Dance in Sin City

Disclaimer: I own nothing here, tis a shame, the only thing I own is the plot.

Time for the plot to truly kick in.


Chapter 20

Setsuna Meiou was sitting at a small diner, enjoying some coffee and reading the newspaper. To an outsider, she looked like an office lady taking a coffee break and enjoying her coffee. However, Setsuna's mind wasn't focused on her coffee or the newspaper as she thought back to what she had learned a few hours ago.

*Flash*

"What do you mean?" Setsuna asked Nabiki, who was sitting at her desk and looking at her.

"You know as well as I do that the next couple of months are going to suck. The best thing we can do is guide things to the best outcome." Nabiki sighed and snapped her fingers as several screens appeared behind her. "No matter which choice we make, the best we can hope for is that this ends within a couple of months."

Setsuna had a cool expression on her face and she nodded. "What's the worst-case scenario?"

"You, Haruka, Makoto and Rei all end up dead with Usagi being left crippled for the rest of her life." Nabiki said softly. "And Minako and Ami are mentally scarred and can't do anything while Michiru ends up insane while Asagi brings the end of the world by accident and Yukikaze and Ai are turned into some rich person's sex slave while Sakura and Murasaki are raped and bred by Demons."

"...And you?" Setsuna asked.

"My head is detached from my body, I'm still alive but turned into a living computer for whomever our enemy is."

*End Flashback*

"I don't know what's worse," Setsuna muttered to herself, "the fact that we're gambling on a not-so-bad future or the fact that neither Michiru nor Haruka came back yesterday." She just hoped that they were enjoying some time together and nothing bad had happened.

"Setsuna?" A voice that she hadn't heard in centuries spoke up and Setsuna's eyes widened as she turned around to look at the person, who had long silver hair tied in a loose ponytail, red eyes and was dressed in a tube top with a short vest over her shoulders and jeans. "Setsuna? Setsuna Meiou?! Oh my Gosh! It is you!" Said person ran up to her table and quickly sat down across from her.

"S-Sereni... No," Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "Selene, is that you?" The fact that the woman had a crescent moon symbol on her forehead that was red like a blood moon was what gave away her identity, since she looked a lot like Queen Serenity. 'Then again, Serenity is dead and couldn't be here.' She thought to herself.

"Bingo." The other woman smiled softly. "The last time I met with you was when King Arthur was ruling Britain."

"I seem to recall you egging Morgan on to have Arthur's child." Setsuna deadpanned while Selene laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "What brings you to Las Vegas?"

Selene's face lost all traces of her humor as she gave Setsuna a calm look. "Join us, Setsuna. I asked you before the Moon Kingdom fell and you turned me down then."

"That's because what you want is insane." Setsuna said in a low whisper. "I respect you, Selene, but what you wanted me to do isn't something I could do." Her eyes became distant as she thought about the past. "My job is to guard the Gates of Time, give advice to the Royal Family and guide the other Senshi. I know that sometimes I mess up with that, but I told you then and I'll tell you again, I'm not going to join you in your quest."

Selene sighed softly. "I know," she said as she had a large glass of a bubbly drink in her hand and she stirred the straw and Setsuna wondered when she got that, "things would have been easier had you just joined us."

"Would it have stopped Metallia?"

Selene had a pained expression on her face. "You know that even a fragment of Chaos is more powerful than even I am. I was honestly surprised that Serenity could stop it, even if it cost her everything."

"And nearly every planet in the Solar System, other than Earth, lost the ability to have life on them as a result." Setsuna replied and Selene nodded. "I don't see why we need to continue this, Selene, the answer is still no."

Selene nodded with a sad expression on her face. "Earlier generations of Senshi would have been easier to convince, but your generation was the strongest ever. The Moon Princess and the Earth Prince, their child being able to use both the Golden and Silver Crystals, it would have allowed us to do what we always had planned."

Setsuna actually frowned and her eyes hardened as she looked at the Goddess in front of her. "And what would have the end result had been? Even with the armies of all of us, it would have ended with a slaughter of our forces and your pantheon would have been wiped out."

"I know," Selene nodded, "but they had waged war first when they Persephone and Athena were killed by those Sacred Gear users."

