Shades of Gray
A Sailor Moon Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack
Chapter 11: Collision Course
"What is the Way of the Warrior?"
"The Way of the Warrior is Death."
- seventeenth-century Japanese proverb
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi, whose creative talents far exceed my most humble own. Distribution and other rights to Sailor Moon belong to lots of different companies that I do not own. I make or imply no claim to ownership of Sailor Moon or its characters. However, the text of this fanfic is mine, and should not be used without permission. Thank you.
Jadeite frowned as he entered his chambers. Something was amiss... there was a foul scent in the air, a corruption even greater than usual. The shadows seemed alive, moving and whispering in the dimly lit room. The former general whirled around, certain he that heard someone sneaking up on him, but no intruder was revealed.
Another sound. Jadeite stilled himself, all his perception bent on determining the source of his discomfort. He could feel no presence in his room. Yet the half-familiar sounds continued. The dark lord extended his search, his magic feeling throughout his palace for anything out of place.
Nothing. All was as it should be. For a moment, Jadeite opened his eyes, glancing about his chamber warily. If all was well, what then caused the terrible sense of oncoming doom? Flames gathered in Jadeite's hand, and the ever-present shadows retreated under the fire's assault.
Jadeite's scowl deepened. Not a single item was out of place. Everything remained as it had been when he had first journeyed to the front almost a week ago. Yet, the dark lord was not comforted by this. His instincts rarely let him down, and they were screaming out in utter panic. Something was happening.
The flames died out as Jadeite once again closed his eyes and extended his more unnatural senses. His probes entered every nook and cranny of his palace, carelessly shoving aside the wards that most Overlords placed around their private chambers. There would be time to smooth over ruffled feelings later.
Jadeite collapsed, his senses overwhelmed. They had been straining, focusing on even the slightest imperfection, yet finding nothing. But now... now they were reeling under a powerful wave of energy. Familiar energy.
"The Flame Diamond," Jadeite muttered as he struggled to his knees, clutching his wounded shoulder, which pulsed in time to the waves of energy. "How?"
Jadeite never completed his thought, as he finally felt the source of all his problems. Good arm grasping at a nearby table, Jadeite slowly pulled himself up. "By all the Ten," he muttered, ignoring the anachronism of the ancient oath.
Even as he came to this realization, the dark lord trembled under a new assault. Chillingly familiar energies swirled throughout the palace and beyond. Jadeite could feel the mental touch battering against his protections. Forcing himself fully to his feet, ignoring the rising pain in his shoulder and his shaking legs, Jadeite began to quietly chant a ward of protection.
The ward was never completed. As Jadeite rolled around on the floor, body spasming under the next assault, he had the presence of mind to activate the protections on his door, sealing off his private chambers with nearly unbreakable shields. Then, blessed darkness came, obliterating the pain.
Outside the palace, the skies opened up and spewed forth millennia of pent-up wrath. Rain lashed against the dark castle walls, leaving shallow, steaming pits where it struck. When the storm cleared, the low clouds did as well, revealing to one and all the blazing sky known as Metallia's Eye.
And on Earth, in a small cafe on the outskirts of Tokyo, a pale Meiou Setsuna dropped a 2000 yen note next to her unfinished coffee and vanished, uncaring of whether she was seen.
"Ami's late." Rei worriedly glanced out the window onto the rapidly darkening twilight. "I hope -" She left the sentence unfinished. She didn't even know what to hope for. What was Ami doing that was so dangerous?
Across the room, Haruka pulled the Mercury Computer out from her pocket and gingerly put it on the table. With a frown, she flipped it open. "Ami said there was a message on here for if she," Haruka trailed off, then continued, "couldn't make it."
Silence greeted her pronouncement. Frown deepening, Haruka reached to activate the message. However, her hand stopped at the sound of four beeps. As one, the Inner Senshi reached for their communicators.
"I'm sorry, everyone," Ami's voice could be heard emanating from the devices. "I'm going to be just a little bit longer. I need to make sure I'm not followed."
The mood in the room lightened noticeably, though not entirely. At least they knew Ami was all right... but why would she be worried about being followed?
It was half an hour before Ami arrived and those questions would be answered. After the obligatory displays of relief at her appearance had been dealt with, Ami reclaimed her computer and began to relate the meeting that had taken up most of her day.
This would take quite some time, and the sun had finished setting by the time Ami reached Juno. At this point, Ami halted her narrative a moment, trying to sort out how to relate the next phase of the story. Obviously what she had heard was filtered through the biases of the teller, but how much did that bias twist the facts? With a sideways glance at Hotaru and a sigh, Ami made her decision. "I think it would be best to just let you hear the same thing I heard about the next event." A moment's work on her computer, and the recording she had made began to play from the appropriate point.
"It was the largest cultist strike ever. Almost three hundred irregular soldiers, a handful of sorcerers, and two dozen youma - almost four times more than had ever been used in a single strike before. The last report we got out of Juno before everything went to hell was that strange energy surges had been detected deep below the planet's surface, and that Gaia and Senshi Terra were investigating. We never found out exactly what happened below."
"But we can guess. Somehow, the cultists were trying to summon Metallia. Gaia... Gaia died. She used her true power, and sacrificed herself in an attempt to save us. We could feel the darkness below, and could do nothing to stop it. And Iris... Saturn." The venom in Hermes's voice was obvious. "Saturn went berserk. She attacked us, tried to kill us all. And then... and then that bitch destroyed Juno! She murdered Hera... and billions of others. And your precious Queen Serenity saved Iris's worthless life! Her life, and no others!"
Ami's own voice was then heard. "Enough with the dramatics."
There was a long moment of silence, then Hermes spoke. "It's hard to talk calmly about what happened. I don't really think I can..."
At that, Ami stopped the recording, and risked a glance around the room. It was obvious that most of the Senshi did not know what to think- not that she did herself. Ami knew there had to be another side to the story... but how to get it? Hotaru did not, could not remember.
Hotaru muffled a sob and raced out of the room. Barely a second later, Haruka and Michiru followed. Usagi was not far behind.
