Chapter Two
Puzzled Usagi! Arrival of the Four New Senshi.
Usagi stepped backwards. Luna hissed at the stranger, and put herself protectively between Usagi and the man. The man took a step forward as Usagi backed up. The blonde haired girl could see three shadowed figures behind him and could hear their menacing laughter.
"Transform, Usagi! He already knows who you are!" Luna hissed.
"Yes, transform, Sailor Moon," the man laughed.
Usagi glared at him and gripped her locket. Raising it above her head, it opened to reveal the Silver Crystal.
"Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!" she cried.
The stranger watched with an amused grin on his face as Tsukino Usagi transformed into Sailor Moon before his eyes. Before the senshi could strike a pose or say a word, the three shadows behind the man leapt forward and pinned her against a wall, suspending her above the ground.
"Hey! I wasn't done yet," Sailor Moon objected.
The man stepped forward. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hodur, the god of Darkness. I have an urgent need for you, Sailor Moon."
A god? Luna thought to herself.
"Call me a collector of sorts," Hodur continued conversationally. "Right now, I'm collecting senshi. You're all I need to complete my set, Sailor Moon."
"Not without a fight," Sailor Moon replied.
Hodur grinned. "We just had a fight. Apparently, you lost."
The three shadows laughed evilly as Hodur advanced. He reached out with one hand to touch Sailor Moon's locket and she stared at him defiantly, struggling against her captors.
"Eternity Sweep!"
A scythe-like blade of purple energy swept across the three shadows, forcing them to release Sailor Moon. She dropped to the ground and rolled clear of Hodur and his minions. As she stood, she turned to see who had saved her.
Four senshi stood a little ways down the street. One looked like Pluto with white hair and held her staff; one looked like Haruka with crystal blue eyes; one wore a gray fuku and looked like an older version of Hotaru with blue hair; and the last one was very, very familiar.
"Kami-chan?" Sailor Moon whispered.
The fourth senshi wore a fuku quite different from the others. Instead of the standard costume, she wore a long yellow gown with a pale yellow train. She still had the senshi handkerchief across her shoulders, and two large angel wings sprouted from her back. She wore a choker with a sun emblem hanging from it and had a sun shaped symbol on her forehead.
"Get away from her, Hodur," the white haired Pluto said.
Hodur turned to this newest threat and smiled. "Good to see you again, Aion. You might like to know that Pluto thought of you with her dying breath."
Pluto? Dead? Sailor Moon thought.
"Aion?" Luna repeated under her breath. "It can't be."
The white haired senshi tightened her grip on the staff and pointed it at Hodur. At that moment, the Haruka with the black fuku stepped between Hodur and Aion.
"What are you doing, Loki?" Aion demanded.
"If we kill Hodur, we'll never find Odin," she said.
"If we don't kill him," Aion argued, "he'll start Ragnarok."
What the heck is going on? Sailor Moon thought to herself.
The gray senshi caught sight of her and gasped. "Majesty!" she exclaimed, running to place herself between the god and Sailor Moon.
"Ah, my kindred spirit," Hodur smiled. "You've returned."
"I'm no kindred spirit of yours," the gray senshi replied.
Kami stepped forward and Hodur almost recoiled at the sight of her. Kami took a few more steps in his direction, and he hissed angrily at her, trying to keep her away. The shadows scampered behind their master, making strange whimpering sounds. She smiled at them, and Hodur disappeared along with his minions.
"Are you all right, Sailor Moon?" Aion asked.
Sailor Moon nodded. "Fine, but very confused. Who are all of you?"
Loki turned around at her voice and her eyes widened in happiness. "Odin!" she exclaimed and engulfed Sailor Moon in a huge hug.
"Stop that!" they gray senshi chided. "She's royalty!"
Aion smiled at Loki and turned to Kami. "Looks like we've found Odin's parallel on this world."
*******
Usagi sat with her four new friends in the park outside her house. The newest senshi had transformed into their mortal forms and were patiently awaiting Usagi's barrage of questions.
The white haired Sailor Aion had introduced her mortal form as Tanshino Eitai and wore an outfit similar to what Setsuna wore while visiting the mortal realm. Sailor Loki, the one who had thought Usagi was Odin, had said her mortal name was Tenson Inchiki, or Kiki for short. She wore black pants and a light blue top and was regarding the park with deep interest. The young gray senshi had become Kuusou Akumu and wore a white dress. The only familiar face had change into the friend Usagi had thought gone for good – Deruku Kami.
