Author's Note: I'm trying to decide if I need to flesh out the events
from the last 6 episodes of Sailor Moon R which happen in this and the
next chapter or not.
Also, I'm likely going to heavily revise and rearrange this story once I
get to the end of it. The start was a little too slow, and I'm having
timeline problems getting all my plotlines to come together; but I'm going
to bull through to the end so I have everything to work with when I
rearrange and reorganize.
Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of
Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Night had fallen on Crystal Tokyo. It was hard to believe it had
only been a single day for those who still ran and hid and fought among
the ruins. Militarily, it was a stalemate. The Black Moon couldn't get
through the forcefield around the Palace (which itself sat upon the
strongest node of power in the city) and the five nodes closest to it. As
long as the four Senshi (Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus) maintaining
the field could draw upon those nodes, the forcefield would stay up.
But, on the other hand, most of the forces of Serenity had
either been forced to flee inside the forcefield, or else were trapped in
the Juraiian embassy, or were scattered in tiny isolated pockets
throughout the city. This did the millions of surviving civilians no
good, especially with the Black Moon forces diverting the power of four of
the five external nodes of the city to their own use (the remaining node
had the Juraiian embassy sitting on it). The conveniences upon which they
relied were starved for magical energy and the night would be cold and
hungry.
Many wandered the streets, looking for loved ones. One of them
was looking for her youngest son and her great-grandson. She had many
other children and descendents, but the rest were in other cities. She
would have been looking for her husband, but he was off on another planet;
the fact that he had been assigned to a mission without her irritated her
tremendously, since they virtually always worked together. Meanwhile, she
had gotten stuck on a turn of doing all the paperwork. The attack had
almost made her glad; it gave her an excuse to not do more form filling
and filing.
She wasn't supposed to be out roaming the streets, but she had
been at home when the attack happened, and due to being cut off by a major
landing of Black Moon troops, she had never made it back to her place of
work, Troubleshooter Headquarters.
As she looked around at the devastated city, it reminded her of
how the city had looked when she had awakened from her slumber beneath the
Great Ice. It had been a wasteland of twisted metal and glass with
puddles of water everywhere. It lacked the water now, but was much the
same otherwise.
She had been a lot more panicked on that day, searching
desperately for her loved ones among the ruins. Alright, that really
wasn't THAT different from her current situation.
Except for the odd feeling she was getting, the feeling of static
electricity. There was a hum in the air, and she could see a glow
only partly obstructed by buildings. Coming around a corner, she looked
down a broad boulevard at the Juraiian Embassy, the only embassy allowed
to sit upon a node of power.
The shimmering glow around it was a Dune Shield, a powerful
forcefield capable of holding off any sort of energy attack. It had only
two flaws; one, it consumed massive amounts of energy. Secondly, it
didn't stop sufficiently slow physical movement. It would knock down a
bullet, but you could walk through it slowly. Very slowly.
I doubt any of my family is hiding in there, just like they
weren't anywhere near here the last time I searched for them in this area,
she thought. Then again, some of them may be thinking they are ON Juraii
right now. She sighed. Her children by her second husband didn't have
the memory problem. Instead, they simply didn't have any common sense.
They were probably all trying to find and destroy Black Moon forces at
that very moment.
Still, it can't hurt to ask, she thought. She started down the
street, only to feel a massive surge of energy just behind her. Turning,
she saw approximately seven hundred humans and droids appear in many
different colors of light. They all bore the black moon upon their brow.
Their leader was a handsome dark-haired man, who stared at her in mild
confusion. He pointed at her chief weapon. "Is that real?"
She brandished it irritatedly. "No, you've been taking opium
again. YES, it's real! And it's really for fighting!" I am toast, she
thought. But at least I can irritate him before I die.
"But...it's a spatula." He looked more closely at her. "Do you
really need so many?"
"I like to cook," she said. Maybe I can bluff my way out, she
thought. "I was just on my way home to make dinner."
"We could use a good cook," the man said. He turned to a droid.
"Capture her alive."
"Yes sir, Commander Saffir!" the blue and orange skinned woman
with a frying pan for a hat said. "One order of captive cook coming right
up!"
"Lemme guess, Droid Short Order?" she asked.
The female droid nodded. "You know me? Wow! So what's your
name?"
"Ukyou." She got into a fighting stance and reached for a packet.
"Ready?"
Short Order nodded. "Ready! Time to break some eggs!" She
pulled out several small spheres.
Ukyou was faster. A packet of flour flew through the air,
obscuring the entire front of the small army, including Ukyou. "You can
use this to make some breading." She ran out of the cloud, then tossed a
match into it. "Once the gunpowder goes off."
