Author's Note: First off everybody, sorry for the long wait. With work and school coming up, finding time to put my best efforts into this has been a bit hard to come by. Also, this is really my first chapter that deals greatly with Sailor Moon's side, so try to be gentle if things aren't to your liking. Enjoy!



Chapter 3: Confrontation: Life or Death for the Sailor Soldiers


Rei Hino kneeled down on the wooden floor of her own sanctuary - a replica of her room in the old Cherry Hill Temple in the former world - and let out a deep breath to relax her tense nerves. She hadn't been alone and at any kind of peace since the palace ambush, where she had seen her fair share of brutal combat. Even though the quiet of the room and the crackling of the sacred fire in front of her should've done its usual good job of calming her down, she just couldn't shake the disparaging situation from her mind. Hearing of Serenity's capture during the fighting had done wonders for her adrenaline - just thinking of her good friend being held in enemy clutches had pushed her to new heights of rage and determination, just like the other Soldiers - but unfortunately, the end result was still the same as before. The enemy commandos had overrun her group and she ended up falling unconscious after a volley of their energy blasts struck her head on.

The burning pain had been nearly unbearable; Rei's limbs and upper back scorched severely by the blasts according to the medics. Fortunately, the attentive and knowledgeable medical staff that was still in the palace had been able to nurse her back to health, managing to patch up the burns and her other injuries in only a few hour's time. However, many of the soldiers that had been a part of the palace defense team hadn't been so lucky, over three quarters dead after the body count. The only good news that she had received was that the other Sailor Soldiers had been able to escape the fight unscathed, albeit injuries similar to her own.

Ami - obviously more learned in medical care than the others were - seemed to heal more quickly, and she had devoted her energy to assisting the surviving soldiers that had been gravely injured in the battle. That had put some of Rei's fears about her comrades to rest - Ami's skill in medicine would have them back to fighting shape in no time. On the other hand, Makoto and Minako, though still not fully recovered from their own wounds, had chosen to spend their own time in the training areas of the palace, trying as much as they could to improve and gain any kind of edge over the aliens that they could. It was a wise idea - with the queen in their possession, the alien fighters would be looking to finish the palace defenses off sometime soon, and they needed to be fully prepared for any further offensives. And even if they were going to go down, Rei knew that Makoto and Minako would want to take as many with them as possible.

The Outer Soldiers had been the ones who had acted the most since recovering, taking off into the combat zone to look for the queen and her captors. For obvious reasons, Rei hadn't agreed with Haruka taking herself, Michiru, and Hotaru out into enemy-held territory - the treacherous Golgorand Highlands no less - without even completely healing yet, but she had known better then to question Haruka's instincts - her hunches were usually always correct. Besides, they had always firmly believed to be their mission to protect the queen, and with Haruka as enraged as she was at the queen's abduction, the fire soldier wasn't about to stand in her way.

The only strange thing about the departure of the Outer Soldiers into the depths of the highlands was that only three had gone - Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn. Rei hadn't seen Sailor Pluto with them as they exited the main gates, nor had anybody seen the elusive Setsuna Meioh since the palace had been attacked. Though Rei never knew of the time soldier mysterious activities - and she had been involved in quite a few in her days in Crystal Tokyo - she did know that Pluto was perhaps more loyal to the queen then anybody else. And with her closer comrades heading back into the fire to search for Serenity, it was very unusual not to see Sailor Pluto going back alongside of them.

I wonder what she is up to...ChibiUsa's been asking about her a lot...

That was another despairing thought nagging Rei's mind: ChibiUsa had been eerily silent since the fighting had concluded, and Rei knew that it wasn't as a result of the injuries she had sustained during the fight. She had found the small princess shortly after convincing the medics to let her out of the treatment room. Though Rei had been relieved to see that her wounds weren't severe, her optimism had faded after watching ChibiUsa look in on her father, the king.

Mamoru - or Endymion as he was known by since the cataclysm - had been on the front lines of the defense teams during the ambush, and he'd led a counterattack against the main enemy assault force. The king had fought bravely, as he always did; he used much of his energy to not only fell several enemy soldiers, but to protect the Crystal Tokyo defenders with him as well. However, such tactics came with a price, as Endymion had taken multiple hits from the enemies' beam and martial arts attacks as he struggled to protect his men and take much of the battle onto his own shoulders, his usual attitude with his position as king. Eventually, the enemy assaulters were temporarily pushed back, but the adrenaline of battle had begun to wear off for the king, and he soon succumbed to his bloody wounds, collapsing unconscious onto the marble floor. The surviving members of the combat unit had been lucky enough to return the king to the safety of the medical room before the enemy battalion had recovered enough to attack once again. Since then, Endymion had remained unconscious, on the verge of death since his collapse.

Rei remembered coming across ChibiUsa looking in on her beloved father, her usually cheerful expression replaced with a pale ghostly look, her dark red eyes casting a blank stare on the crippled body of the king. No words had come from her mouth at all, the beeping of the life monitor and the murmuring of the medics not enough to make up for her grave silence. Rei, usually one of the first there to offer advice to ChibiUsa about a dire situation, had seemed totally helpless after seeing her zombie-like state. The only comfort she could've offered was a warm gentle hand on the shoulder of the princess, even if she didn't even notice that it was there. It was as if ChibiUsa had come to the terrible realization that her entire crystal world had been shattered into pieces by those monsters with the sufferings of her mother and father. Both were possibly closer to death than they had ever been, and their entire world was now on the verge of destruction despite their best efforts to protect it. And despite similar grave situations in the past, only this one had hit home for the young princess; Rei had never seen her this much in shock, even after all of the battles that she helped them win in the past.

