55: "Hot pursuit"
The thing about looking for trouble is that one often finds it faster, and in other places or forms, than one expects. Sailor Moon had feared a disaster befalling the ones she loved, and one had certainly come to them—but only to those that could not defend themselves against such evil. Sailor Saturn, who had been on the lookout for such a disaster, reported that four "unspeakable abominations" had been seen, carrying various friends and family of the Senshi in their arms, congregating with a sixth, and far more terrifying, member of their hideous cadre. She had been able to trail them until Sailor Pluto called her with news that put a wrinkle in their designs: Nergal had been found at last, and was almost ready to play his hand.
"Where did they all go?" Sailor Moon had asked.
"I don't know, they moved too fast for me to follow—and besides, I cut off my pursuit to go after Nergal."
"Who did they capture?" she spat desperately. Sailor Saturn hesitated.
"Your mother, Naru, Asanuma, Ryo...Shingo..."
"And you stopped following them?!"
"If we go after Nergal, this will all be over. I know what you're going to say, Usagi, but the faster we can take out the leader, the faster..."
"Wait," Pluto called, "we don't need to compromise on this. Saturn and I will join Uranus and Neptune in the battle with Nergal. Sailor Moon, your team should concentrate on rescuing everybody."
"Setsuna, we're going to need all the help we can get," Saturn said.
"That's true, but we have no idea who, or what, these things are, or what they plan on doing. In all honesty, it might actually be worse. I would feel a lot more comfortable if all our bases were covered."
"So would I!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. "Hotaru, when was the last time you saw them?"
"I followed them up to the city limits. They were heading southwest, towards Chubu and Hokuriku."
"I wonder why they went there," she murmured to herself. "They definitely sound fast, but we'll catch them! You worry about Nergal—I'll make sure everyone's safe."
"Thank you, Usagi," she whispered, unmistakably relieved. Sailor Moon couldn't help but smile as she ended the transmission. Saturn had an ironclad sense of duty just like all the other Outer Senshi, but even she could waver when a loved one, specifically Usagi's brother, was on the line. Sailor Moon sounded the call to the other Senshi; they agreed to rendezvous at Otsuki, just on the border between Kanto and Chubu.
Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to herself, Sailor Moon decided to forgo her avatar and went to the nearest outbound train. Unfortunately, the only one bound for Otsuki had left by the time she got there. Not to let a minor inconvenience like that deter her, she chased after it, gritting her teeth and pumping her legs furiously, snaking her arms out and catching the rail of the very last car. She then scrambled onto the top, catching her breath on the roof. The train came to a tunnel by the time she had calmed her pulse, and when it came out, she saw Sailor Jupiter climbing up to meet her.
"Hey, dumpling!" she saluted. "Great minds think alike!" They smiled and clasped hands. "Any idea where this train's taking us?"
"No, and I can't really think of anything in Chubu or Hokuriku that would warrant their attention. Oh, did you hear the other news?"
"That Hotaru and the others found where the boss is? Yeah. But I can't be there with them, you know? I just can't."
"I know. Say..." She hesitated, glancing away as she clung tight to the roof. "Ah, is your family all right?"
"Motoki and the kids are fine. They grabbed Unazuki, though."
"Oh, no! They have my mother and brother, and Naru. I guess they went after the people we care about." Jupiter nodded grimly.
"The only real reason we kept our identities secret." The Senshi trembled with anger and helplessness, but Sailor Moon picked up first, touching her partner's arm.
"Hey. There's only one thing we can do about it now, and we're doing it. Let's ride this train and show them what it means to mess with the Senshi." Jupiter finally elicited a smile, and hunkered down a little as they passed through another tunnel.
When they came out of it, some Thing stood waiting for them on the train.
Its sheer presence caused the sky to darken. The air around it warped and waved, emanations of unrestrained evil billowing from its misshapen form. Nothing could properly describe its magnificent gruesomeness, the bile squirming from its twisted face, the hatred stabbing from its eyes. The train buckled underneath it; the metal turned to rust. Even glancing upon it made the Senshi nauseous; they had not experienced such a foul aberration since their city was visited by a dragon. Whatever this malodorous being was, it held a power equal to, if not even greater than, the monstrosity that had leveled their city. It remained motionless, and silent, scalding the Sailors with its withering stare.
"Yeesh," Sailor Moon cringed, "what the heck is that thing?"
"Just another ugly lackey!" Jupiter scoffed. Sailor Moon clenched her jaw and brandished her scepter.
"Whatever it is, it's standing between us and our destination."
