(Version 1.2)

SailorsPathfinder : Love and Without

By : MakotoJade – makotojade@hotmail.com

Episode 9 : Gathering and Attack

            Anyone get the number of that bus? 

            The first thing Rei realized was that she had a tremendous

headache... then she realized that meant she was alive... and she

certainly hadn't thought she would be.  The youma had trapped her in a

crystal, just like Mamoru, it had shattered, and then nothing-

            Wait... if I'm still alive that might mean-

            "MAMORU!?!"  Rei sat up with a start and flicked open her eyes.

            Her head reeled and the headache pounded in her skull, but she

forced it off as she looked around her.  She was in a field of some-sort.

A ways ahead of her was a building.  Fences extended from it on either

side, and moved off, surrounding the field in a circular fashion.  She

judged from the looks of it she was in about the center of the field.  Her

eyes followed the fence, and she turned to look behind her-- and gasped.

            At least a hundred girls cowered in the back part of the field,

some of them in sailor fuku, most in other kinds of clothes.

            "Hello?"  she asked.  Suddenly those in fuku sprang up and ran to

crowd around her.

            "You!  You speak the tongue!!" one shouted.

            "Japanese?" she asked, but none of them heard her... they were all

speaking at once.

            "Are you a Senshi, too? ... Why are you here? ... What happened to

us? ... What about those crystals? ... And the youma-"

            Rei suddenly stood.  They stopped and stepped a bit away from her.

She looked at their sailor fuku... they were all identical... but not one of

them looked like hers...

            She thrust her hand into the air, "MARS POWER!!!"

            In another 16 seconds Sailor Mars stood before them... they who

now gaped at her...

            "YOU!!! ... She-she has the fuku of an Earth System Senshi...  And

it's red ...  Why, she can't be real!! ...  Ghost? ... Crazy!! ... Can't

be ... Thought they died!! ... you, and the others and the Princess ..

Felt you die..."

            Suddenly two of them hit their knees and the rest followed suit,

bowing down before her.

            Mars stared at them, "WHAT is going ON!?!?"

            One looked up, "You are Sailor Mars, are you not?"

            "Well, yes... but, who are all of you?"

            They looked at her, confused.  One of them spoke up, "We're

Senshi..."

            Mars sighed, "Well, obviously... but from where?"

            One of the other girls, one not in a fuku, suddenly appeared at

Mars' elbow, "Su say na kurotu?  Yo me... ni kodarte... conet?"

            Mars looked from her to the others, "What did she say?"

            One of the others shook their heads, "Don't know... she's speaking

in whatever dialect her home speaks in."

            "How come all of you speak Japanese?  Are you all from Japan?"

            Another Senshi stared at her, "Japanese?  We're speaking in

galactic basic..."

            "JAPANESE is Galactic Basic?!?"

            "If they call it Japanese where you are from, then yes, it is.  It

is the language common to all those who lived during the time of the

Silver Millennium."

            Mars was as confused as the non-Senshi girl standing beside her,

"Okay-- I have no idea what's going on, but I need to know one thing

first.  Where am I?"

            "You don't know?"

            Mars sighed, "No, I do not."

            "Dang!  Well, neither do we, we were hoping you did."

            Suddenly there was a noise behind her and Mars spun to see Ami's

body fall to hit the ground.  "AMI!!!" she screamed as she ran towards

her.

            She knelt down next to her friend and checked for vital signs.

Ami seemed to be okay, just a little bruised.

            Another Senshi was leaning over her shoulder, "Is that who I think

it is?  Only one Senshi had blue hair like that!"

            Sailor Mars looked up at the girl, "She's Sailor Mercury-"

            "I KNEW IT!!  I knew you all didn't die!!  Does this mean the

Princess is still alive, too?!?"

            "Princess Serenity?  Yes, she's alive-"

            "Then the queen might have summoned us!"

            Another Senshi hit the other's arm, "With YOUMA?!?  Get real!"

            Mars heard a groan and looked down to see Ami opening her eyes.

"Rei?" she asked in a rather raspy voice.

            "Yeah, it's me, and I'm glad you're here, Ami.  Maybe you can help

me figure this out..."

            *          *          *

            Risa looked through the seers carefully and then handed them to

Tuxedo Mask.  He took them and stared off at the castle.  "Much better

than my binoculars..."

            "What was that?" she asked.

            He shook his head, "Nothing...  Are Sage and Leeota sure they're

ready, and are you certain you can give them the signal when it's their

time to go?"

            She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and smiled,

"Yes and Yes.  Everything is set."

            He nodded, "Alright then, let's do this."  He noticed her bow her

head for a moment.  "Risa?"