Sailor Pluto was not scared. She refused to be scared, even if the timestream had shuddered and fractured, splitting into a thousand times a thousand paths. In one, a critical battle went wrong, and one by one the Senshi fell, her last of all. In another, a sudden change of heart brought new allies to their side, and victory was seemingly near assured- but far too soon, and at great cost. In a third, betrayal shattered the Senshi, the hope of ten thousand years lost to an ill-advised romance. Another path showed that same romance saving them all from horrible defeat. Pluto saw herself fall prey to foolish choices, and damn all who depended on her with her failure.
Pluto shuddered as wave after wave of the images poured into her supernatural senses. This was impossible - she hadn't seen uncertainty like this since the final days of the Silver Millennium. Each potential timeline was multiplying, as each brought its own crisis points, which branched out even further.
The Senshi of Time relentlessly sought out Crystal Tokyo - the timeline that had to occur, the one true future. But it was buried under countless infinities, and whenever she thought she had the proper strand, it slipped away. Pluto paused and waited, and slowly the timelines began to thin out, the more improbable vanishing, though far too many remained for comfort.
Slowly and painstakingly, she found what she sought, and saw what must occur. And with a sudden crash, her staff fell to the ground, nerveless fingers no longer holding it in a firm grasp.
The sound echoed throughout Castle Charon's dark and silent halls. Sailor Pluto slowly stooped over and retrieved her weapon. This was not good. There was no way she could ensure everything would occur as it must. She could only hope and pray.
An ancient curse on her lips, Pluto slowly approached the Great Seal. She stared for a moment at the ten concentric circles surrounding the intricate mural of the Sun. With a sigh she forced her staff into a small hole in the outermost, black circle. Cautiously, she extended her senses, determined to confirm or deny her worst fears.
Pluto's already pale face whitened even more as she observed the wounded barrier that separated the Dark Kingdom from the universe. It was weak, too weak, and deteriorating quickly. Even as she watched, a patch of frayed barrier dropped away entirely, revealing what lay beyond.
Sailor Pluto recoiled, malicious laughter echoing in her head. A blazing red eye, a horrible, familiar eye, half-remembered from her earliest nightmares, bored into her mind, piercing the shadows of her innermost thoughts. With a scream, Pluto forced her staff out of the hole, but the terrible eye remained, and the laughter redoubled in strength.
"Foolish little girl, treading where she should not dare look," a far too familiar voice crooned. "I remember you, little one. I remember you from Juno. 'Sailor' Pluto, Senshi of Time." The voice laughed. "What a disgrace. You know that this is not the calling you are best suited for."
An image formed in Sailor Pluto's mind, superimposing itself on the crimson eye. She stood triumphantly atop a pile of bloody, broken bodies, her staff at her side. Her eyes unwillingly dropped to examine the bodies, to find the faces of the other Senshi staring up at her, lifeless eyes a silent rebuke. Her doppelganger moved, and with a sinking feeling she realized it was not the Time Staff it wielded.
As the voice's laughter sounded once again, Sailor Pluto watched as she spun the Silence Glaive in a threatening arc, strands of energy gathering around it. The simulacrum smiled, looking the true Sailor Pluto in the eye, then slowly dropped the Glaive. Pluto could hear her own voice, uttered from the mimic's lips. "Death Reborn Revolution." Pluto screamed as the frighteningly real seeming energies washed over her.
The image mercifully vanished, and Sailor Pluto dropped to her knees, sobbing. She could somehow feel the voice smirking, and soon it spoke once again. "But alas, that is not to be, is it? Instead it is another who will serve me in your place. What was her name? Iris?" The voice paused. "Actually, I agree, little one. I like the name Hotaru better."
"No," Pluto found the voice to whisper. Her thoughts had already betrayed Saturn. She could not allow this demon to find the others through her.
"I have no need for the 'others', little girl." The voice was now harsh as steel, playful mocking left behind. "The Senshi of Silence will not escape me this time. I know what blood she carries, and I am prepared. Your little Princess died facing the merest fraction of my true power, wielded by a half-sane sorceress. What will she do when I return in full glory?"
"She... we will stop you."
"Foolish little girl. Time has turned back on itself, and the strength of the ninety Pharaohs has been broken. The One of Fire has emerged from Ice, the bull has fallen. The sky is as flame, and the dead will walk. I, Metallia, will reign forever, as I always should have!"
Sailor Pluto smiled grimly, rising to her feet, gathering her power for a counterstrike. "We will stop you, demon. Begone!" And as suddenly as it had arrived, the presence vanished before Pluto's mental attack, forced back for the time being.
But not for long. Not for long. Her face calming, Pluto headed across the shadowed courtyard to the Gates of Time, her stride long and purposeful. There was work to be done.
Hotaru paused as she reached Haruka's car. She did not know why she had run to it - the doors were locked, and she did not have a key. But she had to get away, get away from the others. From those glances, trying to avoid her notice, eyes filled with fear and pity. She had to get away.
Not that she had succeeded. She heard the three pairs of footsteps rapidly following her, and she could guess who they were. Hotaru clenched her fists, nails biting into the skin of her palms. "Stay away."
"Hotaru?" Haruka's voice was unusually quiet. "Are you all right?"
"No. I'm not." Hotaru laughed bitterly. "Why should I be? Didn't you hear? I'm the biggest mass murderer in history. I don't deserve to be 'all right'."
"Hotaru." Usagi's voice was quiet and commanding, filled with an ancient power, yet tinged with sadness and understanding.
Hotaru spun around. "Serenity," she said flatly.
"Hotaru, please. Come back inside. Let us help you."
"Help me?" Hotaru spat out angrily, driven by churning feelings she barely understood. Her small hands clenched into fists, and Silence filled her ears. "I don't need your help. Just... leave me alone." She could see the other Senshi slowly approaching, and she took a step backward, stumbling slightly at the sudden drop from the curb to the street.
"We can't leave you alone, Hotaru," Usagi stated. "We're your friends. We care about you." Usagi took a few steps forward.
