Sailor Moon: World Rebirth -Part 3, Hope and Chaos
Episode 23 'Mistaken Identity'
Usagi found herself standing in an empty room. Then she was suddenly
surrounded by the senshi. "Everyone, what is it?"
"You failed us Usagi!"
"You lost and allowed the world to be destroyed!"
"We were counting on you!"
"You screwed it up, just like everything else!"
"Can't you do anything right?"
"How can you live with yourself!"
"You will never become a woman worthy of being a queen!"
"You disgust me!"
"Everyone, how can you say such things?" Usagi fell to her knees. "We love
each other." She turned to find Tuxedo Kamen standing over her. "Don't we?"
"You're so naive Usagi," he said. "The only reason I pretend to love you is
because destiny says it should be so. Now that destiny no longer exists
there is no reason for us to be together," he said coldly before turning
away from her.
"Nooo! It can't be real. Don't leave me alone!" Suddenly everything began to
burn. Usagi screamed as the flames engulfed her body, the smell of burning
flesh filling her nostrils.
Then everything was ice cold. The icy air chilled Usagi to the bone. She
slowly lost feeling as her body began to freeze and...
Suddenly everything was on fire again. "Please stop! PLEASE LET IT END! I'M
NOT READY!!!"
*****
The little girl turned away. It was too painful to watch. She turned to the
old man. "Maybe she isn't the one like she says."
"SHE HAS TO BE. YOU SAID IT YOURSELF."
"But you're destroying her mind."
"SHE JUST HAS TO CAST AWAY HER OUTER SHELL. WHEN SHE IS READY, HER TRUE SELF
WILL EMERGE."
"But-"
"LEAVE ME! CAST AWAY YOUR NEGATIVE SUSPICIONS."
The little girl was silent. She pouted and disappeared.
*****
Rei paced back and forth across the room.
"Don't worry Rei, she always comes through for us. Stop pacing."
"I know, it's just..." Rei stammered. "I don't like it."
"I don't like it either," another voice said. Rei and Makoto turned to find
the little girl floating in the air between them. "My master is so sure that
she's the one but I'm not so sure anymore."
"What do you mean?" Rei exclaimed. "Who is this 'one' you keep on talking
about?"
"Well, I'll start at the beginning. No- that will take too long. I'll start
with the present. Here's the story, as simplistic as I can make it: Only
with the help of the senshi of time can we defeat the beyonder. The shine of
her star seed is supposed to be incredible. My master believes that your
friend is this 'senshi of time' because the glow of her star seed is
amazing."
"But..."
"But, I'm not so sure anymore. We're supposed to know without a doubt
whether she's the right one or not, and I'm feeling kind of doubtful. And
then there's the fact that she's supposed to find us, not the other way
around."
"But what can we do? If he won't even listen to you..."
"You have to tell me. Is there anyone else that you know who might be this
'senshi of time'? Anyone out of the already unusual?"
"Well, there's Sailor Pluto, the guardian of time."
"No, it's not her."
"Hmmmm, how about you Mako?"
"I don't know. There seems to be someone shadowing Pluto but it's hiding so
well that I can tell who or what it is. I don't think it would be Sailor
Saturn, she's the senshi of silence. There's Haiku, but even sh-"
"What did you say? What was that last person?"
"You mean Haiku?"
"Yes. Who is she? Is she a senshi?"
"Well, kind of. It's complicated." Makoto stopped for a moment. She looked
at Rei who nodded agreement. "All right, I suppose she is the only other one
who might be involved in time. Her actual name is Usagi or Chibi-usa. The
form that you have taken on is a younger version of her. She's our friend's
daughter from the future. In this time she is also known as 'The Gatherer';
she brought us all together after being separated two years ago. I don't
think she has explained everything to any of us yet."
"Yes. And she's a senshi? What does her fuku look like?"
"Well, we're not sure. She hasn't actually transformed yet. She just uses
the ginzuishou and the strands of magic. And then she has a crystal sword."
The little girl was getting excited. "Yes? And where is she now?"
"Now that's the problem," Rei said. "She and the the outer senshi are at or
on their way to the volcanic region. And if she IS the one you are looking
for didn't you say that she would find her way to you?"
"Yes, I know. But I'm worried for your friend. It never hurts to give fate a
little push to help it along."
"But isn't there anything you can do to help her?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Anything that WE can do to help her?" Rei added.
"I don't know," she replied. "I'll have to take a look." The little girl did
a back flip and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She took a quick look at
Usagi and saw that she wasn't doing any better. Pushing that aside she
reached out for the others who had been on the ship before it was destroyed.
She would have reached out to find this 'Haiku' girl but she had no idea
what to look for and had very little time. After a little bit she returned
to the others.
"What did you find?" Makoto asked anxiously.
"There isn't really a whole lot we can do. Unfortunately, both of your
friends have been captured by the enemy. All I can do is to offer to send
you there to retrieve them. We can only hope that the senshi of time emerges
before Usagi gives up."
"Okay," Rei agreed. "I'll go after Ami. Mako can go after Mina."
"But I can't even transform," Makoto objected. "Not without Mina's help."
The little girl squinted for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"The powers of Jupiter and Venus have been linked. We can only transform
when we're together."
"I still don't understand. Your aura is independent. Not like Mina's. I saw
the link on her aura when I helped her but I don't see it on yours. I think
it's been ripped apart by something."
"What do you mean?"