*BOOM!*
******************
Black Moon Rising
Chapter 9: Shadows
By John Biles
******************
In the orbit of Saturn, Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the
founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
A lone figure floated quietly in space, slowly drifting towards
the Sun. She slept, protected by her power, which was slowly returning to
her. It was Sailor Saturn, who drifted amongst the wreckage of Serenity's
Home Fleet. Much of the dark side of her power had returned to her, and
now she was almost in balance. Soon, she might actually awaken.
Soon wasn't going to be soon enough. Her earlier display of power
had warded off the destroyer of the fleet, Ityl-Nat, a great armored eye
of destruction, one of the Great Old Ones, dragged from his slumber on a
distant world and turned loose by Wiseman in the Solar System. More eyes
floated through space as well, his spawn, wandering about as they waited
for him to wait for it to be safe to try to devour Saturn and take her
power.
If she had been awake, she would have been in no danger, but she
was not awake. As he built up the willpower to risk her waking in
mid-chomp, he drifted closer, dwarfing her with his immensity.
Then a small fleet of ships popped out of subspace only five
hundred yards away. They were Juraiian ships, which meant they looked
simultaneously organic and broken, with jagged bits pointing everywhere
and a nice wood decor. Two of them were exceptionally large, bristling
with weapons; they took the lead. Twenty smaller warships spread out
behind them in a rough sphere, protecting five ships which looked like
organic aircraft carriers and three huge 'tree trunks'. Fifty or so
fairly small conical ships with painted on lightningbolts, flitted about
in the gaps between ships, a model known as Thunderbolts.
Ityl-Nat was not a being easily surprised. It had lived for nearly
a billion years and had been attacked by just about every kind of thing
imaginable, or so it thought. These were new. Still, its spawn easily
could deal with this annoyance. Its voice echoed through the minds of
everyone present, including friends and enemies. <Obliterate them, my
children. I am busy.>
They swarmed forward, and suddenly the five 'carriers' gave birth
to a swarm of hundreds of tiny ships, which began to attack the spawn of
Ityl-Nat. The other ships joined in as well. Still, the spawn would have
stood a chance if not for what one of the two largest ships did. There
was a shimmer of light, and three vast blades of white energy formed
before one of the ships. They spun, directing the energies unleashed by
Ityl-Nat's spawn back upon them, obliterating several every time one of
the spawn fired at it.
Ityl-Nat hesitated, then decided to eat Saturn now. With Saturn's
power, he could easily obliterate this annoying fleet. He opened his jaws
wide, drifted forward and chomped down.
Except for the fact that his mouth wouldn't close all the way, it
went perfectly. He couldn't even look. And he had no hands. And he
couldn't fire energy beams from his mouth, just his huge eye. This was
bad.
He could hear though. It wasn't his voice that said, "DEATH
RIBBON REVOLUTION!"
Normally, Saturn couldn't have killed him without help. His hide
was nearly invulnerable. His eyebeam could have fried her to a crisp or
at least knocked her out. Unfortunately, the inside of his body wasn't
well armored. Black streamers of energy tore through his innards, ripping
apart every single vital organ and lots of mostly pointless ones. Then
she did it again and lobotomized him.
The psychic force of his death throes killed most of his spawn
and knocked out most of the crew members of the fleet. Still, the battle
was over.
Saturn, covered with gore, teleported onto the command deck of
the lead ship, then fell to her knees, still glowing somewhat. I wish my
powers worked on me, she thought. She recognized the ship's commander,
Daley Asagiri-McNichols, and the woman by him, Celia Stingray. It had
been a while since she'd seen either of them. "Help," she said quietly,
then fell face down.
She didn't actually pass out, but it was close enough. The
floor just felt so good, she decided to stay a while.
********
Geosynchronous orbit over Crystal Tokyo, Earth, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years
after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Demand and his command staff sat around a floating hologram of the
Solar System, produced by a small cluster of crystals which sat in the
middle of the large round table that dominated the conference room. A
tiny cluster of dots in the orbit of Saturn were dominating everyone's
attention. "Magnesite, report."
Magnesite was tall and dark-skinned, with short curly black hair
and dark brown eyes, dressed impeccably, for he was a bit of a dandy. He
stood, drawing forth a small rod, which he used as a laser pointer. "My
squadron is located in the orbit of Jupiter, observing the anomaly created
by the artificial life form we used to destroy the Zodiac and keeping an
eye out for the approach of any forces from the Fungi from Yuggoth."
The pointer moved and briefly illuminated an extremely tiny
cluster of dots closer to the sun than the larger fleet in Saturn's orbit.