Something inside Hotaru snapped, and the Silence roared. Power flowed through her, the power that defined who she was. The ground fell away beneath her feet, and she rose into the air. She could feel the sigil burning on her forehead, the image that named her as the harbinger of destruction. "Stay away!" Hotaru screamed, power arcing away from her.
The energy struck Usagi, sending her stumbling back. The other Senshi surrounded her, and Hotaru winced at the anger some of them showed. As suddenly as it had come, the power left her, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
"I'm sorry," she gasped out between sobs. "I'm -"
Michiru knelt by her side, comforting her. "It's alright. Usagi isn't hurt." Hotaru clutched to the one she sometimes considered a mother or a sister, now longer struggling to control her tears. Eventually, she calmed herself.
"I think we should probably head home," Haruka said. Hotaru nodded, relieved at the prospect of not having to face the others for another day.
"We'll hear the rest of the story tomorrow," Haruka told Ami, and shortly thereafter the three were speeding to the questionable comfort of their home.
"It has begun," Ishamanar repeated, as he gazed upon the half-formed chrysalis that was the culmination of all his hopes and dreams, and though they did not yet know it, of the hopes and dreams of all his species.
Nyxan glanced around the small chamber, as though he feared some sudden assault. "So it has," the dark-skinned General muttered, nervously extending and retracting his claws repeatedly. After a moment, he continued, "How long?" He did not need to clarify the question.
Ishamanar smiled widely. "Three weeks, at the most. Shorter if Asphara fetches energy faster. Three weeks, and the dream of ten thousand years will at last be fulfilled. Three weeks!"
"That short?" Nyxan asked. "I've done the calculations myself, but to see it happening before my eyes -"
"It will be shorter." The deep yet obviously female voice was not a voice at all, instead resounding solely in the minds of the two conspirators. As one, the two Generals' eyes returned to the cocoon, in which foul liquids had begun to churn and boil as they did their work. "It must be shorter," the voice continued.
Nyxan and Ishamanar dropped to their knees in awe. "Great Metallia," Nyxan breathed, while his companion trembled wordlessly.
A soft chuckle emanated from the cocoon. "Rise, my children," Metallia said. "You have served me well. When my reign comes, you shall rule at my right hand. Your names will be exalted over all my servants, and feared by my foes."
Nyxan stumbled to his feet, followed an instant later by Ishamanar. The two bowed deeply, and Nyxan spoke. "We are unworthy of the honors you grant to us, Great Metallia."
"No, my children. You are more than worthy. What you will accomplish is unmatched in all of history. You will be remembered for a thousand generations."
Nyxan bowed a second time. "You are too kind to your servants, Great One. Tell us your desire, and we will fulfil it."
"The time is upon us. We must strike now, while our foes are blind and divided. You will go to Terra, and you will go as conquerors. I have foreseen what will occur."
And Metallia told her worshippers what was required of them.
Ishamanar spoke. "You... your will, Great Metallia."
For a third time, Nyxan bowed. "Great Metallia, as you command, we will do. I fear, however, that usage of portals to Terra will bring unwanted attention to us."
Metallia laughed, not at all pleasantly. "Jadeite has been dealt with. My servants no longer need fear his gaze. Now, go, and carry out my word." And with that, Metallia's presence lifted from the chamber.
Ishamanar blinked several times. "Glorious."
Slowly, Nyxan nodded. "Let us plan. We have much to prepare for, if our Great Leader's will is to prevail."
"Yes," Ishamanar responded. "I will travel to my domain, and prepare a legion of my finest troops to cross over to Terra. Search Beryl's summoning chamber, and find what Great Metallia desires."
In a brief burst of flame, Ishamanar vanished, voyaging across the long miles to his realm, Alkoden. Nyxan smiled, then exited the chamber, resealing the wards behind him. This would be a very interesting day.
At long last, it had come. Ikawa had been dreaming of this moment since his Awakening, and now it had finally arrived. The final Champions had been Awakened. Against the odds, he had succeeded in the task he had set himself not too long ago, though it seemed sometimes as though years had passed since that fateful day.
Yet, this reunion was bittersweet. There were no more Champions to be found, which made the absences even more evident. Gaia, Champion of Terra, skilled in the arts of war and peace alike. Hera, Champion of Juno, strong and steadfast as the stone she commanded. For eight thousand years they had survived, but on one day they both fell for the final time.
And unlike those gathered here today, Serenity's magic had not granted them a chance to cheat death once again, one last spin on the wheel of life. They were already gone forever, the fate which now awaited their comrades.
There would be no more incarnations, no more new lives to live. They had all sacrificed that, in one glorious, futile effort to avert disaster. They did not talk about that fact. To dwell too much on what awaited them was to give in to despair. And there was much to do before they went into oblivion.
Ikawa's musings were interrupted when Motoki finally spoke. "Well, we're all here. I think we'd all like to hear what Meno has to say." There was a general chorus of agreement, and all eyes turned to the Champion of Mercury.
The retelling took quite some time, and when Meno finished the tale of the Dark Kingdom's first return, it was closer to midnight than to sunfall. The tale of an incident involving two aliens was much shorter. When he reached this point, Meno paused, and pondered what to say next.
With a sigh, Meno turned to Tamori. "I'm afraid your daughter has been meddling with the timestream." As Tamori stirred, Meno quickly summarized what he knew of Crystal Tokyo and the Dark Moon Family.
Tamori settled back into his seat. "I had feared something similar. If what you say is true, and there has been time travel involving this 'Crystal Tokyo', in both directions even," Tamori trailed off for a moment. "I fear we may already defeated."
"What?" The cry came from quite of few of the Champions.
"We've never really understood what the Gates of Time do," Tamori began. "Do they show possible futures? Likely ones? Or is there only one true future, and thousand paths the timestream takes mere shadows of what might, but never will, be? My daughter is toying with things best left undisturbed. We have to stop her!" Tamori frowned as he finished. Why would his daughter become that which she had spent a hundred lifetimes fighting?
"But if we stop Pluto... if we can stop this abomination at all, but Crystal Tokyo has already influenced the present, won't that be a paradox?" Meno asked, face twisting into an unpleasant expression.
