Author's note: Got to continue with with what else is happening during the judgements not only with the senshi - likewise with their friends and allies we know from all seasons. With Christmas fast approaching, I want to update my fics as much as I can before then.
Brrr! It's freezing, the sun's not shining enough and it's not even winter! Looks like the Fourth Trumpet judgement is currently in effect.
And there's one loose end I want to tie up before helping more survivors, time for another rescue!
Over the next few days, people around the world tried to adjust to the cold. Many believed the GC reports that it would last about a week. But the longer the cold continued, the more things shut down. News reports from remote areas became scarce because of the energy crisis. People who had lived near the equator all their lives died from the sudden blast of arctic air. In Israel, snow fell. The only ones who didn't seem to notice the cold were Eli and Moishe. They stood in their bare feet and preached, unaffected by the temperature change.
Before the change in the weather, Vicki had hoped to make the school a training ground for the Young Trib Force. But when the sun, moon, and stars went dark, Vicki just wanted to keep all the believers and Melinda, Char-lie, and Janie warm and alive. When she postponed classes again, the kids under-stood, but were unhappy. They knew they couldn't learn much with the frigid temperatures.
In Japan, the Addams pension had become a secret safe-house for believers courtesy of the owner, after having taken a leap of faith to see his child once again. It was there that Rei's grandfather and Yuiichiro headed now that their home was gone. Joining them were the Ayakashi sisters with the Amazon quartet and Nanako. Ail and Ann followed shortly after given a clean bill of health by Ami's mother, who promised to keep their secret.
Things were no different for those in other areas. The Midwest now looked like Alaska in the dead of winter. The first casualties in Chicago were at the zoos. Both the Lincoln Park Zoo and Brookfield Zoo reported all animals dead except penguins and polar bears. But things got worse. Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles estimated that hundreds of homeless people had frozen to death in the first week. Before the disappearances, many of the shelters had been staffed by Christians. Those people were gone now. Popular resorts along warm beaches dosed. Ice formed along the shoreline.
As the icy weather took its toll, the Global Community was forced to change its predictions about how long the cold spell would last. Forecasts of a few days turned into a few weeks, and Global Community spokes-persons turned the blame on Rabbi Ben-Judah and his followers. Peter the Second called the preaching of Eli and Moishe 'black magic." Within a few weeks the estimates of deaths related to the weird weather was in the hundreds of thousands.
Nicolae Carpathia attempted to talk to Eli and Moishe, claiming he could try to convince them to call off the cold weather. He was sorely mistaken. He went back and forth with the witnesses, who seemed not to want to let the potentate get the upper hand. "I am seeking your help as men who claim to speak for God," Carpathia said. "If this is of God, then I plead with you to help me come to some arrangement, an agreement, a compromise, if you will."
"Your quarrel is not with us."
"Well, all right, I understand that, but if you have access to him—"
"Your quarrel is not w—"
"I appreciate that point! I am asking—"
Moishe's voice blared through the speakers. "You would dare wag your tongue at the chosen ones of almighty God?"
"I apologize. I—"
"You who boasted that we would die before the due time?"
"Granted, I concede that I—"
"You who denies the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?"
Carpathia sputtered something about tolerance.
Moishe then countered with, "There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." A few minutes later the witnesses repeated, "Your quarrel is not with us," and turned away from Carpathia.
Nicolae looked confused. "So, that is it, then? Before the eyes of the world, you refuse to talk? All I get is that my quarrel is not with you? With whom, then, is it? All right, fine!"
The viewers watched as he weaved another lie regarding the death of a guard and that of the pilot Ken Ritz.
"I do not know with whom I am or should be talking, but I stand willing to do whatever it takes to end this plague of darkness." The camera followed Carpathia as he turned on his heel, sarcastically saluted the two witnesses, and reboarded the motor coach.
Before the news anchors could speak, the witnesses said together, "Woe, woe, woe unto all who fail to look up and lift up your heads!"
One week later, at the original Tribulation Force's hideout, Mamoru, Chloe, Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna were all standing in the living-room, watching the GNN News for any information on the purple smoke virus that infected most of the adults of Burmingham-Alabama, Bandera-Texas, the state of Indiana, Los Cruces-New Mexico and Tokyo-Japan. From what Ami, Makoto and the Starlights had shared with them, the rest of the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask, the believers were immune to the virus, so there was danger of any of them turning into the infected once they reached adulthood, because they were believers themselves.
On the TV screen was an anchor-man and an anchor-woman sitting at a desk together.
"In other news, the world is still at a loss for words after being caught off guard by the sudden sky/weather change that happened a week ago. The instant dark sky and ice cold winter simply cannot be explained any more than the purple asteroids/purple smoke/infected adults fiasco can." The anchor-man said.
"That's correct, Bob." The anchor-woman said. "But on some-what of a more positive note, it seems that this instant cold weather may have been a miracle in disguise for some parts of the world. According to reports from News stations in Bandera-Texas and Indianapolis-Indiana, the sudden cold weather change has rid the sky of the purple smoke, as well as made fast work of many of the infected adults outside, with some snapping out of it and most unfortunately dying from exposure to the cold. Unlike the rest of the world, the skies in these two communities turned dark orange and red and poured down snow like rain, which only lasted for five hours before ceasing. The skies are now dark there, just like the rest of the world. The ice cold weather has also caused the purple smoke in Burmingham, Bandera, Indiana, Los Cruces and Tokyo fade away as well, making the skies there also dark, with some of the infected adults snapping out of it and many of them dying from the cold weather. Back to you, Bob."
"Thank you, Alice." Bob said. "And now the death toll of the infected adults due to the sudden ice cold weather change. Burmingham-Alabama: 99-percent. Bandera-Texas: 100-percent. Indiana: 200-percent. Los Cruces-New Mexico: 300-percent. And Tokyo-Japan: 400-percent. More News after these messages."
The group watched and listened to the entire report with glum expressions.
"All of those infected people...gone. Dead. In Hell. I just...I-I just can't believe it." Michiru said.
"Well, believe it because every word of it is true. Unfortunately." Setsuna said.