"You're from another dimension?" Usagi repeated.
Eitai nodded. "A place called Parallel Earth, where everything has a double here on real Earth. You might have already guessed that my double is Sailor Pluto while Loki's double is Sailor Uranus. Judging by Loki's reaction to you, I would think that Sailor Odin is your double."
"I'm not from another dimension," Akumu spoke up. "I'm from the future."
"So, you're a friend of Chibiusa's?" Usagi asked.
Akumu nodded. "But I don't think she'll know me yet. I met her after she returned home from her adventures in the past. She used to tell me all about them."
"And Kami-chan," Usagi choked over the name.
"I am what I always have been, Usagi-chan," Kami said gently. "The universe is in need of my particular powers since we are facing a god."
Luna sat on Usagi's lap and shook her head. "I remember the stories of Sailor Aion, and I heard Setsuna speak of you, but I have trouble believing all this. Where were you during the Silver Millennia, when the Moon Kingdom was destroyed?"
Eitai smiled sadly. "I was not awakened because the destruction of the Moon Kingdom was a necessary step in time. When the Moon fell, it did not herald the end of the world."
"But it could have, if Queen Serenity hadn't sent the senshi to the future," Luna protested.
"But she did," Eitai replied. "Had she not, and had Beryl tried to destroy the universe, I would have awakened."
Usagi nodded thoughtfully. "So, you're here now because the universe is in peril and you need me to help?"
Eitai nodded. "It's obvious that you play an important role in this mystery, or else Hodur would not be searching for you."
Akumu lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Usagi, but I was not able to protect Chibiusa from Hodur. She was taken, along with the senshi from Crystal Tokyo."
Usagi nodded thoughtfully. "We'll have to discuss this with the others. Do you have a place to stay?"
Eitai nodded. "Setsuna has an apartment nearby that she uses when she visits this time. We will stay there."
"Meet us here tomorrow morning," Luna said. "We'll go to the shrine together and meet with the other senshi. They should all be aware of this new threat."
Eitai nodded and stood. Bowing, she turned and walked away. Akumu and Kami were a step behind her while Kiki remained behind, staring at Usagi with her penetrating crystal eyes.
"Inchiki," Eitai called.
The strange Sailor Loki stood, her eyes never leaving Usagi, and began to walk backwards down the path to where Eitai waited. Once they were out of sight, Usagi rose and she and Luna continued home.
*******
"They are our new allies," Sailor Neptune mused. "How peculiar."
Sailor Uranus crossed her arms angrily over her chest and leaned against the tree trunk. The two senshi stood concealed in the branches of a tall tree and had observed everything that had passed. Neptune looked up at her partner and smiled slyly.
"That Kiki girl has a nice flare about her, don't you think?" Neptune teased.
Uranus spun around to stare at her partner before recognizing the mischievous glint in Neptune's eye. Refusing to be baited, Uranus smiled.
"No more attractive than Kami, now that she had returned," Uranus replied.
Neptune's face fell from playful to outraged and she glared at Uranus with an open mouth. The blond senshi leapt down from her branch to stand next to Neptune.
"Don't look at me like that," Uranus said. "You started it."
Neptune smiled. "Then I guess you'll have to punish me for my behaviour."
Uranus grinned back. "Later. Now we have more scouting to do."
Neptune nodded and the two senshi leapt down from their tree to follow the four foreign senshi.
*******
Rei, Ami, Mamoru, Chibiusa, and Minako regarded the four new senshi warily. They sat at one end of Rei's bedroom while Usagi sat in the middle, and the newcomers at the other end. The girl who called herself Kiki was happily playing with some crayons on the floor, humming to herself. Akumu was looking at Chibiusa with sad eyes, and Eitai was politely sipping her tea. Kami sat on Rei's bed, quietly reading a manga. No one spoke or made any movement at all.
"We really should explain ourselves," Kami remarked without looking up from her manga.
"Yes," Eitai agreed, putting down her cup. "This silence is making them uncomfortable."
"We can't," Akumu protested. "We're missing Lady Jupiter."
Usagi leaned forward to peek out Rei's partially opened door. "This is unlike Mako-chan. She's usually punctual."