It took Tamori a moment, distracted as he was, to realize the others were looking at him for an answer. "I doubt it," he said as he shook his head. "If the future she deals with is true, then all our efforts could not change it in the slightest. If it is one of many, then no paradox would occur."
"How can that be?" Meno asked curiously.
Tamori sighed. "It is hard to put into to words." He paused a moment. "I believe... that if we can change the future at all, the timestream will remain coherent so long as the particular future exists... is sufficiently probable to allow travel to it, at the moment of the travel. Whether it actually becomes the future would be irrelevant." Tamori smiled slightly. "Were it as easy as you fear to cause a paradox, surely somewhere, somewhen in the vast universe it would have already occurred."
Ikawa rose, frowning. "To get back to the point, what we need to do is do something that knocks the course of history away from Pluto's path. If we can do that, we will be free to make our own destinies, rather than suffer the fate Pluto has in store for us. Am I correct?"
At Tamori's nod, Ikawa opened his mouth to continue, it was interrupted when Motoki spoke, knowing what Ikawa was about to say. "Wait a minute, Ikawa. I have a question. What did you do to get Sailor Mercury to tell you this, Meno?"
Meno grimaced. "It was a fair trade. She told me this, and I told her... about the war."
"But they already," Ikawa began, then faltered.
"You can't mean," Motoki said, but he too was unable to finish the sentence.
Unazuki cursed quietly, and then for a moment no one spoke. Then her brother let out a much louder curse. After a further moment's silence, Motoki repeated himself, then continued. "If only we had seen," he began, then trailed off with another curse. "We might have finally been able to end this war!"
"No." It was Ikawa who spoke, and all eyes turned to him. "Have you already forgotten Saturn? Have you already forgotten what we were just told? These might not be the Senshi of our time, but they are still the same. The threat we fight to eliminate, they still protect. Tamori can tell you more than I what his daughter does, but I understand enough. I remember what the Senshi of Time did with those cursed Gates when we were born. It is far past time that we dealt with that threat as well."
Motoki nodded. "You are right."
Ikawa smiled grimly. "I wish I weren't. Well... what now?"
"Kill the Senshi," Uji stated quietly.
"We can't count on being in a position to do that though," Ikawa replied. "We haven't exactly been holding back in our little fights, and they've all been stalemates. We need something else."
Sachiko was the first to reply. "We need a threat. Something so terrible that it will force them to agree to whatever terms we ask."
Ikawa nodded. "I see. But how can we muster such a threat?"
Meno bit his lip, then spoke. "I think... I think I might have a plan."
The Champions did not adjourn the meeting until midnight was long past.
Tamori sighed as he let himself into the Tomoe house. It had to be past four in the morning. Tamori removed his shoes and headed into the kitchen, and began the process of searching the still unfamiliar room for something to eat. He had missed dinner, and his stomach was loudly communicating its displeasure at it having been half a day since it had received any sustenance.
This took several minutes, and Tamori then seated himself at the table and began to ravenously consume the motley collection of leftovers he had assembled. It took him a moment to realize that he had all this in near-pitch darkness. Tamori shook his head, glad that no one was around to spot his display of supernatural nightvision. He rose and flipped on the light. Better safe than sorry, even though he was sure that the rest of the house's inhabitants were long since asleep.
Tamori's thoughts returned to the meeting that had recently concluded. He was not sure that he, or any of the other Champions, had truly thought through the implications of Meno's revelations. Some of them were rather disturbing.
The Senshi did not remember the Silver Millennium. It had been obvious that their recollection was poor, but Tamori had never even considered that it might be that bad. Until today... yesterday now, they had not even known what the Champions were fighting for. Iris was gone. The Sailor Saturn of today did not even know that Juno had existed. The vengeance that he longed for had been stolen away without him noticing.
Tamori frowned as a sudden thought came to him. Why had his daughter not told the Senshi of the past? She surely remembered it well. What possible reason could she have for denying her sisters that information? The frown deepened to a grimace. His daughter, he was now sure, had stopped time, and most likely more. He had thought her incapable of such feats. After all, that had been the point of the compromise with Serenity the Peacemaker. By making Sailor Pluto, rather than Senshi Saturn, the Senshi of Time, the forbidden powers that had wiped away the Golden Millennium would be forever lost.
It seemed as though their hopes had been mistaken that long-ago day, and not just with the Senshi of Time. The incident with the Death Busters clearly indicated that the Senshi of Silence was not safe from domination by dark powers. And if one power was aware of the Senshi, it was only a matter of time until others were as well.
Sailor Saturn was far to dangerous to be allowed to continue to exist. Even if by some chance the deadliest powers of the Golden Millennium's Senshi of Death were truly lost, the ability to destroy worlds was terrible enough, even without the risk of falling into the hands of a being like Pharaoh 90.
Tamori found his thoughts returning to his daughter. Why had she abandoned her oaths? Why had she unsealed the Gates of Time? She knew the horrors that could result. Why seek to play goddess, and deny mankind the right to choose its own future?
Tamori shook his head. These questions could not be answered for the moment, but one had been. There were enough reasons to continue the fight, even with vengeance stolen from him. Sailor Saturn must be destroyed, and the abomination his daughter worked had to be stopped.
With a start, Tamori realized that he had finished his meal. He quickly cleaned up after himself, turned out the lights, and crept upstairs. He firmly put all thoughts of his daughter out of his mind for the moment. He knew that if he let them, they would keep him up for what little remained of the night.
Tamori had opened his door when he realized that he heard footsteps in the adjacent room... Hotaru's. Who could it be? Tamori quietly walked over to the next door. When he heard a voice that did not belong to any of his housemates, he slowly cracked the door open, careful not to make any noise. When he realized who was in the room, he let out a gasp of amazement.
Sailor Pluto whirled around. "You?! How did you -" Pluto's eyes went distant for a moment. "Something's obscuring the timestream." A gasp of her own escaped Pluto's lips. "You?" Her tone of voice was different then when she had last uttered that word, no longer puzzled but instead filled with venom.
