THE SECOND MOBIUS
Book Two of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon CosmicStars
by Nashie (aka ShadowSamurai)
May 2000 – September 2000
Revised - Winter 2001
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and her friends belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The author takes no credit for any of the original storyline. However, all the new characters belong to me and I'd appreciate it if you didn't take any without requesting permission.
Episode 234: The long and timeless sea. A never-ending destiny
"Behind you!"
"Watch out!"
"Get out of the way!"
"No!"
The entire room had erupted in chaos. The zodiac senshi knew they were outnumbered, but were putting up a pretty good fight. Sailor Moon and Sailor Saturn were trying to heal as many of their allies as possible and the effect was really tiring them.
The inners had just recently thrown a Sailor Planet attack, but the effect seemed to have worn off. The zodiac senshi were hurt, but they were not staying down. That was bad since the princess of the zodiac was throwing enough dark energy around to knock one of the planet soldiers out immediately. And somehow, she kept giving the zodiac senshi more and more power so that attacks became almost fatal.
Jupiter felt her own Sparkling Wide Pressure attack hit her straight in the stomach. She flew backwards into a wall with such force, she heard something crack. She prayed it was the wall and not her spine. Looking back at Sagittarius, she pretended to have been knocked out by the blast. Sagittarius grinned.
"Four down, thirteen to go!" she cheered before running off. Jupiter groaned at the thought. Three of her allies, Mercury, Chibi Moon, and Destiny, had been completely removed from the battle, unconscious. Saturn had healed their wounds, but couldn't wake them up. Jupiter hissed a curse beneath her breath and struggled to sit up. She looked back at the wall. Well, there was good news. The wall had cracked from her weight.
Hesitantly, she looked around the room. The battle was on and it was on loudly. People were either screaming from pain, warning their allies, or threatening their enemies. The clash of power was loud and the sound that each attack made (like that crackling of Mars' fire) was really getting to her. Then, there was that near sickening thud of flesh hitting the wall or the ground. And of course, the heels on the shoes weren't making it much better either.
Jupiter looked around at the split teams. Slowly, her side was beginning to lose force. There had been no plan and everyone had broken up. She watched in horror as one of Aries' fireballs rammed into Mars, sending her flying backwards. She collided with Sailor Uranus and both senshi fell to the ground, stunned.
Saturn rushed over to Jupiter, her face etched in worry. "Jupiter-chan, are you okay?" she asked. Jupiter nodded. Saturn looked back at the fight. "This is horrible. If we start to lose, Pluto told me to keep my rebirth attack. But I know that won't work. I might have to use…the Silence."
Jupiter was quiet for a second. "You don't want to use it?"
"I never have control of my actions when I use it!" Saturn nearly yelled. "If I use it, I might end up wiping out my allies in the process." Jupiter gently touched her hand.
"It'll be okay," she reassured. "We'll worry about that when the time comes. Right now, we have to worry about the other sailor senshi. Let's go beat their sorry carcasses." And with that, the green-clad soldier ran off into the midst of the battle. Saturn smiled. She was right. Her job was to keep healing people, not worry. She scrambled to her feet and started off towards Sailor Venus, whose left arm was bent awkwardly beneath her crumpled body.
"Venus-chan!" she yelled and kneeled down next to the blonde soldier. "Are you okay?"
"My…arm…" Venus gasped, wincing at the pain as Saturn turned her on her back. "I think…it's broken!" Saturn made a shushing noise and touched the base of Venus' arm. It had been disconnected from her body. She gently touched it and Venus struggled to try not to cry out in pain. An eerie purple glow arose from Saturn's fingertips as she closed her eyes. Venus didn't say anything, but her mind was still alert. Thank Serenity we have Hotaru-chan on our side. We'd be goners without her.
Slowly, the pain diminished. Venus struggled to get up as the purple light faded away. Saturn opened her eyes. Venus was happily swinging her arm back and forth. She hugged Saturn. "Thanks for fixing me up! Now, I need to go hurt someone. Bye, Saturn!" She took off towards Sailor Libra, her pale blonde hair flying. Saturn grinned.
"Glad to help," she whispered and then sighed as she looked over at Sailor Scorpio, who had unfortunately been right in the midst of the room when the fight broke out. The girl had been using her power as best as she could, but now had been smashed into the wall by a stray attack.
Saturn groaned and rushed over to the other side of the room.
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Sailor Moon watched the destruction around her in horror. Her friends were exhausted. Their attacks weren't as powerful and they were definitely dragging. She looked over at the closest senshi, Sailor Capricorn. Somehow, the girl was not tiring out. The attacks had been getting stronger by the second.
I should use the silver crystal, Sailor Moon thought slowly. She looked over to her left and saw Jupiter running back into the fight. She breathed a sigh of relief. Glad she's all right. I almost thought she had been removed from the battle, like Mercury and the others. But her relief was short lived as she looked over to the right. She stared in horror as Princess Zodiac released a huge blast of negative energy heading straight for Pluto. The dark soldier saw the attack coming and stood her ground. Sailor Moon let out a scream.
, Sailor Moon thought slowly. She looked over to her left and saw Jupiter running back into the fight. She breathed a sigh of relief. . But her relief was short lived as she looked over to the right. She stared in horror as Princess Zodiac released a huge blast of negative energy heading straight for Pluto. The dark soldier saw the attack coming and stood her ground. Sailor Moon let out a scream."Pluto!" she yelled, her legs sluggishly moving towards her. "Move!" The soldier smiled at her and simply disappeared in a gust of purple air and lighting, which reminded Sailor Moon of the Dead Scream attack. The attack went on, splattering onto the wall.
"It's okay, Sailor Moon," a voice said from behind her. The blonde spun around and saw Pluto standing behind her.
"Pluto! How did you…but you were just…how can you…" Sailor Moon was at a loss for words.
"It's a solo teleportation," Pluto said wearily. "You can go by yourself, but the longer distances you travel, the weaker you become. I traveled a relatively short distance and am not really tired, but if I continue doing it, I'll wear myself out." Sailor Moon's eyes glowed.
"Can I do it?" she asked. Pluto's eyes hardened.
"Of course," she said. "But careful when you use it. If you can easily escape then…" Too late. Sailor Moon had disappeared in a fluff of pink smoke. Pluto sighed. "I hope she doesn't use it too much."
"Hey, did odango-atama just disappear on her own?" Fighter asked as she carefully dodged a wild attack. She looked over at Pluto. "Can she do that?"
"All planetary senshi can," she said and then smiled as she seemingly looked past the black-haired soldier. Her eyes sparkled darkly. "Maybe you should too. There's an attack coming straight up behind you."
Sailor Star Fighter spun around and saw a flaming Burning Mandala attack coming straight at her. She closed her eyes and imagined herself on the other side of the room. She felt a little light-headed for a second and then, nothing. Fighter opened her eyes and gasped. She was on the other side of the room. That was fun, but she felt a little weak for the move. She had reappeared behind the zodiac princess. With a grin, Fighter raised her hand over head. "STAR SERIOUS LASER!" she shouted.