"So what happens next?" Haruka asked.
"There's a pretty good chance that Mio will put her spin on these events and feed them to the Dark One and have him use this meteor/infection fiasco and global winter to his and her advantage and blame it on us like he has everything else." Setsuna warned grimly.
"Wow. A girl like that. A teenager, no less. I mean, I know she's not human, but still...it makes you wonder." Chloe said.
"Not really. I mean, if you think about who Mio's mother figure was, it isn't that hard to figure out." Haruka said.
"They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. And in Mio's case, she didn't fall far from Beryl at all." Michiru said.
The sound of the front door opening was then heard. "Hey, girls." came the voice of Rayford, getting everyone's attention.
"Yeah?" Haruka asked.
Rayford entered the house through the open door, with Hattie behind him, followed by stepping aside, closing it back, and re-locking it.
"Well...I've been expecting you." Haruka said.
"We gotta talk." Hattie said.
Those in the Command center knew the judgement had begun due to the temperature drop. Some of them awoke to see their own yawns become mist before their eyes, and the floor was cold. Already, Ikkuko, Mayumi, Idina and Nehelenia had gathered all the yarn they could find. They had to start knitting.
"Not good. This is going to affect everything," Umino said worriedly, "not just how much light we get and how low the temperature will go. Plants will to die. There'll be food shortages. And the water lines will freeze."
"And the communication lines will be affected," Saki added, clicking on the computers, "Much of the new GC technology is solar powered."
"Don't forget transportation," Shingo said looking at the screen. "The weather conditions will make it impossible to travel."
Without communicators and the lines down, they had nearly no way of knowing if any of their friends still in Japan, Israel or in the States were alive.
Luna stood on the stool in front of the control-panel of the command center, doing the on-screen autopsy of Governor Carl, whose body was on the middle screen, as well as studying the purple smoke on one of the other screens she had taken a photo of through Sailor Moon's crescent moon on her tiara.
"Okay, Governor Carl...let's find out how you really died." The female cat pressed a button, doing an x-ray on Governor Carl's body, then she pressed another button and a pale blue rectangle appeared on-screen in his stomach and another one appeared on his heart, both of which revealed the real cause of death. "Oh, my." She said, with wide eyes.
Luna then focused on the screen with the purple smoke and pushed a few buttons before a pale blue rectangle appeared on-screen, revealing the same thing that had been found in the governor's system. "No way." She said grimly, with a shocked expression on her face. She couldn't believe what she had just found out about the governor's death and the purple smoke. "This can't be. I've gotta alert the Senshi and Starlights and let them know about this."
Just then, the GNN News icon appeared on the mid-screen.
"What in the world?" Luna asked, confused. Someone had sent a News video to the command center. But who? And more importantly how? Her thought was that it was one of the 1600 subscribers of the Sailor Moon Says podcast, but they could only leave comments and send videos of themselves, not News vids. The only way someone could do that was if they had somehow managed to hat into the command center's computer.
But how? No one else knew about this place except for everyone here, the Senshi, the Starlights, and both units of the Trib-Force. Brushing the matter aside for now, Luna clicked on the News icon, logging into the GNN News on the middle screen, revealing BREAKING NEWS title.
"GNN Breaking News." came a male voice.
The title was then replaced by an anchor-man and an anchor-woman sitting at a desk.
"Recapping our top story..." The anchor-man began. "Laura Carl has just been arrested for masterminding the conspiracy of the murder of her abusive husband, governor Ronald Carl. According to a witness-who we will not name for protective reasons-Mrs. Carl conspired with two of the moon aliens-Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus-to kill Governor Carl. Mrs. Carl is now in police custody, but unfortunately, however, the two moon aliens are not. Their where-abouts are unknown. Both are still at large and considered lethally dangerous. There are warrants out for their arrests and an APV has been put out on them."
A wanted poster of Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus appeared on screen.
"If you see these two aliens, do not approach or confront them with any of this information for your own safety. Instead, call the police and have them arrested. Do not take it upon yourselves to stop these beings from outer space. We urge you to let the law handle this matter as you would any other illegal activity." The anchor-woman said before the wanted poster vanished off screen. "Thank you. And be safe."
Luna the logged out of the News, with Governor Carl's body re-appearing on screen. "I can't believe this. Just when I think the News can't make the Guardians of Earth look even more bad than it already has, this happens. How could it get any worse?"
As if on cue, a white envelope icon then appeared on the mid-screen.
"An E-Mail. Someone's emailing us." Luna said. She clicked on the envelope on-screen, opening it, revealing a pale blue map of America. "A map of the United States? Why would anyone send-" She stopped herself when she saw multiple purple dots slowly heading for the state of Ohio, with the name of the city, Arkon, appearing on-screen in a pale blue rectangle. "Oh, no, the asteroids, they're back! I better contact Usagi right away!"
Out on the blood red ocean on a dome-enclosed island is New Zealand known as NEW ISLAND-a summer camp of the One World Religion-inside a large castle, Mio sat at her desk in the control-room, with several female employees sitting at their control-panel desks. There were also three surveillance screens displaying the island.
"All systems normal." said one of the female employees.
"Camp One World is operating smoothly." added another female employee.
"Perfect." Mio said. "Very soon there will be an example that will show the world what real religion is. The power of Camp New World will be shared and spread everywhere through all the children that attend here. I'm sure their parents will be thrilled with the results."
"Governor Kuroki, look at this." A female employee said.
"What?" Mio asked.
A square screen then appeared on the mid-surveillance screen, revealing Sailor Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Saturn walking through the beautiful blooming jungle, with Saturn holding her staff.
"Hmm." Mio began. "Well, well..." She stated, with an evil smirk on her face.
Sailor Mars and the Outer senshi walked through the blooming jungle, admiring it's beauty as they did, as well as acknowledging the fact that it wasn't even ice cold on the island like it was everywhere else in the world. In fact, it wasn't even cold at all. It was warm. Summer warm.
