UsAgI iS dEaD uSaGi Is DeAd HiP hIp HiP hOoRaY
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME

Diclaimer - Sailormoon is owned by Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai, so
these characters really belong to them, except ones I made up.  You
know who they are!  They're the ones that run around doing bad 
things to the original cast.  ^_^  Well, most of them, anyway.


Part Fifteen
Out of the Blue II



	MILLENIA - THE MIND

	I bleed.  For the hearts and minds of the losers of the 
universe.  And that is, for all of us....  For we are all losers,
and the greatest of all is the one who realises this and does
nothing to change it.

	I bleed.  From wounds too great to heal.  I want to be loved
and hated all in one.  The weapons I use against others only proceed
to hurt me more.  Soon it will end, and then it will begin again.  
Those for whom I care about the most will face my wrath.

	I bleed.  From eyes with tears of self-pity and self-hatred.
There is nobody who could care about someone whose exterior is so
thin the merest pinprick of contempt causes wounds more akin to
a dagger, a sword.  And the pain lasts far far longer.

	I bleed.  For too long.  Perhaps it is time to change but I
cannot change for I am without the desire and without the desire
there can be no change.  Thus comes the onset of decreptitude, the
rotting remains of a soul that has never known happiness.

	Since time began.  And for some period before that.

	There is no death for me.



	THE MOON, RUINS OF THE PALACE - THE RECENT PAST

	The young-looking woman walked across the surface of the moon, 
digging through the remains of the civilisation that once existed 
there.  She wondered aloud why she was doing this.  What could she 
possibly have hoped to find in this permanent state of death?  She 
looked up at the living world beyond, and saw merely the same death, 
on an almost equal scale.

	She had been here some three hundred years....  By the 
measurements of this world's orbits.  So strange, the cold darkness
that existed here today, where once there was warmth and life in
abundance.  But then, that was the way of things.  Even with the
possibilities of persistent death and rebirth, the silence of the
playgrounds of the soul remained forever.  And sometimes even 
longer.

	She listened to the silence for there were no sounds here.  It
was something she had become used to.  Despite the life that existed
in the universe, there was only one REAL absolute....  Silence.  But
each place had a different kind of silence, and she had travelled
from place to place to experience them.

	She had come here to experience the silence of the dead.  The
wailing of the spirits that had been sacrificed in this place and
had not the opportunity to be reborn.  Some didn't know they were 
dead.  Some even refused to believe it.  She ignored them all.
Spirits that do not wish to progress from one location and one
lifetime held of her no interest.

	Yet this spot, near the centre of the ruins of the palace
citadel, there was potential.  It was the silence of potentiality!
Something was going to happen here, it just needed a little push
to get it moving.  And so, she began to dig.  With her bare hands
she moved foot after foot of dry, wasted dust.

	And there she found them.  Four glowing spheres.



	IASFU OA FWSS IASFU OA FWSS GOO JUA GOO JIPEST
	and again
	IASFU OA FWSS IASFU OA FWSS GOO JUA GOO JIPEST
	Shadows of shadows passing



	TOKYO - THE DAWN

	Blood spewed over the horizon.  Night was ending and the
day began in a mockery of gory death.

	Usako watched the sunrise.  Thoughts ran through her mind...
Strange thoughts for an Usagi.  Or an Usagi clone, as she was.  She
had failed the test of what made a true Usagi, because of the way 
she thought....  She was not lazy, klutzy or easily distracted.  She
found reading even the most complex texts a simple task.  She learnt
approximately twenty years worth of education in the space of two
weeks.  And above all, she was more level-headed and poised than
any Usagi really deserved to be.  In short, she was Serenity reborn.

	Only, those at the Usagi Production Plant weren't looking for
Serenity reborn.  They were looking for the one true Tsukino Usagi.
The Super Sailormoon Deluxe Model, no less.

	And so, her file was marked "reject", and she was sent out
into a lonely existence amongst her own kind....  To live in a
society where everyone shared your face, and a great many of your
attributes.  But she was too different.  Her serious personality,
her sensitivity....  She would often be insulted by being called an
Ami....  Whilst the other senshi were singularly adored and despised
amongst Usagi society, to be compared to one was an immense insult.
Over the space of many months, she was ostracised.

	Then one day, a flyer came through the letterbox of her 
humble, run down apartment.  It was for the Tomoe and Aino Usagi
Extermination Agency....  An organisation, apparently set up by two
original senshi, to euthenise Usagis who no longer felt a desire to 
live.


	Fate had a strange way of wandering into one's life, she 
thought to herself as she followed her companions through the
abandoned streets of Tokyo, avoiding the multiple and growing fires
that were raging across the city, various groups of soldiers 
wandering aimlessly, media on their way to being arrested and the
occasional barricade set up by some loopy fringe group, using the
chaos created by the dimensional rift above, and the Resonator as an
excuse to thug on anyone who happened by.


	Usako hated it.  She hated the chaos, the wanton destruction.
Why did people do these kinds of things?  It was....  It was so
stupid.  Wasn't it better to create than to destroy?

	She felt herself being taken by the arm and pulled back behind
a wall by Usashin....  An Usagi clone who seemed, somehow, to have
found a logical, individual existence for herself.  She looked along
the wall....  Sailors Jupiter, Pallas and Juno, Aosagi and that 
Akunatsuka Kaji person were leaning against the wall, listening 
carefully.

	She heard footsteps and shouting, on the other side.  Then 
there were gunshots and screams.  Then....  Nothing.  She felt the 
nauseating sensation of death creeping over her...  Not her own, but 
that of others.  She'd always felt the deaths of others, like some 
link she had to the living.

	For a few moments she thought she heard a voice, and turned up
to look at the sky.

	"Usa...shin..."  She mumbled, pulling on her sleeve.  Usashin
hushed her to be quiet, but she began pointing.  "Usashin, look, 
above us."  Usashin turned to her, then up.

	"Oh shit!"  Usashin heard Aosagi mutter behind her.  
"Destroyers."  Usashin nodded.
	"They're going to be trouble."

	Sailorjupiter looked up, blinking dumbly.  "What?  Those big
black floating things?"
	"Indeed."  Usashin frowned.  "They mean to destroy anything
that appears to be the Eternal City."
	"Namely Tokyo."
	"They do not differentiate between the two."  Usashin frowned
grimly.

	Usako shivered slightly as Usashin motioned her along.  For a
moment more, she thought she heard that voice.  It was calling out 
to her...  No, not just to her, to anyone who would care to listen.





	Haruka stood on the edge of the open doorway to Setsuna's
apartment, gripping the railing at the top of the stairs, watching
and waiting for the others' return, growing more anxious all the 
time.

	"You look tense."  She almost spun and lashed out at Mamoru,
who was standing an intelligent distance away.  She relaxed almost
instantly.

	"I am.  They should have been back by now.  All they were 
supposed to do was collect Hotaru."  She coughed.  The air outside 
was so laden with smoke that it made it somewhat hard to breathe.

	"You should come inside.  The fires are quite numerous.  I
could feel my throat constricting as soon as I came near the door."

	"I want to be here.  I want to see...."
	"If Michiru is alright?"

	Haruka's lips were quivering.  Mamoru nodded and Haruka turned
around again, trying to hide her expression from him.

	"Mamo-chan, what's happening?"  Mamoru turned aside to the 
blond-haired figure.  His heart skipped for a moment as he reminded
himself that this was Chibiusa, not Usagi.  The real Usagi was....
The young girl had shed herself of the clothes that had come with 
the 4P Usagi model and was wearing something she'd dragged out of 
Setsuna's closet.  Naturally, it looked like a tent on her.
	"It's nothing, Chibiusa.  I'm just talking to Haruka."
	"There's lots of smoke in the air.  Shouldn't we close the 
door?"  Chibiusa pointed to the broken hinges.  "Or, at least, put
something up to stop the smoke getting in?"
	"In time.  How is....  You know....  Usagi?"
	Chibiusa huffed, looking away sulkily.  "I suppose she is 
okay.  She's with that other Usagi woman, lying on the sofa."
	"Who?  Katsuragi-san?"
	"Whatever she wishes to call herself.  Did you know she wears
a blond wig?  Her hair is black!"  Chibiusa sniffed.  "And she's
scoffing down all the beer from Setsuna's fridge.  Luna's giving her 
the lecture of her life."
	"She has BLACK hair?"  Mamoru looked at Chibiusa for a few 
moments.  "I never knew that.  She hid it well when I hired her."
	Chibiusa chuckled.  "She keeps telling Luna she sounds like
an Akagi person she knows."
	"Hmmm...  Akagi Ritsagi...  The chief of research back in the
factory.  I wonder what happened to her...."  He gazed off into the
distance, then looked back at Chibiusa, who had begun cuddling up to
him in a manner that made him uncomfortable.