"I think that perhaps she has broken the link between you. Can I see your
forehead please?" Makoto knelt down so that the girl would be able to reach
her forehead. The little girl gave it a light tap and the sign of Jupiter
appeared on Mako's forehead. The symbol floated from her forehead and grew
into a three-dimensional block. It was then surrounded by a circle and a
star. A handle grew down below it which she grasped in her hand, and then
stood up. "Better?"
"All right. Way to go Mina! I'm ready for action now. Let's do it."
"Right! Mars Eternal, Unite!"
"Jupiter Eternal, Unite!"
"Now," the little girl exclaimed, "What I'm going to do is open two portals
which are close to where your friends are being held. Once you find them you
just have to return to the portal and they will close behind you. I'll try
to persuade my master to cancel the trial but I can't promise anything. Any
questions?"
Mars and Jupiter looked at each other. "Let's go and cause some trouble."
"Good idea." The two of them vanished into the portals simultaneously.
"Good luck."
*****
The next thing she knew, there was someone shaking her awake. "Ami, Ami,
wake up!" The ground was cold. Her eyes didn't want to open on their own.
The top half of her left arm was burning in pain but in the lower half she
felt nothing. When her eyes slowly drifted open she found a worried Sailor
Mars bent over her. "Ami! Are you okay? How do you feel? When I saw all of
the blood I though you were... what happened?"
Ami tried to sit up but met nothing but pain. "I was... ambushed, I
think..." Then it all came back to her. The dog, the explosion, the bounty
hunter. "My lower left arm, it's gone, isn't it?" Sailor Mars closed her
eyes and turned away, but nodded. "Has the bleeding stopped?"
"Ami, the upper arm is in tatters. I've tied a bandage around the top of the
arm, and it has lessened the bleeding a little. But, ...I'm not even sure
how you've lasted this long. Your blood is all over the floor. It's..."
"Mars, I... you have to do something for me,-something you might not want to
do."
"No Ami, don't ask me to leave you here. I couldn't..."
"No, of course not," Ami tried to smile through the pain but it didn't come
out very well. "If my arm isn't in one piece then burn it closed. I can feel
the blood, my clothes are soaked in it. I must be barely alive. I'm so
tired. You have to stop the bleeding."
"Well Ami, as long as it's all right with you." Sailor Mars focused.
"Blaze!" In a few moments Ami's left arm was completely burned up, but the
bleeding was stopped.
"Thank you," Ami spoke silently before slipping into unconsciousness.
"Don't worry Ami, I won't fail you," Sailor Mars said as she picked up the
blood-soaken body of her friend. She then continued past the smoldering
guards outside the door, and then all of the ashes from shadows out in the
hallway.
*****
Sailor Mars returned to the chambre to find that Sailor Jupiter had not yet
returned. She called out, but the little girl didn't appear. Placing Ami
softly on the floor she spun around and called out again. She was alone in
the room. Ami was silently sleeping while only the portal that Sailor
Jupiter had disappeared through remained. She looked at Ami, and then at the
portal. "Sorry Ami, but I have to go now. You'll be safe here for now." With
that she disappeared through the portal.
*****
Sailor Mars entered the city at a point down in an alley. The huge building
loomed above her. "This must be it." As she watched, a beam of energy shot
from the top of it out to a target outside of the city but she couldn't see
what it was hitting because of the buildings all around. Everything was
black, it was night. She assumed that Venus was inside and that Jupiter had
gone in there as well. As she came around to the front of the building she
found the smoldering remains of what might have been humans at one point.
The Command Point loomed behind her so maybe it wasn't even the Creator who
they were up against, maybe humans this time. She stepped into a lobby. On
the far end of the room was an elevator. Nothing moved. Unfortunately the
elevator doors were open, and as far as Mars could tell, the elevator had
come crashing down from a higher floor and was now smashed on the ground
floor. Sighing she turned to the stairs.
*****
"Who are you?!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed. He stood confidently at the other
side of the room. He was holding Sailor Venus, only she was hanging above
the ground. He had his hand squeezed around her neck.
"I am the great Aries, servant of the beyonder. Surrender now or your friend
dies."
"I'll never give up."
"Then she dies," he laughed as he began to squeeze.
"Jupiter Lightning Wa-aaack," Jupiter was cut off as he blasted her
backwards. Lowering his hand again he tighten his grip on Venus' neck. Her
struggling was starting to lessen by this point.
"Mars Flaming Inferno, BLAZE!!!" Great waves of fire came pummeling towards
Aries but he merely raised a hand and it disappeared. "What?"
"How dare you defy me!!!" he burned. "You will all die!!"
"Damn you!" Sailor Mars cried as she charged towards him. She was about to
hit him with a punch when he took his free hand and grabbed her by the neck
as well. There was nothing Mars could do. It was like hitting rock.
"You will suffer by my own hands," Aries yelled as Mars felt her air supply
being cut off.
By this point Sailor Venus was almost out. But she hadn't given up. "I
...won't let you,..." she murmured as she raised a finger to his forehead.
"Crescent Beam...." Light burst from her fingers as a continuous stream. He
just laughed.
"Your pathetic crescent can do nothing to me." He then felt another finger
on his face.
"BLAZE!!!" she cried as she sent a stream of fire right into his eye. This
time it did do some damage.