The reason why they were here was because Hattie had informed Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna that this was where the GC were keeping the rest of the children of Camp One World, so Haruka and Michiru transformed and teleported here to begin their rescue mission. Setsuna, for whatever reason, chose to stay behind, but promised to meet up with Uranus and Neptune later.
"Ah." Uranus said, awestruck as she and the others admired the jungle and how beautiful it was, as well as the fact that it was blooming and was THE color green. "So this is where they're keeping all of the kids who were at the other camp."
"According to Hattie, yes. Which means the boy who was adopted by the Carls must be here too." Sailor Neptune said.
"Right. Let's do this. Nothing's ventured, nothing's gained." Sailor Mars said.
"Agreed." Sailor Saturn said.
"Have you ever seen a jungle so fertile and green compared to the majority of other areas nowadays?" Sailor Neptune asked.
"Yeah, tell me about it. You'd think this place would be all burnt up and stripped of vegetation like the rest of the world. I've never seen a rain forest so green before, much less a bloomy one." Sailor Mars said.
"We have. Over in the United States in the countryside of Bandera, Texas where we met Perry, Casey and our other new friends. And since that's the case, then it's likely that this and the blooming countryside of Bandera are the work of the Eden formula." Sailor Uranus said.
She, the rest of the Senshi, Tuxedo Mask and the Starlights shared their stories after meeting up with each other out in the desert of Israel.
"I never thought of that. But what about the warm summer here? How do you explain that?" Sailor Mars said.
"Simple. The dome that's over the island is keeping the ice cold weather out. And I'm willing to bet you that it was placed over the island before the 4th trumpet judgement was unleashed." Sailor Saturn said.
For the inside of the dome is a screen that displays a bright blue sky and a sun to make it appear as though it's day time on the island, as well as block out the presently dark sky outside the dome – possibly to keep the prisoners from seeing the outside.
"Impossible. That would mean that Mio believed it was going to happen, which is very unlikely." Sailor Mars said, her eyes narrowing.
"Not really. According to Mr. Steele, Carpathia believed that the 6th seal was going to happen and had made reservations to keep himself safe, so Mio believing the 4th trumpet judgement wouldn't much of a stretch." Sailor Neptune informed grimly.
"Enough! I'm ready to lead this rescue! So follow me, everyone!" Sailor Uranus said. "We take no prisoners!" She said as she ran forward, making the others stop in their tracks.
"Stop, in the name of the Potentate!" came a male voice, making Sailor Uranus cease running.
Several GC men stepped out of the brush on both sides, wielding machine guns, followed by a large robot with two big squirt-guns landing on the ground in front of the Senshi, with a woman sitting in the cock-pit.
"Who are you?!" Sailor Uranus demanded.
"The Sailor Senshi. At last we finally meet. My name is Viviana Ivinisova. Otherwise known as Viv Ivins. I am a servant of his excellency, Carpathia." said the woman in a Russian accent.
"Nice intro. To what do we owe this sudden welcoming committee?" Sailor Neptune said coolly.
"You clowns. You think we wouldn't expect you to show up here and try to take the children away? If you wish to go any further, you shall have to get past us." Viv said.
"Get out of the way!" Sailor Mars ordered.
"Negative. I've been waiting for a chance like this for a while. It's like this: I'm gonna pay you back for what you and the rest of your moon alien friends did to my precious Camp One World. You took away my opportunity to make a better life for myself. But if I capture you, Miss Kuroki will put in a good word for me with Nicolae and he'll give me whatever I want in the whole world." Viv said.
"What?!" Saturn gasped.
"Getting even with you and getting a big reward for it? Now, that's a definition of a good deal." Viv said.
"That's real nice, Russian!" Sailor Uranus said sarcastically.
"Well, enough with the small talk. Let's get on with it." Viv said. The Russian woman pressed a button, firing both squirt-guns that shot out yellow ooze, firing it at the Senshi.
"AAAAAAAHHH!" The Senshi screamed as the yellow goo came towards them.
In a suburban neighborhood in Arkon, Ohio, a brown station wagon sped into the driveway of one of the homes, Maryanne Winter Thomas and her two kids, 10-year old Jason and 7-year old Josie, rushed out of the car, she got two bags of grocers out of the trunk, Jason closed it, and they all rushed inside.
Maryanne had brown/reddish shoulder-length hair and wore black sunglasses.
Jason had brown hair and brown eyes. And Josie had dark brown hair that was in a style, and her eyes were brown.
Maryanne had just picked the kids up from school. None of them were dressed for the winter, as her husband, Daniel Thomas, the mayor of Arkon, had forbidden it as punishment for her supposedly cheating with another man, which wasn't true.
"Oh, Daniel, I'm sorry we're late." Maryanne said as she and the kids entered inside the house, with her pushing the door closed. "It was only a few minutes, I hope that's okay." She said as her husband, Daniel, stormed into the living-room, holding a big torn piece of torn-balled-up paper in his right hand.
"Look at this!" Daniel said, showing her the piece of paper. He had black hair and blue eyes. "You see this?! Huh?! Maryanne, look at this!" He yelled as Josie started sobbing. "Ugh, will you shut up?!"
Josie began to sob even more and Jason held her in his arms to comfort her.
"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU SHUT UP!" Daniel screamed at Josie as Maryanne put the bags down on the floor.
"Daniel, no." Maryanne said.
"Shut up!" Daniel yelled as Maryanne ran over to the kids and picked up a sobbing Josie.
"I'm gonna take her and Jason upstairs, then you and I can talk. Maybe I can help you fix whatever it is that needs fixing." Maryanne said before she and Jason started heading for the stairs.
"You can't fix anything, you can't do anything right!" Daniel said as he stormed over to Maryanne and the kids, making her and Jason face him. "I asked you a week ago to get me some new pincels, didn't I!? Didn't I?!"
"Yes. They're in the desk drawer." Maryanne said.
"No, Maryanne." Daniel said. "You gotta leave them where I can find them!" He said as he struck Maryanne across the face with his right fist, knocking her sunglasses off, revealing her battered face, as well as making Josie scream and sob even more. "You stupid, stupid woman!" He said as he threw the paper on the floor, followed by Maryanne and Jason stopping at the stairs and turning to face the Daniel.
