THE EXTERMINATORS

Chapter 3: "Where Humanity Ends"

By Bill K.

Sailor Moon regained consciousness quickly, but it didn't do her much good. Her arms were held in the twin grips of androids that possessed more strength and tighter grips that any normal human being. It didn't stop her from struggling in the synthetic humanoids' grasp, but she didn't get very far.

The androids took her to a large, monolithic building in the geographic center of Tokyo. Sailor Moon barely could recognize the city, but she thought it was the spot where Naru Park and part of the retail district had been in the real world.

Her real world.

Fighting all the way, Sailor Moon was carried to a grid marked off in a rectangle by clear panels inset into the floor, and thrown into the center of it. The girl didn't understand what purpose the panels served, and right then didn't care. Despite her fatigue, she scrambled to her feet and lunged in the opposite direction of the androids. She took two steps before she hit the energy field. After receiving a very painful shock, Sailor Moon recoiled and fell onto her back in the holding grid.

"Four walls do not a prison make," she heard a woman say. "Certainly not when an energy field is much more efficient."

Fighting through her haze, Sailor Moon turned to the sound. The woman's footfalls were metal on metal, ringing ever louder as she casually approached. Sailor Moon's eyes bulged. The woman had platinum blonde hair falling to her shoulders in a large leisurely curl. She had one ice blue eye looking contemptuously down from the human half of her face. The other eye was infra-red. The other half of her face and her entire body gleamed of chrome. Pneumatic servos hissed when she stepped or moved an arm. She exuded weight and power, but little humanity.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the woman said. "I am known as Viluy. As long as you remain here, you will comply in every manner asked of you and truthfully answer any question put to you." Her infra-red eye seemed to glow more brightly. "I'll know when you're lying and you won't like the consequences."

"Y-You're a-a cyborg!" Sailor Moon gasped.

"Very good," Viluy scowled. "Now if you're done stating the obvious - - imagine my surprise . . ."

"Who did that to you?" Sailor Moon asked, visibly horrified.

"I did it to myself," Viluy replied proudly, "with the help of my androids and some knowledge I gained."

"You what? Cybernetic technology was banned in the early 23rd century except under strict governmental supervision! People were turning themselves into monsters!"

"What you consider a 'monstrosity'," Viluy bristled, "I consider an upgrade. I have significantly reduced any human frailties and weaknesses that would hamper my work." She leaned in, glaring at the young teen. "Don't think I haven't had to spend all of my life listening to uninformed superstition such as you've just spouted at me. Visionaries have always been ridiculed by intellectual inferiors." Then she smiled in triumph. "But they're mostly dead now and I'm still here. Now where was I? Oh, yes. Imagine my surprise at seeing an actual Sailor Senshi. I thought you'd all been destroyed."

"Destroyed?"

"Didn't study your history?" Viluy smiled superiorly. "Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter died in the Arctic. They were destroyed by Queen Beryl. For a time, there were three others named after Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. They managed to foil plans I was involved in by killing that little Tomoe brat."

"H-Hotaru," Sailor Moon choked out.

"Yes," Viluy replied, keenly observing Sailor Moon's reaction. "They then got mixed up in the war between Beryl and Queen Neherenia and were destroyed themselves. Now which one are you? I suppose it's Saturn. It's the only planet left . . ."

"My name is Sailor Moon," the pink-tressed senshi hissed angrily. "Respect it!"

"Sailor Moon?" Viluy replied and the senshi could see the shock and outrage on the human side of her face. "Impossible! I," and then she stopped and looked closer at her prisoner. "It's been so long. I didn't realize it at first. But I see the resemblance." Viluy's mouth firmed up. "How did you get here?"

"The stork brought me," Sailor Moon huffed.

"Aerodynamically impossible, if nothing else," Viluy smiled wickedly. "You're a lot more defiant than the Sailor Moon I used to know. But all defiance merits is punishment."

With that the energy walls of her holding cubicle began to close in around her. Sailor Moon retreated from the closing wall before her until she realized that she was quickly running out of space to retreat to. Nervously she waited as the energy walls drew closer to her, fearful of the pain she knew they would visit. But she didn't cry out.

For she wasn't just a pampered princess. She was a senshi and senshi didn't do that.

