Sailor Moon - Rise of the Exalted Knights

by Lisseas

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Machinations of Chaos

Posted: 15/09/2018

The whetstone glided effortlessly across Justiciar's magical blade with no friction at all. Not really a surprise given it could cut through almost anything; a simple whetstone was no challenge at all. In fact, the whole endeavour was a complete waste of time. The sword didn't need polishing. It was literally magic, appearing good as new when Corey summoned it, but then...that wasn't really the point, was it? He found the exercise calming. Peaceful, even meditative. It certainly wasn't going to harm the blade, so why not?

He sat alone on the roof of Juuban High School. A sort of refuge, of late. A place of peace and solace, quiet and reflection; far from the bickering and infighting that plagued the Sailor Senshi of late. Tonight, the topic of 'discussion' was his handling of the Black Death…and, for what seemed like the dozenth time, his place among them. He wasn't really bothered, though. This was normal, and it had been since his initial disagreement with Usagi over London. He'd come to a fairly simple conclusion: he just didn't care anymore. Titus' final lessons had stuck with him, and they reinforced a single, indisputable fact.

I'm not a Sailor Senshi, and I'm okay with that. It hurts to think I might lose some friendships over it, but I've accepted my place in the world.

Preparing for a final pass over the blade, he was struck by the feeling that something wasn't quite right. There was something else here. He was being watched. That in and of itself was unremarkable, for Minako knew he was up here, and there were others who liked the quiet. In fact, there were people coming through the door all day, and…he stiffened, his fingers curling tight around Justiciar's hilt. That's it. Those rusty hinges squeal like an angry pig, but I didn't hear a thing. Rising to his feet with practised ease, he whipped around to see a somewhat familiar woman. Violet eyes, long, black hair in a high ponytail, and black robes over dark, textured armour. The distinctive white mask in her left hand only confirmed what he already knew. Megumi Shoto. Just another of Chaos' victims...and its current face.

She – it, he reminded himself – bowed slowly. "Good evening."

Corey considered his options. His last encounter with Chaos had gone poorly, to say the least. It could have killed him now without even announcing its presence…which meant it wasn't here for that. Yet.

"No need to worry." It settled against the wall beside the door, arms folded across its chest. "I'm just here to talk. You're a little more open-minded than your Senshi friends, I hope."

"What's wrong?" he asked, with a dismissive snort. "We kicked your preacher's ass and now you're rattled?"

"Have a care, McLeod." Megumi's eyes darkened, an ominous crimson glow lighting up within. "Selene may have given you a little help, but you're still only human."

Yeah, provoking the cosmic entity probably isn't the smartest idea I've ever had, he thought, practically hearing Titus' rebuke. Reluctantly, he managed a nod. Getting killed for my smart mouth won't help anyone.

"I'll admit," it continued, pacing back and forth, "The loss of a faithful servant is always inconvenient, but all you have won is a little more time." It studied him coolly. "You can't honestly still believe that victory is possible?"

"Anything is possible," he countered, albeit a little more tactfully.

Its expression darkened. "You're nothing to me, McLeod. Barely even worth the effort it would take to destroy you. Completely and utterly inconsequential."

"You sure know how to make a guy feel appreciated."

Chaos laughed coldly. "In truth, you're not even all that important in your own pathetic little world, though, are you?"

Corey clenched his jaw, biting back a retort that would only land him in further trouble. He'd gotten a little better a controlling his mouth over the years, but that restraint was getting harder by the second.

"Usagi doesn't respect you, or your opinion. She's already ignored your counsel once, and she'll do it again." Its lips pulled back in a smirk. "Just like her mother."

"Shut up..." He didn't like that it was actually making sense. Not one bit.

"You know it's true. You've seen the darkness within her. My darkness." It chuckled quietly. "Serenity will turn eventually. It's only a matter of time."

"I said shut up!" Corey cursed his reaction immediately. Don't let it get to you. This is just what it does.

"You fear for the future. I can see it in your eyes."

"Bullshit," he muttered. "You don't see anything." He was putting on a brave face but, in truth, Usagi did scare him. She had done since his first mad dash to London. No matter if she admitted it or not, a brief loss of control on her part had very nearly led to a massacre far worse than the trap at the shrine. Scarier still was the fact there were those among the Senshi who simply couldn't see it. Even Usagi herself was still seemingly in denial. Queen Serenity had failed to see reason countless times, and now her daughter was following in her footsteps. How could he not fear for the future, especially when she would only grower stronger with time?

Slowly, something crept into his mind. A fleeting whisper, like fingertips gliding through his thoughts...