"Daniel, please." Maryanne begged. "Please, just let me get the kids upstairs and then I'll come right back down, I promise." She said as she put down a sobbing Josie.
"YOU CAN'T EVEN GET FOOD ON THAT TABLE ON TIME!" Daniel screamed.
"I know, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Maryanne apologized. "Go upstairs." She said to Jason and a crying Josie as she started helping the kids upstairs.
"Do not leave me, Maryanne!" Daniel said as he seized Maryanne by the right arm.
"I'm not leaving you, Daniel." Maryanne said tearfully.
"You are always looking for some reason to leave me, looking for some way out! You leave this house tonight...I'll kill you." Daniel threatened before letting go of Maryanne's arm. "I swear...I'll kill you." He said as he pointed at Maryanne.
"Not happening! No one is getting killed by someone they love!" came a female voice.
Daniel, Maryanne and the kids all looked to see Eternal Sailor Moon standing in the living-room.
"A woman's pure heart does not belong in your hands! Neither does the position of leadership or the welfare of this city! Family and love are the two most important things in this new world of evil and should be protected from the likes of you! I am Sailor Moon, the champion of love and justice! By the son of the most high in Heaven..." She said, beginning her pose. "He will right wrongs and judge all evil! And that means you!" She said, finishing her pose.
"And don't forget about me!" came another female voice.
Daniel, Maryanne and the kids looked at the top of the stairs to see Sailor Venus.
The senshi of love jumped off the top of the stairs and landed beside Sailor Moon. "You've got a lot of nerve attacking your wife and terrorizing your kids!"
"Sailor Moon! Sailor Venus!" Josie said excitedly.
"She has a lot of love in her heart that shouldn't be abused by evil! With the power of love, I am Sailor Venus! And I will put an end to your evil reign of terror over this woman and her kids!"
"That's them, Mom! That's them!" Jason said excitedly.
"Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus. How nice of you to come and turn yourselves in, but the potentate would've gladly sent the GC law enforcement to fetch you." Daniel said.
"We're here to warn you, Mr. mayor." Sailor Venus said.
"About what?" Daniel asked.
"Oh, there's no time to explain. You and your family are in great danger, and so is Arkon!" Sailor Venus said.
"She's right! More purple asteroids are headed towards as Earth as we speak! And what's worse is they're on their way here right now as we speak! You have to evacuate the people of this city and get your family out of here right now!" Sailor Moon warned.
"Leave?" Daniel asked. "Hahahahaha!" He laughed madly. "Leave. Hahaha hahaha! We're not going anywhere."
"Then you are sentencing the people of this city, and your family, to death!" Sailor Moon said.
"Then so be it!" Daniel said.
"You can't do that!" Venus said.
"I am the mayor, I can do whatever I want!" Daniel said.
"Sir, the world has never experienced a winter like this before! If the asteroids hit while the people are still here, you'll lose half the population to the disaster, the virus, and the ice cold winter!" Sailor Moon said.
"Then we save the half that lives through it if it should happen!" Daniel said.
"What?!" Sailor Moon gasped. "But you're the mayor! Don't you care what happens to the people of this city?!"
"Daniel, please. If what they're saying is true-"
"I don't not believe this disaster is headed here." Daniel said, cutting Maryanne off. "Nor will I evacuate the people of this city." He looked at the two moon aliens. "Now both of you get out of here before-"
Just then, there was a loud crash/explosion that shook the house.
"What was that?" Maryanne asked.
Another crash/explosion was heard, shaking the house again.
"What are you Moon aliens up to now?!" Daniel demanded.
"N-nothing, we're not up to anything! This is the disaster we were telling you about!" Sailor Venus said.
Multiple crashes/explosions were then heard, making the house shake non- stop, with Maryanne and Josie screaming in terror. Daniel's facial expression instantly changed from madness, anger and rage and all of a sudden he was afraid.
Sailor Moon and Venus rushed over to the stairs where Sailor Moon pushed Daniel out of the way, and she and Venus grabbed ahold of Maryanne and the kids, followed by a pink orb enveloping all five of them, then it disappeared, along with them.
The pink orb reappeared outside in the now damaged suburbs and it vanished from around Sailor Moon and the others.
"Everyone alright?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Venus assured.
"So am I." Maryanne added.
"Me too." Josie said.
"I'm okay." Jason said.
Everyone looked at the now damaged suburbs, with Maryanne and the kids stared wide-eyed. Many of the purple meteors had crashed into houses, some into vehicles, and few others had landed into street, with all of them releasing the purple smoke into the air.
Maryanne and the kids were awestruck. They couldn't believe that the neighborhood they had seen just a few minutes ago before entering their home was now a war zone.
"Oh, my goodness." Maryanne said, gazing wide-eyed at the damaged suburbs.
Josie sniffed the air. "Why does it smell like cotton candy?"
"Maryanne, quick, cover your mouth and nose!" Sailor Moon urged.
"Wait, look!" Sailor Venus said, pointing at the darkened sky.
Sailor Moon, Maryanne and the kids looked up at the sky and watched as the purple smoke was slowly ascending up to the sky and slowly fading.
"What's happening?" Sailor Moon asked.
"The smoke is fading. Probably due to the ice cold weather. That would explain why Maryanne hasn't turned violent. The deep freeze must be killing the virus." Sailor Venus said.
It would seem the judgement did more than what it intended, it was also slowly doing away with whatever the fog was.
"Maybe. But I'm not willing to stick around and find out. Let's get out of here before the infected show up." Sailor Moon said.
"Wait." Jason said. "We gotta a stop to make first."
Elsewhere in the damaged suburbs, inside one of the homes, 10-year old Justin Richards sat on the sofa, with his left eyes bruised and the left corner of his lip bleeding. He had long blond neck-length hair, blue eyes, he wore a sleeveless open plaid vest with a white hood, a gray short sleeve t-shirt, blue pants, and black sneakers with white trims. Justin touched the left corner where his lip was bleeding with his left index-finger and first middle finger.
