenched, revealing long, scythe-like extendible claws. It's heavy breathing filled the air as it posed to strike. It's desiccated lips curled back revealing a horrid menagerie of sharp teeth. "KILL!" It screamed and ran at the sailors.

As the others dodged Uranus found an opening and slashed at the creatures mid section, cutting it in two. Before its upper body could hit the ground though the skin and ligaments from both ends extended and brought it back together. Uranus sighed, "Why can't these things ever go down easy?"

Eugeal let loose another stream of flame as Mimet dodged aside and fired again. Despite her heavy weapon Eugeal proved quite agile and dodged away from the blast. The room was now in shambles, much of it burning. Eugeal leaped high and fired a tongue of flame right into the other witch as she used her Charm Buster rod to shield herself then teleported away only to reappear behind Eugeal and fire a blast of energy stars into her back, destroying the Fire Buster's systems.

Eugeal cursed as her backpack shorted out and she undid the main gun from the device, dropping the backpack to the floor and running at Mimet with the gun raised as a club. Mimet responded with another blast of energy stars but Eugeal leaped over these, slamming the gun into Mimet's skull as she landed. Not wasting the opportunity she struck the woman several more times across the face till Mimet suddenly caught the gun with one hand and held her off. Her face only showed slight bruising from the pummeling and with a smirk she grabbed the gun with her other hand and crushed the device between them. This proved to be a mistake as the gun exploded, knocking both women back.

Mimet got up first and rushed at Eugeal, who responded by raising her left hand. A blinding explosion of light proceeded to burst from a device under her palm. Mimet screamed and stepped back stunned, holding her eyes in pain. Eugeal leaped back to her feet and proceeded to strike Mimet with flying kicks and punches. Mimet soon recovered and, grabbing Eugeal's right arm, she swung the woman over her head and threw her into the far wall where she made a discernible impression in the stone and fell to the floor groaning in pain.

"Well Eugeal, you're all out of your little tricks. No more Fire Buster and you can't outfight me," Mimet smiled evilly.

Eugeal hadn't lost any confidence, "I'm only just getting started my old colleague." She grabbed a syringe attached to her skirt and held it up for Mimet to see. She smiled as the woman's eyes widened in recognition; "You weren't the only one to know about Doctor Tomoe's strength enhancing formula. But I did more than just make my own, I improved and perfected it." She grunted as she stabbed the syringe into a vein in her arm. "Now it takes only moments to take effect without the painful, weakened, adjusting stage the original formula required." Even as she spoke her muscles tensed and pulsed with new strength, "The overload resulting from too much juice is still a problem but won't be a factor here as I won't need to become strong enough for it to be a threat." She stood back up and with one mighty stomp sent a surge of seismic energy as Mimet, causing her to falter. She then leaped up over the black and yellow witch and came down feet first, her feet cracking the floor as Mimet rolled away. Mimet quickly turned and fired her Charm Buster straight into Eugeal, blasting her to the other side of the room.

Mimet bombarded Eugeal with her attack for as long as she could but soon needed to rest. The energy cleared to reveal Eugeal still standing, her arms crossed in front of her and her body bleeding. Mimet gasped, that blast could have reduced a hundred people to dust, the strength enhancer had really worked on her.

Suddenly a new voice echoed in the room. "Enough of this!" the Negaforce yelled. "Eugeal, you should not be fighting against us, we are the same. Join us and you can have all your dreams come true," the being said, trying to reason with her.

"I don't care a bit about what you or Jedite want," Eugeal shot back. "I'm here for my own personal satisfaction, let the Sailors blast you to atoms for all I care."

In an emotional rage Mimet screamed back, "And I would never work with her! Quite frankly I'm tired of working for you!"

The Negaforce was silent for a moment then replied forebodingly, "You seal your own doom." Its presence then vanished from the room.

"Now that that's over let's continue," Eugeal said. Mimet responded by charging at her with a crazed yell and delivering a series of powerful swings and kicks as Eugeal tried to counter.

Eugeal put her hand in front of Mimet's face but before she could blind her Mimet grabbed her arm and held it up to the ceiling as it released the blast of light. She then crushed the device on her arm, rendering it useless. As Eugeal recoiled from the shock Mimet slapped her hard across the face, Eugeal responding with a fist to Mimet's stomach. Mimet stumbled back from the hit and Eugeal unleashed a kick that sent Mimet's Charm Buster flying.

