ENDWORLD: MOON RUN
CHAPTER 9: MIND GAMES
Authors note: words in <> are spoken in the Mind Scape.  Also, to 
understand a joke in this chapter, remember that Timeiand looks just 
like a certain Ghost of Christmas.
**********************************************************************
******

	From somewhere outside of time.........

	Timeiand watched the SEAL as it approached New York.  Soon, the 
battle would start.  He adjusted his cloak.  "The time," he muttered, 
"is now.  I knew this day would come eventually."

	With a flash of light he vanished from his sanctuary.... knowing 
that he would never see it again.

	Back in the SEAL......

	Sailor Moon cried softly on Tuxedo Kamens shoulder.  Every now and 
then she would let out a loud sob.  Mercury was fitfully sleeping.  
All sorts of moans and groans escaped her lips as she thrashed 
fitfully.  "I-i-it's my fault," Sailor Moon cried, "I should have 
made sure she didn't fall asleep."

	"It isn't your fault," Tux said softly, "You did all you could.  
She's just too concussed for anyone to keep her awake."

	Blade gripped the wheel harder and growled under his breath, "We've 
got to do something.  If we don't, she'll die."

	"There's nothing we can do," Geronimo whispered softly as a tear 
came to his eye.

	"Why won't my crystal heal her?" Sailor Moon looked up at the love 
of her life.  She had tried the Moon Healing several times, to no 
avail.  For some reason her powers weren't cutting it.

	"I don't know," was his answer.

	Timeiand flashed into view and said, "I do."

	"You again," Blade said, "What do you want?"

	"I want to help," Timeiand said somberly, "I will be staying with 
you for the rest of the mission now," he turned to Sailor Moon, "The 
injury your friend sustained is too complex for your limited control 
over the crystal to heal.  You need someone who CAN heal complex 
injuries.... like me."

	Sailor Moon looked up and she smiled through her tears, "You'd do 
that?"

	Timeiand nodded once and sat besides Mercury.  He placed his left 
hand on Mercury's forehead and his right on her right temple.  The 
rainbow colored Chronical energy glowed on his hands and transferred 
to Mercury.


	In Mercury's consciousness..........

	She felt as if she was in the middle of a tornado.  She felt as if 
she was being thrown in several directions at once and all sorts of 
colors swam in front of her vision.  A sound like rushing water 
filled her ears.  A voice suddenly came from out of nowhere and said, 
<Sailor Mercury.>

	<Who's there?>

	<Listen to me.>

	<Don't want to, just want to rest.>

	<DON'T!  If you fall asleep here, you'll never wake up again!>

	<That's silly.  I only want a little nap.>

	<NO!  That would agrivate your concussion beyond even my abilities 
to heal.>

	<Concussion?  I have a concussion.>

	<Yes.  What is the last thing you remember?>

	<Not sure.  So hard to..... think straight.  I remember a helicopter 
.....the SEAL was attacked..... an explosion.>

	<That is good.  That you remember that much, is a good sign.  Now 
hold on.  The sudden change will be very disorienting.>

	The colors in front of Mercury's eyes swirled and spun rapidly.  
Like a switch had been struck, the colors disappeared.  The next 
thing she saw was a road.  It was the most unusual road that she had 
ever seen.  It hung in empty space.  One side of the road was 
floating in pure white light and the other was in pure darkness.  
Golden orbs floated above her in the "sky".  A large part of the road 
was in sad shape.  All sorts of pot holes and cracks ran through it.

	<Where am I?>

	<You are in the Mind Scape.>

	Mercury turned around.... or rather her astrial self turned and 
faced Timeiands astrial form.

	<What are you doing here?>

	<I'm here to save you.  Do you see that badly damaged area of road 
over there?>  He pointed to the damaged area.

	<Yes.>

	<That is your concussion.  I can repair it... but we will both see 
some of each others memories.  You might not like what you see and I 
might learn some things you would prefer to keep secret.  So, I swear 
to you now that I will revel nothing of what happens here and I ask 
you to do the same.>

	Mercury gulped and replied, <I-I understand.  Go ahead.  Do it.>

	Timeiand floated in the air and hovered over the damaged area of 
road.  He spread his hands, a white light came out of them and went 
out to engulf the entire area.  Mercury was enveloped.....

	.... and she saw......

	....Timeiand wearing his cloak for the first time and receiving the 
Time Rod from his father......

	.....Timeiand fighting all sorts of monsters and men who tried to 
disrupt the natural course of time.....

	.....saw him talking to someone named Charles.. something or other...


	....she saw him standing in front of some kind of machinery.  Then 
the machine exploded and took him with it........

	...... then she was back on the road.

	The area that had been damaged was now restored.  Mercury turned to 
Timeiand and said, <That last thing I saw at the end....  That was....

	<Yes,> he answered, <You now understand the curse of being a 
Guardian of Time.  When you are given the Time Rod, you see your own 
death.>

	<So does that mean that Pluto.....>

	<Yes.  She was one of the lucky ones though.  She only saw bits and 
pieces of hers,> his voice became sympathetic, <As for you....>

	<Yes.  You know.>

	<I know why you've pushed yourself so hard to be so intelligent, 
much more than you naturally are anyway.  Which is still pretty smart.