"Aaaaaaaah," Aries screamed as he felt his eye fry right in his head. He
threw Mars against the nearest wall so that he could bring his hand up to
his eye. "You'll pay for this," he cursed. He then released the tension on
Sailor Venus's neck. Unfortunately he then continued to press the front of
her body against the wall. He removed his hand from her neck, but before her
body had time to fall to the floor he had brought his elbow right into her
back.
Sailor Venus screamed as he broke her back and a few of her ribs in one
swift stroke. She crumpled to the floor.
"Why you, Jupiter Lightning Wave Capture!" An electric mesh formed around
Aries but he just laughed.
"This is nothing to me," he said as he effortlessly reached an arm through
the cage.
Then suddenly a voice came from behind Jupiter. "Mercury Polar Ice Sheet
Freeze!" Although it was ineffective as well, the ice was able to freeze
Aries' arm which caused him to fall back. "Now Jupiter! Grab Venus and let's
get out of here..." As Sailor Mercury finished her sentence she felt a wave
of dizziness come over her. Fortunately Mars had already recovered and was
charging towards her.
"Follow me Jupiter," Sailor Mars called as she scooped up Sailor Mercury and
continued towards the edge of the room. Without a second thought she crashed
through the window, with Sailor Jupiter right behind her. Aries' screams of
rage followed them down.
*****
A single bed had been placed into the final room of the Caverns of Shmite.
Usagi's lifeless body lies there, still in her nightgown, and with her
broken pendant lying on her chest. The little girl stands beside her. "I
told you she wasn't the one, didn't I?"
"I WAS SO SURE THAT SHE WAS THE ONE."
"It was meaningless!" She waits for a response but none comes. Unlike her,
he prefers to not take on a physical form, and now his consciousness has
left. Suddenly she feels it coming. Someone is approaching. She is
frightened that they will misunderstand what has happened, so she carefully
leaves.
Five columns of light begin to form on the other side of the room. Uranus
and Neptune, Pluto and Saturn, Haiku. As soon as they arrive they release
hands and take up a defensive position. Although they see Usagi lying on the
table, none rush towards her for fear of danger. "Where are we?" Uranus
asks.
Haiku glances all around. "I see it right in front of us, yet I don't
believe it to true."
"Would you leave the riddles for another time?!"
"I think we're in the Caverns of Shmite," Haiku says. "The final one to be
exact. But I don't see how Usagi got through them all without the aid of the
senshi. And additionally I don't see the senshi anywhere."
Sailor Pluto points her staff. "They have perhaps passed through this portal
here. I can sense a trace of their presence having passed through it." She
points again. "And another one here. There was another portal here which has
since disappeared. I cannot tell whether anyone has traveled back through it
though.
"Any present dangers anyone?" Haiku asks. The answer is the same all around.
"None."
"Good. Uranus, watch the portal. Neptune, watch everything. Pluto and
Saturn, you come with me." The three of them approach Usagi's unmoving body.
Sailor Saturn gasps when she sees the shattered locket but says nothing.
They kneel around her. Saturn places her hands on Usagi. She closes her
eyes. To Haiku it seems like hours, but in fact it is just a few minutes
before Saturn opens her eyes. She stares at nothing. "Well?" Haiku asks.
Sailor Saturn pulls her hands down from Usagi's head to her hand. "I don't
know. Her body isn't dead, but she isn't completely alive either. Her mind
does not respond but is still there. There exists more than a physical
wound, one that I cannot heal.
Sailor Pluto speaks. "She has lost the ability to transform. The ginzuishou
has lost its powers before, but has never seen destruction. I think we can
deduce, if only from her clothing, that the inner senshi have not had as
easy of a time as we have."
"But the evil powers which threaten us aren't here," Haiku says. "We aren't
in the nest of the enemy, but maybe even the opposite. I don't understand."
Suddenly a gloved hand sticks out of the portal, but gets sucked back in.
"Haiku," Uranus growls, "We have trouble."
Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn rise and place themselves between the portal
and Usagi and Haiku. Although Haiku feels this guarding of herself as well
as Usagi unnecessary she says nothing. Arguing with the outer senshi is
almost always a battle lost. In a slight flash of light the portal expands
upwards and outwards to allow a very battered-looking Mars to pass through
it while carrying an even worse-looking Sailor Mercury in her arms. A second
later she is followed by Sailor Jupiter carrying Sailor Venus. Both pairs of
senshi dive off to the side just in time to avoid an enormous gust of energy
that comes flying through the portal after them.
The height of the portal changes again. It rises to ten feet high, and then
starts to shrink. Just as it passes eight feet a minotaur leaps through it.
The creature is seven feet tall and just radiates evil. The portal collapses
behind it. "You will all suffer! You shall all burn!" he cries. He hasn't
seen the outer senshi yet.
It is the outer senshi tradition to shoot first and ask questions later.
This time is no exception. "World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"Dead Scream!"
The three balls of energy collide with the minotaur and he stubbles
forward. He spins around. "You dare challenge the great Aries? You will
die!" He yells and throws up his arms. Dark energy flies from them. Sailor
Saturn leaps in front of him and holds up her glaive in both hands. "Silence
Block!" Although she slides a bit backwards, his energy does not penetrate
her shield.
Suddenly a cage of light energy comes down on top of him from the ceiling.
He bangs on it but nothing happens. "No! You can't do this to me." The
little girl who looks like Chibi-usa drops down from the ceiling as well and
floats in the air in front of him.
"No! You can't do this to us," she says.