	"Uhh...  Chibiusa...  Can I ask you a question?"
	"Yes, Mamo-chan?"
	"Do you know what happened to Usagi?"

	For some reason, Haruka flinched and did her best to look like
she was deliberately distant.  Chibiusa looked down, nervously.

	"I would have asked someone else."  He continued.  "But nobody
around here seems willing to talk about it...."

	Chibiusa pulled herself away from him, and stepped back into
the doorway, gazing inwards.  "I'm...  Not certain.  Things have
been pretty confusing over the last couple of days for me."  Days?
She thought to herself...  How about months...  Ever since I found
out... that Usagi wasn't....

	Mamoru bit his lower lip.  So even Chibiusa wasn't willing to
say anything.  Usagi....  The REAL Usagi, was lying comatose in the
middle of Setsuna's apartment, and nobody would tell him why.  From
Haruka, he expected as much.  The both of them had not always been
the greatest of conversationalists.  Together, anyway.  Maybe it was
a man kind of thing.  Then he checked himself...  Haruka wasn't a
man.  Although she often seemed like it, she wasn't.  Their 
relationship had been, for most of the time, pretty good, although
there was never anything deep about their interaction.

	Chibiusa, however, had been a different matter.  She WAS close
to him, and had the guiless tendency of all children to spout 
immense amounts of socially-unairable thoughts before the brain had
managed to select a gear and shut down the verbal mill.  For her not
to say anything about something she knew...  And he could TELL she
was hiding something...  Then it must be pretty heavy stuff.  He
decided to let it keep for now.


	Haruka let out a small cry of surprise.  With a flash of 
light, Mamoru and Chibiusa heard something land at the bottom of the
stairwell, with a pair of recognisable voices saying "Itaaaiiii!"

	"Hotaru!  MICHIRU!"  Haruka flew down the stairs and grabbed
Michiru around the neck as the blue-haired young woman picked 
herself up, causing them both of them to fall back on top of Hotaru,
who had only just made it onto her hands and knees, puffing heavily.

	"Hoya!  Will you two stop that and get off me.  I'm still a
young, impressionable sort, you know."

	"Oops!"  Haruka lifted both herself and Michiru from Hotaru,
giggling.  "Sorry about that Hota....  Hotaru-chan?!?!?!"

	"What?"  Said the tall, thin young woman in the dark green
minidress, holding the Time Key.  Michiru shook Haruka's shoulder.

	"It'd take too long to explain.  We've got to help Setsuna."
She gestured to the third form, lying beside them.  The woman was
dressed in her casual skirt and blouse, but both were bloodied
from wounds to her belly.  She looked to be semi-concious, but it 
was hard to tell.  Haruka opened her eyes wide.

	"What happened to her?"
	"We bumped into some JSDF special forces.  Needless to say,
they were less than friendly."
	"Is she....  Is she badly..."

	"I did my best to heal her."  Hotaru snapped her fingers, 
and the Time Key disappeared.  She then took Setsuna by the 
shoulders as Mamoru and Chibiusa slowly descended the stairs,
aghast at Setsuna's condition.  "But my powers were pretty weak
at the time.  Now they're regenerating.  It might take a while
before they're useful again."

	"So, uh, Hotaru...  Why were you carrying the Time Key?"
	"Someone had to use Pluto's powers to transport us back here.
It certainly wasn't going to be Setsuna."
	"Yeah, and we went all over town, too."  Michiru huffed as she
detransformed from Neptune.  "You'd think that, transferring some of 
Setsuna's powers over to you would, at the very least, bring with it 
the instructions on how to use them."
	"Well, I'm sooooo sorry.  Maybe I should ask for my money 
back."  Hotaru gritted her teeth.  "Will one of you just help me get
Setsuna into the apartment.  We can't leave her here."

	Mamoru brushed past Haruka and Michiru and grabbed Setsuna's 
legs, lifting her off the ground.  "When we get inside..."  He 
gasped as he felt Setsuna's weight.  What the hell had she been 
eating, lately?  "....I want an explanation for all this, young 
lady."  He looked at Hotaru, who stuck her tongue out at him.

	The blood red light struck them, and they turned to the east.  
Dawn had finally broken over the city of Tokyo.




	Elsewhere in the city, the same dawn was watched by another
pair of eyes.  VesVes sighed, shaking her head.  She remembered
dawns like this in the past.  But the past was a jumble of thoughts
and times, many of them diametrically opposing each other, like 
lives lived concurrently.  Such was the confusing nature of the
existence of an Asteroid Senshi.

	Minako thought herself lucky to see anything at all.  She
wasn't feeling pain anymore, and she supposed that was a good
thing.  After using a handkerchief to try to stop the bleeding 
(rather ineffectually) VesVes had spent a good half an hour running 
gentle waves of energy through her hand into Minako's grievously 
wounded upper belly.  At first, VesVes thought she might even be 
able to heal Minako's wound if she did this for long enough.  The 
energy was of such a low-expense level that it more than regenerated 
within her than expended.  Eventually, after increasing the energy 
slowly, VesVes realised that it didn't matter what she did, Minako's 
wound was....

	Without realising it, she had taken the inner senshi's hand.
She didn't know why she was so concerned for the wellbeing of the 
inner senshi.  Personally, she couldn't stand the bitches!  For a 
few fleeting moments, memories of dying alone in a similar manner 
entered her mind.  She shook them away as she and Minako watched the 
sunrise.

	"Damn that Jadeite."  Minako croaked.  "Why in hell did he
have to go after Rei?"
	"Because he is stupid?"
	"Yeah, I guess you have a point there."  Minako chuckled,
then coughed.  VesVes sweated slightly, squeezing Minako's hand.
	"Take it easy.  I've sent a message to my partners.  They'll
be here, soon."  Not soon enough, she thought.

	"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you say."  Minako coughed again, 
then looked up at VesVes questioningly.  "Hoi, since when have you
been getting all messed up in senshi business, anyway?  I thought
we'd dealt with you already."
	"That's because I AM a senshi, silly."
	"You?  A senshi?  Since when?"
	"Since our boss let us free from the crystals."

	Minako coughed again.  "And who might your boss be?"
	"Naiad-sama.  She saved us from our concurrent existences."
	"I don't understand any of this."
	"Neither do I.  That's the problem."  VesVes sighed.  
"According to her, when we were released of our powers, we all 
became two distinct beings....  The normal girls that we became, and
the senshi aspect that returned to the crystal spheres.  By 
releasing the senshi spirits, we became sailorsenshi."
	"So what happened before?  When you four were with that dumb
Zirconia person?"
	"Well, uh, that was an aberration.  She found our crystals 
first.  Something YOU should have been looking for, by the way.  Had
you done so, that whole Amazoness Quartet affair would have been
unnecessary."

	"Well, I'm so sorry we aren't perfect.  It happened to slip 
our minds during an event known as death."  Minako coughed again, a
strange expression on her face.  "Oh Kami, I'm going to die again,
aren't I?"
	"If you keep getting worked up like that, yes, that is a 
distinct possibility."
	"I don't want to die.  Not again, not like this."

	VesVes closed her eyes and shuddered.

	"Okaasan..."  She heard, in her mind.  "Okaasan, where are 
you?  Please, it hurts....  I'm scared, okaasan, where are you?"  
She opened her eyes again.

	"Stop being stupid.  Of COURSE nobody wants to die.  It kinda
sucks, okay?"  VesVes sneered and turned aside.  "I'm surprised I
have to explain such a thing to you."