Hopefully I can cheer her up a bit after a look into the sacred fire. Rei mused with a bit of optimism. While the Outer Soldiers search the highland areas, the sacred fire will search the entire planet for the queen's pure white energy...

Rei concentrated some of her power into the sparking flames before her, trying to push her senses into the air along with the fire. After a few moments, she began to feel something - her senses were carrying beyond the calm walls of the palace and into the ruined cities outside of it. Her head began to ache slightly as multiple energies - some of Crystal Tokyo soldiers and the others of enemy commandos - clashed with each other, conflicting at countless points around a small area and battering her senses like a series of tornados. But still, she had dealt with worse before, and Rei continued to extend the fire's power with her mind, pressing outward along the borders of the capital area and into the inner city. She could still fight off the conflicting energies symbolizing the continuing struggle between dwindling Crystal Tokyo forces and the vicious enemy soldiers, but the headaches were getting more strenuous, more difficult to contain within her trained mind.

Suddenly, a peculiar tingling sensation pricked at her senses, something far off, yet very close at the same time. Rei concentrated even further, assuming that it could've been her imagination or fatigue, but she soon determined that her senses weren't playing tricks on her - several powers were approaching the area. But the strange thing was that they didn't seem to exist on their plane of existence; their total strength seemed to be masked by a distortion that was throwing off her scan.

But what could they be...? Are my injuries starting to catch up to me...??

Battle damage would've explained such odd sensations. She'd never felt such distortions before, but whatever they were, they were approaching the area at high speed. Suddenly, as she tried to get a fix on the mysterious energy sources, another titanic wave of power flooded into her mind, and Rei was immediately thrown out of her trance and onto the ground, clutching her skull in agony.

What's going on...? Something...no, it...couldn't...

She was unable to block out or suppress the surge of energy that was building in her mind. In between the swells of pain that were rapidly filling up her expanded senses, she managed to make out three enormous powers approaching the palace at blinding speed, each with malicious intent radiating from them like sunlight. They were flanked by five smaller energies, more than likely a squad of enemy commandos.

"No...They're coming...no!!!" She cried, still unable to disconnect her senses from the overwhelming power.

Suddenly, Rei heard her door fly open, and somebody rushed into the room and helped her sit up. Rei opened her eyes slowly, the pain beginning to die down as she completely released herself from the trance. Looking up, she saw the concerned face of Makoto Kino staring down at her.

"I heard the screaming from across the hall," she explained as she helped Rei to her feet. "What were you doing?"

"Trying to locate Serenity," Rei explained as she paused to catch her breath. "I was hoping that the sacred fire would reveal her location to us, but I found...something else, instead."

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked in confusion. "Don't tell me it's another attack force!"

Rei nodded. "I'm afraid so," she regretfully replied. "But there are more than just a few squads of commandos on their way. Three enormous energies are leading the group, larger than any power that I've ever detected. Had their energy waves bombarded my senses for a minute longer, I might not have been alive to tell this to you..."

"They're that strong...?" Makoto gasped in disbelief. "Unreal...where are they heading??"

Rei was hesitant to tell her, not wanting to believe that a follow-up attack would've came so soon. "...Straight for us as full speed. They must be coming to finish us off for good."

Makoto lowered her head, her face looking tense and unbelieving. "I can't...How soon will they be here?"

"They were passing through the inner city when I located them. At the speed they were going..." Rei answered her, finally able to regain full composure. "...Probably fifteen minutes, twenty at most."

Makoto was silent for a moment, the news of the possible final slaughter of their remaining forces sinking in deep. Then, the thunder soldier raised her head, a firm iron glare of resolve in her eyes.

"Well, I'm not about to roll over and die so easily! We have to fight them off, we don't have any other choice!"

Rei nodded with her own sense of steadfastness. "You're right! We've come back from worse before, and if the four of us work together, we can stop those guys!"

"Make that five," A small voice said from the doorway. Rei looked over and saw the small form of ChibiUsa standing in the hall, her face fixed in firm boldness.

"ChibiUsa...?" Makoto seemed equally surprised at the princess's seriousness, something that Rei never saw until a battle actually started - she was never tense or solemn during a lull in a fight. "What are you---"

"I know what you're going to say," She cut her off as she stepped into the room. "Please, Makoto, don't try to stop me from joining this fight. I've been shielded enough during this whole war because of who I am, and that's just gotten my mom kidnapped and my dad nearly killed. I owe these monsters something, no matter how strong they are. And no matter what you say, I'm going!"

Rei couldn't answer for a minute, her tongue stifled. Finally, the fire soldier walked over to her young friend and princess. She bent down and looked into the face of ChibiUsa, the small girl's fiery eyes unwavering.

"...ChibiUsa, I've known you for a long time, enough to know that you're as stubborn as your mother is - stubborn enough not to take any safety precautions when everything's on the line...okay, help us gather the others and we'll meet them head on!"

ChibiUsa nodded, her smile restored. "All right! Let's go!"

She quickly rushed out of the room, off to find Ami and Minako and warn them of the upcoming conflict no doubt. Rei was about to follow her when Makoto spoke.

"I hope nothing's happening to her..."

Rei turned to see Makoto with a worried look. "What do you mean?"

Makoto lifted her head and walked toward the door. "You heard what ChibiUsa said, and you and I have never seen her so eager to fight before..."

Rei arched an eyebrow. "Are you saying that this war is changing her...?"

"Though she is a strong-willed soldier, we've got to remember that she's just a kid. I mean, all of the fighting and brutal deaths of our soldiers and friends were bad enough, but now her mother's been captured and her father's nearly dead. I don't know about you, Rei, but it would be enough to break me down if I were as young as she is..."

