49: "Take Back Tokyo! Part Four: Stand Up and Shout"
Sailor Venus pierced through a chilly air atop her glittering avatar. She was joined by Sailor Mercury, watching over her as much as following her, indicating which paths to take. Although much of the city had been liberated and cleansed of the oppression that had caked over it, the treatment was not yet complete, and as they would be running into dangerous territory—very dangerous, now that their opposition knew the sting of defeat and would defend against it with all their might—they would not be going alone. Most of the other Senshi were amassing to the capitol to mount an all-out assault against the main forces of the gods, but Sailors Mars and Pluto had split off from them to join Venus and Mercury. The air was alight with gorgeous prisms and sparkling gold, half caused by Quetzalcoatl's plumage and half by Mercury's totem as its scales reflected the light and broke it into hundreds of glittering beams; the surface was afire as Mars and Sleipnir galloped off, the heavens thundering in reverence to the Time Serpent which bore its master.
The streets had no life yet, but were still glowing and pulsating with an unknown energy. Venus and Mercury flew closer to the surface to see what this was, and noticed great thick cables running across all the streets, some entwining themselves around Tokyo's cityscape like vines. They were connecting great red pods, which was where most of the glowing came from. Mercury opened up her H.U.D. and scanned them, grimacing as she read multiple life forms.
"Those pods are full of people," she announced grimly. Venus grimaced.
"It's like something out of a cheesy horror film. What's happening to them?"
"I can't tell. They're not being killed, that's for certain."
"Well, considering how many times we've seen something like this, odds are their energy's being harvested. Strange how all our enemies always resort to the same old pla—"
"Watch it!" Venus shrieked as a huge bolt whizzed right by her, cutting the feathers from Quetzalcoatl's ventral. The sky was suddenly filled with enormous barbed spears flying everywhere; the surface became overrun with the forces of the gods. Venus and her totem took to the heavens; Mercury quickly streamed over their heads, drawing their fire.
"So whose are these?"
"No idea. Lots of people we've seen before, maybe leftovers from all the other fights."
"There sure are a lot of em'. I'm doing a decent job of outrunning them; what about you, Rei?"
"No sweat! I've killed about seven or eight of em' already. Setsu's doing okay, too. That serpent's huge but almost impossible to hit, and anything that does touch it just bounces right off!"
"I'm coming in from above," Venus called. "Ami, give me some cover!"
"Roger." She and Llyn Llyw spewed thick fog over the army, then retreated to Mars' location while Venus swooped in, cutting huge swaths with her beams. A terrible roar pierced the sky as the huge gaping mouth of Ouroboros rose out of the mist, swallowing countless enemies whole. The teeth caught several cables as well, biting through them with a single snap. The pods flickered for a moment, then the light went out. A great fire dispelled the fog, leaving only Mars atop her horse, armed with a flaming bow.
"Looks like those pods lose power once they're cut off from wherever they're going. I'm going to stay behind and break as many away as I can! Whatever's doing this is only going to get stronger if we don't stop it!"
"And what makes you think I'll let you do that by yourself?" Sailor Pluto smirked as the Ouroboros lifted her to Mars' position. She hopped off and calmly walked over to the flaming steed. "After all, somebody will have to keep an eye on—excuse me." She whirled around and blasted a cluster that was trying to sneak up on her, then returned to Mars, fixing loose strands of hair. "Like I was saying, somebody needs to watch your back. And a few other parts, too." She winked shamelessly, causing Sailor Mars to blush. Venus couldn't help but issue a wolf whistle; Mercury was a little more practical.
"I'd like to follow these cables and see where they go."
"Then that's where I'll be." Venus winked as she stirred her totem to soar higher. "Lead the way, blueberry muffin." Mercury grinned, turning a little red herself, and wished Mars and Pluto good luck. Mars waved and nocked a scorching-hot arrow to her bowstring.
"All right, Setsu, it's just you and me against a—yeep!" She jumped as Pluto swatted her rear end; Pluto chuckled softly to herself.
"After you, sweet potato."
"Sw...sweet potato?!"
…...
Mercury and Venus noticed the cables and pods extended much more than they first thought, and feared their friends might be in over their heads. All of the Senshi combined would find it difficult cutting through this jungle of wires, and there was a legion of enemies to consider as well. For a moment, Venus wondered if she should go back and help them. She gave Mercury an anxious look, which was returned by the same loving, faithful gaze she always held.
"You're thinking of going back." But of course Mercury knew what she was thinking. They had known each other for years; they had shared one another, all the way down to their most vulnerable core.
"Not anymore," she confessed coldly. "We have to finish this. Go to the source, cut it off..." She stirred Quetzalcoatl on, her face steely and terrible in the wind, eyes sapphire daggers. Venus was in total leadership mindset now, doing what she must to get the job done, dauntless and unwavering. Mercury looked back at the mounting wire amalgam, at how easily it consumed Mars and Pluto, then turned around and resumed navigation.