…Cleansing…

"You could ignore the warning signs. Bet on her innate sense of good to see you through, but why? Why gamble with the fate of the world like that? Why take the risk?" Chaos stepped closer, hands up in peace. "The world, in its current form, is going to end. It must. That is my duty. My purpose. My sole reason for being."

"How noble." Again, Corey was troubled by his inability to muster more than token disagreement.

"You're a smart man, despite your boorish exterior. You can't stop what's coming. Why not simply...walk away? Leave Serenity to face her destiny alone." It inched closer, its voice oddly soothing. "She condemns your decisions at every turn. They all do. You owe them nothing."

A million thoughts and feelings flooded his consciousness, but a small part of him couldn't help but wonder. I've walked away once already. What if I did leave again? There's clearly a disconnect here between my duty and everyone else. They've crossed the line before. Is it really so unlikely to happen again?

Yeah, he told himself hesitantly. I could strike out on my own. Do things my way, free of judgment or condemnation for doing what I feel is right. A true Guardian Knight of Justice who answers to no-one.

"Walk away," it said again, in its silky-smooth voice. "Ride out the end of the world in safety with your family. When I'm done, you can go back to settling petty squabbles or…whatever it is you do. A hero. You'll have a hand in building the next world, guiding it as you see fit."

It had certainly assessed his priorities accurately. His family's safety was high on that list, but…there were other consideration to make. "That last bit sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship."

"Not at all," Chaos assured him, even managing a shocked little gasp. "I simply wish to illuminate the possibilities for you. Whatever you do, it will be entirely your decision."

For a fleeting moment, his thoughts turned to Minako. Walking away again would likely mean never seeing her again…

"She'll never leave Usagi's side."

He frowned, his indecision broken. "What did you just say?"

"You know it's true," Chaos said, its voice seeming to reach out to touch his very mind. "You have to choose. Love…or justice?"

And just like that, the 'spell' he hadn't even realised he was under was broken. "No. That's not it."

Behind Megumi's violet eyes, a tell-tale ruby glow emerged. "No?"

Corey felt as if he were waking from a deep sleep. Why did I even bother to hear it out at all? Shaking his head, he began speaking as he knew he truly felt. "No. Corval would have obsessed over how she felt, but that isn't me. Minako has nothing to do with this decision."

For a moment, he could almost see them; the two people who had steered him to this moment, and assured that he was capable of making the right decision: Titus and Dawkins, smiling back at him.

The Guardian Knight straightened to his full, imposing, six-five height. He usually slouched, especially here in Japan where he stood out enough as it was, but he wanted Chaos to have to look up at him. "I ran once, and I won't do that again. Not just for Minako, and not just for my friends, but because it would be wrong. Because it's my sworn duty to Selene and this world to destroy evil like you!" In the final, ultimate insult, he turned his back and committed fully. "We're done here, creature."

"So be it." All pretence of nicety was immediately gone from its voice. "I could kill you right here, but...no. I want to watch you break when Usagi finally pushes you away for good. I want you to suffer as long as possible with the knowledge that you were wrong about her, and I...was...right. It will be…delicious."

…Cleansing…

Corey turned again, chilled to the very core, but Chaos was already gone. He stared across the empty rooftop for what felt like hours, just trying to gather himself, before heading for the door.

It was never serious about convincing me, he realised. No, it just wanted to plant a little seed of doubt in my relationship with Usagi…and it succeeded. More than it probably knows.

…damn it.

Minako was uneasy, if she were honest. She'd just lived through a completely uneventful day. A full twenty-four hours of absolutely nothing bad happening. The first such twenty-four hours since all of this madness had begun. On the surface, that was a good thing, a very good thing, but it left her just a little on edge. Suspicious. Waiting for the next crisis, whatever form it might take. A cursory glance around the classroom they were sitting in only confirmed she wasn't the only Sailor Senshi feeling that way.

And, of course, Artemis had zeroed right in on it. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she grumbled, giving him a gentle scratch behind the ear, "And that's the problem! Crazy Preachy Hunter bows out, and Chaos just lets it go? In what reality is that not cause for concern?" It was all she could do to hold back a mournful sigh. "Something bad is coming, Arty. It's just a matter of time."

"Right," Rei muttered in bitter agreement, morose as she'd ever been. "It's been a veritable parade of bad lately. Why would anything change now?"

Minako briefly considered responding, but ultimately thought better of it. She's been a total grouch since Rinjerko stormed out. The old me would have taken this as a challenge, but there is no way I'm getting involved now!

"You know," Usagi said from across the room, shuffling a little more upright in her chair, "I actually miss the days when we were up against things like that wacky hairdresser youma." She gave Luna a quick pat as the cat stretched in her lap. "It was a simpler time."