Before Mimet could call it back Eugeal placed her foot on the rod's star. "Now to get rid of this annoying thing," she raised her foot and stepped on the staff hard, smashing the star even as Mimet screamed for her to stop. Eugeal stepped away as the magical rod crackled with energy then exploded in black before disappearing completely.

"Now its just you and me, skill to skill, muscle to muscle," Eugeal said with an evil grin.

Mimet stood up, her eyes enraged, "So be it! I'll make you regret ever knowing me!"

"I already do!" Eugeal roared back. The two psychopathic women ran at each other and began to punch and kick with a vengeance. Their deadly dance took them across the room as they dodged and struck, each landing many hits. Mimet held a table in front of her as a shield only to have Eugeal kick right through it, land another kick in her chest, then grabbing each half of the table and smash it over her rival's head. Mimet was hardly effected and slammed her fists into Eugeal with enough strength to shatter concrete. Her breath temporarily knocked out, Mimet grabbed Eugeal from behind and held her so she could escape, twisting her arms back till they nearly snapped.

"I'll break your neck you whiny little failure!" Mimet grunted as she tried to do just that.

"I don't think so you back-stabbing bitch!" Eugeal yelled back. Unable to get enough leverage to break away with her arms she tensed her legs and leaped up into the air. Mimet slammed her back and head into the ceiling as a result and released Eugeal, both falling away as debris from the ceiling collapsed onto them.

Both got up quickly and ran at each other again, each delivering a hard kick at the same time. They both went flying in opposite directions and crashed into the ground.

As they continued to walk Moon turned to Pluto. She was getting bored with the silence. "Say, I'm curious, why do you think Rini treats me so differently from her mother? I mean, do I really change that much between now and Crystal Tokyo?"

"The answer is both yes and no," Pluto said and Moon feared she would be faced with a riddle. Luckily the Time Warrior continued, "The fact is all of us are constantly changing. Just look at how much you have changed since you became a Sailor."

"Yeah but… I'm still me," Moon replied.

Pluto smiled slightly, "Exactly." She then addressed the other half of her question, "As for Small Lady I believe the reason you fight so much is because you are so similar to each other. Of course by similarity I don't mean that you act the same way in the same circumstances but that you share several basic traits that create conflict when you're together in a non-mother/daughter setting. For instance there is your love of sweets, Small Lady knows better than to take her mother's without asking but with you she doesn't have that understanding, the respect was never developed. Truthfully she doesn't see her mother's past self, who you are now, as truly being her mother. Because of the differences in maturity and mothering habits between you and your future self Small Lady prefers to think of you as a sister rather than a younger version of her mother, who she quite frankly idolizes. It is simply easier for her. She wants her mother to be the wise, powerful, extremely caring leader she knows so well and I'm sure you've noticed that when you display those qualities she shows great respect and admiration for you. Beyond your fights though she loves both you and your future self dearly and has benefited more than you know from knowing you as a normal girl in the twentieth century."

Moon pondered her words for a few seconds before another question entered her mind, "Um, on that note… In the future… do I… still spend time with you and the others, you know, just talking and hanging out? I don't know what I'd do if any of us drifted apart."

Pluto's face softened as she remembered the queen's frequent visits to the Time Gate to have tea or just chat, "Its amazing but you somehow find time to be a queen, a loving wife, a caring mother and a good friend to us all."

"Although if what Rini says is true I'm still not a good cook," Moon remarked.

Pluto looked about to reply when suddenly her face became intense and focused again. "We're getting close," she said seriously.

Moon nodded, only now beginning to pick up the increasing dark power. It amazed her how Pluto and the other Outers always seemed to be able to maintain their focus no matter what. She concentrated, trying to see if she could pick anything else up. Suddenly she sensed danger and stopped in her tracks, "Something's not right here."

"I feel it too," Pluto said while eyeing the area warily.

Suddenly a shield of dark energy rose up in front of them, followed by another barrier behind them. In the next instant thick green liquid began to leak from the ceiling above, quickly turning into a torrent. Moon dodged aside as some hit her wings, and a portion of it melted away. "Ah! What is this stuff?"

Pluto narrowed her eyes as she noticed the rocks the liquid hit also melting away. "Acid. A very strong acid."

"We have to break the barrier!" Moon said as she tried to run to it only to be blocked by the rising acid. She got up on the highest point with Pluto, which was quickly being overcome. As the liquid rose to their feet Moon grabbed Pluto and rose into the air with her. "Well this buys us about thirty seconds," she said dismally.

