"Xena," breathed Minako, still in shock as the light of Xena's transformation
faded. Minako noted with some amusement that Xena's senshi uniform was
basically her regular armor, with the simple addition of a proper sailor
collar. Then again, Minako thought, her outfit WAS vaguely similar in shape to
the senshi uniforms she and her friends wore; Xena just had that gold
ornamentation where a bow would fit... where she remembered Hotaru had
displayed a soul crystal when she initially awakened as Sailor Saturn. She
blinked again. Sure enough, Xena DID have a bow on her chest now--it was black
so she didn't see it at first. And the button in the middle of the bow was a
patterned like her chakram.
"We have to do something!" yelped Artemis. "She's Sailor Saturn for Serenity's
sake! If she sets the Saturn power loose everything could be destroyed!"
"Sailor ... Saturn?" asked Amica, Sailor Mercury, hesitantly.
"She is the End and the Beginning," began Princess Serenity, coldly. "The
Destroyer. She should only awaken on the final day when the time of the Gods
on this Earth ends. This is terribly, terribly wrong!"
Joxer turned to her. "I trust Xena," he said simply.
"She's not *just* Xena anymore," replied Serenity. She began to say something
more but broke off as she began to cough. She politely turned away from Joxer
and covered her mouth with her right hand.
"Princess, we need to move you aside," said Amica. Serenity nodded her assent.
"I don't care what name you go by, Xena--Saturn, whatever," Callisto purred,
waving her left hand dismissively. "I really don't care that much about you
any more at all; nothing I do gets rid of my pain! What I do want is pleasure-
-the pleasure of killing whoever it was who had the gall to heal--to tamper!--
with what Velasca and I did! I will not stand for this, this... FAVORITISM!"
She snapped her hand out suddenly and a lash of blazing fire spiraled out
toward Xena.
Instinctively, the warrior princess blocked it with the polearm in her hands.
The fire completely dissipated at the touch of the Silence Glaive. Both Xena
and Callisto looked at the weapon in surprise.
Xena smiled wickedly and lifted the weapon. "NO!" yelled Sailor Venus as she
darted forward and interposed herself. She kept an eye on Callisto as she
rested her left hand on Xena's right arm. "Xena, don't give in to the
temptation to release the power you hold. Unrestrained, it will kill you and
quite likely destroy *everything!* I'm serious, that IS your power as Sailor
Saturn!" Xena's face went blank with shock at Gabrielle's words. She had
sensed that her new powers were on a vast scale but she hadn't been sure ...
was that really her destiny? To be the destroyer of everything?
She'd wanted that, once. When she thought the whole world hated her and she
wanted nothing more than to hate it back, hate it to pieces ... When the
mystic, Lao Ma healed her crippled legs, she'd tried to teach Xena she was
wrong. That lesson was one she had not learned. Instead she had turned to a
different, darker teacher; that was another chapter in her life she'd rather
forget.
It was Hercules who gave her a last chance to turn from the darkness; it was
from Gabrielle, "Minako" now, that she truly learned the meaning of love, and
selflessness. Xena felt a tiny hint of a burning sensation at the corner of
her eye, a tear beginning to form. Somehow, she knew that everything was
irrevocably changed already, as unexpected as the thrust of an assassin's
knife. Would she give into the pain of loss? Inflict her suffering on others?
Or would she bear it and move on?
Xena stood rooted, lost in thought. Minako thought she might be struggling to
keep the Saturn power in check. She looked the angry goddess in the eye. "I'm
warning you Callisto, stay back. Just walk away from this fight and go be a
normal goddess. You don't want Xena to unleash the Silence!" Venus warned.
Callisto's eyes widened and her expression became greedy, almost hungry,
causing Venus to develop a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach. "The
Silence? Of ultimate death? To give EVERYONE the sweet gift of oblivion? Oh,
yes, the peace that would bring. Death to all the Gods, death to the screaming
masses, an end to my pain ... I want THAT power!" she screeched in ecstasy as
she took a step forward. Venus pushed Xena back behind her. She had forgotten
that Callisto was, basically, a nihilist.