"Mm," Minako agreed, thinking back a few years. "No tough moral choices. Just beat 'em down and let Moon Healing Escalation work its magic." No sooner had the words left her mouth did she regret them. "Oh. No, I mean-"

"Don't worry about it," Usagi assured her, mercifully choosing not to dwell on the implications of her magic no longer healing people. She leaned back with a sigh. "Threats of a buzzcut by force seem so tame by comparison."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Minako's mouth. "Yeah."

A comfortable silence fell over the room, until Makoto spoke up. "I remember fighting a hairdresser youma, but nothing about a buzzcut."

Artemis wrinkled his nose. "Sounds like something out of an American cartoon from the nineties."

Usagi shrugged, before quickly snapping her fingers. "Wait. It was screaming in English, for whatever reason. You all know I don't do well in English. With, I mean." She frowned. "Or is it in after all?"

Mamoru couldn't quite stifle his laughter. "The future Queen of Earth."

She poked him in faux outrage. "Well, when I am Queen one of my first decrees will be a mandatory Japanese course for all my subjects. Problem solved."

Luna rose in her lap, looking very tired. "That leads us to a more immediate problem. One we can't keep putting off, no matter how unpleasant." The firm edge to her voice was confirmation that the time for jokes was over. "We must decide on our next course of action."

The room fell strangely quiet. Minako saw a certain reluctance from some of her friends. Unwilling, perhaps, to let this unlikely peace end. Those in attendance, at least. Setsuna and Corey were up on the roof, keeping watch, but they'd surely have something to say on the subject.

For that matter, she thought, as a flash of jealousy sparked in her heart, when did they get all buddy-buddy? It passed quickly, though, her determination to not regress stronger than any jealous niggle. No, that was the old, crazy Minako. There's no place for her in the current situation.

Luna's ears flicked back in a sign of irritation. "Really? Nobody?"

Almost as something of a distraction for herself, Minako shrugged and spoke the obvious. "We need to go after Chaos. While we have the momentum." For once, she finished silently.

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

"Yep." She locked eyes with Usagi. "What else are we going to do? Sit here waiting for it to come and kill us?"

"Well…" Ami said hesitantly, "Hypothetically speaking, we do have quite a few people in our care at the moment. Everyone here is relying on our protection. Are we sure we're even in a position to go after Chaos right now?"

Haruka slammed a fist into her palm. "What choice do we have? I get that you want to keep everyone safe, but the longer we sit here on our hands the greater the chance Chaos wises up and obliterates the whole building. Boom. Everyone's dead anyway." She set her jaw and stared over at Usagi. "We need to get out there, away from all these people, and start fighting back. Keep its focus on us, not the people around us."

"Right," Chibiusa said, nodding slowly. "We go after it before it has a chance to recover."

"Recover?" Makoto repeated, with an incredulous snort. "Who says it needs to recover? You think it shed a tear for the Black Death after Corey…" She hesitated a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. "After Corey handled him? Why would it? He was just a tool."

Minako was focused more on the deed itself. Despite her own misgivings about her boyfriend's solo decision to all-but-execute the preachy Hunter, they hadn't discussed it at all. It's probably not very healthy in the long run, but I don't think either of us wants any more problems right now…and I'm okay with that.

Luna stood up in Usagi's lap. "Everyone, please! This isn't helping!" Ever respected, her pleas found willing ears and the bickering faded quickly. She nodded to Usagi with a pleased flick of her tail. "As Princess and leader, it ultimately falls on you to decide."

The ponytailed blonde mulled it over for some time before finally speaking. "As much as we need to protect the people staying here, it's true that we can't sit here forever and hope everything will turn out okay." She sighed in weary resignation. "Chaos wants to hurt us. Me in particular. It'll come for us again sooner or later; we need to stop it now, while we still can."

Luna nodded slowly, her ears drooping a little. "Further into the city, it is."

Artemis sat up tense in Minako's lap. "Probing its defences can't hurt, I suppose."

"Not if we're careful," Ami clarified, her typical logical self.

"Chaos still has plenty of regular people fighting for it," Chibiusa pointed out, glancing at Hotaru who was seated beside her. "Going up against it again means fighting them too."

The Senshi of Silence bowed her head. "I don't want anyone else to die."

"And neither do I," Usagi agreed, speaking with more confidence than before. She even looked younger in Minako's eyes; the fiery, determined idealist they hadn't seen in some time. "No matter what, we do this the right way. No more assumptions. No more ambushes. No more killing unless it's completely unavoidable. I won't let us lose our way again."