Numerous stars suddenly flung from her hand, striking the princess in the back. The dark girl jerked in surprise and spun around. The attack had been more powerful than ever. Maybe it was due to the fact that she shouted it.
"You little...!" Zodiac screamed.
Before she could say anything, Fighter found herself blasted against the wall and quickly losing consciousness. She groaned as she looked up at the princess.
"How…" she started, but the princess just released another blast.
This time Fighter really did pass out.
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Sailor Moon saw the soldier collapse, but Cancer blocked her way from reaching her. She held a scream in her throat and looked around. It was clear why they were losing. They were on the zodiac soldiers' turf. Their power worked a lot better ion their own ground.
"PULL BACK!" Sailor Moon screamed. She held her moon tier firmly, but tears of frustration were piling down her cheeks. Mars and Uranus, who had been previously knocked down together, were suddenly blasted again and this time, they didn't get up. Sailor Moon's eyes widened in horror as she saw her best friend and her closest outer soldier friend collapse to the ground. "Rei-chan! Haruka-san!"
Cancer turned to the sound of screaming. What a wimp. "Shut up, would you?" she snapped at the blonde. "You're getting on my last, freakin' nerve!"
Sailor Moon said nothing, but closed her eyes. She once again disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, only to reappear by Mars and Uranus. Her hands were shaking as she gently shook the red-clad soldier. "Rei-chan! Rei-chan, wake up," she sobbed.
No answer. Sailor Moon shook her harder this time. "Rei-chan, please don't do this. I can't fight without you. Please."
No answer.
"Rei-chan…"
"Look behind you, Sailor Moon!" Saturn shouted from across the room. The blonde didn't even acknowledge the cry. Saturn stood up as the dark energy headed straight for the sailor leader's heart. Her violet eyes got wide as she looked over at Sailor Leo. "Sailor Moon, move!"
The blonde slowly looked up, but not in time. She just stared blankly at the beam. Saturn could feel the darkness and silence pulsating in her heart. Do something, anything to save the princess. Sailor Leo stared back at her and nodded. There was a flash of light around her.
Saturn raised her glaive, her violet eyes slowly becoming empty. Her face was emotionless as the tip of the glaive began glowing with an uncanny light.
Npetune looked up and saw the darkness pouring from Saturn. Her blue eyes grew wide as she looked on in horror. "Saturn! Don't do it, Hotaru-chan!" Saturn turned to her, no emotion on her face still.
"My Purpose," she whispered, her voice strangely hollow, "is to fill everything with Silence. Let there be Silence in this world so that no Light reigns."
"Hotaru-chan!" Jupiter screamed. She looked on in surprise. The dark energy was heading closer to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen was too far away to be of any help. The room was large and the attack would be there in a matter of seconds. "Remember what you said! If you use that attack, you might kill your allies."
"Teleport out!" Scorpio yelled for the first time in the middle of the battle. "We have to get out of here!" Saturn smiled as she turned back towards the middle of the room. Everything and everybody seemed to stop and turn to her, realization striking them then.
"Oh, no," Uranus whispered. She had been stunned by the attack, but was recovering very quickly. But now, she could feel the blood draining from her head, making her feel very light-headed again. "Hotaru-chan…DON'T!"
"In the end, Darkness will rule over Light. Oppression over Faith," Saturn started. The attack heading for Sailor Moon stopped and exploded. "Despair over Hope. Greed over Generosity. Guilt over Innocence." The light was growing brighter. "Evil over Good. Darkness over Light. Death over Life. And Silence will reign in the oceans of eternity!" The sign of Saturn glowed brightly on her forehead as her eyes became as white as the silver crystal. She slowly brought the tip of the glaive to the ground.
"Get out!" Mars suddenly shouted. She had been stirred conscious with a jolt. The other senshi who had been removed from the fight also began to stir. They immediately saw Saturn and decided to leave.
"Solo teleportation," Pluto informed everyone. Everyone tried to make sense of what she was saying. The zodiac senshi just stared at Saturn in surprise and disbelief as the glaive descended down onto the ground.
"Silence," Saturn whispered.
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Sailor Midnight watched from her invisible world as darkness consumed the room. She had seen the switch and she knew that Saturn would be okay. But...Leo...
Shaking her head, Midnight managed to gather her energies and extend it out towards the zodiac senshi. She would bring them here, as she knew they could not get hurt. It was a definite pull on her own energy, but she had to save them. Even if they were evil, they were her senshi. Nothing could change that.
Slowly, one by one, glowing figures appeared in the darkness. Midnight smiled softly as her own golden light extended out towards her beloved senshi. Her red eyes sparkled with tears. "Rest, my senshi. I shall join you soon."
"Princess."
Sailor Midnight spun around and saw Leo standing, watching her. But this Leo was different. She was wearing a gold, white, and silver sailor fuku. The collar was white, but didn't have any piping. Instead, from the bow to the back of the collar, gold faded into white. Her bows were silver, her skirt was white with gold and silver lining. A silver tiara was on her forehead with a shimmering gold stone. Her long golden hair spilled freely to her shoulders. Sailor Midnight choked by a sob. "Leo..."
The soldier stepped forward and took her princess into her arms. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "that they didn't trust you." Sailor Midnight shook her head.
"It's not your fault," she whispered. Leo hugged the girl tightly before releasing her.
"We won't remember next lifetime..." Midnight shook her head.
"Capricorn says that this lifetime is different. She thinks it may be the one..." Leo nodded understand. She gave her princess' hand a squeeze.
"You'll be back?"
"Yes. I must go and find Capricorn, Scorpio, and Selene. They must be looking for me." Leo nodded.
"Give them my regards."
"I will."
With that, Midnight disappeared into midair.
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Sailor Mercury could barely remember what happened, but she saw black wings, like a crow, spread out from Sailor Saturn. The Silence. She was immediately hit by a black light, shooting from the glaive. She could her screams arise from the room. They'd be killed if they didn't leave the room.
Solo teleportation? It was worth a try. Mercury closed her eyes as the darkness began ripping at her body and Silence began filling her ears. If she opened or closed her eyes, it made no difference. The darkness was everywhere and the screams were being smothered by darkness. She wanted to scream herself, but decided to wait until they got out.
If they got out.
Concentrating, she closed her eyes and thought of teleporting. Using her powers to leave and get out. She felt a tingle on her skin and the silence began to dim. It was fading. For a second, Mercury felt a little light-headed and swayed for a second. It helped that she was already lying on the ground and couldn't pass out.
Soon, the blue-haired soldier began to hear the sounds of…police cars? And people talking? There was a collective gasp as she opened her eyes. She muttered a gasp too. The planetary senshi were beginning to reappear around the Starlight Tower. The police had been called earlier because a passerby had seen some disturbances going around the Tower near the middle of the night. The fading night was ablaze with the red and blue light of police cars and the bright white light of flashlights.
Mercury stared back at them and felt herself about to faint. One of the police officers, a stocky man with glasses and looked like her was in his mid-forties stepped forward. A tall, pretty young woman joined him, looking rather surprised. The man scratched his chin and looked shocked. "Excuse me. Are you one of the sailor soldiers?"