"Not for long!" Jupiter rolled up an electric sphere and hurled it at the thing, but it lashed its arm out, catching the blast in its hand and diffusing it with a thunderous crush. She took a deep breath. "Okay..." Both arms hurled out, calling forth thunder; the thing swatted the blast away as if it were a flea, holding its stare, never moving or speaking. "Fine, we'll do this the hard way," Jupiter muttered, charging at the thing full force, leaping and kicking—bouncing right off with a shriek of pain added. Her foot smoldered; she bent down and checked it. "Yeowch," she grimaced, "what the heck is this thing made of?" The thing finally moved, lifting its arm away from the Senshi, pointing it to a distant section of the track. With but a gesture the track disintegrated in a colossal flash of fire, leaving nothing but a gaping hole.
"Oh, crap," Sailor Moon whispered. She glared at the thing, then glanced over the edge. "Jupiter," she said, "do you think you can stall this guy? One of us has to fix that track." Jupiter dusted herself off, focusing between the thing and her friend. She smiled weakly.
"I don't know how much help I'm gonna be, but I'll do my best." Sailor Moon smiled and leaped off the edge of the train, whistling loudly. The Cerynitian stag came charging out, catching her on its back, and together they raced to the destroyed section of the track, leaving Jupiter to fight the thing on her own.
"Okay, creep," she snarled, "let's see if you can survive this!" She clapped her palms together, forming an incredibly powerful shockwave. She held the wave in her hands, increasing its power until the entire train sparkled with energy. When the wave had reached maximum power, Jupiter wound up and threw, roaring loudly. The blast made it halfway to its destination before the thing opened its mouth and issued an earth-shattering bellow that fizzled the blast and blasted Jupiter so far back that she fell off the rear car. Luckily, Airavata had come to its master's aid, catching her and putting her back on the train.
"Thanks!" she gushed. "Now let's..." The thing wasted no time, blasting its voice at the connector between the cars, splitting them with such force that the car flipped off the rail into the air, hurtling towards Jupiter. "Eep," was all she could say as she shut her eyes and braced for destruction. She heard a crash, but not the explosive sort she had expected, and looked up to see Sailor Mercury cushioning the car with her bubbles. She set it down safely, but now that the connector had been severed, the last car was losing momentum and slowing down.
"Hey, ladies! Need a lift?" Mars and Sleipnir came thundering down the tracks, offering her hand. Jupiter smiled and leaped from the car onto her avatar.
"No thanks, I got one!"
"So much for the element of surprise!" Mars said. "So who's that charming fellow?"
"No idea, but he shook off all my attacks like they were nothing."
"Then we just need to step up the attacks!" Mars grinned. Jupiter looked over at Mercury, who was riding on her fish.
"Where's Venus?"
…...
Sailor Moon was keeping her eyes on the destroyed bridge, formulating a plan to rebuild it with the materials she had on hand. Although her abilities mainly focused on regeneration and purification, with a bit of creativity and some help from her transformation pen, she could conceivably repair this damage. The problem was with the extent of these repairs: she had never undergone a task so great before. She was so focused on her goal that she didn't quite look where she was going, or see what was ahead of her, and nearly got thrown off as the stag swerved suddenly to the right, narrowly avoiding an abrupt explosion of earth and fire.
"What the heck was that?" Righting herself, she saw a tall, thin, malevolent creature directly in front of her, its face partially covered by a helmet, its mouth scarred and frothing. Two of its four arms glowed white-hot. "Oh," she sighed, clutching her scepter. She spurred the stag onward, faster, galloping at tremendous speed, and swiped with her scepter as she passed the creature. It bent down deeply, pliable as rubber, avoiding the shot whilst retaliating with one of its own. Sailor Moon escaped the blast, quickly turned around, and shot at the creature, but it danced out of the way, impossibly nimble, shooting one more time, dislodging her. She raised her scepter again as she stood, but it was knocked away. The creature grinned, and took long, springy steps forward.
"I don't have time for this," she sighed. "We can either do this the easy way or—" A black hand shot out and covered her mouth; the skinny creature lunged at her, knocking her down, pinning her with its rubbery arms. Its face lowered to meet her, wheezing with toxic breath and acidic saliva. She winced as the droplets seared her skin and clothes, wriggling helplessly.
"No matter what happens, Usagi Tsukino, remember this," it whispered to her, soft and quiet as a nightmare: "You have already lost."
Inhaling deeply, she screamed. The jewels embedded in her hair amplified the sound, piercing the creature's skull with unrelenting pain, forcing it to relinquish its hold. Sailor Moon picked herself up again and flung her tiara, cutting the creature in two.