"The power of the beyonder is infinite! You will obey!"
"No. It isn't. Now leave here demon. You and what you stand for has no place
in this holy place. Even the beyonder must obey his own rules."
The demon says nothing. "Very well. But know that your cause is futile. The
beyonder is master now." Aries is engulfed in flames and then disappears.
Silence. No one moves. No one completely understands what has just happened
or what is going on. The silence is broken with Sailor Jupiter rushing
towards Usagi. She throws her arms around Usagi and tries not to cry. "Oh
Usagi, I'm so sorry. We weren't able to make it back in time."
Sailor Saturn steps forward, looking at Sailor Venus lying on the floor and
then at Sailor Mars, sitting on the floor, cradling an unconscious Sailor
Mercury who is missing an arm. "Who do I help first?"
"Help Venus," Sailor Mars says calmly. "I think her back is broken; HE broke
it." Sailor Saturn hesitates. Sailor Mars looks at herself and Mercury. "All
of the blood is Mercury's. The bleeding is stopped and she's resting now."
Saturn nods and rushes to Venus' side. Pluto steps to help her.
Haiku steps up to the only one of the inner senshi who isn't incapacitated.
"Sailor Mars, what's going on? What's happened?"
"Well, it's quite a story." Mars proceeds to tell Haiku about the attack on
the ship, then their arrival on the shores of Afkzo. "Usagi's locket was
like that when we arrived so it must have happened during the battle." She
then tells her about the mysterious little girl who helped them in the
battle on the ship and then gave instructions to Usagi, and how she allowed
them to skip through the Caverns of Shmite. "And that's where the trouble
began. According to her, her master mistook Usagi for you and put her
through some kind of trials. Naturally she couldn't handle it so the little
girl instructed Jupiter and I to rescue and return with Sailor Mercury and
Venus. I saved Mercury and then it took both of us to get Sailor Jupiter and
Venus back. And now we've returned to find you and the outer senshi here.
Haiku? Haiku are you listening to me?"
In actuality, she isn't. Haiku had stopped listening ever since she heard
that Usagi had been mistaken for herself. "What do you mean they mistook
Usagi for me?"
Mars doesn't know what to say. They both look at the girl who looks like
Chibi-usa. "She called you the senshi of time..."
Everything stops moving except for Haiku and the little girl. Haiku hears a
voice inside her head. "YES, IT IS TRUE. I WAS SO ANXIOUS THAT I DIDN'T EVEN
LISTEN TO HER ADVICE. THE SITUATION IS SO GRIM THAT I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO
FIX IT, AND THUS MY GOOD SENSE WAS CLOUDED. NOW SEEING YOUR GLOW NEXT TO
HER'S I REALIZE HOW WRONG I WAS."
"What have you done to her? What have you done to Usagi!" Haiku cries out.
"I EVEN, DO NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED. SHE HAS NOT DIED,
YET SHE IS NOT ALIVE EITHER. I SENSE INSIDE OF HER A POWER TRYING TO AWAKEN.
BUT EVERYTIME IT DOES I FEEL TIME BEGIN TO RIPPLE AND TEAR. AND THE ONLY
CONCLUSION I CAN DRAW IS THAT THIS WAS MEANT TO HAPPEN, OR WAS A POSSIBILITY
IN TIME TO HAPPEN. AND NOW, I BEG FOR YOUR HELP."
"My help? What can I do?"
"TIME IS BEING PULLED APART FROM ITS SEAMS. AS MORE TIME GOES BY, THE
TIGHTER THE STRAIN WILL BECOME. IF YOU ARE INDEED THE SENSHI OF TIME YOU
SHOULD BE ABLE TO TRAVEL BACK INTO TIME AND FIX IT. YOUR FRIEND IS DESTINED
TO WAKE UP AGAIN, BUT YOU ARE ALSO DESTINED TO TRAVEL INTO THE PAST TO MAKE
IT POSSIBLE FOR HER TO DO SO."
"Then what do I have to do? How am I going to do it?"
"THAT NOW, I AM UNSURE OF. THIS GIRL IS UNIQUE. SHE HAS WITHIN HERSELF A
POWER. A POWER SHE HAS INHERITED IN HER COMING OF AGE. AN ANCIENT POWER
WHICH CANNOT BE USED WITH THE AID OF ANY EXTERIOR TOOL. YOU MUST GO INTO
THE PAST AND DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY TO ALLOW THAT POWER TO AWAKEN WITHIN
HER NOW. I AM SURE YOU WILL KNOW WHEN YOUR TASK HAS BEEN COMPLETED."
"Fine. I'll do it. What do I have to do?"
"THE MEDALLION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM. IT IS YOURS. IT WILL ALLOW YOU
TO TRAVEL FREELY THROUGH THE GATES OF TIME. IT IS THE KEY TO THIS PUZZLE."
"Very well." Now time resumes and Haiku no longer feels his presence. Once
again her future mother's rescue has been placed upon her shoulders. Already
standing, she walks towards the pedestal on the far side of the room. As she
reaches for the medallion Sailor Pluto speaks out.
"Wait. Be careful. We don't know what that is!"
"Don't worry, I do," Haiku replies. Her hand passes right through the clear
yellow crystal that the medallion is encased in and she pulls it right out. None
of the senshi say anything as she places the medallion over head and around
her neck. She draws her sword. Both the medallion and the ginzuishou are lit
up.
