WHEN HEROES COLLIDE

Part Six-To the Moon and Back

Another day has passed since Kento and Sailor Venus defeated Petrofina. It was early in the evening, and Serena was sprawled out on the bed in the girls' bedroom, taking a nap. The bedroom door slowly opened, and Rini carefully slipped into the room, followed by her hovering Luna Ball and Serena's guardian cat, Luna.

"Serena?" Rini whispered loudly as she slowly tiptoed to the bed, while Luna jumped on top of the bed. Serena groaned slightly in her sleep as she rolled around in the bed.

"Come on, Serena!" Luna shouted. "Get up, you lazy girl!"

"Do I have to get up now?" Serena complained as she slowly opened her eyes. "I was having this wonderful dream where I was flying high in the sky with Tuxedo Mask..."

"Well, we were just waking you up to let you know that dinner was ready," Rini interrupted.

"Dinner's ready? Why didn't you say so?" Serena exclaimed cheerfully as she jumped out of bed and sped downstairs.

"All that poor girl thinks about is food," Luna remarked, shaking her head in disappointment as she and Rini followed Serena downstairs.

"Hey, Mia!" Serena greeted the redhead young woman as she entered the kitchen.

"Hello, Serena," Mia greeted as she ladled some stew into a bowl.

"Wow! That smells great!" Serena admitted as she took in the delicious smell of Mia's home- cooked beef stew.

"Thanks, Serena," Mia admitted as she handed the bowl to Serena. "Be careful with it. It's still hot." Serena nodded as she grabbed a spoon from the counter.

"I'm afraid you'll have to eat in the living room, Serena," Mia reluctantly told the blonde pig-tailed girl. "There's no more room at the table."

"That's okay," Serena replied. "I don't mind eating by myself."

"You won't be eating by yourself," Mia revealed as Serena carefully walked to the kitchen door leading to the living room, balancing the bowl of stew with both hands.

"Well, who else is in there?" Serena asked curiously as she pushed the kitchen door open with her foot.

Serena was a bit surprised when she saw Rowen sitting on the couch. He was looking over some papers spread out on the table, with his bowl set off to the side. Rowen glanced up when Serena entered the living room.

"Hey, Serena," Rowen greeted before he looked back down at the papers spread out before him.

"Hey, Rowen," Serena greeted as she sat down on the floor at the opposite end of the table and placed her bowl of stew on the table, being careful not to put it on any of Rowen's papers. Unfortunately, when she put her bowl in the table, it created a gentle puff of air that knocked some of Rowen's papers off of the table.

"Oops! I'm so sorry, Rowen," Serena apologized as she crawled around the floor, picking up the papers.

"You don't need to do that, Serena," Rowen told her.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Rowen," Serena replied as she reached for a paper underneath the table. "I just gotta get one more...Oww!"

"Are you all right?" Rowen asked as Serena sat up and rubbed the small bump on her head.

"I'm okay. I just hit my head," Serena muttered. "Here you go, Rowen." She handed the slightly crumpled papers that she collected to Rowen.

"So...what are those for?" Serena asked curiously as Rowen sorted through the papers she handed back to him.

"These papers are all astronomy maps," Rowen explained. "I'm trying to pinpoint the exact spot I was found after our first encounter with Talpa, which propelled me and the other Ronin Warriors to specific locations all around Japan."

"Okay, but how is that supposed to help us find the Celestial Stone of Air?" Serena asked curiously.

"Well, you see, by some bizarre coincidence, the first four Celestial Stones have been found in the precise areas that Ryo, Sage, Cye, and Kento have been discovered in after that first encounter with Talpa," Rowen explained. "Ryo was located in Mt. Fuji, Sage was located in the Cave of the Pinnacles, Cye was located in the Whirlpools of Naruto, and Kento was located in the Throne of the Gods at Mt. Dojo National Park. It makes logical sense that the Celestial Stone of Air will be found where I was located: up in outer space."

"Wow! Looks like we're gonna have a problem finding it," Serena admitted. "Outer space is huge!"

"It sure is. Have you ever been up there yourself?" Rowen asked curiously.

"Well, actually, yeah," Serena confessed openly before she gently blew at a spoonful of stew to cool it off before eating it. "Wow! This is great!" she exclaimed as she continued eating her stew. "I gotta talk Lita into getting the recipe for this!"