"You're right," she whispered reluctantly. "It's the logical thing to do." She cast a veil of fog ahead to protect them from their enemy's sights, but several volleys got through, and one struck Llyn Llyw down, and Mercury with it. She vanished beneath the fog, leaving only Venus aloft. Without even thinking, Venus burst through the clouds, losing precious time in a battle to free her lover from the surrounding hordes. A sword cut her arm; a spear nicked her side; a cudgel bounced off her back. She got Mercury airborne again and suffered a hailstorm of arrows for her troubles, but at last they were away again. Mercury could say nothing, she was so astonished.
"I guess I'm a hypocrite!" Venus smiled sadly, all bloody and bruised, and Mercury felt tears of gratitude welling in her eyes.
"I appreciate the gesture."
Eventually, after flying over another kilometer or so of cables, pods, and opposition, they came across the focal point of all the energy, unquestionably Inana's lair, which was so thickly saturated with strange crimson fog that it cast a red light on everything else around it; even the sky looked tainted by its color. The miasma was sweet, though, very heady and intoxicating, like a lover's perfume. Venus and Mercury could smell it from a long way off, and were loathe to approach it without protection.
"It seems to be some kind of pheromone," Mercury said, scanning its composition with her visor. "I can't yet say what it's made of, but there's no question what it's for. We're going to find it very difficult keeping our heads straight in there."
"Hey, I'm the undisputed master of love, and you're the most level-headed person I've ever known! Who could possibly be more qualified?"
"Even so, I think we need to clear it away." Mercury called up a chilling blast of bubbles and sprinkled them over the fog while Llyn Llyw spewed a torrential blast from his mouth. The attack had some effect but the miasma continued billowing up and out, faster than it could be dispelled. Venus grew impatient and simply blasted the roof open, allowing much of the gas to escape into the air. After sweeping more of it away, they approached, and were able to see Inana herself from their vantage point.
"Okay, you shameless harlot, prepare to face the wrath of—whoa!" Inana didn't waste any time, and forcibly drew them down with a powerful gesture. Before they could do or say anything, she had them bound and silenced, held fast so that she could study them, and they could see all that was happening.
A crowd of people stood at the entrance, perpetually growing as more were added to their numbers. Every so often, about twenty of them were removed from the group by Inana's followers, but no force or violence was needed, as the red miasma had made everyone docile and dreamy. The people were placed into the red pods, and cables were latched onto the pods; then the device slithered out into the city to join the others. Sure enough, the people were being influenced by Inana's love-inducing toxin, and the more it was encouraged and drawn out, the more powerful the levels of harvested energy became. Some of that energy was certainly going to Inana, but most of it fed the device that was creating the miasma, thus enabling her to perpetuate her operation.
"Sometimes I hate it when I'm right," Venus muttered. "Different enemy, same plans."
"What is it you speak of, my acolyte?" Inana's focus lazily turned to her prisoners. Her voice and her stare were drenched with seduction and want; it was no wonder all these people put up no resistance. Even the Senshi could barely resist—but resist they did, for love had ruined them for all others. Venus glared blue fire.
"You're stealing people off the street for your own profit! We've seen it a million times before, so don't think you're being original!"
"My profit?" she said, mildly taken aback. She took a moment to ruminate over this, cooling herself with a fan. "I won't deny that, my little morning star, but the profit is not entirely mine. You have no doubt witnessed how my companions operate. Would you say the lives of the servants are easier, happier, freer under their thumbs than these people are? I would not think so. Nobody was coerced here, nobody drawn or dragged against their will, and they are given bliss and happiness and romance and everything else that motivates their kind. They give me what is theirs, and thus empowered, I reward them. From what do you find offense?"
"From the fact that you know nothing about love."
"And you shall teach me, little one, false acolyte?"
"No. I've learned long ago that fools never listen."
A terrible blow broke their restraints, put a crack in the wall, and sent both women tumbling to the ground, where they took a very long time in stirring.
"And some fools never know when to be quiet," Inana countered. Mercury gingerly picked herself up, helping her lover. Their hands were united in the goddess's presence.
"If you want an example of real love, of happiness and freedom and bliss, then look no further. But it's not only all of that: there must be suffering as well, and toil. How can anything be strengthened or refined if it first doesn't go through the pain? And you presume to offer these people something wonderful, without them ever knowing its fullness, its excessive joys, its strange sweetness..."
Thunder clapped as Mercury was thrown to her feet again. Inana stood trembling, brittle splinters from her fan clenched between her fingers. Her beauteous countenance shivered, making her even more terrible and beautiful to behold; her fragrant lips curled, eyes dancing with wildness.