Minako just nodded quietly, seeing several of her friends do the same. We've all lost sight of ourselves in some way. It feels good to get back on track.

"So," Makoto asked, settling into her 'game face'. "What's the plan? Unified push? Smaller teams?"

"An excellent question," Artemis mused, stroking his chin with a paw. "This is a reconnaissance run, in the end. Smaller teams will likely attract less attention and cover more ground quicker."

"Alright," Usagi said, with a quick nod to Mamoru. "I'll lead one team. Minako, you take the other."

The Senshi of Love felt a spike of anxiety rise in the pit of her stomach. She was still on thin ice with a few of the girls after her defence of Corey. "I'm not so sure that's a good-"

"I'll go with you, sweetie!"

Minako's eyes darted to the classroom door. Sure enough, Sailor Fury stood just inside, her shoulder against the doorframe. She wore the now-familiar black, hardened leather variant of a Sailor Senshi uniform; standard Sailor Marauder attire.

I really hope she's been dropping her transformation between battles, she thought idly. It's been two or three weeks, and her particular style of fighting is…well, it's messy. As surprised as she was to see her old nemesis turned friend-of-sorts, Minako couldn't help but feel relief for the distraction. Usagi might think everyone's ready for me to lead, but I don't see it happening.

Makoto was the first to speak…or, perhaps more aptly, growl. "Fury."

The tall brunette clearly wasn't happy to see her again, though that wasn't much of a surprise. Crazy, evil Fury…and the rest of the Sailor Marauders, really, are still fairly fresh in our collective memory. It sucks, but only Usagi, Rei, Chibiusa, and Mamoru were even around to see Faye turn good in the end. We were the ones who were dead, or…whatever we were inside the Revenant Knight. Stupid Jerkface! Faye earned her second chance, though, and I've told everyone that…but I can't really blame them for the frosty greeting. Heck, she scared me when she first showed up wearing the outfit again!

"It's Faye," her doppelganger cooed, offering an airy wave to the rest of her friends, "Remember? It rhymes with day, hay. Say." Her brow furrowed as she began to struggle. "Way. Disarray. Ooh, ray-"

"We get it," Ami said, albeit without quite the same bite as Makoto. "What brings you here, Faye?"

"Well, like I just said," the blonde giggled, "I'm here to help you fight Chaos. Go Team Minako!" Her eyes seemed to grow impossibly large as she fixed them on the Senshi of Love. "If you'll have me?"

Minako considered herself intimately familiar with the so-called 'puppy dog eyes' look, but even she was thrown. "I, er…that is to say-"

"Look, Fury." Rei had been quiet so far, but the emphasis on 'Fury' seemed to indicate she'd found a new target for her anger. "You may have helped us out with the Revenant Knight, but even you can't be mad enough to believe you're Sailor Senshi material."

"Is it the lack of speeches? I can do better!" Fury brought a gloved hand to her chest, then launched into a series of odd motions and gestures. "I am Sailor Fury, Senshi of Vengeance! On behalf of…uh, vengeance, I guess, I shall…take…vengeance upon you?" She hung her head in apparent defeat but quickly bounced back with a frantic wave. "Not great, I know, but I can practice!"

Ami buried her face in her hands. "That's…not it."

Usagi simply stared. "Wow…"

The former Marauder was confused. "So, then…?"

"You kill people!" Makoto sputtered, her eyes wide and disbelieving. "Lots of them! Every time you fight, and you seem really happy doing it!"

"Well, I think it's important to enjoy your work…"

"And we just got done talking about how we need to dial our aggression back," Rei snapped, with an irritable glare Minako's way that seemed to say 'handle this'. "So, you really don't fit in with our plan of attack."

Fury's brow furrowed in further confusion. "You know everyone I've killed since coming back was bad, right?"

"That doesn't matter!" cried Chibiusa, as she exploded from her seat. "They were still people! They deserved the same chance at redemption that you're wasting!"

"Wasting? But I-"

Makoto nodded emphatically. "We don't know what Chaos did or said to coerce them into fighting, but-"

"Ah-ha!" crowed Fury, raising a hand triumphantly. "Now that, sweetie, is what truly doesn't matter here." She folded her arms across her chest, adopting a strange 'lecturer' vibe. "Who cares what sad little sob story these quote-unquote 'people' choose to tell. Fact is, they made their choice, and that choice was to fight for evil. As far as I'm concerned, that makes them fair game as I fight on the side of good against them." She clapped happily. "There. Make sense?"

Several Senshi answered at once. "No!"

Minako cleared her throat. "Um, Faye?"

"Yes?" the Marauder answered, all smiles.