Just then, Rowen and Serena heard the kitchen door being opened. They looked up to see Rini, Luna, and Artemis enter the room, followed by Mia, who was carrying a small bowl of beef stew for Rini.

"Here you go, Rini," Mia announced as she placed the small bowl and a spoon on the table next to Serena's bowl.

"Thank you, Mia," Rini thanked her as she sat down on the floor next to Serena.

"I'll get a bowl for you two as well," Mia told Luna and Artemis before she headed back to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Mia," Artemis replied.

Luna jumped up on the couch next to Rowen and looked at the papers spread out on the table in front of them. "What are these astronomy maps for, Rowen?" Luna asked curiously.

"I'm trying to pinpoint my exact location when I was in a state of suspended animation after our first encounter with Talpa," Rowen explained. "I thought it might help us find the Celestial Stone of Air."

"That sounds like an excellent plan, Rowen," Luna admitted.

"Thank you, Luna," Rowen replied as he started to gather the papers from the table.

"No offense, Rowen, but that sounds next to impossible," Artemis revealed. "Outer space is enormous. How will you be able to find the Celestial Stone of Air in such a seemingly endless void?"

"Well, my theory is that the Celestial Stone of Air is fixed on the Earth's gravitational pull and is caught in a temporary orbit around our planet, similar to how our global positioning satellites rotate around Earth," Rowen revealed. "If it was floating freely around our solar system, that would pose a bit of a problem for us."

"Not just to us, but also to Amethyst and Topaz," Rini muttered thoughtfully.

"That's exactly what I theorized," Rowen announced.

"Geez! You talk just like Amy, Rowen! It's hard to understand you," Serena complained as she finished off her bowl of beef stew.

"Well, anyway," Rowen continued, "I plan on going to the outskirts of Toyama with my telescope later tonight and try to spot this Celestial Stone of Air. It's supposed to be a clear sky tonight, so if the Celestial Stone is up there, I'll find it."

"That sounds like a good idea," Artemis admitted.

"Indeed, it does. And you're going with him, Serena!" Luna announced.

"Aww! Do I have to?" Serena whined.

"Yes, you have to, Serena! The fate of the world depends on it!" Luna shouted.

"Fine, Luna. I'll go get my coat," Serena mumbled as she got up and headed upstairs.

As Serena walked up the stairs, Mia entered the living room, carrying a shallow bowl of beef stew. "Here you are, Luna and Artemis," Mia announced as she set the bowl on the floor for the two cats.

"Thank you, Mia," Artemis replied.

Mia nodded and then noticed that Serena was no longer in the living room. "Where did Serena go?" she asked curiously.

"Upstairs to get her coat," Rini replied.

"I guess Serena will be coming with me. Do you have the keys to the jeep, Mia?" Rowen asked as he stood up.

"Here you are, Rowen," Mia replied as she handed Rowen her car keys.

"Thanks, Mia. We'll be back later tonight, possibly sooner if we can't find that Celestial Stone of Air." Rowen headed to the staircase and shouted, "Come on, Serena! Let's go!"

"Okay, just give me a minute!" Serena shouted as she quickly ran downstairs, with her long pale blue jacket draped over her arm. She accidentally stepped on the trail of her jacket and tripped.

"Ahh!" Serena screamed as she fell down the remaining stairs. Rowen reached out and managed to catch her before she hit the floor.

"Are you okay, Serena?" Rini asked with concern.

"Yeah, I think so," Serena gasped.

"Are you sure, Serena?" Mia asked.

"Mm-hmm," Serena replied, nodding her head.

"What's going on?" Ryo asked. Serena, Rowen, Mia, Rini, Luna, and Artemis looked up and saw Ryo standing at the doorway leading into the kitchen, along with Sage, Rae, and Amy.

"We heard Serena scream," Sage added.

"She's all right," Rowen replied as he let go of Serena. "Serena just tripped and fell down the stairs."

"That's nothing new," Rae muttered sarcastically as she turned around to head back to the dining room. Serena stuck her tongue out at Rae's back in response to her rude remark.

"You sure you're all right, Serena?" Amy asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, Amy," Serena assured Amy as she put on her light blue jacket.

"We should get going, Serena," Rowen interrupted as he picked up a heavy black case, which contained his telescope.

"Okay, okay," Serena complained as she buttoned up her jacket and headed out of the door.