"None who trespass in my world, destroy my devices, and insult my sovereign right have any love for this world. If it is suffering you crave, you shall have it in abundance." The roiling clouds surrounding her burst open as terrible four-faced demons erupted out, armed with pikes and sickles and cudgels and claws, but they mostly preferred using their teeth, and dug into the Senshi like they were pot roast. They were both weakened severely by Inana's first attack, but Mercury had been hit twice, and put up much less of a defense. Venus killed one almost immediately, but only by accident; she was trying to shoo them away from her lover and had prepared a scattering beam, but one got in the way and took it point blank, countless searing bolts of light perforating him instantly.
Momentarily surprised, she plowed on to save her lover, but was attacked fiercely, and got the guts knocked out of her. They chewed her arms; the weapons crushed and slashed her; flawless golden flax was shorn. Mercury's hand snapped out, fueled by rage and love, punching a hole clean through one using only water. She lifted Sailor Venus to her feet, and thus their hands were locked again. If Inana needed to see what true love was like, indeed: for they would die for each other, yes, but they would kill, too, if they had to.
So Inana called out six more of the four-faced monsters—and then six more to immediately follow those.
"Hey, Ami."
"I know." She squeezed her hand. "I'm with you, Minako."
"How many do you think we can take with us?"
"In our state? Eight or nine. But she'll be the first."
Inana snarled. Seventeen more of the demons emerged from the mist.
"And you shall be blotted out, and none alive shall bear memory of you..."
It's the same old song
You've gotta be somewhere at sometime
They never let you fly
It's like broken glass
You get cut before you see it
So open up your eyes
The wall caved in as Makoto's Metal Mix soared to louder heights. Four of the creatures were buried by the rubble; many more were consumed as fire burnt away the mist. The cables entwining Inana's lair coiled and mounted like spaghetti, snapping just as easily as an enormous mouth bit down. Blasts of ice cracked open the pods; Inana screamed as a large bolt punched straight through her heart. Whatever was left of the vile mist slowly cleared as all involved caught their breath.
You've got desire
So let it out!
You've got the power
Stand up and shout!
Shout!
Stand up and shout!
"You two work fast!" Venus remarked. Sailors Pluto and Mars smiled, though they were weary and perspiring heavily.
"Either that, or we just can't help ourselves."
"Saving recklessly heroic blondes is our purpose in life. God forbid we ever fall in love with them!"
"We still owe you one," Venus said with a salute. "But let's not waste any time gasping. Let's level this place and put it behind us." A bone-shattering scream stopped her, and when she looked around, she watched in horror as Inana rose up from her own ashes, her chest still scarred and gaping.
You've got wings of steel
But they never really move you
You only seem to crawl
You've been nailed to the wheel
But never really turning
You know you've got to want it all
The red fog that had filled the room was being sucked into the wound, healing her and increasing her strength exponentially. So great was the absorption that her present physical state could not contain it, so her body swelled to even greater gigantic proportions than before, almost bursting out of the building itself. She also sprouted seven more heads and fourteen arms, each of them grabbing one of the weapons her followers had used. She even unhooked some of the cables and lashed them like whips.
"We really have to stop speaking too soon!" Mars yelled.
You've got desire
So let it out!
You've got the power
Stand up and shout!
Shout!
Stand up and shout!
Let it out!
She sprang away as the terrific power and speed of her enemy came crashing down, not resting for an instant as the whip curled around, lashing up, narrowly missing her foot as she rebounded, throwing a wild fireball. It missed; Venus went scattershot, attacking when she could and running circles around the monstrous goddess when she could not, which was far more often. Bearing eight heads allowed the Meta-Inana to see all of her enemies at all times in all angles, with eyes to spare, so nobody could ever escape her gaze or confuse her, and having sixteen arms meant that there were four different ways she could kill each of the Senshi, and of course having so many heads allowed her to split that concentration evenly; and besides, she had already been powerful before this transformation, and now she was nearly indestructible, so the Senshi were at an enormous disadvantage.
Even though they spent so much of their time narrowly avoiding bifurcation, crushing, strangulation, perforation, or anything else Inana could throw—just as they spent time absorbing what they gambled to be the lesser of the blows, because they were either too slow or misjudged the distance of their jump, or at best, were setting up an attack—even though their lives were a constant battle for survival, they had not been thrust into a hopeless situation. They were much smaller than their foe, and considerably more nimbly. Inana's size worked against her, for she could only move her arms and heads, which still flitted about at incredible speed, but perhaps there was a place they could not reach: the Senshi tried for that space. And they were still attacking when they could, and as all of Inana's arms were busy killing, she could do nothing to defend herself, and being so large, it was very difficult to miss her. Sailor Mercury helped by cloaking the room with mist—the kind that could never be absorbed, the kind the Senshi could see through clearly, the kind Mercury could make an extension of herself, weave through gracefully, strike as she pleased, slip back without anyone the wiser. Mercury was deadly once the whole room was filled with mist, but that meant Mars could no longer attack, as the fire would eat away the mist and give her position away, nor could Venus do anything, since her beams would have the same effect.