"This is the position of my force." The pointer moved back to the larger
swarm. "Our scouts report this is not a full strength fleet, but only a
squadron. Due to a lack of intelligence with regard to the Juraiian
fleet, we can't do more than identify that this is a Juraiian force. We
can identify ship types, but we have no way of knowing who is in command
or if more ships are likely to show up. They have sustained some damage
from battling Ityl-Nat, but he is apparently dead, and..." He trailed
off, staring at the table instead of Demand or the hologram.
"They killed Ityl-Nat? With WHAT?" Demand asked. Deep down, he
already knew the answer.
"Saturn has returned to action. And at least one of the ships is
capable of manifesting the Radiant Hawk Wings."
Demand snarled and pounded on the table. "This was NOT supposed
to happen."
"I recommend diverting most of our fleet to attack them. We
outnumber them tremendously in capital ships, and we've done as much
damage to Crystal Tokyo as there is any point in inflicting," Magnesite
said. "We can bombard the Palace all day, but there wouldn't be much of a
point."
"We should be attacking the other major cities and levelling
their shipyards," Tourmaline said. She was Magnesite's sister, but never
agreed with him. She was also a good half foot taller than him, thinner,
and had stark orange eyes. "As things stand, Serenity can easily build
another fleet, while we will be hard pressed to replace any losses. With
Ityl-Nat out of commission and the Planet-Eater gone..."
"The Juraiians weren't supposed to send a fleet!" Quartz
shouted. He was tall, skinny, and white haired, almost albino, with a
tendency to panic. For this reason, he was in charge of fleet logistics,
rather than any tactical command. Ensuring food and crystal flows rarely
involved panic situations. "The Khunds were supposed to keep them busy,
dammit! They've failed us!"
"This is hardly a full fleet," Magnesite said. "My best guess
is that it's intended as a rescue force. Strike quickly and hard, rescue
the Crown Prince, and get out. They can't possibly fight our entire
fleet."
Demand had a burst of inspiration. "Am I correct in remembering
that the Juraiians cannot transport anyone through a Dune Shield?"
"Yes, sir," Tourmaline said. "They would have to drop the
Embassy shields to get anyone out."
"And they'll have to enter Earth orbit to do so."
Everyone at the table nodded. Magnesite said, "What are you
leading up to, sir?"
"I believe I see a way to kill two birds with one stone,
especially since Saffir has reported that the power supply of the Juraiian
Embassy is showing no signs of running out. I suspect they've found a way
to use the node to run the shield. They've always been adept at mixing
technology and magic. Now, this is what we're going to do..." As he
detailed his plan, he also prayed that Esmeraude would do a better job in
the past than her predecessor Rubeus had done. From the reports he was
already getting, he greatly feared that would not be the case.
***********
Some of his fears were soon assuaged. The Dark Crystal was
growing. Demand wasn't sure what exactly the Dark Crystal was; it was a
creation of Wiseman's, forged with the aid of the woman he had been allied
with briefly recently. It existed in both the present and the past,
somehow, or possibly there were two, linked through time. The one in the
future was being fed by the four nodes they had captured, while the one in
the past was being fed by Esmeraude's efforts to gather dark energy. Yet,
somehow, the Senshi existed then too, and kept thwarting her plans just as
they really got underway. The Black Moon was fighting a two front war,
and failing on both fronts.
Or at least, they weren't succeeding fast enough. Serenity was
the key. He had to get her away from Endymion, and then...then she would
be his as fate had always intended. He needed her and he needed the
Silver Crystal. Either was the key to getting the other. But as it
stood, he had neither.
He felt Wiseman before the man spoke. "Hello, Wiseman."
Wiseman laughed faintly. "I believe I have a plan which could
turn the tide."
"What is it?"
"I have found a way to turn the Queen's daughter in the past to
our side."
"Saturn is free."
"I will deal with Saturn. What I did to her before, I can do
again."
"How will you recruit the Queen's daughter?" Demand was
intrigued. If they could use some similar method on one of the Senshi
manning the defensive field, the task of taking the Palace would become
much easier.
"She is a child and her mind is weak; she has vast potential
for power, but little ability to use it to defend herself. This is how we
will start..."
********
?, ?
Jenni Ognatz was not a happy camper. She loved to run. Children
love sweets. They don't love having their mouth pinned open and raw
chocolate poured down their throat until they explode. That's what she
felt like.
Ever since the explosion, she couldn't stop moving. She was
running, faster and faster, unable to stop, to the point where for all
practical purposes, she existed in all of space simultaneously. This was
not a good thing; some of those places weren't pleasant.
It wasn't safe either; those who drew upon the speed force tended
to absorbed into it if they ran too fast or too long. And she was pretty
sure she was pressing the limits. Not that she had any way to really
measure how fast she was going. Nor did she have any idea why she was
running and running and running. She just couldn't stop at all, even as
her exhaustion grew.
