[FFML] Sailor Moon Z 25 Draft One

[John Walter Biles]

Here it comes in all it's glory, the first draft of Sailor Moon Z episode 25, 
the final episode!


**************** 


	Hudson began another cup of coffee.  "I suppose we should check the prisoners 
again, just in case they've somehow managed to escape."

	Izuko said, "You don't think they'll escape, do you?"

	"Where the hell will they go if they do?  And what are we going to do with 
them?  We can't just send them home; people will wonder what happened."

	"I don't know," Izuko said.

	"They're just a bunch of kids," Hudson said gloomily.  "What a total mess.  I 
didn't take this job to beat up children."

	"Neither did I," Izuko said, leaning back on the couch.  The couch creaked; 
everything in the off-duty lounge needed a little bit of repairs.  

	"Or me," Charlie said.  Charlie was a huge bald black man from somewhere in 
the US, Izuko thought.  You could count on Charlie, long as he was sober.  
Fortunately, he didn´t drink on duty.  He was drinking now, though.

	They were supposed to be off duty, but the Zodiac had told everyone to be 
ready, in case of emergency during the big ceremony.  Which seemed to involve 
killing a teenager.  Izuko wasn't too impressed with the competence level of 
the Senshi, but was it really necessary to kill this kid?  Star Princess or 
not?

	It made her sick in her gut.

	But there was nothing she could do about it.

	She finished her cup.  "Gonna get more coffee."

	Unseen by her, Hematite glided away.  Discontent among the Star Guard.  This 
could be useful, but first to see what could be done with this 
'Transdimensional Defense Club'.  A breakout might well keep the Zodiac even 
more busy than their rite would, though it seemed the rite would likely keep 
them too busy to prevent Jadeite seizing the key energy points around Tokyo.  
And once he held those, they would have enough power to crush the Zodiac, Star 
Power or not.  


****************

Naru:     I'm tired of always running
          I've grown tired of the night
          I wish I had some cunning,
          Had some power, had some might.

	We see a collage of Naru running from monsters, grabbed by monsters, trapped 
inside big  moss balls by monsters, etc.

Sailors:  You don't need to keep on running.
          You don't need to fear the night.
          We can save you with our cunning,
          With our power, with our might.

	We see a collage of images of Usagi and the other Sailors saving Naru and many 
other people from monster attacks.

Naru:     I don't want someone to save me;
          I'd just like to save myself
          I don't want to be a helpless doll
          That must sit upon the shelf.

	We see Naru sitting at her window, looking out on the starry night sky of the 
city.  One by one, lines trace the constellations.

Pluto:    If you want to have the power
          You must reach into your heart
          Look inside to find your strength
          For that's where power starts

	We see Pluto holding out an eight-pointed star, which hovers just above her 
hand.

*****

Sailor Moon Z:

Series Concept by Jeff Hosmer and John Biles
Primary Writer this Episode: John Biles

Based on the Series Sailor Moon, copyrighted by a whole lot of people who 
aren't us.

Episode 25
"To All Things An Ending.
  The Final Battle Commences."

*****

	Sayuri, Leo Istari, stared at the thirteen members of the Zodiac, as they 
ringed in the Star Princess, Osaka Naru.  The girl was a stubborn one, yes she 
was.  They'd been at it for an hour already and she still hadn't broken.  In 
fact, it looked like it would take a very long time to extract the Star Power.

	They ringed the girl, each of them standing on their sigil (a tighter fit for 
the Gemini), with a monolith rising in the center, to which the Star Princess 
and the White Knight had been chained, in their weakest, normal form.  It would 
take longer to drain them like that, but it would also be harder for them to 
fight back.

	She didn't like Naru.  But she didn't trust her feelings either; she'd been 
taken for a ride by a Youma, filling her head full of lies.  And it looked 
Scorpio was as willing to murder her as she probably had been to murder Libra.  
It had to be Scorpio; no one else would have had enough power to pull it off.  
It might be the Dark Kingdom, but she didn't think the Dark Kingdom would stop 
with just one.

	If this all worked as it should, all the Zodiac would double in power, and 
Scorpio, with the Star Orb, would be strongest of all.  Sayuri licked her lips 
nervously.  She didn't like Scorpio and she didn't trust Scorpio to use that 
power responsibly.  Especially not if she was a murderer, and she probably was.

	She was, in theory, supposed to basically wait to see if there was any outside 
interruptions and help to suppress them.  However, she had a mission.  She 
still wasn't sure how much to trust astrological readings, but it looked like 
she was about to find out.

	She turned and walked away; time to position herself for what was to come.

**********

	Tethys stared at the flickering flame in confusion.  What was making the fire? 
 The black rocks under the giant bucket?  But how could they make fire?  What 
kind of energy was this?  If rocks could make fire, why hadn't they learned to 
use them long ago?

	Yuuichiro stared at the hot tub longingly, and also at the next room, which 
seemed to be set up as a sauna.  He desperately needed a bath, but it was far 
too dangerous to try and take one with all the monsters everywhere.  He looked 
over at Tethys, who was staring at it in confusion.  "Do they not have hot tubs 
where you come from?"

	"Is that what this is?  What's making the fire?" she asked, then regretted 
asking it.  Apparently, humans knew about these things, and it would hurt her 
disguise.

	He kneeled and looked.  "Coal, I think, maybe charcoal.  Man, a bath would be 
so nice, but it's too dangerous."  He sighed.  "I have to find Rei."

	This must be the energy source, she thought.  But is there some way for him to 
tap it?  Can I?  She wasn't sure; this wasn't a kind of energy she was really 
used to.  She knew how to generate heat with the energies of the Dark Kingdom, 
but this...there was something different about it.

	She studied Yuuichiro; he seemed to be drawing strength from it, 
subconsciously.  Not much power, but he did seem to be getting stronger from 
the fire.  The fire.  He loved Sailor Mars, who was now Aurora, and who was 
bonded to the element of fire.  And passion, that was a sort of flame.  When he 
thought of her, he grew stronger.

	She licked her lips.  It couldn't be this easy, could it?  Maybe my luck is 
turning, she thought.  Or more likely, I won't figure out a way to get the 
energy of the fire into him.  

	But she had to try.  

	"I think we ought to take this chance to get clean while we can," Tethys said. 
 "We're not likely to get a better one, and it sounds like hardly anyone is 
around."

	He looked torn.  "But it's...whoever made this must be expecting to use it.  
And Rei..."

	"Do you think Rei's going to want to see you as such a dirty mess?" she asked 
sharply.

	"No," he said, embarrassed.  "She always prefers me to be clean and 
presentable, but..."

	"Well, then, time to get yourself clean.  And I could probably use a bath 
myself."

	Yuuichiro said, "Well, you can go first, then."

	Tethys racked her brain, then remembered that male and female humans were into 
this thing called 'Modesty'.  It was a strange concept to her; places to get 
yourself clean were too rare in the Dark Kingdom to bother with such issues, 
and the whole business of feeling you had to hide parts of your body didn't 
make much sense to her anyway.  How did humans ever manage to have sex, anyway? 
 

	But, really, it was probably better to have one keep watch while the other 
bathed.  "You go first," she said.  "I'll keep watch."  She headed for the 
door, trying to get a feel for where she was.  Somewhere in Magnetite's complex 
of rooms.  

	"As the man, I should..." he began.

	"Don't worry, just get clean," she said.  Maybe this would work.  She hoped 
so.  It would be easier if she could reveal herself, but he would probably run, 
and that would spoil everything.  Not that she had a very clear plan, beyond 
vague romantic ideas of him somehow undoing what Jadeite had done to Sailor 
Mars, but it was better than nothing.  Wasn't it?

	She listened to him undress, running around in circles in her mind.  There had 
to be some way to use him for leverage to try to get her rightful place in the 
Dark Kingdom.  If nothing else, he was an impressive fighter; he just didn't 
have the power he needed to exploit it fully.  

	If he did turn Rei, she would have to make sure she was not associated with 
it; Jadeite would not be pleased.  Of course, if he turned Rei, and then she 
ensured they were both caught and dealt with...

	She felt a moment of guilt, surprised herself by it.  She'd spent too much 
time around weak humans; now she was starting to think like them too much.  But 
what else could she do?  Even if she did decide to not use him like that, it 
wasn't possible to protect him, not in the heart of the Dark Kingdom when its 
conquest of Earth was beginning.  Humanity was doomed to serve the Youma.  

	Though it might be possible to swing him something...it would be such a waste 
to not be able to use a strong fighter like him.  She shook her head.  I have 
to think clearly, she thought.  

	Clearly.  But her mind wandered, wondering what Sensei and Horus were doing 
right now.  Probably trying to fight the invasion with the help of that 
ridiculous club.  A bunch of children pretending to be adults, pretending they 
could fight monsters.  Though they'd done a pretty good job on her.  In more 
ways than one.

	They would fight, she knew.  She could respect them for that.  It was alright 
to respect a strong fighter, right?  Probably Tsunami would burn in the 
fighting, but they wouldn't give up.  And they'd probably take a few Dark 
Kingdom folk with them, unless they were just flooded by so many youma that 
they had no hope. Of course, she had been drained and weak when they caught 
her, but they'd been able to hold her even when she got her strength back.

	Not that she'd tried very hard, really.  It had gotten strangely comfortable, 
almost like...like being part of a family.  The human kind of family.  She had 
to admit she'd sometimes enjoyed herself.  They hadn't been very good captors.  
If she'd been held by youma, they would have pulled every last bit of 
information out of her mind, then killed her once she wasn't useful.  No point 
in giving someone the energy they needed to survi...

	The energy they need to survive.  Which humans got from food.  She'd been able 
to get energy from food as well.  Maybe he didn't eat enough food.  Was that 
the problem with him?  There had to be something more than that, but...

	She regretted she didn't have Horus available; there was so much to be learned 
from him, and he would probably be able to figure this right out.  Unless...

	No, that was not an option.  There would be no good way to get him back and 
how would she explain what she wanted?  They wouldn't cooperate.  Or would 
they?  After all, her goal was to get them their Rei back, so that Jadeite 
would be open to her charms, instead of taking a brainwashed teenager as his 
lover, just because she was the reincarnation of her old love.

	But getting to Earth...was it possible?  Surely not.  But perhaps she could 
trick Magnetite into helping her.  He was a kindly old man, and it struck her 
that he reminded her of Sensei.  He would never help with overthrowing Aurora, 
but he probably knew enough about humans to tell her more of what she needed to 
know.

	But then, what to do with Yuuichiro while she talked to Magnetite?  Also, 
Magnetite might put her to bed.  For that matter he might be mad she hadn't 
gone and lain down like he told her.  Most Youma leaders got mad if you didn't 
obey, unless disobedience was more fruitful to them, and even then... 

	Tethys frowned.  This was going to require more thought.  I wish Sensei was 
here, she thought.  It would be so much easier if she could ask him about 
humans.  I should have spent more time learning about them and less time 
playing Civilization, she thought.  As it was, she would never finish crushing 
those damnable Germans.

	She shook her head.  Focus.  She could hear Yuuichiro getting into the hot 
water.  Hopefully, he would draw some strength from it.

	Or perhaps I'm grasping at straws, she thought.  But straws are all I have.  
If this went wrong, if she was traced to it, Jadeite might well destroy her.  
But if you didn't risk, you could never get the big victories.  She couldn't 
stand to spend the rest of her life as just a pawn, just another minion.  
Either she would shine like the sun, or she would die.  Either was better than 
spending the rest of her life a flunky, when she could have had it all.

	But she was going to need a better plan.  As just madly improvising wasn't the 
best way to take a risk.  Not until you had no other choice.

	At least this would give her time for thought.  

*********

	Hikaru pulled the hood of her stealth suit back and looked around the castle.  
"Wow."

	Dia smiled at her new guests.  "Please, come in and rest a while.  Time is 
much faster here than on your world, so you will have time to rest and plan."

	They were in the front hall of her palace, surrounded by the art she had spent 
millenia collecting.  

	Hikaru looked at Himeko, who nodded.  "Yes, it is."

	Hikaru said, "Well, it's hard for me to not want to rush to Daichi right this 
minute, but..."

	Clark asked, "Do you have any idea where the Sailors may be?"

	"Subspace," Dia said.  "Beyond that, no."

	"They're alive?"

	"Our divinations seem to indicate this," Dia said.  "I do not know how soon 
they will return."

	That made Clark feel a little better.  "Well, we're going to have to figure 
out some sort of plan."

	Dia nodded.  "We are arranging to extract your families to safety here.  Those 
of you who have any."

	"Got any magical weapons we can use?" Hikaru asked.

	"Some," Dia said.  "Though not much time to train you in them."

	Hikaru did a snap-kick.  "I can fight!"

	Dia shook her head.  "Your courage serves you well, but magic only goes so 
far."

	"We make do with what we have," Clark said.  "And she's too stubborn to be 
left behind."

	"Exactly," Hikaru said.  
	
	Himeko had to make herself not laugh at that.

	"I go to join the rescue teams," Dia said.  "My servants will show you to your 
rooms.

	She departed and they all went to go rest a little.

************

	"Why did I ever let you all talk me into this?  WHY?" Ami's mother demanded of 
Ryo as he shrank back under the verbal assault.