	Minako remained silent, blinking her eyes a couple of times.
Things seemed a little hazy at the moment.  She then turned as she
heard a large vehicle, trundling somewhere down the road.  VesVes
heard it, too, and turned in the same direction.

	An old yellow school bus rose the crest of the hill further 
along the road, doing no more than 10mph.  The driver, seeing the 
pair on the road, brought the vehicle to a dead stop and opened the 
doors.  She jumped from the driver's seat, through the doorway, and 
both Minako and VesVes could see it was an Usagi.  But not the kind 
either of them had seen before.  For a start, her bust size was the 
equivalent of Japan's GNP.  She also wore a skimpy red costume that 
only just managed to wrap around the necessary parts of her body.  
Her hair was tied up in a single tail.

	"Oh Kami-sama!  Its Sailor V, and she's hurt badly!"  The 
driver ran forward as four other Usagi's piled out of the bus.  One
small one dressed in a strange nurse's outfit and cap, another 
dressed in a dark red-brown bunny girl like suit with pink skirt,
her hair tied back in an elaborate tail with ribbon.  A third with
her hair held back in a headband, dressed like a sorceress with
flowing cape and the last like a witch, with skimpy red costume
and wide-brimmed red and black witch's hat.  She even carried a
broom over her shoulder.

	They all came forward as the busty one knelt down beside
Minako, much to the two senshis' continuing disorientation.  The
pair were still wondering how she managed to run to them without
committing serious injury to herself.

	"Ooohhh...  How did this happen, Sailor V?"

	"Anoooo..."  VesVes mumbled.  "Who are you?  Where did you 
come from?"

	"Ah, yes."  The busty one scratched her head.  "We sorta
came from up there."  She pointed up at the dimensional breach.
"Dunno what happened, we were on the edge of a big bang and ended
up down here, a few miles that way."  She pointed back down the
road.  "The name's Shiranui Maisagi, by the way."

	"Figures."  Minako muttered under her breath.

	Maisagi turned to her companions.  "Hey, nursegirl, your 
powers capable of doing anything about this?"
	"That's Nurse Angel Usagika to you."
	"Yeah yeah, whatever."

	The Nurse Angel wandered over to Minako's side and looked at 
her wound as VesVes pulled the bloodied handkerchief away, screwing 
up her face.  "It's pretty bad."  She said flatly.
	"I can SEE that."  Minako coughed.  VesVes and Maisagi
sweatdropped.

	"Yeah, well, just thought you'd like to know.  No need to get 
all defensive about it."  The Nurse Angel fell to her knees and
placed a hand over Minako's wound, concentrating.  After several
moments, she frowned, gritting her teeth.

	"Blast."  She cursed.  "There's nothing I can do."
	"What?"  Maisagi looked at her.  "You healed all of us when we
hit the ground back there."  She gestured.  "Saint Moon here was 
pretty badly hurt when she hit that railing."
	"Yes, but that wasn't a wound caused by magic."

	VesVes looked at Usagika.  "What do you mean, caused by
magic?"  The Nurse Angel sighed and shook her head.
	"Whatever did this used a form of elemental energy to tear
through the flesh.  That energy is, temporarily, preventing healing 
from occuring.  Not that, with a wound like that, it is likely to 
heal without a full-scale operation."

	"Maybe our magic will work on her."  The sorceress said, 
pointing to both herself and the witch.
	"I hardly think your powers will.  The both of you have highly
destructive or exploder energies.  You'll more likely blow her to
ratshit."  Maisagi sighed.

	"Just an idea."  The sorceress turned and shifted on her feet, 
sulking.  "You remind me of an old acquaintance of mine.  Its a good 
thing you don't laugh as much."

	"Well, I guess there is nothing to do but take her to a place
where she can be looked after."  Maisagi looked at the sorceress.
"Lina, can you remove some seats from the bus?"

	"BURST RONDO!"

	KABLAM.

	Maisagi sweatdropped as several seats exploded through the 
roof of the bus.  "That's... uhh.. fine Lina.  That'll be enough.
Sae, Meimi, can you get some of that camping gear and lay it down
in the space where the seats used to be?"

	"Okay."  They said, and piled back into the bus, putting out
the small fire created by Lina's spell as the sorceress blew on her
finger to put out the glove, looking rather pleased with herself.

	"Waitaminute..."  VesVes took Maisagi by the arm.  "My friends
are coming...  They'll know what to do to help Venus."

	Nurse Angel Usagika shook her head.  "I'm afraid not.  Until 
the magic wears off, the only person who can cure Sailor V through 
magic is the person who injured her in the first place."

	"And that isn't very likely to happen...  Sailorvesta, isn't
it?"  Maisagi looked questioningly at the redhead.  "One of those
loopy Asteroid Senshi we kept being warned about."

	"Who...  who warned you?"
	"Hmm....  Dunno.  Just heard lots of stories about you and 
your partners."  Maisagi shrugged.
	"But....  Who in hell...?"  VesVes stammered.

	Both Maisagi and Usagika seemed disinterested as Sae leaned
out of the bus.  "Everything's ready.  We even aired the smoke from
the bus."  Sae sniffed the air.  "Actually, its pretty bad out here.
What's been going on?  Do you normally have bonfires like this in
your world?"  Sae pointed to the multiple rising columns of smoke
nearby and across town.

	"We don't have time for that, Sae."  Maisagi gestured.  "Get
us something to carry her onto the bus.  It might be bad if we move
her too much."

	Great, thought Minako.  My life's in the hands of a pack of
psychotic Usagis.  I'll be lucky to see breakfast.




	HOMEWORLD - SLEEPING ARMY

	She sighed as she wandered through the dark passages of
wherever it was she had found herself, wondering if life could get
any worse than it did, right at this moment.

	She'd woken up to find herself, lying naked, in a cold room of
stone and marble.  She'd spent the first ten minutes looking for the
central heating, and the next ten for clothes.  All she could find,
after wandering in and out of small rooms that lined the passages
were a couple of loose shawls and cloaks.

	She looked a pathetic figure in them, too.  After having gone
through what she had, one could expect her to be somewhat worse for
the wear.  If only she could accept what she'd been through as real.

	The passageway she'd been following ended, like many before 
it.  Unlike the others, however, this one ended with a large set of
doors, made of iron and jet.  She bit her lower lip and touched the
handle on the right-hand door.  There was a soft chiming, and she
stepped back in surprise as the doors opened automatically.

	The room beyond was brighter than the passageway, and she had
to cover her eyes for several seconds.  When she finally managed to
see something, her heart skipped a few beats.

	The room was more like a cavern.  It was HUGE.  And all 
through it lay row upon row, stacked like produce from a factory,
the naked bodies of women and men.  Millions of them.  

	Red lights shone from the ceiling at the silent horde, giving 
the room a sinister appearance.  Slowly, she stepped into the 
cavern, looking from side to side to see if anyone AWAKE was waiting 
for her.  There was nobody.

	She wandered into the nearest row, looking at the closest
figures.  Locked away in strange crystal caskets, they looked like 
perfectly preserved corpses, for none of them were breathing.  But 
somehow, she knew they were alive.  Alive, and ready to be released 
upon the universe once more.

	She shook her head, the information overload almost rejected
by her tortured mind.  She knew this to be impossible.  There could
be no place like this on Earth.  So where was she?

	Slowly, she sank to the floor, sitting hunched and cross-
legged.  She listened quietly for any sound.  There were none, save
for the gentle hush of what had to be a kind of air filtering 
system, or air conditioning.  Right now, she couldn't care if all
these people suddenly woke and asked a lot of difficult questions.
She was too tired to give a stuff.

	The silence and the dim light was beautiful to her tired body,
and slowly she found herself nodding off.  Until she heard the
footsteps.  Suddenly, she was alert.  She stood again.


	"I sense the presence of someone who should not be here."  She
heard the voice from some distance away, and fell against one of the
caskets to still herself.  "Find her.  She may be an agent of my 
enemy."

	"Yes, your most GRACIOUS majesty."  Said another voice.

	"And do it without the sarcasm."  The first voice retorted.

	She began to hyperventilate, looking around in panic.  Not
knowing where she was and why she was here did present something of
a problem when it came to running for one's life....