            She looked up, and then off at the castle.  "Many people will die

today.  Just a quick thought, a quick prayer..."

            He nodded and then looked back off at the castle.  She's right...

battle always ends in destruction, doesn't it?  I've seen too much of

it...  He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and then picked up the

comm unit next to him. "Double A this is Mask.  Ann, Alan?  Do you see

everything clearly on your side?  Things check out?"

            In a moment Alan's voice crackled in the comm, "Yep, ready to go

on this side, just start givin' the signals!  Double A out!"

            Tuxedo Mask sighed, and looked at Risa as he started to give the

command, "Mask to all units... deploy on my mark... Hex One... away.  Hex

Two... away.  Hex Three..."

            *          *          *

            Hex Four leader was a strict man.  Never let his soldiers see his

emotions.  He was glad of this, because they might have wanted to know

what he felt at the moment.  And what he felt was cold fear ripping him

apart, fear not for him, but for all of the men and women who would die

today... for indeed... many of them would be dying.

            He gazed around at them, memorizing their faces, hoping maybe

there would be people to remember them... and hoping that that they would

be remembered for bringing the downfall of the evil on this world.

            "Mask to all units..."  His comm crackled, he recognized the voice

as the one named Tuxedo Mask.  The young man began to deploy the different

squadrons... and then- "Hex Four... away."

            Hex Four leader turned to his team, "This is it... go... NOW!!"

            *          *          *

            Hydra absentmindedly played with the pendant on her neck...

Nephlite... you loved causing destruction... I wish you could see the

havoc I've created here... why it's so lovely!  I-

            "My Queen!!"  Hydra turned at the call... a General, gasping at

the door to her chambers.

            Her eyes flashed as an orange glow began about her fist, "How dare

you interrupt me!!"

            "Bu-But My Queen!!  The humans-"

            "WHAT!?!?  What about the humans?"

            "Th-They're attacking My Queen!!!"

            Hydrazite was so shocked for a second she gaped at the General.

Then she fled to her window.  Outside human vermin swarmed over the castle

borders.

            She spun to the General, her eyes aflame, "THE FOOLS!!  THEY

ATTACK!!!"

            "M-My Que-"

            Hydra sent a brilliant, flaming wave of energy through him and

then stormed into the hall screaming.

            "GENERALS!!!  WHAT IN BERYL'S NAME IS GOING ON!?!?  GET THE

DARKNITES OUTSIDE!!!!!!!"

            Countless denizens of the castle began scrambling about, fleeing

outside to attack.

            In a rage she ran to follow them, outside, DAMMIT IF I WON'T PICK

OFF ALL OF THE VERMIN MYSELF!!

            *          *          *

            Tuxedo Mask watched as all of the Hex Squadrons came down on all

sides of the castle.  He was waiting for his own mental signal to order

the Senshi to attack.  It was gruesome... but he had to wait...

            Then he saw one of the Soldiers die... then another.  Damnit...

what a signal...

            He looked at Risa, "The soldiers are dying, it is time for your

intervention... send in the Senshi, and remember to listen for my signal."

            Risa nodded, closed her eyes for a moment... and then vanished in

a wash of red.

            He picked up the comm, "Double A this is Mask, Senshi are in, wait

for my signal if you're needed.  Mask out."

            Tuxedo Mask watched as his plan unfolded before his eyes.  All of

the DarkNites were facing outward, trying to kill the soldiers coming in.

They hadn't counted on an attack from behind them...

            He only saw a handful of flashes from his angle, but abruptly the

battle shifted.  DarkNites began falling, as the Senshi attacked them.

They were either killed directly by the attack, or driven into the mass of

soldiers where they were killed. 

            Tuxedo Mask swore... Why does the death have to continue though?

he thought as one after another, soldiers fell- when all of the sudden...

a wave of pain and sheer agony ripped through him.

            He held his head and screamed, it was so painful... what had

happened?

            *          *          *

            Risa almost lost her concentration when the wave of anguish, of

death in agony, reached her... Sweet Heavens... not a Pathfinder!!!  But

she knew it had to be true, one of her friends was dead.  A Senshi had

fallen.  Tears welled up in her eyes, why did this have to happen...  Her

sadness turned to anger as she continued to attack, waiting, desperately,

for Tuxedo Mask's signal so that the battle would be almost over...

            Then maybe they would finally be free...

            *          *          *

            Tuxedo Mask watched the battle again, the feeling of pain still

lingering in his mind, but he knew he had to keep watching...

            Looks as if their numbers are dwindling enough... in a second I

can-

            Suddenly a wave of energy swept down on one side of the castle,

orange flames ripping through several soldiers...

