SOODNO NA MYESTO
(Spaceship)



There's no turning back now.

It's just myself and my friends. What is left of them that I know are safe, at least. Nothing stands in the way of death for us except for that cold Vanguard. He herded us on like cattle. Strapped us in like the prisoners we are. And now he waits to kill us.
The blue expanse of my world's sky darkens with each minute, and I can tell that dear Locke's resolve to avenge his son's death seems dimmed as well. Because in hearts, I see what people are, and I know that he has just about given up hope. He is slightly saddened, his long, hard, desperate quest to fight seemingly over. But whenever he looks at me, I can see something hopeful in him that I have seen in others I've met. I, of course, keep this to myself, lest Vanguard catch on.
I see Julie-chan, her heart boiling over in anger. She hates the fate picked out for her by Locke's friend, whomever this man might be. But she is not yet sure what to do with it, and each passing minute makes her more uncertain as to how to enact revenge. I know, however, that someone will end Vanguard. And Atrava, if we're really lucky.
I think of poor Naru-chan, whose own heart has probably stopped by now. She is carrying my secret to the grave, and I'm saddened that I couldn't save neither her nor Naritsu Ata. My friends, too. They are in grave danger. And so is everyone else on the planet.
What do we do? If we fight, we might die. Vanguard is armed, and he took our weapons away from us. And if we don't fight, we will definitely die once we reach the moon. There's no choice that has a healthy amount of optimism when it come to our collective fates.

I'm guessing we're just damned if we do, and damned if we don't. Besides, there's nothing left to lose now. It's all or nothing.


---------------------------

"Quite sad."

Vanguard tsked as looked over his shoulder, the three prisoners shackled to the wall. The shuttle vibrated and pitched with the turbulence.

"Having fun back there?!" he shouted over the roar of the engine.

None of the three replied. With a delighted laugh, Vanguard returned to the controls.

"Eh well." Vanguard muttered. "It won't matter in a few minutes…seven minutes to be exact with this 398 engine..."

Sailor Moon simply looked at Locke, whom looked up at Vanguard with anger.

"Can you hear me?!?" she shouted.
"What?!?" Locke shouted in reply.

Sailor Moon repeated the question; however, it was mouthed, with no sound.

"No" Locke slowly mouthed back.

Julie-Su turned to see what they were doing.

"What?!" She screamed.

The other two looked at her. Though most of the sounds they made were drowned out by the engine, they could still feel the vibrations on their chains.

"Mouth" Sailor Moon mouthed to Julie-Su.
"Oh" Julie-Su mouthed back.
"We must do something" Sailor Moon looked at Vanguard. "Now without his noticing"
"But what"
"I don't know" Sailor Moon replied.
"Well as weird as it might sound" Julie-Su turned to Locke. "I think Locke might be our chance"
"Me"
"Yes he chained you in human form remember"
"Oh yes"
"But how will you change without him noticing you"
"I'm afraid there might not be any way around it but knowing him" Locke gave a sigh. "He might not be looking that's our hgamtfi"
"Our what" Sailor Moon's head began to swim from the vibrations on the ship and the sounds of the engine.
"Hgamtfi"

Locke's voice began to fade in her ears. Exhaustion from that past several days and the violent bumping began to excite Sailor Moon's gastric juices.
No…..No….

"Ihthth iorueoiijgkkkg ewitotu"

Locke's mouthing became illegible to her. Without warning, Sailor Moon's eyes rolled up to the back of her head, and she could feel her last meal, the stroganoff, and the warm thick ooze of her own insides spill up from inside her in one single, elongated burning sensation.

"Vanguard!" Locke's shout suddenly rang through her ears. "Help!"
"Uuuuuugh…"

Sailor Moon's head throbbed as everything became fuzzier. Forcing her eyes to stay open, she was so busy in her battle not to heave again that she didn't notice Vanguard's cursing as he saw what had happened. Nor did she see the burst of light that came from Locke, which shrank until there were two echidnas, one red, one black, simply facing each other, eyes filled with hatred, both ready to kill.