Rei lowered her eyes, considering Makoto's reason for worry. "All the more reason we have to look out for her," She responded. "All of this death...all of the fighting that she's had to endure during this war, during her whole life has had some kind of effect on her, and I think it's just what happened to her parents that's bringing all of the ill effects of battle out of her. We just have to be vigilant about how she goes about her fighting - this is a freedom fight, not a massacre. And if all of this death and bloodshed is effecting her developing mind in that negative way you mentioned...then we have to do what we can to ensure that she doesn't grow up into the Black Lady that the Wiseman transformed her into..."

Makoto laughed a bit. "I don't believe this, you're starting to sound like Serenity."

Rei returned the laugh, not believing that Makoto was right. "If you fought with her as much as I did, I guess her personality would rub off of you, too. Now, let's go find the others, we've got fifteen minutes before they get here! Let's move!"

* * *

Ah, planet Earth... Damos gleamed as he stared out at the floating blue sphere from his viewing window. He'd made sure to position his command ship, the starship Terror, in just the right position for him to see what it was that they were capturing. Damos had been, needless to say, most pleased at such a marvel of nature. The deep blue oceans, wispy clouds, and lush terrain made Earth quite a prize for the person who controlled it. After chasing the bounties of dead, wasted planets for years, Damos had been fortunate enough to land a bounty on this tiny planet in the outer limits of their galaxy.

And the money...ah, the glorious reward for such a glorious planet...

The bounty offered for the capture of Earth had been the most generous payment ever given to his fleet, even for the greatest mercenary nation in the universe's history. They had never in their history let an assigned bounty slip through their hands; as a matter of fact, they never came close to losing a battle, especially with the weak competition of fighters across the galaxies. And from their stellar progress on Earth, the elegant planet's fighting forces would be no exception. Over three quarters of the planet was in their possession, their armored soldiers overrunning every feeble attempt by the Earth forces to push them back. And to think, Damos had actually thought that the planet would put up a good fight after witnessing the power of that force field that those Sailor Soldiers managed to erect around their city. To his disappointment however, the field had collapsed after he and the battalions of soldiers around him had easily shattered it with a small combined beam attack. Since that moment, the battle was beginning to look pathetic, really, with so many Earthlings running and hiding like small children while their soldiers were being slaughtered. Damos had seen more backbone in primeval slime puddles. He would have to head down himself to eliminate the final vestiges of Earth's legacy before heading off. He hadn't hunted insects in a long time; he wouldn't want to get out of practice.

One objective complete, the other close to being accomplished. It won't be long until we can move on.

Though she was an enemy to their cause and considered by Damos to only be a mission goal, he actually had to admit that NeoQueen Serenity was quite beautiful in her regal yet modest appearance. It wasn't so much her exterior than the look in her deep blue eyes, an air of purity and compassion radiating from them, even somehow affecting the blacker hearts of his army. Many similar reactions came when she had been brought aboard the Terror for holding until the mission was complete. Damos had only caught a glimpse of her once before she was placed in the prison level, and he'd come into contact with those eyes of hers. Something more had been there besides love however. He had seen, pain, torment, suffering, and a slight feeling of repressed rage emanating from her.

I think I'll go down and see her before the day is out. I'm dying to know what makes her tick...

A sudden beeping of his scouter forced him out of his thoughts - someone was sending him a transmission from the planet, something he had been expecting for the past half-hour. He opened his end of the communications link and spoke as normal - the scouter's built in microphone system would pick up every syllable of his voice.

"This is General Damos," He greeted the caller with his raspy voice. "Report, soldier."
"This is Captain Infernia, leader of Battalion Beta Two-Five reporting our progress in the palace capture operation." The silvery voice of the fire-molded being answered his request. "We are approaching the palace at full speed and should be there in minutes."

"Excellent," Damos nodded approvingly, everything going according to schedule as usual. "What kind of powers have your initial scouter reports detected near there?"

"As you predicted, sir," Infernia replied. "The Sailor Soldiers are there along with most of their remaining troops. How do you wish for us to proceed, general?"

That decision was quite easy. Even though the palace was a masterpiece of construction - a work of art more than a place of royalty - the mission, not to mention the money, had to come first. "Eradicate everyone there. Destroy the palace if it is necessary to flush out survivors. We must make this quick, captain, we can't leave our employer waiting for too much longer. He is growing impatient with us despite our spectacular performance."

"Well, I suppose if I were in the position that he was in, I'd be a bit on the bad-tempered side as well," Infernia responded. "Anyway, consider it done. Knowing what pathetic excuse of a threat that they pose, this shouldn't take long at all."

Damos chuckled along with her. "Very well then. But don't underestimate those Sailor Soldiers, captain. Though they are weak as individuals, in groups they can represent a considerable force to be reckoned with. Use extreme caution, Infernia, I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

Infernia laughed a little. "Still worried about me? Damos, you're getting soft, like these Earthlings. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. Besides, I'll have you to look forward to after this is all over."

Damos grinned. Infernia was always the strong and bold one of the ranks, the characteristic that attracted him to her. For a man of his race, it was only natural to be drawn to the mighty like Infernia. "And I'll be waiting, fireball. Damos, out."

The mercenary general terminated the link and stood up from his heavy steel rotating chair. He walked through the darkness of his private quarters and seated himself before a large communications array set up in the corner of his chamber. It was time to make a report to his employers concerning the capture and/or destruction of the Crystal Tokyo palace. Before the mission had begun, they had been the ones who had issued the array to him for such reports. It opened up a private, long-distance channel to the planet where they had taken occupation and were conducting private work of their own. For some odd reason, Damos always got a terrible chill running down his spine whenever he established contact with his elusive bosses, no matter how limited the exchange of words was. It was very unusual - especially for a hardened methodical mercenary veteran such as himself - to experience such traces of...fear...with a group of people who were light years away from their fleet.