	Dia vibrated backwards several steps.

	"Dear, we can throw recriminations around later," Ami's father said.  Ryo 
wasn't sure if getting him first had been wise or not, but he'd hoped Ami's 
father could contain...or maybe just absorb, any maternal explosions.

	"You need to grab anything you can't afford to lose.  I have plenty of 
clothing, so just worry about necessities such as your medical supplies," Dia 
said.

	"And you!  You dress like a whore and...My medical skills are going to be 
needed?"

	Dia had already heard too many stories about Ami's mother to take that from 
her.  "I am the one putting MY home in danger to protect all of you, for the 
sake of your daughter, who I care about!  I don't CARE what you think of me, 
but either get what you need so we can go before this city is laid waste or 
else sit down and wait to DIE."

	Her glamor blazed in anger like a bonfire and Ami's mother shrank back, though 
to Dia's surprise, she quickly recovered.  "You can't threaten me."

	"Fine. Then I will tell At...Ami you chose to stay and die."  Dia turned and 
stormed out.

	Ryo chased after her.  "Wait, Dia, come back."

	Ami's father did not go.  "Miaka, this is no time to be stubborn.  We've both 
seen their power, and Ryo is a terrible liar.  If they say we need to evacuate, 
I don't think they're lying."

	"That woman..."

	"Is a grownup and can dress how she likes," Kensuke said, sighing.  "Come on, 
I'll help you get everything."

	"I..."  Mizuno Miaka sighed.  "Fine.  Let's go.  But I don't like that woman 
or trust her.  She tried to do something to me."

	"She's just a little hippiesque," he said, going with her deeper into the 
house.

	"I hate hippies," Mizuno Miaka mumbled.

*************

	"We needed a new house anyway," Minako's mother said as she and her husband 
rode into the sky on Bob's back.

	"Thank you, Bob," Minako's father said to him.  "And you, Derith."

	"You're welcome," Bob said.  "Now, see, this is proper respect.  They thank 
me, the important one, first."

	"Yes, of course," Derith mumbled, hoping they could get everyone on his list 
in time.

	"Where is Steven?" Minako's mother asked.

	"Guiding another team," Derith said.  So you wouldn't see him with Gwen trying 
to hang on him, I suspect.

**************
	
	"She never did have much sense," Grandpa grumbled as he stuffed clothing and 
several holy texts into a suitcase and tried to get it to close.

	He and Steven ended up tying the suitcase shut, then Steven got stuck carrying 
it.  Gwenhwyfar said, "I could magic it shut."  She came over to help balance 
it.

	"We're good," Steven said, catching several socks which tried to escape.  
"I...I'm not sure how best to address you, sir."

	"Just call me Grandpa," he said.  "Are there lots of cute potential acolytes 
where we're going?"

	"Yes," Steven said.

	"Well, I needed a vacation, anyway."

**********

	Under better conditions, Dia's home was a very beautiful, restful place.  The 
guest quarters were spacious and luxurious.

	However, it did nothing to help all the nervous relatives of the Senshi for 
Hikaru and Himeko to be having a screaming match in the hallway.

	"He would have been fine if you were there!" Hikaru shouted.  "You abandoned 
us!"

	"I had other duties!  I had to protect the Star Princess!" Himeko shouted 
back.  

	"We don't even know why they bothered to attack Tsunami when they knew she 
wasn't there," Cassandra pointed out from the floor.

	"Hime-chan did the best she could!," Pokota said.

	"Yeah, you protected the Star Princess SO WELL that now the Zodiac has her!" 
Hikaru shouted, pointing at Himeko.

	"I'm just an apprentice!," Himeko said.

	"You all would have fallen into the hands of the Zodiac if the Elves hadn't 
saved you!," Hikaru said.  "I at least managed to save part of the 
Transdimensional defense club!"

	"Except for MOST OF IT, including my Daichi!," Himeko shouted.

	"Ladies," Clark said, stepping up to them.

	Hikaru tried to leap at Himeko, but Clark grabbed her by the collar.  
Cassandra tried to force Himeko back, but this just caused Himeko to trip and 
squash her a bit.  

	"That's enough," Clark said.  "If we don't work together, we'll never be able 
to rescue our friends."

	"But...," Hikaru began.

	"You can fight later.  Much later."  He dragged Hikaru off to her room.

	Himeko sighed.  "He's got to be okay."

	"I'm sure he's fine.  He's more valuable to them as a hostage against you 
rather than dead," Cassandra said.

	That wasn't the comfort she was looking for.

************

	Dia was walking down the hallway, checking off a list, having finally gotten 
Ami's parents settled in, when she heard noises coming from one of the guest 
rooms.  She paused, then knocked.  

	"Come in," a wavering voice said.

	She opened the door and found Mrs. Osaka sitting on the bed, her suitcase on 
the floor, half-curled up in a ball.  Dia sighed and came in, closing the door 
and coming over to sit by her.  "Lady Osaka...that is your name, right?"

	"Osaka Hoseki," she said softly.  

	"Jewel," Dia said with her lilting voice.  She took one of Hoseki's hands in 
her own.  "That's a pretty name."

	"What has happened to my daughter?" Hoseki asked softly.  "I heard bits and 
pieces of things, but...what's going on?  Where am I, really?"

	"You are in Arcadia, the land of the Elves.  I am a friend of Senshi Mercury, 
who you know as Ami Mizuno," Dia said carefully, not sure how Lady Hoseki would 
take certain things.  "I swear to you that you are safe here."

	"My daughter?  She's been..."

	"The Zodiac has her.  Most of the Senshi are trying to rescue Senshi Mars from 
the Dark Kingdom," Dia said, moving over to sit close to Osaka Hoseki, holding 
her hand firmly.  "The Zodiac took advantage of this to kidnap her because she 
is the reincarnation of the Star Princess, the font of their power."  

	Dia paused, hesitant.  "They took her boyfriend, Umino, as well, because she 
made him the White Knight, her protector."

	"What are they going to do with my daughter?" Hoseki asked, shivering, staring 
into Dia's eyes intently, even as she shivered.

	She is quite lovely, Dia thought.  And hurting so much.  Perhaps I should...  
"I'm sure we will be able to rescue her before anything happens."

	"Don't patronize me," Hoseki snapped.  "I'm old enough to handle the truth, 
even if it's terrible."  Her eyes blazed with an angry fire now, and Dia felt 
her breath catch.

	"You are beautiful when you are angry," Dia said softly, leaning closer.

	Hoseki suddenly looked flustered, but she said, "You can't distract me that 
way."

	"I do not know precisely what will happen, but they will try to take her power 
from her through a rite.  And then..."

	"They will kill her," Hoseki said softly.

	Dia studied her carefully, trying to see if she would be able to handle it.  
"Yes," she said softly.

	There was a hardening of Hoseki's features, a burst of anger, and then a cold 
strength.  "So my worst fears have come to pass."

	Now Dia was curious.  She squeezed Hoseki's hand firmly.  "You were afraid of 
the Zodiac taking her?"

	"A new age begins, and I don't know what place it has for those of us 
who...who are normal," Hoseki said, staring at the floor.  "After all the times 
she's been attacked by these things, now my daughter has been kidnapped and 
there is nothing that I can do.  Nothing any of us can do.  Lady Dia, have you 
ever had any children?"

	"I do not know if I will ever have children, as we do not easily get pregnant 
and I have dallied with far more women than men," Dia said.  

	The redness of Hoseki's face had faded, but now it rose again.  "A parent is 
supposed to protect their children."

	"Not be protected by them," Dia said softly.  "I know.  Children are very 
precious to our kind as it is so hard for us to have them."  She put her other 
hand on Hoseki's leg, stroking it just a little.  "I know this must be hard for 
you.  I was kidnapped once when I was young, and my parents pulled their hair 
out from worry.  My cousin rescued me before they did, which was rather 
embarrassing for them."

	"I just wish...I feel so helpless," Hoseki said, raising her head to Dia, 
shivering, bringing around her other hand to rest on Dia's hand on Hoseki's 
leg.  

	"You are a jeweler, are you not?" Dia asked.  

	"Yes," Hoseki said curiously.

	"There is much to be learned of magical lore of gemstones and jewelry, if you 
would like to learn it.  It will not help you in this crisis," Dia said, 
leaning closer.  "But in the future, it will prepare you better for this new 
age that comes," she said softly.

	"Yes, I would," Hoseki said, leaning a little closer, breathing hard.  "I just 
wish...I'm going to sleep horribly tonight."

	"I know a solution for this as well," Dia said, her face almost to Hoseki's 
flustered one.

	"Do you..."

	"Yes," she said, then kissed Hoseki firmly, slowly lowering her down onto the 
bed.

	Naru's mother slept very well that night.

*************
	
	Ryo, on the other hand, tossed and turned.  Intellectually, he knew time was 
much faster here and only minutes were passing on Earth.  But he was worried 
about Ami and the others, and his dreams were full of incoherent visions.

	He was in space, inside some sort of bird-shaped fighting craft, armed with 
lightning wands, part of a whole flock of the fighters.  There was a huge 
battle here; some of the ships looked strangely like they had giant glowing 
trees inside them, others were shaped like insects and yet others tended to be 
pyramid or wedge shaped.  And nearby, bee-like fighters were streaming off 
towards a set of vine-covered fighter craft.  Streaming out of hangers in the 
side of a giant, wingless dragonfly with glowing red eyes.

	His voice spoke, but it wasn't his voice.  It was Makoto's.  "See the dark 
spots?  Those are the hanger bays," she said to...someone.  Perhaps the whole 
flight of ships.  They had crescent moon symbols on them, and parts of his 
brain suddenly remembered these craft, the Hawk Warriors of the Moon.

	His arm moved, but it was Makoto's arm.  "We're going to hit those seven."  
She touched a stylus to the image on her monitor, which sat just to the left of 
the main flight controls.  A diagram of the dragonfly lit up, showing the bays.

	"Squad leaders, spread out, blasting the interior of the ship to bits.  Red 
Squad, we're going after the engine," she said.

	The engine of what?  Tell me what this is?  Makoto in space leading a space 
war?  Is this something in Crystal Tokyo's future?

 	Makoto seemed to lapse into thought and he wished he could somehow ask her 
what was going on.  This couldn't be the Dark Kingdom, could it?  Divination 
said she was in 'subspace', Dia had said, but this couldn't be...

	He thought about how real the TORG world had seemed.  Maybe they're trapped in 
their own dreams or something, he thought.  

	Makoto now swerved around and led Red Squad forward.  "Primus Squadron!  
DIVE!"

	Seven squads of fighters rushed towards seven fighter ports, wands a blazing.  
It would be victory or death or possibly both.

	And then he woke up cursing the limitations of his powers.

	And yet...

	It meant she was alive.  And if she was alive...

	Ami, he thought.  Just stay alive, Ami, that's all I ask, he thought.

	Just stay alive.

**************

	Steven woke up from a dream he had not enjoyed.  Pluto macking on some balding 
man...Minako fighting in the arena...Virgo knitting Haruka a SWEATER?  

	All in a horrible place, some sort of monster-ruled post-apocalyptic Tokyo.  
It must be Jadeite's vision of the future he hopes for, Steven thought.  

	There was a warm arm around him, he now realized as the sun drifted in the 
window.  Was it...Minako?  Maybe it had just been a normal dream.

	Then he looked over and saw Gwynhwyfar snoozing away.  He sighed.  She just 
doesn't give up.  I told Minako it would only encourage her.

	But he needed her help and...they were old friends.  That was all.  All it 
should be.  He and Minako were sworn to each other.  

	He started to get up, glad neither of them had slept naked.  She now began to 
rise.

	"Hello, Steven," Gwynhwyfar said softly.  "Do you want to..."
	
	He tried to decide if having the fight later was pragmatic or cowardly.  Then 
he decided it didn't matter.  "There's not time," he said.  "And we shouldn't, 
without Minako."

	"That's true," Gwynhwyfar said, sighing a little.  "I'm sure she's okay."

	"She's trapped in an arena," Steven said, sighing himself as he looked for 
clean clothing.  "I know she can fight well, but I wish...I could do 
something."

	"Well, now that everyone is here and rested, we can pool our knowledge and try 
to build a counter-attack," Gwynhafar said, rising and stretching.  Steven made 
sure not to stare.  "Been a long time since our last mission together," she 
said, staring off into space.

	"I wish I had all the skills I had then," he said.

	"You'll do fine," she said.  "I have faith in you."

	He wished he had faith in himself.

************
	
	"I'm not sure what my powers come from," Manami said.  "Although Obsidian 
called me a Princess of the Earth."

	"Endymion had sisters, but they weren't warriors," Dia explained.

	Dia had called a war council of herself, Derith, Bob, the surviving TDDC and 
Senshi Auxillary, Clark, Tomoe, a flock of advisor cats, Yumeno Yumeni (who was 
among the many evacuated to safety), Sensei, and the junior Pluto, Himeko.  
They were meeting around a large table (Bob was just NEAR the table, and in 
fact, was mostly sleeping) in a courtyard.

	"My machine, assuming I'm doing things right, shows the Zodiac is based in the 
old Moon Palace,"   Tomoe said.  

	"Well, that helps; we know the layout," Artemis said, perking up.

