London, England, Crystal Era
Picadilly Circus
A rain of orange and gold light fell from the sky and coalesced at
ground level. A feminine shape formed out of the light and a blond girl
stood there, dazed and confused. She wore a white sailor-styled toga,
gathered at both shoulders and tied off with an orange sash. She stared
around in disbelief.
On two sides of her, huge stone structures soared as high as hundreds of
feet in the air, but everything, including the stone road she stood on,
was covered with rampant greenery. It was as if a jungle had taken over
the largest stone fortress ever built.
She walked around, gaping at the sights. Some kind of ivy covered nearly
every building, and strands of it crisscrossed the flagstones under her
feet. She dropped to her knees and felt the vine. It was tough and
woody, but not unnatural as far as she could tell. Here and there a
small tree had burst through the pavement, and there were patches of
wild roses and occasionally other flowers.
She moved on towards a distant noise. After a few minutes of walking,
she came to an area of the city that was half in ruins. One large
tower-like structure had sheared off at an angle, as if a giant axe had
chopped the top off. In the distance she could see what looked to be a
castle or perhaps a temple. People were here though. They seemed to be
running a large yellow device like a huge covered wagon with a giant arm
and shovel attached to it. She could see no horses moving the construct,
but it was turning and scooping up rubble and then turning to deposit it
in a huge open bin (which also had no horses attached to it).
Eriæ shook her head in mild wonder as the construction crews continued
to clean the city wreckage up. One workman looked up at her, saw her
long slightly curly blonde hair and sailor-skirt and yelled
questioningly at her. She smiled and nodded blankly so he walked over to
her. He was yelling something and gesturing at the yellow helmet he
wore. After a few moments her translation amulet kicked in.
". . . stay out of the danger area, especially without a HARD HAT!
Don't you understand what I'm saying???"
"I do now, pardon," she replied. "I'm not from here and I didn't
understand your language at first."
The man looked puzzled and then examined her outfit more closely. "Are
you one of the Sailor Senshi?"
"I'm Sailor Venus," she replied.
"Sailor Vee...nus? That's a . . . new outfit, isn't it?"
"I might not be the Sailor Venus you're thinking of. Tell me, please,
where am I?"
The construction worker eyed her warily. "You're in London. Great
Britain."
"BRITANNIA? Why am I here? I should be southern Greece! Our Sailor
Teleport has gone far astray indeed!" Eriæ exclaimed with surprise.
"I see," the man finally said after a long pause. "Well, why don't we
contact the authorities? I'm sure they can help you find the other
senshi."
Eriæ nodded happily. "Thank you, that would be most helpful!"
[Roll Credits: "You're Still the One," Lucy Lawless version]
Episode Six
Gathering the Allies! The Sailor Teams Reform
Crystal Palace
The Throne Room
Neo-Queen Serenity and Sailor Moon stood staring at each other. Sailor
Jupiter and King Endymion were also pretty shocked, but Sailor Venus was
standing there beaming at the two of them.
"This is unbelievable," muttered Makoto. Endymion nodded in agreement.
"I thought it was pretty amazing when Usagi came from the past but now
the first Serenity has topped her!" he said behind his hand. She nodded
in agreement.
"Sailor . . . Moon," Neo-Queen Serenity said, halting on the words as if
she was having trouble saying them. "I want to thank you again for
saving Umino's life yesterday. And Saeba-san as well."
Sailor Moon nodded her head gracefully in denial. "It was nothing; Venus
did the real work. I merely delayed that creature for a moment." The
Queen nodded in acknowledgment, if not agreement.
"Still, your help is most appreciated. But you said that you were here
because of a new threat to my people; I could not talk about it openly
then, but in the privacy of this chamber, we can speak freely. I too
have also sensed a new crisis coming upon us. What can you tell us of
it?"
"Minako may have told you about her time with us--"
"Not much, I'm afraid," Sailor Venus interjected. "It's only been a very
short time since I returned. Not even a week."
"I see. Well, has she explained to you that the Gods are alive and
active in my time?"
"Yes, she has," the queen replied.
"Excellent. Some years ago by our reckoning, there was a great conflict.
A being of pure evil named Dahok invaded Earth intent on corrupting and
consuming its vast natural power. The Gods struggled to keep him from
manifesting but he was able to create a daughter on Earth. A priestess,
if you will, to open the way for him. Though the Gods normally keep us
from 'interfering' with the Earth, they needed our help to deal with
Phobia. Then Dahok seduced Ares, the God of War, to his side. There was
a tremendous battle and only Sailor Mars' loyalty to us turned the
tide."
"Callisto?" hazarded Minako.
Sailor Moon nodded. "She's Callist-AH now," she replied, emphasizing the
name's changed pronunciation. "She resisted Ares' attempt to turn her
into the Goddess of Mayhem. She has a few of her old memories back but
she's still one of us," Sailor Moon concluded proudly.
"I see. You were saying?" replied Minako, gravely.