Ah, but of course...I keep forgetting who those people are...

Sighing heavily and not wanting anything to be deducted from their final payment for deviation of orders, Damos fired up the transmitter and entered a series of identification codes before the channel was opened. At first, Damos heard nothing but static through the thin headset, but soon, all of the interference cleared and Damos was greeted to the usual thirty seconds of silence on the other side of the link. He wondered if it was a routine matter for the paranoid bunch to make any conversation they had as limited as possible. It was unbelievably frustrating at times, especially when he needed clarification of orders and to inquire what about their backgrounds he could divulge to his army. So far, only Infernia - the one he trusted the most - had been told what little information he had concerning their mysterious benefactors, and it had been shocking to say the least, even to her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Damos was greeted in the usual cold, harsh tone of his contact, who preferred to use a codename instead a real one. It was for security reasons, Damos had been told, but he knew how paranoid they had seemed - they wouldn't trust Damos with anything important, let alone their identities, unless it pertained to the mission, of course.

"This is Crix," the voice said. "Report your status, general."

Quick and to the point. Damos remarked to himself. Quite the conversationalist...

"Just checking in, sir. The queen is in hand and secure in the prison area of my command ship, and I've sent one of my best units to capture their capital stronghold. After that is in our possession, it won't be long until the planet is in our total control."

"Good," Crix replied with no emotion in his voice. "We have almost completed our half of the deal. Hopefully, the planet will be ready for occupation soon. If you have nothing else to report, general--"

"Wait a second," Damos interrupted him, risking a harsh reprisal. Fortunately, Crix only paused, allowing Damos to speak. "Crix, I know the background of your race and their place in the galaxy long ago. When will you allow me to inform my men of your identity?"

No response came at first, and suddenly, Crix cut back in, quickly but sharply. "That is none of their concern at this time, general, and may I remind you that you're being paid to conquer Earth, not ask questions! Crix, out."

The transmission abruptly halted, Crix's voice cutting off and screeching static once again ringing in Damos's ears. The general cursed the ill-tempered ingrate before slamming the headset to the ground and stomping toward the door. He shouldn't have expected to pry any information out of the bitter freak anyway. After all, being crammed down in a lab for who-knows-how would probably have made him that irritable, too.

No matter...as long as the planet is in hand, the money is as good as ours. And Infernia, when this is all over, you and I will finally be able to take some time off from this business...

Damos activated the switch next to the door, causing the steel bulkhead to whoosh open. He stepped out into the wide corridor and headed toward the turbo-lift. It was time to pay their "guest" a visit, and Damos hoped with a devilish grin that the good queen was enjoying herself as much as he was during this whole conflict...


* * *

The travel through the vortex was beginning to annoy Piccolo to no end. He couldn't see anything but a dark crimson haze and his body felt like it was being painfully stretched in unnatural directions. The blurry haze of the tunnel prevented him from catching a glimpse of the others, but as far as he could tell, they'd been whisking their way along the current of time for at least ten minutes, though it was feeling like an eternity. Piccolo had never been comfortable with unnatural means of travel - which to him meant anything other than walking or flying - but this was more than enough to unnerve even his steel tranquility. He wondered how that Sailor Soldier Pluto could stand being surrounded by such an enigma...

Suddenly, as the cloaked Namek squinted to see if he could spot the others, he instead caught a glimpse of something else that was a sight for his eyes: light, bright shining light several yards ahead of him, all of the crimson energy converging on that single point. Before Piccolo could react, the light had enveloped him, blinding his sight momentarily and forcing him to shield his eyes with his cloak.

Before Piccolo knew what had happened, he felt his body falling through the air, and he slammed shoulder first into a hard rocky surface at a high speed. Cursing his lousy reaction time as well as the stiff rigid stone, the Namek picked himself up off the ground, his eyes taking several seconds to recover from the blinding white light. He also wasn't surprised to find his muscles aching slightly, the results of the unstable gravitational powers of the time vortex no doubt, and his sense of direction a bit awkward.

"Are you okay, Mister Piccolo?" Gohan's small voice brought the Namek warrior back into reality. Piccolo looked down to see the spirited Saiyan smiling up at him, glad that his mentor's bad landing hadn't caused any damage.

"Yeah, my shoulder-pads cushioned the fall a bit. But I don't think a rough landing's going to stop me that easily, don't you agree, Gohan?"

Gohan nodded brightly. Then, Piccolo turned away to get a good look at the surrounding area. He noticed that Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Krillin, and Chaozu were searching around the area for signs of life as Vegeta was waiting with his arms folded, gazing up over the horizon, which Piccolo could've spent quite a time looking at had there been time. Stars illuminated the dark night sky, and moon even shone brightly high above the sky.

Heh, Serenity even found a way to restore the moon after I destroyed it. Truly incredible power must be linked to her and that dead asteroid...

Less incredible was desolate sight of the city around them. At least, that's what it used to be. Piccolo clenched his teeth in rage as he saw nothing but smoldering wreckage surrounded by thick, billowing black smoke and dead, bloody bodies scattered among the charred debris that covered the ground. The roads and grassy areas that had once surrounded the buildings were either crushed or scorched beyond recognition. Piccolo walked up to one of the nearest corpses and bent down to look at it.