Haiku closes her eyes as she is ripped from the timestream.
*****
Episode 23 'Mistaken Identity'
Usagi found herself standing in an empty room. Then she was suddenly
surrounded by the senshi. "Everyone, what is it?"
"You failed us Usagi!"
"You lost and allowed the world to be destroyed!"
"We were counting on you!"
"You screwed it up, just like everything else!"
"Can't you do anything right?"
"How can you live with yourself!"
"You will never become a woman worthy of being a queen!"
"You disgust me!"
"Everyone, how can you say such things?" Usagi fell to her knees. "We love
each other." She turned to find Tuxedo Kamen standing over her. "Don't we?"
"You're so naive Usagi," he said. "The only reason I pretend to love you is
because destiny says it should be so. Now that destiny no longer exists
there is no reason for us to be together," he said coldly before turning
away from her.
"Nooo! It can't be real. Don't leave me alone!" Suddenly everything began to
burn. Usagi screamed as the flames engulfed her body, the smell of burning
flesh filling her nostrils.
Then everything was ice cold. The icy air chilled Usagi to the bone. She
slowly lost feeling as her body began to freeze and...
Suddenly everything was on fire again. "Please stop! PLEASE LET IT END! I'M
NOT READY!!!"
*****
The little girl turned away. It was too painful to watch. She turned to the
old man. "Maybe she isn't the one like she says."
"SHE HAS TO BE. YOU SAID IT YOURSELF."
"But you're destroying her mind."
"SHE JUST HAS TO CAST AWAY HER OUTER SHELL. WHEN SHE IS READY, HER TRUE SELF
WILL EMERGE."
"But-"
"LEAVE ME! CAST AWAY YOUR NEGATIVE SUSPICIONS."
The little girl was silent. She pouted and disappeared.
*****
Rei paced back and forth across the room.
"Don't worry Rei, she always comes through for us. Stop pacing."
"I know, it's just..." Rei stammered. "I don't like it."
"I don't like it either," another voice said. Rei and Makoto turned to find
the little girl floating in the air between them. "My master is so sure that
she's the one but I'm not so sure anymore."
"What do you mean?" Rei exclaimed. "Who is this 'one' you keep on talking
about?"
"Well, I'll start at the beginning. No- that will take too long. I'll start
with the present. Here's the story, as simplistic as I can make it: Only
with the help of the senshi of time can we defeat the beyonder. The shine of
her star seed is supposed to be incredible. My master believes that your
friend is this 'senshi of time' because the glow of her star seed is
amazing."
"But..."
"But, I'm not so sure anymore. We're supposed to know without a doubt
whether she's the right one or not, and I'm feeling kind of doubtful. And
then there's the fact that she's supposed to find us, not the other way
around."
"But what can we do? If he won't even listen to you..."
"You have to tell me. Is there anyone else that you know who might be this
'senshi of time'? Anyone out of the already unusual?"
"Well, there's Sailor Pluto, the guardian of time."
"No, it's not her."
"Hmmmm, how about you Mako?"
"I don't know. There seems to be someone shadowing Pluto but it's hiding so
well that I can tell who or what it is. I don't think it would be Sailor
Saturn, she's the senshi of silence. There's Haiku, but even sh-"
"What did you say? What was that last person?"
"You mean Haiku?"
"Yes. Who is she? Is she a senshi?"
"Well, kind of. It's complicated." Makoto stopped for a moment. She looked
at Rei who nodded agreement. "All right, I suppose she is the only other one
who might be involved in time. Her actual name is Usagi or Chibi-usa. The
form that you have taken on is a younger version of her. She's our friend's
daughter from the future. In this time she is also known as 'The Gatherer';
she brought us all together after being separated two years ago. I don't
think she has explained everything to any of us yet."
"Yes. And she's a senshi? What does her fuku look like?"
"Well, we're not sure. She hasn't actually transformed yet. She just uses
the ginzuishou and the strands of magic. And then she has a crystal sword."
The little girl was getting excited. "Yes? And where is she now?"
"Now that's the problem," Rei said. "She and the the outer senshi are at or
on their way to the volcanic region. And if she IS the one you are looking
for didn't you say that she would find her way to you?"
"Yes, I know. But I'm worried for your friend. It never hurts to give fate a
little push to help it along."
"But isn't there anything you can do to help her?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Anything that WE can do to help her?" Rei added.
"I don't know," she replied. "I'll have to take a look." The little girl did
a back flip and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She took a quick look at
Usagi and saw that she wasn't doing any better. Pushing that aside she
reached out for the others who had been on the ship before it was destroyed.
She would have reached out to find this 'Haiku' girl but she had no idea
what to look for and had very little time. After a little bit she returned
to the others.
"What did you find?" Makoto asked anxiously.
"There isn't really a whole lot we can do. Unfortunately, both of your
friends have been captured by the enemy. All I can do is to offer to send
you there to retrieve them. We can only hope that the senshi of time emerges
before Usagi gives up."
"Okay," Rei agreed. "I'll go after Ami. Mako can go after Mina."
"But I can't even transform," Makoto objected. "Not without Mina's help."
The little girl squinted for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"The powers of Jupiter and Venus have been linked. We can only transform
when we're together."
"I still don't understand. Your aura is independent. Not like Mina's. I saw
the link on her aura when I helped her but I don't see it on yours. I think
it's been ripped apart by something."
"What do you mean?"