Tamori nodded, letting the door swing fully open. "Hello, daughter. Care to explain what you're doing with Hotaru?" he asked, sword appearing in his hands. He couldn't let Pluto hurt her.
Sailor Pluto laughed harshly. "This is too rich, Chronus. One would think I would have to protect her from you."
Tamori took a step back. "What do you want with Hotaru?"
"Want? I want nothing more than for her to have a long, happy life. Unfortunately, I have responsibilities that are more important than my wants." Pluto laughed harshly. "You taught me that, Champion." And with that, Pluto vanished.
For a moment, Tamori considered following her, but instead walked over to the bed and made sure that Hotaru still slumbered undisturbed. Then he shakily left the room and tried to go to sleep.
Orinas was a veteran. Of course, to a certain extent all youma who survived for a significant length of time were veterans, but Orinas was moreso. He had been a guard at the D-point base. He had survived the deadliest fighting of the wars following the destruction of that base. He had been on the front lines of the war against Mordrangar.
And now, at the command of his lord Ishamanar, he had taken on the most dangerous job of his long career. Orinas shook his head, seeking to clear the disorientation from his journey. He glanced around at the place where he had arrived. Humans scurried about, screaming and cowering. His face settling into a fanged grin, Orinas turned to address his troops, almost a hundred of the finest soldiers Ishamanar could muster.
"You know what to do! Secure the area, then drain the humans. For Metallia!" At the name of their goddess, the youma let out a roar and hurried to fulfil their assigned tasks. Orinas's smile widened as he watched his followers expertly scour the area for the humans, smashing open the glass doors of the stores that lined the busy road. The road would not be busy for long, as two of Orinas's youma were turning some of the strange metal and glass contraptions that traveled along it sideways to block it. The screams of those humans inside the selected vehicles were particularly delicious.
Meanwhile, energy was flowing freely - far more energy than Orinas had ever seen in his long life. Most of it went through the connection to the Dark Kingdom, but a small fraction was spent to strengthen Orinas's followers.
The youma leader smiled as the energy flow continued to strengthen. There were hundreds of humans in this place - a take that far exceeded any that Beryl's Generals had brought in. A glorious victory, fit to herald the return of Great Metallia. Orinas had hardly believed Lord Ishamanar when he had been given that news, but the evidence was hard to refute - every youma in the Dark Kingdom had surely felt the goddess's rebirth.
Orinas grunted as a small piece of metal hit him in the side with enough force to cause him to stumble momentarily. The youma turned with surprising alacrity in the direction the projectile had originated from, and his mouth settled into a fanged grin as he observed a human waving an odd wand threateningly.
This should be fun.
Ares frowned as he watched the commotion. This was no clumsy, random attack. This was a well trained and likely just as well led strike force. The youma were securing a perimeter, and Ares had little doubt that he would be in dire straits if he tried to cross that line alone.
The Champion couldn't tell exactly how many youma were present, not from his present, cautious distance. However, he could count at least nine in his field of vision. Those were bulky beasts, roughly humanoid but vastly larger than any human. Ares felt he could safely assume that their obvious strength would be offset by lack of speed.
Ares looked up at a new sound. A gunshot! He watched with a sinking feeling in his gut as a police officer approached one of the larger youma. He knew that the man's efforts would be worse than futile.
Muttering an old Martian curse under his breath, Ares carefully inched closer to the confrontation that was beginning. He couldn't wait for backup any longer. If he let the situation continue as it had begun, the policeman would most likely die. Allowing another curse to escape his lips, Ares pointed his sword at the youma. "Flame Strike!"
Flames poured from the blade, a torrent of white fire washing over the youma, leaving it scorched but undaunted. A fanged grin settled on its face as it observed the now revealed Champion. "I was wondering when one of you would show up." The youma extended one arm, flames gathering around it. "Let's see how well you take your own element, Champion. Storm of Wrath!"
A hellish conflagration erupted around the Champion of Mars. The asphalt beneath his feet bubbled from the sudden heat, but he merely gritted his teeth and rolled out of the worst of the blast. Before he could recover, however, a half-dozen weaker blasts strafed the area, as the other youma made their presence known. Ares rose from the attacks, and the youma were soon upon him.
As the melee began, the policeman backed away, taking an occasional ineffective potshot. When he ran out of ammunition, he fled, glad that the youma were more concerned with dealing with the Champion than slaying an impudent human.
Atop a nearby rooftop, Sailor Uranus observed the combat. "There's too many youma. He'll surely be overwhelmed." She wasn't sure how she should feel about that.
Sailor Neptune nodded once. "There's got to be at least forty of them. Probably more that we can't see from here."
"What should we do?" Sailor Saturn's voice was flat, almost inhuman. When there was no reply, she continued. "I can take out at least thirty of them in one strike."
"No!" Uranus said harshly. "There're civilians down there, remember?"
"Right," Saturn responded quietly, shrinking back. Neptune laid a comforting hand on Saturn's shoulder, but she quickly wormed out from under it.
Giving her young companion a worried glance, Neptune spoke. "I don't think we have many options right now."
Uranus nodded, frowning. "We'll have to wait for the others to arrive."
Sailor Jupiter cursed as she took in the latest youma attack. "There's got to be at least forty of them!"
"My computer is picking up over ninety-five... no, ninety-four distinct energy signatures." With a sigh, Sailor Mercury returned her computer to subspace. "From my readings, they are all quite powerful."
"Lovely," commented Sailor Mars. "So, what are we waiting for?"
As one the five Inner Senshi leapt into the conflict, almost immediately drawing fire away from Ares. The first wave of attacks were ineffective, save Sailor Moon's Moon Spiral Heart Attack, which slew two youma.
"We'll have to concentrate our attacks!" Mercury called out, and with that bit of tactical advice the Senshi began to make progress against the youma horde.
Nearby, Ares continued to fight his way through the youma, intent on removing the leader. A youma fireball knocked him back, and he was quickly surrounded. A grim look on his face, the Champion plunged his sword into the asphalt. "Raging Inferno!"