"Nnnnnnn!" Sailor Moon moaned as the energy walls closed around her and set her skin to sizzling. She wanted to give vent to more, to scream to the heavens the agony she felt. It was like every nerve in her body was on fire. Pain was everywhere until it became so massive a thing that she couldn't even identify it as pain, from lack of reference.

And then it was over. Sailor Moon slumped to the floor, barely conscious, shuddering from her experience. The girl was searching her mind, momentarily trying to remember how to speak.

"Not used to that level of pain?" Viluy commented dryly. "And that was only five seconds. Imagine what a full minute would do to you. Now answer the question - - how did you get . . .?"

"Number One," an android called out, addressing Viluy. With difficulty, Sailor Moon pulled herself up to a sitting position and looked. "By the terms of Order 3, any human demonstrating abnormal powers or tendencies is to be brought immediately to you for study."

To her surprise, Sailor Moon saw the androids were holding Palla-Palla. The Amazon was thrashing wildly but ineffectually in the grip of the synthetic men. Viluy left Sailor Moon and walked over to them. Immediately Palla-Palla stopped and watched Viluy approach. The girl's face was a collage of terror, anger, and desperation. She tried to cringe away from the fearsome look of the cyborg scientist, but the androids held her in place.

"Ah, you're one of the Amazoness Quartet, I believe," Viluy spoke with cheshire confidence. "Your little band has managed to cause more disruption to my plans for this world than any organized resistance normal humanity has been able to mount." Palla-Palla tried to erect a wall of defiance, but she wasn't succeeding. "I've noticed that you four seem to possess some extraordinary abilities. Perhaps you'd care to enlighten me as to how you came to possess such abilities?"

Palla-Palla only stared at her for a few moments, hopelessly confused by Viluy's query. Then her fear welled up into anger.

"You better let Palla-Palla go!" the girl bellowed with childlike false bravado. "Or Palla-Palla will make you sorry!"

Her words only served to change Viluy's expression from superior interest to cold contempt.

"Clearly mentally retarded," Viluy scowled. "There's nothing to be gained by studying the likes of you." She turned to one of the androids. "Kill her."

Like a flash of lightning, the android's hand shot out. Before the horror of what Viluy had commanded could even dawn on the observing Princess, Palla-Palla hung limply from the grip of the two androids, her broken neck bent at a gruesome angle and her glassy eyes staring in shock. The androids carried the body off to be disposed of. Viluy turned her attention back to Sailor Moon.

"How could you do that?" Sailor Moon demanded, shocked and repulsed by what she had witnessed.

"And what was the point of keeping her alive?" Viluy asked point-blank. "She offered nothing of value to society. She was intellectually inferior to even a run of the mill human."

"She was a living, breathing person!" Sailor Moon growled angrily. "She had a beautiful soul inside of her! It was buried deep down under the corruption of Neherenia and of not knowing the love and guidance of a parent! But it was there! It could have been brought to the surface! But you just snuffed it out!"

"Sentimental rubbish," sneered Viluy.

"It's not! It's not rubbish! I've seen what it can do!"

Viluy walked right up to the energy wall of the cubicle. Sailor Moon stood defiantly.

"You must be a descendent of the original Sailor Moon," Viluy said. "You possess the same tired, useless emotionalism that she passed off as a philosophy. The question remains how did you come to this moment in time, because you have to be the biggest temporal anomaly I have ever witnessed." Then she grinned wickedly. "Aside from myself, I suppose."

"I'm not telling you anything," Sailor Moon glared.

"She doesn't have to," came a voice from behind a massive central processing core embedded in the floor at the far side of the room. It was a voice Sailor Moon recognized instantly, and for a fleeting moment she felt hope. The speaker emerged from the shadows and Sailor Moon's heart leaped. It was her. It was Ami Mizuno. "I recognize her. She's from this era before the time-line was altered. She's Usagi Tsukino's daughter, known by the appellation of Chibi-Usa."

"A-Aunt Ami?" Sailor Moon questioned, for Ami walked right up to Viluy as if they were allied. Viluy turned to the pink senshi in surprise.

"She's related to you as well, Mizuno?" Viluy asked.