It was a tall, brown-haired woman wearing a partially burnt dress and a beige overcoat, probably to shield herself from the cold of night. She was lying on her stomach with her arms underneath her. A smoking, ragged hole was in her back, and Piccolo easily identified the cause of death: someone had fired a clean ki ray right through her heart from behind.

But something's not right...

Piccolo followed up on a dreading hunch and slowly rolled the corpse over onto its back, and the Namek heard Gohan gasp at the sight before them. The woman had been shielding a small child with her arms and overcoat, trying to protect him from their attackers with her very life. The child, a boy a little younger than Gohan but possessing the same scruffy black hair, bore a face of innocence, a small smile on his frozen face. The most unfortunate detail was that the mother's protection endeavor had failed. The bloody hole in the small child's head was a testament to what had gone down: the ki ray had gone through her heart, but it still had enough punch left to pierce the small boy's temple and instantly kill him along with his mother.

"How horrible..." Gohan whispered as he removed the overcoat and covered up both mother and child, leaving them to hopefully rest in some kind of peace.

"Indeed..." Piccolo murmured solemnly as he stood up. "These invaders are even worse than I imagined. Only a cold-hearted monster like Frieza would go so low as to murder a fleeing mother and her son..."

He cast a slight glance over in Vegeta's direction. The smug Saiyan prince was doing nothing at the moment except for staring off into the burning blaze before them. Piccolo didn't know what kind of thoughts were running through Vegeta's warped mind at the moment, but he was sure that it wasn't any kind of sympathy - he probably didn't even show much compassion toward murdered Saiyans, let alone Earthlings.

Tenshinhan came trudging up the hill with Chaozu following not far behind. The three-eyed warrior shook his head mournfully. "I'm afraid there's not much left," He said. "There are a few other corpses near those buildings. But from the sealed doors, I fear the rest might've been..."

He trailed off, only staring into the life-engulfing inferno enveloping the remains of the small city. Piccolo nodded in understanding. "And I only thought Frieza took pleasure in killing innocent people..."

"But why would they attack them?" Chaozu wondered. "I mean, even Frieza didn't kill unless there was something in it for him. What could these guys have to gain by obliterating the human race?"

"Perhaps Serenity has the answer," Yamcha spoke up as he and Krillin returned from checking the blazing scene. "But if we want to get to her in one piece, we'd better get moving. The fire is still burning strong and the blood on the corpses is fresh - this didn't happen too long ago, and whomever slaughtered these people could still be close by."

"...A bit too late, I'm afraid," Vegeta chimed in, not taking his gaze away from the fire. "Do you feel that?"

Piccolo's senses had been thrown off since the landing, but he did manage to find what Vegeta was talking about - a group of powers were a few hills away, each not too large, but considerable enough to pose a bit of a threat.

"Looks like we've found our murderers," Tenshinhan pointed out. "Shall we pay them back for what they did to these people?"

"It's not a bad idea," Piccolo agreed. "Let's get a good idea as to what these guys are and how they measure up in combat."

Piccolo motioned for the others to follow him over the hill. As he peeked over the scorched grass, his eyes widened at what he saw at the bottom: four armored soldiers...wearing Saiyan battle armor...and scouters!

"I...It can't be...!" The Namek gasped, reeling more than ever from this latest discovery. He had expected these aliens to have similar energy techniques like they did, but these soldiers were identical to the descriptions of Freiza's men that Gohan had told him about. How could it be possible, Goku killed Frieza on Namek...could his empire have lived to ravage Earth so far into the future?

It could explain a great many things...

Looking over at Gohan confirmed the young Saiyan's surprise. He'd actually had to deal with grunts like that on the journey to Namek, and despite the passing of that saga, it was clear that Gohan still remembered what atrocities they had committed against the Nameks.

"Could they be...?" Krillin's voice came in from Piccolo's left, his memories of the armored killers resurfacing as well. "...Soldiers...of...Frieza...?!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Vegeta snorted, as surprised as they all were. "Not even Frieza's empire could've lasted for ten centuries. And besides, if Frieza or one of his descendants were involved in this invasion, we would've been able to detect their ki right when we got to this planet."

"Those guys look like Frieza's men...?" Tenshinhan's three eyes were filled with a different kind of surprise. He hadn't been around to witness the attacks on the Nameks, but he was still regarding the soldiers with high suspicion and caution.

"Were they as cruel as these guys are?" Yamcha asked.

"...Yes. Torturing and killing innocent elders and children without thinking twice is pretty much on par with these monsters," Gohan answered him.

"Quiet, you guys, let's listen in. We might be able to figure out what's going on here..." Krillin whispered. "And push your battle power down so their scouters can't detect us."

With his acute hearing, Piccolo was easily able to hear their raucous laughter.

"These humans are so frail," the first soldier - a tall, muscular man - said as he glanced back at the ruined city. "Five buildings full of civilians in under fifteen minutes, we've got to be in for some kind of promotion with this victory."

"Though our tactics were somewhat - how could I say - brutal?" The second soldier laughed as he glanced back at the burning buildings, the biggest structure in the middle in particular.

"Who cares! The captain said to use any means necessary to eliminate the humans, and we've just given them the comfort of a mass grave," The third soldier said. "But I was surprised - a few were pretty tough. It took quite a bit for all of the screams to die down."

Piccolo heard the others bear their teeth and let out a few raging growls. Tenshinhan's hunch was right; Piccolo looked over at the middle structure and saw that the doors and remaining windows had been barricaded or caved in. He gazed back toward the laughing soldiers with complete disgust. A mass execution...he wondered how many people burned to death in the enclosed inferno...

"In a few minutes the captain and her squad should be arriving at the palace," The second soldier noted. "With Tridyx and Zebus with her, the general's plan can't fail now."