"This is the end..."
"Damn you!"

The fight went all to quickly for Sailor Moon, whose eyes slowly closed on the fight that she would have beheld, but for Julie-Su it did not. The two combatant flew towards each other as best as they could in the atmosphere they were in, and Locke's fist plummeled into Vanguard's face. Vanguard spiralled into the wall, hitting several large instruments as he did.

"Raaaah!!!"
"(I'll make this simple for you, brother.)" Locke's words spat out like acid. "(I have no love in my heart left for you. What you did to our people is just as unacceptable to the mold that grows and feeds like a parasite as it is to me, your flesh and blood.)"

Julie-Su's eyes widened at this admission from Locke.

"(Brother?!?)"
"(And I have no love for you!)" Vanguard spat as well, only what he spat was blood that still seeped from Locke's first blow. "(You know that the guardianship and the Brotherhood were corrupt, unfit for people today, as well as I do!)"
"(It's much better that what your ilk have ever done for the people!)"
"(Really? Was it good enough to save your son?)"

Locke's eyes widened at this, and the two stopped fighting. Stars whizzed by, and the moon became bigger in the window.

"(You...)"
"(Did it save him from being a genetic freak? No, because it was you who caused it.)" The words gave Vanguard great satisfaction. "(You treated your son like a guinea pig. You only had an articicial emotion for him - if he didn't elate your name into history, then he was no good. Right? Tell me I'm wrong.)"

The words struck so hard that Vanguard felt them. With an angry roar, and with a savage strength that Julie-Su never saw, Locke grabbed Vanguard's dredlocks, nearly ripping them right out of his head, and shoved his face into Vanguard's.

"(DON'T EVER MIX ME UP WITH YOU!)" he screamed. "(EVERYTHING I DID, I DID FOR MY SON! I MAY HAVE SEEMED COLD, AND HEARTLESS, BUT ANSWER THIS!!! WOULD YOU EVER HAVE WANTED ANYTHING FOR A SON OF YOURSIF IT DIDN'T GIVE YOU MONEY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?)"

Vanguard's eyes widened as Locke's hand slammed him into the wall so hard, it completely dented the controls that were on it. With another angry roar, Locke then picked the black echidna up and threw him into the dashboard of the cockpit, right into the controls.

"(Locke!!!)"

A buzzer suddenly bleeped as Locke jumped to the controls of the ship.

WARNING! was the sign he met. SYSTEM FAILURE. OVERRIDE FAILED. DOS PROMPTORS DESTROYED. EMERGENCY LAND GEAR FAILING....

"(Dammit!)" Locke jumped into the pilot seat. He looked up to see the moon fill up the entire view of the cockpit. "(Julie-Su, hang on back there! I'm going to try to land this thing without killing us!!)"

Locke grabbed onto the wheel, and jammed his foot onto the pedal. Nothing happened. As quick as he could, he jumped down to the floor, staring at the wires that connected the pedal to the system. The sound of the engine grew louder as they approached the atmosphere of the moon.

"(What....)"
"(Locke?!?!?!?)" Julie-Su shouted over the noise. "(Locke!! Is everything all right?!?!)"

Suddenly, the ship was seized by atmospheric turbulence, and a large wave rolled under the ship. Locke's head slammed into the pedal wires. The jolts of energy shocked him so quickly he didn't even have time to scream as he instantly slumped, floating in the air.

"(Locke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1)"

Julie-Su looked over as best as she could through the binds, but she could see nothing of Locke. Suddenly, her eyes caught a small green light on the surface below. The egine began to roar even louder as the ship began to almost bounce as it entered.

"(......................A tower........................)"

Julie-Su's fascination was suddenly overridden by a sudden burst of speed. The shuttle was caught by the Moon's atmosphere, and though the gravity was much less than on Earth, the shuttle was in a tail spin, going faster than ever before.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

Julie-Su's screams were suddenly cut out by the sound of her eardrums exploding. Her mind reeled from the sensation, the impact of her sudden loss of hearing. The pressure, and the sound, was no longer there, and she saw Locke's body floating, and she saw Vanguard's floating, and the tower and the green light and then and the surface and her mind and body slowly succombing to the inevitable and-

*THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*


But first, her mother. Then, Knuckles, smiling at her. Then, white.