She was running so fast, she was pretty sure she ought to be going
back in time; it was a trick you could do if you moved fast enough, to
move backwards or forwards. Suddenly, she was moving back in time, faster
and faster. And then something slammed into her.
It was Pluto. She blinked, trying to get a grip on herself, to
figure out where she had stopped. Probably deep space, she assumed; that
was where...no, can't run in deep space. Unless I used my flight ring.
But I wasn't. We must be on one of the ships, she thought.
And suddenly she was. Suspiciously, she looked first at the
unconscious Pluto, then at the Black Moon Ship around her. We must be at
my apartment at home, she thought. A second later, she was.
Either I've learned teleportation, or I'm dreaming, or I'm in some
kind of weird dimension that responds to thought, she thought. She put
Pluto down on the couch, then shook her awake.
Pluto woke up groggily. "No, the gates can't be closed," she
mumbled, then blinked and sat up. "Jenni?"
"Where are we?"
Pluto looked around. "Looks rather like your apartment to me."
"But it was deep space, and..." Jenni concentrated, and now they
stood in a grassy field. "It does what I tell it to."
Pluto blinked, then slapped her forehead. "Subspace. The
released energies must have hurled us into subspace and constructed dreams
and nightmares for us to live in."
"Like me being unable to stop running."
"Precisely. Well, now that I know what's really going on, we must
recover the others before it is too late."
"I guess this dream is real enough to potentially kill someone?"
"Especially with Saturn energy in it. So how did you get into my
dream?"
"I thought about travelling through time, and..."
Pluto nodded. "Logical." She swung her staff, and the gate of
time appeared and opened. "Come with me, Jenni. I will need your help."
Jenni sprinted through the gate. "Let's go!"
**********
In the orbit of Saturn, Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the
founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Daley and Celia had finished assessing the damage to the fleet.
Nearly a third of the fleet had significant damage, but only a handful of
ships were out of commission. Saturn's slaying of Ityl-Nat had been
decisive. Saturn herself was now taking a nap, since she had been
exhausted.
"Time to move out," Daley said. He and Celia were on the bridge
of his flagship.
Lt. Andreadottir, a short blonde woman who ran the
communications console, said, "Sir, we're getting a message. Shall I
patch it through?"
"Yes."
A huge corrugated pinkish head protruding from a vaguely
crustacean body (aside from the the strangely porous wings) appeared on
the screen. A portion of its head began to flash various colors, and
subtitles appeared on the screen below. [I am N'gah Kthun, representing
the Second Fleet of the Mi-Go. The Black Moon's allies assaulted us as
they did you; we wish to offer our assistance in the relief of Earth.]
"We'll take any help we can get," Daley said. "I'm Commander
Daley Asagiri-McNichols, commander of the Lightning Squadron. I welcome
your help. Feel free to bring your fleet forward."
[Very Good. I will prepare a spokesman who can function in your
oxygen-rich atmosphere to act as a liason. What colors do you find
aesthetically pleasing?]
Daley blinked. "Blue and green."
[Very Good. And I extend the greetings of my race to future
hive-queen Celia of House Stingray. May your spores all blossom.]
Unfazed and ignoring Daley, who was displaying all the signs of a
man about to boggle, Celia said, "May Algol never shine its blighted light
upon you and may the currents of space ever bear you where you must go."
There was a buzzing, humming noise across the speakers, and more
flashes. [I see you have prepared better than your drone leader. I
suggest caution in allowing him to breed. Our fleet will arrive in 20
seconds. Good day.]
"HEY!" Daley shouted as the screen winked out. "That creep!"
"Dealing with the Fungi from Yuggoth is difficult unless one is
quite familiar with their culture, and even then it is easy to err."
Celia tapped her lips with a finger for a few seconds. "Let's see how big
their fleet is."
A hundred ships which all resembled twisted, rotted chunks of
wood, smashed sailing vessels, bits of slime found under the refrigerator,
or giant winged crustaceans winked into view a few miles from Daley's
fleet. Daley stared. "Looks like they took a beating."
"The Mi-Go place functionality over beauty. Damaged ships are
usually cannibalized by the unhurt ones. Sometimes they lose crew in the
process. As soon as the liason arrives, it will be time for us to move on
Earth."
He nodded. "Are we sure they won't betray us?"
"Not at all, but the Fungi are allied with Earth. At least for
now. We can trust them as much as any ally."
Which probably means you don't trust them at all, Daley thought.
*************
Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of
Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Gabrielle stood on one of the balconies of the palace with
Endymion's astral self, looking out across the city. "You've already
lived through this?"
"Yes. We allowed this to go forward in order to avoid a time
paradox and because we knew in the long term, we could not lose. We hoped
to avoid it somehow and to minimize the damage, but this crisis has turned
out to be far more complex than we understood. Our younger selves failed
to notice many things when they came here. And we failed to tell them."