"I thought you…" She stumbled over her words until she found better ones. "Don't you see anything wrong with the concept of being a 'good guy' while happily, even gleefully killing people?"

"Hmm…" Fury gripped her chin thoughtfully. "No. Not really. I mean, that's what all of you do."

Luna's fur bristled. "Excuse me?"

Artemis slumped. "She's even further gone than I thought."

Rei, however, was incensed, physically rising from her seat. "That is not what we do! Not at all!"

"Yeah!" Chibiusa growled. "The Sailor Senshi only kill as a last resort. Recent events aside…"

Fury looked at them wide-eyed. "But you kill all the time! Maybe they weren't people people like the ones I've been killing, you know, human people, but…they were still alive."

"What are you…?" Luna peered at her curiously a moment. "Wait, are you talking about youma?"

"Uh-huh. Why? Are...are youma not people?"

Again, at least four Senshi answered her quickly. "No!"

"But…they were alive, weren't they?" Fury scratched her temple, looking for all the world like a lost puppy. "Sentimental, even!"

Mamoru sighed deeply. "I think you mean sentient."

She didn't seem to hear him. "How are they not people?"

Minako found herself troubled by the same question. How many youma have I 'put down' over the years? 'Dusted', as I would put it. She watched as Ami bowed her head, apparently asking herself a similar question. Usagi, too. Artemis nudged her arm by way of reassurance, but she wasn't exactly sure how to answer.

Rei exchanged a look of bewilderment with Makoto, unwilling to concede defeat. "They were evil!"

"So are the people I kill," Fury countered, tapping a finger against her cheek. "Well, they're serving a personification of evil, but I'm pretty sure that still counts." Another frown. "Seriously, girls, I'm not seeing the difference here."

Haruka began laughing. "She's got you all there. Hell, I'm convinced."

Minako resisted the urge to roll her eyes. You would say that, Haruka. You Outer Senshi always were more open to an 'at all costs' approach than the rest of us.

Glaring at her friend in open disapproval, Hotaru tried her luck. "Those youma were wilfully evil, you see, while the people fighting for Chaos now may have been lied to, or threatened, or-"

Fury was growing more lucid by the moment, even managing a smug little smirk. "What if the youma were lied to, or threatened, or…?"

Minako saw Usagi's eyes widen in abject horror. That seems unlikely, but we never really gave it a lot of thought, did we?

Artemis managed that most mythical of cat gestures; a face-paw. "Well, Mina, your pen pal certainly has a…interesting perspective on things."

"It…that…" Rei shook her head. "No! That doesn't matter! We know Chaos has manipulated people! The rest is-"

"It's ancient history!" Makoto snapped, finishing the miko's thought. "We aren't killing things now, if ever, and we have no way of knowing what Beryl or anyone else did or didn't do to their youma!"

Fury nodded along thoughtfully until she was finished, before abruptly snapping her fingers. "I get it! You're all hypocrites!"

Minako cringed. I don't think that was actually an accusation in her mind, but she said it entirely too cheerfully. Things are really starting to spiral out of control now, but how do I stop it? I can't defend Faye, even if I thought she was right! It's way too soon after I started mending fences. Right…?

Rei vocalised the multiple glares directed Fury's way. "Excuse me?"

"You're hypocrites." Again, there wasn't any audible malice in the Marauder's voice. It was way too matter-of-fact for that. "Just listen to yourselves. You're so desperate to keep your hands clean that you're not making any sense."

Luna was still curious. "What do you mean?"

"I've killed more people from more races and even species than I can remember," Fury said quietly. "Certainly more than I can ever possibly atone for. And yet, even I knew back then that a life is a life. Anything else is just semantics." She blinked several times, then flashed a huge, toothy grin. "Wow! I'm super eloquent today!"

"No..." Chibiusa suddenly looked incredibly depressed. "That's not right. It can't be. We're not killers!"

Fury pouted. "Afraid so, Pipsqueak."

Usagi roused from her own melancholic state, her motherly instincts triggered. "That's enough."

"What? I'm just trying to understand you!" A small amount of irritation finally seeped into her voice. "I just…I don't get how we're still debating this! Here I thought I was the crazy one, but the number of hoops you're willing to jump through to justify yourselves is, frankly, kinda nuts!"

Minako felt a brief surge of annoyance. She didn't like being called nuts, no matter who was doing it. Except maybe my cutie…

"What makes the morons fighting for Chaos any different from all the youma you've killed?" She put on an over-the-top, pantomimed act. "Oh, no, the big bad evil thing destroying my home will kill me! I'd better do exactly what it says, no matter how much I really don't want to!" A snarl tore down the 'illusion' in an instant. "Spare me, Moonbeam! I've been on that side of things! I've killed hundreds! I didn't deserve any sympathy when I was coming for you, and I got none! Minako did what she had to do. She killed me…even if it was an accident."