"Next time I'm not gonna be easy so on you. You understand?" said a drunk heavy-set trashy man standing in front of Justin while holding an open vodka bottle. He had long black neck-length hair, a black beard, and brown eyes.
"Yes." Justin answered.
"That's yes, sir to you!" The man said, pointing at Justin. "Say it!"
"Yes, sir." Justin answered.
"Learn some respect, boy. Be a man." The man said. "Now go clean yourself up." He said before exiting the living-room as he drunk from the vodka bottle.
There was then a knock at the door and Justin got up from the sofa, went to the door, and un-locked and opened it, revealing his best friend, Jason Thomas, on the other side.
"Come with me, we're leaving." Jason said.
"If he sees you here, he's gonna call your Dad." Justin warned.
"He's not gonna do anything. Now come on, let's go." Jason urged, beckoning him to come out.
Justin proceeded the to exit the house.
"What are you doing here?!" came the voice of the man from behind.
Justin backed away from the door and got up against the wall as Jason entered the house.
"You're like a big man." The man said. "You want him, take him."
"You just want him for the money." Jason said.
"He's barely worth anything, that's why no one else would take him. You're not gonna do anything." The man said.
"But I am!" Sailor Venus said as she stormed into the house, holding the Moon Gorgeous rod. "We don't call 9-1-1 in this business." She said, pointing the rod at the man, instantly becoming fearful at the sight of her. "Just try me." She said before she and Jason backed up, followed by Jason and Justin exiting the house through the front door, then Venus turned and exited the home.
The man ran to the open door. "Go ahead and take him! Think anyone cares?! He ain't worth-" He gasped...inhaled deeply...and his eyes started glowing purple, followed by him dropping the vodka bottle to the ground, with it shattering, spilling the clear liquid inside.
Jason, Justin and Venus rushed up to Sailor Moon, Maryanne and Josie, with the Moon Gorgeous rod vanishing from Venus's right hand.
"Mrs. Thomas. Josie." Justin said.
"Oh, my gosh, Justin, what happened?!" Maryanne gasped, her blue eyes wide as she stared at Justin's black-eye and his bleeding lip.
"What happened to you?" Justin asked, looking at Maryanne's battered face.
The sound of a helicopter came from above and the gang looked to see a white helicopter descending down from the darkened sky, followed by it landing on the street 20 feet away, with the chopper stopping. The helicopter door then opened, revealing Sailor Pluto inside.
"Pluto!" Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus said excitedly, followed by Sailor Moon's outfit changing to her original one when she was fighting against the Dark Kingdom – much to her bewilderment and the others'.
"Get in! Hurry!" Pluto said.
Moaning was then heard and the gang turned to see the man, with his eyes now glowing purple, slowly making his way toward them. The purple smoke may have faded in the sky, but the smell of it was still in the air.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Maryanne, Josie, Jason and Justin screamed.
Sailor Moon, Venus and the others turned and rushed up to the helicopter and got inside, followed by Pluto closing the door. The chopper then started back up, and the helicopter ascended up into the dark sky and flew off.
"Take this, you meddling Japanese vigilantes!" Viv said before pressing a button, firing red lasers at the Senshi from the large squirt-guns of the machine she was in.
"Everybody, dive!" Sailor Uranus said before she, Neptune Saturn and Mars jumped out of the way before the lasers hit the spot where they were once standing, causing an explosion. "Everyone okay?" She asked before the smoke from the explosion cleared, revealing Mars and Saturn.
"Uranus." Sailor Mars said.
"Mars, Saturn, you aren't hurt, are you?" Uranus asked.
"I'm okay." Mars answered.
"I'm fine too." Saturn added.
"What about you, Neptune?" Sailor Uranus asked as she turned to face Sailor Neptune, only to find that she wasn't there and that multiple trees had been knocked down and were blocking their path.
"It looks like we've been cut off from her." Mars said.
The GC grunts aimed their guns at the Senshi and fired them, missing every shot.
"Hahahaha!" One of the GC grunts laughed.
"You missed, pal!" Sailor Uranus said to the GC grunts.
"Let's find out how you can get out of this one. This time we will totally capture you and get you out of our hair once and for all." said the GC grunt..
"I wouldn't count on it!" Uranus said before her sword appeared in her right hand. "Spacesword Gyro Balls!" She said, firing the new attack at the GC grunts.
"Mars Ember!" Mars said, firing her new attack at the GC grunts.
Sailor Pluto sat up front, piloting the helicopter, while Maryanne and the three kids sat in the back, with Sailor Moon and Venus sitting in the turning seats, facing the woman and the children.
"And that's who we are and what's really going on in the world." Sailor Moon said, with her and Venus just related to Maryanne and the kids their origin story and history as the Sailor Guardians, as well as explaining the apocalypse foretold in Revelation, leaving out their identities.
"Wow. That's an amazing story." Jason said, mind-blown.
"Were you really a Princess?" Josie asked, eyes wide.
"I still am. You can't tell right now, because, well...I'm in super-hero form." Sailor Moon said.
"A Princess/super-hero from outer-space? I've never heard of such a thing." Justin said.
"Me neither." Jason added.
"Justin...are you alright?" Maryanne asked.
"I'm fine. How 'bout you? What happened to your face?" Justin said.
"Oh, I just fell down the stairs that's all." Maryanne said.
"What was it this time?" Justin asked Jason.
Sailor Moon stared at Justin for a moment before looking at Maryanne's face. Based on how badly battered it was, she probably did look like she had took a tumble down a flight of stairs. Except Sailor Moon knew that it wasn't falling down stairs that caused this woman's injuries to her face. And she had a feeling Justin knew also.
"Mom didn't leave Dad's pencils out." Jason answered. Justin was his best friend. Justin knew the truth about Jason's Dad. He didn't have to hide it from him.
"You knew?" Maryanne asked, stunned and shocked.
Justin nodded.
"Did you tell him?" Maryanne asked, looking at Jason.
"No." Jason said.