He stared off towards the Juraiian embassy. "As a result, we only know
bits and pieces of what must happen."
"So, for example, everyone in the Juraiian embassy could die, and
you don't know if they will," Gabrielle said. "Which is why you're
staring at it."
He laughed faintly. "You're very perceptive."
"I just...I can't understand why my own people betrayed me! They
tried to kill me!"
"Wiseman is just using you. He plans to summon the Death Phantom
once he gets his hands on the Silver Crystal. And then we'll all die."
Gabrielle paled. "He WHAT?"
"I don't know where he came from, or why he serves the Death
Phantom, but we know that's his goal. Demand, Saffir, Esmeraude... he
killed them all in the end. I suppose he probably killed Rubeus as well.
We never did learn what killed him." Endymion sighed.
"Who is that girl?"
"What girl?"
"The one who defeated me. Who used the Silver Crystal. Pluto
talked her out of destroying our fleet."
Endymion blinked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"She had purple hair. She...she was the girl from the future!
The one who..." Gabrielle frowned. "Why is Wiseman interested in her?"
"I don't know. But if she used the Silver Crystal and lived...I
will talk to Pluto when she shows up."
"Whenever that is."
"Soon. Our past selves will arrive today, some time in the
morning, I believe."
"It's almost dawn," she said.
He nodded quietly.
************
Subspace
Pluto had rounded up virtually everyone. Some had been easier
than others. Dan had been the hardest; he had been snared in his perfect
dream world. Luckily for her, one of his dreams had apparently been to
seduce Pluto. It had been easy to knock him out once he left himself open
like that.
One thing greatly bothered her, however. Arcadia. She and the
junior Pluto together couldn't find her. Perhaps she had simply escaped
subspace somehow, but if so, they had no clue where she was. "Himeko,
take the others home. I will search for her myself. And take up a
station in the time tunnel in my guise. The Sailors from the past will
arrive soon; there should be a Pluto to greet them."
"Where should I take everyone?"
"The Juraiian embassy. It will need help; the energy converter
they juryrigged to tap the node will explode impressively hours before
the relief fleet arrives, while the Sailors from the past are preoccupied
with other matters. They will have to save the embassy."
"Is Ryu okay?" Nene asked nervously.
"He will be fine as long as you keep him from trying to use
himself as a repair part for the converter." Pluto summoned the Gate of
Time. "And contact the Mayor's office. They can help too."
"Any idea if my wife is okay?" Ranma asked.
"She's at the embassy," Pluto said. "Until we meet again." She
stepped into the gate, which closed, then opened again for the junior
Pluto.
"Okay, everyone form a line, let's get moving," the junior Pluto
said. "Let's not keep destiny waiting."
************
Earth, Tokyo, 1995 AD (-997 SY, 2746 Years after the founding of Rome,
Juraiian Year 22159, Federal Year -1991)
The five Sailors, Tuxedo Kamen, and Chibi-Usa stood together on the
dock where she first fell from the sky onto Usagi's head. They had come
down a long hard road since that day, and now it would lead them further.
It was time to take Chibi back to the future and confront the evil there
that was threatening to destroy Tokyo in both the past and present.
Chibi held up the small golden key she had treasured as her way
home through all her adventures. "God of Time, open the gate in the sky
and allow us passage to the Gate of Time!"
The clear sky clouded over in seconds, and a stiff wind began to
blow. Chibi stood firm, her hope growing that this time, finally, she
would be allowed to go home. A great beam of light stabbed down from the
sky, and instants later, the Senshi vanished, drawn into the clouds, which
dispersed.
And far off across Tokyo, the Dark Crystal hovered, and grew, and
fed, freed from opposition by the Senshi's departure...
********
The Time Tunnel
The junior Pluto leaned on her staff, waiting for the next assault.
Wiseman had sent four droid attacks in the last 'hour', trying to kill
her. Luckily, because the Time Tunnel was outside Time, her ribbon, which
was enabling her to take the senior Pluto's form as the senior Pluto had
requested for no apparent reason, couldn't run out of its time limit.
However, it was now starting to drain her energy, and she was trying to
decide if she wanted to drop the disguise and save her energy for the next
fight.
The last attack had been the worst. The droids had taken the
form of Sailor Moon and the Inner Senshi. Anywhere but the Time Tunnel,
they would likely have beaten her, given they caught her by surprise.
Luckily, Wiseman hadn't quite figured out that a Pluto in the Time Tunnel
was like B'rer Fox in the briar patch. A single Dead Scream, shouted in
her rage, had turned them to dust.