"I think that perhaps she has broken the link between you. Can I see your
forehead please?" Makoto knelt down so that the girl would be able to reach
her forehead. The little girl gave it a light tap and the sign of Jupiter
appeared on Mako's forehead. The symbol floated from her forehead and grew
into a three-dimensional block. It was then surrounded by a circle and a
star. A handle grew down below it which she grasped in her hand, and then
stood up. "Better?"
"All right. Way to go Mina! I'm ready for action now. Let's do it."
"Right! Mars Eternal, Unite!"
"Jupiter Eternal, Unite!"
"Now," the little girl exclaimed, "What I'm going to do is open two portals
which are close to where your friends are being held. Once you find them you
just have to return to the portal and they will close behind you. I'll try
to persuade my master to cancel the trial but I can't promise anything. Any
questions?"
Mars and Jupiter looked at each other. "Let's go and cause some trouble."
"Good idea." The two of them vanished into the portals simultaneously.
"Good luck."
*****
The next thing she knew, there was someone shaking her awake. "Ami, Ami,
wake up!" The ground was cold. Her eyes didn't want to open on their own.
The top half of her left arm was burning in pain but in the lower half she
felt nothing. When her eyes slowly drifted open she found a worried Sailor
Mars bent over her. "Ami! Are you okay? How do you feel? When I saw all of
the blood I though you were... what happened?"
Ami tried to sit up but met nothing but pain. "I was... ambushed, I
think..." Then it all came back to her. The dog, the explosion, the bounty
hunter. "My lower left arm, it's gone, isn't it?" Sailor Mars closed her
eyes and turned away, but nodded. "Has the bleeding stopped?"
"Ami, the upper arm is in tatters. I've tied a bandage around the top of the
arm, and it has lessened the bleeding a little. But, ...I'm not even sure
how you've lasted this long. Your blood is all over the floor. It's..."
"Mars, I... you have to do something for me,-something you might not want to
do."
"No Ami, don't ask me to leave you here. I couldn't..."
"No, of course not," Ami tried to smile through the pain but it didn't come
out very well. "If my arm isn't in one piece then burn it closed. I can feel
the blood, my clothes are soaked in it. I must be barely alive. I'm so
tired. You have to stop the bleeding."
"Well Ami, as long as it's all right with you." Sailor Mars focused.
"Blaze!" In a few moments Ami's left arm was completely burned up, but the
bleeding was stopped.
"Thank you," Ami spoke silently before slipping into unconsciousness.
"Don't worry Ami, I won't fail you," Sailor Mars said as she picked up the
blood-soaken body of her friend. She then continued past the smoldering
guards outside the door, and then all of the ashes from shadows out in the
hallway.
*****
Sailor Mars returned to the chambre to find that Sailor Jupiter had not yet
returned. She called out, but the little girl didn't appear. Placing Ami
softly on the floor she spun around and called out again. She was alone in
the room. Ami was silently sleeping while only the portal that Sailor
Jupiter had disappeared through remained. She looked at Ami, and then at the
portal. "Sorry Ami, but I have to go now. You'll be safe here for now." With
that she disappeared through the portal.
*****
Sailor Mars entered the city at a point down in an alley. The huge building
loomed above her. "This must be it." As she watched, a beam of energy shot
from the top of it out to a target outside of the city but she couldn't see
what it was hitting because of the buildings all around. Everything was
black, it was night. She assumed that Venus was inside and that Jupiter had
gone in there as well. As she came around to the front of the building she
found the smoldering remains of what might have been humans at one point.
The Command Point loomed behind her so maybe it wasn't even the Creator who
they were up against, maybe humans this time. She stepped into a lobby. On
the far end of the room was an elevator. Nothing moved. Unfortunately the
elevator doors were open, and as far as Mars could tell, the elevator had
come crashing down from a higher floor and was now smashed on the ground
floor. Sighing she turned to the stairs.
*****
"Who are you?!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed. He stood confidently at the other
side of the room. He was holding Sailor Venus, only she was hanging above
the ground. He had his hand squeezed around her neck.
"I am the great Aries, servant of the beyonder. Surrender now or your friend
dies."
"I'll never give up."
"Then she dies," he laughed as he began to squeeze.
"Jupiter Lightning Wa-aaack," Jupiter was cut off as he blasted her
backwards. Lowering his hand again he tighten his grip on Venus' neck. Her
struggling was starting to lessen by this point.
"Mars Flaming Inferno, BLAZE!!!" Great waves of fire came pummeling towards
Aries but he merely raised a hand and it disappeared. "What?"
"How dare you defy me!!!" he burned. "You will all die!!"
"Damn you!" Sailor Mars cried as she charged towards him. She was about to
hit him with a punch when he took his free hand and grabbed her by the neck
as well. There was nothing Mars could do. It was like hitting rock.
"You will suffer by my own hands," Aries yelled as Mars felt her air supply
being cut off.
By this point Sailor Venus was almost out. But she hadn't given up. "I
...won't let you,..." she murmured as she raised a finger to his forehead.
"Crescent Beam...." Light burst from her fingers as a continuous stream. He
just laughed.
"Your pathetic crescent can do nothing to me." He then felt another finger
on his face.
"BLAZE!!!" she cried as she sent a stream of fire right into his eye. This
time it did do some damage.