"You'll have to get through me first," Minako ground out in reply. She reached
into the space pocket and drew forth the Captain of the Guard's sword, still
with crescents forming the cross guard. She struck a defensive position and
tested the sword's balance. Callisto's face split with a wide grin.
"You want to duel me? Oh, this is too funny. Very well!" she stepped forward
and struck a blow with Ares' sword, which Sailor Venus blocked. Xena watched,
her mouth agape as her gentle friend proceeded to hold her own against
Callisto. Of course, moments into it Xena knew that Gabrielle was ultimately
outmatched and Callisto was playing.
"Keep your guard higher!" she encouraged, all the while feeling her power
shifting and seething inside her.
Meanwhile, Amica had shepherded Serenity & Joxer away from the duel. "Joxer,
take the princess into the forest and hide with her. I'll cover for you as
best as I can." Joxer nodded and helped the faltering moon princess further
into the woods.
*"Mist Spray,"* Sailor Mercury whispered as she conjured up a fogbank that
silently spread along the entire border of the forest.
After a few minutes sparring, Callisto suddenly delivered a contemptuous blow
to Sailor Venus' sword and it went flying out of her hands, through the air,
and landed with its point embedded into the ground several paces away from
Minako.
"You're not bad Gabrielle, almost like you used to be good at this and just
got rusty," Callisto complimented her in a casual, yet mocking, tone.
"Definitely, more of a fight than I expected." Callisto looked past her at
Xena, her smile becoming predatory. Minako glanced at Xena, still apparently
transfixed by the shock of her awakening. She turned to look at Callisto
squarely.
"Mind if I give it another try?" Sailor Venus asked brightly.
"Oh, DO, please, be my guest," Callisto said condescendingly. Minako's light
expression became deadly serious; she reached out her right hand and the magic
sword pulled out of the ground and flew to her.
"I guess this proves that I've moved on from who I used to be," she said
seriously. She turned the sword in her hand and grasped the blade with her
left hand. The whole of the weapon began to shine with golden light; Callisto
shifted her stance, ready for another surprise energy blast. "I'm not really
into swords anymore, Callisto," she called out. The golden shape within her
hands abruptly became pure light, which twisted and transformed into a long
staff, tipped with a crescent at each end, then solidified. "Let's try this
again!" she called and dashed forward. Callisto's smile vanished. Gabrielle
was MUCH better with a staff than a sword.
Thinking she might be able to slip it past Callisto's guard, Xena grabbed her
chakram and flung it at her. The yonic weapon screamed through the air and
while Callisto dodged a sweep from Sailor Venus' staff, she slapped the
chakram away with her bare left palm. The razor-sharp ring screamed a
different note through the air as it sped off toward the forest and vanished
into a wall of fog.
"What's that?" she asked as she ducked another sweep and aimed a vicious stab
at Sailor Venus' midriff. Minako dodged it by doing a staff-assisted backflip.
"What--or who--are you trying to hide behind Mercury's fog powers?"
Venus landed a cheap shot on her, ramming the tip of the staff into her
unguarded flank. Callisto coughed once and smirked, "Oh, how miss high and
mighty's morals have fallen!"
Minako launched into a staff kata and pressed her advantage. "It's not my
fault if you're not paying attention!" she taunted. Xena shook her head and
pursed her lips as if to whistle in appreciation. SHE knew exactly what the
tactical situation was. The impressive thing was that Gabrielle--Sailor Venus-
-did as well! Every second she kept Callisto busy bought the dying princess a
moment more ...