As if to answer Usagi, Ami's pocket computer began to beep. She flipped it open and typed a few commands on the keypad. With a gasp, she leapt to her feet.
"I'm getting some seriously high negative energy from downtown," Ami said.
Kami closed her eyes and nodded. "Hodur has just materialized."
"Is he the god we're fighting?" Minako whispered to Rei.
Rei nodded and stood. "We'll have to wait for the explanations later. Right now, we have a battle to fight."
The senshi all nodded in agreement and ran out the door. Akumu paused in the doorway and saw that Kiki was still seated on the floor.
"Are you coming?" Akumu asked.
Kiki shook her head. "Nope. I don't feel like fighting anyone today."
Akumu sighed and closed the door behind her.
*******
When the arrived downtown, the area of the battle was already deserted. Hodur stood in the center of the intersection and beside him stood a young looking man with blue skin and spiky white hair. Their backs were facing the senshi as they arrived, and no one could make out whom they had cornered behind an overturned car.
"Ready?" Usagi asked. "Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!"
"Mars Star Power, Make-Up!"
"Mercury Star Power, Make-Up!"
"Venus Star Power, Make-Up!"
"Moon Prism Power, Make-Up!"
The inner senshi stood ready to battle. Eitai, Kami, and Akumu exchanged looks and each began their transformation.
"Darkness of Night, Transform!" Akumu said, holding up her henshin pen.
"Aion Power, To Me!" Eitai shouted, holding up her hand as if she were about to catch something.
As Akumu disappeared in a cloud of darkness and reemerged as Sailor Nyx, a ball of purple energy came flying out of the sky and exploded on Eitai's open hand. When the dust from the explosion cleared, she was Sailor Aion.
"NeoSun Light Power, Make-Up!" Kami called. Her mortal disguise melted away, revealing her true form. Her large white wings flapped once as if to stretch unused muscles, and the sun emblem on her forehead sparkled. The eight assembled senshi were ready to fight.
"God or no god, you have no right to interfere with our lives," Sailor Moon said. "The Sailor Team is here to send you back where you belong! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
"In the name of the future Moon, I'll punish you!" Chibimoon added.
Hodur turned and smiled at the newly arrived senshi. The blue skinned man next to him smiled evilly, revealing a mouth of fang-like teeth. Behind them, a girl dressed in a green skirt stood shakily to her feet, one hand going to her head.
"Jupiter!" Sailor Venus gasped.
Venus ran to her friend but was pushed backwards by a strong wind. The more Venus tried to fight the wind, the stronger it became until it picked her up off her feet and flung her backwards into a wall. She sank to the ground and lay still.
"Allow me to introduce my servant, Njord," Hodur said with a smiled.
"The wind?" Mars whispered.
"You've heard of him?" Sailor Moon asked.
Mars shook her head. "I was reading up on Norse mythology for our study session. I thought I had heard the name Hodur before!"
Sailor NeoSun nodded. "Hodur is an old Earth god from Norse times. He and his brethren created Parallel Earth together once Christianity began its spread through Europe."
"Enough history lesson," Hodur snapped. "Surrender or be taken."
"Don't you mean destroyed?" Sailor Mars asked.
Hodur shook his head. "Why would I want to kill you? You're all such an important part of my collection."
"Collection?" Sailor Mercury repeated.
"Not today," Sailor Aion said. "Eternity Sweep!"
The razor sharp purple crescents flew at Njord. The wind-god ducked and avoided the attack, which smashed into the building behind him and rained a few rocks on Sailor Jupiter.
"Watch it!" Jupiter called.
"Nightmare Revelation!" Sailor Nyx called, her eyes turning white as she lifted up off the ground.
The white shadows crept out of the cracks of the street to surround Njord. The god looked alarmed for a moment before inhaling deeply and sending them flying with a gust of wind. Sailor Nyx cried out as if she had been struck and sank back to the ground.
"Nyx!" Chibimoon exclaimed.
"I'm okay," Nyx gasped. "I've never encountered such an immense mind! It has no fear at all!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Sailor Mercury called.
Njord grinned as he blew the attack off to one side and laughed as it crashed harmlessly into a wall. Behind him, Hodur started advancing on Jupiter. Sailor Venus had come to her senses and was watching in horror as the god got closer to her best friend.