"Mars stayed loyal and she saved Solan, the son of Minako's old friend
Xena. Phobia had kidnapped him as a sacrifice, we believed. But then we
discovered that actually Solan was the guardian of the Golden Illusia
Crystal, which seems to be some sort of counterpart to my mother's own
Silver Moon Crystal. His gem draws power from the Dreams of the Earth,
and he was able to defeat Dahok. At the end of the conflict, the Gods
decreed Ares a traitor and Hera asked Selene to 'deal with him.' My
mother's response was to combine her power with that of Sailor Saturn
and to place Ares under an eternal seal, locked in a shrine to--" she
turned to face Venus, "Minako and Xena, actually. We lured him to the
site and then trapped him. But now seal has been broken in *this time*
and Ares is free."
"Ares?" Sailor Venus said, incredulously. "Now? He's still alive after
all this time?"
"Yes, unlike the other Gods who must have faded away or departed Earth
in the meantime, he's been kept alive by the seal."
"Ares. Oh. This is so not good."
"Minako-chan, you said that you and the senshi of the past had defeated
*two* Gods," Neo-Queen Serenity said in a tone asking for clarification.
"Yes, but they were new Gods, minor really," she said. "Ares is old,
cunning, and much more powerful. Say, would being sealed have preserved
his power, or weakened it?"
"I don't know. It's actually possible that all that time of forced
inactivity may have strengthened it. Especially if there's been a lot of
war. War makes Ares strong. Speaking of which, you don't have any Wars
going on right now, do you? I hope?" Sailor Moon said in a questioning
tone.
"Actually, we do," the queen replied sadly and pointed at the tactical
map on the side wall.
"Oh my," said Sailor Moon.
Just then, the captain of the palace guard walked in accompanied by a
young woman in a toga-like sailor uniform. He was a tall, slender youth
with sandy brown hair and a face with a natural inclination to smiling.
The woman bore a passing resemblance to Ami, but was taller and thinner,
and had snowy white hair. "Majesty," he said with a grin. "If I may
present to you, the other Sailor Mercury!"
"Amica!" said Sailor Moon and then she dashed over to Mercury to give
her a hug. "You made it all right!"
"Yes, I'm fine. I arrived about a week ago and have been wandering
around somewhere north of Macedon. I encountered some strange warriors
pledged to a 'Dark Moon' and fought them in a few places." She looked up
from Sailor Moon and got a good look at Neo-Queen Serenity. "Oh my! Your
descendant looks just like you!"
"Yes, it is a startling resemblance, isn't it?" Sailor Moon said. "This
is Neo-Queen Serenity."
"It's an honor, Majesty."
"Likewise, Sailor Mercury. This is Endymion, my King, Sailor Jupiter,
and Sailor Venus, whom I believe you know." Mercury turned towards the
new group with a smile for Venus, a respectful nod for Jupiter, and a
cursory nod for Endymion. In return, he gave her his warmest, most
dazzling smile. Minako and Makoto exchanged a knowing glance, and Neo-
Queen Serenity appended, "My King is the Earth's guardian and bears the
Illusia Golden Crystal in this era."
Both Mythic Sailor Moon and Mythic Sailor Mercury jumped at *that*
little revelation.
Predecessor Ruins Beneath the Royal Citadel
Planet Nemesis, Crystal Era
"Hello, Sailor Mercury." Ami-chan whirled and looked around for the
source of the voice. The room was empty, and only the low hum of the
life support system made any noise at all. A woman with smoldering red
hair stepped out of an alcove that had been concealed in the shadows.
"You know, the entire government is in a complete panic trying to figure
out where you've gone too. Have you been down here all the time? They
assumed the Predecessor security would keep you from penetrating this
deeply if you had come into the complex." She smiled, almost
triumphantly. Mercury took a half step back and dropped into a fighting
stance. The woman was wearing a rich black velvet dress, a large emerald
pendant that matched her eyes, and a fur-trimmed cloak. Whoever she was,
she had to be fairly important, and, Mercury was betting, fairly
powerful.
"No need for that," the woman said with a casual wave at Mercury's
stance. "I am Lady Clarissa, the leader of the Reconciliation Faction. I
believe you've made the acquaintance of my son, Topaz."
"You? His mother? You don't look old enough!" exclaimed Ami as she eased
out of her fighting stance, yet remained alert.
"Thank you. I seem to be aging well, but that is all there is to it."
She made a dismissive gesture as she strode over to the central station
of the room and ran her hand languidly over the glassine case. Frost on
the inside prevented a view of the subject within. "Do you know where
you are?"
Mercury shook her head. "Not exactly. I have an idea though, in a
general sense."
Lady Clarissa smiled, a secretive little smile as she turned to Sailor
Mercury. She lightly patted the chamber she stood next to. "This is
Carnelian. He's on cryogen life support."
"The King?"
"Indeed. Holding on to life until his precious Dimando finishes his
mission and conquers Earth. Bah! Such egotism from him . . . !"
"But Dimando failed; he and Sapphir both died. . . "
"Yes I know." Clarissa strode around the cryogenic chamber. "He didn't
allow for that possibility. So Nemesis will have a frozen king until
someone actually supplants him, by force if necessary."