-------------------

Nothing. Then, a sound. Drip. Drip. Like water.
Locke's eyes open up.

"What is this....."

He lays on the floor, looking up. Its himself. The Locke body. Blood.

"No..."

Then suddenly it's her he sees. Smiling.

"Locke........"

The beautiful angel from before. The one that saved him. Suddenly disintegrates...

"It can't be over....."

...Disintegrates into Usagi. Just as beautiful. One and the same. Angel Usagi. Locke sees this. Then there is the glowing Usagi body in chains in tha back. But how?
Then, a voice.

"The Servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The Controller serves to unify the Chaos." Angel Usagi's head lifts up. "You remember, don't you?"
"Usagi?"
"Power that is enriched by the heart. Hope. Isn't this power enriched by hope, Locke?"

Suddenly, light. Locke floats up. Descends on the Locke body...


-------------------

Locke's eyes jumped open.
He was alive again.

".......................uugh......"

Feeling disoriented, he looked around woozily before slowly getting up. Vanguard's body was gone, though blood still remained on the seat where he had been. Looking around, yhis eyes suddenly spotted the outside world from the cockpit.
My.......God......

In the distance, a green light blinked from a large, black, seemingly desecrated tower. Ruins surrounded it like a death camp.

"U.....sagi.......J.....Julie-Su......" With a gasp, he turned around. "We made it....we-"

His elation of surviving froze when he saw Julie-Su's place in the chains was vacant. She was gone. The chains were unlocked.
Vanguard.. Locke's teeth clenched as he shuddered in anger. He took her. He's got her. He-

"Huh...................."

Locke turned to see the origin of the voice. As he did, he suddenly felt himself turning back into a human the instant his eyes met the golden hair.
Of course.... he suddenly realized. The Silver Crystal.
The light glow around Sailor Moon slowly dissipated as her eyes slowly opened. Locke slowly and methodically unchained Sailor Moon, and she collapsed into his arms.

"Locke!!" she gasped.
"Usagi…."

Suddenly, at the sight of one another, alive, the two began to kiss. Neither of them really expected it, but somehow, they were deeply locked in, as if they had really been lovers. Sailor Moon's arms slowly folded around Locke's neck.
This…. Sailor Moon's thoughts went to Mamoru. …isn't right…..but….it's as if….I'm really kissing Mamo-chan. Oh, Mamo-chan, forgive me, wherever you are….
Finally, the two had to force themselves away from each other.

"I'm….sorry….."
"No, no, that was….my fault…."
"Vanguard's got Julie-Su." Locke gave a huff. His face was beet red. "We have to go. I'll get Vanguard, and you come in after me-"
"Wait! But what about the Emerald?"
"The Emerald….and our weapons...."

Locke turned around and saw the Heart of Hestia, piled inside a pag wit his staff, Sailor Moon's tier and Julie-Su's laser.

"He didn't get it...."

Locke quickly picked it up from the floor.

"We might have something with this Emerald in our possession. But….we shouldn't reveal that we have it to Atrava or Vanguard yet. Or it's all over."
"Right." Sailor Moon nodded.
"……Sailor Moon….." Locke stopped at the hook of the ship's door.
"Huh?"
"…………Promise me something."

Sailor Moon's eyes widened.

"If I die, you must protect the Emeralds."
"Protect them….." Are you a fool? He is your friend! And….you just kissed him… "I promise."

With a smile and a nod, Locke disappeared from the ship.
Follow him…. Sailor Moon looked out the window, watching as he ran, disappearing over the horizon. Just wait….then follow….

------------------------

The tower had been closer than he thought.

"VANGUARD!!" Locke's angry voice permeated through the room "SHOW YOURSELF!!"

There was no reply as Locke walked. The green glow of the the six Emeralds' was nowhere to be found.