The firestorm only killed a single youma, but succeeded in forcing them out of his path. Ares raced forward, but his charge came to a halt as another group of youma confronted him.
"Ice Storm!" As shards of ice assailed the youma, Hermes joined his brother, joined shortly thereafter by Medea and Chronus.
"That one's the leader. If we take him out, this whole attack might fall apart." Ares took his own advice and resumed his charge. The other three Champions quickly followed.
This time the youma moved out of the way, allowing a clear path between the Champions and their commander. Orinas smiled as he faced the oncoming warriors. "Storm of Wrath!" The flames sent most of the Champions flying, leaving only Ares to face the youma commander.
Nearby, the Senshi were slowly being overwhelmed. Sailor Venus dodged a fireball for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Venus Love-Me Chain!" She used the chain as a whip, forcing the youma back from the embattled Senshi.
Seeing her chance, Sailor Moon acted. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" Eight youma perished in the blast, and three more from the Senshi's other attacks, but only a few moments later more youma arrived to fight the Senshi.
Hermes stumbled to his feet, using another Ice Storm to cover Chronus and Medea as they rose as well. "This isn't looking good," he commented.
"When the others arrive things will be a bit more even," Chronus replied.
Medea snorted. "If they don't get here soon, the question will be academic." After that there was no more time for speech, as the Champions were forced to concentrate on thinning their foe's numbers as best they could.
Across the battlefield, Ares narrowly dodged one of Orinas's massive fists before delivering a sword blow that succeeded only in scratching the youma's tough hide. A moment later he leapt above a powerful roundhouse kick, then scored a wound on his opponent's arm.
"You'll have to do better than that, little Champion," Orinas said as he assailed Ares with flame.
Ares smiled nastily as he blocked the flames and sent them back on their summoner. "Maybe you should try something stronger, youma." Ares didn't give Orinas a chance to do so, pressing his attack and forcing the youma onto the defensive.
A moment later, the initiative switched again as a lucky blow nearly knocked Ares from his feet. Orinas followed up with a series of devastating blows as the Champion struggled to regain his balance. "For Metallia!" the youma roared as he raised his fist for the finishing blow.
"Tidal Wave!" The water sent Orinas flying through a store window. Poseidon smiled as lesser youma raced forward to replace their leader. "You've gotten rusty over the last ten thousand years, Deinas. Maybe we should send you back to Castle Charon for more training."
Ares laughed as he swung his flaming weapon around to neatly separate an overconfident youma's head from the remainder of his body. "Good to see you too, Aqoran."
The Dark Kingdom was a very large place. Though its area was dwarfed by that of Terra, it was slightly larger than Luna. Over the ten millennia of their imprisonment, the youma had spread out from the desolate wasteland in which Beryl's palace stood to every corner of this realm. To the north they settled first hills and mountains, then a vast plain that slowly gave way to the northern tundra. To the east they found little more than windswept isles, but these too were added to their growing empire. Across the vast western sea the youma discovered and colonized a second continent, large and relatively fertile. Moving south from Beryl's palace, the youma crossed a narrow, shallow sea to settle a large island. This island was frequently visited by violent storms from the endless ocean of the utter south, and these storms gave birth to the nearly impenetrable jungles that covered the island.
It was on this island, sheltered by the bulk of an extinct volcano and not far from the ancient pile of rocks and ash that had long ago been Jadeite's estate, that Scalae, the Dragon of the South, made her home. From this domicile, she ruled the entire island absolutely. Those few who had ever sought to challenge that rule in the countless years since Jadeite had fled her wrath had all met their doom at Scalae's flame or claws.
From the outside, there was little to suggest that the keep was home to a beast as large as a Dragon. The vast majority of the building was designed for the comfort of the mostly human-sized youma who Scalae ruled. Only a few rooms were even large enough to contain the Dragon, and even fewer to do so comfortably.
The council chamber was not one of those rooms, much to Scalae's present irritation. She was hungry, but eating in human form would only satisfy her until she returned to her true body. But for the moment, it would have to do, as she needed to speak to her councilors. Her featureless red eyes swept the gathering, and she nodded. "I'm sure you know why I have called on you to attend me now."
Chresk, one of Scalae's Overlords, spoke. "Of course, my lady." Chresk was a reptilian beast, with dull red scales. "The entire world rang like a bell."
This statement met with general agreement from Scalae's counselors. Chresk continued, "My lady, do you know what caused this magical surge."
Scalae was silent for a moment. "I am unsure, but whatever it was it is a cause for great concern. Anything that could cause so great a disturbance is something whose power could only be matched by Metallia herself."
It took a moment for the statement to sink in, and then the meeting dissolved into pandemonium. "Quiet!" Scalae demanded in a loud voice that seemed incongruous emerging from her small form. "Gather all my armies. I want them ready to head north in two days!"
"Youma!" Aphrodite called out. And indeed, four youma blocked the way to the greater melee.
"I see them," Zeus replied. "Thunder Bolt!" The lightning knocked a youma down, and for a moment Zeus thought the beast dead. However, the youma quickly regained his feet.
"Blazing Light!" Aphrodite's attack targeted the same youma as her brother's, and this time the youma did die, much to her relief.
A moment later, the three surviving youma were upon them, fireballs exploding and fists swinging. Zeus leapt over the first youma to reach him, delivering a perfect backstab that left the youma a disintegrating pile of dust. However, another youma tackled the Champion, sending his blade spinning across the street.
Aphrodite flowed through and around the remaining youma's attacks, striking out at will with her glowing blade. A fireball forced her back briefly, but she soon resumed her assault, and shortly thereafter the youma was dead.
The sole surviving youma smiled as he lifted his foe in one fist. The Champion of Venus would not be able to reach him before her brother died at his hands.
A rose hit the youma's hand with surprising force, forcing him to drop the shaken Champion. A second hit an instant later and sent him to the ground to join his foe. A third followed, and the Champion now lay beside a vanishing pile of dust.