"Yeah, I can't wait until this rock belongs to us," the first soldier eagerly grinned. "And then, all that money...we'll be able to buy our own planets for that much!"

"Hey, who's that?!" The short fourth soldier's gaze shot up at an adjourning hill. For a moment, Piccolo thought that they had been spotted, but the solider was looking in a different direction. Piccolo stood up from his crouched position and looked in that direction, and he was none too surprised to spot Vegeta looking down on the grunts from nearby, his usual contemptible frown bearing into the small group.

"Relax, kid, it's one of ours," the first soldier held up his hand. Piccolo grinned at that - Vegeta's white body armor and black spandex gave him the look of one of them. "What battalion are you in, soldier? What happened to your scouter?"

Vegeta smirked and slowly raised his white-gloved hand. "It's gone," he simply answered. "Just like you!"

A bright burst of gold ki energy exploded from his palm that impacted the first soldier head-on, causing a forceful explosion that sent the other three grunts scattering. When the black smoke cleared, Piccolo saw Vegeta grinning approvingly at the crater that the first soldier once occupied. Despite the brief peace between the fight with Frieza and now, he still had the killer aim.

"You trash really are like Frieza's soldiers - stupid and fragile, just like those humans you exterminated back there. You don't deserve to wear that kind of armor - only warriors like myself are fit to don such apparel."

The second soldier got to his feet first, a horrified look of shock on his face. He hadn't expected such power to come from what he must've thought was a Crystal Tokyo spy in their ranks. His widened eyes went back and forth between the smoking crater and the cocky Saiyan.

"Well, so much for the surprise attack," Tenshinhan sighed. Piccolo grimaced - Vegeta's hunger for destruction was never satisfied. "Should we stop him from killing the others?"

"You actually think he would listen?" Krillin replied. "He'll probably blast us instead!"

"Yeah, best to let Vegeta have his way for now so we don't end up in a fight him instead of the aliens," Piccolo suggested. "Our information check will have to come when we reach Serenity."

Piccolo stood up and trudged down the hill as Vegeta continued his assault on the shocked soldiers. Two of the soldiers leaped up into the air and launched ki beams at their unknown assailant. Vegeta smirked and threw up his hands, a thin field of invisible ki deflecting the beams with ease. Before the two grunts could follow up, Vegeta bounded into the air himself. Using lightning fast movements and a flurry of rock solid blows, Vegeta bloodied and killed the two soldiers in a matter of seconds, hammering them both into the ground. When Piccolo dropped to the bottom of the hill, Vegeta was calmly walking toward the final soldier, who had dropped to the ground, horror-struck.

Vegeta scoffed at the sight. "Let me guess, you're a newcomer, right?"

"I...I..." Was the only response who came from the small cowering soldier.

"I thought so," Vegeta continued with a higher degree of contempt and disgust in his tone. "Enough power to play with civilians but not enough to challenge someone on a level higher than yours. It's scum like you that give warriors like me a bad name!"

Vegeta snatched the soldier up by the throat and held him above the ground. His hand was clutching the man's throat so tightly that Piccolo could see traces of blood seeping down Vegeta's hand.

"Please...don't...kill me!!" The pathetic grunt pleaded with the Saiyan. "I'll do anything...tell you anything..."

"There's only one thing I'd be interested in hearing," Vegeta spat in the man's face. "Have you ever wondered what Hell feels like?"

Before the soldier could respond, Vegeta charged a bit of blue ki in his hand and delivered a crushing jab into the unfortunate grunt's midsection, piercing his armor and his skin. Blood flew as Vegeta's hand came out the soldier's back, and the scared grunt's head dropped. With a swift movement of his arm, Vegeta discharged the corpse from his body. He then turned to face the rest of the group.

"I'm surprised you noble fools didn't try to stop me from killing those weaklings," He arched his eyebrow. "What's the matter, did a maddening taste for avenging those people change your hearts?"

"Enough, Vegeta," Piccolo cut him off, not wanting to give Vegeta the chance to enrage the others and cause a fight. "We've got more important things to worry about now. Let's concentrate on locating those Sailor Soldiers for now. Break up and start scanning for those pure kis!"

Everyone took to the air and spread out, using their senses to scan the entire expanse of the planet. Piccolo had practiced many times back in the present, eventually able to scan energies on the farthest point of the planet away from him. But even with his powerful and sensitive mind, Piccolo was having trouble penetrating even several miles beyond their location, a result of what had to have been a multitude of battles occurring all around them, the ki being released from the fighting in such large amounts jamming his senses somehow.

"There's a lot of active ki out there..." Tenshinhan commented as he looked out in all directions, scanning the air for the kis of the Sailor Soldiers. "...Ah, blast!! I can't get any kind of good reading on those pure kis of theirs! There's just too much energy bouncing around out there!"

Piccolo concurred, having no better luck than his three-eyed companion. Suddenly, as he was about to give up the attempt, the Namek began picking up several huge power signatures coming from the south. They were much larger than the smaller ki clashes around them, enough to break through the interference.

"Do you feel that?" He said to Gohan as the small child flew up to him.

"Yeah..." Gohan nodded with a suspicious eye. "...About three, I'd say. But they're pretty far off; I'm surprised I was able to detect them. They're heading south as far as I can tell, and they're in an awful rush, too."

"Strange..." Tenshinhan mused. "Why send down such strong guys like that if the normal soldiers are good enough to wipe out their enemies here?"

"Good question," Chaozu answered him. "Wait a second, didn't Kami say that Sailor Pluto hurried back here because a big battle was about to take place and that she had felt huge powers like those??"