Dying? She knew it, somehow, it was part of her powers. Her powers of death
and ... rebirth? She refused to let these overwhelming new sensations distract
her. She needed to focus on the most important thing: Gabrielle was fighting
Callisto. And when Callisto was finished toying with her, Xena would need to
be ready to intervene. Because if Gabrielle died ... destroying the world
sounded like a pretty good backup plan to her.
In the forest, Xena's chakram screamed toward Joxer and Princess Serenity like
an arrow with their names carved on it. At the sound, Joxer urged the moon
princess to move forward faster, but then he tripped over a root and fell
forward, knocking her to the ground and landing partly on her. She coughed
once, a short, bark-like whistling sound. Joxer had actually heard a sound
like that before, when a mercenary he'd fought alongside had taken a barbed
arrow to the chest and his lung had been ripped open. Xena's chakram sliced
into a tree and embedded itself with an audible thud. Joxer looked up to see
what was nearly their death as he raised himself off Serenity and rolled to
the side.
"Princess? Princess??" he asked in a worried tone. Serenity pushed herself to
a sitting position. Blood, bright from the air, covered her lips, and flecks
of it were across her check. Reflexively, she wiped at her chin with her right
hand, but its palm was already bloody. Joxer gaped at the sight. Serenity saw
this, caught herself, and checked her lips with the back of her left hand.
"Oh, I see," she breathed raggedly. "This isn't your fault Joxer. I'm dying
because of the way I used my power earlier. My body was created on the moon by
my mother, and it is too frail to withstand the pulse of Gaea's heartbeat."
She coughed again, only she didn't try to stifle it.
It sounded very, very painful to Joxer, who could only mutely offer her a
clean rag from his pocket to wipe her face and hands on. She smiled at him,
appreciatively. He stared at her in awe. This woman was so brave, she was
facing her own death and her only thought was to put his mind at rest. She was
dying because she'd used up her magic healing all the people in Hellespont and
... she reminded him of Gabrielle. But even nobler, and more perfect, if such
a thing could be.
Serenity shifted, slowly tipping herself to the left, toward the support of
the tree Xena's chakram had embedded in. She moved like a feather floating on
the wind. "You can't do anything more for me Joxer," she said simply. "Go to
your friends."
"I can't leave you alone!"
"You must," she paused and coughed briefly. "You must tell *my* friends that
there's no point in fighting on to protect me. It's time to return to the Moon
Kingdom. They must save themselves for a greater purpose yet to come."
"What about Callisto?"
"We have done all that we can; her power as a goddess is just too much for us.
It is not safe to let Xena use her power to destroy her. In truth, I would
have my guards fight on to protect the lives of the innocents here but I'm
selfish ... I want to put the lives of my beloved guards above those of many
humans I don't know. I think they've risked enough against such a foe." She
paused and drew in several shuddering breaths before continuing in an even
weaker voice. "Does that make me evil?"
"No," he said firmly. "That makes you human. You just want to protect the ones
you love."
She smiled weakly. "Please," she begged him. "Tell them to retreat. And tell
Callisto I challenge her." Joxer's jaw dropped. "I will call out to my mother
when Callisto strikes me down. The Compact between the Gods & the Moon Kingdom
will be broken and Selene will intervene. She will destroy Callisto with the
power of the Holy Silver Crystal. This is the only thing I can think of, I
can't escape my death but I can put it to some good purpose. And my companions
will live."
Joxer gulped and stood up; he tucked in and straightened his shirt, and tried
to look a little more dignified. "It shall be as you command, my princess," he
said in his most serious voice and then turned and marched back out of the
forest.
Back in the ruins of Hellespont, the duel between Sailor Venus and Callisto
had continued, with Callisto receiving an unexpected battering at
"Gabrielle's" hands. Finally, the game ceased to amuse her and Callisto
slapped Sailor Venus away from her by adding a lash of pure force to the swing
of Ares' sword. The leader of the senshi went flying at least ten feet and her
staff was wrenched from her grasp.