Zeus rose to his feet, retrieving his sword. A wordless glance passed between him and Aphrodite, and then the two Champions' attention returned to his savior. Tuxedo Kamen was alone. If they could take him out, they would destroy one of the cornerstones of the so-called Crystal Tokyo. Yet -
Before they could reach any decision, three figures landed before them from atop a neighboring building. Almost instantly the Champions refocused their attentions on Sailor Saturn.
"Hold it," Uranus stated calmly. "I think we have more pressing concerns at the moment." She gestured toward the sounds of the ongoing fighting.
Zeus and Aphrodite relaxed slightly. "All right," the Champion of Jupiter replied. "A truce for the moment, then."
Uranus nodded, and the six warriors all turned and raced towards the battle.
The sudden flank assault relieved some of the pressure on the Inner Senshi's embattled position. Mercury took advantage of the lull to finish off the closest youma with a Shine Aqua Illusion, but another soon confronted her. A second attack was countered by the youma's fireball. Mercury took a step back and used her Shabon Spray to buy herself some time.
As the magical fog spread out, the Senshi made the best of their momentary advantage. Venus fired one Crescent Beam after another at the temporarily blinded youma, while Jupiter used her Sparkling Wide Pressure to great effect. Mars raked the youma with her Burning Mandala, slaying two more of the demons.
However, the fog soon lifted and the youma were then able to respond in force. Fireballs were used to open holes in the Senshi's line, and wedges of youma stormed into these breaks, forcing the Senshi apart. Sailor Moon barely had time to use her tiara to slay the first youma to approach her, and no time at all to attack the second. The beast reared back to deliver a fierce blow, only to be obliterated by a ball of purple energy. "Are you all right?" Sailor Pluto asked her princess.
Sailor Moon nodded, but Pluto had not waited for the answer, instead moving forward to eliminate exactly the youma that blocked the Inner Senshi's lines of retreat. The Senshi quickly took advantage of this relief, forming a new defensive line with their backs to a wall only a moment before another wave of youma charged them.
Elsewhere, Hades had arrived, and he strode unconcerned through the battlefield, blade striking out at any youma that presented itself. Each sword blow was fatal, and soon the youma gave the Champion of Pluto a wide berth.
Orinas emerged from the shattered storefront into which he had been flung and quickly surveyed the battlefield. It took him only a moment to decide his course of action. "Retreat!" he bellowed before returning to the Dark Kingdom. The surviving youma followed his advice, breaking off and vanishing themselves.
Ares smiled grimly. As soon as the youma had vanished, the two opposing groups of warriors had gathered into their respective forces, the temporary truce that always prevailed in the middle of a youma attack forgotten.
Another mass battle was not exactly what Ares had hoped for, but he could not pass up the opportunity. By his estimate the Senshi were more worn than his brethren, and if they were lucky one or two Senshi might be eliminated this day. Though that would not win the war, it would certainly make future battles easier. Of course, if they were unlucky it could be them which suffered casualties, but Ares felt that a risk worth taking.
A quick glance assured the Champion of Mars that his companions were of much the same mind as him. He nodded once and raised his sword. Seven other blades followed a moment later. In the distance, the wail of a police siren could be heard, but the Champions ignored it.
"Wait!" Sailor Uranus stepped forward. "Stop this insanity! What reason is there for us to fight?"
Ares sneered. "You've changed, Cyrene. I'm impressed. You never used to be one for diplomacy."
Uranus frowned, then replied. "I see no point in fighting each other while the youma strike with impunity."
"Then stand aside, Cyrene," Ares replied. "This war will end swifter if you do."
"You think I'll sit by while you kill my friends?" Uranus asked. "Be reasonable. Surely we can reach some agreement."
Hades smiled. "Oh, I think we can be reasonable. Give us Iris, and then we will have something to talk about."
Chronus frowned, but spoke. "And my daughter. She has abandoned her oaths by creating this 'Crystal Tokyo'. We will not allow that abomination to become reality. So long as you defend Pluto and Saturn, there can be no peace."
Pluto grimaced. "Dead Scream!" Chronus blurred, and the energy ball passed by harmlessly.
"The time for talk is over," Ares said, then charged directly for Uranus. "Let's see whether you've improved any, Cyrene."
Sailor Saturn watched as Ares began to cross the distance between the two battle lines. She gestured with her glaive, and a Silence Wall stopped the Champion dead in his tracks. She would not allow this battle to break up into another futile collection of duels.
The Champions wanted to kill her. No, want was an insufficient word, she knew. She had been able to feel the hatred in Hades' voice. Hatred and fear. Familiar emotions to her. It seemed as though all through her two lives, those had been nearly all that she had encountered. But these were deeper. In many ways, she realized, the Champions lived merely to kill her. They hated her for Juno, and they feared a reprise. That was the primary reason for this war. Crystal Tokyo was a recent, secondary concern.
For a single, terrible moment, Saturn considered letting the Champions have their way, surrendering herself to them. The peaceful oblivion of death beckoned to her, but she forced her thoughts away from that. She would not die, and the Champions were determined that they would kill her or die trying.
Very well then. They would have their wish. The Silence Glaive quivered in her hands, alert to her thoughts. The Silence sang to her, seducing her, confirming her decision. As Saturn prepared herself, it seemed as though she could feel the whole universe trembling, as though it was but a single string that had been recently plucked.
Saturn wordlessly dropped the Silence Wall, allowing the Champions to resume their charge. No matter. They would not complete it. A grim smile on her face, Saturn leveled the Silence Glaive and began to gather power.
"Silence..."
The Champions' charge faltered as they realized their mistake. Some hurled themselves to the ground, while others broke to one side or the other. The Senshi all took a step back, nearly trembling from the power in the air.
Saturn's smile deepened. The Champions could not escape. With one blow she would end this conflict. The Silence's song deepened, and all other sound faded from Saturn's ears. The Glaive's pulses quickened as power flowed into it. The power that could obliterate whole planets, crack open their mana wells and shatter them like eggshells. The power that waited at the final heat death of the universe, the absolute unmaking of all that existed.
"Glaive..." Saturn could not hear her own voice, but she could feel it.