Setsuna knew that the creation of Longinus weapons that could slay Gods and Buddahs was a touchy subject among all the various pantheons, especially since it had led to the weakening of the various pantheons while allowing the Biblical Faction to rise to the place it was. "Regardless, there's no way I could have justified it, Selene. Even if the Moon Kingdom had lasted until the Princess was the Queen and she had her daughter, the end result would have been the same as when Metallia attacked, except that none of us would have been able to reincarnate to the future."

Selene frowned at her long-time friend. "But the whole purpose of the Senshi..."

Setsuna slammed her hand onto the table, causing her coffee to spill as she glared at the Moon Goddess. "You know damn well that I don't care what the original purpose of the Senshi was. We protect people, we don't start wars."

Selene leaned in, her eyes practically blazing. "Watch your tone, time witch. Regardless of whether you like it or not, war among the supernatural is coming and it will spill out into the general populace. Join our side and we can at least keep your precious princess and her boytoy alive long enough to build that Crystal Tokyo that you talked to me about."

Setsuna closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she stood up. "The answer, Selene, is no." She turned and walked away. "I'm sorry."

"So am I." Selene said as she whispered something that had Setsuna spin around with her face pale as the world changed and the two of them found themselves in the ruins of the Moon Kingdom. "It didn't have to come to this, Setsuna." A sad look was on Selene's face as Setsuna transformed into Sailor Pluto. The Moon Goddess walked forward while Sailor Pluto pointed her Garnet Staff at her. "You should know that whatever happens next, it's your fault."

Pluto had a small grin on her face. "That's fine. I've already accepted the blame for everything else that's gone wrong in the world." A powerful swirl of magical energy formed at the end of her staff. "That includes what I did while Galaxia had me as her slave." Her eyes glowed as her power reached a crescendo. "Chronos Typhoon!"

As the temporal magic swirled around her, Selene was saying something in the language of the Gods as Pluto realized that she made a mistake. She hadn't paid enough attention to what Selene had in her hands. What she thought was a fizzy drink had been an illusion. It was actually a rock that had powerful magical energy in it and was glowing. "Chronos Reverse." Selene said calmly as the powers suddenly reversed and surrounded Pluto. "And now, Temporal Phasing!" She squeezed a hand and a bubble was encased around Pluto. "I know you can't hear me, Pluto." Selene said as she walked forward and put the rock near the bubble. "But that bubble puts you out of phase with reality." She looked at the stone as it started to slowly crack. "I estimate... Two months at most before you can return to reality." She turned and walked away as her body faded. "By then, your precious princess and her friends will be broken." A look of remorse was on the Goddess's face as she shook her head. "If only you had joined us, Sailor Pluto. I could have stopped what will happen to your friends."

Inside the bubble, Sailor Pluto frowned as she felt the magic. "You managed to twist my magic against me. You had a Chronos Stone, didn't you?" Such an item was incredibly powerful, though limited in how it could be used. They didn't last long with repeated use, but someone with it could control time as they wished. "If I had it..." She trailed off, shaking her head.

"Focus, Setsuna, you need to get out of this prison." Her mind went over the conversation she had with Selene. "War, huh?"

As much as she didn't want to really think about it, a war involving every supernatural faction could cause the Great Freeze. "No wonder I wasn't able to figure out what caused it if that's the case."

(-)

After returning to Las Vegas, Selene smiled as she returned to the hotel room. "It's done. Sailor Pluto won't be a problem for us going forward."

"Good," Mr D said as his avatar nodded. "I'm glad that Chronos Stone I gave you worked. She won't be a problem until things come to a head."

"My only question for you," Selene said as she walked up to the screen and leaned forward while looking at the avatar in confusion, "why do you want this to happen? If it works the way you say it will..."

Mr. D chuckled softly. "My dear, I forget that compared to me, you are but a child. No, for my plan to work, everything must go exactly as I have laid out." Selene tilted her head and Mr. D laughed softly. "You'll understand in a couple of months. I do hope that you're okay with what will happen to the Senshi."

Selene shrugged and turned to walk away. "If they won't be on our side voluntarily, they can be on our side in another way." She stretched her arms above her head and groaned softly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to do some scouting." The Moon Goddess disappeared in front of Mr. D.

"Yes, yes you do. Find those who have the potential and bring them in." Mr. D said before the screen turned off.

End Chapter 20


So, yeah, the Senshi, in this verse, were originally supposed to be the equivalent of Sacred Gear users to fight against the Devils, Fallen Angels and Angels and God. Exact details will come later.