"Do you think that will happen soon?"
"No, because we'll be too busy invading Earth."
"What?"
"There are plenty of crystal star ships that returned after they were
unable to breach the multiphased shield that went up over the palace
after the initial attack. There are forces in reserve. Other weapons.
Other powers. Wiseman's remaining experiments. And there is a group of
greedy men and women, representatives of the noble houses, intent on
gaining more power. If the Oligarchy attacks Earth again and succeeds,
the chair of the Oligarchy, traditionally the Prime Minister, will
probably have enough political clout to seize the Amethyst Throne."
"Topaz warned us that there were additional leaders on Earth still."
"His knowledge is far from complete, I'm afraid. Our faction is somewhat
low on resources and I need your help. I can help you, in return."
"What do you need?"
"You have a reputation as a technologist. That you've evaded the
security systems here in the Predecessor complex implies to me that it's
deserved. Are you capable of tapping into our computer system and
breaking through the security?"
"I'm reasonably certain I can crack anything you've got," Sailor Mercury
replied blandly. Lady Clarissa nodded her head.
"Very well. Wiseman maintained extensive computer records on everyone
whom he tested for emerging psionic powers. I have an idea of a number
of nobles who've developed talents along the lines of psychoenergetics
or the like, but there must be others. And besides those with a knack
for 'elemental powers,' there are possibly some members of the Oligarchy
with other powers at their disposal. If you can tap the biodata net,
we'll have a much better idea of what we're up against. You could start
with the leaders still on Earth; that information, clearly, would be of
paramount importance to you."
Sailor Mercury considered. "I would like to see this information myself.
Earth has started producing a few people with odd abilities but I don't
think anything has stimulated them; I think that the years of crisis
have simply flushed them out into the open. That doesn't seem to be true
of your people though."
Clarissa nodded in agreement. "We do seem to be getting more psionic
with each passing generation. We believe the Predecessors were a highly
psionic race, as a great deal of their technology is based on mind/body
energy. In turn, our dwelling near their technology seems to have
enhanced our evolution. Of course, what you've seen is an 'adaptation'
created by Wiseman and his dark scientists, not the original Predecessor
technology."
"Where can we tap the biodata network?"
"Here, actually," Clarissa motioned to the control panel. "This system
is tied into the medical portion of the network, and I suspect that
because the king is here, it has the highest security rating available."
"Good." Mercury produced her palmtop computer and started typing a
sequence out even as she walked over to the station. She set the
computer down on the edge of the console and it ran a complex intrusion
sequence.
"How long will this take?"
"Oh, about . . . " the palmtop beeped. "Now." Lady Clarissa was suitably
impressed.
"You could try for a master personnel list first."
"Good idea, I'll do that." Mercury tapped a few buttons on her palmtop
and it sent the commands directly into the system, displaying the result
on the main screen.
>> DISPLAYING MASTER BIODATA EXTRACT INDEX<<
>> SORT BY INDEX: rating/power/overall <<
Mercury selected rating for the data sort.
>> 51 RECORDS. DISPLAYING FIRST 10 SORTED BY *RATING* KEY. <<
1. Dimando
2. Zircon Gestalt*
3. Rubious
4. Peridot
5. Citrine
6. Topaz
7. Beruche
8. Petz
9. Coan
10. Emeraude
"Oh my," Sailor Mercury said. She turned to see Clarissa staring in
shock at the readout.
"Impossible, it can't be," she muttered.
>> DISPLAYING NEXT 10 ENTRIES <<
11. Saffir
12. Alexandrite
13. Heliotrope [T]
14. Chalcedony
15. Quartz
16. Tourmaline
17. Sardonyx
18. Feldspar
19. Halite
20. Karabas
Clarissa stared at the screen for several long moments then snapped back
to attention. "We need to review these records quickly," she said. "We
must get all of this information before the search extends down here.
And speaking of hurrying, I've prepared a file of information for you."
She drew a small optical data crystal from within a hidden pocket in her
skirt and handed it to Mercury. "You'll have to leave Nemesis as soon as
possible. Depending on the detailed ratings the file reveals, we could
be looking at civil war here, imminently. Several members of the
Reconciliation Faction are in the second echelon of power ratings. So is
our opposition. But, we may have a chance if we move suddenly. We know
who the threats are, they don't. Unfortunately, we won't be able to help
you any further beyond data at the moment--you'll have to deal with the
sub-commanders on Earth yourself. However, the crystal will give you an
idea of our fleet strength and prototype schematics of our main ship
designs."
Mercury nodded. "I see. So, presently your faction does have control of
the government but it is an extremely tenuous one, yes?" Clarissa nodded
solemnly. "I have another question, though," Mercury said consideringly.
"Topaz told us he was not very powerful, but he's listed sixth by
Wiseman. Can you explain this?"
Clarissa looked at the number six next to her son's name. "Sixth.
Probably seventh if you split Jacinth and Hyacinth apart. What we were
told, all along, was that he was rated in the high teens, only slightly
more powerful than Karabas since she lost her 'Dark Alloy' power during
second stage Enhancement. That my 'bastard' son was barely worthy of a
gem name and that he was given it as deference to his father." She
turned to meet Sailor Mercury's gaze. "Let us see what other lies we can
discover."