Suddenly, a red rose landed in Hodur's path. The god paused for a second to stare at the flower, before stepping on it as he continued forward. Tuxedo Mask leapt down from a tall building and placed himself between the god and the injured Jupiter.
"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibimoon said in unison.
"Get out of the way," Hodur snapped.
"Whatever you're doing with the senshi, I will not allow it," Tuxedo Kamen said.
"Good thing I'm not asking for your permission," Hodur replied.
With a sweep of his arm, Hodur knocked Tuxedo Kamen aside and reached out greedily for Sailor Jupiter. Behind Tuxedo Kamen, however, was not only the green senshi but Sailor NeoSun as well. Hodur recoiled as if he had been burned as NeoSun took a step forward.
"Where the heck did you come from?" Hodur grumbled.
NeoSun flapped her wings and smiled. "Faster than light," she said.
Hodur stumbled a few more paces away and straightened. He smiled ferally at NeoSun and spun to face Sailor Moon.
"Princess!" Sailor Aion gasped, running forward.
Njord let loose a gust of wind that blew the eternal senshi across the intersection and slammed her into a lamppost.
"Majesty!" Sailor Nyx cried.
Hodur grabbed the gray senshi by the throat and tossed her after Sailor Aion as if she were a toy. Sailor Moon stared at the god with a brave but terrified face. Sailor NeoSun's face lit up in alarm as she launched herself into the air to protect Sailor Moon. As she landed in front of the princess, Hodur turned back to Jupiter.
"No!" NeoSun exclaimed.
Hodur muttered something under his breath and touched Jupiter's tiara. The green senshi opened her mouth to cry out, but disappeared before she could utter a sound. Tuxedo Kamen lashed out with his hand to grab her, but he passed right through her leg. Hodur laughed and vanished after his prize.
"Mako-chan," Sailor Moon said softly. Then, more loudly, "Mako-chan!"
*******
From on top of a building, Sailor Uranus punched a wall. "Damn."
"Powerful," Neptune commented.
Uranus hung her head. "Aren't we through making sacrifices?"
Neptune sighed. "I don't think we ever will be."
*******
The senshi assembled once more in Rei's room, this time joined by Haruka and Michiru. Usagi sat quietly in a corner with Minako, Luna and Artemis regarding their charges sadly. Kami sat on Rei's bed and looked very pale after the recent battle. Akumu sat next to her protectively, and Chibiusa sat next to Akumu. Eitai sat once again at the table, sipping tea, and Kiki stood behind her, looking at Usagi.
"We must tell them now," Kami said quietly.
Eitai nodded and put her cup down. She looked up at the group with piercing blue eyes, her face a mask of seriousness.
"We are not from this time," Eitai said. "This, you already knew. Kiki is from a dimension called Parallel Earth, which I have already explained to you. That is where Hodur is from as well. Thousands of years ago, Parallel Earth was created for the gods to live, but all have died except Hodur."
"How can a god die?" Haruka interrupted.
Eitai shrugged. "Same way a mortal dies. He is killed. The senshi of Parallel Earth, however, are descendants of the old gods. They possess the gods' powers to a minor degree. Kiki, here, is the last in the line of Loki, the god of mischief and thievery."
Kiki smiled pleasantly.
"You already know Kami's story – or will know it in the future. For now, we will simply say that she has returned from the dead as the representative of Order and Light. Since Hodur is by far the strongest enemy you will ever face, she has returned to lend us her power."
Usagi glanced up at Kami. She thought back to the battle, how Hodur had recoiled at her presence. She hadn't even attacked him, but it looked like it was taking its toll on her. Her skin was pale and her eyes barely opened as she leaned against Akumu. Usagi wondered what the relationship between the two girls was.
"Akumu," Eitai continued, "is from the distant future. I dare not say more in case I disrupt the time stream. She is the senshi of the Mind and might give us an edge over Hodur."
"What about you?" Ami asked.
Eitai smiled gently. "I am from Parallel Earth as well, in a way. I am the double of Sailor Pluto, which is why I can use the powers of her garnet orb. It was my duty to guard the Gates of Time and the time stream if anything should happen to Pluto."
"What happened to Puu?" Chibiusa demanded.
Eitai shook her head. "I don't know. I found her missing, the Gates opened, and the garnet orb staff lying on the ground. I arrived at the city of Asgard on Parallel Earth to find the god of Light murdered."
Kiki seemed to pale slightly at the mention of the god of Light. She bit her lower lip and cast down her eyes.