"No, Jason didn't say anything to me...but I hear it." Justin said. His house wasn't too far from the Thomas home, so he heard Mr. Thomas beating Mrs. Thomas every day and night for as long as he could remember.
"I guess that's the thing about secrets. Nobody talks...but everybody knows." Sailor Moon said.
"Oh..." Maryanne said. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" She asked Justin.
"I am now, thanks to Jason and Sailor Venus. " Justin said.
"Why did your Dad rough you up back there?" Venus asked.
"Huh? Oh, that wasn't my Dad, that was my foster Dad." Justin answered.
"Foster Dad? Since when do you have a foster Dad?" Maryanne asked, confused.
"Since the army took my parents away." Justin said.
"Say what?!" Sailor Moon and Venus gasped. The army took this boy's parents? For what?
"Why?" Sailor Venus asked.
"Because they refused to follow the "Spare The Rod, Spoil The Child" mandate Mr. Thomas put out. All parents in Arkon are to discipline their kids by beating them. My parents wouldn't do it, so...the army came, picked them up along with many other parents, I went into foster care with other kids and...got placed with that guy...on 'Father's' orders." Justin explained.
"Your father?" Venus asked.
"Oh, yeah, Mr. Thomas has also mandated that every kid in Arkon refer to him as Father." Justin said.
"No way!" Sailor Venus gasped.
"Seriously?!" Sailor Moon asked, looking disgusted.
"I'm afraid so. His city, his rules." Justin admitted.
"Can he do that?" Venus asked.
"He can do anything. He's the mayor. What he says goes." Justin said.
"That's absurd." Sailor Moon said. "How could you stay married to a man like that, Maryanne?"
"Is that what you think? I'm not married to him anymore. I was forced to go back to him." Maryanne said miserably.
"Forced?" Sailor Venus questioned.
In a world that was now allegedly more 'open-minded' and supported divorce when necessary? This woman was forced to go back to this husband? How did that happen?
"Yeah. As you well know, my ex-husband, Daniel, is the mayor of this city...with a bad temper. I mean, he wasn't mayor until after the war last year, but...still. Anyway, he was my husband...with a baaaad temper." Maryanne said.
"Go on." Sailor Moon said.
"I've been beaten every day since we got married 11 years ago." Maryanne admitted. "One night last year-having had enough of his abuse-I tried to leave with the kids while he was asleep. He woke up, attacked me...and I ended up in the hospital...again. Long story short, I was released from the hospital the day after...I went home...used my key, only for it not to work...then Daniel came out of the house and...told me he was filing for divorce and ordered me off the property."
"What?!" Sailor Moon gasped.
"He put you out?" Venus asked.
"Well, technically, in his words, he changed all the locks and told me I didn't live there anymore." Maryanne said.
"Oh, that's horrible." Venus said. How could any man do this to the woman they love? Or claimed to love.
"When the time came for us to go to court...and the divorce was finalized...the judge didn't wanna hear my life-story of abuse at the hands of Daniel. That judge chose to believe his lies about me being an unfit mother instead. So I put up with him beating me for 11 years because I loved him and...he walked away...scott-free." Maryanne said.
"I am so sorry." Sailor Moon said. She knew exactly how it felt to be betrayed by someone she knew.
People she had attended school with every day for years-people she once considered to be her friends-turned on her simply because she chose to believe in God's promises. Mio was one of them. Even though she hadn't known Mio for that long, she had still considered her a friend. It was a different story now that Mio had revealed her true colors.
"It's okay. It helped me get out of the situation, so I was great full for that. But the saddest part..." Tears filled Maryanne's blue eyes.
"It's okay. You can talk to us." Venus assured.
"Because the judge wouldn't hear my abuse story...I lost custody of my kids to Daniel." Maryanne said while the tears ran down her face. "I can't even tell you how that made me feel."
"Why didn't you try harder? To get the judge to hear your story, I mean." Sailor Moon said.
"I did. Many times. I even tried to get the judge to do something when Daniel beat up Jason and gave him a black-eye and a swollen cheek...but like all the other times, he didn't wanna hear it." Maryanne said. "Another long story short, I ended up not taking the kids back to Daniel and going into hiding with them. Going underground, to be exact. A two weeks after the earthquake/meteor shower, I came out of hiding and went to court to attend a hearing where battered women were speaking out against spousal abuse. I testified on their behalf and mine. A lot of good that did. The judge ended up ordered me to return home to Daniel with the kids or face criminal charges for kidnapping. Which I did. I had no choice. I wasn't gonna let my kids go back to him without me. I know I was putting myself in danger by going back to him, but at least that way I could protect my kids from him. But here's the thing: None of this is the court's fault. Even if the judge wanted to hear my story, he couldn't. Daniel had established a law that forbids the court from hearing the abuse stories from battered women. He also had all of the homeless shelters and battered women shelters closed down."
"Not only that, but Mr. Thomas also had all of the bad guys released from prison. As of now, the prison is filled with parents that refused to follow his child abuse mandated rule. He even took over the church and is teaching husbands that it's fine to beat their wives, as well as mandated it. Some husbands didn't approve and got sent to prison for it. Mr. Thomas also has the army patrolling the city like police. It's like it's under martial law." Justin said.
Sailor Moon and Venus didn't know what to say. The fact that the law had chosen to believe this man's lies and not hear this woman's story was appalling. No wonder she went into hiding with her children. As super-heroes who upheld and honored and law, they didn't approve of kidnapping. But they understood why Maryanne did what she did.
The law wasn't doing it's job, which seemed to be the norm these days. The law wasn't protecting her and her kids from this mad man. What did they think was gonna happen? The law wasn't doing anything, so she took it upon herself to protect her and her kids. The law wasn't doing much of anything these days. The legal system had been redesigned to protect the criminals, not the citizens. But what was really upsetting was the fact of knowing that people like this woman's ex were the very ones who were running the world now. And poor Justin. His parents had been taken away by the army and put in prison with so many other parents. Not because they were unfit...but simply because they refused to follow an unfair mandated rule they knew would hurt and scar their children. And to top it off, he had all the criminals in this city's prison released and filled it with good, loving parents. People that DIDN'T belong there. The same could be said about these loving husbands who didn't follow the legalized law of wife battery. This wasn't right. None of this was right. Not only was it not right, it was unjust. But there was no such thing as right anymore. Wrong was now right. And there was no such thing as justice either. Not in this horrible new world.