	She slowly began to back herself towards the doorway to the
darkened passage, trying not to make too much noise, when a figure
bounded from high above, landing between her and her escape hatch.

	It was a woman....  No, more like a man dressed like a woman.
Or a woman who had made a concerted effort to look slightly 
masculine in a feminine kind of way.  Whatever the case, the first
thing that ran through her mind when seeing the individual's taste
in clothing was how remarkably similar it looked like S&M Bondage
gear....

	"So, here you are."  He/she/it said.  She shivered for a few
moments, then promptly fainted.

	Another two figures bounded into the row, staring down at her.
The taller one shaking his/her head.

	"That was rather unsporting, Starfighter.  Scaring her like 
that."  Starfighter looked at Starmaker a moment, shrugging.
	"Well, you heard what her nibs said.  Find the intruder."
	"So who is she?"  Starhealer put her hands behind her head,
looking away with obvious disinterest.
	"I didn't have an opportunity to find that out, did I?  She
just went plonk onto the floor as soon as I got here."

	"Another question, how DID she get in here?  Only a few people
are able to open up the chamber...  Those with the powers of a 
Monarch."  Starmaker scratched her head.  "You don't suppose she..."
	"No, she's not."  They turned to see Sentinel standing further
along the row.  "Although she does contain great powers within her,
they are not intrinsically hers."
	"And how would you know, bedboy?  You can see them, can you?"
Starhealer huffed and stepped away from his presence.
	"Actually, yes, I can.  Strange waves, too.  Extremely 
disturbing.  Maybe Galaxia was right, she is an agent of her enemy."
	"In which case, all power to her."  Starmaker sneered.

	"That'll be enough from you two."  Starfighter shook her head.
She then turned to Sentinel.  "I'm sorry.  But the girl appeared
frightened and disoriented.  By the looks of things, she does not 
know why she is here."

	Sentinel nodded and stepped past Starmaker and Starhealer,
kneeling down before the unconcious form, touching her forehead
gently.

	"Her name is...  Kikotsuka Aoi...  She is a native of the 
planet Earth."

	"Earth?"  The Starlights looked at him.
	"Yes, that is what I said."
	"The home of...."  Starfighter bit her lip.

	"Indeed.  The Princess Serenity."  Sentinel concentrated once
more.  "She doesn't know how she got here.  She doesn't even know
where she is.  She is even having questions about her own identity.
She believes she is the reincarnation of a Miko of Earth, who goes
by the name of Naiad Keth Drutein."  He pondered for a moment.  "I
have heard that name before...."

	"The Witch of the Mind?"  Starhealer muttered.  Sentinel 
turned to her.
	"Yes, that's her."  He turned back to Aoi.  "But she is not
her, either."

	"Well who the hell is she?  Hekiru Shiina?"  Starhealer 
sniffed.  "She's gotta be someone, for Kakyuu's sake."
	"That's enough, Starhealer."  Starfighter sighed.  She looked
at Sentinel, who had stood.  "What do we do with her?"
	"Place her in the transport.  One of you keep an eye on her
for now.  From what I've been able to gather from her mind, she is
not a threat.  Currently.  Whether she remains that way is up to
circumstance."




	MILLENIA - THE MIND

	I smile at the distress of the young woman whom I find before
me.  I ask myself why I know her and do not receive an immediate
answer.  She is beautiful, in a way.  Elegant, poised and so very
alive.  Yet these are not merely reflections on her current state.
These are memories of someone I know oh so very well, and I want to
know why.

	I wander around the girl, who appears confused about her 
identity, as well as my own.  She calls herself by names such as 
Osaka Naru and Tranquility Khurishnaan.  And in her mind, this is
who she is, two different aspects to the same person, borne from
very different and equally interesting lives.  I wish to look
further into her mind, yet I am not so brave.  For within that mind
is the answer to my query as to why I know her.

	For a few moments, I consider killing her to prevent the
revelation of that memory, but emotions swirl within me, sickening
me at the thought.  Whatever time it is that we have shared 
together, the feelings were strong, close.  Perhaps too close for
me to accept readily.  And the same goes for her, for she finds my
presence frightening, and not just for the reasons that most find.

	I stroke her face, touching an innocent who has not seen, or
tasted the spoils of eternity.  Unsullied by time, yet not without
the kinds of sadnesses I have known.  I wish to embrace her, but I
do not.  That would mean acknowledging feelings for her, and I hate
those that I get close to.  With a passion.

	I ask her about this Naiad Keth Drutein that she initially
thought was me.  I am fascinated by the details of this particular
girl's life.  A Miko of the Silver Millenium, in the Moon Kingdom of
Sol.  She tells me all that she knows of her, and of what has been
happening on the capital planet of that system.  It leaves me
simultaneously aghast and overjoyed to hear the chaos that has 
ensued there.  By the nature of my very position, I should do
something about this.

	But then, I may merely make things worse.  That concept is one
I feel a certain...  Attraction to.

	And then she mentions the physical fusing...  Of herself, of
this Naiad Keth Drutein, and of another who goes by the name of 
Mizuno Ami, to the element of water.  When I probe her on her 
elemental bias, she denies that she has anything to do with water.
And she is more or less correct.  Her strongest elemental connection
is to earth.  So I wonder aloud as to the purposes of this fusion,
and she replies that it was as much a mistake, a huge blunder, on the 
parts of both herself and of the Mizuno girl.

	And then she tells me that we have not yet unfused ourselves
with the element, and that something very strange has happened with
the Mizuno girl.  Someone who had been a friend, but was acting in
an insane manner, playing with past life memories as if they were
there for her pleasure.  I looked into her mind and saw a vision of
this Mizuno Ami.

	Miste Kiele.  Damn that monster!




	TOKYO - A ROAD LEADING INTO TOWN

	Minako lay predominantly on top of the bedding her newfound 
compatriots had set out for her.  The bedding was wrapped around 
her, as much an effort to halt the now gentle bleeding as to keep 
her warm.  VesVes could tell she was fading.  Minako's occasionally 
dazed expression was getting hazier by the moment.


	"Okaasan..."  Said the 13 year old girl, who lay dying within
the citadel of the Palace.  She had seen her mother only moments
before, when she was struck by a monster who had come from nowhere.
The girl's body had been ripped open, and she was trying to hold in
her bodily organs with her hands.  The monster was gone, trying to 
escape the attacks of another.

	"Okaasan...  It hurts, please, help me okaasan."  She turned
her confused head from side to side where she lay.  For a moment,
she thought she saw her mother's beautiful red locks, standing over
her.  She reached up with a blood-soaked hand, and then....


	Nothing.  VesVes shook herself a moment.  She'd sat beside
Minako when they'd managed to carry her into the bus.  Not an easy
task when one is trying to avoid causing further tissue and organ
damage.  Strange, these feelings she was getting.  But then, she
knew she should have expected it....  A senshi was dying, and they
would all feel it within.  The loss of a part of themselves.

	She reached out and felt for Mars, and Mercury, at that.  But
their senshi signatures were still tactile.  They were still alive,
but for how much longer?  They were both weakening....

	The bus came to a sudden halt, and VesVes fell forward, trying
not to squash Minako as Meimi fell on top of her.

	"Hoi, careful!"  VesVes managed to pick herself up as Meimi
apologised, getting up and staring out of the windows.  In fact, all
the Usagi's were staring out of the windows.  VesVes heard the door
open as Maisagi stood from the driver's seat, staring down at the
armed soldiers who had blocked the road.

	"Can I help you gentlemen?"  She leaned forward, showing as
much of her ample cleavage to the three young soldiers who stood,
guns poised, their gaze varying between her chest and their 
commanding officer.

	"Uh, we're with the National Front.  We have taken control of
this district in the name of the Crown Prince....  Uh...  Emperor...
Uh...  Whatever.  We have the right to...  Uh, enter your vehicle 
and inspect it."
	"Well, you're welcome to do that, honey, just as long as the
wounded innocents we are carrying don't die during your nice liddle
widdle inspection."

	The soldier who had been doing the talking looked back at his
Commander, trying to get some guidance.  The Commander put a hand to
his face, shaking his head sadly.