"That's funny," she panted, "I don't feel like a loser." She focused on the bridge again, bringing her pen out. "Transformation pen, become a..." A thick squelching sound drew her away; when she turned around, she saw the monster's parts reforming, only twisting and warping until it no longer resembled the thin creature it was before. Her shoulders slumped. "Oh, come on!" It charged at her; she launched a jaw-breaking kick at it, then whirled around and threw her pen at the bridge, commanding it to span the gap. A makeshift patch formed, but it wasn't nearly strong enough to support the oncoming train. The monster leaped out and grabbed her from behind: needless to say, both problems required significant support.
She was suddenly freed as the monster's head was vaporized. A bright light broke the bleak skies.
"Sorry I'm late!" exclaimed her savior. "I got held up at the Venus Line! Get it?"
"A woman can only put up with your cracks for so long, Minako!" she replied. Sailor Venus laughed and offered her traditional salute.
"I'm sorry, I really couldn't help myself, and it was so appropriate, considering we're not that far from..."
"Mina! The bridge!" Sailor Venus snapped out of it and looked to the hastily-repaired structure. The monster had reformed itself again and was trying to break Sailor Moon's patch by hand. Venus sent Quetzalcoatl to intercept, and tied a golden band around the patch to support it. The bird ripped the monster in half, stuffing its torso into its beak, throwing the second half onto the tracks, where it was summarily flattened by the oncoming train.
"Gross!" Mars shrieked as the monster's entrails flew about. She and Mercury were splattered; Jupiter got thrown aside by the thing they had been battling. As she was hurled, it dug its hands into the roof of the car, peeling it off like a sardine tin.
"We'll get a shower later!" Mercury shouted. "Heads up!" She and Mars dove as the huge piece of scrap bounced and scraped away; the thing leaped into the air and came down with such tremendous force that it broke another car in two. Jupiter got up and rushed after it while its back was turned, giving it a big shock at point-blank range. The thing weathered her attack stoically, jumped overboard, and kicked the other half of the car away, with her still on it. Mercury had a rough time trying to catch both halves, but she was saved as Sailor Venus and her avatar caught one. Jupiter landed safely in Sailor Moon's arms, blushing and thanking her graciously.
"I get the feeling he doesn't want us on that thing!"
"Well, it's not like we have a pass!" The stag galloped hard until it had caught up with the last car, enabling Moon and Jupiter to climb back on. Mercury sailed alongside the train while Mars and Venus surrounded the thing. It now faced all five Senshi.
"So, myth-girl, any idea what this thing is?" Mars said. Venus crossed her arms.
"Nope, not at all. Could be anything. Same goes for that springy guy we just flattened." The monstrosity suddenly bellowed again, its squeal agonizingly sharp, shattering all the nearby windows and crippling everyone within range. Venus slung a feeble ray before she was crushed; Mars encased herself in a circle of fire, but it was put out. Mercury nearly went deaf as she encompassed the monster with an ice barrier, which immediately drowned out the noise, but shattered just as quickly.
"So can we take this guy or what, Sailors?" Moon said. Mars winced and rubbed her ears.
"Jupiter's right, this thing's tougher than granite. Everything we throw at it just bounces off."
"Mercury?" She activated her Heads-Up Display, but it fizzled and shattered to pieces, causing her to slip. Venus immediately ran to her side, but the monster roared, sending both of them flying. Venus just barely managed to wrangle her chain around the car, with Mercury clinging to her free hand.
"You son of a bitch!" Mars screamed. Her long black hair danced as she was surrounded by intense heat, but a single gesture from the monster fizzled her. All of the cars, save for theirs, were lifted into the air, and came hurling at the Senshi. Mars swore. "Oh, f..."
"MAHISHA!" The monstrosity screamed at them one last time before it disappeared, and the skies were blotted by whirling cars and screaming people. Sailor Moon saw no alternative, and quickly imbibed herself with the Powers Eternal, becoming Eternal Sailor Moon just long enough to stop their movement and set them down. Their car ground to a slow halt as she powered down and sat gasping for air.
"Uh...are you okay?" Mars said. Jupiter ran over to help Venus and Mercury up; Sailor Moon shuddered as she stood.
"Y...yeah. It was only for a few seconds. I'm good, Rei, I promise." She immediately buckled, trembling uncontrollably. The Senshi surrounded her, lending her their strength. "No, really... W-we shouldn't waste any time. Whatever's happening here, I know that monster's behind it. We need to...hurry."
"But we still don't know where they're going, and we've completely lost sight of them," Jupiter noted. Mercury pursed her lips.
"Not quite. Just before my visor was destroyed, I caught a glimpse of a power surge heading towards Honshu Island. And we all know what's on Honshu Island."
Of course they did; any self-respecting Japanese citizen knew that. The enemy was headed for Mt. Fuji.
…...