"Yes, shall we?" offered Mercury as she began pulling up profiles and
downloading data.
Kino Makoto's Apartment, Crystal Tokyo
Makoto shouldered open the unlocked door and carried in two large bags
of groceries.
She dreaded seeing what her refrigerator looked like. It had been about
two weeks since she had last been home, and the power had been out for
most of the time. That was clearly enough time for new forms of life to
have evolved in her absence.
She set the bags down on the table, got out her cleaning supplies and
rubber gloves, and set to work on the grim task before her. Not quite a
half-hour later there was a knock on her door, which swung open. She
looked up startled from the sink and saw her current boyfriend Keisuke
standing there, surprised at finding that the door hadn't been firmly
closed.
"Mako-chan, you're all right!" he said, relief evident from the tone of
his voice and the look on his face.
She turned to face him. "Kei-chan, I--" she broke off as she started to
reach for him, realizing that a pair of wet yellow rubber gloves did not
meet her criteria for 'romantic embrace' and turned to shuck the gloves
off. Keisuke swept in and embraced her, wet gloves and all.
A little while later they were both drier, the door was closed, and they
were sitting on her couch in the small living room, turned sideways and
facing each other, knees just touching.
"I was so worried about you. I left a dozen messages, why didn't you
answer any of them??" he asked plaintively. The 'hurt puppy' look just
made Mako-chan's heart ache. She looked over at the answering machine,
which was flashing violently, and blushed in embarrassment.
"I just got home, and I had forgotten the code so I couldn't get the
messages from work, but really, I was just so busy I could NOT get
away!" Keisuke's face clouded.
"Makoto, you need to explain to me what's going on. When we all got out
of the shelters I tried contacting you right away. You weren't at work,
they told me you were a volunteer shelter coordinator and that you were
at some kind of civil defense force training. But I called around and .
. . nobody in city government knew where you were." He looked at her,
worried and earnest. "I almost tried to hire the City Hunter to find
you!"
Makoto winced. "I'm glad you didn't. I've met that pervert before, he
tried to look up my skirt!"
Keisuke laughed. Until her frown made it clear she wasn't kidding. He
got serious too, then, and took her hand into his. He looked her
straight in the eye and asked her, "Makoto, where were you when we were
invaded?"
Their gazes held for several long seconds. Makoto knew her absence was
suspicious. They'd dated for almost nine months and Keisuke was a fun
guy, and a good friend, brave, loyal, caring . . . it felt right. If he
could just handle this . . .
She stood up, releasing his hand. "I'm going to explain it to you
Keisuke-chan. But it's a state secret. If we split up, you have to keep
this quiet."
"Split -- is there something wrong Mako-chan?" he asked, alarmed and
bewildered. She shook her head, stepped into the middle of the room and
raised one arm. Her henshin wand flew into her hand.
"Jupiter Crystal Power, MAKE UP!"
There was a blast of forked lightning from the tip of the wand; it
ringed Makoto and expanded outward, becoming a solid sphere of energy.
Keisuke thought he could see her clothing fading off her voluptuous body
just before the sphere closed solid. There was a final flash of
lightning, the sphere disappeared and Sailor Jupiter stood there.
"COOL!" he yelled and bounded up to kiss her.
"You're all right with me being a sailor senshi?" she asked. "With
having to serve the realm and protect the people of the city?"
"You bet! I'm really proud of you Mako-chan!" They leaned into a
passionate kiss. When they finally broke off, Keisuke asked huskily,
"so, how do you get out of that uniform?"
Makoto grinned. "Wanna find out?" Keisuke gulped once and nodded.
He suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh duh! I forgot! My sister and her
boyfriend are down in the front hall, waiting on me. They were, um,
staking the apartment out for me."
"Are you serious?" she half-laughed. He sheepishly nodded. "Yeah, we
were taking turns, them and my pal Tetsuya and his girlfriend were also
watching."
Makoto frowned. "I hope you don't have all these other people worried
you're dating a Nemesite spy or something!"
Keisuke had the good grace to blush. Severely. Makoto threw a hand to
her forehead and looked down. "Oh no. Well, we'd better try to sort
this out." She changed back to her streetclothes, giving Keisuke
another eyefull in the process. She reached up and gently pinched his
nose. "Not going to blow a blood vessel I hope? He grinned and slightly
shook his head. "All right, then, let's have you introduce me to your
sister and her boyfriend. What did you say her name is? I remember you
told me on a date once but . . . "
"Oh, no big deal," he replied. "Her name's Miaka. Her boyfriend's
Takahome. I think you'll like them." He grinned hugely. "I think you'll
find you two have a lot in common." He grinned even more. Makoto gave
him a puzzled look and opened the door, wondering what he could
*possibly* be talking about.
The Halls of War
Sancta Island, Off the Coast of Greece
Ares sat sideways on his throne, idly handling his sword and staring
into the fire pit in the middle of the room.
"It's going well," he commented Idly.