"Which it was…" Minako confirmed weakly.

"I wasn't going to stop until she was dead." Fury shook her head and glared at the rest of the Senshi. "It's a question of survival, girls. Human or not, it doesn't matter. You're not going to live long with a bunch of crazies alive in your wake. Sooner or later, one of them is going to stand back up and shoot you." She mimed a pistol with her fingers. "Bang. One less Sailor Senshi left to save the world. Rinse and repeat until you're all dead, and Chaos wins." As she finished, a lot of the pent-up irritation dropped from her voice. "Yeah, it sucks. You don't want to kill, I know, but you didn't create this mess. They did. That's on them. They had their choice, and they chose to fight you. The least they can do now is suck it up and accept the consequences."

"You really are insane," Makoto muttered. "Calling for the wholesale slaughter of anyone who ever made a bad decision?"

"That's not really what I said," Fury pointed out, "But sure. Take it any way you want." She sounded more disappointed than angry. Somehow, that seemed worse to Minako. "Look, I came here to help stop Chaos. Are you seriously turning me down? You're really going to send me crawling back to Sourpuss?!"

Usagi blinked in confusion. "Who?"

Minako answered automatically. "Rinjerko. I mean…Rinjirou."

"Oh." She shook it off and turned back to Fury with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Faye. You…you've made some good points that I know I'll be giving some more thought, but…that just isn't the way we do things. If you can't accept that and adapt, then…well, you have no place on our team."

"Huh." Fury remained uncharacteristically self-aware. "Well, gee. I've gotta say, I pictured this going a little differently. You Senshi are seriously maddening."

Luna sighed. "I can't disagree with that."

By comparison, Chibiusa glared back at her angrily. "I don't think you need any help being mad!"

"After everything I did to help you against the Revenant Knight. After all the good work I did back in London…even if Tux and Sourpuss helped a bit, I guess."

Mamoru actually managed a smile. "We did do some good work. Some really good work."

"This was meant to be my big moment. The beginning of my redemption arc in earnest." Fury let out a bitter sigh. "Alas…it seems that wasn't meant to be, but...if that's the consequence for all the terrible things I've done, so be it. I'm not against paying for my poor decisions."

Minako reached for her, feeling a little guilty. "Faye…"

"No!" The Marauder recoiled, pulling out of reach, but quickly softened. "No, it's okay. I get it. Sure, maybe I am beyond redemption, but that…that's okay." She smiled faintly. "I know who I am. What I am." Her lips pulled back further into the beginnings of a sadistic grin, a reminder of the Fury Minako had first encountered in battle all those months ago. "Between you and the tin can you date, Earth's got enough justice. Me? I'm vengeance! The world is chock full of evil right now. and I'm going to make it pay. Thug by thug, crony by crony, until I'm staring Chaos right in the eyes." She cackled with wild aplomb, raising a fist before her. "I'm gonna pluck that great big evil chicken one dirty feather at a time. Then? Barbeque."

Minako considered trying to reason with her again before simply offering a sad smile. "Just be careful out there, okay?"

"You too, sweetie." The Marauder backed into the open doorway and winked. "Don't you go getting yourself killed on account of wanting to be the good guy. Think about all the extra vengeance I'd have to take on your behalf!" And with that she was gone, the click of her boots on the floor fading in her wake.

Usagi watched Fury – Faye, she reminded herself – leave with mixed emotions. She certainly seemed genuine enough in her efforts at redemption, but it was impossible to separate that from the death she'd left in her wake. No, she decided, forcing any lingering doubts away. This just isn't as simple as she thinks it is. I can't go back now. I won't.

Minako seemed troubled. "Her heart is in the right place. Mostly."

"I know," she said, giving her friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "She'll be okay. We're just on-" Her words of encouragement were cut short as the entire room began trembling around them.

Haruka shot to her feet, the first to really grasp the situation. "Earthquake!"

Textbooks began falling from shelves. A ceiling panel hit the floor, narrowly missing Hotaru. Mamoru pulled Chibiusa in tight under his arm and reached for Usagi, doing the same. Ami dove under a desk and yanked Minako down beside her, the remaining Senshi following suit. A low rumble filled the air as the far wall cracked under the pressure, then…as soon as it had begun…everything grew still.

Usagi inspected the ceiling carefully before pulling free of Mamoru's embrace. "That was sudden."