            "NOO!!" Tuxedo Mask yelled as he stood up suddenly.  But the

energy took no heed as it swept another swath of death through the masses

of soldiers.  It even killed a few of the DarkNites in the process.

DAMN!!  It's Hydrazite!!!  It has to be!!

            Hurriedly he "yelled" as loud as he could in his mind, directly at

Risa. NOW!!!  NOW!!  SWITCH ATTACKS NOW AND GET SAGE AND LEEOTA IN THERE

FAST!!

            He grabbed the comm unit and screamed into it, "ALAN!! ANN!!  GET

OUT THERE AND HELP THEM!!!  THE QUEEN HERSELF IS ATTACKING!!"

            "QUICK!!"

            *          *          *

            In the back of her mind Risa suddenly heard a voice... and she

knew who's voice it was.  She reached out with her own thoughts and

screamed at Sage and Leeota, telling them to get inside.

            Then she mind-called all of the other senshi.  "Switch attack!!

Now!!" 

            Then she looked for a spot... and teleported... and was then

facing the castle, on the side of the soldiers, driving back the

DarkNites.

            *          *          *

            Sage and Leeota sat halfway down a hill, just a ways beyond the

castle.  "Risa just asked if we were ready," said Sage.

            Leeota looked at her, "So we'll be going in any minute now, eh?"

            The other Pathfinder nodded, then looked at her friend, "Are we

ready?"

            "I am... are you?"

            Sage looked away, and off into the distance,     "Yeah, it's just

that, well, I've never been this nervous going into an attack before..."

she trailed off.

            Leeota spoke after a moment, "Well, you've always had a hand in

planning the attacks before.  Now you're just following orders."

            Sage put her palms on the ground behind her and then leaned back

to stare up into the sky, "Yeah, but this is a good plan.   I don't think

it's really that at all... for the first time in my life, I'm afraid.

Afraid of getting fried.  What if we get in there and my judgment fails

me, and I do something superbly dumb, huh?  What if-"

            "Oh Sage stop it!!  You're judgment is fine!"  Sage moved as if

she was going to say something, but Leeota continued too quickly for her

to even get a syllable out, "Truly, Sage... If any of the other

Pathfinders had stayed to protect the O.F., would they have lived?  No.

You fired at them yourself.  There was a force field around them, and even

if it could have been taken out, they came in so fast...  Sage...

What happened happened, and there is nothing you can do to change it, and

you did nothing wrong at all, in fact, had those Senshi remained, they

most likely would have died-"

            As she said the word... a spasm of pain and agony took over them.

Sage's arms failed her, and she fell back;  Leeota's face quickly lowered

into her hands as they both cried out... so much pain...

            "A Pathfinder... a Pathfinder is dead."  Leeota sobbed the

obvious.

            Sage pushed herself back up, and blurily looked at Leeota,

"WHY?!?  Why does it have to happen?"

            Leeota shook her head as they both tried to push it away... they

still had a job to do.

            They sat in silence for a little bit... and then Risa's mental

scream put them both on their feet.

            Sage looked at Leeota, "Time to go."  The blonde nodded.  "Good

Journey..."

            Leeota smiled back at her, "Good Journey."

            They were gone in a flash of pink and green.

            *          *          *         

            Tuxedo Mask watched as the energy claimed more and more lives.

Then he saw the shimmering which meant Senshi were teleporting to the new

attack places.  As soon as Leeota and Sage bring the thing down, it'll

all be over...  But the orange wave kept taking away life after life...

            He suddenly charged down the hill, Shit, if they can give their

lives, so can I... I might not be able to do much more then throw a few

roses here and there, but I can't just watch this!!

            He stormed into the battle.

            *          *          *

            *          *          *

            The large drainage pipe underneath the main highway of town was a

popular attraction for little children.  They called it their clubhouse...

played in it, hiding for hours from their parents or baby-sitters, just

having fun.  If you listened carefully, you could hear them laughing as

you passed over.

            But, had one been listening tonight, the sound wasn't as joyous...

In fact, sobs echoed in the night.  It sounded as if someone had just lost

a part of their soul... a part of themselves...

            Jupiter stood at one of the open ends of the pipe, right hand

resting on a metal rung, supporting her, and stared off into the night.

Stars sparkled in the sky; the city had begun to shut down, lights fading

off; there was the gentle buzzing of the insects; an occasional car passed

over, though none had in the past few minutes...  She sighed, Everything

seems so normal, peaceful... God!!  Why is this happening... the world

is turning upside down!! 