YES. IT IS. BUT DO NOT FOOL YOURSELF. VICTORY WILL NOT BE QUICK IN
COMING.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he smiled. "Of course not. I know
better than that. I am the God of War, after all!"
YES. OF COURSE.
"I tell you, though, I'm looking forward to dealing with the last
descendant of that bitch Selene. I'm looking forward to choking the life
out of her with my own two hands." With an evil gloat on his face, Ares
set the sword aside, looked at his hands and flexed them. "Yes, just
itching to get my hands on her."
SHE IS NOT ALONE.
"I know that."
SHE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN HER MOTHER.
"Really? Unexpected but hardly a concern."
SHE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN HER GRANDMOTHER.
"Ridiculous!"
Moments passed.
HER SERVANTS ARE WEAK RIGHT NOW, EXCEPT FOR VENUS.
"Precisely why this is the time to strike."
HER POWER IS GROWN BLOATED. HER POWER IS VAST BUT SLUGGISH. SHE CANNOT
FIGHT YOU AS HER SERVANTS DO. THAT IS HER WEAKNESS.
"The aliens will be useful in wearing them down, eliminating the
annoyance her followers might have been. I will deal with her myself.
Then I will take my rightful place as living God and ruler of the Earth.
And once that is complete, we will conquer the Nemesis planet and with
the power of two such worlds behind me, begin my conquest of the
galaxy!"
OTHERS WILL RISE TO FIGHT YOU THEN. KAKYUU. GALAXIA. GUARDIANS FROM
ROMADIA, ARBORIA, MAU, SARJULYA; OTHERS EVEN FURTHER BEYOND.
"Galaxia and Kakyuu may try to fight me later, but they are not threats
right now. Anyway, their powers are surely old and faded, and by the
time they even find out about the conquest of Earth it will be too late.
It WILL be too late, won't it?"
Ares' head turned to look the other way and now his lips moved.
YES ARES,YOU ARE MY FINAL CHILD OF DARKNESS. YOU WILL DESTROY THE
DAUGHTER OF LIGHT AND REIGN SUPREME FOREVER. I SWEAR IT.
Deep Space, the Eridani Corridor, Crystal Era
Nemesite Light Cruiser 'Pasha'
Rei and Topaz sat in silence on the floor near the jump drive control
systems. The lights had been dimmed to divert a few ergs to life
support.
"Sailor Mars," he said quietly.
"Yes?" Rei replied, looking up from her own introspections.
"I have a question for you. If you wouldn't mind."
"No, what is it?"
"It's about Serenity." He looked up and met her puzzled gaze. "Surely,
you were there for it--can you explain to me why she decided to conquer
the world?"
Mars blinked. The 'conquer' comment stung somewhat, but she bit back the
retort that sprang to her lips. He seemed sincere in the question, and
she could see that his people might paint themselves in the same light
as the Taiwanese government had when Mao Tse Tung and his followers had
driven them out of mainland China.
"All right," she said with a heavy sigh. "It all started around the end
of the millennium. The weather began to get really strange."
"Global warming?" Topaz hazarded.
"Yes, that was part of it. But the real trigger was the eruption of a
new volcano in the northern Atlantic ocean. It warped oceanic currents,
spawned wild weather patterns and sent a huge amount of ash into the
atmosphere. While the volcanic ash at first contributed to the
greenhouse effect, after a while the mix with pollution started to block
sunlight more than it locked in heat. But it wasn't the dimming of the
sunlight that was the worst part. The oceanic disruptions caused a
massive drop in temperatures across Europe and North America, which
eventually spread to all of the northern hemisphere. Growing seasons
were cut short as fluke ice storms destroyed crops and the winter ran
very long. By two thousand and two, there was a global famine in full
swing."
"Oh," Topaz said. "I had never heard that part of the story before."
Rei shook her head. "Things got very messy. People began to fight over
the scarce resources. In turn, they squandered other resources. Missile
weapons began to supplant ground forces as the preferred attack method.
People started dying in large numbers from the fighting as well as the
famine. Still, I think those of us away from the fighting in Europe
hoped that we'd find a solution." Rei looked aside, the memories, the
images, coming to mind with stunning clarity as she chose her next words
carefully.
"The woman who would become known as Neo-Queen Serenity was waiting in a
food line one day, in front of a supermarket in downtown Tokyo. She was
there to get some rice." Though she didn't realize it, Rei's voice
trembled slightly as she remembered the day. She and Usagi had gotten
there before dawn and still were well back in line. Makoto and Minako
were in a similar line elsewhere in the city trying to get fish; their
other friends and some of their parents were also in lines. What Rei and
Usagi didn't remember when they got there was that the supermarket had
once been a target for the Dark Moon. Because it was one of Crystal
Tokyo's nexus points.
"She was waiting patiently along with everyone else, when about nine in
the morning, they suddenly announced that there was no more rice. And
more than two thirds of the people waiting hadn't gotten their rations
yet."
"They must have been upset . . ." Topaz hazarded. Clearly, he was trying
to cope with the concept.
"They rioted."