Mt. Fuji and Honshu Island were roughly fifty kilometers away from Otsuki, a significant distance to travel even at top speed. They discussed what possible reason their enemy would draw their loved ones there, and as usual, Mercury had a theory. Mt. Fuji was, strictly speaking, a volcano, or at least a stratovolcano, and although it had been dormant for three-hundred years, causing an eruption would reap untold devastation. Even that catastrophe seemed a little too trivial for the beings they were dealing with, though, especially when one figured this was so obviously a trap. Regardless of everything, the Senshi must act, and they must hurry.
"Look!" Mars said. They could faintly make out Mt. Fuji from their position. The snow-capped peak was marked by an explosion of dim smoke and fire; the sound-wave traveled across the countryside, faintly passing over them before dissipating. "They really are headed there! But what are they up to? They're not gonna...dump everyone into the mountain, are they?"
"If we could Sailor Teleport, we'd know for sure," Jupiter said. She looked back at Sailor Moon, who still seemed a little weak from her earlier transformation. "But there's no way I'd..."
"Relax, guys, I told you I was okay," she assured them. "Really, don't worry about me. We need to catch up with them, right?"
"Yeah, but if you use up more energy to teleport, you might not have anything left when we get there!"
"Hey," she smiled brightly, flexing a bicep, "I'm a lot tougher than I look! I mean, I took out a hundred lizard-things all by myself, didn't I? Oh, and did I mention I outran a helicopter? And that time I cut a dragon the size of a mountain in half?"
"She says she'll be all right," Venus shrugged. "If she wants to go for it, I say we let her."
"Most inadvisable," Mercury muttered. She sighed and looked back at Sailor Moon, who gave her an assuring smile. "But that's the way we do things, isn't it? All right, let's go for it!"
The Senshi dismounted, joined hands, and focused their thoughts on Mt. Fuji. They had seldom teleported such distances in the past, and since they were all still a little sore and winded from their last battle, they weren't sure how far they'd be able to go. Sailor Moon's legs started quivering almost as soon as the process began, but she held in there, her hands squeezing Venus's and Mars's tightly. With a great flash of light, a prismatic column appeared, whisking them away through the air, setting them down just past the foothills of the mountain. Three things happened at once that prevented them from catching their breath: first, Sailor Moon slumped over in a faint; second, the flaming debris caused by the explosion saw fit to fall on them; third, they noticed a colossal, hairy, six-legged beast scaling the mountain, with three monstrous demons riding it, alongside their kidnapped loved ones, and the Thing from earlier.
The Senshi quickly raised a barrier to protect them from the falling rocks and fire and called their avatars to their side. Jupiter lifted Sailor Moon into her arms and carried her until Airavata took over; the Cerynitian stag galloped alone alongside the others. One of the demons noticed them and flew off the colossus, its wings shaped like human faces twisted in agony.
"You!" it screeched. "You killed Baal! You dare challenge Mahisha the God-Slayer! I will feast upon all of you for eternities beyond measure!"
"Hey, Sailor Moon, did you catch that?" Venus waved. "That rubbery freak we splattered had a name! Isn't it cute that these losers took the time to name their cannon fodder?" Sailor Moon stirred, groaning feebly, while the demon shrieked.
"The suffering of the damned shall be upon you!" It flew at them with wings spread, face like an axe, a hundred eyes wriggling and writhing like maggots. It tackled Venus and threw her off her bird, then struck Quetzalcoatl, sending it spiraling to the ground. Mars got off a quick fireball and raced past it, leaving Jupiter and Mercury to face it alone.
"I fought the last one!" Jupiter called. "He's all yours, Mercury! I'll go get Venus!" She slowed Airavata down, but the demon pursued her relentlessly. Mercury veered Llyn Llyw around, encircling the demon with a ribbon of water, tying its entire body up neatly and squeezing. The demon burst free, lashing a hideous stalk out to impale the fish. Mercury screamed in agony and bailed before her avatar fell; she sailed through the air and latched onto the vile apparition. She decked it once on the head, whirled around, and froze its wings solid—then, bashed its skull again with her elbow, before encasing the head in a bubble.
"So do you have a name, too?"
"Fool!" it screeched, muffled behind her sphere. "I am the dread Lord Asmodeus, High Emperor over the Nine Circles of Hell!"
"And I am Sailor Mercury," she announced hotly, "champion of love and justice." She encased her hands in ice and crashed them against its head. The demon collapsed and skidded onto the mountainside; Mercury jumped away, landing on all fours, parting her hair.
"You forgot 'sexy bad-ass'!" Sailor Venus poked her head up from the horizon as she and Jupiter charged towards her. Mercury smiled and extended her hand; Airavata's trunk caught it and placed her on its back. Venus gave her lover a kiss on the cheek.
"Well, you know me," she blushed, "always humble."