	"Surely it's changed in 25,000 years, at least a bit," Luna pointed out.

	"The first order of business is to figure out whether to hit the Zodiac or the 
Dark Kingdom first," Derith said.

	"It has to be the Zodiac, much as I want Minako back," Steven said.  "We can't 
get into subspace without an Icon or lore we don't know, so we can't rescue 
them.  And it seems from what Yumeni, myself, and Ryo dreamed, they're okay, if 
not very happy."

	"There may be surviving armories on the moon we can raid for material to hit 
the Zodiac with," Ryo said.  "As that's where Makoto got...gets her fighters, I 
think."

	"We can help there," Artemis said.  

	"What about the captives?  If we attack, they may be used as hostages," Noriko 
said.

	"We're going to have to sneak in somehow and liberate them," Hikaru said.  
"I've got a stealth suit."

	"It could use more testing," Sensei said.  

	"We can take time here and test it, right?" Hikaru said.  

	"I can disguise myself as someone to help us get in for the rescue," Himeko 
said.  

	"We can disguise you all.  Elves are good at illusions," Dia said. 

	"The Zodiac knows we know about them," Steven said.  "So the infiltration team 
should be those they don't know for sure are with us," Steven said.  "Parias, 
Hikaru, Noriko, Manami, and...Sensei's too old.  Himeko should go in case you 
need another heavy hitter.  And she can predict trouble before it happens.  The 
rest of us would stay with the main attack force."

	They now began working on nailing down details.

************


	Izuko looked over at Hudson.  "What a mess, huh?"  Her face looked worn and 
tired.  

	He kicked the ancient stone wall as they walked down the corridor.  "It's not 
supposed to be about killing kids.  It's not right.  This isn't why I joined 
the Star Guard.  I didn't fight all those things so that a kid could be 
murdered.  A bunch of kids."  His fists clenched and unclenched.  "Dammit!"

	"I...no, you're right.  But what can we do?"  Izuko turned to look at Hudson, 
looking hopeless.

	"So, you're not pleased with what the Ascendent One chooses to do, are you?"  
It was a harsh female voice, the voice of Leo Istari.  She wasn't much older, 
if at all, than the Star Princess, but looked sterner than her age.

	"Istari, we did not mean to..." Izuko began frantically.

	"Fuck no, I'm not pleased," Hudson said.  "This is ridiculous.  This isn't 
what we're here for!"

	"You are exactly correct," Leo Istari said, smiling grimly.  "So, do you want 
to do something about it?"

	"Hell yes," Hudson said.

	"What can we do?" Izuko asked.  If this went wrong...but Hudson was right.  
Hard as it was to imagine Hudson being right about anything.  This wasn't why 
they'd joined the Star Guard.  

	"You ever shot anything very powerful?"

	"Does shooting Saturn in the face at point blank count?" Hudson asked, 
grinning a little.

	"Yes," Leo Istari said, smiling back in a similar manner.

	"Oh shit, are you gonna have me put a round in Scorpio's head?" Hudson asked.  
He sounded a little nervous.

	"Right now, if you tried, Scorpio would shrug off the bullet, then turn your 
blood into poison.  But then, the head isn't the dangerous part of the 
scorpion."  Leo Istari smiled.  "Let's get you the best gun we can find, and 
quickly."

	"What about me?" Izuko asked.

	"Your signs are compatible.  Your presence makes him stronger.  And his makes 
you stronger.  You will both need that strength."

	"In other words, Leo told you to get both of us and you aren't sure why," 
Hudson said.  He was grinning a little.

	Leo Istari froze and stared at him.  "Smarter than you look," she muttered.

	"I have experience in dealing with the Zodiac.  Half the time, all the mystic 
stuff is just a bluff or a joke at my expense," Hudson said, grinning more.

	"You don't mince words," Leo Istari said.

	"With Hudson, you always know what you're going to get," Izuko said ruefully.  
"For good and bad."

	"Well, both of you come with me.  We have very little time to spare."

***********

	"I still think we don't have time for this," Yuuichiro said as he sat in the 
hot tub, relaxing, wondering how it had gotten here to the Dark Kingdom.

	Tethys, in her guise as Theresa, sat down low by the fire, drawing strength 
from it.  "Just relax," she said.  Hopefully, he would draw some power from it. 
 And she could relax and charge herself up some more as well.

	Instead, Aurora walked in with Magnetite and Sapphire.  "I told you she was 
here," Magnetite said.

	Tethys tensed, praying the game was not up.

	"Hello, Tethys," Aurora said.  "Sapphire and I..."  She paused, then stared at 
Yuuichiro.  "Yuuichiro?"

	"Rei," he mumbled.

	"Rei is dead," Aurora said firmly.  "That old mask is cast away.  What are you 
doing here?"

	"I couldn't stay behind when you were in danger," he said.  

	You were always too brave for your own good, she thought.  I can't...wait, 
he's here with Tethys?  What is she up to?  Aurora frowned, trying to figure 
out Tethys' game.  Well, once she's gone, I can easily get it out of Yuuichiro. 
 She probably fed him some line about fixing me, hopes I'll swoon and turn back 
into Rei or something so she can steal MY Jadeite.  Well, it's a good thing I 
already had a plan to get rid of her for a while.

	He really is handsome, she thought.  I wonder why I never...focus, Aurora told 
herself.  "Tethys, I have a mission for you."

	Tethys was disguised, but she could see through it.  Not literally, but she 
could feel the distinct shape of Tethy's soul.  I'm so much stronger like this, 
she told herself.  She could feel Yuuichiro's soul as well, and the...and there 
was something not quite right with it.

	She frowned.  But an issue for another time.  

	Tethys rose, still cloaked, while Yuuichiro looked at her curiously in 
confusion.  "Yes, your highness.  How may I serve?"

	"Sapphire has a group of youma and droids waiting for you.  Not a very large 
force as this should be easy, but there may be resistance from that ridiculous 
defense club," Aurora said.  

	Sapphire said, "I want to meet this Udaigaku person who can make Golems.  Such 
magitech would be very useful to us, now that we have Vulcan's hammer."

	Tethys froze up.  Was this a suicide mission?  Not that she couldn't sweep the 
club aside, but...Aurora was up to something.  Maybe she suspects me.  "Sensei 
is a very brilliant man, but it should be easy to capture him, as he has 
focused his skills more on research and knowledge than on war.  And that silly 
club is no match for a real youma warband."  She listened to herself, and tried 
to understand why she felt so nervous about this.  She'd wanted to talk to him 
anyway.  

	"Capture his grand-daughter the golem as well," Aurora said.  "So she can be 
studied."

	Tethys remembered Noriko healing in the vat, their argument over her shame at 
being a golem.  Foolish woman, she thought.  But was it...no.  This was war.  
They'd held her; there was nothing wrong with capturing them.  Especially after 
what that blonde bitch Serenity had done, blaming ME for what happened to her 
precious Rei.  

	"Does this displease you?" Aurora asked coolly, and now Tethys realized she 
was making faces.

	"Rei, what is..."  Yuuichiro began.

	"I am NOT Rei," Aurora snapped at him.  "Call me Queen Aurora."

	Yuuichiro paused, then nodded, still in the tub.  "R...Queen Aurora, what is 
going on?" he asked.

	"War," she said, then turned back to Tethys.

	"No, I'm angry they held me for so long," Tethys said.  "I will go and seize 
them swiftly."

	"I told you she would take the mission," Magnetite said, smiling.  "Tethys is 
a good girl."

	"Then take her to the troops, Magnetite.  Sapphire, I'm going to take a quick 
bath before the attack," Aurora said.  "Yuuichiro, you can help me bathe."

	He turned red, then fell back into the water.

	"You idiot," Tethys mumbled.

	"I can handle him," Aurora said to her.  "Now go.  Make yourself useful, 
Tethys."

	Tethys ground her teeth.  She knows.  Something, anyway.  But she's just going 
to use it to push me around and use me as her slave.  I didn't come back to the 
Dark Kingdom just to be the slave of a brain-washed bimbo.  Who is probably 
cheating on Jadeite.

	She felt her heart ache at the thought.  And I'm the one who put her own 
personal male bimbo at her disposal.  Though, maybe he would bring out her old 
self.  Tethys hoped so; Sailor Mars had been infinitely less annoying than 
Aurora.  And much less after Tethys' man.  

	Well, the man she wanted to be her man.  Even as she left with Magnetite to go 
get the troops, she lost herself in a little fantasy about being Jadeite's 
queen.  He could be so kind when he wanted to be.  But now he only had eyes for 
damnable Aurora.  

	Stupid woman, Tethys thought.  "What does he see in her, anyway," she said, 
then realized Magnetite was still with her and regretted it.  Being around 
humans has made me sloppy, she thought.  I can't let anyone know how I really 
feel, or else...

	"It's not easy to watch someone you love with someone else," Magnetite said.  
"I remember many a love that went awry, in days gone by."  He stared off past 
her, lost in a memory.  "In old Atlantis.  Things were better then, when we 
were still human and it was so much easier to love."

	"W...what?" she demanded.  She'd never paid as much attention to history as 
she probably should have, but she'd never heard this.  "We were human???"  

	"What, did no one ever tell you?  Yes, we were human once; we became what we 
are now to survive in the Dark Kingdom, where humans could not last.  I helped, 
you know, though not as much as others now fallen.  Poor Opal."  He sighed, his 
eyes intent, but gazing down the paths of history.

	"Some of us, many of us, were mutated by the Gibberling plague.  The rest of 
it, we did to ourselves, transforming ourselves to become things which could 
survive, barely, here in this world of rock and crystal."  He waved his arms.  
"You've seen how valuable these are to the humans, haven't you?  We were 
trapped here, surrounded by nigh-infinite wealth, but none of it could do us 
any good."

	Hesitantly, Tethys asked again, "We were human?  Before we came here?  What 
about Metallia?  I thought she made us."  That was what she had been taught, in 
the creche, so long ago.  

	"Without her, we would have perished.  But Metallia did not create us, only 
helped us to change and protected us, before she sank into her slumber for all 
those millenia."  Magnetite looked sad.  "But we failed her and now she is 
dead.  We cannot survive here without her; we must conquer the Earth or else we 
will perish.  But remember, we came from the Earth.  Atlantis was of the Earth, 
though now fallen and near-forgotten by the peoples of the other Kingdoms who 
fled here."  He shook his head.  "But enough ramblings from an old man."

	Did they know, she asked herself.  Did Sensei know?  Is that why he never 
treated me any differently from anyone else if he didn't have to?  This is why 
I can eat human food, why we all look roughly like humans, why...

	Why Jadeite loves a human.  "Jadeite and Aurora, were they...were they lovers 
before?" she asked.  "In the old times?"  She had strongly gotten that 
impression from everything, but she had to be sure.

	"Yes," Magnetite said.  "You would be better off to forget him.  Well, to 
forget thinking about him that way.  Obviously, you can't afford to just forget 
he exists, since he is the King and I'm rambling again."  He sighed.  "You know 
what I mean."

	Tethys didn't know what to make of all of this.  I did not need to find this 
out, she told herself.  "Is it all lies?  Everything we've been told about 
ourselves?"

	"Probably not everything," Magnetite said.  "We had to become monsters, in 
order to survive.  And we had to tell ourselves things, in order to stand being 
alive as we were.  But now we are about to return to Earth.  I'm just happy 
that I lived to see it."  He smiled a sad smile.  "It will be up to your 
generation to make a New Atlantis, better than the old, and to decide what you 
wish to become."

	Tethys felt her stomach churn.  "You sound like you expect to die."

	"I'm surprised I am still alive.  But I served Beryl well, and she rewarded 
me.  But you can only cheat the Reaper for so long before he takes his due."  
He brushed a straggling strand of hair out of his eyes.  "And the powers we 
wield, they take their toll in the end.  It was never easy to be Atlantean, to 
use the darkness to hold back the night.  And now it is harder still."  He 
sighed.  "Ahh, here we go.  Assuming the Slaughter Sisters didn't get bored and 
wander off, anyway."

	"The Slaughter Sisters are very good fighters," Tethys said.  

	"But easily bored," Magnetite said, opening the door to the Orange Crystal 
Chamber.  Which had droids waiting for orders, but no Slaughter Sisters.  "I 
was afraid of this.  Well, I'm not part of the invasion, so I have time for 
this at least."  He sighed.  "Let's go find them."

***********

	Aurora decided that making Yuuichiro squirm was definitely enjoyable.  Him 
just scrubbing her hair was enough to make him vibrate like a plucked string.  
She wished she had time to try a few other things, but she had to make this 
quick, if she was to be at her post in time for the invasion.  They couldn't go 
without her.  But she felt strangely dirty.  She needed to get clean.  She was 
not going to miss the Dark Kingdom at all.  

	"So we are only returning to take what is ours by right," Aurora said.

	Slowly, clumsily, Yuuichiro scrubbed Aurora's hair, trying to keep his mind 
pure and to NOT think about she was naked under her towel and Rei had never let 
him do this and her hair was so soft and...  He forced himself to stop.  "But 
this isn't Atlantis."