	"Marakade, just shoot the dumb bitches.  Nobody is allowed 
within inner Tokyo unless they are a member of the National Front."

	"Is that so?"  Maisagi looked at the Commander.  "Lina?"

	"DIGGER BOLT!"

	Before they knew what was happening, all four members of the
National Front were swimming in Tokyo Bay.  Maisagi sniffed and
looked back at her companions.  "Sorry about that.  Looks like all
the loops have decided to crawl out of the woodwork now the city is
in a state of disarray."

	She sat back in the driver's seat, closed the doors, and ran
the bus through the flimsily-made roadblock.  Something that felt
remarkably cathartic to Maisagi.




	TOKYO - SETSUNA'S APARTMENT

	"Well, that's the best we can do, until we get her some proper
medical help."  

	Michiru sat beside Setsuna's bed on a small stool, dropping 
bloodied swabs into a small bucket at her feet with much distaste.  
"Any brilliant ideas from you good people as to how we are going to 
achieve this great feat?"  She looked across the small assembled 
group from left to right...  Haruka, Mamoru, Chibiusa, Hotaru and 
that drunken, black-haired Usagi who was holding the cats in a 
rather cruel fashion, much to their distaste.  "Hotaru?"

	"What?"
	"You managed to transport us back here.  How about to the 
local hospital?"
	"Is it still standing?"
	"How should I know?  Unless we go, we aren't going to find 
out.  And until we do something with Setsuna, we're flying blind in 
a LOT of areas...."  Michiru shivered.  "I don't like everything she 
does or the attitude with which she does them, but I feel kind of 
defenceless with her in this state."

	"You don't honestly think being with or without Setsuna is 
going to matter, do you?"  Haruka snorted.  "There were times when I
honestly believed she was working against us."

	"You're wrong!  Puu would never do that!"  Chibiusa snarled in
Haruka's direction, holding up a fist.  "Don't I ever hear you 
talking about her that way again!"

	"Why not?  It WAS her who fired the killing blow at Usa...."

	Mamoru's ears picked up.  He stared at Haruka, then Chibiusa.
Haruka looked aside at him, nervously.  Michiru and Hotaru had 
flinched, trying their best not to look in Mamoru's direction.
Haruka cleared her throat.

	"Whatever the case, I have never truly trusted her.  I've
relied upon her, yes.  She is one of us, and I suppose that's all
well and good.  But someone who knows the future can... manipulate
people and situations...."  Haruka coughed and looked away.

	I'AS-FU OUAHA FIWOUSSU....

	Mamoru shuddered.  what the hell was that just now?  Did 
Haruka just say that Setsuna....  Surely not.  His head felt sore as 
he rubbed his eyes, then stared at Setsuna, blankly.

	I'AS-FU OUAHA FIWOUSSU....

	Chibiusa silently muttered, turning away.  "I know that, 
but..."

	"But nothing."  Haruka huffed, obviously annoyed.  "What's 
wrong, Small Lady?  Getting all high and mighty now you're in THAT 
body?"


	Mamoru slapped Haruka, much to everyones' surprise, especially 
his own.  Haruka held her face, staring at him.

	"That...  That'll be enough of that.  We don't need arguments 
now."  He crossed his arms.  "Right at this moment, the City is 
descending upon our world, slowly but surely.  I'd hate to think 
what would happen if something that is completely native to that 
dimension, carrying with it the rules and laws of the said dimension, 
touched down upon something equally as solid in this one."  

	He allowed that to sink in for a bit.  "Whilst we were able to 
enter its universe, we were but small packets of this one, not 
really capable of disrupting those physical laws by which the other 
operates.  But the Eternal City is, as its name implies, eternal."

	GOU HOU JIOUA GOU HOU J'PAESTU....

	"That's impossible, though.  Nothing goes on forever."  
Michiru frowned at him, placing her hands across her lap.  She 
looked at Hotaru for a few moments, still dressed in the dark green
minidress that she supposed represented the powers of Pluto, and
wondered how Hotaru achieved the feat of changing over....

	Change.  Maybe it would be possible for her to do the same 
with Haruka?

	EZENIEL PARAS G'PLEN...  N'PTIUN SES UREI-NASU

	"It is if you have a universe whose fringes overlap and fold
back on themselves.  That is one of the laws that are incompatible
with this one.  Once the City touches down, both dimensions will try
to merge..."

	GOU HOU JIOUA GOU HOU J'PAESTU....

	"...And they won't be able to."  Hotaru finished, flatly.  She
rubbed her chin, thoughtfully.  "An interesting prospect.  Pity none 
of us will live as witnesses."  She chuckled mirthlessly.  "I 
wondered why the tinge of the air was different....  It already has
contact with the City, and therefore that dimension."

	"I thought that was the smoke from the fires causing that."  
Haruka frowned at Hotaru.
	"Hardly.  You're watching matter in this universe already
being stressed to breaking point.  The smoke isn't making it any
better...  Literally tons of material rising into the atmosphere,
coming into contact with the city and the breach...." She paused.
"Every particle, every speck of dust....  But it is not enough to
upset things.  We were not enough to upset things.  But an entire
world?"

	"What about me?"  Mamoru's ex Chief Executive, Katsuragi Usato
looked at them after putting the cats down.  "I come from that 
dimension, myself.  Why haven't things started to go kooky around 
me?"

	"Umm..."  Mamoru looked around, nervously.  "That's becuase 
you are actually fifty percent Usagi.  The real Usagi, I mean.  You
contain her genetic makeup."

	"And where did you get these genes from if you've spent so 
long in that dimension, Mamoru?  I thought it took almost all of the
City's powers to swap you with the Resonator?  Getting Usagi... even 
bits of her, would have stressed it beyond its capacity."  Hotaru 
looked at him strangely.  "And we know it didn't, so how...?"

	Mamoru went red-faced for a few moments, muttering something
under his breath that sounded like "I can't talk about it, its too
embarassing".

	Haruka was about to say something, when she felt a chill run
through her.  Suddenly, both she and Michiru lit up like Christmas
trees.  The others took a step back as Haruka fell against the rear
wall of the room, her clothes changing from her motorcycle gear to
a double aqua blue minidress, similar to that of Hotaru.  Michiru's
flowing dress changed into a dark blue and yellow piece of the same
ilk.  Michiru stared at Haruka for a few moments as her lover picked
herself up from the wall.

	"Michiru!  What have you DONE?"  Michiru said.
	"Wh...  What the hell...  Haruka?"  Haruka looked back at 
Michiru.  "I just...  I was just thinking...  about what Hotaru 
did....  I never meant..."

	It was Luna, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, who
spoke first.  "Don't tell me, Michiru, that you have transferred the
powers of Uranus and Neptune?"  She stared at Michiru, who looked
back at her strangely.
	"What do you mean I did it?  She's the one who did it."  
Michiru pointed at Haruka.  Luna, as well as everyone else looked 
back and forth, between them.

	"Ano baka."  Hotaru put a hand to her face.  "They've 
transferred everything.  Even the minds."  She lifted her head.  
"Well, at least they got what they both wanted."

	"What would THAT be?"  Michiru-Haruka shot a glance in 
Hotaru's direction.  Hotaru returned the favour in a manner that 
was, suspiciously, like Setsuna.
	"You both managed to get into each others' bodies.  I should
have thought that was most obvious."
	"You take that back!"  Michiru-Haruka stood from the stool,
clenching a fist in Hotaru's direction.

	"Really, Haruka.  You must learn to quell this anger of yours.
It will do absolutely nothing to help us."  Hotaru said haughtily.
The Time Key reappeared in her hand and she turned to the bedroom
window, obviously intent on leaving the discussion there.

	"You 14 year old BRAT!  Just cos you've got that big, tall 
body now, you think you can mouth off to others...."  Michiru-Haruka
was about to leap across the room at her, when Haruka-Michiru 
grabbed her by the shoulder, shaking her head.

	"Don't, Haruka-chan.  It's Setsuna talking."  Michiru-Haruka 
looked at Haruka-Michiru for a moment, then back at Hotaru.

	"Are you trying to tell me that pair of idiots have done the
same thing as us?"
	"It would appear so, some of the time, anyway."