"Playtime is over!" screeched Callisto as she turned toward Xena. There was a
crackle of lightning, and a murmuring rumble of thunder in the background;
winds shrieked as Callisto looked around to see the other three senshi in a
group, a personal storm swirling around them. The younger Sailor Venus was
kneeling; Jupiter and Pluto each had a hand on one of her shoulders and
appeared to be drawing the energy of the wind and lightning of the temporal
storm into themselves.
Eriæ had both arms extended, her fingers interlocked and both index fingers
pointed out at Callisto. Idly Minako wondered if she was going to throw a
"Fire Soul" attack like Rei did.
*"Dead Scream!"* yelled Sailor Pluto on her right. *"Supreme Thunder!"* yelled
Sailor Jupiter on her left.
Jupiter's lightning attack streamed into her from the time storm; Pluto's
entropic winds swirled around her and down her arm. Both the god-warriors
unleashed this power into Venus as she screamed out *"Double Crescent Beam -
COMBINED BLAST!"*
The twin lances of golden starlight Eriæ released blazed with fantastic power
which tinted them green and violet; they hammered into Callisto with enough
force to make her gasp in pain and fling her into the air. Callisto managed to
hold onto Ares' sword as she went flying, unfortunately; she did strike the
ground hard and tumbled several yards though. Callisto looked dazed when she
raised her head from the ground. Xena stepped forward with the Silence Glaive,
ready to press the advantage.
*"DIVINE IMMOLATION!"* screamed Callisto as she launched her most powerful
fire blast yet at the exhausted trio. Certain death ascended into the air and
arced toward them, ready to rain down like a shower of heavenly fire. Xena
dove forward into a standing flip, hampered by the unfamiliar presence of the
glaive, and awkwardly tried to shove the trio aside.
"Silence wall!" yelled Minako in a desperate tone that yet held an element of
command to it.
*"Silence ... Wall!"* Xena hesitantly intoned, somehow recognizing the purpose
of the words. A dome of dark, shimmering essence faded into existence around
the quartet as Callisto's blast rained down on them. The blow drove Xena to
one knee, but she raised up the glaive with all her great strength, and the
energy shield held.
Sailor Mercury helped the elder Venus back to her feet, but gaped helplessly
at the sheer power being released by the goddess.
Back in the forest, Serenity clung to the tree and looked at the half-ring of
metal still visible. Idly, she reached up toward it, but she didn't have the
strength to raise herself two inches off the ground. She sagged back against
the tree and closed her eyes, and prayed.
/"Mother, can you hear me?"/ she called out. /"Help them, please..."/
/"SERENITY you are very weak,"/ came the voice of the titan Selene to her
mind. /"Have you expended the energy I gave you already?"/
/"Mother, it's all gone horribly wrong! The Sailor God-warriors of the inner
system are going to be killed by the mad goddess Callisto! And I've awakend
Saturn! and ... and ... I'm dying."/ she cried into the ether.
There was a long pause that held a sense of astonishment instead of words;
then the titan replied /"You were struck a mortal blow?"/
/"No,"/ Serenity replied. /"Not yet; but I have exhausted my power. The
sailors are fighting the mad goddess, a woman who got ambrosia and has the
will to use her new powers, she's even taken Ares' sword, along with Saturn
and Pluto--"
/"PLUTO?"/
/"She said Hades had awakened her."/
/"So, at last he's sent his daughter to Our service,"/ Selene mused. /"The
Gods must be in an uproar."/
/"Mother, please, bring my guards home before Callisto kills them!"/
/"I cannot."/
/"You were able to send them on a mission, you should be able to recall
them!"/ Serenity protested.