	"We had conquered it before Serenity got jealous and destroyed Atlantis," 
Aurora said.  She'd said this before, but you had to HAMMER things into 
Yuuichiro's head.  Or out of his head if an idea got stuck there.  

	"Oh," Yuuichiro said.

	For a little while, he scrubbed her hair in silence, slowly relaxing.  She 
felt a little excited herself.  Rei had always wondered what something like 
this would be like, how he would kiss, how it would feel if...

	I am not Rei, she reminded herself.  But she was curious too.  She'd only had 
one real lover, so h...

	She stopped, feeling confused with herself.  She was not like Athena, wanting 
to carry on with several men at once...was she?  It was so hard to remember a 
lot of the past.  Trying to think of it always made her remember how kind 
Serenity had been, how much she...

	No, no, that wasn't the truth.  She just wanted my power.  To use me as cannon-
fodder.  That's why she...she..why she destroyed...

	That had been her mad aunt who had finished off Mars and the Things 
which...no!

	"What's wrong, Aurora?" Yuuichiro asked softly, worried but hesitant.

	"I can't remember the old times clearly," she mumbled.  "Was I..."  He 
wouldn't know.  He had only known her as Rei.  But he...

	He loves me, it hit her.  Not like them.  They only pretended but he really 
did.  In a sort of idiot puppy way sometimes, but he was handsome and strong 
and he really loved her.  Like...as Serenity and Endymion had only pretended 
to.  

	She wanted him, but she had her eternal love for the ages.  I shouldn't act 
like Athena, she thought.  But she wanted to.  She could feel the hunger inside 
her, to turn around and take his clothing off and...

	That wouldn't be fair to Jade-chan at all, she thought.

	But she didn't actually get up from the bench and act on the thought.  
Instead, she let him keep on, though she felt guilty, until he finished.  

	I need an attendant, she thought.  And maybe if Jade-chan agrees...but nothing 
too far until then.  Don't be Athena, she told herself.  

	And I really need to be getting to the chamber to begin the invasion, anyway.

	Despite repeatedly telling herself to go, she didn't actually leave until she 
was fully clean.  But nothing else happened, much as it tempted her.  

***********

	Jadeite looked curiously at Yuuichiro as Aurora approached with him.  However, 
he asked, "Did she cause you any trouble?"

	"No," Aurora said.  "And I picked up a new toy."  She smiled and took 
Jadeite's arm.  To Jadeite, she murmured, "He had the hugest crush on my old 
self.  Not very bright, but he's extremely loyal.  And not powerful enough to 
betray us meaningfully if he wanted to.  You don't mind, do you?"

	"It's fine," Jadeite said, though he wasn't quite so sure.  However, to say no 
would probably put Aurora's back up, and he couldn't afford that, not now.  
Though there was something about that boy...

	Yuuichiro looked at him; it was hard for Jadeite to read his expression, in 
part because his hair hid his eyes.  "Where did he come from?"

	"Tethys found him wandering about.  I would guess he must have followed the 
Sailors in, and didn't fall into my trap because I wasn't expecting him to try 
that.  But it's fine.  I need a good servant."

	"As you wish, my dear," he said, though he resolved to detail a youma to keep 
an eye on the boy.  "Let us hope Sapphire deciphered Alexandrite's notes 
correctly."

	"I will know if it works or not," Aurora said.

	"Then come with me.  It is time."

***********

	The heavy clouds and rain drove most people inside, even before the clouds 
began to spin over the ruins of Mugen Gakuen; this brought out the reporters at 
least, who began speculating over whether a tornado was going to form.

	Instead, what formed was a bridge of fire, erupting out of the clouds, down 
which marched a serried army of multi-colored humanoids.  Flying creatures 
erupted from the clouds as well, spreading out to move on the nodes of power 
across the city.

	The reporters backed up, continuing a stream of coverage as the monsters 
poured into the ruins and began to form into defensive positions around it.

	"I can't believe it!  An actual alien invasion, just like in all those awful 
TV shows!" On the Scene Investigative Reporter Masamichi Kyoyama announced over 
a live feed.  "We'll keep this story going as long as we can.  This should be 
an even bigger story than our special report on the Sailor Senshi.  Who should 
hopefully soon be arriving."

	High above him, on the bridge, Amazonite peered down at all the small clumps 
observing the march of her troops.  "Spies.  Shall I destroy them,  Jadeite?"

	Aurora shook her head.  "Reporters.  They will spread the news of our coming 
in glory."  She stroked Jadeite's arm as they walked down the bridge together.  
"This world will be ours."

	Yuuichiro trailed after them quietly, not knowing what to do, just sure this 
wasn't the time to be saying anything.  

	"First this city, then we can eliminate the Zodiac as we did the Sailors, and 
then this world.  A new kingdom for a new era, Atlantis finally reborn."  
Jadeite smiled.  Everything was going according to plan.  

	Across the city, the bridges were open, troops moving down to seize the major 
leyline nodes, so they could tap the city's power to finally fill themselves 
with all the power they could hold.  Power he would need to fight the Zodiac.  
Aurora's Hammer would counter the Star Orb, he was sure, but the Zodiac were 
not trifles, if not so strong as they believed.

	But soon, soon he would have enough power that he would be invincible.  At 
least in comparison to the Zodiac.  He turned to Amazonite.  "Secure this 
location.  Aurora and I are going to check on the other attacks."

	"Of course, Lord Jadeite," Amazonite said, saluting him.

	So much work to do, Jadeite thought.  But this time I will triumph.

*************

	Many of the people busy watching "Love in the Spring" were too busy necking to 
notice when the characters on the screen all turned pale and grew fangs.  But 
almost everyone noticed when they jumped off the screen and began attacking 
people.

	Soon, the theatre was reduced to a cacophany of absolute terror with people 
running everywhere.  They tried to get out, but the doors were locked.  One by 
one, they began to fall.

	And Anthracite laughed.  Sure, a youma or two could have easily cleared this 
place out, but it was much more enjoyable this way.

*************
	
	Marcasite didn't bother with an armed force invasion of the charm shop crystal 
point.  Knock out the owner, replace her with a youma, let hordes of idiot 
humans flock to the place looking for charms and give up some of their energy 
in the process.  Nice, clean, simple.  

	It's not like the humans knew the significance of the place to try and drive 
him out, after all.  The Zodiac would know, but it would take Aurora's power to 
stop them, anyway.  Marcasite had a good opinion of himself, but he knew too 
much of the Zodiac's power to think any garrison of his youma would be enough 
unless they approached him very foolishly.

	Now, on to the next one, he thought.  

*************
 
	Luna, in human form, stepped away from the door.  "Now, touch it, Pluto," she 
said to the junior Pluto.

	"How could I...," the junior Pluto said, though she stepped up and touched it.

	With elven aid, they'd reached the moon and found the hidden armory, now 
tucked inside a cave at the edge of the Sea of Tranquility.  Elven magic also 
was letting them all breathe.  

	"It requires the touch of someone with the right badge or else a member of the 
royal family or one of the Senshi to open," Luna said.  "And since the badges 
are all lost, you're the only one of us who can open it without trying to fight 
the magical security."

	"I'm surprised the Zodiac didn't find it," Ryo said.

	"The Moon is very large, the Zodiac is not.  And without the records, which 
burned with the palace, they had no way to think to look for it," Luna said.  
"Its magical aura is cloaked."

	With a noisy creak, the door swung open...a few inches.  The junior Pluto and 
Parias had to throw some force into it to get it to open.

	Once inside, they found a vast warehouse.  Part of it was full of crates which 
quickly turned out to be full of Silver Millenium weaponry and armor.  The 
other part of it was full of small one or two man flying craft which resembled 
hawks in flight.  

	"Wow, this is way more than we need," Steven said.

	"It was intended to arm a much larger force than this," Luna said sadly.  
"Unfortunately, Beryl brought her doom upon us much quicker than we expected 
and much of this has never been used."

	"For that matter, I don't know how much of it will still work," Artemis said.

	"Well, let us find out," Cassandra said.  

	Luna and Artemis divided everyone into teams and they began searching for 
anything that looked useful and functional.

***********

	The pain didn't stop.  Ever.  Not so far as Naru could tell.  She could feel 
them, pulling at her, trying to draw the Star Power out of her; it was like 
they were trying to pull her nervous system out by the roots.  She could feel 
Umino nearby, shouting defiance at them, but it was beyond his power to fight.

	Her bonds sucked away at her power, even as she tried to be free.  She could 
feel twelve strands, one of them double-threaded, running from her to the 
thirteen Zodiac.  She pulled on them as hard as she could, but there were too 
many of them, and they had the Orb.  She couldn't fight the Orb.

	It swirled and grew brighter as more of her power flowed into it; she could 
feel herself slowly getting weaker.  It was just too much for her.

	But she wasn't going to give up.  Not now.  Not this time.  She was tired of 
being a victim, tired of being slapped around by the universe.  She might lose 
this battle.  But she was determined to die fighting.

	Umino howled.  "LET NARU-CHAN GO!!!!"

	Scorpio took a moment from chanting to laugh mockingly, her face lit up by the 
orb, twisted in a fierce ecstasy.  She was enjoying this.  

	Naru felt fate bend, felt Scorpio inject a little more of her venom into 
Umino; he was dying by inches, but this time, there was no Silver Crystal.  No 
Sailor Senshi.  Nothing that could help her.  She was all alone with just Umino 
and she couldn't bear to let him die.

	But pleading wouldn't do any good.  They needed her and Umino as their 
prisoners to take the Star Power.  And she refused to beg.  Not any more.  She 
would fight to the last, and if she died, then...

	Umino screamed again and she winced.  Umino, he was going to die too.  But it 
was too late; giving him the power of the White Knight had guaranteed he would 
end up here.  It had doomed him.  She had doomed him.

	She wavered, and felt more of her power ebb away, and then she heard Umino 
whisper, "Don't give up, Naru-chan.  I would happily die for you."

	He would.  He loved her that much.  How could she deserve that?  Wasn't there 
some way to spare him?  He didn't deserve to die with her.  He didn't deserve 
to share her doom.

	But even if she could send him away, he wouldn't go.  He would never leave 
her.  And he would fight to the last ditch for her.  "I love you, Gurio," she 
said softly.

	"And I love you," he said.  "Don't give up, Naru-chan.  As long as we love 
each other, then nothing will be able to tear us apart."  His voice ached with 
sincerity, and she wished she knew how to say romantic things like that.  And 
that she wasn't fearful he was wrong.

	She felt a stir of energy inside her, and reached out, grabbing one of the 
cords, Capricorn's cord.  She pulled on it, for it was the one she was most 
attuned to, for she was a Capricorn.  He looked startled, then fought back 
frantically, until Scorpio lashed Naru with the power of the Star Orb, and she 
lost her grip.

	Grimly, Naru reached out with her mind, seizing the cord again, only to get 
another lashing.  The agony racked her, making it hard to concentrate.

	Umino was a Capricorn too, she thought.  If they worked together, maybe they 
could overwhelm him and break the circle.  But it probably wouldn't work unless 
something distracted Scorpio.  But with just the two of them, how could she do 
that?

	She started trying desperately to think of a plan.

	Her eyes fell on the Gemini.  Gemini-C looked grimly determined, but Gemini-P 
looked rather guilty.  Naru stared at her, and felt the glimmerings of a plan 
start to rise.

	She dug into her mind, trying to think about the Star Power, how it worked, 
any scraps of knowledge she dig up to do something, anything.  

	The cords, they linked her to all of them.  She could tug on their 
power...could she do other things?  Not try to yank their power by the roots, 
but maybe push an urge to do something or...

	She grabbed the Gemini cord, twin cords wrapped around each other in a helix.  
POLLY, she screamed down it.

	Gemini-P stiffened, then looked up at her.  

	POLLY, Naru shouted down the cord, not sure how well Polly could hear her.  IF 
I DIE, STEVEN WILL HATE YOU FOREVER.  IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?
	
	Polly was making agonized faces, but she clearly didn't know how to answer.  
Gemini-C seemed oblivious, though Naru now wondered if he could hear.  She 
could see Polly's lips move, but she couldn't hear anything.

	She'd been going about this the wrong way, she realized.  She could never win 
a battle of strength.  It would take wits.  Find her foes' weaknesses and 
exploit them.  Polly wasn't the only one.  The Star Power was not about brute 
force, though it was strong.  It was strongest for knowledge and manipulation.  
Naru had never been much of a manipulator.  But she was going to have to learn.

	First, though, a distraction.

	POLLY, IF YOU DON'T STOP THIS, HE WILL HATE YOU FOREVER.  WE BOTH KNOW IT, she 
shouted to Polly.

	Gemini-P shivered again, then said, "If she dies..."

	"She has to die," Gemini-C said.  "Or else she may find some way to get her 
power back.  We'd have to live in fear."

	"Stop talking and start concentrating!," Scorpio snapped at Gemini-P.  "She 
has to die and that's just..."

	Then Naru shoved a ball of power into the Star Orb.  Raw, uncontrolled power.  
She didn't know what it would do, but she was sure it would force them to waste 
time restabilizing the rite.

	"NO!," Scorpio shouted, feeling the Star Orb reach out, grab the threads of 
destiny and yank them randomly like a two year old turned loose on a loom.  