Sailor Venus got up from her seat, went over to Maryanne and the kids, and bent down and placed her right hand on the woman's right knee, giving the woman a serious look. "This will never...ever...happen again. Not to you, not to Jason, not to Justin." She assured.
Maryanne just looked at Venus with a sad expression on her face.
"It's not over. You haven't lost everything. You still have yourself. If you believe you were wrong, you can fix it little by little. Your new future starts now. Alright?" Sailor Venus said, reiterating Mars' words to Koan, as well exhibiting the same empathetic expression Mars did.
New tears filled Maryanne's eyes and ran down her face as she started crying. "Thank you." She said. "But where will we go? We can't stay here in Arkon. Daniel is the mayor of this city. Plus all of the battered women shelters and homeless shelters here have been closed down thanks to him."
Sailor Moon got up and walked up behind Sailor Venus, followed by kneeling behind her, placing her right hand on Maryanne's right knee. "Why don't you just stay with us now?" She suggested, repeating what Casey said to Jayla back in Bandera, Texas. "At least until we find a safe place for you and your kids."
"What about Justin? What he do?" Jason asked.
"Well, he can come stay with us too. I will never turn my back on a friend. Especially if that friend is a kid." Sailor Moon winked.
"Thank you, Sailor Moon. Thank you all." Maryanne said.
"There's someone else who wants your thanks also. More than your thanks, he wants you to trust him and receive the truth." Sailor Moon said.
"Well, then I'm ready." Maryanne straightened up.
"Me too." Jason added.
"Me three." Josie said.
"So am I." Justin said.
"Yes. Yes, you are." Sailor Moon said, with a warm smile on her face.
Back on the island in New Zealand, inside the New Zealand, inside the New World School, which was that of a large, round, futuristic high-tech building with two towers on both sides and the rest of the building being long on both sides, all the kids, ages 12 through 19, sat inside a classroom at long white tables in white chairs, writing letters to their parents, with a male staff member dressed in white collecting some that had already been finished.
All of the boys and girls wore white short-sleeve shirts, black calf-length pants-like shorts and black hiking-boots.
"Thank you, children. Finish your letters now. We want you to parents to know what a good time you're having here." Said a pale blue holographic image of Mio as she walked past the tables while the male staff member collected more and more finished letters from the kids. She then stopped at one of the table when she noticed that Jake wasn't writing his letter. "Jake McLead...why didn't you write anything? Your parents must be wondering how you're doing here at Camp New World."
Jake looked at Mio. "I don't know what to put in the letter. You haven't told us what we're here for."
"You're here to help us. To help the Global Community, to help Potentate Carpathia. And just as soon as you've done that...we'll send you back home. That's what you should write. Don't they teach American children how to write?" Mio said, displaying her usual fake-smile.
"They took teach us to write the truth." Jake said.
"Dude, just right the letter." Said a 12-year boy sitting next to Jake with long neck-length bleach blond hair and brown eyes.
Mio's fake-smile faded. "Well...as the staff will be posting these letters straight away...I'm afraid your parents will be disappointed."
On the other side of the knocked down trees, Sailor Neptune and Viv faced off.
"I'm going to crush you into dust." Viv said.
"Crush me, is that right? Ha!" Sailor Neptune said before he mirror appeared in her right hand. "I'll do the crushing around here. She said before aiming her mirror at the machine Viv was in. "Submarine Reflection!" Her mirror fired the attack.
Viv fired red lasers from the large squirt-guns and they and the attack collided with each other, causing an explosion.
"We'll have the last laugh, you can bet on it." Said a GC man with a New Zealand accented voice, with him and the rest of the GC grunts now standing in front of the Senshi.
"I don't bet. Just bring it on. This time it will end differently than the way it did in Canada at Camp One World! This time we'll rescue all of those kids!" Sailor Uranus said.
"Oh, is that right?" The GC man questioned.
"That's right!" Uranus said. "Space sword Flash Cannon!" She said, firing the attack at GC grunts with her sword.
"Fire Soul!" Sailor Mars said, firing the attack.
"Saturn Night Shade!" Sailor Saturn said, firing the new attack out of her eyes.
Back in Arkon, Ohio...
"Have we made it to the city yet?" Sailor Moon asked, now sitting back in her seat, facing Pluto, with Sailor Venus sitting back in her's, also facing Pluto.
"It looks like we're just arriving. Here we go. I can see the city now and-" Sailor Pluto trailed off and her eyes went wide with fright. "Oh, my stars. Oh, my stars…" She said grimly.
Sailor Moon and Venus turned in their seats and they, Maryanne and the kids looked out the windows and gasped in horror. Below them was the city of Arkon in complete chaos. There were purple-eyed infected adults and crashed/abandoned/burning vehicles and ruin buildings all over the community, along with infected army soldiers, crashed/abandoned/burning army vehicles, as well as the fact that there were adults chasing after children. There was also purple mist in the air, which had come from the purple smoke, no doubt. But what was really strange was that none of the infected seemed to care about the fridged ice cold weather, despite the fact that they could all die if exposed to it for too long.
Maryanne, Jason and Josie were rendered speechless. The peaceful city they had drove out of when they were headed home was now a war zone, just like their neighborhood. They and Justin now had the seal on their foreheads.
"Oh, my land. What has happened to the people of this city?" Maryanne asked awe-struck.
"They've all been infected by the purple smoke. Just like the people in Burmingham, Bandera, Indiana, Cruces, and Tokyo." Sailor Moon answered.
"Is this even worth it?" came the uncharacteristically gloomy voice of Sailor Venus, making Sailor Moon, Maryanne and the kids look at her, with her still looking out the window on her side.
"Huh?" Sailor Moon asked, startled. "Is what worth what?"