/"Remember, by the terms of the Compact, my power cannot reach to Earth!"/ her
mother admonished. /"In the age after the Gods pass We shall keep watch over
the world. You and yours were only able to go to Earth because we honestly
believed some godling had tried to steal from Us. And Hera was incensed even
by that. I can not put forth my power to recall you. But there is something I
might be able to do--"/
/"Then please, speak to them, have them return! I sent Joxer (here she sent a
clear image of the earnest young man to her mother) to tell them to return but
I don't think they'll listen! I have a plan to trick Callisto..."/
/"And well they should not return! If Callisto is as you say, 'mad,' do you
think she will respect the Compact or will she journey here to Our sanctuary
and release all the havoc at her disposal?"/
Serenity gasped aloud at the thought of Callisto's arrogance. She'd do it all
right. She felt very nauseous and the night seemed to be growing darker. She
realized her plan had too many flaws; it was useless. Selene felt her
daughter's thoughts starting to slip away from her and grew alarmed.
/"Serenity! You must fulfill your duties!"/ the Titan's thoughts snapped into
her daughter's mind like a whip, bringing her to focus. In a way, Serenity
found it easier to cast her thoughts to the moon high above. She could almost
feel the link between her psyche and her body growing weak. She sent a sense
of question to her mother; she was too tired to form words.
High in the night sky, a stream of stardust rose from the moon and danced down
like a wavy ribbon. Serenity could not see it in the sky, but when the
stardust began to surround her, the clearing was filled with a soft pale
starlight. The light gathered into a small glimmering disc hanging in the air
before her.
/"There is something you don't know ... about your origin. About your
father,"/ Selene said. /"He was of Earth, a human man. You are only half-
titan. You are also half of Earth, half-human. And I am allowed to send you
something that is yours by right."/ The glimmering disc materialized. It was a
golden brooch with four crescents on the edges, inset with gems in the colors
of the four inner planets, with a larger lunar crescent surmounting it.
/"Within this We have placed an enchanted prism that will resonate in harmony
with the Holy Silver Moon Crystal, and thus allow you to use the latent powers
of your own true star seed." In her mind, Serenity saw her mother's crystal
glittering and spinning. She had a link to it as well?/
Serenity gasped and reached out a shaky hand to touch the golden brooch; the
stream of stardust immediately faded and it dropped to the ground in front of
her. She nearly toppled onto it while reaching for it. /"I don't understand,
how can I have a connection to the crystal when it's YOUR stars--"/
/"Don't question me!"/ snapped Selene. /"There's no time! You are seconds from
death! You must hold up the talisman and say the words of power!"/ Selene
whispered those words of power into her daughter's mind.
Serenity was unable to form a response.
/"Say them! SAY THE WORDS!"/ her mother screamed in her mind, her panic
helping her daughter to focus on staying conscious a few seconds longer.
Serenity's left hand closed around the golden brooch, while her right grabbed
a hold on the rough bark of the tree at her side. Her lungs felt like she was
drowning, it was nearly impossible to draw a breath; her heart was struggling
to make each beat, like a wild, frightened bird.
She tried to heave herself up but managed to rise only a few inches;
everything was spinning. Her fingers released the catch on the brooch and it
opened to reveal a small clear crystal within. With the remainder of her
strength she began to gasp out the words. "moon, prism, power ... make up."
Then the crystal exploded with cosmic light and Serenity's body dissolved in
it. A pillar of light ascended to the sky.
Meanwhile, Sailor Venus and Sailor Saturn stood back to back inside a ring of
fire, each able to fend off the blasts of Callisto but ... for how long? She
darted around the battlefield like a leaping flame, striking each of them at
random with a blow, a blast of fire, or a bolt of force. Joxer had emerged
from the woods a few minutes before and Callisto had contemptuously thrown a
bolt of force at his head that struck like a stone. Currently, Sailor Mercury
was running and dodging small fire blasts which Callisto was playfully tossing
at her.
"You think we've bought enough time?" asked Minako.
"I think so," Xena said in her 'detached' voice. "Tell me, is there any other
power I can 'safely' manifest?"