	The rite went haywire, though not enough to free Naru.  She felt Umino push 
out hard, trying to break free, but she could tell he would lose, even if she 
helped.  But now, she could see what the stars would tell her of her foes.  I'm 
sorry, my love, she thought.  Just a little longer.  Then I'll be able to stop 
them hurting you any more.

***********

	The junior Pluto cast her sight along the timelines again.  Still no timelines 
where Hikaru, who was scouting ahead in the stealth suit with Artemis, got 
caught.  This was a relief.  But she was starting to feel something, a strange 
pressure...  Something was very wrong.

	She stopped moving, and Idol Angel Mami, Parias, Sensei, Luna, and Noriko all 
froze up.  Sensei began looking around curiously at everything.  "This is a 
wonderful experience," he said.  "But are you sure it's safe for me to come.  
I'm an old man and..."

	"We needed someone brilliant," the junior Pluto said.

	"I'm not chopped liver, you know," Parias said, sounding annoyed.  

	"And Tomoe-san had to stay back and monitor with his machine," the Junior 
Pluto said.  "Also, you've never been possessed by evil."

	"Hey, I...," Parias began.

	"I meant Tomoe-san," the Junior Pluto said.  "Something is distorting time 
and..."

	"Wouldn't the Zodiac rite of destiny stuff mess with time, 'to-chan?" Noriko 
asked.

	Parias began to laugh, while the Junior Pluto banged her head with her staff.

	Luna said, "I think..."

	And suddenly all the futures vanished in a tide of time-defying energies.  
This gave the Junior Pluto just enough time to shout, "STAR ENERGY" and then 
hold up her staff.  The wave of stars flowed over them and everyone seemed to 
go crazy but her, wandering around in a stupor.  She couldn't see the future; 
she could barely even see the present or remember the past.  But concentrating 
on her Time Staff, she held herself in the here and now.

	Unfortunately, while they were still tripping, the Star Guard now came 
charging up and managed to grab Sensei while she was still trying to keep from 
going into whatever fugue of destiny had seized the others.

	With a great effort, she pushed her power outwards, reviving the others, but 
now the guardsman who had Sensei said to the still groggy others, "Surrender or 
the old man gets it."

	"GRANDFATHER!", Noriko said.  

	"We won't..." Parias began.

	Then the Junior Pluto saw what was coming.  "Fine," she said.  "Just don't 
hurt him."

	"We can't...," Parias began.

	"He's not kidding," the Junior Pluto said.  "We can't stop them killing him 
under these conditions."  She hoped the others would take her meaning aright.

	"Good," the short, muscular Star Guard leader said.  "Now, come with us."

	"I'm sorry," Sensei mumbled.

	"It's fine," the Junior Pluto said.  "Sure, they captured all of us," she 
began, then GLARED at Noriko, who had been about to speak, but shut up.  "But 
time is on our side."

	"We'll see about that," the Star Guard commander said, then marched them off 
to the jail section.

***********

	"Okay, first we batter through the shield around the..." Steven began.

	Now armed with Moon Kingdom era fighters and more gear, the Elven force was 
about to launch its attack; the rescue squad had already crept into the palace, 
using Pluto's powers to create a small, hopefully undetectable hole for them to 
get in and out through.  This didn't help the main attack force in its big 
flying vehicles, though.

	The glowing energy field which blocked easy access to the ruins of the Moon 
Palace, now the home of the Zodiac, suddenly winked out.

	"It's got to be a trap," Dia said from her ship.  She had Ryo, suited up in 
the Iron Dwarf style battle suit, as her gunner.  

	"I can sense..."	 Gwynhwyfar said.  She was manning the guns in Steven's ship 
while he piloted and used his powers to watch for trouble.  

	And then an ocean of stars erupted out of the palace, washing over everyone.

	Flicker.

************

	"This is the Solar Patrol," Maglan said into the comm unit.  "Zodiac, you have 
illegally kidnapped the Star Princess.  Surrender now or we will have to use 
force."

	"Fools, your organization died 25,000 years ago," Scorpio said over the Comm 
Line.  "We reject your authority and if you don't go back with your crazy elf 
friends to Venus, we'll destroy you.  Later.  After we have a nice nap and 
watch some TV."  Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

	"Fine!  We're coming in!," Gwynhwyfar said, shutting the comm line.  "Let's 
get them," she said.

	"So, you did figure out how to break their shield?"

	"I thought you were going to do that," she said.

	"GWYN!!!!!"

	Flicker.

***************

	Steven blinked.  What the hell was that?  He could see a wave of Zodiac energy 
headed to Earth.  And the shield was still down.

	"Time to seize the dais," Gwynhwyfar said.

	"The day," he said automatically.  He was getting far too used to this, 
really.

	"SOLAR PATROL," Gwynhwyfar shouted enthusiastically over the comm line.  
"CHARGE!"

**************

	Commander Weisshaupt, a tall thin man with short white hair, was in his 
office, trying to talk over the comm lines to half a dozen people at once.  
There were reports of intruders in the palace, reports of system failures, 
golems gone crazy, creatures escaped from cells and...

	"Sir!" Hudson said from a small window on one of the twelve screens.

	This could not possibly bode well, Weisshaupt knew.  "What is it?"

	"The Shield is down and Moon Kingdom fighters and a Star Dragon are attacking! 
 Permission to go kick some massive amounts of ass?"

	"Moon Kingdom Fighters?  We found them all thousands of years ago and 
cannibalized them for parts."

	There was a sound of distant explosions.

	"Well, something's kicking the building's ass," Hudson said.

	"Take all the off-duty Star Guard, find out what's going on, and man the 
defenses," Weisshaupt said.

	"Yes, sir!" Hudson said enthusiastically.

	Now, let's see about the intruders, Weisshaupt thought.

************

	As the youma came through the doorway, Yamamoto's blade took its head off.  He 
gave a heavy sigh of relief.  The police and the army weren't doing well, but 
he could at least protect the school.

	A window shattered.  He heard screaming inside the building.

	Protect this window, anyway.  But it wasn't enough.  Too many people, too few 
he could fight.  I should have stayed in the self-defense force.  But seeing 
all the problems with his new recruits had convinced him discipline had to be 
instilled earlier than that.  

	But now...

	Flicker.

*************

	A major's place was not usually at the front, but in this case, Major Yamamoto 
thought, every body would count.  They'd repelled the initial assault, but now 
strange purple creatures with a chitinous, bullet-repelling shell, were closing 
in on the base.  

	But if he had to die, he would die facing the enemy.  Studying them, he 
noticed something, a gem in the forehead.  He took his shot.  CRACK!  BANG!  It 
shattered and the creature fell over.  

	"Aim for the gemstones!" he shouted.

	His men did their best, but most missed.  A few got lucky and some creatures 
went down.  They drew closer, closer...

	Flicker.

************

	Yamamoto rubbed his forehead.  I'm so tense, I'm starting to imagine things.

	He turned and ran for the sound of screaming across the building; there was no 
rest for the righteous.

************

	Haruna Sakurada stood with her back to the door, her feet braced, as her 
students formed a sort of fort with their desks and positioned themselves 
inside it with the cleaning equipment for weapons.  Her two biggest students 
helped her hold the door shut.  The door rattled again.

	I hate being a teacher, she thought.  I should have known better than to think 
I'd ever have time to become a successful novellist while keeping myself alive 
with this until I got my big break.

	"Sensei, what about the window?" one of the students asked.

	Goddamit, she thought.  "We..."

	Flicker.

***********	

	Patricia Haruna watched the city drop below her, and prayed this wasn't one of 
her assistant's worse ideas.  Fortunately, her husband was out of town (given 
they lived in the United States and this was Tokyo, Japan), and if all went 
well, she wouldn't miss the rest of her book tour.  She was surprised but 
pleased to see her new novel was a big hit in her home country.  She'd kept her 
family name as a tie to it, even if she'd changed her first name to fit in 
better in the States.

	"Keiko, are you sure this is safe?" she asked her assistant, Keiko Yamakurai, 
for the twentieth time.

	"It can't be more dangerous than staying in...whatever this is," Keiko 
mumbled, staring out the window.

	They were riding in the small plane her book company had chartered for her 
trip.

	"Much safer," the pilot said from the cockpit.  "My only real worry is 
lightning strikes.  That storm looks ugly.  But we're..."

	An inhuman howl cut through the air, and then the roof made an audible THUNK.  
It began to bulge downwards.

	"Where the hell did that come from?" the pilot said.

	Patricia and Keiko grabbed each other to cower and scream.

	Flicker.

************

	Even my fantasies turn against me, Haruna thought.  

	BUMP, the door shook harder.  

	Well, at least I got Tsukino out of here so I don't have to deal with her and 
this at the same time.  I pity whoever has her right now, Haruna thought.

	"Pull the blinds down and some of you watch for trouble.  And pray," she said. 
 

	If we're lucky, the Sailor Senshi will show up, she thought.  Though, oddly, 
they weren't around here as much as they used to be.  

	Well, nothing to do now but to keep this...THUMP...door shut as long as she 
could.  And maybe they could use the window to escape if they had to, even if 
it was a two story drop.  

	But while you had somewhere to run screaming to, there was hope.

************

	"Mamoru, open the door!" Motoki said, pounding on it.

	No reply.  He'd completely vanished, it seemed like.  Motoki frowned.  "Any 
ideas?"

	"His car isn't here.  And the Tsukinos were all gone...He's probably with 
Usagi's family," his red-haired sister, Unazuki, said.  

	"Then let's get on my bike and go hide," he said, sighing.  "I just hope 
he..."

	Flicker

*************

	Magical disguises have their drawbacks.  Case in point--Nephrite rescuing his 
sister Unazuki from youma.  With her in one arm, he leaped up onto the roof of 
the cafe, then blew away one of their pursuers with a bolt of force.  "You 
okay, Furuhata-san?"

	She clung to him like a vine to a tree.  "You saved me again, sempai!"  She 
had a crush on him which was blatantly obvious.

	Unfortunately, he already had a girlfriend and twice as unfortunately...SHE 
WAS HIS SISTER.  But she couldn't tell who he really was, thanks to the 
disguise his transformed form somehow gave him.

	"You're welcome," he mumbled and wondered if she or the youma would be the 
death of him first.

	Flicker.

**********
	
	Motoki blinked, then thanked God that there was no way she could have had the 
same hallucination.

	Though from the way she looked rather confused, he suddenly wondered if...no, 
that wasn't possible.

	"Let's go," he said.

	"Yes," she mumbled, following him as he ran.

*************

	"No sign of any defenders," Quartz reported to Tethys as she lurked near the 
building which had Sensei's base of operations in it.  

	Tethys frowned.  The school looked trashed, there were youma attacking some of 
the other buildings, but this one...she could smell the Star Power.  But why?  
Why would the Zodiac attack here?  Unless the Star Princess had been here.  
Which would make sense.

	She ordered one of the droids to attack the building from the side, to see 
what happened. 

	What happened was that the droid blew a hole in the wall.

	And that was all.

	She frowned.  Something was definitely wrong.

	Cautiously, she advanced with her squad, placing the droids in front, just in 
case there were any surprises.

	She inched nervously down the hallway, observing the signs of battle, though 
there were no bodies.  "How strange," one of the youma said.  "It's like a huge 
battle where no one died.  What kind of a fight is that?"

	"I know," Tethys said.  

	The wall of Sensei's lab was blown in.  She frowned at that, then sent in two 
droids to check it out.

	They returned, "Nothing but damage," one said.

	She and her force now moved into the lab.  Half the machines were smashed up.  
A few computer terminals still had screen savers flashing and the battered 
snack machine still stood.  Many of the others had been crushed or else were 
gone entirely, like the containment unit which had once held her.

	"Horus," Tethys said.  "Are you there?"

	The snack machine rattled, then suddenly dispensed a plate with pancakes and a 
sliced apple.  The butter was half-melted, but the syrup smelled nice.

	One of the youma jumped back and started to point an arm at it.

	"Don't," Tethys said.  "It's just a food dispenser."

	"A what?", the purple youma, Chrysolite, asked.  

	"Humans live off of food the way we live off energy," Tethys said.  "But youma 
can live off it also."

	Chrysolite and several of the youma looked at her curiously.  

	She strode over, trying to understand why she was shaking.  She felt so 
strange.  She picked up the apple slices, handing one to each of the youma.  
"Here you go."

	They each ate a slice with an odd look on their faces.

	"Not bad," Chrysolite said.  "You don't get a big charge, but it really tastes 
good."

	"Alright, fan out and search," Tethys said.  

	She got the pancakes and ate them as her youma spread out searching, though 
she had a feeling they wouldn't find anything.  She knew what had happened.  
The Zodiac had them.  They wanted their own army of golems.  They'd probably 
use Noriko as a hostage to make him cooperate.  Sensei was so sentimental, he'd 
never let them hurt his granddaughter.  

	Humans were weak like that, so sentimental about people, even treating their 
enemies kindly, as if...

	She thought about what Magnetite had told her, about her times here, about...

	The fork snapped in her hand.  I shouldn't be so angry, she thought.  I 
shouldn't...

	Flicker.

*************
	
	Beryl stared at the vat, watching the wormlike larva swim in the purple 
sludge, and made a face.  "This is the best we can do, I know, but..."