"I have an idea. Eventually the acid will melt through the floor and drain away," Pluto explained.

"Yeah but not before we're both reduced to, well… nothing."

"If you use a low powered blast of your Gravity Force you may be able to drive the acid away from us long enough for it to drain away. If anything the increased pressure would cause the acid to break through even faster. But you must control it, if the blast is too strong it could send the whole passage down on top of us."

"All right," Moon said as she freed one hand, using the other to hold onto Pluto, a rather difficult task. "Moon," she strained, "Gravity Force!"

The waves of gravity bombarded the whole area below, concentrating in the middle. After several seconds the liquid began to drain away like a bathtub till finally nothing remained but puddles and a gaping hole in the floor. Moon flew back down to the ground, grimacing as she heard her shoes melt away slightly upon touching the residual acid. "Aw, and these are my favorite boots too…" she whined.

They'll be restored next time you transform," Pluto pointed out, "Now let's hurry."

Venus Knight leaped in the air; his sword poised to strike as it surged with power. "Planetary Slash!" He yelled and swung down, his arc slicing through and destroying the creature's right arm and shoulder. Incomplete turned toward him and, growling and hissing. It rammed into him, pinning Venus Knight to the ground with one leg, then raised its clawed left arm to slice him open. A moment before it could strike though Mercury Knight's sword flew through the creature's hand, cutting it off. It wailed in pain and rage and looked down to see Venus Knight charging a blast. "Golden Flash!" He yelled as he unleashed the surging bright energy. It slammed into the Youma and rocketed it into a wall. It fell to the ground and lay there.

"Good shot," Venus complimented. Suddenly the creature's body twitched and it stood back up, now with a gaping hole in its chest from Venus Knight's attack.

"Its still not down!" Uranus said. "World Shaking!"

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune joined in on their favorite combo attack.

The two orbs converged but missed as Incomplete leaped over them then extended a tendon on its arm into a long whip that it shot down, ripping through the ground as the Sailor's dodged. Saturn charged it and let out a Silence Scythe Strike but again the creature dodged.

"It's so fast!" Mercury Knight said in disbelief.

"Attack it from all sides it can't dodge all of us!" Venus ordered.

The Sailors and Knights unleashed a volley of attacks till some managed to wing the creature and slow it down. Jupiter's antenna rose up from her tiara and surged with power, "Time to put an end to this abomination. Blossom Tempest!" The orb of electric and plant energy enveloped Incomplete and destroyed it utterly.

"Good work," Venus said, "Now lets catch up before something else crawls out of these tunnels.

"Deadly Scream!"

Pluto's attack shot through the stone doors leaving them in rubble. She and Moon stepped into the huge, dark room. The dark forces they had been feeling seemed to increase inexorably here. Moon looked up at the huge structure of stone that made up the center of the chamber. It bulged out in the middle into the shape of a huge skull with deadly red eyes. "I feel it so strongly here," Moon said, "this must be where the core of the Negaforce is."

"It is more than that Miss Moon," an all too familiar voice echoed in the darkness, "It is my throne room. You have finally made it here after so long, I was beginning to wonder if you ever would though it seems I have Eugeal to thank for our meeting. But this is still my realm, you should do me the basic courtesy of bowing in my presence."

"Sailors don't bow to cowards who refuse to show themselves," Pluto said dangerously.

Jedite stepped out of the shadows and stood next to his throne, his flowing dark cape adding significantly to his presence. "Before this day is done you will bow to me Sailor Moon and your Sailors will follow, even if they must bow in pieces. It is my destiny to surpass your kind, to become greater than Beryl, Serenity or even you. You cannot stop that from happening no matter what you do."

"That's some pretty strong stuff you've convinced yourself of Jedite, or was it the Negaforce who told you those things?" Moon inquired. "Ever stop to think about if they were true?"

Jedite narrowed his eyes, "Shut up. Let us see if you are so confident when I raise the stakes." He gestured with his hands and his aura flared. If you were outside the base you would have seen a huge portal open up near it.

Moon covered her eyes as light suddenly flooded the chamber. Clear blue sky could be seen through large cracks in the ceiling of the base. She gasped, "What have you done?"

*Foreboding music plays*

Jedite smiled, "We are now floating directly over the center of downtown Tokyo. The remnant energy contained in this structure from my energy draining that wasn't sent into the Negaforce is enough to level all of downtown if it is released and release it I will unless you surrender yourself to me. Look outside if you don't believe me."