Mercury looked around and realized he was talking to her. She tried standing up, but swayed. The young woman caught her arm and held her steady. Mercury flashed a grateful smile. "Yes."
"Which one are you?"
"Sailor Mercury."
"And who are the others?" he asked, pointing to her friends. Mercury turned and saw her friends, clearly exhausted, lying flat on the ground. Well, most were lying flat. Sailor Moon was kneeling, looking a little distraught and holding Mars' head in her lap. The raven-haired soldier seemed to be comforting her and Sailor Moon was trying her best to smile. Neptune had appeared near the door, leaning against the building. Uranus had struggled over to her and they were both talking, occasionally staring at their friends or the police. Venus and Jupiter were both lying flat on the ground, a little dazed from the teleportation. Pluto was picking herself up off the ground and held her head in hands as if she had a headache. Tuxedo Kamen was holding a sleeping Chibi Moon in his arms and walking over towards Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars with Sailor Destiny right behind him. The Starlights were utterly exhausted, slumping to the ground and looking like they wanted to sleep for a week. No one else was there.
Mercury began to worry. Where was Sailor Saturn? Or Sailor Leo, who had helped them out at the last minute? And where were Sailors Capricorn, Midnight, and Scorpio?
"Ma'am?" the male police officer asked, prodding her. The soldier he had been talking to had suddenly gone quite pale as she had scanned over her friends. "Who are they?"
"The sailor senshi," she whispered. Everyone looked like they had been fighting. They were scratched, burned, and bruised all over. Maker looked like she had twisted her ankle and Jupiter was holding her arm painfully. We're a sorry looking group. No one would believe that we're the sailor soldiers.
"Sailor Mercury, could you come here for a second?" Sailor Moon called, her voice weary. She noticed that the other senshi had started to go to Sailor Moon and decided that she ought to too. She turned to the police officer and bowed, trying not to pass out.
"Gomen ne, but my princess is calling me," Mercury mumbled before struggling over to Sailor Moon. When she got there, she collapsed to her knees. Sailor Moon's eyes were huge.
"Where's everybody else?" she asked. "Where's Saturn?" Pluto lowered her head.
"I'm not sure," she said. Sailor Moon shook her head and gently touched Mars' black hair.
"I'm sorry, minna-chan," she whispered. "I just couldn't move. Mars wasn't responding and everybody was falling and getting hurt and I was scared…" Uranus knelt next to her.
"It's okay," she said softly. Sailor Moon began to cry, her tears falling on Mars' face. The red-clad soldier flinched at the touch, but didn't move her head off her princess' lap. "No one's mad at you."
"I'm sorry I'm such a crybaby," she whispered, hiding her face in her hands. "I'm sorry I didn't do anything…" Neptune shook her head.
"Don't blame yourself," she said. "Uranus and I decided to do this in the first place. If anything, we're the ones to blame for going in the first place." Sailor Moon shook her head and got ready to argue, but Jupiter placed her hands on the distraught girl's shoulders.
"Don't do that to yourself," she said, offering her a reassuring smile. Venus clasped Sailor Moon's right hand and Mars took her left hand. Mercury gently put her hand on Sailor Moon's left arm. Destiny wrapped the girl in a gentle hug. "No one's hurt. We all love you Sailor Moon. Thank you for being our princess."
Sailor Moon managed a watery smile. "Arigatou, Mako-chan." She wiped her eyes and then looked over at the police officers. "What are we going to do about them?" Destiny grinned.
"That's where I come in," she said and turned to the police officers. "Excuse me."
The stocky man looked up from talking to his female colleague. "Hai?" Destiny smiled.
"Are you looking for the sailor senshi?" she asked slowly. The stocky man nodded, his light brown hair shaking beneath his cap.
"Hai."
"Just asking," Destiny replied. She pointed to Sailor Moon. "This is Sailor Moon. Ask her any questions you feel." Sailor Moon looked up at Sailor Destiny in horror. She didn't want to answer any questions.
"How did you suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
"Were you in a battle?"
"Who was the enemy?"
"Is Tokyo in danger once more?"
"Can we have your comments?" The questions from the paparazzi were endless. Sailor Moon just stared blankly at them and then saw Destiny wink at her. Sailor Moon grinned as she got the hint.
"Citizens of Tokyo," she called out rising to her feet. Her silver crystal glowed and covered her allies. When the light dimmed down, the senshi were still there, but their injuries were gone. There was a gasp from the crowd, which now consisted of the police officers, detectives, paparazzi, curious passersby and fans. "We sailor soldiers of the planets and starlights will protect this world! No need to fear because in the name of the moon, I'll punish all evil that will come my way." Mars was struggling not to laugh at the rather silly introduction speech.
"Can we have your autographs!"
"Wow, they're all so cute."
"Can we get a date with one of you?"
The blushing rose to a major extent. Sailor Moon scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.
"Um, we've overstayed our welcome," she said. The other senshi were trying desperately not to laugh as a hyperactive fan rushed up to Sailor Moon and shook her hand vigorously.
"You're the best, Sailor Moon! We know the world will be safe if you're here! Can you sign my autograph book? How about a picture?" The blonde soldier began to sweatdrop nervously as a policeman carried the girl off.
"We had better leave," Neptune whispered, "before they start a riot." Jupiter groaned.
"It's going to be in tomorrow's newspaper, I just know it," she said. There was a laugh from behind them, causing the entire crowd to suddenly become hushed. The senshi turned around. The crowd stared at the newcomer. She didn't look a bit scratched from the battle. Her raven hair was cut medium-length and her violet eyes were staring at everyone with a rather brooding intensity. She held some sort of staff in her hand and was wearing a purple sailor suit.
"Sailor Saturn!" Sailor Moon yelled in ecstasy. She wrapped the girl in a hug, still a little surprised that the girl had suddenly taken a growth spurt too. "I thought you had…you had…"
"I'm okay, Sailor Moon," she said. "I didn't use the Silence." Sailor Moon frowned.
"Huh? But, I saw you…"
"That wasn't me." The look on Sailor Moon's face was still one of confusion. Saturn sighed. "I'll explain all of it later." She turned to the other senshi. "Come on. I have some deep explaining to do." And with one swipe of her glaive, the senshi were gone. They disappeared into thin air.
Then suddenly, Sailor Pluto reappeared. She pointed the time key at them. "No one will remember any of this," she said and the garnet orb on her time key began to glow brightly. Pluto quickly erased all of what happened during the past hour or so, so that no trace would be left of the mysterious appearance of the sailor senshi. During the glow, Sailor Pluto quickly powered down to Setsuna.
The light dimmed down, revealing some very confused people. The stocky man frowned. "What are we doing here?" The lady next to him frowned.
"I don't know," she said slowly and then looked behind her at the fans and paparazzi and the rest of the police officers, who looked about as dazed as she felt. She looked at the Starlight Tower. "Perhaps we were doing a report on the Starlight Tower."
"I hate the Starlight Tower," a voice in the crowd said. Setsuna pretended to be surprised.
"How quickly you forget things," she said, frowning. "You don't remember what just occurred here?" The stocky man turned to her.
"Why? Do you?" Setsuna frowned and then smiled mysteriously.