	"We can no longer breed normally, my Queen, as you know," a somewhat younger 
Magnetite said to Beryl.  "We were human once, but even you and I are too...too 
far gone."  He looked at her, concerned; he was older than her, but at times, 
it seemed to him as if she forgot the changes time wrought.  Was it the Star 
Orb taking a slow revenge?  He wasn't sure.

	"But will they...where is she?" Beryl asked.

	"In this tank, just to be sure," he said, moving over to another which held 
only a single larva.  "They sometimes turn on each other before coming to 
maturity."

	"I know that," Beryl said wearily, though he wasn't so sure.  Was what they 
had done wise?  But he could not deny her anything.  Beryl closed her eyes and 
leaned on her staff, then concentrated, touching the single larva with it.  
Tiny sparkles fell onto her.  "Put her with the others."

	"My queen...," Magnetite said.  "Your..."

	"Our," Beryl said softly.  "She must grow up to be strong, not to be pampered 
and spoiled.  When the time comes, then I will tell her everything.  NO 
favoritism, Magnetite."

	"Yes, my queen," he said sadly, going to get a scoop to move the larva with.  
"It is hard for me..."

	"I know," Beryl said, reaching over and taking his hand, just for a second, 
and squeezing it.  "I knew...but I..."

	"You have to see it to fully know it," he said softly.  "But this child of 
yours will live, unlike your boy."

	Beryl's eyes glazed as she stared off into the past, then she snapped back to 
the present.  "We have no time for tears," she said.  "Tell no one of this.  No 
one."

	"Of course, my queen," he said firmly.  

	"You may call me Beryl, when it is only us," she said softly.  

	"Thank you," he said softly, as he lowered the youma larva into the other 
tank.  

	"And now I must go so no one will even know I came," Beryl said.  "There is 
much work to be done."

	Flicker.

***********
	
	Tethys stared, eyes wide.  What the hell was that?  Who was the...Beryl and 
Magnetite had a child?  But how...?

	She could see the youma around her staring into space or looking at things 
they held as if they were alien to them.  

	Something was definitely...

	Flicker.

***********
	
	Theresa checked the results.  "Twenty percent energy surge, sir."  

	The vase looked normal, but it was a power battery.  They'd get to the bottom 
of this, somehow.  The inscriptions on it seemed to indicate it was from New 
Atlantis.  It had a picture of a dark haired queen and an ebony shield which 
floated before her; ranks of warriors spread out behind her, but beyond them, 
beautiful gardens, the land they protected.  

	The name reverberated in her mind; calling up memories of a beautiful kingdom, 
now sunk beneath the waves, lost and forgotten.  She dreamed of it, sometimes, 
of having been a princess there.  	

	Udaigaku-sensei came over.  "Curiouser and curiouser.  Good work, Theresa."

	She smiled.  "Thank you."

	"I have to go teach," he said.  "Keep up the study."

	She nodded, then asked, "Sensei, why do you teach here?  You're so brilliant 
you could teach anywhere."

	"My granddaughter is here, and the principal lets me do whatever I like," he 
said.  "And I can study what I like without pressure to conform to academic 
norms.  I just hope this doesn't hurt your career.  You've been a great help to 
me, but there's not a lot of future in my area of unusual studies.  You could 
be making a lot more money somewhere else."

	The vase called to her.  She was here for this, she was sure.  "I think I am 
meant to be here."

	"If you are, then I am blessed," he said.  "See you in a few hours."

	He left and she continued her studies, until, to her surprise, the vase 
shimmered and light rose from it, forming into a woman.  She was tall and pale 
with red hair, and on her left arm, she bore a shield, and in her right hand, a 
staff.  "Tethys, my daughter," she said.  "You are the heir of Atlantis.  To 
you falls the task of raising up its standard once more and gathering our 
scattered people."

	She stared.  I must be imagining things, she thought.  "Me?  Who are you?"

	"I am Beryl, last queen of Atlantis.  By my errors, my kingdom was destroyed.  
My time has passed.  But I bring you this shield, the Shield of Metallia, that 
you might raise it to defend the innocent as once it was used."

	Theresa stared, reaching out hesitantly to take it; she could feel the power 
throbbing in it.  "I don't know...how am I..."  But it felt so right.

	"Do not walk my road into the darkness.  You must use the dark's power against 
it, but use it carefully, for it can corrupt you.  What you must know is 
written in your heart."  And Beryl began to fade away.  "Do not let hate and 
vengeance guide your heart, as it did mine, so you will not suffer my fate."

	And then she was gone.  Horus reported, "Rising to security level two.  I 
sense monsters on campus.  Signalling the TDDC."

	She looked down at the shield, and licked her lips nervously.  Looks like 
things are starting already.
	
***********

	Glue guns, stun guns, and tasers were not enough to hold back the crystaline 
humanoids advancing across the campus towards the wagon/platform from which the 
TDDC was making its stand.  Several were operating a water cannon, which seemed 
to have the most effect.

	And then, suddenly, a darkness spread across the sun and the lights went out 
and there was a sound of smashing crystal.  The TDDC halted their fire at 
Daichi's command.

	And then the darkness lifted and among the wrecked warriors stood a pale-
skinned woman with long black hair and eyes hidden behind a pitch black visor.  
She held a wand in each hand and wore a pitch black blouse with a bright emblem 
of a dark moon eclipsing the sun standing out on it over her heart and black 
leather pants.  She held a wand in each hand, an obsidian rod tipped with a 
large onyx at the end, a black metal shield floating in the air near her.  "So 
much for that invasion," she said confidently.

	"Dammit, had to be saved by Eclipse again," Daichi said a little grouchily.

	"Shouldn't your shirt be skintight too?" Yuu asked.

	"It's comfy this way," Eclipse mumbled.  "You are valiant warriors, but you 
should leave this to the experts," she said.  "Now I must go."  She began to 
run off.

	That should light a fire under their feet, she thought.  They'll try harder to 
show me wrong.  

	She laughed as she ran and was glad the Sailor Senshi hadn't had to bail her 
out this time.  Would have ruined the whole point.  

	Flicker.  

************
	
	For a moment, she could see all the youma around her, in various human guises, 
glowing with star-like sparkles, talking to people who didn't exist, running or 
fighting or kissing or...

	And then the glow faded, and they all reverted to normal, though Tethys' head 
still ached.  She tried to understand what happened to her.  Was it how things 
could have been, if things had gone differently?  Just a hallucination?  And 
what had happened to Metallia's Icon, anyway?

	I can't really be her daughter, can I, Tethys asked herself.  It had been so 
nice, that other world.  It had been nice to be human.  To be loved and 
respected.  But she wasn't human.  But her people HAD been human.  Was that her 
purpose?  To lead them to form a New Atlantis?  To make them human again?  But 
whose purpose had it been?  Is that what I really want, she asked herself.  She 
didn't know.

	Was there a vase like that, one with...Metallia.  And her shield and...  "Has 
anyone found a vase?"

	"This was tossed aside near the storage chamber," one of the youma said.  It 
was cracked and damaged from the fall, but it was the spitting image of the one 
she'd seen in her...vision?...otherwise.

	"It looks like Metallia, but who are these humans?" the youma asked.

	"Our ancestors," Tethys said.  "Before we became youma, before we lived in the 
Dark Kingdom, we were human," she said softly.  

	They stared at her.  

	She cradled the vase, wondering what it might do if they were alone...though 
she sensed no power in it now.  "The Zodiac have clearly kidnapped our target," 
Tethys said.  "We need him and his granddaughter, before they can steal the 
secrets of golem-making either from studying her or beating it out of him.  
We're going to have to break into the Zodiac's base to get them."

	They all stared and one of them said defiantly, "Why should we follow you when 
you're saying crazy..."  Her name was Amethyst.  

	She could feel the pipes in the walls, feel where one of them was now busy 
leaking water.  She grabbed that water and whipped it about, enmeshing Amethyst 
in a net of razor sharp ice.  "Because King Jadeite put me in charge of this 
mission and YOU WILL OBEY ME."

	Amethyst froze up.  "Yes, Tethys," she mumbled in fear.

	"We can't have been human," another youma muttered, then paled when she 
glared.

	"I don't want to believe it either, but I've seen too much.  Now, we are going 
to the moon and we are going to r...going to secure our target!," she said.  
He'll know more about this vase, about Atlantis, about...he has to.  He's 
brilliant.  

	And I can't let them have him, she thought.  I can't.  They'll...

	She could imagine many, many ways to beat information out of someone.  But 
surely they'd...he'd...

	She glanced over at what was left of Horus.  A mighty mind reduced to a snack 
machine, she thought.  He would...no, the Zodiac definitely had him.  

	But she wasn't going to let them have him.  She owed...she would not fail her 
mission to Jadeite.  And he knew things...

	Even as they teleported, her brain suddenly seized on something.  Wait, 
wouldn't that make Magnetite...

	And then they were gone.

***********

	Amazonite led her forces forwards.  She felt faintly ridiculous leading an 
armed squadron of Youma to seize an ice cream shop, but Sapphire had indicated 
it was one of the crucial leyline nodes, so seize it she would.  You do what 
you have to, silly or not.

	It was locked on her arrival, and she could see the panicked staff hiding 
inside.  They would have been wiser to flee the area, she thought, but probably 
they had hoped no one would notice them here.  

	One of them glared defiantly at her and her hordes through the window, an 
auburn haired girl with brown eyes.  Though not too defiantly, as she was 
crouched down behind the counter and peering through the glass display cases.

	Amazonite admired spirit.  Most of the rabble in this city fled like sheep; 
they were no warriors.  But she could feel a warrior spirit in this one, if not 
much sign of a warrior's skills.  

	She gestured to Crystolite, a tall crystalline man, soft pink in color.  He 
smashed the front door in, opening it for the others, and she strode in.  "I 
claim this store for the Dark Kingdom!"

	"Run!" the girl shouted to another girl (somewhat younger than herself), 
blonde haired, and a tall dark haired boy the same age as her.  "I'll try and 
slow them down."

	"I told you we should have left!" the blonde girl shouted, then ran for the 
back.

	The dark-haired boy looked ready to stand defiant, though it was hard to read 
his face, but the auburn-haired girl shoved him out the back door.  "RUN!  Get 
Suzu to safety!"

	Then she picked up one of the vats of ice cream.  "This is deadly poison to 
aliens!" she shouted.  "Get back!"

	While Amazonite was not highly conversant in Earth culture, she was conversant 
enough to know better than that.  "Child, I am not that stupid."  Though it was 
a clever bluff; unfortunately for the girl,  Sapphire had spent a lot of time 
identifying things which might be dangerous for youma on Earth.

	The girl looked at her in frustration, and then desperately hurled the vat at 
her; Amazonite brought her spear around and shivered it in twain, only to find 
the contents now splaying about the floor, coating it with a thin layer of 
frozen cream.  Clever, Amazonite thought.  This will hamper my advance.

	"Seize her.  Take her alive," Amazonite said to her youma.  A simple test of 
their skills.

	Half of them wiped out on the slick surface, where the frozen cream was 
swiftly melting.  Youma crashed into tables and the display case.  Granite was 
unswayed, but moved slowly as usual, too slowly.  Ivory and Quartz, however, 
leaped up onto adjacent cases.  Ivory took another vat to the face and fell off 
it, making Amazonite smile just a little in amusement.  

	The girl reached for a third vat, but Quartz tackled her, pinning her to the 
ground.  She fought on, trying to wriggle loose, but it was futile.  Quartz was 
not a strong youma, but that meant she was only as strong as an Olympic weight-
lifting champion.  But the girl tried, and Amazonite admired that.

	"You could not hope to defeat us.  You had to know that," Amazonite said.

	"I had to try.  At least Kei and Suzu got away," the girl said.  She was 
shivering, though she tried to put up a bold front.

	Few things were more noble for a warrior than to be willing to give your life 
to protect your companions, Amazonite thought.  She'd seen a few other humans 
willing to do that, though most of them were hopeless cowards.  How such beings 
had come to rule the world that rightfully belonged to the Youma was hard for 
her to understand.  Obviously those few among them who did have courage must 
have worked miracles to bring it to pass.

	"Child, your bravery and determination and quick-wittedness has impressed me.  
You have fought harder than almost anyone else I have met, even knowing that 
you could not hope to win.  That is the bravery of a true youma."

	"She's still trying to wiggle loose," Quartz said placidly.  

	Not shivering with fear, just shaking herself as she tries to break her bonds, 
Amazonite thought.  Even here with me looking right at her.

	Several of the youma looked approving; others looked a little bored, wanting 
some action.  The ones who fell were trying to get the ice cream off them.

	"Where there is life, there's hope," Miki mumbled.

	"Join me as one of my warriors and I will ensure your family and friends are 
protected," Amazonite said.

	Some of the youma stared in shock.  Several others nodded.  

	"They may have escaped for now, but I am not the only youma general here," 
Amazonite said kindly.  "But if they are given my mark, no one else will touch 
them."

	She studied the girl, watching emotions flicker across her face.  Finally, the 
girl said, "You really want me?"

	"The heart of a warrior is much rarer than the skills. I can give you power, 
but I can't give someone a warrior's heart."