"VANGUARD!!"
"Uraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!"

The agonized scream caused Locke to take out his staff. His revulsion became even more so as Vanguard's body suddenly fell from out of nowhere, plopping right in front of Locke.

"Locke!!!!"

Sailor Moon ran into the tower.

"This place....was used by my mother to purify the Earth during Metallia's battle!"
"Get back!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Locke's echidna instincts served him well. Suddenly, the tower darkened as Locke jumped away from Vanguard's body.

"Sailor Moon." Locke turned to the girl as he landed. "We must be careful now."

Sailor Moon nodded as six green lights descended onto the center pillar of the room.

"The Chaos Emeralds." Locke grit his teeth. "Dammit."

Suddenly, the earth shone into the room, and the room lit up again, only this time everything was green. A shadow appeared on top of the pillar, and it jumped onto Vanguard's back. A loud crack could be heard in the room. Then, the shadow took out something that looked like a sword and hacked the blade mercilessly into Vanguard's neck.

"Jesus…." Locke could feel his heart pound furiously.

Standing on top of Vanguard's dead and mutilated body was Atrava, who was snickering as he silently rubbed his knuckles.

"You…."
"Heh…if it isn't the little moon princess." Atrava turned from Sailor Moon to Locke. "And the failed guardian. Such a combination to come all the way to my home on the moon. And….such a pleasure. Forgive the mess…" Atrava's foot pressed on what little neck was still attached to Vanguard's body. "I wasn't expecting you in this condition."
"We don't want your tasteless comments!!" Sailor Moon shouted. "Where are my friends?!"
"They're right here."

The green lights flashed again, and the two found themselves in the center of several emerald crucifixes, each about twenty feet high. Sailor Moon gasped as she looked up to see all of her friends, Mamoru, and Julie-Su.

"No!!!" She dropped to her knees.
"Yes." Atrava's face triumphantly glowed. "All of your pitiful friends, they thought they could defy me. But I have six of seven. They stood no chance. And now…" Atava's eyes flashed. "It's your turn to join them."

Suddenly, a green crucifix leaped up from under Sailor Moon. Quick as lightning, she flipped over the crucifix and landed on top of it, balancing herself as best as she could.
Can't let him get to me. Sailor Moon huffed. Almost was creamed that time!

"Not bad, Serenity." The gatekeeper chuckled. "It looks like the little princess has gotten better since I last saw her. You may have broken the barrier, but what chance do you really stand against six of seven?"
"You're about to see, Atrava!" Sailor Moon pointed towards him. "I may seem like nothing more than a little princess, but in reality, I am a sailor soldier! And I resonate with the light of love, truth and justice. A power that not even your pitiful six of seven can compare to!!"

A look of anger passed over Atrava. He gave a snap of his hands.

"Do you really think you can defeat me in that way?" he snarled. "Then you truly have never confronted the power of the Chaos Emeralds!"

A green laser shot out from Atrava's hands, barreling towards Sailor Moon. With a whoop, Sailor jumped over it and fell to the floor.

"You'll have to do better than that!" she shouted as she fell.
"Very well." Atrava's eyes flashed. "As you wish."

The ground which was to cushion Sailor Moon's fall suddenly flashed, and emerald green vines lashed out from the light, surrounding Sailor Moon and stopping her fall.

"What?!?" Sailor Moon gasped as the vines grabbed her arms and legs.
"I'm not finished with you yet!" Atrava laughed. "Now you will see what I can do!!"

With a powerful shove, the vines pinned Sailor Moon to the crucifix. A flicker came from one of the leaves, and in an instant Sailor Moon was electrocuted by bolts of powerful electricity.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed.
"SAILOR MOON!!! NOOO!!!!" Locke shouted as he jumped up to save her. He was deflected by the electricity and thrown to the ground.
"LOOOOOCCCKE!!!!!!!!!"

The eternal locket on Sailor Moon's winged bow suddenly shattered under the pressure from the Emerald energy, and her sailor suit turned into a mess of ribbons. Usagi's eyes rolled up to the back of her head as she began to succumb to the power.