"Hmm, I guess not." Everyone facefaulted.
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A young man stood near the back of the crowd. He had been completely unaffected by the rays of the time key. It never worked on him. He frowned a bit, running a hand through his mahogany-colored hair. His green eyes were deep in thought. So, the soldier of time and space was Meioh Setsuna. He had always admired her…well, before she died anyway. He sighed. It wasn't a great ability, always able to see the truth in people before they even met. He could easily find out who the others were by just looking at them.
He frowned again. If that were true, that blonde had to be Minako. He smiled at thought of seeing the blonde again. About time something interesting happened in his life.
With that, he jammed his hands into his pockets and walked off.
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"I don't wanna get it!" Usagi moaned, rocking back and forth. She knew she'd be in trouble for sneaking out in the middle of the night. "I'm too tired. I don't wanna!"
"Usagi-chan, let her have a chance to speak," Rei snapped. The senshi and the cats had reappeared on the top of some building in the downtown district. They were watching the sky slowly fade from navy blue to a rose color. The stars disappeared, their lights fading to the overpowering light of the morning star, which was slowly peaking its head above the horizon.
Hotaru sighed a bit, sitting on the edge of the building, swinging her legs over the side. Haruka and Michiru were giving her that 'parent look' at the sight of Hotaru leaning over the side of the building.
Hotaru looked up. "When Sailor Moon first used a solo teleport, I knew that that would cause havoc among the zodiac senshi. So I went and talked to Sailor Leo. She was more or less not having a good time. I told her that if it was necessary, I'd use my Silence and when I did, she was to get everyone out of there. Somehow, Leo didn't like my proposal and told me that she'd transform into me and use the Silence. How she got this idea out of nowhere, I don't know. I guess she just wanted to help. So I didn't use the Silence. She did."
"I know I felt something…" Mamoru whispered.
"Correct," Setsuna replied. She felt an awesome amount of despair and sorrow weighing on her heart. Sailor Leo was gone. For good. If she came back...it wouldn't be as a zodiac senshi...It wasn't fair, since she had helped them out at the last minute. The green-haired beauty blinked back tears and then turned to the others. She then noticed that her three friends got a very odd look on their faces.
"What are you talking about?" Michiru asked. The inner senshi began to get nervous, sweating visibly. Setsuna glanced at them in surprise.
"You haven't told them yet?" she asked. Hogoshi laughed, scratching the back of her head.
"Um, well, no," she said, but quickly rushed on. "But, my application came in the mail yesterday and I got into that academy." Haruka managed a grin.
"That's great, Hogoshi-chan," she said. "Excuse me for not being more enthusiastic, but I'm a little curious of what you didn't tell us. Like why did all of the soldiers of the zodiac have doubles of our attacks? Or why that Sailor Midnight girl said she was the 'true' princess of the zodiac? And how come you didn't tell us about the secondary transformation until we were in a battle?"
Michiru nodded. "You have some explaining to do." Taiki groaned and shook his head as the others began sweating almost comically. Suddenly, Seiya began whining.
"I wanna go home," he mumbled. "I have an awesome headache from trying to learn about your past lives and I think I might fall off of this building if I have to take in anymore information."
"Likewise," Yaten agreed, stretching a little. "It's been fun and everything, but I'm kind of getting homesick. Anyway, our first objective was just to stay and warn you guys in the first place. But, our planet really needs us. It was pretty trashed by the search for the talisman." Rei nodded shortly.
"Of course," she said. "We've appreciated your help, more than we can say. But, if your planet needs you, we won't stop you from going."
"You'll miss us?" Seiya asked, looking directly at Usagi. Usagi blushed.
"Sure, Seiya-kun," she said. Seiya rolled his eyes.
"One day, Usagi-chan. One day," he muttered. He brought out his henshin locket and held it up in the air. He looked at his fellow allies. "So, are we going?"
"We're going," Yaten grumbled. "Geez. You'd think you were in a hurry to leave or something." Seiya happily smacked him in the back of the head before shouting his henshin phrase. Sailor Star Fighter suddenly appeared and glared at her two friends.
"Slow pokes," she muttered, waving her finger back and forth. Yaten glared at her as a flash of light covered his body. The same light covered Taiki's body and two pretty sailor senshi appeared. Healer crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air.
"I'm not slow, so there," she said, before disappearing into a ball of green light and shooting towards the heavens. Maker smiled.
"I guess that's her way of saying good-bye," she said. She waved back to the planetary senshi. "Sayonara, minna-kun. We'll surely meet again." And with that, she vanished into a blue star and shot after Healer.
"Oh, so they went and left me here?" Fighter snapped. "I'm going to kill them when we get back." She looked over at Usagi and the others and blew a kiss before winking at them. "Don't worry we'll meet again. Can't say the same for my two friends since I'll have to beat their carcasses into the ground. Oh well. See you…I don't know, later." In a flash of red light, Fighter was also gone.
"Nice good-bye," Hotaru whispered.
"I'll say," Haruka agreed, looking up at the sky. The stars were almost faded away, the pale light of dawn casting its way over night's dark features. Then, she turned back towards Usagi, ready to get on with the program. "You were saying?"
"Huh?"
"Usagi-chan!"
"Oh! Where was I? Um…so, where do we start?" Usagi said slowly, pressing her fingers together like she always did when she got nervous. She was going to miss Seiya and the others. She hoped they kept their promises and returned real soon. "Um, maybe we're not the best people to tell you this. I think you should talk to Yomicha-san or Megumi-chan, or any of those..."
"We're already here, Princess," a voice said from behind her. All the senshi spun around and glared at the four new visitors. Minako recognized three of them right away, but there was a new figure among the group. Minako frowned. Should I know her? She looks rather familiar.
"Usagi-chan, Yomicha and Megumi-chan have something they would like to tell you," Kei said, poking the two girls in the back. Yomicha groaned, but didn't say anything. She looked up and for an instant, she met Setsuna's eyes. She quickly turned away, a little ashamed.
"This is going to be hard enough as it is," Megumi said. "But, please. Just let us get halfway done with the story before you do anything else." Usagi nodded and the planetary senshi turned their attention to the four girls. Luna stared at the newest one, her eyes slightly widening. She saw Artemis who was beginning to look sparkly eyed and bopped him on the head with her paw.
"Luna," the girl said, her long brown curls bouncing. "Nice to see you again. You too, Artemis." Artemis sighed happily but was immediately hit upside the head again.
"Selene, it's been awhile," Luna finally said. "I remember you very clearly because this heroic klutz used to bring you up about everyday during the Silver Millennium." Selene frowned.
"You haven't changed much, have you, Art?" she asked, stroking the cat under his chin. Artemis purred happily. Selene pulled away, her violet eyes suddenly getting misty. "This discussion is serious though. I'd prefer if you'd two change into you human forms so we can discuss this properly. After all, you two are the moon guardians."
"Human form?" Artemis gasped. He and Luna shared a look. "Um, we…um, er…"
"Don't remember," Luna finished hurriedly, blushing a little. Selene frowned.
"You have the power to awaken memories, remember your past life, and find all the inner senshi, but you can't turn into a human?" she asked incredulously. The attention had turned to the three. Usagi frowned.