The other Senshi had by now taking several more steps back, and even Pluto had a look of equal parts fear and awe on her face. A most appropriate look. Saturn was about to unleash a full-strength Silence Glaive Surprise, a power surpassed only by that of the Death Reborn Revolution.
This would be the end. The Champions would no longer be able to threaten her... or the princess. Crystal Tokyo would arrive unimpeded, and with it her only friend -
The song of the Silence redoubled its strength, driving the stray thoughts from her mind. There was no time for such distractions, as her full concentration was required to constrain the Silence, to force it to reveal itself in the way she desired, in the way which would destroy her enemies. Saturn's lips opened to utter the final word.
A purple blur slammed into her, bringing with it sharp, piercing pain in her side. The Glaive was forced upwards from its level position by the force of the impact. Saturn had enough time to recognize Chronus before the word escaped her in a weak gasp.
"...surprise."
Most of the force was directed harmlessly upwards, destroying only air. However, the edge of the blast was more than enough to shatter Chronus's breastplate, driving shards of metal deep into the Champion's chest.
Saturn found herself looking her counterpart eye to eye, and Chronus's eyes seemed to stare into her very soul - and beyond. The Champion started as though surprised, then spoke, though weakly. "You? The future you seek... will not come to pass." Each word obviously brought Chronus great pain, but he continued. "I will finish this."
The pain in Saturn's side intensified as Chronus began to twist his sword. Before he could complete the move, his strength left him, and the Champion collapsed, leaving Saturn impaled on his blade.
Saturn took a stumbling step back, then started herself as the Champion's armor faded away and she recognized the man's face. "Tamori?" she asked weakly, then collapsed, the Silence Glaive falling from limp hands. As her world faded to darkness, all Sailor Saturn could hear was the Silence's triumphant song.
The battlefield was nearly as silent as it had been before Saturn's attack. The only sound was that of the rapidly approaching police cars. Both Champions and Senshi were still, too shocked to move. The whole of Saturn's strike had taken only a few seconds, but those seconds seemed far longer to those who had survived them.
Ishamanar smiled as he observed all this from one of the many destroyed storefronts. His Queen's prophecy had been correct, as it had to be. It was a grand victory. The energy take from this raid more than paid for the effort of sending so many powerful youma across- a not insignificant amount, even with the barrier as permeable as it was now.
The Senshi and Champions were beginning to stir from their shock and approach the bodies. That simply would not do. It would be nearly impossible for them to save the two casualties, but the Senshi had a nasty habit of pulling off the nearly impossible, and Ishamanar did not doubt that, given the opportunity, the Champions would demonstrate a similar tendency. Ishamanar extended one arm and concentrated for an instant.
Flames scoured the ground where Saturn and Chronus lay, driving back the closest warriors. When Ishamanar allowed the fire to die out, all that remained was a thin layer of ash. Ishamanar's work on Terra was now complete.
The Senshi and Champions were looking about wildly, seeking to determine the source of the fire. Ishamanar knew the smart thing to do would be to leave now, but he could not resist the temptation to gloat. Nyxan would not do such a thing, but Ishamanar was not Nyxan. A fierce grin on his face, Ishamanar strode into view.
"I am Ishamanar, General of the Dark Kingdom." Ishamanar paused a moment, forming balls of flame in each of his four arms. "Consider this a foretaste of your fate!" The general hurled the fireballs: two at the Champions and two at the Senshi. As his targets recovered, Ishamanar spoke once more. "We shall meet again."
And with that, Ishamanar returned to the Dark Kingdom.
The darkness was nearly absolute. It was like a physical thing, an oppressive weight that even Nyxan, a creature of the darkness himself, felt. The only sounds were Nyxan's own breathing and the continual churning and boiling of the fluids in the chrysalis suspended above the altar that was the sanctum's only furniture.
Nyxan gave a nervous glance towards that which now lay upon the altar before turning his eyes up to the cocoon and bowing. "My Queen, as you have commanded, it has been done." Silence was his only response.
A flare of light appeared as the chamber's only door briefly opened and admitted Ishamanar. The four-armed general laughed harshly as he walked to stand beside Nyxan, then bowed deeply toward the chrysalis. "A fine day, and an even finer victory."
Nyxan nodded. "So it is. Your legion acquitted itself well."
"Aye." Ishamanar smiled, allowing a globe of energy to form in his hands. "This is almost enough by itself. With Asphara's contributions and one or two more raids, the final hour is closer than we dared dream." The energy globe illuminated the dark room with a pale, flickering light.
With another bow, Ishamanar channeled the energy into the chrysalis, and was rewarded with a burst of renewed activity inside the cocoon. An instant later, the two generals felt the return of their Queen's awareness to the chamber, and heard the voice that was not a voice. "You have done well, my servants."
Both generals bowed even deeper than before. "Thank you, my Queen," Nyxan said as he straightened. An instant later Ishamanar followed suit.
The two youma could feel Metallia's will focusing on the altar. "Very good," Metallia stated. "I will not be denied again." A low hum filled the room as the dark queen set to work, dark energy flowing freely.
With a cough, Ishamanar spoke. "My queen... what do you desire for me to do about -"
"Do as you will," Metallia interrupted before returning her attention to her work. Ishamanar nodded and left the chamber, followed shortly by Nyxan. And behind them, the hum of dark energy rose and fell as Metallia forged her ultimate weapon.
Author's Random Revised Ramblings
1) Another revision bites the dust, possibly the darkest chapter in the entire story, and the second chapter to take half a year to finish. The main changes this time are to the Champions' meeting.
2) Angus MacSpon preread and Brian Randall and Michael Chase commented on the first version of this chapter. Michael and The Wanderer also commented on this revision. My thanks to them all.
3) As always, all comments, positive or negative, from readers old and new, are most welcome.
4) And, in other news, the Prologue to Shades of Darkness, the sequel to Shades of Gray, is finished. The first chapter has been outlined, and I hope to work on it concurrently with the remaining revisions.
Released: October 22, 2002
Revised: October 26, 2003
Final: December 30, 2003