"No, Villy. You've made a false assumption," Ami replied, then became deferential. "It's my fault for not explaining the situation properly. I was destined to be a surrogate parent for the child and she incorrectly assigned that name to me." Quickly Ami turned to Sailor Moon. "You have also made an incorrect assumption. I am not the original Ami Mizuno."

"Do you like her?" Viluy's human side smiled with satisfaction. "She's an android, an android so completely and perfectly programmed that you couldn't tell she wasn't the real Mizuno. One more of my creations."

"What happened to the real one?" Sailor Moon demanded. "Did you murder her, too?"

"And waste an intellect like that?" Viluy replied, aghast. "That would hardly be a logical response to the situation. Aside from myself, Mizuno was the greatest intellect the world has ever produced. It would be incredibly short-sighted to destroy a resource like that."

With that, Viluy turned to the massive computer complex behind her. It was rows of storage processors occupying an entire wall. The computer system even dwarfed her father's system, and his was the largest computer Sailor Moon had ever seen. Viluy looked up at a display monitor.

"Cyber-com," Viluy said. "Switch to interaction mode."

Onto the monitor blinked a CGI representation of Ami Mizuno's head. The woman's face seemed numb and beaten. Sailor Moon felt her stomach drop through the floor.

"That's the original Ami Mizuno," Viluy smiled proudly. "I went back into time and - - acquired her. Then I converted her neural grid into a digital map and applied it to a computer program." She noted Sailor Moon staring dumbly at the monitor. "In simplified terms, I digitalized her mind. She's now my operating system."

Tears trickled down Sailor Moon's cheeks. Viluy allowed herself a superior smirk. Then she noticed the senshi extend her hands. Suddenly the Moon Scepter appeared within them.

"Moon Princess Halation!" Sailor Moon cried.

"Do you actually think you have enough power to sunder my energy barrier?" Viluy growled. "Let's put your theory to the test!"

Grimly Sailor Moon pressed out without letting Viluy's words dissuade her. For Viluy had drawn an incorrect inference. Sailor Moon knew her Princess Halation would have little effect on the energy barrier. But if she could get enough pink energy through it and touch what little humanity was left in the cyborg before her, she might be able to solve this problem.

Pink energy radiated out from the Moon Scepter. It interacted with the invisible energy of the barrier and instantly the energy became visible. It was a semi-transparent blend of yellow and white and the cubicle became visually cut off from the world around her. Determined not to fail, Sailor Moon urged more energy from the Scepter. It in turn sought more energy from the pink crystal within Sailor Moon. There was a moment when the connection sputtered and Sailor Moon feared she would once more be inadequate to the task.

"Please!" she silently cajoled the crystal within her, through a connection she was only instinctively aware of. "Give me the strength to do this! It's not for me! Too many people are depending on me not failing! I can't leave the world in the hands of this monster! I can't let Hotaru and the senshi be dead! I can't let Aunt Ami live out her life like this!"

Almost in response, pink energy flared out from the Scepter. The barrier energy seemed to snap and pop angrily, but it seemed to be anger to hide the fear it felt. The color the barrier took on grew more transparent as Sailor Moon's energy began to leak through. Most of her attack was being contained, but not all of it.

As she struggled to maintain this level of energy expenditure, Sailor Moon locked onto Viluy. Could her power effect the cyborg? Her power had no effect on machinery or computer systems. Was there enough humanity left in Viluy to touch? Her eyes bore in on Viluy's face as sweat trickled down her temple. Viluy's cybernetic systems seemed unaffected by the pink energy. But the one ice blue eye was partially obscured by a drooping eyelid. And the human corner of her mouth seemed slightly pulled up in the merest hint of a smile. But it wasn't enough to make Viluy act to right the terrible situation she'd created.

"I wonder," Sailor Moon allowed herself to speculate. "Did any of Aunt Ami's humanity get imprinted into that computer program?"

With a subtle gesture, the pink senshi altered her energy flow and directed it toward the giant computer and the virtual representation of Ami Mizuno. The barrier still contained most of her expenditure, but some got through. Would it work? Sailor Moon felt her head pounding and knew she couldn't maintain this output for very long. Desperately she tried to shut out the pounding by thinking of everyone who meant so much to her and were now gone. There were so many friends and loved ones and she needed to see them and hold them once again.