"I thought you needed the silver crystal to…" she began, but then stopped. Luna was already changing. It a matter of seconds, a dark-haired girl in a yellow dress stood before them. She glared at Selene.
"Happy?"
"Quite. What about you Art?" Artemis groaned and closed his eyes. Human…human? What was so bad about being a cat? It's not as if they were the worst type of animal to be. They were quite…quite something, he didn't know what.
"Art, you can open your eyes," Selene said slowly. Artemis opened one eye and yelped. He had transformed. It didn't hurt, but he felt kind of sore after his muscles elongated like they did.
Minako stared at the pale-haired young man in front of her and grinned. She made a peace sign with her hands. "Wow, you look handsome, Artemis." The young man blushed and then turned back to Selene.
"What's the deal?"
"These two have something to tell you and it's very important," Selene replied, jerking her thumb towards Yomicha and Megumi. "And it's not going to be hard to believe. But, it'll take awhile to understand it." Yomicha shot Selene a deadly glare and sighed.
"Fine," she said. "The talisman…is one of the few left remaining in this solar system. In order to get it, you must have a combined result have some of the most powerful spirit chalices ever known to man. Those belong to the senshi, since they are of course immortal."
"Since the talisman can conduct either good or evil, it is needed that the person with a pure soul handles the talisman," Megumi added and then blushed a little. "That means Yomicha-chan and I can't use it. It has to be used by a planetary soldier."
"What about Sailor Moon?" Ami asked. "She used the scepter before in its Holy Grail form. Shouldn't she be able to use it again?" Yomicha shook her head.
"No," she stated flatly. "Not in this lifetime anyway. Another soldier who might have a pure soul should be able to use it. But, that person would also have to be able to handle the scepter until the sacrifice comes. Unfortunately, we don't know who this person is."
The senshi looked at each other, frowning. If it couldn't be Sailor Moon, then it would have to be someone who had an innocent soul…which would mean Chibiusa.
"Here's the scepter," Megumi said, holding out the pink and gold item. "It will choose the one who would hold its power. But, not on its own." The four outer senshi looked at each other. They knew it couldn't be them, since they already held weapons. It wouldn't be Sailor Moon, because she had the moon tier. That left the others.
The scepter glowed brightly, enveloping all the senshi on the roof with a blinding white light. When the light dimmed down, the senshi were no longer on the roof. They were in a large room. There were huge floor to ceiling windows, or doors, that extended to a promenade outside. The senshi looked out at the promenade, which seemed to encircle the entire room. Earth hung high on the horizon.
"What the hell…" Haruka whispered, spinning around. She then looked down and realized she was wearing the royal blue princess dress of the Silver Millennium. All the senshi were wearing their own dresses, in their own respective colors.
"I know this place!" Chibiusa shrieked, her glossy dress spinning around her legs. "This is where I got Luna Ball. That was such a long time ago. Almost two months."
"It was a long time ago," Usagi agreed. The sign of the moon was glowing brightly on her forehead. She turned and saw Mamoru standing next to her, as Prince Endymion. "Endymion…"
"Serenity…" he responded. "How did we get here? Are we even still on Earth?"
"Don't think about it, Endymion-sama," Yomicha said. She was wearing a satin blue and black dress. She curtsied before her prince and princess. "It's quite all right, my prince and princess. Do not worry. Please, minna, take a seat." The sailor princesses and their companions turned to a long, conference looking table near the back of the room.
"Can we start to feel sort of…you know, scared out of our wits?" Hogoshi asked. She was wearing a very pretty silver dress. She sighed as she and other senshi sat down around the table. "I mean, it's kind of creepy when something like this happens to you, don't you think?"
"Yeah, sure," Hotaru said. She looked around the room, her deep violet dress swirling around her feet. "But, it is a gorgeous place." Megumi nodded and stood near the doorway. The three cats stood respectfully behind their owners and stared at the two speakers.
"As confusing as it may seem, I'll try to explain it to you," she said. "In order to complete the sacrifice, a senshi must...die."
"You've explained that to us," Rei piped up. "Sailor Midnight will give her life so that the balance over good will dominate over evil." Yomicha nodded.
"Yes, but that's not all that is needed," she said and suddenly the attention in the room sharpened considerably. Yomicha flinched...again, another lie. "In order for there to be a complete and final restoration, the senshi must put all of their power into the silver crystal and then release it into the scepter along with the soul." Ami frowned.
"But that would mean we would be rendered completely powerless," she said. Megumi nodded. But for your own good this time, she thought.
"Yes," she said aloud. "Powerless until the next lifetime. You see, this would be your final battle." The senshi immediately froze.
"Our final battle?" Makoto and Michiru asked at the same time. Mako managed a smile before continuing. "How come you didn't tell us this before?"
"We didn't want to give your hopes up," Yomicha said. "There have been times when this hasn't been your final battle. There might be more to come, but whether or not they are in this lifetime, I don't know. I can't see the future."
"So, it may or not be," Minako muttered. "This is perfect. If it is our final battle, we get to have normal lives for the rest of this lifetime. And if it isn't our final battle, we lose our powers and get turned into applesauce if the next enemy shows up."
"Hmmm, what choice do we have?" Mamoru asked. "If we don't do this, the dark universe will win this battle. We have to do this." The other senshi looked at each other as the decisions weighed heavily on their minds.
"I guess…we have no other choice," Hotaru said slowly. "We have to seal back the evil forces."
"We'll no longer be sailor soldiers, though," Setsuna said. She shook her head. "I don't remember it ever being this hard in previous lifetimes." Yomicha and Megumi said nothing.
"No longer sailor senshi…" Usagi whispered. "As weird as it may seem, I'll miss being Sailor Moon. I mean, three years of being her makes me feel…I don't know. Special or more powerful…"
"I don't really care about the fact that we won't be senshi anymore," Chibiusa said. "It's just that…just being the sailor senshi caused us to meet each other. If it hadn't been for that, none of us would probably know each other. Because of becoming Sailor Moon, Usagi, you were able to meet Ami-chan, Rei-chan, Mako-chan, and Minako-chan. Then, when battling against the Black Moon Family, you were able to meet Pu and me. After that was the battle with the Death Busters and we were able to meet the other outer senshi. And…you've all told me about the story against Sailor Galaxia."
"Yeah, if we weren't senshi, our memories never would have been revived of our past lives," Haruka added. "We'd be complete strangers." Usagi began to cry.
"Does that mean…if we aren't senshi…we'll fall apart as friends?" she gasped. She buried her face into her hands. "I don't want to lose all of you!" The silence afterwards was forlorn and solemn, except for Usagi's crying. Finally, Setsuna stood up.
"Capricorn, Scorpio," she said, her voice cold. She knew why they were doing this. She knew they were lying. "We haven't done this in previous lifetimes, have we? All other lifetimes we just sacrificed a life. Why the sudden change? In all previous lifetimes, we remained senshi. What's going on here?" Yomicha sighed.