Sailor Mars didn't think that one demon, even a high emperor over the circles of Hell, would do much to slow down her friends—in fact, she expected his intervention was purely for that purpose. The six-legged colossus was almost halfway up the mountain by now, and if she had stopped to help her friends, no doubt it might be beyond their reach. Sleipnir managed to catch up to it without any difficulty; the problem was how to get on. The legs were inconceivably long, the body about the size of a battleship, every cubic centimeter covered with thick, shaggy hair. Whenever its enormous feet touched down, the mountain trembled, and great craters were formed. Mars didn't want to be anywhere near them, but at the same time, climbing its legs looked like the only way up.
She guided the galloping Sleipnir as close to the moving pillars as she dared, studying their patterns for an opening. Just like an insect, its legs worked in a revolving concert to propel it forward, but considerably slower, enabling her to observe it carefully. The rear right leg was her goal; when it came crashing down, scattering boulders, she spurred Sleipnir for all he was worth, edging dangerously close to the pillar. She jumped and grabbed hold of the long fibers, slipping briefly before coming to a halt. After settling her frayed nerves, she began to climb, but felt the blood drain from her body as she saw two demonic creatures peering at her from above. One poured boiling oil down the furry shank, the other released a swarm of locusts.
Mars jumped just as one of the legs came close to hers, slinging a fireball in mid-air. It caught the oil and set the furry flank ablaze, taking out most of the locusts. Some, however, followed her, biting and stinging and causing her to lose grip. The demons threw more boiling liquid, forcing her to jump and jerk and slip more. She got off a fireball and nicked one of her aggressors on the face, but that only served to enrage the other one. It took out a sickly-looking bow and started firing at Sailor Mars; she sought cover in the colossus's underside.
"This is getting me nowhere," she muttered. A rather brazen though occurred, and she climbed back out to the exposed side to pull it off. Before the demons realized she had reappeared, Mars jumped as high as she could, calling out her most powerful fireball to propel her further. She scorched one of the giant's legs, some fur, and even the tips of her hair, but she made it safely. The two demons, each more gruesome than the other, were flanked by the Thing they had fought on the train, alongside several shapely clumps she assumed were their hostages. Mars felt her blood run hot as she noticed one of those people was Kaidou.
"All right," she growled, "you've really done it now!"
"Master, there is only one," one of them bellowed. "Do you think Asmodeus slew the rest?"
The thing emanated raw evil, almost flooring Mars. She could barely hold in her bile, much less stand.
"IF HE HAS NOT, SEE TO IT HER SUCCESSORS BEAR WITNESS TO HER DEMISE. COAT WORMWOOD'S BODY WITH HER INNARDS." A thousand mouths shrieking the agony of the damned could not have had the same effect. Mars found herself weeping, babbling, half-crazed, merely by listening to the monstrosity speak. All of the horrors of her past could not hope to even pale in comparison. She only stood because the other two demons were approaching her...approaching Kaidou...and everyone else important to the Senshi.
"You...will regret...ever...messing with...our friends! In the name...of Mars..."
Her voice was cut off as one of the demons wrapped frigid iron fingers around her throat.
"Yes, yes, you will punish us. So: punish us, woman. Do it."
Mars slammed a palm bubbling with flames right into its face. She was released.
The monster kicked her hard before she could even catch her breath. The other one soared over half the length of the colossus, putting her between it and its companion. The evil on its face was infantile, senile, gleeful and wholly unconcerned. Its hand became a whirring saw, hovering just over one of the prone bodies.
"Which is yours? I can free them. All you have to do is lay perfectly still and watch." She knew it meant to cut them in half; Sailor Mars burned with righteous indignation, so much that she set the colossus aflame. The creature laughed and lunged at the helpless body; Mars shrieked in horror. The arm fell but only a bloody stump bumped against the body; the saw had been neatly cleaved off, and was spinning uselessly.
"Oh, shoot," said Sailor Jupiter, her fingers smoking from the saving blast, "I was aiming for his head!"
"That's something Mina would say," Mars gasped. As the demon roared, a glacial cage covered it, and was then broken to pieces by a powerful blow.
"That's one way to break the ice," Mercury smiled. Mars gawked.
"Mina would say that, too! Damn it, you guys are spending way too much time with her!" The demon Mercury had supposedly destroyed reformed itself, only now its body was covered with icy crystals, giving it an even more sinister appearance.
"Whatever was that?!" it howled. "No way to treat a host! I expect better." It coughed out acidic bile; Mercury and Jupiter scattered. Mars set fire to the beast, and the flames spread to the monster's fur. Several of the coiled bodies were set ablaze as well, freeing many of the people—among them Saeko Mizuno and Reika Nishimura.