	"My family's so stupid sometimes.  But they..."  She gulped.  "Alright.  
You'll have to pinkie-swear to protect them."

	"To what?" Amazonite asked.  She did have some pink youma and the girl was 
wearing pink...she really couldn't quite get it.

	The custom seemed to involve interlocking the smallest fingers and making the 
promise together.  Reasonable enough.  But why was that finger called a 
'pinkie' when it wasn't pink at all?

	"Now, I will empower you.  This will only last a while, but I can refresh it 
until we have time to do this properly," Amazonite said.  "Take my hand."

	Miki nervously took her hand, then felt POWER flow into her, strength like 
she'd never known, strength like...

	Flicker.

***************
	
	Amazonite stared at herself in a moment of confusion.  Shouldn't I be in a 
suit?  Instead, she was wearing a loose pink blouse and a short pink skirt that 
only went down to just above her knees and a sort of hat that was mainly just a 
support headband for a visor which admittedly did a good job of shielding her 
eyes from the sun.  She felt faintly ridiculous.  

	Io stood next to her in a similar outfit, though she had green trim and 
Amazonite's own outfit had red trim, she now realized. Which was a bad choice 
as it didn't contrast the pink very well.

	This was definitely wrong.

 	Flicker.

*************

	Now they were both in rather snazzy grey suits, Io with green trim and herself 
with red.  Much better.  

	Mind you, she preferred blue.

	"Grey is ugly," Io mumbled.

	Flicker.

*************

	Same style of outfit with wrap around jacket and pants, but now Amazonite wore 
blue with purple trim and Io wore...a pink suit with green trim.  It made 
Amazonite's soul ache.  "That looks hideous."

	Flicker.

**************

	There was a strange sensation as if something had just given up.

	Amazonite could see youma stumbling about and looking confused.  And in her 
heart was a deep terror that...

	Her fear was confirmed.  Her new lieutenant was wearing the odd combo of a 
general-style wrap around jacket with a short skirt that came down only to her 
knees, a pink suit with green trim.  Lt. Iodine had lustrous violet-black skin 
and long slightly dark yellow hair and violet eyes.  Her body was taller and 
more muscular than before, but she still had the same odd hairstyle with little 
tufts of hair on the side of her head.  She held a very long spoon the size of 
a naginata.  

	Amazonite tried to decide if she had succeeded brilliantly or made a giant 
mistake.  The fact that several of the youma were laughing didn't help matters, 
until Iodine scooped them up and threw them through a wall, anyway.

	THAT was a good sign.

	But what the hell had happened before?  THAT worried her.

***********	

	Aurora stood in the ruins of Mugen Gakuen, at the heart of the city, using her 
hammer to build and reinforce the network of channels which was connecting the 
ten major nodes of the city to this central, most powerful node, then re-
channeling the energy partly into crystals for storage and partly into a 
defensive shield over the city.  This would keep the JSDF and the US military 
and any other interference out until they were ready to deal with them.

	Fortunately, human technology could do nothing to stop the leylines of the 
world from feeding power into the city, so their defense would, once complete, 
be invincible.  At least against technology.  The Zodiac were another question; 
it would hold for now, but if they got the Star Princess... But they had to 
consolidate here before they attacked the Zodiac.  It was a race against time.  
Or against Destiny, Marcasite would say.

	Hundreds of youma roamed about, assisting her by moving various crystals, 
bringing more storage crystals and using their powers to assist in directing 
the network's formation.  

	And near her, Yuuichiro sat on a crystal, meditating as she'd told him to.  
Play time would come later--she was looking forward to that, but it was time 
for work right now. 

	She didn't have time...didn't have the expertise, either, to go in and monkey 
around with his soul to try to empower him properly.  However, he'd shown he 
could use energy if he had it--his batteries just normally went dry quickly.  
However, she'd quickly crafted him a pendant, hooked into the network.  He 
could draw from that and it would refill itself.  And if he got out of line, 
she could break the connection and dispose of him.  If he betrayed her like 
Serenity had.  

	She frowned grimly, then felt strange.  Yuuichiro?  Betray her?  He loved her. 
 At times loved her like an idiot child, but unlike Serenity, who only had eyes 
for that damn Endymion, he loved her and only her.  She liked that.  He and 
Jadeite would love her forever and...

	Another twinge of guilt.  I shouldn't have...One lover should be enough.  She 
wasn't like Athena.  But she kept imagining things.  Things that...

	I shouldn't tempt myself, she thought.  But she deserved it.  She had suffered 
so much and it wasn't like she was asking Jadeite to...  She shook her head.  
She needed a good servant she could trust.  That was his role.  His love just 
cemented his loyalty and she did like him, so it wasn't like...

	It was getting harder to think straight and she wished she knew why.  Was this 
some final curse of Serenity?  The woman had deserved it.  She should have 
loved me like I loved her.  I would have done...We should...

	She clutched her head, feeling confused.

	In an instant, Yuuichiro came to his feet.  "Aurora, what's wrong?" he asked, 
taking her free hand, her other arm hanging limply by her side, the Hammer 
pulsing in its grip.  

	"I think I must not be getting enough sleep, but I can't rest now," Aurora 
said.  "We have to be ready to hit the Zodiac before they can finish taking the 
Star Princess' power and master the Orb of Stars."

	"If there's anything I can do," Yuuichiro asked.  It was strange, his voice 
was warmer, stronger than usual.  She felt her heart speed up a little, and 
prayed she wasn't blushing.  He wasn't normally so...he seemed infinitely more 
together than usual.  

	Much more charismatic and he reminded her of...of...

	Suddenly, her sense of reality went crazy and she felt the entire network 
shake like a net into which someone had just dropped a whale.  Something was 
wrong, horribly wrong and ...

	Flicker.

*****************
	
	Sailor Mars paced back and forth, repeatedly smacking the Hammer of Vulcan 
into the palm of her left hand.  Guardian Jadeite stood nearby, leaning against 
the wall of the Moon Palace, the Earth hovering in the sky.  "Honey, doesn't 
that hurt?"

	"Not as much as waiting," Mars said.  "Why is it taking so long for everyone 
to get into position?"

	"Nephrite and Jupiter probably decided they needed a quick snog first," 
Jadeite said, laughing, shaking his dark hair.  

	Mars brought her free hand up to her face.  "I wish that wasn't so easy to 
believe."  Then she took her hand down and frowned.  "Dammit, everyone needs to 
hurry!  They'll kill Naru before we can save her if everyone keeps dawdling!"

	Her communicator beeped.  It was Sailor Moon.  "Umm, Mars-chan, we have a 
problem."  

	You could only see a hint of the background behind Sailor Moon; it looked like 
a part of the castle, but the perspective was strange as if...

	"Are you lying on something?" Mars asked.

	"We found this open window, but it was kind of small and I'm stuck and Tuxedo 
Kamen is trying to push me through, but this is holding us up," Moon said, 
embarrassed.  "Anyway, I was thinking if you came around, you could kind of 
hammer me in through the window like a nail."

	"That would hurt A LOT," Mars said.  But now she was irritated enough to be 
tempted to try it.

	Jupiter cut into the channel.  "Neph-chan says we've got to get going guys.  
The energies are about to peak and..."

	With a giant FWAKOOM, a huge pillar of light blew the central dome's roof off, 
forming into a swirling vortex of stars.

	Jadeite blew a hole in the wall with one violet beam of energy.  "After you, 
dear."

	"We're going in," Mars said.  "Let's go!"

	"But I'm still stuck!" Moon wailed.

	"You're going on a diet after this!" Mars shouted as she and Jadeite ran into 
the palace and began running for the central chamber.

	"Waaah, you're so meeeaaaannn!!!!!" Moon shouted, then gave a great cry of 
'OW' and her connection crashed.

	"That's our princess," Jadeite said, laughing.

	"I'm surprised her mother doesn't beat her three times a day," Mars said, 
still running.  Two Star Guard charged out to fire at them, but she knocked 
them senseless by throwing her hammer at them, catching it as it returned to 
her.  

	"Nice shot, dear," Jadeite said as he now blew up several charging lesser 
golems as they emerged from the hallways.  Some of Capricorn's work, no doubt.

	"You can congratulate me when I beat something that isn't pathetic," Mars 
said, but she smiled.

	They fought their way to the central chamber, just in time to see Nephrite, 
Jupiter, Zoisite and Venus emerge on a balcony.  He wove his hands in the air, 
creating a huge astrological wheel of glowing energy; Venus then shot thirteen 
arrows, two for Gemini and one for each of the others.

	Mars covered her face.  "Spirits of heaven, protect us," she mumbled.

	Jadeite began laughing loudly.  Until Taurus stared at him with hearts in his 
eyes.  "..."

	He turned and ran with Taurus chasing him.  "Come here and get some lovin'!," 
Taurus shouted.

	Mars knew she should help, but now she couldn't stop laughing.  Especially 
when Leo ran with a big smile towards Zoisite and Zoisite briefly struck a 
romance cover pose before Venus began to noogie him.  

	With the rite reduced to wrack and ruin, the energy around Naru and Umino now 
collapsed in on them, and Astra and the White Knight emerged to confront 
Scorpio.  

	Now Sailor Moon charged in.  "I am the lovely Sailor Soldier..."  She stared 
at the collapse of the rite into over-the-top romantic comedy.  She ran over to 
Mars.  "This wasn't the plan was it?"  She took Mars' hands, holding them 
firmly.

	"What plan survives contact with Minako?" Mars asked, then laughed, squeezing 
Moon's hands back.  "I've got to go save my boyfriend.  You'd better help 
Astra."

	Moon smiled deeply at Mars, then said, "Good luck, Mars-chan," then charged 
off towards Astra and Scorpio, who were having a massive battle of powers while 
the White Knight tried to keep the Gemini twins off Astra.  

 	Literally off Astra.

 	Mars was about to go save Jadeite when...

	"LOVE ME!" Aries shouted, diving at her and knocking her down.

	I should have known, Mars thought.  

	Flicker.

**********

	Lost in the darkness, Rei stared at the imagery unfolding before her.  What 
was this?  That was Jadeite, but he looked like...Yuuichiro.  But how could 
he...What was going on here?  

	It is nothing, the darkness whispered.  Forget and let go.  You are nothing, 
worthless.  They are better off without you.  Look at how little you did there.

	But it wasn't so convincing to her now.  The vision faded, but the light 
lingered.  Usagi...Usagi wanted her.  Wanted her there.  She was part of a 
team.  And Naru...Naru needed them.  All of them.  Who else could save her but 
the Senshi?

	But how to get out of here?  Wherever 'here' was...

	There is no way out.  Let go and rest.  You've done as much as anyone could 
expect.

	But she hadn't.  She'd quit...given up...but they needed her.

	Rei held out her hand and a flame appeared in her palm.  Unfortunately, this 
only told her there were more black swirling mists and a horrible smell and...  
Some of the mist flickered with light a moment, then the darkness snuffed it.  

	Something about this place...Rei began wandering, not sure what she was 
standing on or how she was moving, but moving...better than not moving.  She'd 
figure something out, somehow.  

*************

	Aurora stared at Yuuichiro and vice versa in silence, as youma stumbled about 
around them in a panic.  Had it been a dream?  An attack by the Zodiac?  And 
why had Jadeite looked like Yuuichiro in the vision?  What was going on?

	It was as if the Guardians had died with the Senshi and been re...reborn like 
the Senshi.  She shivered, suddenly wondering if there were others out there, 
who should have been reincarnated Guardians, but instead...

	Naru was in danger.  If she hadn't sent the Senshi to another dimension...no, 
it had be done.  The Moon Kingdom had betrayed the other kingdoms and Serenity 
was just using her and...

	But it felt hollow.  Usagi had always...no!  Don't fall for their lies, she 
told herself.  It was just a lie.  Usagi never loved me...loved Rei, she just 
wanted the power of my icon.

	But Usagi wasn't like that.  She...no, I can't let them trick me.  Can't let 
them make me betray my love.

	"Aurora, are you okay?" Yuuichiro asked softly, looking shaken.

	"I'm fine," she said.  "You need to practice drawing power."  She didn't feel 
fine, but a Queen couldn't admit that, not even to her lover...her 
servant...don't think like Athena!

	"Let's get back to work."  She had to hurry.  Sa...Na...Jadeite would need her 
soon.

*************

	Jadeite rubbed his forehead.  What the hell had that been?  A Zodiac attack?  
But no, it was too...why show him some sort of other reality where he...looked 
like Aurora's servant?  It must be some sort of accidental side-effect of the 
rite.

	He frowned, now worrying about the Zodiac.  Was he ready for them?  He had the 
hammer, but they had the Star Orb and it could be used...used...

	He felt an agony like a knife in his head and remembered.

************

	Caught in a crystal coffin, Jadeite pounded on it desperately, but he was too 
weak.  He could see Beryl standing over him, manipulating Dark Energy and the 
Star Power at once.  Her control of the latter was rather clumsy, Jadeite 
thought.  But he had no way to stop it, not in his weakened state.

	She was changing his destiny somehow, bending it to her will.  The cold, it 
hurt so much, so hard to resist it, so easy to give in and serve her...

	No, he'd never serve her, NEVER.  

	Until he ran out of energy completely and then she would have him.  He knew 
this, but he fought on anyway.  He might lose, but he would NEVER go down 
without a fight.