            She had moved her two friends here.  It had taken awhile, both

were distraught... and gushing like waterfalls.  It hadn't occurred to her

to go anywhere else, this seemed the perfect place.

            She turned now, and looked in at her two friends.  Venus sat with

her head in her hands, her blonde hair tumbling all about her, it and her

hands covering her face... Sailor Moon sat against the side of the pipe,

her knees pulled against her chest, chin on her knees, eyes glassy staring

a the other side of the pipe.  Luna had gone out looking for Artemis long

ago... and Jupiter had no idea where she was...

            She turned back around and stared off into the night.  This can't

be happening, IT CAN'T!!  We always win!  We save the world, we live, go

on, and do it again... we DON'T die!!

            A sudden light flashed through the sky.  She watched as it

descended towards Earth... Shooting star... God!!  Why?  If they had

to die, at least they should have been fighting for SOMETHING!  Winning a

battle... ANYTHING!!

            She heard a bending and snapping noise to her right and looked to

discover that she'd twisted the metal rung from the wall.  She held it in

her hands, turning it.  She fought the tears welling up in her eyes with

all her might.

            Suddenly a hand rested on her shoulder and she spun... to discover

Sailor Moon standing at her shoulder.  The girl still had tears in her

eyes, and running down her face.  Jupiter quickly looked away to hide her

own eyes.  "What?"

            "It's so calm, doesn't feel like the right world, does it?" 

            Jupiter was surprised by how calm Sailor Moon's voice was.  She

answered the blonde, "No."

            Both stood in silence for a long moment.  Finally Sailor Moon

spoke, "Do you think they'll be back?  Do you think they are going to kill

the rest  of us?"

            Jupiter stared off into the distance, "Who knows... I mean who ARE

"they"?  We have no idea what's going on, who, when, where, why, how...

DAMN!!!"  She suddenly lost the battle, and the tears freely came down

her face.  Her voice quavered as she tried to keep talking, "Shit... I

mean they could have told us something... anything... damned angles of

death popping out of the sky and killing people for no reason

whatsoever..."

            Sailor Moon was suddenly standing in front of her, and then was

hugging her.  For a moment, she wouldn't let herself give in... Damnit!

What does it matter....  and then she was sobbing into her shoulder.

            After a moment, Venus joined them and the three stood, hugging

each other... thinking about what they had lost.

            Jupiter looked over Venus' shoulder and off into the night.

Another light flashed through the sky... but closer... near the ground...

Almost looks like the same shooting star... wait a minute... it can't

be... what in blazes?!?!??

            She pushed her friends away from her and looked out... Suddenly

she could tell it was coming in fast... and directly at... "US!!!"  she

shouted her completed thought aloud.

            She turned and pushed her friends towards the other end of the

pipe.

            "RUN!!!!"

            They dove out the other end as the thing streaked through the

tunnel.  Immediately Jupiter was on her feet, Venus was up in the next

second, Sailor Moon on the third. 

            The thing suddenly stopped and they saw it's true form.  A youma

stared at them... several crystals floating beside it.

            Before Jupiter could summon a wave of green thunder, a Crescent

Beam suddenly ripped through the air- but the thing dodged.  It spoke at

them, in a mocking, whining voice.  "I've been warned of you... I won't be

defeated so easily... can't say the same for you, though."  A crystal

suddenly lurched out towards Venus.

            Everything went into slow motion, Jupiter seemed unable to move as

she tried to blast at the crystal, her hands wouldn't point in the proper

direction fast enough... and then Venus' body stretched awkwardly and was

pulled into the crystal.  Then the crystal shattered.

            Her hands finally blasted green energy... but through an empty

expanse of air.  She turned again to face the youma, but the thing was

throwing a crystal towards Sailor Moon.

            Jupiter tried to move again... but it was all happening so fast,

she was still in slow motion...

            Just before Sailor Moon disappeared into the crystal, their eyes

locked.  Her friend seemed so calm, peaceful, even internally.  The other

girl simply smiled at her, and was gone... the crystal shattering after

her.

            Normal time seemed to resume as Jupiter's outcry ripped through

the air.  She suddenly summoned all of the energy she could and released

it in the direction of the youma.

            But once again, the energy was wasted.  The thing had moved, and

she could hear it laughing behind her.

            She turned to face it, and was met with the sight of a beautiful

crystal spinning not one foot from her...

            And suddenly she was within it, staring out, the world distorted

at odd angles.  The world...  She stared at it, lovingly, and all dark

emotions left her soul, I tried my hardest.. I did... I hope it lives on

without me... without us...

            Suddenly, blackness.

End Ep. Nine.

(Version 1.2)