"Aaaaaaaah," Aries screamed as he felt his eye fry right in his head. He
threw Mars against the nearest wall so that he could bring his hand up to
his eye. "You'll pay for this," he cursed. He then released the tension on
Sailor Venus's neck. Unfortunately he then continued to press the front of
her body against the wall. He removed his hand from her neck, but before her
body had time to fall to the floor he had brought his elbow right into her
back.
Sailor Venus screamed as he broke her back and a few of her ribs in one
swift stroke. She crumpled to the floor.
"Why you, Jupiter Lightning Wave Capture!" An electric mesh formed around
Aries but he just laughed.
"This is nothing to me," he said as he effortlessly reached an arm through
the cage.
Then suddenly a voice came from behind Jupiter. "Mercury Polar Ice Sheet
Freeze!" Although it was ineffective as well, the ice was able to freeze
Aries' arm which caused him to fall back. "Now Jupiter! Grab Venus and let's
get out of here..." As Sailor Mercury finished her sentence she felt a wave
of dizziness come over her. Fortunately Mars had already recovered and was
charging towards her.
"Follow me Jupiter," Sailor Mars called as she scooped up Sailor Mercury and
continued towards the edge of the room. Without a second thought she crashed
through the window, with Sailor Jupiter right behind her. Aries' screams of
rage followed them down.
*****
A single bed had been placed into the final room of the Caverns of Shmite.
Usagi's lifeless body lies there, still in her nightgown, and with her
broken pendant lying on her chest. The little girl stands beside her. "I
told you she wasn't the one, didn't I?"
"I WAS SO SURE THAT SHE WAS THE ONE."
"It was meaningless!" She waits for a response but none comes. Unlike her,
he prefers to not take on a physical form, and now his consciousness has
left. Suddenly she feels it coming. Someone is approaching. She is
frightened that they will misunderstand what has happened, so she carefully
leaves.
Five columns of light begin to form on the other side of the room. Uranus
and Neptune, Pluto and Saturn, Haiku. As soon as they arrive they release
hands and take up a defensive position. Although they see Usagi lying on the
table, none rush towards her for fear of danger. "Where are we?" Uranus
asks.
Haiku glances all around. "I see it right in front of us, yet I don't
believe it to true."
"Would you leave the riddles for another time?!"
"I think we're in the Caverns of Shmite," Haiku says. "The final one to be
exact. But I don't see how Usagi got through them all without the aid of the
senshi. And additionally I don't see the senshi anywhere."
Sailor Pluto points her staff. "They have perhaps passed through this portal
here. I can sense a trace of their presence having passed through it." She
points again. "And another one here. There was another portal here which has
since disappeared. I cannot tell whether anyone has traveled back through it
though.
"Any present dangers anyone?" Haiku asks. The answer is the same all around.
"None."
"Good. Uranus, watch the portal. Neptune, watch everything. Pluto and
Saturn, you come with me." The three of them approach Usagi's unmoving body.
Sailor Saturn gasps when she sees the shattered locket but says nothing.
They kneel around her. Saturn places her hands on Usagi. She closes her
eyes. To Haiku it seems like hours, but in fact it is just a few minutes
before Saturn opens her eyes. She stares at nothing. "Well?" Haiku asks.
Sailor Saturn pulls her hands down from Usagi's head to her hand. "I don't
know. Her body isn't dead, but she isn't completely alive either. Her mind
does not respond but is still there. There exists more than a physical
wound, one that I cannot heal.
Sailor Pluto speaks. "She has lost the ability to transform. The ginzuishou
has lost its powers before, but has never seen destruction. I think we can
deduce, if only from her clothing, that the inner senshi have not had as
easy of a time as we have."
"But the evil powers which threaten us aren't here," Haiku says. "We aren't
in the nest of the enemy, but maybe even the opposite. I don't understand."
Suddenly a gloved hand sticks out of the portal, but gets sucked back in.
"Haiku," Uranus growls, "We have trouble."
Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn rise and place themselves between the portal
and Usagi and Haiku. Although Haiku feels this guarding of herself as well
as Usagi unnecessary she says nothing. Arguing with the outer senshi is
almost always a battle lost. In a slight flash of light the portal expands
upwards and outwards to allow a very battered-looking Mars to pass through
it while carrying an even worse-looking Sailor Mercury in her arms. A second
later she is followed by Sailor Jupiter carrying Sailor Venus. Both pairs of
senshi dive off to the side just in time to avoid an enormous gust of energy
that comes flying through the portal after them.
The height of the portal changes again. It rises to ten feet high, and then
starts to shrink. Just as it passes eight feet a minotaur leaps through it.
The creature is seven feet tall and just radiates evil. The portal collapses
behind it. "You will all suffer! You shall all burn!" he cries. He hasn't
seen the outer senshi yet.
It is the outer senshi tradition to shoot first and ask questions later.
This time is no exception. "World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"Dead Scream!"
The three balls of energy collide with the minotaur and he stubbles
forward. He spins around. "You dare challenge the great Aries? You will
die!" He yells and throws up his arms. Dark energy flies from them. Sailor
Saturn leaps in front of him and holds up her glaive in both hands. "Silence
Block!" Although she slides a bit backwards, his energy does not penetrate
her shield.
Suddenly a cage of light energy comes down on top of him from the ceiling.
He bangs on it but nothing happens. "No! You can't do this to me." The
little girl who looks like Chibi-usa drops down from the ceiling as well and
floats in the air in front of him.
"No! You can't do this to us," she says.
"The power of the beyonder is infinite! You will obey!"