Piccolo's mind clicked. "You're right! They must be heading over to where the Sailor Soldiers are right now, probably to finish them all off!"

The three powers had to be at least over a couple hundred miles away as far as he could tell, and it would take a while for them to catch up with those hostile powers even at maximum speed. Depending on the location of the Sailor Soldiers, they could've very well reached the pure-hearted princesses and killed them before they were even close...and if the sailors were preparing to fight, Serenity was bound to be with them...

"Come on! We don't have time!" Gohan echoed Piccolo's sentiment, the very same thoughts occurring to him evidently. He then took off through the sky at top speed, almost vanishing over the horizon before Piccolo called him back momentarily.

"Wait, Gohan!" The beckon stopped the fiery Saiyan child in mid-flight. "How could you make such a foolish mistake after all I taught you?"

"What do you mean, Piccolo?" Krillin asked in confusion. "If we don't hurry, those Sailor Soldiers may be as good as dead!"

"Think about it!" Piccolo turned to the others. "If we speed there at full power, every enemy soldier within our flight path will detect us and be on us like a pack of wolves. We would be too busy fending off the grunts to even think about making it to the larger battle."

"Then do you have something else is mind?" Vegeta snorted. "I hope you're not suggesting that we walk a few hundred miles in stealth while those princesses are being annihilated. That's sounds like something that dim-witted green lizards like you Nameks would suggest."

"Shut up!" Piccolo snapped, his patience for the Saiyan prince's arrogance at its end. "No, we can fly at some kind of power, but it will have to be low so we don't alert the battling soldiers. The conflicting ki should mask our flight path. Once we get a clear line toward the battlefield, then we'll go at full speed!"

"But that means we'll get there late!!" Yamcha protested. "Piccolo, how could you--"

"Trust me!" The Namek cut him off. "It will be worth it in the long run. Besides, you heard what Kami said about those Sailor Soldiers: they're powerful in their own right, and if that Setsuna Meioh gets the news of our arrival to them, then they can come up with a plan to hold them off until we disembark."

One by one, the group members nodded, remembering Piccolo's experienced battle logic's size compared to their own.

"Good. Now let's head out before it's too late!" Piccolo bolted forward, keeping his mind totally focused on the three powers ahead of them while the others followed from behind. He hated the idea of going anything less than maximum speed, even if it was his suggestion, but his instincts told him that masking their presence from the battling soldiers was the best alternative. Anymore power and they would be sticking out like a sore thumb.

Now I guess we'll see what kind of warriors these Sailor Soldiers are after all...Serenity, I hope you guys have prepared for the worst...


* * *

They're almost here...

ChibiUsa looked down at the locket bearing her crystal, the one that would power her transformation into this battle. It might've been a while until she was able to put it away with this never-ending conflict - not a day had gone by when she had to transform into Sailor ChibiMoon and help fight at least one set of enemies. But she could tell that enough energy was left into the sparkling treasure for her to command one last transformation. Looking into the heart-shaped pink-shaded jewel reminded her much of the one her mother kept with her.

Mommy...

ChibiUsa remembered one night shortly after the war had broken out. Her mother hadn't been seen for quite some time, which was very unusual for her - with all the activities going on inside the palace, the queen would normally be there supporting her soldiers. ChibiUsa had gone looking for her out of her own curiosity, and it had taken a full hour of searching before the young princess finally came upon her in the queen's own bedroom. The chamber had been completely dark except for the moonlit areas. ChibiUsa had found her mother out on the balcony, staring out in a trance at the warring inner city below. She had assumed that her mother had heard her come in, but it was only after a soft whisper that the queen actually took notice of her. When she'd seen her mother's face look down at her, she'd been aghast - her skin was a pale, ethereal white, and her blue eyes were filling with tears.

The queen had looked away from ChibiUsa momentarily to address two figures on the other side of the balcony. Even in the dark of night, ChibiUsa had been able to recognize them as Crystal Tokyo Special Forces members, both of them fully equipped and combat ready. The one on the right was holding a circular disk.

"Everything is in your hands now," She had said. "Good luck!"

Both soldiers had bowed politely before their queen before exiting the balcony. The one with the disk had stopped briefly and had patted ChibiUsa on the shoulder. He had bent down and smiled at her, and with the help of the moonlight, ChibiUsa was able to read his name badge: 'Fields.'

"Take care of your mother, princess," He had simply said before departing.

ChibiUsa had then turned back to her mother, bent down to her knees and looking her in the eyes. The princess had struggled for words - the shock of her mother's condition had stolen any words of consolation away from her throat. The queen had answered for her by embracing her. ChibiUsa's only response was to return the gesture, and she had felt her hold tighten when she heard the tears begin to leak out of her mother's eyes. The emotional pain of her people's suffering must've been greater than all of the physical pain she had endured in her time as Sailor Moon. And her mother was a strong woman - ChibiUsa couldn't imagine what level of torment had brought tears out of her eyes. No embrace had even been so despondent.

It was the last she had seen her mother: hours later, the monsters had attacked the palace...and her mother was stolen away from her...from everybody...

With the memory fueling her rage and determination, she turned to the four young ladies standing behind her, all with firm resolve in their eyes. They weren't going to die without taking a few with them, something ChibiUsa would expect from recent events. "Are you guys ready?"

"Yes, as ready as we'll ever be," Ami Mizuno nodded. "Any second they'll be touching down. Guys, whatever happens...knowing all of you have been the best part of my entire life!"

"Don't get too melodramatic, Ami, we're not finished yet, remember?" Minako said to her with a grin.

"What about the Outers?" Makoto asked. "Do you think they've detected these powers, too?"