"Lady Pluto, you know what's going on here," she said. Setsuna narrowed her eyes. "This is the way destiny is playing out in this lifetime. Something is going to happen after this battle that might alter the course of time. I don't know what it is, but I see two new figures and something of the past…like a ghost…coming to warn you of something. I can't make out any details, but that's the way it has to be. You must lose your powers in this battle. That's the way destiny is playing out its cards." She paused. "Trust me, Pluto."
"That's right," Luna said slowly. Her dark hair brushed her cheeks as she turned to the silver-haired girl. "You had told me that this lifetime is different from all others."
"Right. Different battles that I've never seen before. This is just one of thousands of lifetimes that are involved in a never-ending destiny. Except this lifetime takes a different turn. Eternity rests on the brink of the long and timeless sea. Whether or not we ever make it across, I do not know. But in order for life to continue, this requirement is necessary. Look inside yourselves. You know it is true. Even if you won't admit it, your hearts tell the course of the path of destiny in which you take." The senshi were quiet. When put like that, the whole logic of the problem seemed to fit.
Slowly and simultaneously, the sailor princesses put their henshin devices on the table. Usagi managed a watery smile. "Let's do this." Yomicha nodded and raised her henshin pen in the air.
"Capricorn zodiac power…"
"Scorpio zodiac power…" Kei stood up and raised her locket in the air.
"Midnight zodiac power…"
"…make UP!" The room was ablaze in three different lights as the three senshi of the revelation transformed. The rhythm of the transformation was more mystical then anything else.
Capricorn nodded her head. "Now, this may be your last transformation. Make it as powerful as you can." The senshi nodded and stood up. They looked at each other and nodded.
"Eternal moon cosmos power…"
"Mercury crystal cosmos power…"
"Mars crystal cosmos power…"
"Jupiter crystal cosmos power…"
"Venus crystal cosmos power…"
"Destiny crystal cosmos power…"
"Moon crisis cosmos power…"
"…make UP!" The seven inner senshi transformed with enthusiastic rhythm. The thought of losing their powers made the transformations last longer and their movements more elegant. The inner senshi suddenly appeared in the room and looked at their other four allies. The outer senshi nodded at each other and raised their henshin pens in the air.
"Pluto planet crystal power…"
"Uranus planet crystal power…"
"Neptune planet crystal power…"
"Saturn planet crystal power…"
"…make UP!" The room was once again glowing with brilliant color. Something about their transformations reminded the inner senshi of angels as the flow of the transformation took a lovely turn. The outer senshi appeared in the room and then looked over towards the three senshi of the revelation.
"Final battle," Sailor Moon said and nodded towards her friends. "Let's go."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I'm worried about Usagi," Ikuko whispered. "It looks like a storm might start. Where could they have gone?"
"I don't know," her husband agreed. He looked over at Shingo was also looking worried. "This is not like Usagi to run off in the middle of a sleepover. I trust her friends. Where could they have gone?"
"We'll check sir," the police officer said, writing down on his pads. He looked very stern. "How many of them are there?"
"Seven. My niece is with them."
"Okay, we'll do the best we can," the police officer said and then walked out the door. Kenji put his hands on his wife's shoulder.
"They've been gone too long," he said. "That storm will start any minute. I hope she's okay." Shingo shrugged, trying not to show any concern over his odango-atama sister. They seemed to have disappeared right after that Meioh Setsuna had called. He hadn't said anything about it…but, maybe she knew something.
"Mom, Dad," he said looking over at the two of them. "Do you know anyone named Meioh Setsuna?" Ikuko frowned.
"She's one of those people Usagi hangs around with," she said. "Why?"
"Well, she called before the girls kind of ran off," he said. "Maybe she has something to do with this…" Kenji was already dialing the phone and talking to operator.
The phone rang on the other line. Once…twice…
"Moshi, moshi, this is Tomoe Souichi-san speaking."
"Hello. This is Tsukino Kenji. I'm Usagi's father." There was silence on the other line.
"You're Usagi-chan's father and Chibiusa-chan's uncle?" the voice asked.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"I'm Hotaru's father. What's the problem?"
"Well, my daughter, my niece, and their friends seem to be missing," Kenji said. "My son says that he received a call from your house before these girls left. Someone named Meioh-san."
"Oh, Setsuna-san!" Tomoe said in recognition. "Yes, of course. Well actually, I haven't heard from them. But I'm sure they're fine."
"Well, may I speak to your daughter then? She seems to be a good friend to Chibiusa. Maybe she knows where they are."
"Um, my daughter's not here at the moment."
"Anybody else in your house who knows them?"
"Yes…but they're gone too."
"Oh. Well, thank you for you help anyway." With that he hung up the phone and shook his head. "Seems that his daughter and Meioh-san are not there at the moment. I wonder where they could all be."
The doorbell rang. Ikuko stood up and moved the curtain on the door over to see who it was. She sighed and opened the door. "May I help you?"
The boy, who looked no older than eighteen, nodded. "I was wondering if you, by any chance, are missing some girls?"
Kenji stormed over to the door. "What have you done with them?" The boy sweatdropped nervously and then looked at Ikuko.
"My name is Derick Corring," the boy said, staring at the Ikuko with dark green eyes. His accent was British, but he spoke flawless Japanese. "I'm an old friend of Aino Minako-chan. She told me to tell you that everyone's okay, but there's been an emergency that they had to take care of." Kenji grabbed the boy's collar.
"Where are they?"
"I don't know, sir," Derick said. "I just know that they called me and told me to tell you that they're okay and not to tell their parents."
"What's the number?"
"Ara! It was a payphone. I couldn't tell." Kenji dropped Derick and managed a tight smile.
"Arigatou, Derick-san," he said.
"My first name is Derick, not Corring. I'm still getting used to spinning the names around." Kenji nodded stiffly and the door was closed. Derick sighed heavily. That should buy the senshi some time. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
Taking out his umbrella, Derick walked backed to the school dorm.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"My parents are probably worried about me," Sailor Moon whispered. After sending the cats back home, the senshi had teleported into a dark hallway of the deathly silent zodiacal realm. The Silence had taken its toll. "They probably already have a police team looking around for all of us."
"I have this feeling we won't need to worry," Venus said, looking at Sailor Moon. "I don't know how, but something tells me everything's going to be all right."
"Sure," Jupiter said with a heavy snort. "We might be walking into Death's own department store and there won't be any refunds." Destiny laughed a little.
"Well, at least it's a sale," she said. "Kill all of us for the price of one." Uranus groaned.
"Who said we were going to die?" she asked. Neptune agreed and looked forward into the darkness. "We aren't going to go and jump off a cliff or something."
"I don't know…" Mercury said. "My computer shows that we have an 80 chance of getting killed before we reach that platform in the sacrificial room. The other 20 says we're all clear."
"I don't get it," Mars said. "If the zodiac senshi were killed in the Silence, then why on earth do we need to fear anything? It's an easy walk." Chibi Moon shivered.
"I don't know, but I'm getting the creeps just from being here," she said, grabbing Tuxedo Kamen's leg. Sailor Moon glared at her, but didn't say anything. "Are you sure we're going the right way, Scorpio?"
"Positive," the short, red-haired girl replied, flashing the pink-clad soldier a grin. "It does feel creepy, but I doubt anything weird will pop up."