"Looks like you have a bit of a challenge with Serena there, Rowen," Sage remarked.

"No kidding, Sage," Rowen muttered out loud.

"Rowen, you mustn't give up on Serena so easily," Amy told him.

"Well, I don't know about this, Amy. Honestly, I'd prefer it if you came with me instead of Serena," Rowen confessed. "You obviously understand this much better than she does."

"Rowen, you know as well as I do that you and Serena must work together to defeat the creature from the Celestial Stone of Air, that is if the creature emerges before you can get to it in time," Amy revealed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Rowen reluctantly admitted.

"Come on, Rowen! I'm getting cold out here!" Serena complained loudly from outside.

"Hold on, Serena, I'm coming," Rowen shouted as he headed for the front door...

"How much longer do we have to stay out here, Rowen?" Serena asked as she pulled up the collar of her jacket to help keep her neck warm.

"Calm down, Serena. We just got here five minutes ago," Rowen replied calmly as he removed his telescope from the carrying case and started to set it up. Rowen and Serena were standing on top of a tall hill overlooking the city of Toyama. The night sky above them was peppered with many bright stars.

"There we are. All set," Rowen announced as he attached the telescope on top of the tripod. He peered into the eyepiece and turned a knob on the side of the telescope to adjust the view.

"Just a little bit more...Perfect!" Rowen announced. He looked up at Serena, who was staring up at the night sky. "Care to have a look, Serena?" Rowen asked.

"What?" Serena asked, who was a bit startled by Rowen's question.

"Do you want to look through the telescope?" Rowen repeated.

"Umm...sure, I guess," Serena replied as she walked over to Rowen. She knelt down at the telescope and peered through the eyepiece.

"Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" Rowen asked as Serena continued to look at the sky with the telescope.

"Nope, just a bunch of stars," Serena revealed as she stepped away from the telescope.

"Let me check it out," Rowen requested as he looked through his telescope's eyepiece.

"Okay, Rowen," Serena replied as she backed away from the telescope. She leaned her back against a nearby tree, while gazing up at the star-filled sky above her head. "Do you think we'll be able to find it in time?" Serena asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Serena. I'm certain that we'll find the Celestial Stone of Air long before that creature ever gets a chance to come out," Rowen replied as he slowly swung the telescope back and forth.

"I sure hope so, Rowen," Serena murmured out loud...

"Hmm..." Topaz murmured thoughtfully to himself. He had been carefully watching Rowen and Serena through his crystal ball ever since they left Mia's house. "Amethyst! You must see this!" Topaz shouted.

"What is it now, Topaz?" Amethyst asked wearily as she entered the dark room.

"It's Rowen of Strata and Sailor Moon, Amethyst. They're searching for the Celestial Stone of Air as we speak," Topaz explained as he pointed at the images of Rowen and Serena in his crystal ball.

"Just what we need," Amethyst muttered angrily. "Is the Celestial Stone of Air fully charged yet, Topaz?"

Topaz looked up from his crystal at the black metal box attached to the wall. The first four bars were completely filled with red, green, light blue, and orange light. The last bar was almost completely filled with dark blue light. "It will be very soon, Amethyst," Topaz revealed.

"That's good to hear," Amethyst admitted. "It doesn't really matter, though. Even if Rowen of Strata and Sailor Moon manage to find the Celestial Stone of Air, they have no way of getting to it." Amethyst chuckled evilly as she continued to watch the images of Rowen and Serena on her brother's crystal ball...

"Any luck, Rowen?" Serena asked curiously.

"Nothing yet, Serena," Rowen replied, who was still looking through the telescope.

Serena let out a deep sigh as she sat down on the ground. She looked up and stared at the crescent moon glowing brightly in the dark sky. "I wonder: what did it used to be like living in the Moon Kingdom?" Serena wondered aloud.

"What are you talking about, Serena?" Rowen asked curiously as he looked up from his telescope. "What Moon Kingdom?"

"Umm, well...a very long time ago, there used to be this huge palace on the moon," Serena explained while pointing up at the crescent moon.

"A palace on the moon? Sounds like a fairy tale to me," Rowen muttered out loud.

"It's no fairy tale, Rowen! It really did exist!" Serena insisted.

"Okay, if this 'Moon Kingdom' did exist at one time, then what happened to it? And how do you know about it?" Rowen asked.