Then, out of the mist, another Sailor Moon loomed all alone. The
junior Pluto was rather surprised that Wiseman thought the same trick
would work twice, but he had yet to impress her with his brains. For a
moment, she wondered if it was the real one, but it couldn't be; when she
and Pluto had discussed these events, she had made it clear that Chibi-Usa
would be with the Sailors. This was just another droid. A rather
confused looking droid; probably its idiot friends were lost.
"Halt! You are breaking one of the great taboos. None may
approach the Gates of Time without permission! And you do not have it!"
Staff ready, she charged; no point in wasting a Dead Scream on one stupid
youma.
The Sailor Moon Youma jumped back, panicking. She wasn't much
of a fighter, which the junior Pluto supposed was fitting for a Sailor
Moon Youma. Except then Chibi-Usa interposed herself at the last second.
"It's me, Small Lady!" she shouted.
The junior Pluto was quite embarrassed but stayed in character
and didn't express it. "Hello, Small Lady. I see you've brought
company."
"I'm sorry I brought people! I know I promised not to, but I
think Sailor Moon and the others can help!" She looked terrified, but not
so terrified as she would have been once.
Still, she flinched at first when the junior Pluto reached over
and patted her head. "I'm pleased you learned to master the Key of Time,
Small Lady. I think you're starting to grow up." She turned to Sailor
Moon. "I'm sorry about that." Oh wait, Setsuna wouldn't have apologized,
the junior Pluto thought. Not that easily. Maybe. Hrm...gotta say
something enigmatic, she thought. "I mistook you for a threat. Still,
you've always been a source of trouble for me." There, that should be
confusing, the junior Pluto thought.
Sailor Moon looked confused enough to gratify the junior Pluto.
"The way through the Time Tunnel to Crystal Tokyo will not be easy.
I ask that you protect Small Lady, Sailor Moon."
"Won't you come with us?" Mercury asked. "We could use the
help."
"I must stay and guard the Time Tunnel so that Wiseman's forces
cannot use it, for it would let them travel more easily and cheaply in
energy than they do now. I would come if I could."
Chibi began to pull Sailor Moon along. "Goodbye, Puu!"
"Goodbye, Small Lady. May the gods watch over you." She smiled
her most encouraging smile and watched them depart. I hope I didn't mess
anything up, she thought.
************
Earth, Geosynchronous Orbit Over Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years
after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Demand stared in shock at the image on the monitor. "They're
passing through the Time Corridor?"
Wiseman nodded. "It is not easy to scry on them; until we
eliminate Pluto, I have little power over the Time Corridor. I hope to
provoke her to leave it through repeated assaults. If she comes after me,
I will crush her."
Saffir, who had returned to the fleet when it became evident the
assault on the embassy would have to be delayed until Demand's secret plan
could be carried out, stared at the image and frowned, glancing over at
Wiseman. Esmeraude, who stood by him, seemed displeased as well.
"This is the perfect time to capture the rabbit and the
ginzuishou," Wiseman said. "They will deliver themselves into our hands
once they leave the tunnel. Combined with the Dark Crystal, we would be
invincible, easily able to brush aside the Juraiian fleet, destroy
Endymion, and enable you to fulfil your destiny." He cocked his head and
frowned. "I must depart to attend to business; this spell should last a
while."
Demand stared at one of the six women on the screen. One of them
caught his eye. "She's beautiful." I know her, he thought. Now I
understand, he thought. All my destiny leads up to this. Yes, she is the
key. "Esmeraude, I want you to capture the rabbit and the Silver Crystal,
and bring Sailor Moon to me, unharmed."
Saffir and Esmeraude started in surprise.
Demand turned to go. "We must get the fleet in motion to lay our
trap for the forces of Jurai, although it may turn out to be unnecessary.
Do not delay, Esmeraude. I must have them as soon as possible."
He vanished, and Saffir frowned. "Wiseman is using my brother.
He's using us all! I'd love to rip off that hooded cloak and see who he
REALLY is!"
"I agree, but I must do as Prince Demand commands. If he wants
the Silver Crystal, I'll bring it to him on a pillow, with the rabbit
carrying it. But as for Sailor Moon..." Her face darkened. "She has
stolen Demand's heart. So I will have hers."
Saffir stared at her in confusion. "I didn't know you were like
that."
"I'm going to kill her!"
"Oh."
************
Pluto drifted through space and frowned. Arcadia was gone. She
had found where Arcadia had popped out of subspace, but there were no
traces to guide her. And since Arcadia didn't show up in her own future
sight, that would be of no use. Perhaps she returned to her own time
somehow, Pluto thought. Or else...She didn't want to think about the
several or elses that came to mind.