"I'm not sure, Hotaru never played around with her power. She almost killed
herself once ... OH! Yes, I remember, when we fought Nehelenia she came up
with a way to strike the glaive on the ground and released a contained
discharge of destruction. Um, what WAS it called, it's been a while...."
"Silence Glaive Apply!" quipped Artemis, who had just run up to the ring.
"Minako-chan! Are you all right???"
"Sure, Xena's reflexively absorbing the flames' heat, no big whoop," she
replied, grinning.
"Ready Gabr, er, Minako?" Xena asked.
"Oh yeah!"
Xena buried the tip of the glaive into the ring of fire around them and
concentrated. The flames died out with a sudden whoosh.
Callisto froze in place and turned around. Her grin was maniacal. "Are you
going to put out the flames consuming the rest of the village that way Xena?"
she teased.
Suddenly, Sailors Mercury, Jupiter, and Younger Venus started as if they heard
something. The all turned to look at the forest. A pillar of light rose into
the sky and faded back, radiant white gold, silver blue, and soft pink.
"YES!!" yelled Jupiter, nearly jumping for joy. "Princess Serenity's gotten
back her strength and teleported to safety! She's escaped from you, YOU
MONSTER!" she howled at Callisto.
Callisto's face contorted with rage. "Escaped? NO! Then you'll suffer in her
place!" she pointed her finger and a sharply pointed blast of flame ripped
toward Melissa. Sailor Pluto tackled the surprised girl and the blast just
barely missed the two of them.
Unseen by the others, the core of the pillar still blazed in the clearing. The
sign of the crescent moon distinguished itself from the rest of the column of
light, and eyes opened in the light stream. Princess Serenity's body began to
reform out of the streaming, twisting silver radiance.
*"Mist Spray FREEZING!"* howled Amica as she launched her attack from behind
Callisto, at nearly point blank range.
The renegade goddess was encased in a thin film of blue ice. Sailor Mercury
looked quite pleased with herself for a moment, when the ice began to steam
and it all suddenly exploded off Callisto. The steam around her was scorching
hot.
Xena took up a position on the far side of the clearing. She concentrated on
the power within her, feeling its seamlessness, its strangeness. She gasped
slightly and mumbled to herself, "so this is what Lao Ma really meant."
As Callisto advanced on Sailor Mercury, the singing sound of the chakram
filled the clearing. Callisto rolled her eyes. "Xena please don't insult me by
using that pathetic, useless weapon!" She reached her left hand out and
slightly behind her, ready to catch the chakram. At the last minute, she
realized the tone it made was a little off, and turned to look.
She saw a disk of pure energy--right before it slammed into her hand and
discharged, nearly blowing it off.
A figure strode forward from the outskirts of the town, from the direction the
blast had come, and then stepped into the light.
"Who the Hades are you?" demanded Callisto as the white-haired figure stepped
forward. The blood drained from the faces of the Inner Senshi and Minako.
"I am the one you sought to challenge for having compassion for the people of
this village. You have embarked on a murderous rampage, and I cannot allow
that to continue, or forgive you for it." The figure's speech became more
heated as she marched forward into the clearing. "I am the daughter of the
Earth and the Moon; the new-born champion of Justice and Healing; the Sailor
God-Warrior who draws her strength from the Titan Selene. I am SAILOR MOON!
And on behalf of the moon, I shall punish you!"
"Tsuki ni kawatte, Oshioki yo!" yelped Minako, giggling madly. Artemis just
gaped at the Princess' outfit--like the other god-warriors, it was toga-based
but it was colored like that of Usagi's original suit. He also thought the
basic Sailor Moon outfit colors went well with her shining white hair.
"What is it with you idiot warrior girls in the short skirts?" Callisto fumed.
"You're a bunch of idiots, even if you do have powers. You're the worst! You
threw away your only weapon," she gestured with Ares' sword. "You NEVER throw
your last weapon away!"