Saturn sighed, looking at the blank, desolate hallway. The creeps seemed to be written on the walls and that was just the least of their worries. The light from her glaive only lit up a small portion of the hallway, making the infinite blackness ahead seem even darker.
"This is SO mystery movie!" Venus suddenly yelped, scaring nearly half of them out of their wits. "We're like in search for one of those mummies in the pyramids of Egypt. But we don't know about the mummies' curse. We have accidentally stepped over the sacred marking on the floor…" Saturn grinned.
"And that's when the mummy is awakened from the tomb, realizing his slumber has been disturbed," she added. "He opens his glowing red eyes and breaks free from the coffin which held his body for so long. His body is decayed from thousands of years of death. He slowly stalks after the archaeologists, the smell of rotting flesh filling the hallway…" Mars sniffed the air.
"Speaking of which, what's that smell?" Saturn and Venus ignored her, continuing.
"He walks slowly, so not to scare the young explorers," Venus continued. "His curse has yet to begin. He raises an amulet and slowly, one of the archaeologists has this feeling they're being stalked. She slowly turns around and sees nothing. She decides it was just her imagination and continues down the path. Outside, it is getting darker and darker as a storm brews up. Suddenly, above their heads, a crack of lightning lights up the ceiling…" A crack of lightning lights up the ceiling above the senshi.
"Good storytelling," Jupiter muttered, looking at Venus and Saturn. "What are you going to do next? Have the mummy su-" Jupiter stopped short and had this feeling that they were in fact being followed. She turned around and immediately stopped walking. She tried to call out something, but was silenced instantly.
"One archaeologist turns around, the sound of thunder striking her nerves," Saturn continued, really getting into the story. "But before she can say anything of warning, she's gone. Her partner feels that lack of presence at her side and turns to where she had once been standing. Her partner is…"
"Oh, no!" Mars suddenly exclaimed. "Stop telling the story! Jupiter is gone!" All the senshi spun around and realized that Mars was telling the truth. On the floor was a ruby amulet. Venus and Saturn paled.
"Uh, oh," they said at the same time. Capricorn groaned as she walked towards the back of the group. She picked up the amulet and studied it closely. Her face suddenly dropped.
"It looks like you're going to have to continue the story," she said. "It's already started."
"What do you mean?" Sailor Moon asked. Her features were pale. Capricorn shook her head.
"This ruby amulet has cast a spell on this entire realm," she said slowly. "Venus started by telling the story and getting the mood right into it. The only way to stop it is to finish telling the story. The same way you were telling it before." Venus and Saturn looked at each other.
"We're in so much trouble," they murmured at the same time. Venus took a deep breath as the group began walking down the hallway again. "I'll keep going. It's my turn anyway. Okay, where was I? Oh yeah…the group tried desperately not to panic when they found part of their group was missing. The leader of the group, a levelheaded young woman, told them to keep on going, it was probably a hoax. The group continued walking and for extra safety, the group made sure that they were…um…they were…closely watched by each other."
"I don't like this story," Neptune groaned, looking at Uranus. The taller girl shrugged.
"We don't have any choice," she said. "Venus and Saturn die after this."
Saturn took a deep breath and continued. "But to make things worse, the mummy decided to show itself and capture two more members of the group." Everyone shot Saturn a look and looked amongst themselves. Everyone was still there. Everyone except…
"Mars! Pluto!" Sailor Moon shrieked, looking around. "Where'd they go?" There was another amulet on the ground. "Saturn! Can't you make it a happy ending where people don't disappear?" Saturn shrugged.
"Capricorn said make it close to the first one as possible," she said. "I'm trying the best I can."
"Let me take over some," Venus said. "After a brief period of hysteria, the archaeologists continued their quest, which was slowly beginning to go downhill. The group walked a couple more yards when they saw the large elaborate door that led to the most important room: the sacrificial chamber. Before anything else could be said, the co-leader of the group touched the door and wondered if her friends were inside."
"I hope they are in there," Sailor Moon said, touching the door gently. Venus sighed.
"The door slowly swung open as the petite girl touched it," Venus said. "As the door swung open, the archaeologists heard a muffled struggled behind them and spun around." The senshi spun around at the noise and saw a decayed body grabbing Uranus from behind. The blonde soldier glared back at him and flailed angrily, trying to get away. But for someone who had been dead for a long time, the mummy had a tight grip.
Then, before anything else could be said, the mummy was gone and so was Uranus. A ruby amulet clattered to the ground. Destiny turned on the blonde soldier telling the story.
"Venus!" she exclaimed. "You're going to kill us if you keep telling the story like that!" Venus blushed and then pointed inside the door.
"We should keep going," she said. "Saturn, I hand the story over to you." Saturn sighed.
"The archaeologists entered the room," she said. "This is where it would take place. Everything would come together now and the search would be complete. Unfortunately, there was a one problem. The mummy was there waiting for them."
A bandaged figure appeared in the middle of the circular room. He glared at them, his red eyes spelling doom to anyone who dared cross his path.
"But the co-leader of the group, a pretty soldier, had an amulet that would destroy the mummy and release her friends from the curse," Saturn continued, looking at Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon gasped at recognition.
"The ginshinzou!" she gasped and held up her locket. "Moon Healing Escalation!" The silver dust landed on the mummy, who shrieked in pain. In a few minutes, all that was left was a pile of rags and soon, those disappeared as well.
"Well, where are the others?" Sailor Moon asked expectantly. Venus looked at Saturn and then took a deep breath.
"Freed from the mummy's curse, the lost archaeologists reappeared," she said.
Silence.
"Venus!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.
"Hey, I only tell the story. I'm not responsible for bringing them back."
"No! You forgot to say 'the end.'" Everyone facefaulted. Venus sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
"The end!" she shouted and immediately, their friends reappeared. That is, they crashed to the ground from out of the ceiling. The amulets broke and disappeared into thin air.
"Remind me never to listen to your stories again," Mars mumbled as she picked herself up off the ground. "We end up getting kidnapped by a mummy." The other three senshi gave Venus and Saturn a look as they got up off the ground.
"We're here," Midnight said softly. "So, this is it. Oh, wow. I'm so nervous." Scorpio looked over at Pluto.
"Can you open the time-space gate Pluto?" she asked, looking the older soldier right in the eye. Pluto nodded and raised her time key. The garnet orb glowed brightly and a large, ornate door appeared in the middle of the room. Pluto sighed a bit.
"Haven't seen this thing in a long time," she murmured, walking over to it. She raised her key once again and the door opened, revealing a white oblivion. She stared at it quietly and then turned back to the other senshi. "Whenever you're ready."
Scorpio carefully produced the scepter in her hands. "Who does it belong to? Scepter, find your owner." The scepter glowed brightly and hovered above her hands before disappearing. It reappeared above Sailor Destiny. Neptune laughed.
"It makes sense," she said, "since she had our souls for a long time. Congratulations, Hogoshi-chan." Destiny blushed and then looked over at Sailor Midnight.
"How do I use this?" she asked. Midnight shrugged.
"Your heart will tell you," she said and then looked over at Capricorn. She ran over to the girl and wrapped her arms around her.