Rei remembered the screaming, the pushing; old women wailing but wading
in to the crowd arms flailing anyway; people snatching at the bags of
rice, bags splitting open, food being wasted; arms clutching at her,
clawing, and then she lost her footing and felt herself fall. And then
she was being trampled by the crowd.
"Serenity saw a woman fall down. She was being trampled by the crowd."
"Rei-chan! REI-CHAN!" Usagi had screamed when she saw her best friend
pulled away from her, and then fall. Rei remembered raising her arms
trying to ward off the feet stepping on her and remembered the breath
driven out of her from someone's foot landing on her chest, then her
head hitting the pavement very painfully. Then there was the light.
"Serenity was originally Sailor Moon. You must know that by now. She'd
always needed tools to focus her powers. But at that moment she learned
to do something new. She reached out and there was light around her. An
aura that reached out, parted the crowd and surrounded the fallen woman,
protecting her." Rei closed her eyes and remembered.
She remembered looking toward her friend, reaching as the crowd pulled
Usagi further away from her. She remembered seeing her friend's eyes
become the most intense blue and then the aura that had appeared only a
few times before, such as when Uranus and Neptune had 'tested' her. But
this time it wasn't Sailor Moon who created a shield. It was Tsukino
Usagi, and it was on a public street. The light flared brighter around
Usagi as her aura surrounded Rei and protected her and then she changed
as she had not done in years. Her 'princess' dress appeared on her, but
she was obviously not a girl anymore, but a young woman. A young queen,
truly coming into her power. "I am Serenity. And as of now, this madness
will STOP!" her voice had echoed across the square. It was the
beginning.
"So, Serenity appeared to save that woman's life? She'd been hiding her
full powers until then?" Topaz asked, breaking her reverie.
"Exactly," said Rei as she turned back to him. "She didn't want to do
what she did, but as more and more people died, it became more urgent
for her to assume the mantle of queen. She was born to be the Queen of
the Moon, to bring light to the darkness, and Endymion is linked to the
Earth in the same way she is to the Moon and I am to Mars. Her rule
didn't come about overnight and there were many struggles, but it did
come to be. And it began there."
"It began for me," she thought as she turned away again. Topaz was
silent as Rei continued to stare at the wall; she felt her eyes trying
to tear at the emotions. As she sat there, she realized how hard the
struggle had been, but also how necessary. She took a deep breath to
clear her mind, put away her fears, and stood up.
"Well, let's go," she said matter-of-factly.
Topaz gaped at her. "I beg your pardon?"
"I've decided I'm not going to die in deep space of suffocation. I'm
going to teleport back to Earth."
Topaz' jaw dropped. "Right now your energy level is surging but--" Rei
reached out to give him a hand up, which he accepted.
"But nothing," she cut him off. "Do you want to take a chance on me and
maybe be lost to interdimensional space, or die slowly in the darkness?"
"Well," he grinned ruefully as he stood up and absentmindedly smoothed
his hair with his left hand, "when you put it that way, I'll take the
fighting chance." He grinned at her, and she smiled back, confidently.
"Mars Crystal power, make up!" she said as she launched into her
transformation. Fire engulfed her and formed a sphere of power. When it
faded, she was truly Sailor Mars.
He reached out his other hand and she took it, so the two were standing
face to face, holding hands loosely. Mars expression was quite
determined. "Thank you for your question, Topaz. You reminded me how
much I owe to certain people, and how much has been done for me. I can't
quit now, there's too much to do still." He nodded.
"I have a lot of unfinished business myself." He paused for a moment,
and gave her a considering look. "I believe in you," he said simply.
Rei's heart jumped at the words, so similar to what Usagi had said to
her so many times before.
Her smile firmed up. "Hold on." He nodded. The gravity seemed to cut
out beneath them as a small ring of fire formed around them. "SAILOR
TELEPORT!" she yelled. Topaz felt the fabric of space-time burn under
her power and then with a sensation like an elevator beginning to move
suddenly, they vanished from normal physical reality.
The *Pasha* faded from view, and there was complete blackness for a
moment, broken only by a sensation of motion; light returned slowly.
They appeared to be flying through the darkness of space lit by energy
gridlines. The stars were bloated and surprisingly colorful as they
zoomed along the interstices of reality. "Where are we?" Topaz asked,
surprised to find that he seemed to be breathing and talking normally.
Ahead of him Sailor Mars flew, her left hand trailing behind her,
holding on to his right hand.
"I don't know what this place is, but it's where we move through for all
our longer teleports," she called over her shoulder. "And no, I don't
know how we're able to breathe, or how long it's going to take to get to
Earth."
"It must be--" Topaz started, wracking his brain for everything he knew
about New Unified Field Theory, "it must be we're moving through
temporal shadows; we're breathing the air of possibilities."
Rei chuckled over her shoulder at him. "That sounds familiar. Mercury
made me read a bunch of A.A. Attanasio and I still don't understand all
this. Pluto got seriously upset over the fourth book in the Radix series
though, and suspected the author of being an extradimensional alien
intelligence for months. I take that as confirmation he must have known
what he was talking about."