************
Earth, Italy, 815 Years after the founding of Rome, (64 AD, SY -2925,
Juraiian Year 21228, Federal Year -3918)
The Pluto of 64 AD quietly returned Obsidian to the temple, where
he was supposed to be, so that he could one day fulfil his destiny. The
city was burning, but it was not her concern. She was exhausted, so she
went to go finally get some sleep.
Just as she laid down on the bed, her temporal senses registered
the temporal equivalent of a sonic boom. While no mundane could have seen
it, she saw reality ripple. She raised her staff and summoned the Gate of
Time, then commanded it to take her to where the disturbance had arrived.
She passed through the Gate, only to be confronted with a huge stone wall
blocking the time tunnel.
She knew what that meant. It meant that whatever had just gone
by had travelled backwards in time to a point before she had taken up the
mantle of Pluto. Long ago, she had learned her powers only worked within
the span from the day of her empowerment to the day of her death. There
was a paradox in there somewhere, she was sure, but even in the long
centuries where all she had done was stand vigil, that limit had proved
true.
Then a thought struck her. While she was outside the tunnel, she
should have been continuously feeling the ripple. Unless the travel had
been some sort of discrete jump. Perhaps that was it. Or it might be
some other quirk. While she knew more about time travel than anyone else
on Earth in her current time, there were many mysteries she had still not
come to fully understand. It was time to consult others who might
understand; there could be some hidden significance to this that would
prove important. With a word, the gate opened again to take her to where
she could get the help she needed.
************
Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of
Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Gabrielle watched quietly from the hiding place that Endymion had
pointed out to her as he showed Neo-Queen Serenity to the past selves of
the Senshi. His account of what happened to her was rather vague; she
knew the truth. Serenity sacrificed herself to save me, Gabrielle
thought. She would have been a charred corpse without Serenity's action.
And now, Endymion hadn't even locked her up. In fact, he'd told her all
about their plans. She wondered if perhaps everyone in Crystal Tokyo was
insane.
But they didn't seem mad. They were kind and trusting to a
ludicrous degree. While Gabrielle had not had a miserable life, and she
had friends she trusted, no one on Nemesis trusted anyone this much.
"Mama! I brought Sailor Moon to help you!" the Queen's daughter
said.
Gabrielle laughed faintly. She is your momma, but younger, she
thought. And less powerful.
This was proven when Sailor Moon tried to use the Silver Moon
Crystal to free her future self from the shell of crystal that encased
her, and failed. Chibi-Usa cried out "Not even Sailor Moon can help
Mama!" She ran out as Sailor Moon collapsed into Mars and Jupiter's arms.
Several of them turned to follow her, but Tuxedo Kamen, who she
guessed was Endymion's past self, stopped them. "I think she needs to be
alone," he said, betraying a strong lack of understanding of small
children. "She'll be safe inside the Palace's shield."
Gabrielle rose and followed the child. She had a bad, ominous
feeling. Someone needed to watch over the poor child, and she felt the
need to try to repay the trust and kindness she had been shown.
They ended up in the garden, where Chibi sat alone on a swing,
slowly rocking back and forth. Gabrielle was about to step out and try to
comfort the child, having forgotten her appearance would likely simply
spook Chibi worse given the circumstances of their last meeting, when she
felt a cold chill run up her spine.
The last thing she saw was Wiseman's bony hand clamping down on
her face.
***********
Earth, Geosynchronous Orbit Over Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years
after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Esmeraude howled with frustration. "How can he prefer that
insipid Sailor Moon to ME?"
Saffir, who wasn't really sure why he ever bothered trying to have
a rational discussion with Esmeraude, kept one eye on the Dark Crystal,
which was pulsing with ever increasing power from the nodes and from its
twin self in the past. It made him nervous. Unlike most of the other
leaders of the Black Moon Family, he remembered the days before Nemesis.
Only he and Demand remained. The days when such a power as that within
the crystal had been condemned.
We should never have left Albernia, he thought. But we were
young and foolish, and wanted revenge. And... "Wiseman has been telling
Demand ever since he was little that one day Serenity would be his love.
He's been obsessed with her ever since. And Sailor Moon IS Serenity. We
would have won by now, or waited until we were sure of victory if he
wasn't so sure she'll jump into his arms. I thought he'd wise up after
Sailor Moon rejected him and chose Endymion over him, but he's as crazy as
y...as a bedbug."
"Then I will have to convince Wiseman to help me change his mind!"
Esmeraude announced and vanished.
I suppose you'll part the ocean with one of your combs and
rebuild the city in a single night too, he thought.
*****************
Wiseman watched Esmeraude go. Fool, he thought. If only everyone
was as easy to manipulate as you. Transformed into a dragon by the power
in the tiara he had given her, she flapped out across the city to attack
the Sailor Senshi.