"It'll be okay, Kei," Capricorn whispered, hugging the girl tight. "I promise you, it'll be okay." Midnight clung to the other girl tightly.
"I'm not afraid," she replied, though the tears on her cheeks proved otherwise. "I'll miss you, Yomicha. Please don't forget me." Capricorn shook her head.
"I could never." And with that, she leaned over and kissed Midnight on the cheek. Midnight gently turned her head and kissed her love on the lips. The kiss was everything that they had ever wanted from each other, something that neither of them wanted to lose. But it was fading and they would have to good-bye. Midnight hugged Capricorn fiercely, not wanting to leave her.
It's funny, Midnight thought to herself as she pressed her body against the taller girl. I never knew I could ever feel something like this. Please, I love you Yomicha. Don't ever…don't you ever forget me. I will see you again...I have a feeling...that this may be that lifetime...
, Midnight thought to herself as she pressed her body against the taller girl.The other senshi didn't say anything. Sailor Moon had tears in her eyes and was struggling not to bawl out right there. She just leaned back on Tuxedo Kamen's chest and held his hand tightly. Chibi Moon was leaning against her leg and holding on tightly.
The kiss finally broke and the two senshi pulled away from each other. Sailor Midnight gave Capricorn one final hug before walking over to the time gate. Scorpio gently held the scepter in her hands and aimed it at the girl. Suddenly, it was broken. She rushed over to Midnight and gave her a hug.
"Good-bye, Kei-chan," she said. "I'm sorry if I was mean to you. I promise you we'll find another way to do this." Midnight nodded.
"Don't say that," she said, patting the girl on the head. "The only way would be to have the truth come about. And don't act like I'm going to die. I just have to take care of my senshi somewhere else for awhile."
"Okay," Scorpio said heavily and pulled away. Sailor Moon turned her head away, not wanting to see what was going to happen. Pluto had to watch, to tell them when it was over.
Tears ran down Scorpio's face as she looked around in the dark room, the only light coming from the time gate. "I'm sorry, Kei. We didn't mean to set your destiny."
A white beam erupted from the pink orb on the scepter, glowing with an almost blinding light. The senshi stared in surprise and trepidation as the light of the beam encircled Sailor Midnight's body, completely covering her from view. The light shot in and out of her body, breaking or burning molecules. The bright white light blinded all the senshi in the room. Sailor Midnight stared at them and launched her power into the scepter. Instantly, she detransformed into Kei.
Kei walked back to the time gate and shared a look with Pluto. Pluto met her eyes steadily. "You think it's this lifetime that destiny will change?" Kei asked softly. Pluto seemed to regard her and a sad smile found its way to her face.
"Yes...it is," she said. Kei bit her bottom lip and stared at the solitary soldier of revolution. Slowly, she turned towards the gate, the wind from it blowing her violet curls. She knew her dad wouldn't remember her after she walked through the door. Neither would any of her friends.
"I guess I'll see you again soon then, Pluto," Kei whispered and then stepped through the door and disappeared. The light begin to dim down as the rest of Kei's power entered into the orb on the scepter.
The locket clattered to the floor before it disappeared.
Sailor Moon had turned away and was crying continuously now. Her body shook with each sob. "No…" she whispered.
Scorpio lowered the scepter, a look of absolute desolation on her face. Capricorn put her hands on her shoulder and hugged the girl. Scorpio began crying as she looked at the scepter. She buried her face into Capricorn's sailor collar and just cried. "Could this be that lifetime?" she whispered so softly that only Capricorn could hear her.
Pluto looked away. "The sacrifice isn't over yet. There's one more step." Capricorn nodded and carefully touched the scepter. The orb was glowing bright purple, with clouds swirling inside. She placed the bottom tip on the floor. The scepter uprighted, defying gravity. She looked over at the senshi.
"It's time," she said. Sailor Moon walked over to the scepter and placed the silver crystal on top of the scepter. The glowing item floated above it, ready for power to be released. Destiny knelt down across from the princess and they locked hands, closing their eyes. The sign of the golden moon shown brightly on Sailor Moon's forehead as her sailor fuku disappeared. For a second, she was only covered in pink ribbons that were lashing out violently. But then, the ribbons turned white and her princess dress appeared.
"My friends and guardians," Serenity said softly, with an elegance in her voice that was filled with sorrow. "It is time to complete the revelation of sacrifice." Her friends, the sailor senshi, looked at each other and nodded. Chibi Moon and Tuxedo Kamen stepped back and Pluto stepped away from the time gate to join the ring the senshi were forming around Serenity and Sailor Destiny. Their tiaras disappeared, revealing the signs of their planets, glowing their respective colors.
"Soldier of ice and wisdom, I am Sailor Mercury."
"Soldier of fire and war, I am Sailor Mars."
"Soldier of electricity and protection, I am Sailor Jupiter."
"Soldier of love and beauty, I am Sailor Venus."
"Soldier of earth and magnificence, I am Sailor Uranus."
"Soldier of water and embrace, I am Sailor Neptune."
"Soldier of silence and destruction, I am Sailor Saturn."
"Soldier of time and revolution, I am Sailor Pluto." Serenity felt all of their power as sailor senshi flow into the silver crystal. It was the most powerful and pure energy she had ever felt. She slowly opened her sapphire eyes and smiled.
"I am Serenity, legendary soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon. We are the sailor senshi of the planets. Together, we can accomplish anything." And with that, she released all of her power in to the silver crystal. It was growing with each passing moment, illuminating the room. Each of the soldiers' auras were glowing brightly.
The silver crystal slowly sank into the orb on the scepter. Serenity and Destiny touched it at the same time and stood up. They held it high above their heads and pointed it towards the ceiling.
"Gates of Destiny, open and seal with this power!" Serenity yelled. The room exploded in pink and silver light. The senshi felt their power give out, but struggled to keep Serenity high. The gates were opening slowly. The senshi felt the pressure in their own hearts and wills. It was tightening and the pain suffered was incredible.
Chibi Moon's power blinked out as she stared at her future mother in surprise. Tuxedo Kamen also lost his power as both energies went and sealed the gate between the two universes.
Capricorn and Scorpio smiled at each other. "The Gates of Destiny are closed once again. The senshi will hardly remember anything after this battle is over." Scorpio nodded as the white light filled the room, covering each and every body.
"I think we should let them remember this time," she said. "Pluto will be angry if we don't. And...if Kei-chan was right, this will be the lifetime that everything will change. We should let them remember...just one more time." Capricorn nodded.
"They can remember if they want," she said. "It's up to Sailor Moon." Without another word, the two senshi of the revelation bid a silent farewell to planetary senshi and walked into the time gate, returning to their own realm. Capricorn smiled faintly and looked back at the beautiful figure of the princess.
"Princess Serenity," she whispered in a voice that did not seem to belong to her. "The true princess of purity. Please enjoy the presence of your friends. The Genesis will not wait much longer."
And then, there was silence.
Random author's note: Confusing, eh? A lot in this chapter was supposed to be, with mysteries that wouldn't be answered until Fatal Destinies. Who is Derick Corring? What is the Genesis? Very good questions.