Moon stepped over to a large crack in the wall; she could see the city below her as well as the large crowd that was beginning to gather under where the base floated some few thousand feet up.

"You can't do it," Pluto told her sensing what Moon was thinking.

"Come now Pluto who are we trying to kid?" Jedite asked with a confident smirk. "If Sailor Moon is willing to give up her Star Seed to save a school than what she will decide here is a foregone conclusion." He looked at Moon, "I'll make the choice easy for you, the others can leave, only you must surrender."

Moon closed her eyes, in deep thought. She opened them and spoke resolutely. "Pluto, get the others and leave now."

"What?!" Pluto said shocked, "You can't possibly-"

Moon looked at her pleadingly, "Pluto, I'm asking you to trust me. Get everyone else out."

Pluto looked at her long and hard, then nodded. She turned and left the room quickly.

Jedite smiled, "Now its just you and me, Miss Moon."

Pluto met up with the others a few minutes later. Everyone asked her questions at once but the gist of them was "What happened?" and "Where is Sailor Moon?"

As soon as Pluto could quiet them she explained everything that had happened in the throne room. "She told me to leave and escape this place with the rest of you," she finished.

"We can't do that!" Mars cried passionately.

"She's our Princess!" Venus Knight said, the other Knights agreeing.

"I can't just… we can't just… leave her," Tuxedo said, clearly upset with the thought. "She's had to go through so much without us, why must it continue now?"

"I feel the same way you do," Pluto said to the soldiers, "But she asked us to trust her. I do. Enough to risk this. As far as I can see there are no other options that would keep the city safe."

"Sailor Moon must have a plan," Mercury said confidently. "She's matured so much, she wouldn't do something like this now without thinking it through."

"This is going against our duty to protect her but… if she asks us to trust her I will," Uranus said though she made it plain she didn't enjoy it.

"What about Eugeal?" Jupiter asked.

"There's no time to search for her," Pluto decided, "If we're going to leave we need to do it now."

And so the group formed the circle again and reluctantly teleported away.

"I will make this as simple as possible," Jedite said, "Hand over the Silver Crystal within the next sixty seconds or I will unleash the base's stored energy."

Moon sighed inwardly in relief as she sensed the Sailors teleporting out of the base, now she wouldn't have to worry about protecting them. "Go ahead," she told him, her eyes not wavering.

This enraged Jedite. "Don't play me for a fool Moon! I know that you'd gladly give your life here but not when it would cost the lives of others. Let's end this pointless talk. Surrender the Crystal," He then smirked, "Unless you've somehow gone back on your 'self sacrifice' policy."

Now Moon smirked, "Let's just say I'm not as naïve to the effects of my actions as I used to be." She closed her eyes and her broach began to glow. "I plan on stopping you no matter what it takes."

Jedite looked at her in surprise. "I never thought I would see you do this… the same Sailor Moon who was willing to surrender her scepter to Fiore to keep her friends from being killed…" his face hardened, "Very well… accept the consequences of your decision. I wonder what your sailors will think of you when they find out you condoned the deaths of thousands?" His eyes glowed red as he willed the base's energy to be released. The whole structure shook and heaved as great swaths of energy emerged and gathered toward the outside.

Outside the base grew an aura as dark energy emerged from cracks and converged downward into a mass at the bottom. It grew, casting an ever-larger shadow across Tokyo.

Mars looked on troubled with the others on a nearby rooftop. "What's going on up there? I thought you said Sailor Moon had a plan?"

"We must trust her," Pluto said still sounding worried.

"I do," Mars said with certainty, "This just… doesn't look good."

Tuxedo looked on visibly stressed, "Come on…"

The energy building at the bottom of the base began to swirl and surge threateningly. People below began to flee, only now were some realizing the danger they were in. It was too late though as the mass of energy from the base of the mass of stone and earth fired down toward the city's skyscrapers in a massive beam.

The Sailors were struck silent. There was no time to do anything.

People below ducked and covered their heads, as though it would do any good.

Other simply quietly accepted their fate and watched impassively as the nuclear bomb strength blast engulfed their vision.

A mother hugged her children.

A husband told his wife he loved her.

Others screamed and on instinct ran, not caring where.

And then…

A huge light flashed above the skyline of skyscrapers and formed into a surging mass of white and pink energy. The dark beam smashed into the light full force only to be stopped dead in its tracks. It surged against the barrier, growing ever larger as the beam continued to fire from the base till all its energy had exited the structure and floated suspended above the city, held by the barrier.