"The Moon Kingdom was destroyed by this evil witch called Queen Beryl and her army," Serena explained. "I know about it because I used to live there. Believe it or not, I was the princess of the Moon Kingdom! When Queen Beryl attacked, my mother, Queen Serenity, used the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal to defeat her and to save me, along with the rest of the Moon Kingdom. We were all reborn on Earth, with no memories of our past lives at all."

"If you didn't have any memories of the Moon Kingdom, then how did you find out about it?" Rowen asked curiously as he sat down next to Serena, obviously intrigued by her story.

"Well, about a year or so ago, from my time, that is, I found out from Luna that I was Sailor Moon, defender of the Moon Kingdom. I didn't find out till later that I was also the princess of the Moon Kingdom. Anyway, the reason Luna told me was because it turned out that Queen Beryl was still alive and trying to take over Earth! Besides having to fight those icky monsters she sent after me, I had to find the rest of the Sailor Scouts, who are also princesses of other planets. You can probably figure that part out, Rowen!"

"Yeah, that's fairly simple to figure out," Rowen admitted.

"The five of us eventually defeated Queen Beryl for good, but she wasn't the only bad guy we had to fight," Serena continued. "There were also these two aliens: Ann and Alan. They posed as students at my own school during the day, but at night, they were zapping energy from innocent people so they could keep their Doom Tree alive."

"What's a Doom Tree?" Rowen asked.

"The Doom Tree was this huge tree from another planet, which provided Ann and Alan with energy. They had to keep it alive with fresh energy from other people, or they would die along with it," Serena explained.

"That was similar to what Talpa was doing with the civilians he had captured from Toyama, only he was feeding on their fear and hatred," Rowen revealed.

"Who's this Talpa that you keep talking about, Rowen?" Serena asked curiously.

"Talpa was this evil spirit from the Nether World that's been around for over a thousand years," Rowen explained. "Talpa tried to take over our world with his army of Dynasty Soldiers, Nether Spirits, and his four Dark Warlords, who had armor similar to our own. We found out later that all nine armors were actually created from Talpa's armor a thousand years ago in an attempt to prevent Talpa from reclaiming his armor. The five of us eventually defeated Talpa once and for all, with the help of the Dark Warlords, believe it or not."

"Whoa!" Serena exclaimed slowly. "That must have been hard."

"I'll admit, it was extremely difficult to defeat Talpa and his Evil Dynasty," Rowen revealed. "But no matter how difficult the battle became, none of us ever gave up."

There was an awkward pause of silence between the two young heroes. "Serena, I recall that your friend, Sailor Pluto, mentioned something about the Dark Moon family. What is that, exactly?"

"The Dark Moon family is this evil family from the future," Serena explained. "You can tell who they are by the black crescent moons on their foreheads, like with Amethyst and Topaz."

"So, are Amethyst and Topaz from your time, Serena?" Rowen asked curiously.

"Well, actually, they're from the thirtieth century," Serena revealed, which caught Rowen off guard.

"The thirtieth century?" Rowen gasped loudly. "I thought you and the other Scouts were from only ten years ahead of our current time."

"Yeah, we are, Rowen. Other members from the Dark Moon family went back in time before to try and destroy us Sailor Scouts, but they failed," Serena explained. "We thought there were only four of them, but it turned out that we were wrong. There were two other members of the Dark Moon family that we didn't know about until now."

"I see," Rowen muttered out loud. "There's just one thing that I don't understand, Serena. How does Rini fit into all of this?"

Before Serena could say anything, she saw something strange flash in the sky. "What was that?" she gasped.

"What is it, Serena? What did you see?" Rowen asked. "Up there!" Serena shouted, pointing up at the moon. "I think it's the Air Stone!" Rowen looked up at the area that Serena was pointing at and saw the distinctive dot of dark blue light flashing in the sky.

"I believe you might be right, Serena," Rowen muttered thoughtfully as he and Serena stood up. "Just give me a minute." Rowen quickly ran over to his telescope and swung it in the same area where Serena spotted the dark blue light.

"Do you see it, Rowen?" Serena asked as Rowen peered through the telescope's eyepiece.

"Hold on a second, Serena," Rowen replied as he focused the telescope on the distinctive dot of dark blue light near the crescent moon. He noticed that the dark blue light was flashing on and off, like no star that he had ever seen before.