"Who says it was my last?" asked Sailor Moon. She reached up to her forehead
and removed her tiara. The ruby in it began to shine with soft, opalescent
light. The tiara flattened in her hand into a perfect ring, except for the
glowing jewel set into it. She raised it and prepared to throw.
*"Lunar Chakram!"* she yelled and flung it at Callisto. As it spun through the
air the ring became a disk of light. Callisto dodged.
Serenity frowned in concentration. The chakram's pitch changed as it banked
and came back at Callisto from a different direction.
"OOoh! I can't do that!" Xena said enviously. "Or can I?" she asked herself.
"Hmm. Oh well."
She tumbled forward ("I'm getting the hang of flipping with this thing," she
thought to herself) and with a sweeping wave and a gleeful smile, she touched
the blade of the Silence Glaive to the ground. *"Silence Glaive APPLY!"* she
roared.
Abruptly, all sound stopped while black lightning began crackling from the tip
of the glaive. It blasted out and lashed Callisto. Earth showered up around
both Callisto and Xena as the merest touch of the power of Silence carved a
yard-deep trench into the ground in a line between them.
As the suppression of sound faded, Callisto's screaming abruptly faded into
hearing as she was wracked by the energies Sailor Saturn unleashed.
Sailor Moon gasped as she made the Lunar Chakram bank once more and strike
Callisto in her good hand, FINALLY knocking Ares' sword from her grasp.
Callisto's screams became louder and her rigid body jerked under the pressure
of the energy attack as Xena snarled and touched the Glaive to the ground
again, lightly. Another blast oddly highlighted by an unnatural silence struck
Callisto. "She's not going down!" said Sailor Moon in disbelief as the silence
faded again. Sailor Venus grabbed her hand. "We can't let Xena keep doing
this, she could slip and unleash her full power! Everyone, gather now!" The
topaz in her tiara started to glow; the others ran to her side and looked to
her for direction, including Sailor Moon. "We're going to combine our powers
into one of us and then she's going to hit Callisto with everything we've got
left."
"Yes! Excellent idea Other Sailor Venus!" Sailor Moon said.
"Glad you agree, you're the one!" said Minako. Serenity goggled in surprise.
"Venus Crystal Power. . ." Minako intoned as she shut her eyes and a golden
aura surrounded her and began to settle over Sailor Moon.
"Mercury Power. . ." "Jupiter Power. . ." "Venus Power. . ." "Pluto Planet
Power. . ."
Each of the other senshi followed her example and blue, green, gold and violet
auras began to gather.
"Saturn . . . Planet . . . Power . . . " Xena ground out while holding the
Silence Glaive ready to drop another attack on Callisto. An indigo aura, so
deep it was nearly black added its strength as well.
The senshi could feel a celestial harmony singing through Serenity as she
bowed her head. Her own senshi hadn't even noticed her tiara had magically
reformed on her brow. Now its gem blazed with white-pink light.
*"Holy . . . Moon . . . Healing . . . ESCALATION!"* she cried out, unleashing
a glittering lightstream from between her hands, striking Callisto in the head
and engulfing her.
The goddess screamed a final, near-deafening scream as light beyond the
tolerance of sight flashed, lighting up the night from horizon to horizon.
Then it faded, and Callisto fell. Sailor Moon and her Inner Senshi all
collapsed, and even Sailor Pluto sagged and would have fallen if Minako hadn't
caught her. Though winded, she had been braced for the drain. She looked over
and saw that Xena was still standing, and that she supporting her weight on
the now upright glaive.
Xena caught her breath and walked over to Callisto's body. She kicked it.
Callisto rolled over and looked up at Xena. Though beaten, she was still
defiant. "Congratulations bitch, you win."
"Now, I get rid of you once and FOR ALL!" exulted Xena suddenly as she raised
the Silence Glaive high above her. Her eyes were blank and glowing violet as
dark power swirled around her body and indigo ribbons of energy streamed out
of the aura that suddenly surrounded the Silence Glaive. Callisto raised her
chin, sending a message of hate with her eyes.