	Mamoru, Chibiusa and Usato looked from one to the other, 
trying to work out who exactly was speaking there.  Artemis, for
his part, curled up on the bed, resigned to whatever outcome was on
hand, which earned him a claw in the rump from Luna.

	"Don't you start nodding off at a time like this."
	"Well, what am I supposed to do?  Ever since things started,
I've been a passenger all the way."  He huffed and dropped his head
onto the bed, placing a paw over his eyes.

	"I don't wish to appear alarmist."  Said Hotaru-Setsuna 
suddenly.  "But it would appear that the City is currently the least
of our problems.  I would suggest that everyone fall to the floor
lest they be torn to ribbons by flying glass."  She turned to them
and smiled.  "Pretty please?"  She hit the deck very quickly as the 
others stared out of the window.  In the near distance, a big black 
thing was firing a needle-bomb on a portion of Tokyo.  There was a 
large iridescent green explosion which expanded outwards.

	Suffice to say, everyone was on the floor in seconds, except
Michiru-Haruka, who had lain over Setsuna to protect her, as the
shockwave struck the window and blew it in at approximately 300 
miles an hour.  The entire house shook violently, and made some 
worrying creaking noises, but that was that.

	Haruka-Michiru was up first, and saw Michiru-Haruka clutching
her side.  "HARUKA!"  She cried out as the others got to their feet,
to see Haruka-Michiru nearly throttling Michiru-Haruka.  "You bloody 
IDIOT!  That's MY body you're using as a human shield."
	"Gomen...  But you were the one who switched us round" 
Michiru-Haruka said weakly as she pulled a small shard of glass from 
her side after Haruka-Michiru sat up, sulking.

	"Owie!  That hurts...."  Michiru-Haruka held a hand over the
wound, which had begun to bleed profusely.  Haruka-Michiru stared
aside at her, feeling a little guilty, then picked up some tissues
from the bedtable and placed them against the wound.


	"Well well well, looks like condition normal for the members
of the inner circle."  They turned to see a young woman with light
blue hair, wearing a light blue and white sailorsenshi fuku standing
in the doorway to Setsuna's bedroom.  Her hair was tied up somewhat
severely, with little bola-like spheres hanging on leads all the way
round.  Mamoru and Chibiusa recognised her immediately.

	"PALA-PALA?"

	Pala facefaulted.  "Umm, yeah.  Well, most of the time.  But
right now, I'M THE BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORPALLAS.  IN THE NAME OF 
PALLAS, I'M GONNA MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A PACK OF RIGHT IDIOTS!"  She
giggled and put her hands out towards the window wall.  "Elimination
Force!"  She whispered.  The wall shattered into fragments.  She
then smiled at them as they stood, goggle-eyed at the destruction.
"Sorry about that.  Would you mind inserting yourselves on the floor
again?  What I'm about to do has this mild element of danger about
it.  Although you could say I'm used to this kind of thing.  Did you
know I once met Queen Serenity herself?  I said 'Serenity' I said 
'you really should pick out your senshi much more carefully, they
might get carried away with some of their powers, and some of them
were really dangerous' and she just looked at me and said I was
right, did you know that?  No?  Knew it."

	Pallas laughed out loud as the others sweatdropped.  She then
performed a series of handgestures, mouthing an incantation.  An
energy field built up around her. glowing like a blue aura.  With a
shout, she threw out first her right hand, then her left.  Everyone
scattered as concentrated beams of energy shot out from those hands.

	The beams flew across the gap between the window and the 
Destroyer, parts of which cut through the floor and the ceiling to 
do so....  In seconds, the beams sliced through the huge beast.  
Millions of litres of black blood fell upon the area below it, a
veritable flood of gore whose sickly-sweet stench could be smelt 
even from the apartment.  Then, slowly, the segments of the 
Destroyer fell to the ground, silent.  Pallas clenched her fist,
striking a dramatic pose.

	"HEY, am I COOL or WHAT?"  She cackled maniacally, which earnt
her a bop over the head from Sailorjuno, who was standing behind 
her.  "Ouchie.  What was that for?"
	"You're getting carried away again."
	"Yes, but what was that for?"

	Juno sighed and patted her on the shoulder.  "Never mind."  
She said, softly.  Mamoru, who had had enough of this, stood and 
ranged up on them threateningly.

	"Just what the hell do you two think you're doing here?  Why
are you dressed as sailorsenshi?"
	Pallas looked hurt.  "S'cos we are."
	"Eh?"  He stared at them.  "Since when?"  Mamoru put his hands 
on his hips.
	"Since always."  Juno huffed.  "I would have thought, of all
people, Endymion, that you would have remembered the Shadow Boxers
of the Senshi."

	Mamoru thought about it for a few moments.  The term seemed to
be familar to him, for some reason.  He found it hard to accept,
however, that these two were senshi.


	"I see you don't believe what we say."  Juno huffed.  "Be that
as it may, you are going to have to trust us.  Because, unless we
all evacuate this house within minutes, we are all going to die.
Just on the other side is another one of those things.  Now, whilst
I have friends dealing with it, they don't have anywhere near the
sheer mindless arrogance and total irresponsibility of my partner
here..."
	"That's Ms Sheer Mindless Arrogance and Total Irresponsibility 
to you!"  Pallas crossed her arms.  "Do something right and see what 
happens?  You get thugged on."

	Juno sighed.  "Look, lets just leave.  Alright?"
	"But how are we going to get Setsuna out of here?"  Michiru-
Haruka pointed to Setsuna, who appeared to be stirring.  Hotaru-
Setsuna stepped forward.
	"I'll have to transport her.  By myself, I don't want to try
and cart more than one person with that power again."
	"What about Usagi....  She's still lying on the sofa..."  
Mamoru stared at Hotaru.  Both Juno and Pallas looked at each other
for a moment.

	"Usagi?  Usagi's lying on the sofa?"  Juno scratched her head.
Mamoru turned back to her.
	"Yes.  You should have seen her on your way through."
	"There wasn't anyone on the sofa."  Pallas shrugged.  "I
suppose she upped and wandered away.  After all, Setsuna did bring
her back to life."

	"But I thought her soul was off with the birdies, somewhere.
I mean, that's what Setsuna's sister said."  Michiru-Haruka helped
both Haruka-Michiru and herself to their feet, looking at the two
new arrivals.  "You heard her, Pala...  Sailorpallas..  You were
there at the time."
	"Yeah, well, maybe she came to and wandered off in confusion.  
It happens, you know?"  Pallas picked her nose and snorted 
disgustingly, much to everyone's distaste.  She smiled at the 
reaction.  People were so easy to play with.

	"Can I ask you all one important question?"  Mamoru looked
around the room.  "Why was she comatose in the first place?  I mean,
how did she die?  Did she die?"

	"Mercury killed her, of course."  Pallas blurted out.  "It was
an accident.  It wasn't supposed to happen.  So our boss used her 
body to bring Setsuna back to life, then Pluto used her time 
powers to bring Usagi back to life.  Then, of course, this meant
that our boss had to bring Pluto back to life again, since she 
tends to snuff it when she does things like that.  Rather amusing 
to watch, actually....  Anyone ever seen a person turn into jelly 
before?"  Pallas licked her lips.  "Hmmm...  I'll have the lime."

	"Who is their boss?"  Mamoru looked back at Michiru-Haruka, 
ignoring Pallas.  "Is it Setsuna's sister?  Does she really have a 
sister?"  Another thought came to him.  "And is she really capable 
of using Usagi's powers.  I thought only those born to such powers 
were capable of wielding them..."  He stopped and shook his head.  
"Whatever the case, we have to find her.  She may get hurt, or 
killed, out there.  We are her senshi.  It is our purpose to protect 
her."

	He couldn't, for the life of him, work out why the others went
into sulking fits at this suggestion, nor why Pallas and Juno burst
into laughter.



	Outside the apartment, Usako, Akunatsuka and Aosagi watched as
Makoto and Usashin layed into the massive, dark, armour-skinned 
beast that floated ever closer to the building.  Aosagi had to keep
hold of Akunatsuka's arm to stop the man from running.