"There's definitely something suspicious about it," Rowen revealed as he looked up from the telescope. "This calls for further investigation."

"You got a plan?" Serena asked.

"Sure do, Serena," Rowen replied, "but we'll both have to suit up first before we do anything."

"All right," Serena replied as she reached for her locket. "Moon Crystal Power!"

"That's incredible!" Rowen muttered to himself as he watched Serena transform into Sailor Moon.

"What are you waiting for, Rowen?" Sailor Moon asked curiously. "Aren't you gonna transform into your armor?"

"Oh, right," Rowen stuttered as he pulled out the small crystal orb from his pocket. "Armor of Strata! DAO INOCHI!"

As soon as Rowen finished transforming into his full dark blue and white armor, Sailor Moon asked, "So, Rowen, how are we going to get up there?"

"Like I said, I have a plan," Rowen replied as he looked up at the night sky. "You'll have to hold on to me, Sailor Moon."

"What for?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Just trust me on this, all right?" Rowen asked.

"Okay," Sailor Moon hesitantly agreed as she wrapped her arms around Rowen's neck.

"Hang on, Sailor Moon. Here we go!" Rowen announced as he closed his eyes and concentrated.

Life! he thought as his kanji glowed on his forehead.

Sailor Moon was startled to see a blue light radiate from Rowen's armor, creating a large hollow sphere of blue light around them. The leader of the Sailor Scouts let out a frightened little yell when the sphere of blue light suddenly lifted her and Rowen up in the air.

"W-What's going on?" Sailor Moon asked fearfully as she held on tighter to Rowen.

"There's no need to panic, Sailor Moon," Rowen reassured her. "This shield will take us up to that Celestial Stone we're after."

"Okay. Sorry," Sailor Moon apologized as she loosened her grip.

"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting this from the leader of the Sailor Scouts," Rowen remarked with a quick laugh.

"Okay, I know I'm not the bravest warrior there is. It's not like I ever asked for this job, Rowen, but I guess that you can't fight your destiny," Sailor Moon replied.

"That is true," Rowen admitted. "You can let go of me now. Trust me, you're not going to fall."

"Well...okay, if you say so," Sailor Moon agreed a bit hesitantly as she slowly let go of Rowen. She was relieved when she discovered that the hollow blue sphere was supporting both of them.

"Not to startle you, Sailor Moon, but I'm going to speed up our ride here," Rowen announced. "At the rate we're going now, we'll never reach that Celestial Stone in time. Brace yourself!" Sailor Moon watched as Rowen pressed his hands against the inner wall of the blue sphere, closed his eyes, and concentrated. Sailor Moon was a bit startled when the orb of blue light sped towards the sky with increasing speed. She fell to the bottom of the orb as it continued ascending rapidly toward the endless regions of space.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea, Rowen!" Sailor Moon whimpered out loud as she struggled to sit up on her knees.

"Don't give up, Sailor Moon!" a familiar voice announced, catching Sailor Moon by surprise. She looked up and gasped loudly out of shock. Rowen was no longer standing inside of the orb of blue light with her. Instead, there was a young man dressed in a black tuxedo with a long flowing cape, a white mask, a cane, and a matching top hat.

"Tuxedo Mask?" Sailor Moon whispered.

"Are you okay, Sailor Moon?" Rowen asked curiously. Sailor Moon shook her head and looked up at Rowen, who had a puzzled expression on his face. She then realized that she only imagined seeing Tuxedo Mask.

"I'm so sorry, Rowen," Sailor Moon apologized as her face became red with embarrassment. "For a minute there, I thought you were someone else."

"If you don't mind me asking, who is this Tuxedo Mask? A friend of yours?" Rowen asked.

"Not exactly..." Sailor Moon trailed off.

"Oh, I get it. Your relationship is a bit more...personal tan that, right?" Rowen realized.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," Sailor Moon replied.

Rowen looked back out at the seemingly endless black void surrounding him and Sailor Moon. His blue eyes focused on the dark blue dot of light in the distance. "I see it, Sailor Moon!" Rowen announced.

"You do? Where?" Sailor Moon asked curiously as she stood up.

"Over there," Rowen replied as he pointed at the speck of dark blue light. "Do you see it?"

"Yeah, I see it, Rowen," Sailor Moon admitted. "How are we going to get it?"