"I know Haruka's instincts," Rei answered her with a nod. "They're as sensitive as mine are, and I have a feeling that they're hurrying back from wherever they went to join up with us in this fight. And wherever Setsuna is, she's probably on her way as well. We'll just have to hope that they get here soon."

"Well then..." ChibiUsa said. "Let's see if we can't hold them off for a little while until they get here. Are you ready, you guys?"

"Yes!" The four Sailor Soldiers replied in unison. "For Serenity's sake, let's win this fight!"

"Mercury Crystal Power!!" As Ami held up her own crystal, her body began giving off a blue glow, and ribbons of shining blue water surrounded her body, reflecting bright light in ripples, like the waves of the deep ocean. With a brilliant flare, the ribbons took the form her fuku and suit, transforming Ami Mizuno into Sailor Mercury.

"Mars Crystal Power!!" Rei's crystal brought forth rings of the purest fire, adding the same blazing color to her own body. The ring surrounded her upper body, waist, and legs, spinning faster as their power increased. Finally, their energy reached a pinnacle, and they enveloped Rei's body to take the form of Sailor Mars.

"Jupiter Crystal Power!!" Makoto's brave voice commanded the crystal of the planet Jupiter, sending brilliant bolts of electricity coursing throughout her entire form, illuminating her with a green glow. The energy then took form, materializing into the fuku and suit for Sailor Jupiter.

"Venus Crystal Power!!" Minako's crystal sparkled brightly, sending a flurry of luminous gold stars down along her body like a cyclone, giving her body a golden shine. Those stars suddenly flashed with energy, and out of the glare came the shining form of Sailor Venus, the first Sailor Soldier.

"Moon Crisis Power!!" ChibiUsa's voice rang out last, the magic pink jewel on her chest reacting to the command and cloaked her small body in a cluster of pink stars. The tiny symbols gathered together around her, morphing into a suit, then a fuku. The final touch was a flash of light at her forehead, a tiara encasing a pink jewel forming around it.

Sailor ChibiMoon lifted her head, looking down at the crystal on her chest. "Stay with me, mommy..." She turned back to the others. "...Let's go."

Everybody nodded and began to long trek across the wide expanse of the courtyard, where the Crystal Tokyo Special Forces members who had survived the palace ambush were still busy cleaning up the bloody corpses of their comrades not to mention the rubble that had once been statues or parts of the small shrines around the palace.
The soldiers that saw them wished them the best of luck in the upcoming fight, and some even wanted to join them to help, but ChibiMoon turned them away - it wouldn't do much good if the approaching demons were as strong as Rei had felt.

The watch tower patrols waved them through the main gates of the palace area with the same supportive words as the ones in the courtyard, and Sailor ChibiMoon led the group into the inner city.

The entire area before them had seen the worst of the combat thanks to its location near the palace. The corpses of Special Forces members were still strewn everywhere - it was too risky to chance leaving the palace to retrieve them - along with the bodies of a few enemy soldiers. The structures that had once towered high above the wide streets were in pieces, some still smoldering from recent combat. The group walked up to one of the still-burning buildings, where it seemed like fresh corpses had just been added to the mix.

"How awful..." ChibiMoon heard Sailor Venus remark as they checked some of the corpses to see if any were still alive.

"You should've been here when the battle was still hot," A silvery female voice laughed from high above. "They fought quite valiantly - it made their deaths all the more satisfying! As will yours, I am hoping."

Sailor ChibiMoon's gaze shot skyward and her eyes came to rest on a lone female figure in gold armor and with long flowing gold hair floating amidst the ravaging inferno that was consuming the building. The young princess couldn't believe it - she was literally floating inside the fire, and enjoying it no less! Not even Sailor Mars could've gone through something like that...

The female floated down toward the ground, where two other burly armored males joined her. The one on the left was a bald, pale-skinned goliath donning black body armor. His muscles were chiseled out of every inch of his body, and he had a cocky, arrogant grin on his large face.

The second escort for the female warrior was the least human out of the three - his blue skin, the round red globes that he had for eyes, and the mandibles that was his closest resemblance to a mouth made him look like a gigantic human bug. The small trails of saliva dripping from the mandibles were a bit more than ChibiMoon's stomach could bear.

"These are the legendary Sailor Soldiers we've been hearing about...?" The bald one arched an eyebrow in utter surprise. "How pathetic - I would've at least expected an intimidating appearance from the strongest warriors on the planet. You look more like a bunch of schoolgirls to me."

"Hey, watch your mouth, scum!" Jupiter was the first to reprise him, her great physical strength seemingly always being doubted in a fight. "Every other monster like you that we've faced died spouting the same kind of insults!"

"How bold," The female licked a pair of sharp fangs and looked over at ChibiMoon. "And you must be the daughter of Serenity. The resemblance between you and the queen is unmistakable. I can see that seem purity in your eyes that I saw in hers."

"My mother...?!" She gasped. "What have you done with her?!"

The magma-skinned woman held up her white-gloved hand. "In due time, princess. First, let's find out how strong the legendary Sailor Soldiers are."

"What do you mean by that?" Mercury asked with suspicion.

"A...test," Came the reply from the woman. She placed her fingers in her mouth and blew out a high whistle. Almost immediately, five of the familiar alien commandos appeared from out of nowhere, all of them with malicious intent in their eyes. "You say that you're the strongest on planet...prove it to us by battling our warriors."

ChibiMoon began to build her strength. This fight was going to be a lot tougher than she had thought. They were outnumbered eight to five, and none of the monsters seemed to care about how powerful the Sailor Soldiers could've been...

Her thoughts were interrupted as the female gave one order to the five enemy soldiers.

"Kill them."