Pluto made capitol of it, silent and invisible and deadly. Inana's screaming drowned out all other sounds.
You are the strongest chain
And not just some reflection
So never hide again
All of this fighting was having a terrible effect on the structure. It had already suffered under successive blows, and when Inana's body matched her power, it buckled from the strain. The ferocity of the battle was its death-knell; Inana's terrible blows swung against it with as much indiscretion as the Senshi's attacks. It didn't take long for the structure to begin collapsing, so Venus took charge at once and ordered an evacuation. Mercury took the slimmest fraction of time she dared to realize many people were still trapped in those pods, and even with the speed of her namesake aiding them, the world could come tumbling down and kill them all before they could do anything about it.
You are the driver
You own the road
You are the fire
Go on explode!
Yet abandoning them was never within the realm of possibility.
You've got desire
So let it out!
You've got the power...
So she called forth all of her power, diverting a stream to meet them there. Hercules himself could not have cleaned the Aegean Stables any faster.
Stand up and shout!
Stand up and shout!
Let it out!
Stand up and shout...
The structure fell just as the last of them were swept away, the terrible crash cutting Inana's shrieking silent. Slowly, the water abated. Pluto was the first to recover, coughing quietly as she climbed to her feet. Her staff flickered, cracking open nearby pods, and soon Mars had joined her. Venus took a moment to help Mercury up, and they embraced tenderly without saying a word.
Then, finally, "You okay?" A nod, some kisses. "Damn, but you kicked some ass, Ami."
"I couldn't have done it without you." Venus smiled, finally releasing her lover, and stared at the rubble. The sun was going down.
"I guess that's the end of her. Now all we have to do is—"
Chunks of stone scattered as a bloody arm shot up from the debris. A body pulled itself out as Venus screamed.
"No way! The Ninja Turtles lied to us!"
"I friggin' told you we need to stop doing that," Mars grumbled. The Senshi, weary through they were, were not entirely disheartened when their enemy revived herself and limped towards them. She had likely spent all of her excess power surviving that disaster, because she was back to her smaller stature (albeit still a giantess). All of her beauty and charm had been desecrated; she was bruised, ugly, bleeding, and had lost her glow. There was an animal savagery in her face; she ground her teeth and heaved hoarsely. She spoke, but only gurgling blood came from her mouth.
"Okay, Sailors," Venus announced in her boldest leader voice, "you ready for another round?"
"You know it," Mars stated, clenching her fist. Mercury nodded solemnly.
"You already know how I feel."
"To the death," Pluto said ominously, holding her staff aloft, "one way or another."
The four guardians charged; Inana threw herself at them; she gurgled fanatically as she was lit up. A huge bolt of thunder had struck her from behind, and was holding her still, though her barbaric cry was louder and more terrible than anything they had heard.
Venus recognized their backup at once: "Makoto!"
"Sailor Moon!" Mercury gasped, astonished to see her closest friend. The two women glared.
"Hurry, we don't have much time!" The Senshi understood and let her have it with all their attacks, ripping her to pieces with renewed vigor. Sailor Moon raised her scepter to the sky, waved it majestically, and the screaming stopped for good.
The silence was positively delicious. Venus let it hang before she embraced Jupiter.
"That was awesome! You guys totally rock!"
"It is good to see you're well," Mars added, smiling warmly at Sailor Moon. She winked at her.
"We got an unexpected early leave. So what's the deal with those pods?"
"Help us break them open and you'll see."
With six Sailors, it didn't take long for them to finish the job, and with nothing else to keep them there, and nothing else to get in their way, there was but one mission left. Gathering her friends, Sailor Moon took the first steps to liberating the capitol, and putting an end to this tribulation once and for all.
Author's note:
Woof. My body totally shut down right before Christmas, and I've suffered through one malady or another since (physical pain, sickness, stress, single-digit degree weather). On top of that, this chapter was an absolute beast to write, as it went through several drafts and dead ends, although I think I can be satisfied with it now. I don't consider writing to be difficult, just good writing, and I'm not satisfied with mediocrity. I'm beyond burned out, but at the same time, the finish line looms ever closer. The next chapter is going to be much bigger, perhaps the biggest of them all, so hopefully I can slap some sense into myself. Lord knows nobody else will do it.
Oh yes, and the song is Stand Up and Shout by Ronny James Dio.