	"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"  Crackles of energy ran across the
body of the Destroyer.  Welts and sores appeared across its skin as
a needle missile flew from the "turrets" that ran along its 
underbelly.  The missile landed close to half a mile away, and the
trio below felt the heat of the shockwave as it blew through.

	"Why is it coming OUR way?  Is it deliberately trying to 
destroy us?"  Akunatsuka shivered.  Aosagi turned to him, 
emotionlessly.

	"That is PRECISELY what it means to do.  In its mind, this 
city is the Eternal City.  It sees no difference between the two."
Aosagi nodded.  "We are, to it, the City's defenders.  Therefore,
before it can continue its ravage upon the city, it must destroy
the defenders.  But I must say, the blasts from their missiles are 
more effective than I seem to remember them being."  

	Aosagi turned from him and watched as Usashin jumped from the 
roof of a half-ruined apartment block, crying out something.  A 
line, a speech, whatever it was...  Usashin's powers, based so 
heavily on the power of the noble statement, were being channeled 
into her sword.  It glowed white with energy as the samurai warrior 
slashed the sword through the air.

	A beam of energy flashed from the sword and struck the 
Destroyer.  The beast shook, as if in pain...  Black blood gushing 
out as Usashin landed on its back, then leapt off over the other 
side.

	"She's wounded it badly, but its still alive."  Aosagi bit her
lower lip.  Akunatsuka clenched his fist.

	"Another attack like that, and it'll be dead for sure."

	"Baka!  Even Someone with Usashin's abilities can tire.  She
is attempting to recover now, on the building over there."  Aosagi
pointed.  "The Destroyer, however, will not slow in its approach."

	Usako looked at the two as they watched the battle take place,
shaking her head.  She wondered why everyone was so intent on seeing
the creature destroyed...  It was dangerous, of course, but it was
alive, and deserved to live.

	"Kill..."  She heard the voice in her head.  "I must kill.  
The collective mind...  I must retain my individuality.  I must
retain...."
	"Wait..."  She closed her eyes and concentrated on the voice.
She reached out, knowing it to be the Destroyer instinctively.

	The Destroyer paused, pondering over the new voice in its 
mind.  "Please stop."  She clasped her hands together, trying to 
open up her mind even further....




	"What the hell is THAT?"  Mamoru felt the wave of energy 
opening up.  He staggered forward as he stepped into the loungeroom,
to see if what the Asteroid Senshi had said about Usagi being 
missing was true.

	"Mamo-chan..."  Chibiusa ran forward, having followed him in,
and grabbed hold of his arm, steadying him.  "What is happening?"

	"Can you feel it, Chibiusa-chan?  Can you feel it?"

	"Feel what?"  Chibiusa stared at him, questioningly.  Then her
own face screwed up and she let out a slight yelp.  "Yeagh!"

	Michiru-Haruka was next in the room, looking dazed as the pair
held onto each other.  "What the hell....  That's the power of..."

	"...Serenity."  Mamoru finished.  "And it is coming from 
outside."  He shook himself from Chibiusa's grasp and staggered 
forward.  "Usagi...  USAKOOOO!"




	The Destroyer had paused in its travels as waves of energy
began to emanate from Usako.  Peaceful waves.  The effect was 
astoundingly calming.  Both Aosagi and Akunatsuka had stepped
back from her, staring in disbelief.  Even Makoto and Usashin
watched, waiting to see what would happen.  Makoto gently ran
tiny filaments of energy between her fingers, just in case.

	A crescent moon had appeared on Usako's forehead, and she had 
risen a few inches off the ground, the air around her stirred by the 
energies.  Still, she kept her eyes closed, her hands clasped 
together as if she were praying.

	"You must STOP!"
	"M... Must destroy..."  The Destroyer's mind seemed confused.
	"No!  We must CREATE!"  Usako's soft, pleading voice could now
only just be heard over the rush of air that was all around her.  
Mamoru now stood from the doorway, watching her.  Almost instantly,
he knew it wasn't the original Usagi.  But the powers that radiated
from her were stronger.  They were not quite the warm, protective, 
almost motherly powers he had come to associate with Serenity, but a 
more active, creative one.  One that had a greater ambition, even 
with the same level of self-assured calmness.

	"DESTROY!"  She heard the beast roar into her mind.  Tears
fell from her eyes as the beast attempted to move forward, only to
find itself bowled back by the blast of energy from Makoto, who 
stood some one hundred metres from them in its direction.

	Usako felt ill.  A cold sweat ran across her forehead, and she
felt dizziness and nausea taking over.  She had opened her mind up
so widely to the beast that its pain transferred to her.  She wanted
to shout out to Makoto to stop, so she could again try to establish
concious contact.  But another blast against its flesh ended that.
She closed the contact, although her powers were still in force.

	She heard it as a whisper, at first, but then it grew.  The
same voice she had heard earlier....  The one that was calling out
earnestly....  The one that wanted a reply....

	"CREATE!"  It said.  "Create.  Build.  Give life to the dream 
of the future."  Usako now concentrated on this new voice, and she 
turned.

	She looked up into the sky.  The tendrils of the City hung as
if held back, unable to move any further towards the Earth's 
surface.  She descended to the ground and looked at it for what
seemed longer but was only a few seconds.  To Aosagi, Akunatsuka,
Mamoru and others who had joined them outside, it seemed like a
conversation was going on between her and some vague, invisible
person.  Then she started running from the yard.

	"Hey, wait!  WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"  Aosagi went in pursuit of
her as Akunatsuka stood still.  Both Pallas and Juno stared from the
doorway.

	"Where is she going?"  Pallas pushed her way past her partner
and leaned over the railing next to Mamoru.  "Does she KNOW how bad
things are out there?"


	Suddenly, there was a cry, and they turned to see Usashin 
leaping from the building she'd used to recover her energies.  She
swung her sword down at the beast, landed on its back, then leapt
off again like the first attack.

	The Destroyer split in half, thousands of gallons of its black
blood covering the ground below it.  Akunatsuka was up onto the 
stairs quickly as the blood bowled over the back fence and flowed
past the base of the stairway.

	Usashin landed back on the first building from where she'd 
made her first attack, and promptly collapsed forward, panting
heavily.  "Kami, that takes it right outta you."  She got in as
Jupiter landed next to her, helping her to her feet.


	Mamoru turned back to the Asteroids.  "What's happening?  Out 
in the streets?"

	Pallas turned to Mamoru.  "Everyone who is vaguely smart has 
scattered to the four winds.  That leaves every freak and nutcase
roaming the streets unhindered.  On our way here, we bumped into a 
group of militarists who saw the breach as some signal from Heaven 
to right the world of its wrongs..."

	"What did you do about them?"

	"Blew them into smithereens, of course.  What else would we
do?  Sing them a lullabye?"  Pallas broke into song, followed by a
wallop over the back of the head from Juno.

	"Thanks but no thanks.  This really messes things up.  Hey 
you, Neptune-anus...  Whoever you are, tell the scrawny. black-
haired nymph to hold off zapping both herself and Pluto into the
nether regions out in the back of nowhere."

	Michiru-Haruka looked at Juno darkly and turned back into the
house.  Juno put a hand on Mamoru's shoulder.  "Sorry for my 
brusqueness, Endymion.  It comes from a lifetime of being surrounded
by morons.  Well, several lifetimes, to be precise."

	He shook her off.  "Where are your friends, anyway?"

	"Umm...  One is off, gallivanting with various other senshi, 
who have the grand capacity to try and kill themselves.  Venus is
down for the count.  Mars is missing in action.  And Mercury...  
well, she should look up a good shrink or two...."

	"What?  Have they been hurt?

	"Well, I'm quite sure they've managed to mortally wound 
themselves."  Pallas huffed, still rubbing her head.  "At least,
that's what VesVes said in her last communication with CereCere."

	"And where is CereCere?  What is she doing now?"

	"Well, since VesVes is stuck with a busload of Usagis, trying
to get Venus to a hospital before she sheds her mortal coil, she's
run off in pursuit of a guy named Jadeite."

	"JADEITE!"  Mamoru grabbed Juno's shoulders.  "HE'S ALIVE!?!"
Juno shrugged him off, sniffing.