"Xena, no!" said Minako as she staggered over toward her friend. "She's
beaten, this is wrong, it's an execution!" Xena's eyes were wild and glowing;
she barely turned to acknowledge her friend. Minako planted herself directly
in front of Xena. Sailor Moon gasped in fear for her.
"That's exactly what it is," she said in a smug, self-righteous voice, "an
execution! This self-made goddess has overstepped the bounds of anyone's
decency and her punishment is eradication! So step aside, Gabrielle ..." her
voice became almost threatening.
"Since when have you taken on Nemesis' job as hitwoman of the Gods?"
"Don't try to do me any favors, Gabrielle!" hissed Callisto. Minako turned
around and smiled sweetly at her.
"You're welcome. Shut up. And don't try anything. They're watching you," she
said sweetly, nodding at the sailor senshi glaring at her.
"Gabrielle, she is evil incarnate, don't stop me from *destroying* her!"
exclaimed Xena. She was *still* crackling with power, and Minako continued in
a gentle tone.
"Xena, this is the 'old you' talking. Can't the Gods strip her of her power or
imprison her, or *something!* The woman *is* mentally ill you know. She'd have
to be ..."
"I told you not to do me any favors!" screeched Callisto. "I'd rather die than
be imprisoned again! My life was taken away from me the moment Xena burned my
village to the ground and there's nothing that can bring it back! All I have
is pain, and now that I'm immortal, it's unending!"
Xena blinked. "Oh really?" she said. She narrowed her eyes and the forces
around her were changed somehow; the light shifted a shade brighter, the
swirling changed pitch and began to gather in a ball at the tip of the glaive,
but what that meant Minako didn't know. She was aware that Xena was perilously
close to unleashing far more of the Saturn power than Minako ever wanted to
see.
Briefly she wondered if she could bring herself to fire a crescent beam
through her friend's heart before she said "Death Reborn Revolution." Fear
clenched her heart as she realized the answer was no.
Xena inclined the glaive, and as she released the swirling ball of energy,
cried out, *"Silence Glaive -- SURPRISE!"* The energy ball lobbed right over
Sailor Venus and engulfed Callisto; Minako gasped in shock and spun to look.
Swirling ribbons of energy encased Callisto like a cocoon. Radiance suddenly
pulsed from between the strips and the cocoon shrank; it spun in place for a
moment, then emitted a blast of bright indigo and violet light, and shrank
again.
Xena nodded, a smug look on her face. The Saturn power was fading back down.
The sailors looked on in surprise and horror. The sphere of energy collapsed
in on itself and faded completely.
There was a small, gold-haired baby laying on the ground. She began to cry.
"There you are Callisto. You get a second chance. That's more than some of us
can say," Xena said in a strained voice. She turned away.
Sailor Moon clapped in approval. "Wonderful! You've returned her to a state of
grace! My, she DOES have good lungs, doesn't she?" She smiled and started
forward toward the baby. Minako hugged her friend.
Xena smiled and looked at Sailor Venus. "Someone keeps reminding me how
important it is to give people a second chance. If it wasn't for Gabrielle,
I'd--" Xena broke off at a startled noise from the moon princess, who had
picked up the wailing baby.
"Oh dear," commented Sailor Moon. Jupiter, Mercury and younger Venus crowded
around to look. Pluto stood in the background and looked unhappy. Xena and
Minako stepped forward. Sailor Moon was holding Callisto, looking a bit
nonplussed.
On Callisto's forehead the sign of Mars was glowing softly.
"D'oh!" said Minako. "Well, that explains why Ares was never able to find
Mars! She must have been subconsciously tapping into her power and using it
all along!"
Joxer regained consciousness. "Hey," he said. "Is the fight over already?"
Xena and Sailor Jupiter just started laughing.
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