"USAGI!!!!!!"

Locke suddenly jumped back up and leaped up on the pillar. With an angry roar, he grabbed his staff and knocked the shocked Atrava in the face, sending him off of the pillar.

"Urrraaaaaaah!!!!"

With a growl, Atrava stopped himself in mid-air. He glared up at Locke, who swung his staff up and pointed it at Atrava.

"You keep forgetting, I have the power to harness the Emeralds as well, gatekeeper." Locke went into a fighting stance.
"Of course." Atrava rubbed his cheek. "How could I have forgotten. Silly me. And of course you would risk yourself for your girlfriend."

Usagi came to herself, hanging on the crucifix, and spotted Locke on top of the pillar, looking down at Atrava.

"I never said I had a girlfriend." Locke growled. "And you keep Usagi out of this. It was me you wanted to begin with. So let's go. You and me."
"Locke, Locke." Atrava snickered. "You are more than willing to hide your true feelings from the lovely girl you just tried to save, aren't you? That my attacking her is a personal thing to you. Admit it; you have no more love for Lara-Le, there is no Lara-Le for you now, just this girl!! And you know as well as I that she is in far too deep for me to let her off so easily."

Usagi's eyes grew wide at this. Locke looked over at her, and his eyes grew wide when he saw that she was awake. His face turned completely red, and he rubbed his temple as he began to sweat.

"Heheh." Atrava's next laugh turned Locke's attention from the beautiful girl to his enemy. "I am a sporting man. I see a great amount of potential with you. You could always join me….forego your death….you can return home….if you give me the last Emerald. Forget the girl; she is the past ruler of Earth, while I my way the future!"
"Never." Locke's answer was blunt.
"What if I spared her life?" Atrava whisked his hand towards Usagi. "Gave her to you as an added bonus for joining me? Then you could be with your dearly beloved forever."

Locke gave a shocked grunt, then turned his head down. Usagi looked at Locke as he turned back to her, his eyes showing the difficulty he was having with the decision. He silently studied her face, looking for a sign and obviously not finding one. The two stared at each other for several moments, simply looking at each other.
Locke….Do what you know is right, Usagi silently pleaded. Please! Don't give him the last Emerald. I know now that you love me; all those times you saved me, you could have left me for dead, but you didn't because of your feelings for me. But don't throw everything away because of me!!
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Locke turned to Atrava with a determined look.

"Yes, it's true," he slowly said. "I do love her. I felt love for her the first time I laid eyes on her. I never thought I could find a person to change me in the way that she did. She taught me my mistakes, and taught me how to deal with them."

A look of triumph flashed on Atrava's face as Locke's words came out.

"Even though she can never be mine to have, I would do anything for her." Locke grasped his staff. "And I know that the choice I make now is the right thing. Not just because it is for her, however. Because I am doing it for her…and all of the people of Earth."

Without warning, Locke jumped off of the pillar and flipped his staff over, revealing the knife at the end. With a shout of total surprise and a completely pale face, Atrava threw up his hands to stop the blow from meeting his neck.

"Locke!!!" Usagi's happy face turned to one of horror as she noticed a green light coming from the ceiling. "WATCH OUT!!!!!!!!!!!"

The notice came too late for Locke, who was suddenly knocked to the ground with crude force by the green light. Atrava brought his hands down in confusion to look down at Locke.

"Well, well," Atrava's face became evil once more. "It looks like my reinforcement is here."

The green light floated up to Atrava, growing and mutating as it did.

"Locke." Locke looked up at the gatekeeper. "I don't suppose you have met my most trusted lieutenant. Yet I believe you know him….very well."

The green light finally flickered and disappeared, revealing a small green creature to the occupants of the room. Its green eyes looked over at Usagi with a cold glare. Usagi gasped as she recognized the animal that had materialized.

"You!!! An echidna?!?"

Locke looked up at the green echidna, and all color drained from his face.

"Locke," Atrava smiled as he put his arm around the newcomer. "I would like you to meet your challenger. His name is Knuckles."