"Maybe you should stop, Rei," Mercury said as she stood beside her friend. "I appreciate the thought, but..."
"Yeah, I know! I'll go set them free; you guys deal with the ugly bunch! By the way, where is Mina, anyway?"
"I'm right over—" Before she could vault onto the colossus, the thing lunged at her, knocking her screaming over the edge. Mars grumbled and nursed a headache.
"That's something Usagi would do."
"Hey! I heard that!" The Senshi and demons all turned around to see Sailor Moon, smiling and saluting at them. "Evildoers, is there no low you won't sink to? Attacking our country is one thing, but nobody lays a finger on our friends and family! I stand for love and justice, but I will never stand for your wicked beha—"
"Now's not the time for a speech, Sailor Moon!" Mercury screamed. Sailor Moon flinched.
"Ack, darn it! And I was on such a roll..."
"USAGI!"
"Oh, all right! Let's just free everybody and get the heck outta here!" She threw her tiara at the lumps, but before it could shred any of the hairs and free them, a powerful arm pulsating with depravity caught it and crushed it. The indescribable horror stood between her and her loved ones.
"MAHISHA," it gurgled, causing her to cringe. "I AM DESPAIR AND DESOLATION, SLAYER OF GODS, DEVOURER OF NATIONS, SCOURGE OF THE LIVING. NEITHER MAN NOR BEAST MAY HARM ME."
"Then it's a good thing I'm a woman, huh?" She got out her scepter, twirling it majestically, and unleashed a blast so powerful, it affected the colossus and even the other two demons. When the bright flash had gone down, though, the malevolent one was still standing, not even scuffed by the attack.
Sailor Moon squeaked and made a face.
"Oops." Mahisha let out a roar, blasting Sailor Moon away, causing the colossus they were riding to stop and groan in pain.
"WORMWOOD," it snarled, "DO NOT STOP FOR ANYTHING! THEIRS WILL BE A MISERY WHICH NO DEATH MAY HEAL." The beast groaned but lumbered on, toward the open crater of Mt. Fuji's peak. One of the other demons, who was called Baphomet, towered over Sailor Moon's beaten form, crushing her abdomen with its heavy foot.
"They shall be roasted alive. Then your mountain will erupt, destroying everything in its path. Our master shall summon the earth's fire, and soon your entire country will burn. A sufficient sacrifice for Nergal's petty needs, wouldn't you say?"
"Oh—yeah—totally!" she gagged, struggling to remove the enormous weight pressing on her. "There's just...one small problem!"
"What's that?"
"You left yourself wide open." Bewildered, Bahomet looked up, seeing Sailor Mars stand before him with a drawn bow, hair billowing in the wind. She loosed her bolt; it struck him square in the chest. He jerked, but otherwise felt nothing, and began to laugh.
"Is this all the feeble daughters of men can offer? Armies tremble at the mere whisper of my name!"
The arrow shot out a piercing column of fire from its tip, passing straight through the demon's body, leaving nothing but a gaping hole. Mars nocked a second arrow.
"Another one?" she grinned. Bahomet snorted and pressed his hoof down harder, making a sickening crunch sound.
"Perhaps you would like to see her with a hole in her chest!" Mars unleashed another arrow, but Baphomet caught it, and broke it in two. He grinned sickly at her and pressed down harder. She nocked one more arrow. "Don't waste my time," it snarled, but Mars matched its wicked gaze.
"Who said anything about me firing? I'm just the distraction!"
"What?" Bahomet only had a moment to process this statement before a golden noose coiled around his neck. It pulled back sharply, yanking him away from Sailor Moon. He resisted, but that only helped to haul Sailor Venus up from the colossus's flank.
"Yee-haw! I roped me an ornery one!"
"Fool!" Baphomet snapped the rope with a swipe of his enormous claws, then turned and shot a sickly black beam at Venus. She leaped out of the way, countering with her own attack; he fired again, and the two beams met, causing the air to crackle and burst. Mars saw her chance and surrounded the demon with a ring of fire, then called down a heavenly shot that pierced straight through the colossus, carving a line in the mountain. The wounded beast groaned and veered away from the mountain's peak, but Mahisha reigned it in, its hand pulsating with dark energy.
"That just leaves the last two," Mars said, leaning over to catch her breath. Venus helped Sailor Moon up, donating a bit of her energy to heal her. Moon coughed up some blood, yet in spite of everything, still assured everyone she was fine.
"We sure are taking a beating," Venus noted. She sighed and stared out as their freed loved ones helped break everyone else out. "Ah, the things we do for them—am I right?" Mars smiled, looking out to see Kaidou, Usagi's mother and brother, Reika, Unazuki...even Umino and Hayate Hayashida had gotten mixed up in all this.