"No. It isn't. Now leave here demon. You and what you stand for has no place
in this holy place. Even the beyonder must obey his own rules."
The demon says nothing. "Very well. But know that your cause is futile. The
beyonder is master now." Aries is engulfed in flames and then disappears.
Silence. No one moves. No one completely understands what has just happened
or what is going on. The silence is broken with Sailor Jupiter rushing
towards Usagi. She throws her arms around Usagi and tries not to cry. "Oh
Usagi, I'm so sorry. We weren't able to make it back in time."
Sailor Saturn steps forward, looking at Sailor Venus lying on the floor and
then at Sailor Mars, sitting on the floor, cradling an unconscious Sailor
Mercury who is missing an arm. "Who do I help first?"
"Help Venus," Sailor Mars says calmly. "I think her back is broken; HE broke
it." Sailor Saturn hesitates. Sailor Mars looks at herself and Mercury. "All
of the blood is Mercury's. The bleeding is stopped and she's resting now."
Saturn nods and rushes to Venus' side. Pluto steps to help her.
Haiku steps up to the only one of the inner senshi who isn't incapacitated.
"Sailor Mars, what's going on? What's happened?"
"Well, it's quite a story." Mars proceeds to tell Haiku about the attack on
the ship, then their arrival on the shores of Afkzo. "Usagi's locket was
like that when we arrived so it must have happened during the battle." She
then tells her about the mysterious little girl who helped them in the
battle on the ship and then gave instructions to Usagi, and how she allowed
them to skip through the Caverns of Shmite. "And that's where the trouble
began. According to her, her master mistook Usagi for you and put her
through some kind of trials. Naturally she couldn't handle it so the little
girl instructed Jupiter and I to rescue and return with Sailor Mercury and
Venus. I saved Mercury and then it took both of us to get Sailor Jupiter and
Venus back. And now we've returned to find you and the outer senshi here.
Haiku? Haiku are you listening to me?"
In actuality, she isn't. Haiku had stopped listening ever since she heard
that Usagi had been mistaken for herself. "What do you mean they mistook
Usagi for me?"
Mars doesn't know what to say. They both look at the girl who looks like
Chibi-usa. "She called you the senshi of time..."
Everything stops moving except for Haiku and the little girl. Haiku hears a
voice inside her head. "YES, IT IS TRUE. I WAS SO ANXIOUS THAT I DIDN'T EVEN
LISTEN TO HER ADVICE. THE SITUATION IS SO GRIM THAT I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO
FIX IT, AND THUS MY GOOD SENSE WAS CLOUDED. NOW SEEING YOUR GLOW NEXT TO
HER'S I REALIZE HOW WRONG I WAS."
"What have you done to her? What have you done to Usagi!" Haiku cries out.
"I EVEN, DO NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED. SHE HAS NOT DIED,
YET SHE IS NOT ALIVE EITHER. I SENSE INSIDE OF HER A POWER TRYING TO AWAKEN.
BUT EVERYTIME IT DOES I FEEL TIME BEGIN TO RIPPLE AND TEAR. AND THE ONLY
CONCLUSION I CAN DRAW IS THAT THIS WAS MEANT TO HAPPEN, OR WAS A POSSIBILITY
IN TIME TO HAPPEN. AND NOW, I BEG FOR YOUR HELP."
"My help? What can I do?"
"TIME IS BEING PULLED APART FROM ITS SEAMS. AS MORE TIME GOES BY, THE
TIGHTER THE STRAIN WILL BECOME. IF YOU ARE INDEED THE SENSHI OF TIME YOU
SHOULD BE ABLE TO TRAVEL BACK INTO TIME AND FIX IT. YOUR FRIEND IS DESTINED
TO WAKE UP AGAIN, BUT YOU ARE ALSO DESTINED TO TRAVEL INTO THE PAST TO MAKE
IT POSSIBLE FOR HER TO DO SO."
"Then what do I have to do? How am I going to do it?"
"THAT NOW, I AM UNSURE OF. THIS GIRL IS UNIQUE. SHE HAS WITHIN HERSELF A
POWER. A POWER SHE HAS INHERITED IN HER COMING OF AGE. AN ANCIENT POWER
WHICH CANNOT BE USED WITH THE AID OF ANY EXTERIOR TOOL. YOU MUST GO INTO
THE PAST AND DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY TO ALLOW THAT POWER TO AWAKEN WITHIN
HER NOW. I AM SURE YOU WILL KNOW WHEN YOUR TASK HAS BEEN COMPLETED."
"Fine. I'll do it. What do I have to do?"
"THE MEDALLION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM. IT IS YOURS. IT WILL ALLOW YOU
TO TRAVEL FREELY THROUGH THE GATES OF TIME. IT IS THE KEY TO THIS PUZZLE."
"Very well." Now time resumes and Haiku no longer feels his presence. Once
again her future mother's rescue has been placed upon her shoulders. Already
standing, she walks towards the pedestal on the far side of the room. As she
reaches for the medallion Sailor Pluto speaks out.
"Wait. Be careful. We don't know what that is!"
"Don't worry, I do," Haiku replies. Her hand passes right through the clear
yellow crystal that the medallion is encased in and she pulls it right out. None
of the senshi say anything as she places the medallion over head and around
her neck. She draws her sword. Both the medallion and the ginzuishou are lit
up.
Haiku closes her eyes as she is ripped from the timestream.
*****