"Sounds like mind-bending literature. Anyway, you've really impressed
me. We've never accessed anything as high-order as this level of
reality. I can see now how your compatriots were able to get all the way
to Nemesis."
"Oh really?"
"Right. You seem to have created a dimensional aperture to such a high
level of reality we're in . . . the hyperspace of hyperspace."
"Wow! That's so technical!" she said in her best Usagi impression.
"Hey, from what you said, I thought you weren't versed in New Unified
Field Theory!"
"I'm joking, silly boy."
Topaz chuckled in response. "Oh. Well, you *have* done the hard work
already, moving us through here should be a piece of cake in
comparison."
"Hope so," she said as she turned her gaze back to the far horizon, and
continued to concentrate. The grid moving beneath them made them seem to
be flying at a rapid rate. How long it went on was impossible to guess.
At one point Topaz thought Mars was singing something half under her
breath. He could only make out a few words, ". . . quicker than a ray of
light she's flying..." but he was *sure* it was singing; perhaps to aid
her concentration? His psychic senses told him that, strictly speaking,
Mars should not be doing what she was doing. She had exhausted almost
all of her power by beginning the teleport and her hold onto her
transformation should have only lasted for a few minutes. Somehow, she
was tapping into energy from elsewhere, some even higher level of
existence. Was it a link to Serenity? Or was she drawing her power from
her spirit, pure emotion, or faith perhaps?
Whatever the case, Mars' formidable will and powers were accomplishing
what he would have said was impossible. Though, as they moved through
this high region of the continuum, his estimation of what was possible
and what was not was changing. The way she was using her powers,
instinctive though it was, was a revelation.
More time passed, and Topaz noticed that they seemed to be going much
slower. They'd shifted grips a few times as holding hands while flying,
though romantic, was actually very tiring on both arms and hands
involved. Mars was sweating now, and her face had taken on an ashen
color. She was starting to squint, and he felt a very slight sense of
moving from side to side, as if she wasn't holding them steady anymore.
"Mars, you're running out of energy aren't you?"
"I'll make it," she said through tightly gritted teeth.
"Are you sure? You seem to be on the threshold of losing consciousness,
not to mention your transformation."
"It's not like I have a choice," she bit off. Her eyes were narrowing
dangerously, and then flying open. She was fighting off unconsciousness
now and for just a moment their speed surged, then it rapidly decreased.
"Yes, you do," Topaz nearly growled as he began to draw upon his own
power. A golden aura wrapped around both of them and held them together;
Rei gasped as she felt them begin to shift positions. He took his right
hand out from her grasp and put it under her right arm; his left hand
caught her under her left arm so that he could carry her, and then the
aura faded, leaving her weight supported by him. They began to move
again, very quickly. "I told you before, you did the hard part getting
us here. I've figured out what you're doing. I can get us to Earth. You
rest."
Mars' eyes simply closed.
"Mars?" There was no response. "Mars? MARS!" She didn't stir, merely
hung limply in his grasp. "Mars, I can fly us through interdimensional
space, I didn't say I could get us out on the other end...!" Rei lost
her transformation. He could feel her *shifting* in his grasp. She
blurred, and the she was wearing normal clothes again. Topaz diverted
just a small amount of his psychic awareness to caressing her
consciousness; what he sensed scared him. Not only had she exhausted her
powers, she was falling into physical shock as well. Which meant that
they either rematerialized on Earth very soon and she got medical
treatment, or Sailor Mars was a dead woman.
"Damn Wiseman to nine hells and back again, this should all never have
happened," he cursed. Then he took a deep breath of the probable
atmosphere of interstitial space and poured on all the speed he could.
He was fresh, and duplicating Mars' "cruising speed" was not difficult,
but he didn't stop there. He summoned up more and more of his power,
energies he normally suppressed to hide from the prying eyes of his
half-brother and his followers. On his forehead the Nemesis sigil
flared, light blazing beneath it outlining the Dark Moon crescent, and
Topaz found the matrix beneath them becoming a blur.
London, England, Crystal Era
Hyde Park Neighborhood
"This place is far less interesting than Paris," Peridot complained as
she sat down her luggage in the vestibule of the townhouse. "I can tell
already it's too stuffy."
Citrine turned to her, somewhat haggard from lack of sleep, and nearly
snarled back, "Well if you hadn't let the prisoner escape we wouldn't
have had to change bases in the middle of the night would we? And why on
Nemesis did you have to acquire so many clothes and things?"
"I thought YOU would appreciate fine couture!" she sniffed.
"I WOULD," Citrine retorted flatly. Peri whirled around, green venomous
fire in her eyes.
"Don't piss me off Citrine. You wouldn't like it," she said in a low,
threatening tone.
Citrine smiled, that same annoyingly smarmy smile his cousin Rubious had
and after a theatrical pause for breath replied, "Likewise," and then
smiled very smugly. Their eyes remained locked for a few moments until
Hyacinth wandered in. She looked at them as if she were afraid knives or
energy bolts were going to start flying.
Citrine suddenly turned to her. "You wanted something," he said; clearly
it wasn't a question. She blinked in surprise.