"You watch over her," she said. "I'm going to help free the others. Make sure she stays out of trouble."
"Me or her?" Sailor Moon coughed. Mars smiled.
"Both of you." She flicked her wrists, igniting a flame in her palms, but was suddenly struck by the other demon before she could take another step, and was sent hurtling over the edge. Mars flailed helplessly as she plummeted and was caught up in the thick hairs of the colossus; Venus shrieked and dove after her, dropping Sailor Moon. Before she could regret that action, Baphomet burst out from his own ashes and shoved Sailor Moon, who—in her weakened condition—could offer no resistance, and fell. Her sharp descent was stopped sharply as someone lashed their arm out, grabbing her wrist. It was Umino.
"Go! I got her!" He let out a much louder shriek as Baphomet punched him in the kidney, but held firm. Venus flew into a rage, her fingers lighting up with bright golden energy. She whirled around in a circle, sweeping her rays with her, carving straight through one demon and nearly eviscerating the other. The first one, who identified itself as Iblis, screeched and cursed as it tried fusing its body back together; meanwhile Baphomet charged at Venus. At that moment, Umino let out a barbaric cry, pulling Sailor Moon back up with all of his might. The extra force sent him falling back onto the surface. Just then, Venus delivered a sharp kick to Baphomet's chest, which still hadn't fully healed from Mars's attack. It stumbled backwards, towards the prone Umino. Not knowing what else to do, he crouched down and cowered, causing the demon to trip over him and lose balance. It jerked further away, unable to slow its momentum in time; Umino saw a chance and tackled it, pushing it over the edge. It fell directly underneath one of the colossus's enormous feet as it was rising up, and was summarily flattened as it came crashing down. Astonished at what had just happened, Umino stared wildly, panting and gasping.
"Ah...hah...ha..." He then smiled, trembling, and pointed, "N-no ticket!"
Meanwhile, Sailor Mars was struggling to untangle herself from the giant's hairs. The cords were long and rough, perfect for climbing but not so fun to be tied up by (which would account for the condition of their loved ones). To make matters worse, Iblis was laughing right above her; it had turned its remaining hand into a buzzsaw, and was slowly cutting away the hairs. Mars doubled her efforts in a panicked attempt to free herself, but her struggles just got her even more tangled up. The other Senshi raced to help her, but Mahisha stood in their way, blowing them back with its terrible voice. Soon only a few cords were left unshorn. Mars felt her eyes burn as sweat congealed and ran down her face. Her limbs felt sore; the cords tightened. She heard her friends shriek in pain, felt the thundering footsteps as the colossus edged closer and closer to annihilation.
Now only one cord remained. The whirling saw began to slice through it.
"Hey, ugly!" Iblis turned around and shrieked horribly as Kaidou thrust his fingers in its eyes. The demon caterwauled away, but the damage was done; the cord was about to snap. "Sailor Moon!" he cried, "Throw your tiara!"
"My aim might be a little off," she warned, clutching her stomach. The tiara went wild, curving around Mars's body, slicing off most of the cords that kept her restrained. She broke free from the rest, finding a firm grip just as the last cord was completely severed. Kaidou gave her his hand, and she grinned warmly as she was pulled up. She then kissed him right on the mouth.
"Thanks," she whispered. He turned red as she focused her pent-up rage on Iblis, socking him good and pummeling his face into the furry surface with punch after punch.
"No problem," he whispered. Mars left out one final shriek to punctuate the last blow, and then the demon had no face left to hit. Meanwhile, Sailor Jupiter was rounding up the last of the hostages, and felt her heart skip a beat as she recognized one of them.
"Naru!" Naru gasped for air as she was freed, more stunned than harmed. She noticed her old friend and gawked.
"You call this a rescue operation?!" Jupiter laughed and hugged her, but pulled away as she heard Mercury make the call for escape. Mahisha had opened the summit even more and was calling forth streams of molten lava, and the colossus Wormwood was careening right into the gap with suicidal recklessness. Not wasting any time, Jupiter whistled for Airavata, grabbed Naru in one arm and Unazuki in the other, and jumped down, landing roughly on its back.
"Hurry! We'll try and hold off the lava!" She called to the trees of the mountain, begging for their aid; a whirlwind of leaves came blowing through, slowing the lava to a crawl. Mercury took her mother's hand and created a series of descending bubbles, leaping from one to the other until they had surfaced. Ice and frigid water joined the whirlwind; Sailor Venus struggled as she lashed Ryo and Asanuma to herself.
"You know, whenever I fantasized about being tied down with two cute guys, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind!"