	"Course he's alive.  He's partly responsible for the problems
we now face."

	Mamoru clenched his fists.  "He's responsible!  He's 
responsible for what happened to my Usako!"

	Pallas and Juno looked at each other a moment, as if trying to
suppress their laughter.  They then turned back to Mamoru and smiled
sweetly, nodding.  Chibiusa stared at them dubiously.

	Mamoru growled.  "I'll have him!  He will SUFFER for this."

	Michiru-Haruka appeared at the doorway, a slight smile on her
face.  "Hey you two, guess what?"  The two Asteroid Senshi turned to
her.

	"Umm...  Saturn has zapped herself and Pluto into the nether
regions out back of nowhere?"  Juno raised an eyebrow.

	"Yoooouuuu guessed it."  Michiru-Haruka snorted as they threw
their hands into the air.

	"Ah, bugger it."  Pallas leant against the railing as she 
watched Jupiter helping Usashin back towards the house, trying to
avoid as much as possible the leftover black goo that was sitting on 
the ground.  "Everyone can die as far as I'm concerned.  They all
seem dead keen on the idea."  She laughed.  "HAH!  DEAD KEEN!  
GEDDIT?"

	Juno walloped her again.




	OUT OF THE BLUE

	Naru backed away from the woman who had called herself 
Millenia.  The woman had broken into a maddened rage for no visibly
apparent reason.

	"MISTE KIELE!  YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE I?  MILLENIA, THE
GREATEST SENSHI TO HAVE EVER LIVED!"  Millenia held out her arms and
stared around the chamber, her face alive with anger and amusement.

	There was a soft giggling in the background, and her face 
twisted.  She waved a hand violently through the air, and the 
chamber shattered into fragments.  Naru almost expected to fall into
another maelstrom again, but this time she found herself on solid...
Uhhh..  Void, for want of a better word.

	Before them stood Ami.  Only it wasn't Ami.  It was an older,
more grizzled version.  Miste Kiele, the one-time Senshi of Mercury
in the Silver Millenium.  And the mastermind behind the events that
lead to the end of the Millenium's Miko caste.

	And she didn't look frightened at all by Millenia's anger.

	"Yes, Millenia, I challenge you.  So what?  You call yourself
the greatest Senshi to have ever lived?  Well, I guess you have 
lived.  More times than anyone else.  But I thought that title was
reserved for...."

	"GALAXIA?"  Millenia cackled insanely.  "Ah yes, the almighty
WHORE of the empire.  Yes, I do suppose she has SUPPLANTED that 
title from ME!"  Millenia held out her hands, rolling her fingers in
a manner that suggested impatience.  "So, are we going to fight?"

	"No."  Miste smiled.  "I'm going to let you kill me."


	That put a stop to Millenia's rage.  She stared at Miste like
a spoilt little girl who had been denied something.  "Awww, what 
for?"

	"Because if you don't kill me...."  Miste's face screwed up.
"This bitch's mind is going to take over me completely."

	Naru watched as Miste's form changed....  Now the figure was
shorter, younger.  She even wore the recognisable blue and white
sailorfuku that Naru recognised.  "Ami?"

	"Can't...  Let her take control again.  I AM self-control
incarnate.  Can't let someone like her run me like that.  I'm not
Miste Kiele.  I would never do the things she would do."  Ami
looked at Millenia for a few moments and smiled as she clutched
her chest.  "Sorry, about dragging out the Millenia bit.  I'm afraid
you have to...  Face what you are...  Who you are...  And why you,
throughout your lives, have felt the way you do about things..."

	Millenia gritted her teeth angrily.  "Are you trying to 
psychoanalyse me or something?"  She cackled.  "HA!  I am the master
of that.  I was the one that made you see yourself for what you 
were."

	"And in doing so, made me trap you in this world of the mind."
Ami smiled bitterly, an element of Miste returning.  her face 
changed back again.  "So, now you know WHY you have always been such
a miserable, self-obsessed, self-concious, paranoid, neurotic, 
obsessive-compulsive, suicidal little SHIT, what are you going to do
about it, eh?"  Ami clutched her chest and laughed out loud.

	Millenia hyperventilated angrily.  Naru shivered as the woman
glowed with a deep blue aura, and backed away from her.

	"Die, you freakish little BITCH!"  Millenia held out her hands
and set off a blast of energy that struck Ami in the chest.  Ami's 
cry was cut in mid-breath as her chest tore open.  Then the energy 
flew back at Millenia, catching the woman unawares.

	Millenia cried out in pain and her body began to change shape.
Slowly, Naru could see the distincive form of Naiad replacing the
heavier one of Millenia.

	Teetering on her feet, Naiad started to fall back.  Naru only
just managed to catch her in time before she hit the...  Solid bit
of void that existed below them.

	Naiad stared into Naru's eyes dazedly.  "Tranqs?  Is that you?
She held onto Naru's arm.  "What happened just then?  What was that?
Was that me?"

	Naru didn't know how to answer.  It was kind of a quick change
of aspect.  Not that she hadn't experienced such rapid changes just
recently.

	The world around them reformed into that of the school
gymnasium.  Naru and Naiad stared around for a few moments, not 
comprehending its meaning.  They heard a rasping chuckle from 
nearby, and they turned to see the horribly wounded Ami.

	She was leaning against the wall, bleeding profusely from her 
chest, which had been shattered like the shell of a broken egg.

	"Ami...."  Naru reached out to the girl.

	"No, don't stop me."

	"Wh...  What?"

	"The stupid girl is REALLY going to let herself die."  Naiad 
spat in contempt.  "And everyone would call ME weak for my decision 
to suicide...."

	"Look at me.  Look at how I am dying."  Ami snarled between 
her teeth, blood running from her mouth.  "This is how I was
destined to die...  The way Setsuna predicted."
	"Predictions I put into her mind."  Naiad retorted.
	"And therefore, predictions YOU made."

	Naiad closed her eyes and turned.  "Yes, maybe so.  But I'd
prefer not to see them come to true.  It would seem that the 
decision to die is yours."

	"Easy for you to say."  Naru stared into Naiad's eyes.  "Only
a minute or two ago, you would have been happy to kill her."

	"That's because this stupid bitch dragged out one of my former
personalities.  One I hope I won't have to endure again."  Naiad 
tried to sit up, and let out a small gasp of pain.  "Ow...  Owowow!
What in hell did you DO?"

	Ami snickered and coughed.  "An old trick you should have 
learnt a long time ago.  Redirect the energy of another's attack 
back at them.  However, you received only a fraction of the blast.
I didn't want to miss out on this.... pleasure."

	"Fool!  You have a job to do.  Your dying will help no-one."

	"I shall not return to the real world to face this in reality.  
You can't make me."
	"I won't.  You shall die this way.  Fool!"  Naiad turned away 
and closed her eyes.  Naru, however, wasn't so easily going to give 
up on Ami.

	"Ami...  please...  You can't mean this?"
	"I do.  I can't live with what I've done."

	Naru watched was Ami coughed, blood flying from her mouth.  
"This is what Usagi would have done to me.  I much prefer it if I do
it to myself, thankyou very much.  At least, this way, I can be
absolved of some of my actions during this life."

	"This won't... can't solve anything."

	"Do you wish to die the way that was predicted for you?"

	Naru stared silently for a few moments.  Visions of Usagi 
thrusting her fingers into her skull, with energy tearing through
her body, came to mind.  She shook her head.

	"No way am I going to die with you, Ami.  I'll face whatever 
is coming to me."

	Ami shrugged and smiled.  "Alright, face it then."  Ami looked 
aside and smiled as she slid down the wall.  "Gomen, Usagi.  I'm 
sorry... for everything."  As soon as she reached the floor, she 
slid sideways, falling on her side, and....

	....Died.


	Naru and Naiad watched as the world around them faded to 
black.  And they faded with it.



	The water in the Mizuno's pool changed....  From clear to a
deep red.  The water was now blood.



	IASFU OA FWSS IASFU OA FWSS GOO JUA GOO JIPEST
	and again
	IASFU OA FWSS IASFU OA FWSS GOO JUA GOO JIPEST



END OF PART 15