"Simple, Sailor Moon. I'm going to reel it in," Rowen explained as he took out his gold bow and loaded it with one of his arrows. Sailor Moon watched as Rowen took careful aim and fired his arrow at the dark blue light in the distance. As the gold arrow exited the shield of light surrounding Rowen and Sailor Moon, it turned into a long stream of sparkling gold powder. The stream of gold powder arched around the spot of dark blue light, striking it and sending it spiraling towards the two heroes.

"Here it comes," Rowen told Sailor Moon as the ball of dark blue light came closer to them. Rowen reached out his arms and caught the large dark blue glass orb as it entered the hollow orb that encased him and Sailor Moon.

"All right! We got the Air Stone!" Sailor Moon cheered.

"Now we just have to figure out a way to destroy this thing before--" Rowen was interrupted as the Celestial Stone of Air suddenly radiated a dark blue glow.

"What's it doing, Rowen?" Sailor Moon asked.

"I wish I knew," Rowen replied. He gasped when the Celestial Stone of Air mysteriously floated out of his hands and exited the shield projected by his armor.

Rowen and Sailor Moon watched helplessly as the Celestial Stone of Air emitted a nearly blinding dark blue light. The two heroes had to shield their eyes from the bright light. When they moved their hands away from their eyes, Rowen and Sailor Moon gasped when they saw that the Celestial Stone of Air was gone. In its place was a creature bearing the symbol of the Dark Moon family on her forehead. Her short midnight blue hair was cut at a sharp angle, the tips barely touching her pale white shoulders. She wore a dark blue sleeveless dress with a short and unusually wide skirt, long dark blue high-heel boots ending at her knees, and matching fingerless gloves that ended at her elbows.

"Oh, no! We're too late!" Sailor Moon cried out.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Sailor Moon," the creature retorted sarcastically as she stared sinisterly at the two heroes with her dark blue eyes.

"Whoever you are, you're going down with the rest of them!" Rowen shouted as he fired one of his arrows at the creature. When the arrow was just inches away from striking her, to Rowen and Sailor Moon's surprise, she quickly moved out of the way with the speed of a shooting star.

"No way!" Sailor Moon gasped.

"She's pretty fast!" Rowen reluctantly admitted.

"You two have only begun to witness the extent of my powers!" the creature admitted as she lifted her hands above her head. Rowen and Sailor Moon gasped when they saw a meteor shower heading straight towards them.

"She's sending those meteors right at us!" Rowen shouted.

"How astute of you, Rowen of Strata," the creature retorted. "By the way, I think it's only fair that you should know my name before your demise."

"How generous of you," Rowen retorted under his breath.

"The name is Astronema!" the creature admitted as the meteors started to fly past her.

"Hold on, Sailor Moon! We're gonna be in for a bumpy ride!" Rowen warned Sailor Moon as they suddenly found themselves in the center of the meteor shower. The hollow sphere of dark blue light protecting the two heroes was violently knocked back and forth like a pinball as the huge chunks of floating rock struck it.

"I don't know if I can take much more of this!" Sailor Moon shouted as she got thrown into the side of the shield once again, along with Rowen.

"We have to get out of here! Astronema's too powerful up here in space!" Rowen shouted. He quickly stood up and, with his mind, directed the sphere of blue light back towards Earth.

"You cannot escape me, Rowen of Strata and Sailor Moon!" Astronema shouted as she gave chase. As Rowen and Sailor Moon entered the Earth's atmosphere, Sailor Moon turned around and gasped loudly when she saw Astronema slowly catching up with them.

"She's gaining on us, Rowen!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"I'm well aware of this, Sailor Moon. Hang on!" Rowen warned her as he caused the hollow sphere of blue light to speed up. Suddenly, the shield shook violently, causing Sailor Moon and Rowen to fall to their knees.

"What was that?" Sailor Moon asked nervously.

Rowen looked up and gasped when he saw Astronema flying right next to them. "We got company!" Rowen shouted as Astronema punched the shield hard, causing it to shake violently once again.

"What's the matter, you two? Afraid to fight me?" Astronema asked sinisterly.

"We're not afraid of you, Astronema!" Rowen shouted as he took out another arrow, placed it in his bow, and aimed it straight at Astronema. "ARROW SHOCK WAVE!"