Jedite's eyes widened as he watched the events through Beryl's crystal ball. "What-what have you done?!" Jedite screamed to Moon in shock. He then to his horror realized the truth. It was all a trick. He had played directly into her hands! Done exactly what she had wanted!

With another flash the barrier sent the gathered energy straight back up to its source, engulfing the base in its energy.

Eugeal had Mimet pinned to the ground, her hands clasped around the witch's neck in a suffocating hold, her eyes murderous. Mimet was using all her strength to try to pull her off but it was unclear who was winning the struggle. It would never be decided though as the first wave of the explosion blew through the base. Mimet's body tore apart from the flying rubble with a final scream as Eugeal went flying.

Even as the heat of the fireball overcame her Eugeal screamed. "No! Not without my revenge!!!!!"

Amidst all the chaos of the disintegrating base Moon stood in silence, her broach glowing brighter and brighter. Even as the floor gave out she floated "Silver…" she whispered, her eyes shut, "Crystal…" Great beams of light shot from the opened broach and engulfed everything in white, "Power!" Jedite ran at her in a murderous rage only to be instantly shot back by the light.

The people below rejoiced, as the object they had thought was to be their end was reduced to dust in a giant fireball and great beams of white light. The Sailors were not nearly as relieved.

"No!" Mars cried out.

Venus collapsed to her knees in despair. "Sailor Moon!"

Mercury dropped her computer and clenched her fist, "No… why…"

"Sailor Moon…" Jupiter whispered even as her tears began to flow.

The Knights looked on in shock; they had no idea what to think of what had just happened. "Did Sailor Moon-" Mercury Knight started then stopped, unwilling to finish the thought.

Mars looked up through her tears and saw the Outers and Tuxedo Mask staring up at the explosion, their faces serious but not saddened, as though they were waiting for something. Mars's emotions took over as she screamed at them angrily, "How can you just stand there?!"

Tuxedo looked at her with compassion. "Calm yourself Mars." He looked back up at the sky. "Can't you feel her?"

Mars took a breath and searched her emotions; she had been too shocked before to even think about it. Her mind filled with relief. She could still feel the familiar warm gentle light of her dearest friend. "She's… alive…" she smiled through her tears.

Uranus smiled and looked up at the sky nodding slightly, "I'd recognize that shine anywhere."

"There is none other like it in the cosmos," Pluto said with an air of admiration.

Seconds later thousands of shining butterflies appeared fluttering across the sky leaving a trail of sparkling light. As the Sailors watched in awe the lights fell toward them and formed into Eternal Sailor Moon, a bit worse for wear but intact. She smiled, "Hope I didn't worry you."

"Sailor Moon!" the Inner scouts cried and hugged her in relief.

"Nice job Moonface," Uranus commented with a smile.

"You shielded the city from the blast and still were able to save yourself," Pluto said.

"You really do become more proficient every time you use the crystal," Neptune complimented.

"I was still worried for a second there Meatball Head," Tuxedo said kindly using his pet name for her.

"Thank you," Moon said and nearly collapsed as the others held her up. "I am a bit tired though."

Tuxedo took her hand, "come on, let's go home."

"Wait, what happened to Eugeal?" Mars Knight asked.

"I couldn't get to her in time…" Moon said softly. "She died with Mimet."

Tuxedo looked at her seriously, "She made her own fate Sailor Moon. You shouldn't feel responsible." Moon nodded but her face remained sad.

"What about Jedite and the Negaforce?" Mercury asked.

"Were they destroyed?" Venus Knight asked.

"I doubt it," Uranus said. "But regardless he has no place to hide for long now. If he is alive we'll find him."

"We'll take Jedite down yet," Jupiter said determinedly.

"And the Negaforce. It's the real threat," Mars pointed out, her senses tingling with the premonitions of something big coming.

"Till then I need to tell my Dad that I'm okay," Saturn said.

"Let's take a well deserved rest," Tuxedo said, "It won't be long before this ends and we need to have all our strength."

As everyone turned to leave Jupiter Knight stopped and looked up at the sky, his face uncertain, wondering if things would still get worse before they got better.

Notes:

Psychometry is the term used in the manga for Darien's ability to sense the feelings of others. The déjà vu joke relates to a similar scene with Mars and Neptune during the Nehelania saga of Sailor Moon Sailor Stars.

Only two more episodes!