"C-Chibi-Usa-chan," the virtual Ami whispered. Her face seemed to shift from numb defeat to distress and horror.

The barrier dropped.

Sailor Moon tried a direct hit on the sluggish Viluy with her energy, but she knew when the bolt left that it would be weak and ineffectual. All it elicited from Viluy was a contented sigh. Spurring herself on through her mounting fatigue, Sailor Moon charged the cyborg scientist. Her sudden motion seemed to shake Viluy from her lethargy, but not in time to avoid a roundhouse kick from Sailor Moon. The cyborg staggered back from the blow, but it didn't fell her.

Undaunted, Sailor Moon waded in and swung the Moon Scepter like a baseball bat. She connected with the human side of Viluy's head and dropped the cyborg where she stood. For a few seconds all the girl could do was stand over the fallen cyborg, panting with exhaustion. As she stared, she saw the platinum blonde hair was actually a wig, for it was now several feet from Viluy's round, gleaming head.

"I don't believe that's the proper way to use the Moon Scepter, My Lady," she heard Diana gently admonish. Sailor Moon turned and found both the cat and Luna-P emerging from the shadows.

"Whatever works, Diana," Sailor Moon huffed out. She wanted to move, but her body wasn't ready to obey yet.

"Gracious, is that really Mizuno-San!" Diana gasped in shock.

Sailor Moon staggered over to the computer and looked up at the screen. Tears were bubbling anew in her eyes.

"A-Aunt Ami?" she gasped out.

"Chibi-Usa-chan," the virtual Ami whispered haltingly. There was a faint sign of a smile on her virtual lips. Then her face hardened with urgency. "Go. Run. Be free."

"Is there no way to reverse this?" Diana ventured.

"No," Virtual Ami replied, while off to one side her android counterpart knelt over the fallen Viluy, pleading with her to recover. "Only hope for me is your freedom. Go. Run. Stop her."

"But Aunt Ami," Sailor Moon begged.

"Your energy," Virtual Ami smiled, "touched human side again. Thank you. Now go."

"Come along, My Lady," Diana advised. "We've still tasks ahead of us."

Sailor Moon started to follow. Then she stopped and looked back.

"I will free you, Aunt Ami," Sailor Moon vowed. "And I'll save Mom and Dad and Helios and Hotaru - - and everyone! Or I'll die trying!"

With that, she turned and fled, Diana and Luna-P at her heels.

The trek through this broken and decaying Tokyo was made mostly without incident, thanks to Luna-P's sensors and Diana's innate skills at stealth. They even managed to retrieve Sailor Moon's lost tiara along the way. When they reached the mound below the temporal nexus,
the trio found only two androids guarding the mound and a third taking scientific readings. Sufficiently recovered enough to use it, Sailor Moon's tiara made short work of the three androids. Without further incident, Sailor Moon, Diana and Luna-P scaled the mound and disappeared into the spacial limbo.


Walking down the street, she looked ahead for the gated two story that was her second home. When she sighted it, a lump formed in her throat.

"Back home," Sailor Moon smiled to herself. She allowed herself to shift back to Usagi Chiba. "I wonder what Grandma and Grandpa look like. Are they very different from the last time I was here?"

Usa approached the gate and peered in. Playing in the front yard was a four year old girl. Her hair was spun gold, gathered at the sides of her head with thick sausage curls dangling down each side. Her chubby little hands were bouncing a ball on the sidewalk. However, they didn't seem to have much coordination to them and the ball passed through them to smack the girl on the nose. As the ball bounced away, she rubbed her nose and gave the toy a fleeting dirty look.

The song of a bird in the trees made her momentary pique melt away. Big blue eyes stared up at the bird, entranced by the wonder of nature and the beauty of its song. The girl held her hand up and the bird accepted the invitation. It flew down, perching on her hand unafraid. Warbling for a very special audience of one, it sang while the girl beamed at it.

At length the bird flew away. The cherubic young girl waved, then noticed Usa at the gate. Without a second thought, she walked right up to the gate. Flashing dimples that were almost lethal, the young girl shoved out a hand through the bars of the iron gate.

"Hello," she said in a charming squeak of a voice. "My name is Usagi. Would you like to be my friend?"

"Oh, this is too weird!" thought the terrified young princess.

Continued in Chapter 4