A suicide attack, he thought. They will defeat her. But she may
destroy the Palace's defenses in the process, and weaken them. She might
even kill a few, which would be perfect.
Fool, a voice whispered in his head. Sending off your minions to
die one by one is the sign of a complete idiot. You did that because you
enjoyed seeing her suffer and knowing she would die, but in the end, you
will lose because you will piddle away your strength in fruitless whims.
Silence, he told the voice. My plans are going well. He glanced
at the woman who stood near him. Once she had been a small, annoying, but
basically innocent little girl. Now had become a fit queen for an evil
king, with the body and powers of an adult. She had become Black Lady.
And she was only the beginning. He had great hopes for creating
a second queen as well from his other captive. Indeed, he was quite sure
it would be easier than this one had been, and this one had been easy
indeed. That is what I will do next, he told himself. Then victory will
be assured.
The tiny voice laughed at him. You cannot win. Not in the way
you plan. Succeed and you will destroy yourself. If you do not lose, you
cannot exist.
Silence! he shouted into his mind. I am the Wiseman! I will
triumph! I cannot be stopped, for I have peered down the paths of time
and seen what I must do. The Death Phantom will finally be freed to touch
the world. I beat you, I cast you down, and you will stay there.
Mocking laughter was the only reply.
****************
Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of
Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Endymion watched the battle outside the Palace with concern,
Luna-P tucked under one arm. He knew what was to come...or should come.
The Senshi would defeat Esmeraude. They would find Small Lady and redeem
her as well. But something could go wrong. He could not trust things to
work out for the best as well as his wife did. But there was nothing he
could do now; he had challenged Demand in a moment of rage and now he
could only project his astral form.
Outside, the Esmeraude-Dragon breathed fire in its final assault.
He remembered every moment of this battle, and it went forward just as it
had the first time he lived through it.
His past self swept down, deflecting the fire breath of the dragon
with his cloak. "We must attack together!" he said, then leaped into the
air. A hurled rose struck the tiara which was the key to the Esmeraude
Dragon's power.
The dragon staggered, stunned by the blow. Tuxedo Kamen turned
to Sailor Moon. "Do it now, Sailor Moon!"
Endymion laughed. If I had a quarter for every time I said that,
I'd be even richer than I am.
She spun in a complex pattern with the Cutie Moon Rod, shouting
"MOON PRINCESS HALATION!"
The dragon crumbled, briefly becoming Esmeraude, still wearing
the tiara. She howled in pain, then vanished.
I never did learn her final fate, he thought. May the gods have
mercy on your soul, he prayed silently. You thought you were doing it for
love, and I can respect that. He raised his cane. Time to go tell the
others what has happened with Small Lady.
**********
Parias jumped to his feet, drawing his sword when the emergency
shelter door opened. He had heard the shuddering and felt the palace
shake, and now he feared the Black Moon forces had broken through. This
could be the end; he was the only real warrior in the shelter.
It was simply Baldric and a disgruntled Blackadder, dragging three
unconscious people with black moons on their foreheads. "Begging your
pardon, Lord Parias, but do you think you could do something for these
people?" Baldric bowed, nearly falling down.
"Why are you bringing PRISONERS to the emergency shelter? And how
did you get the doors open anyway?"
Baldric waved a ring of keys. "Even I know what keys are for."
Blackadder frowned. "He thinks you can purify them. I tried to
convince him that only Serenity could do that, but he wouldn't listen."
"I am not a priest in this life. I have no such powers. I might
be able to convince them to renounce their powers, but...and really, the
palace hasn't got anything very good for holding prisoners anyway."
Parias frowned.
"See? I told you this was a mistake, Baldric," Blackadder
frowned. "What am I going to do with these people..."
"I've got it! I've got another idea!"
"What?"
"You can't open the meat freezer from the inside, right? We can
put them in there!"
"They'd freeze to death!"
"We could dress them up in parkas."
Parias had to stop Blackadder from trying to beat Baldric to
death.
About the same time as he finally wrestled Blackadder back away
from Baldric, Endymion walked through the wall. "Is this a bad time?"
"YES!" Blackadder said, then shook himself loose from Parias
(much to Parias' surprise), assuming a pose of injured dignity. "Sir,
what are we going to do with these prisoners?"
"Bring them with you and follow me. I need to talk to them."
John Walter Biles : MA-History, Ph.D Wannabe at U. Kansas
ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
rhea@tass.org http://www.tass.org/~rhea/falcon.html
rhea@maison-otaku.net http://www.maison-otaku.net/~rhea/
"Put Strom Thurmond in a headlock, and he'll listen to reason!" Governor
Jesse Ventura of Minnesota to President Clinton in the February 6, 1999
Imagination Workshop