Minako poked her head out from under her desk, Artemis clutched tightly in her arms. "Given all the trouble we've already had, I'm guessing that was no ordinary earthquake."

"You said something bad was coming," Rei recalled, with a sombre nod. "I'd say it's here."

"And you'd be right."

Usagi glanced to the open doorway and saw Corey standing there, armour-clad sans helmet. Jerking a thumb to the ceiling, he began to back up.

"Come to the roof. Now."

She rushed down the hallway, taking note of several frightened people milling about. At least there weren't any serious injuries on display; that was some small comfort. Her friends close behind her, she led the way up the stairwell to burst through the access door and onto the roof, not at all ready for the sight that awaited her.

The sky was raging; angry black clouds swirling overhead. Ripples of lightning arced between them with wild abandon; flashes of red and purple and blue. The wind howled, tearing at her clothes and hair even as it began to die down, and there above the skyline, she saw it; the hideous, oversized visage of Chaos itself. It loomed over Tokyo impossibly large, an indeterminate shape comprising elements of every major incarnation to date. As more lighting flashed, she saw a ghostly pair of wings at its back. It seemed the bird motif of its time with the Order of Black persisted.

"I guess it doesn't need time to recover after all," said Chibiusa breathlessly.

Sailor Pluto stood at the edge of the roof, staring out at the scene emotionlessly. She spoke quietly, but Usagi managed to catch the last of it. "…all wrong."

"Sailor Senshi…" Like the crack of thunder, Chaos' voice rippled across the sky towards them. In the distance, it spread its wing-like arms wide, talon-capped fingers curling towards the moon. "Are you proud of yourselves? Pleased with your efforts?" Lightning cascaded across the clouds as it let loose a mocking chuckle. "You have won nothing."

Ami looked up from her computer, eyes wide. "The negative energy readings are off the charts!"

"I need no mere man to do my bidding. The Black Death had served his purpose, just like the Order of Black." The colossal entity reared back, its spectral form still solid enough to cast a literal shadow over Tokyo. "This new world I have wrought is replete with hate and fear, and I have gorged myself upon it to become stronger than even I had thought possible."

Mamoru squeezed Usagi's hand gently. "This is bad."

I know, she answered silently, unable to tear her eyes from Chaos' form. What are we going to do?

"Still you hold out hope. Still, you cling to desperate notions of victory." Once again, its arms spread out, turning their talons downwards. "Behold as I level your precious Tokyo. A mere preview of the future that awaits you all."

Those same arms rose up high, cloud gathering around its clawed fingers in swirling updrafts. Then, with a horrific, ear-piercing screech, Chaos tore downwards and plunged its talons into the streets. A thunderous, rumbling crack reverberated through the ground, reaching even the school beneath the Senshi's feet. Lightning followed in its wake, lashing the surrounding buildings as several burst into flames; a gas main or other combustible source ignited.

Usagi felt a sickening lurch in her stomach as the screams began, audible even from here. The towers began to crumble, sending glass, concrete, and steel tumbling into the streets below. Great clouds of smoke and dust rose as Tokyo began to fall…and yet, there was something more.

Hotaru held a hand up to her mouth, aghast. "All those people…"

Corey placed a hand on her shoulder as he stepped forward, squinting into the distance. "What the hell…?"

Usagi shared his sentiment, if not the exact manner of expression. The school was quivering beneath them once more. What else is it planning?!

The quaking intensified, frightened shrieks from below now drifting up the stairwell as several windows shattered under the strain. She steadied herself against Mamoru and gasped as a huge, jagged spire burst from the ground perhaps five miles away. Another followed across the city, and another; rough, obsidian spires surging into the sky, rising to dwarf even the tallest remaining buildings. Four, then five; the school continued shaking as the city was literally torn apart before their very eyes.

Rei sank to her knees, utterly defeated. "One of those things came from beneath the shrine…"

Usagi too was at a loss. Completely without words. The sheer level of destruction; the number of injured, even dead, was overwhelming. How can I possibly hope to help any of these people when I couldn't even help a friend like Michiru? Why, Silver Crystal? Why won't you work anymore?

"Careful!" Mamoru steadied her as the quake strengthened anew, cracking the rooftop in places and threatening her footing completely.

Makoto grabbed her other shoulder. "If there's another one of those things under the school…?"

Usagi just shook her head. "Running wouldn't do us any good now."

The school stood tall, however…but a distant roar like a prolonged, muted explosion only marked further destruction. The distant heart of Tokyo, still clinging to life in the face of the calamity, finally succumbed to the dark forces railing against it. The majority of its remaining skyscrapers collapsed or were tossed aside like a child's building blocks. From beneath rose another spire, far larger than any of its predecessors. It was sharper, smoother; cut like a gem in contrast to the natural, chaotic spires that surrounded it. Jet black almost to the point of swallowing the surrounding light, it grew wider towards the base, destroying everything below as it continued to rise.