Astronema let out a startled scream as the blast of gold energy struck her hard in the stomach, propelling her far away from Rowen and Sailor Moon. "You two haven't seen the last of me!" Astronema proclaimed.

"Now's our chance!" Rowen announced as he directed the sphere of blue light to the ground. "You ready to fight back, Sailor Moon? You can bet that Astronema is going to carry out her threat!"

"Mm-hmm," Sailor Moon replied, nodding her head. Just then, the two heroes landed on the same hill where they began their journey into outer space.

"Get ready! Here she comes!" Rowen announced as he pointed at a speck of blue light speeding towards them. Sailor Moon nodded as she took out a dark pink scepter with a large red heart on top, decorated with gold trim and a small gold crown. Rowen also took out another one of his gold arrows and loaded it into his bow as the sphere of light surrounding them faded away.

"I shall finish you two off to please my masters!" Astronema shouted as she flew in between them with incredible speed.

"How are we going to destroy her, Rowen? She's too fast!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"We have to make Astronema slow down so we can finish her off," Rowen revealed.

"But how can we do that?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Leave that to me!" Rowen announced as he rapidly fired several arrows at Astronema. Astronema managed to avoid most of the flying arrows, but one of them flew very close to her arm, leaving a long narrow cut in her pale white flesh.

"You will pay dearly for that, Rowen of Strata!" Astronema muttered angrily as she clutched at her injured arm.

"Sorry, but that's not on the agenda tonight, Astronema!" Rowen shouted as he continued firing his arrows at Astronema. "Here's your chance, Sailor Moon. Get her while she's distracted!"

"Got it!" Sailor Moon replied as she carefully watched Astronema, who was distracted by Rowen's arrows. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"

Astronema was so busy avoiding the barrage of gold arrows that she never noticed the spiral of sparkling gold powder and blue rings heading towards her until it was too late. She screamed loudly out of pain as the spiral of energy struck her head, causing her to plummet to the ground.

Rowen and Sailor Moon watched as Astronema crashed into the ground, leaving a large hole in the hill they were standing on. "I think that did it," Rowen muttered thoughtfully as he looked at Sailor Moon. "No way anyone could survive that fall."

"Except for Astronema!" Sailor Moon shouted as she pointed at the hole. Rowen turned around and gasped when he saw Astronema slowly pulling herself out of the hole.

"Combining our attacks is the only way to get rid of her forever. You ready, Sailor Moon?" Rowen asked.

"You bet I am!" Sailor Moon admitted.

"Now! ARROW SHOCK WAVE!"

"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"

"NO!" Astronema screamed as the two attacks nailed her head on. Rowen and Sailor Moon shielded their eyes when Astronema suddenly became engulfed in a blinding white light. When the two heroes looked back up where Astronema was, they gasped when they saw her body disintegrate into an explosion of gold stardust.

"Yay! We did it!" Sailor Moon cheered.

"It's all over," Rowen admitted proudly as he put away his bow.

"That's what you think!" Rowen and Sailor Moon heard a familiar voice shout. The two heroes looked up and gasped loudly when they saw Topaz floating high above their heads.

"You fools think you already won, but this battle is far from over!" Topaz boasted as he stretched his arm out in front of him over the indentation left in the ground by Astronema.

"No way!" Sailor Moon exclaimed as she and Rowen watched the Celestial Stone float out of the hole.

"How can that be? We destroyed Astronema!" Rowen asked aloud.

"Foolish mortal! You can destroy the creatures from the Celestial Stones as often as you wish, but that doesn't mean the Celestial Stones have been destroyed!" Topaz announced as the Celestial Stone of Air landed in his hand.

"If that's true, then that means...you have all five Celestial Stones?" Rowen asked out of shock.

"Indeed I do, Rowen of Strata!" Topaz admitted as the four other Celestial Stones mysteriously appeared and floated above his head. "My sister and I now have the power to destroy Crystal Tokyo once and for all, and there's nothing you puny Ronin Warriors and Sailor Scouts can do about it!" Topaz let out a loud sinister laugh as he disappeared, along with the five Celestial Stones.

"Oh, no!" Sailor Moon gasped. "We can't let them destroy Crystal Tokyo, Rowen!"

"I know, Sailor Moon. We need to get back to Mia's and let the others know what's going on," Rowen suggested.

"Good idea, Rowen," Sailor Moon agreed as they quickly ran to Mia's jeep...TO BE CONTINUED