"I just mean...all this violence...all these problems...every one of them seems to be caused by people themselves, not by being from outer space like our past enemies." Sailor Venus said. "I guess I just wonder if...I mean..."
"Wonder if humanity is even worth saving anymore?" Sailor Moon spoke up, voicing the grim question she knew was on Sailor Venus's mind.
It was one that she had thought about a lot lately since the fiasco with the Carl couple, only uttering the question to herself in her head. A question she never thought would enter her mind, much less at 18 years old. However, in some ghastly way served as a reminder about what scripture warn regarding the darker side of humans.
She sighed. "Pluto, can you teleport us out of here, please?"
"Yes. Where to?" Sailor Pluto said.
"The command center." Sailor Moon answered, wanting to get herself, Maryanne and the kids away from the horrific sight below them. Especially herself. She had seen more than enough of the purple smoke's handy work in Bandera, Texas, she didn't have to see a repeat performance. She was at least relieved that individual teleportation is now possible thanks to their upgrade, so to speak.
"Sailor Teleport." Sailor Pluto said solemnly before the helicopter disappeared with her and the others.
Back in New Zealand...
Viv fired more lasers from the machine's squirt-guns and Sailor Neptune did a back-flip, avoiding the impact of the attack. "Amazing, isn't it?" Viv said firing pale blue rays from the squirt-guns. Neptune's mirror disappeared. "Deep Submerge!" She said, firing the attack. Both attacks hit each other, causing a pale blue explosion of ice-shards. "Wha?!" Viv gasped. "Wow, you certainly are formidable. Udivitel'nyy."
Back in the castle's control room... Mio was quiet for a moment.
"New Island mobilization preparations are complete." Said a woman in a New Zealand accent.
"Perfect. Then let's begin." Mio said.
"Understood. Ignition." The woman said before several bright blue screens appeared on the big screen, lighting up the whole room. "New Island mobilizing."
"Hm." Mio smirked evilly. "It is time."
"Huh?" Uranus said as the whole island started to shake.
"M-Mars?" Saturn said.
"What now?" Mars asked.
"What's that?!" Neptune asked. The domed Island slowly began ascending out of the bloody ocean, heading up towards the darkened sky.
In the underground command center in Tokyo-Japan, Pluto, Sailor Moon, Venus, Maryanne and the kids were in the command room with Luna, Artemis and the others. The current refugees greeted them warmly.
"Everyone...this is Maryanne, her kids, Jason and Josie, and Jason's friend, Justin." Sailor Moon introduced.
"Hi, I'm Kenji Tsukino, Sailor Moon's father. This is my wife, Ikkuko."
"Hi." Ikkuko greeted.
"And this is our son, Shingo." Kenji said.
"Hey." Shingo waved.
"And these are my friends, Naru Osaka, Umino Gurio and Saki Watanabe." Sailor Moon said.
"Hello." Naru, Umino and Saki said.
"And this is Nehelenia, her handmaid Idina, our two new friends, Alex, Derek, Gary and Zea." Venus said.
"Hi." Nehelenia, her handmaid, Alex, Derek, Gary and Zea greeted.
"And these are our cats, Luna and Artemis." Sailor Venus said.
"Hi." Jason, Josie and Justin said.
"It is such a pleasure to meet all of you." Maryanne said.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you as well." Nehelenia said. "Oh, your face. What happened?" She said to Maryanne, noticing the American woman's bruised face.
"Her spouse, the mayor of Arkon, that's what happened." Venus said.
"Her husband did this to her?" Nehelenia asked in disbelief.
"Oh, no, not again." The handmaid said, her hands to her mouth.
"You took this woman and her kids away from her husband, who's the leader of a community? Are you serious?" Kenji asked.
"We had to. The purple asteroids hit Arkon. Also, the man was beating his wife, and according to her, he hit her son." Sailor Moon said.
"Oh, my. Did you report him to the police?" Kenji said.
"No, no, no, we brought them straight here. Justin too." Sailor Venus said.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, you should've turned him into the cops. That's what the authorities are for. No the next time something-"
"Dad, there isn't going to be a next time." Sailor Moon said, cutting Kenji off. "We're never going to take them back there. We're keeping them here until we can find a safe place for them."
"You can't. This woman's husband is the mayor of Arkon and the father of her children. By law he has rights." Kenji said.
"What about my rights?! Don't I have rights?! Where are the laws to protect me and my children?! Don't I have the right to keep them safe?!" Maryanne lashed out.
"I know it's not fair, but legally-"
"Oh, forget the legal system!" Sailor Moon snapped, cutting Kenji off. "This is a woman and three children we're talking about. Her husband threatened to kill her, he could do it, he could kill their kids, and we won't take that chance. They're staying here until we can find a safe place for them. End of story."
"Consider it a done." Luna said.
"A done deal." Artemis added.
"WHAAAAT?!" Maryanne, Jason, Josie and Justin gasped.
"Wow, talking cats!" Josie said excitedly.
"Awesome!" Jason added.
"Cool!" Justin added.
"How is this possible?" Maryanne asked, baffled.
"Well, we'll get into that later. Right now we must to get to New Zealand and meet up with Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Mars." Sailor Pluto said.
"New Zealand? Why?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Hattie Durnham told us where the other kids are. They're on the island in New Zealand called New Island." Sailor Pluto said.
"No way!" Sailor Moon gasped.
"Seriously?" Sailor Venus asked.
"Yes. Now come on. Let's go rescue Jake and those other kids." Sailor Pluto said.
"Right. Let's go." Sailor Moon said.
Sailor Pluto, Sailor Moon and Venus rushed up the clear, floating stairs, the entrance slid open, and they exited the command center, followed by the entrance sliding closed. They rushed out of the cave, ran up to the helicopter and got inside it. The helicopter soon started and it ascended up into the dark sky and flew off.
Inside the helicopter, Pluto sat in the pilot seat, Sailor Moon sat in the front passenger-seat, and Venus sat in one of the back seats.
"Hang on, Jake. Hang on." Sailor Moon thought.
The helicopter kept soaring until it reached a distance, and then it disappeared.
To be continued…