"I didn't want to interrupt you but . . . you should see on the news.
On BBC1. . ."
Peri stalked out of the room without a backward glance. Citrine followed
her. Upstairs, Jacinth turned up the TV volume and removed himself to
the very back of the sitting room.
BBC1 had a special early morning story breaking. The title superimposed
behind the announcer clearly read "New Sailor V?" and featured a picture
of an unknown blond-haired woman--Eriæ.
"Another one?" Citrine asked, a touch aghast. Peri stood at his side,
focused on the story. They showed tapes of an interview conducted with
the "new Sailor Venus." Again, the woman's 'sailor fuku' was more of a
toga. Clearly it matched that of the "new Sailor Jupiter" whom they'd
encountered the night before.
The news reporter cut to live footage of "Sailor Venus" having breakfast
at small caf‚ near the BBC studios. She was answering questions over
breakfast and seemed rather oblivious to the presence of the camera.
"I was born in Athens, actually," she was saying. "I was happy to get
recruited as Sailor Venus. What do you call this dish?" she asked,
pointing to the mash of cooked eggs and potatoes on her plate.
"Bubble and squeak."
"Oh, what a funny name! But it's tasty."
The owner of the caf‚ nervously walked up to serve her more tea, making
sure he got into the middle of the camera shot. He was wearing a T-shirt
advertising his caf‚ quite clearly and PEriæs eyes locked on to it as
soon as she saw it.
"You two!" she said whirling around and pointing at Jacinth and
Hyacinth. "Get there. Get there NOW!"
"And do what Peridot?" they asked in unison.
"Obliterate her. On camera, if possible; it will be a tremendous blow to
public morale. And feel free to trash as much of downtown as possible.
If Serenity has really found a way to replace her forces, we need to
know. And we need to know if they really are stronger or are just better
teleporters. I've been thinking about this and it occurred to me that if
she had stronger warriors she would have used them during our initial
attack. Now my guess is that these new senshi may actually be weaker-
reserves, substitutes, or washouts from whatever training program she
uses. In any case, we must remove this Sailor Venus from her ranks.
With luck, a severe attack on downtown London will convince them that
we must be elsewhere."
Citrine nodded in agreement. "Misdirection, right, it's worth a shot."
"Are we authorized," began Jacinth.
". . . to combine our powers?" finished Hyacinth.
Peri smiled, wickedly. "Not only are you authorized, I STRONGLY suggest
it. When I said I wanted you to obliterate her, I was speaking *with
precision.*"
Now it was the Zircon twins' turn to smile. At last they'd get their
chance to show the Earthers what they could really do.
Hikawa Shrine, Crystal Tokyo
Temple Courtyard
In the courtyard of the Hikawa shrine there was a circle engraved into
the pavement. It was the result of many sailor teleports being launched,
and several returns as well. In that space, a light began to shine,
then flare brightly, as if a candle were burning through a black silk
scarf. As the moments quickly passed, it became a spinning star
radiating golden flakes of energy and then suddenly beams of brilliant
red, green and blue light radiated outward. With an audible rip, the
energy condensed into a spinning halo of golden light. Topaz appeared in
midair, Sailor Mars cradled in his arms. His good leg was put forward,
his bad tucked at the knee. As the warp slammed shut behind him, he
landed on the ground, wobbled slightly, and sank to his good knee.
"Lucky you were aiming for a natural warp point," he muttered to the
unconscious Hino Rei.
A young woman came running over. "Rei-san! REI-SAN!" she called, but
abruptly came to a halt and gasped when Topaz looked up at her, the Dark
Moon sigil clearly showing on his forehead. "What have you done to Rei-
san?" she angrily demanded.
Topaz paused a moment before answering. "She's exhausted; I barely
finished the teleport she started. I'm afraid Sailor Mars has gone into
shock."
"Sailor. . . Mars?" the young temple maiden asked, shocked. "I . . .
see." Topaz gently adjusted his grip on Rei and slowly stood back up.
His height was impressive to the young Japanese girl. "Right, well, we
need to get her to a bed. Then you can explain to me who you are," she
said. "I'm her assistant, Merle. I look after the shrine when she's
busy, so come this way." She turned and marched off. Topaz hastened to
follow as best he could on one good leg.
"You're walking funny," she commented after glancing back at him.
"I broke my leg," he said in a voice so even it bordered on amusement.
"I'll be sure to tell Dr. Mizuno you need treatment too," she said. They
reached one of the compound's buildings and Merle slid aside the door
and led him in. When they reached Rei's bedroom, she turned down the bed
and indicated Topaz should place her on it. Without being told to, he
turned his back and stepped out of the room. Merle stripped the somewhat
grimy clothing off Rei and pulled the covers over her. Then she grabbed
the phone off the bedside and called the doctor.
End of Episode Six
[End Credits Roll - See Episode 3]
Next time, on Mythic Sailor Moon:
Devastation! The Terrible Power of the Zircon Siblings
Image: Sailor Mercury and Lady Clarissa are confronted by a new Dark Moon noble.