"Look out, Mina!" Venus shrieked and hurled off the giant's back just as Mahisha swung, whipping her golden chain out and swinging to safety. Sailors Mars and Moon were trying to stall the thing as Hayate took Reika in her arms and leaped; Mercury called out her fish to catch them and help with the approaching fire. Wormwood shuddered as Mahisha dealt another earth-shattering blow, throwing everybody off balance. Kaidou slipped and fell over the edge, grasping at the hairs desperately. Sailor Mars screamed for her friend and dove after him, getting a bone-breaking blast of Mahisha's voice in the process. She just managed to grab him, igniting a column of fire to slow her descent, and hovered to safety, before collapsing from utter exhaustion. That just left Sailor Moon, her brother, and Umino.
"Don't worry about me, you two!" she barked, wincing as she tenderly cradled her wounds. "Get out while you still can! I'll hold him off."
"There's no way you can fight him by yoursaAAAHH!"
"You heard my sister!" Shingo shouted, grabbing Umino and running for the edge. "Let's move!" The whole world careened out of control as Wormwood reached the summit of Mt. Fuji, thrusting one of its legs into the open crevice. Umino tumbled backwards, away from Shingo's grip; Sailor Moon flew into Mahisha's grasp, but whirled around and delivered a kick to the head. The combination of unstable ground and her forceful attack unbalanced the monster, sending it stumbling toward Wormwood's immense head. Sailor Moon grabbed Umino as he slipped past her, then made a mad dash for her brother. She just had her fingers around his outstretched hand when Mahisha struck again, his flailing arm catching Umino by the shoe. At that precise moment, Wormwood teetered over the edge, and Sailor Moon could do nothing but jump as it and Mahisha fell into the churning lava.
The seeping magma was finally settled, so the Senshi raced to the summit and helped pull Sailor Moon and Shingo up. While they were all relieved to see them make it out alive, they couldn't help but notice someone was missing. Naru immediately felt her heart burst, and called out for Umino with tears in her eyes. Her screams echoed from the top of the mountain to its foothills, and she collapsed into a sobbing heap as they dimmed, and were silenced.
Sailor Moon was the first to her side, tears already in her eyes as she embraced her oldest friend. Sailor Venus was crying, too, and fell onto Mercury for support, who could only hold her and tremble. Mars looked away, her eyes dim. Jupiter cursed and ground her fist into the snow. It was deathly silent on the mountaintop
"Naru, I...I'm sorry. I should've... He..." Naru shook her head, cradling Sailor Moon closer. Hats were cast off, heads bowed, and hearts were covered. None of them saw a trembling, bruised, dirty hand inch its way up from the depths, followed gradually by another, and then finally, a gasping head, the hair frizzled and unkempt. Gurio Umino pulled himself up, wheezing quietly, before joining everyone else. It certainly was a sight; he shook his head at the spectacle. Naru looked over, saw him, looked back at the crater, and gave a cry as she tackled him, smothering his face with kisses and tears.
"Gurio...Gurio...oh, Gurio, you...you..."
"Yeah, I know," he coughed, holding her close. The Senshi broke out in joyous smiles, now shedding tears of happiness, and each got their turn at embracing the lucky young man. Eventually, they all broke away, save for Naru, who simply wouldn't let go.
"All right: now we can end this," Sailor Moon smiled.
"You guys go on ahead," Umino waved. "I think, uh...I'll just stay here for awhile and...uh... You know, my contacts fell out..." Naru laughed and kissed him again.
"Come on, hero, now's not the time to rest." Her face lit up as she got an idea, and reached into her purse for a case. She opened it up, handing Umino his old, oversized glasses. "Will these help?"
Blushing, he put them back on, laughing quietly.
Author's notes:
I've been looking forward to this chapter almost since I began writing this, and surprisingly, not a whole lot has changed (except I wanted it inside a volcano). I realize there are "similarities" between this and Indiana Jones, but hey, those moves are "similar" to serials—and besides, I consider it more of a tribute than plagiarism.
All of the demons featured in this chapter, or at least their names, are not made up (although Baphomet is actually a pentagram with a goat's head, but whatever). Ravana is (again) a demon from Indian mythology, who I have basically kept the same, except in the matter of his defeat. A bit of trivia: "Iblis" is the Islamic equivalent of Satan. Also, "Baal" was not originally a malevolent force—rather, it was a generic term for Canaanite gods, and fairly benevolent ones at that—but over the course of history, it came to represent pagan practices and false idols.
The Venus Line is a free roadway that passes through highland regions in Chubu and Hokuriku. It would be completely impossible for Minako to not make at least a passing mention of it.
Finally, there was no way I could live with myself and neglect a setting with Mt. Fuji. I just couldn't. I already mentioned Tokyo Tower; I couldn't leave out Japan's other famous landmark. And yes, it is a volcano. That worked out better than I could have hoped.