	<You're babbling.>

              <Sorry.>

	Timeiand put his right hand under Mercury's chin and gently tilted 
her head to the left.  Then ran his left hand over a small white scar 
under her jaw.  He stated, <You wouldn't even notice it if you didn't 
know where to look.  How can a father do this to their own child?>

	<I-I'd rather not talk about it.>

	<I understand.  Let's go.  Your friends are extremely upset.>

	<Wait.  I want to know more about this place.  The Mind Scape.  What 
is it?  What are those orbs?  Why is the road.....>

	Timeiand cut her off with a wave of his hand.  <So many questions,> 
he chuckled, <There's no time for me to explain.  More than likely 
you'll see this place again.>

	<Wait!  One last question.  This Sailor Pluto we're dealing with... 
she isn't the one we know is she?>

	<No.  The one you are dealing with now is very young and 
inexperienced, unlike the one you met before.>

	<Then why...>

	<Why did she say that crack about remembering her?  Well, she did 
know that you met her older self and... I think she also secretly 
likes confusing the hell out of people.>

	The road faded from view........

	Mercury opened her eyes with a groan.  Before she could utter a word 
she was grabbed in a bear hug by a pair of unsteady arms.  "You're 
okay!" Moon cried.

	"Yes," Mercury answered as her face turned blue, "but I believe that 
this is the second time in a week I have cautioned you about 
depriving me of oxygen and my ribs are still in no condition to 
withstand this type of pressure."

	Sailor Moon once more loosened her grip but again refused to release 
it.  Mercury looked around and saw that everyone was happy.  Even the 
two Warriors were turned around in their seats and beamed at her.  
Geronimo shot her a thumbs up and Mercury pulled her arm free and 
returned the gesture.

	Blades head turned around and he slammed on the brakes.  Everyone 
was thrown forward and Mercury quipped, "Let's not start THAT again.
"

	Blade ignored her and looked out of the window.  Everyone was 
surprised when he actually shivered and said, "There it is.  New York 
City."

	"'The Big Apple'," Geronimo added, "or as we so charmingly call it, 
'The Rotten Apple'."

	"My god," Tuxedo Kamen whispered, "I can't believe it."

	Sailor Moon looked mutely out on the devastated landscape.  She had 
seen pictures of New York in school.  She had always wanted to go see 
it someday, but she had never imagined that she would be seeing it 
like this.

	They were on the far bank of the Hudson, looking at the New York 
cityscape.  The city was.... shattered, for loss of a better word.  
Not one building was left undamaged.  Most were completely leveled.  
Some were just the metal skeletons without any of their stone skins.  
Some were at awkward angles.

	No one said anything, they were all too shocked.  This was Blade and 
Geronimo's second time to New York, but it still scared the hell out 
of them.

	Sailor Moon had remembered reading in her school books that New York 
had been home to millions upon millions of people.  As her frightened 
eyes took in the devastation, her mind showed her all sorts of images 
of all those people being hit by a flash of light and being atomized 
in seconds. She shivered uncontrollably and Mercury and Tux took her 
hands to steady them.

	They did it to calm themselves as well as calm her.  The whole view 
had an aura to it.  A "Do Not Enter Or Die A Terrible Death" feeling. 
 Timeiand asked to no one in particular, "How could people do this to 
each other?  Just press a button and kill billions?"

	"I don't know," was Blade's reply.

	He shook his head and then said, "Alright.  Time to see if we can 
pull this trick off twice."

	"What trick?" Sailor Mercury asked.

	"Remember," Geronimo said, "the SEAL can travel on water too.  The 
bridge and tunnel that lead to the city are out, so we have to go 
this way."

	"What if it doesn't work?" Sailor Moon asked.

	"Then I hope," Blade chuckled, "you can do the dog paddle and that 
your up for a LONG hike."

	His voice got serious, "Hang on, here we go."

	He pushed gently on the gas and the SEAL inched forward.  As soon as 
the front wheels hit the water he pressed a silver switch.  A loud 
"thunk" came from the back of the SEAL.  "That was just the outboard 
dropping from the storage section underneath," Blade explained to the 
nervous group.

	The SEAL slid into the river and this time a loud "clunk" sounded.  
"That," Blade said as he tried to stifle a grin at the Sailors, as 
they jumped slightly, "was the wheel ports closing."

	The outboard engine sputtered to life and the SEAL moved forward.  
It took a good hour and a half, but they finally reached the other 
side of the river.  As they came out of the water.  The wheel ports 
opened and the outboard retracted back into its storage area.  The 
regular engine came to life and the SEAL entered the city.  "Okay," 
Blade said as he turned to Timeiand, "I hope you know where this 
device we have to dismantle is."

	"I do," Timeiand replied, "I will give you directions to the place 
we must go.  Madison Square Garden."


END CHAPTER 9

NEXT: CHAPTER 10: THE BLOODY BATTLE

	Hickok and Riki have made a distraction, and what a distraction it 
is!  Now they must find a way to escape it.  Meanwhile, Pluto and 
Anne go to destroy the Time Adjuster but are interupted by the Mark 2 
Supirior, P-001.  Also, the rest of our group faces off with Primator.
  Can they survive?  Can they pull it off?  To find out..... read 
on!

May The Spirit Preserve You!