"I went to the future to find Sailor Moon," Eitai said, "but was too late."
"The future senshi were all taken by Hodur," Akumu interrupted bitterly. "I cold do nothing to save them."
"So we came to this time, before Hodur took Sailor Moon," Eitai finished, "to ask for your help. We must stop Hodur and set the time lines straight."
"But what does he want with the senshi?" Minako asked.
Eitai shook her head. "I have no idea, but whatever it is, it must be stopped. You are all at risk, Sailor Moon most of all. There must be a reason he followed us to the past."
Usagi paled slightly. "We'll find out what happened to the future and Parallel senshi," she promised.
"And we'll get Mako-chan back," Luna added.
Eitai smiled. "Good. That is what I wanted to hear."
"How do we fight a god?" Mamoru inquired. "Our attacks didn't seem to harm him."
"Except Kami-chan's," Mercury observed.
All eyes turned to the bed where Kami sat, propped up against the wall and Akumu. She smiled at them.
"Darkness is always weak against light," Kami said softly, "and light is weak against dark."
"Are you hurt?" Usagi asked, leaping to her feet.
Kami shook her head. "Not physically."
"Her presence injures Hodur," Akumu explained, "but it harms her as well."
Eitai rose to her feet. "We should be leaving. Please keep on your guards. Hodur must have another weakness. We just need to find it."
Eitai bowed politely and left the room, Kiki a step behind her. Akumu helped Kami to her feet and lead her out of the room.
*******
"Why didn't you tell them about Ragnarok?" Inchiki asked.
Eitai brushed her hair out of her eyes and glanced back at the temple steps, so much like the steps to the palace of the Immortal Senshi in Asgard. Kiki stood beside her, staring up at her with large blue eyes.
"No need to worry them," Eitai replied. "Until the horn from the Rainbow Bridge sounds, we don't need to worry about it either."
"Does Hodur really have another weakness?" Akumu asked.
Eitai smiled at the younger girl. "I think he does, Akumu-chan."
*******
"What do you think?" Rei asked her friends.
Ami was typing furiously into her small pocket computer. Mamoru was sitting next to Usagi, who had moved from the floor to Rei's bed. Chibiusa sat beside them. Haruka and Michiru sat quietly in the corner, observing the discussion, while Minako sat on the floor with Luna and Artemis.
"That battle seemed real enough," Minako commented. "Do we really have a choice? Hodur must be stopped."
"How?" Haruka asked. "How do you kill a god?"
"It can be done," Mamoru said. "Eitai-san said it had been before."
"Can we believe them?" Michiru wondered. "Are they who they say they are?"
"I think we can trust them," Usagi said. "Kami is healed, with no more darkness in her soul, and I get a good feeling from Akumu."
"I took some readings from the battle," Ami remarked conversationally. "Hodur is incased in negative energy, like a shield. When he took Mako-chan, he absorbed her into the shield before her energy disappeared."
"So we can't touch him," Haruka grumbled. "Terrific."
"If we can break the shield," Ami mused. "It would take a significant amount of energy."
"Like the Silver Crystal?" Usagi asked.
All eyes turned to the blond haired girl. She sat upright on the bed, free from Mamoru's comforting embrace. "I want this war over quickly so we can return to our normal lives," she finished.
"The Crystal might do it if Hodur was weakened," Ami thought, "but it will leave you defenseless. If the attack doesn't work, he will take you, too."
"We can't risk it, Usako," Mamoru said, holding Usagi's hand.
Usagi nodded and lowered her head. Chibiusa regarded her future mother somberly. If they had the Sacred Cup, she could become Super Sailor Moon and Hodur wouldn't stand a chance. Chibiusa sighed and looked out Rei's bedroom window, longing for the peaceful days they had left behind.
*******
Hodur sat on the Golden Throne in the palace of the Immortal Senshi. The senshi of Parallel Earth had fought well, but were gone. He glanced to his right, where the blue haired Sailor Odin hung from her wrists unconscious. Hodur rather liked the wall hanging; a tapestry of his victories. But there would be time enough to gloat once he had achieved his goal.
With a snap of his fingers, Sailor Odin vanished. Hodur ran his fingers lovingly down the arms of the Golden Throne and smiled. He disappeared after Odin, leaving the palace devoid of the life and laughter it had once cherished.