Chibiusa gasped as it finally completed its ascent. "That…that's not possible! I've seen this before!"

A cold, menacing chuckle rippled through the sky as the earth finally settled. Chaos let its arms fall to its sides, its spectral form intensifying. "There. A fitting monument to my grandeur…and testament to my power. You have witnessed but a taste, Tokyo. Know that you survive by my will alone. I could snuff out the rest of your pitiful lives in an instant should I so choose…and I may yet do so." Crimson eyes flashed with ill intent as it turned its colossal form towards the school. "But I will spare you, and your city, if you do one, simple thing for me."

Minako closed her eyes. "Oh, no…"

"Bring me…the Sailor Senshi." Chaos laughed again, the cackle punctuated by more lightning. "No, I've changed my mind. Bring me…their heads." It raised a single imposing finger. "Not Sailor Moon, though. I want her alive. If she dies, so does every living thing in this wretched little city." It let slip a final menacing chuckle and began to fade from view. "I await you at your convenience, Princess..."

Beside her, Chibiusa clutched at her skull as Mamoru tried in vain to comfort her. "This…it's Crystal Tokyo! The pattern, the layout! It's Crystal Tokyo, but…it can't be! How can it be here now?!"

Usagi embraced her gently from behind, her own vague memory of the future metropolis confirming her terror. She couldn't explain it either, but here it was before them.

"The timeline is…broken." She'd never heard Setsuna more rattled. "Which is right, and which is wrong?" Dark lines formed on her face as she bowed her head. "Perhaps it doesn't matter anymore. This is now. The future is being written as we speak."

Clearly overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the destruction before them, some of the Senshi were beginning to bicker and Usagi could hardly blame them. Already devastated by Chaos' first strike, Tokyo was now a ruined mess. The heart and surrounding districts had been almost completely erased by the great spire's ascent. The distant cries of the hurt and dying caused her physical pain, for there was truly nothing she could do to help them at that moment. Chaos had torn a hole in her city and, in doing so, it had finally succeeded in tearing a hole in her heart.

"Usagi…" One of her friends - she couldn't tell who - sounded so desperately lost. "What are we going to do?!"

The temptation was there to panic and revert to a frightened crybaby. The girl who had first entered OSA-P all those years ago and very nearly given up on the spot. Or she could harness the pain Chaos had inflicted upon her and use it to lash out. Inflict even greater pain in return. Channel it and use it. Take the pragmatic path. The 'grown up' path.

"You have to do something!" cried someone else. "You can save them, right? You can bring them back?!"

"I couldn't even bring Michiru back," she muttered bitterly, struck again by her past failures. But you can't just give up now. You know what you need to do, and why. Everyone is looking to you.

"Usagi?!"

She released her hold on Chibiusa and stepped to the edge of the rooftop. "It wants us scared."

Slowly but surely, everyone quietened down and waited for her to continue. Haruka was comforting Hotaru, and Ami cradled Luna while Rei remained on her knees with Makoto holding her shoulder. Minako was pressed against Corey's side, Artemis at her feet, and Mamoru had taken over embracing Chibiusa.

"It needs us scared," she continued. "Me in particular. Scared enough to choose the wrong path. The path we've already stumbled down once. But we won't do that, will we?" She bit her lip in a moment of trepidation, then pressed forward. "No. Because you all know who and what you are."

"Yes, we do," Chibiusa agreed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Usagi summoned the Eternal Tiare and exhaled. "We're going to stop Chaos before it hurts anyone else. Because we're the Sailor Senshi, the good guys…and that's what we do."

AN: I'm back after an unplanned hiatus of sorts, but I hope this extra long chapter goes some way to making up for my absence. No excuses, people. I basically wrote myself into a corner, and realised while writing the first version of this chapter that it just didn't work the way I wanted. So, after about a month of work - and just shy of five thousand words - I made the agonising decision to scrap almost all of it, rework my outline, and start over. Corey's chat with Chaos is about the only part of it that survived. I do believe I made the right call, because I have a much better idea of how to get to my desired ending now, but I regret the massive delay it caused, however necessary.

Please feel free to let me know what you thought. As always, I love hearing from you guys whether you have good things to say, OR constructive criticism. I remain resolved to complete the fic as ever, so no fear of me abandoning it, and I'm optimistic about my update pace from here. Thanks again for your continued support and readership. It's as appreciated as ever!

Until next time,

Lisseas