***********

	Not again, he thought.  The Zodiac trying to change things, clearly.  But 
there were no traces of the Star Power.  So either they now could blind him to 
it or else it was a memory.

	But it couldn't be a memory, Jadeite thought.  Beryl persuaded me, she 
didn't...

	His brain flashed between what he'd done with Aurora and what he'd seen Beryl 
doing.  It was similar, though he hadn't had the Star Orb.  

	You could do it, bend someone completely, make them into...

	No!  I am not a puppet!  I do not dance to Beryl's tune, he told himself.

	Do I?

	He wracked his brain, but he could remember both the coffin, Beryl, the Orb of 
Stars...but also Beryl persuading him of the need for change, of a war to unite 
the kingdoms and to overthrow the weak and decadent Moon Kingdom.  But now he 
couldn't trust either memory.

	And Aurora...she was his pup...his lo...

	He grimaced, unsure of his own motivations.  He hated feeling like this.

	He decided to clear his mind by going and checking on everything.  They had to 
hurry, before the Zodiac could win and rewrite all their destinies.

*************

	Aurora rubbed her head.  Too much Icon use, she thought.  I need to eat and 
rest a little.  Her nerves were so jumpy; it almost felt like she was in some 
sort of combat...a space ship...But that made no sense.

	Yuuichiro was steadying her when Tethys arrived.  

	Tethys looked frustrated.  "Your highness," she said.  "The Zodiac have them.  
It is too far for me to teleport without a large supply of energy, however," 
she continued, sounding even more irritated.  "But I am willing to take my 
squad to capture him for you and Sapphire if you desire."

	Almost certainly a suicide run, Aurora thought.  Which was fine by her.  
Either Tethys would succeed, bringing them a very useful source of lore or she 
would die horribly and stop lusting after Jadeite.  Either way, Aurora would 
win.

	"Go see Magnetite; he will assign you a battery," Aurora said.  She could 
feel...why do I feel like I'm fighting in a space ship?, she wondered.  It made 
NO sense.

	"Yes, my Queen," Tethys said insincerely, then teleported away.

************
	
	Tethys had just sent off her squad to get the battery from storage when she 
turned to Magnetite and said, "Was Beryl my mother?"

	Magnetite blinked, then said, "Yes.  How did you learn of it?"

	"Why didn't you ever tell me???" Tethys demanded angrily.

	"While Beryl lived, she did not think you ready for it.  You had to grow 
strong enough to avoid those who would have sought to kill you.  And when you 
returned, it would have only made you a target," he said softly.  "Jadeite 
rules us now, and he might well take your heritage amiss."

	"And my father?" she demanded.

	"It is I," he said softly.  "I was not always so old as I am now."

	She didn't know what to do, what to feel.  She still loved Jadeite, 
but...would this make him love her more?  Or fear her as a threat?  She still 
wasn't strong enough to fight any enemies who might rise against her...

	And she didn't want to get into a nasty power struggle, trying to force her 
way onto the throne.  And what proof could she offer?  "What happened to the 
Shield?"

	"We don't know.  It rejected Beryl," he said.  "And hid itself.  It may yet 
exist, but it is lost to us."

	"Maybe Sensei will know more," she mumbled.

	"Good luck rescuing him," Magnetite said.

	"I'm not out to..."  She glanced around everywhere.  "I should hate him," she 
mumbled.

	"There is more to us than hate, though the dark power we draw on tends to 
drown out our lighter emotions," Magnetite said.  "Don't hide from your 
feelings.  We must learn friendship and love again, if we are to become human 
again, as we once were."

	"Humans are so weak," Tethys said softly.  

	"Some are, others not.  The Kingdom of Atlantis was strong, but strength was 
not enough to save it." Magnetite said firmly, but quietly.

	"I know," Tethys said, staring off into the darkness.  "They're coming," she 
continued, hearing her squad return.

	"Good luck," he told her, then went back to his work as she left with her 
youma.

***********	

	"My liege?" Anthracite asked Jadeite as he stood on the observation deck of 
the Tokyo Tower, staring out across the city.  The sky shimmered; Aurora had 
finished the network and raised the defensive shield.

	"The network is complete.  We must now ready our assault on the Zodiac while 
we still can," Jadeite said.  "I am leaving you to command in my absence.  Milk 
this city for all the fear and terror you can, to feed more power into the 
system.  We will need it."  He tapped a black crystal heart pinned to his 
shirt.  It was a bluff; the real black crystal heart was in his pocket.  He 
wished he could have put it somewhere more secure, but the heart had to be 
close to him wherever he went; it was a receiver which would let him tap the 
network for more power, even on the Moon.  He wasn't sure if even this could 
fight the Star Orb and the Ascendent One, but augmented by Aurora's hammer, it 
would.  

	"Yes, my lord," Anthracite said.  "Do you have any particular targets, or 
should I improvise?"

	"Indulge yourself.  Though I rather liked the movie which came to life.  You 
might find it useful to exploit all those televisions and radios," Jadeite 
said.

	Anthracite thought and smiled.  "Very good, my lord.  Yes, I will start with 
that.  They rely on it so much; to be betrayed by it will break many of them."

	"Then begin.  I will see you soon."  

	Jadeite teleported away, while Anthracite turned to study the giant 
transmission tower all around him.

********

	Having finished her labors, Aurora was about to go join Jadeite when suddenly, 
her head throbbed in agony.  She felt as if she was on fire, burning, burning 
in agony, white light everywhere!

	Yuuichiro caught her as she began to fall, then slowly settled her down to the 
ground, kneeling by her as she screamed.  

*************

	In the darkness, Rei saw it all.  The battle of the Senshi against Jadeite and 
Dark Queen Aurora.  The Sun going nova.  The final struggle and then only the 
white light.  Her friends were alive despite what had happened.  Despite her 
failing them.  

	And then she heard it, the last whispered words of Serenity as the dream of 
Dark Aurora burned away, sad and longing, "Rei-chan..."

	A single mote of light floated out of the fading vision and she seized it, 
holding it, hearing Serenity's voice again and again.  She breathed on it, and 
it grew a little brighter, but the darkness tried to snuff it out.  

	But she wouldn't surrender.  Not now.  Her Queen needed her, wanted her...She 
began to focus on whatever she could remember of her times with Serenity, with 
Sailor Moon, with Usagi and her friends.  

	And slowly, the light grew brighter.

************
	
	Anthracite sniped a passing human from the observation balcony, grimacing.  A 
threat.  They wanted him to be afraid.  But no one was going to send HIM 
tumbling into space.

*************

	One by one, the other generals recovered from the swift burst of...another 
vision.  A trick.  A threat.  Almost all of them closed their minds to what 
they had seen and redoubled their determination to stop the Zodiac.

	Jadeite, however, frowned deeply.  This was not the same.  The Senshi had 
escaped their trap.  But he couldn't...he had to stop the Zodiac NOW, before 
they could rescue their friend.  I should have simply fought them, he thought.  
Not tried to be all tricky and poetic.  He wasn't good at tricking people, and 
it wasn't honorable.  He was honorable, wasn't he?  He did what he did for the 
good of his people.

	The coffin flashed in his mind and he fought it off.  That couldn't be true.  
It couldn't.

	He had no time for doubt; it was time to stop the Zodiac while he still could.

*************

	"General Amazonite?" Iodine asked as she leaned against a wall, holding her 
head.  

	Amazonite's forces were heading for the take-off point, to be ready to go 
attack the Zodiac.  But then Amazonite had clutched her head.  All her youma 
stood around her, wondering if this was her end or just a headache.  Surely the 
latter; they didn't want to go serve the other generals, who often mistreated 
their own youma.

	"What did I become," Amazonite whispered, haunted by what she'd seen.  Was 
that the future?  Was it how this all would end?  She prayed not.

	But what could she do to change it?  She had to do something.  

	She straightened up.  She could worry about this later.  "Let's move out," she 
told her men and the youma were soon in motion, though she noticed Iodine still 
looked worried.  She smiled a little, then got moving herself.

***************

	In a quiet park, the air ripped open and the Sailor Senshi dropped out with 
Tuxedo Kamen.  Then the cut sealed up as he put away the Golden Sword.  He'd 
landed on a tree branch; everyone else now peeled themselves out of the dirt.

	Distantly, they could hear alarms going off, screams and wailings.  Off in the 
distance, some buildings were burning, and the sky shimmered with a huge field 
of energy that made it hard to tell if it was day or night.

	Sailor Moon immediately tried using her communicator, but there was no answer. 
 She frowned.  "We have to get to Rei-chan," Sailor Moon said firmly.  "And 
Naru-chan."

	"It won't work while that is still up," Pluto said, pointing to the field in 
the sky.

	Mercury got out her computer and began to analyze the field, while Uranus 
paced about, as did Neptune.  Neither were looking at each other.

	"I may be able to cut a hole in it," Saturn said.  "Or perhaps Tuxedo Kamen 
and I can pool our abilities with his sword."

	"I don't want to use it if I can help it," he said.  "It's dangerous to use 
too much."

	Jupiter frowned at the screaming and yelling in the distance.  "This sounds 
too much like where we came from."

	Venus fiddled with her communicator.  "Dammit, Steven's not answering."

	"He may be in the hands of the enemy," Pluto said.

	Venus winced.  "Which enemy?"

	"Either," Pluto said.  "But more likely the Zodiac."

	Venus frowned deeply, staring out.  "Jadeite's invaded Tokyo."

	"I believe so," Pluto said.  

	Uranus and Neptune continued to pace about.

	"There's a giant network tapping the city's leylines and converting it to Dark 
Energy which then is maintaining the field around the city," Mercury announced. 
 She eyed another window, which was still running a search for Ryo.  "And I 
think whatever has happened to our friends, they're not in Tokyo."

	Venus' communicator buzzed and she answered it, but all she got was static and 
brief flickers of something that might have been Steven on the video screen. Or 
Idi Amin.  Or Harry Potter for that matter.  There was no way to tell.

	"Aargh, I can't pick anything up!"  Venus began punching buttons.  "Hold on, 
Steven, hold on!"

	Click, it cut out.  

	"AAAARGH."

	Sailor Moon said, "Mercury, can you track who tried to call us?  They'll know 
more about what is going on.  Also, run a search for Jadeite."

	Mercury began the search, then held her hand out to Venus, who handed the 
communicator over.  Mercury held it near the jackport on her computer, which 
now shifted to let her set the communicator into a cradle for it.  She quickly 
traced the source of the call.  "The Moon," she said.

	"Zodiac," Pluto said.

	"Jupiter, I'm going to need you to boost the signal," Mercury said.

	Jupiter nodded and put her hand on the computer, then turned into Super Sailor 
Jupiter and began to concentrate.  

	A crackling beam of lighting burst upwards, then hit the field.  Sailor Moon 
and Venus now loaned their strength and a tiny hole was burned through the 
field, enough to let the signal out.

	"Is this wise?" Pluto asked.  "Everyone will see this."

	"Saturn," Sailor Moon said quietly.  "Hide it."

	Saturn gulped and became Super Sailor Saturn, then put her hands around the 
thin beam; darkness crept up it, masking it, as she grimaced.

	There was a pause, then Steven's face appeared in a large window on the 
screen.  "Hey!  You're alive!"  He looked to be in some sort of cockpit, trying 
to fly and talk at once.

	"Is that a Hawk Fighter?" Pluto asked.

	"Yeah, it's pretty awesome, but they're still kicking our ass," Steven said.  
"I hope our covert team is doing their job, 'cause it's clear we're never 
getting in."

	"Where..." Mercury began as everyone crowded around the monitor, including 
Uranus and Neptune.

	"The Moon.  I'm flying a 25,000 year old space fighter on the Moon.  I'd die 
of joy if I wasn't about to sh...die of nerves," Steven said.  "Ryo and Dia and 
I are leading a diversionary attack while Himeko and Luna lead the rescue team 
into the old Moon Palace, which is now Zodiac Central.  They're trying to 
sacrifice Naru."

	Sailor Moon's eyes widened.  "Naru-chan!"

	"The Zodiac jumped us a few hours after you left.  If the elves hadn't shown 
up, they'd have everyone, but as it was, Augur betraying us to them just threw 
Naru and Umino into their hands."

	Sailor Moon winced.

	Steven sighed.  "Did you manage to save Rei?"

	"No," Sailor Moon mumbled, then stared at the ground.

	"She's been brainwashed," Jupiter said, frowning.  "She thinks she's Aurora 
again and she's working with Jadeite."

	"Well, shit.  Can you get to us?" Steven asked.

	"Not until we eliminate Jadeite's energy network which is maintaining a shield 
that has us locked in," Mercury said.

	Jupiter's eyes suddenly flickered.  "Did you find those fighters in an 
armory?"  She began to describe it.

	"Yeah, just like that," Steven said.

	Jupiter flashed a grin.  "Then I have a plan.  Listen closely."  She began to 
explain her plan, grinning more as everyone stared at her.  When Pluto's eyes 
widened, she knew she'd hit paydirt.  

************

	Tethys had a new, if unwilling, admiration for the Star Guard's skills by the 
time she shook off pursuit.  Her squad had been scattered around the place by a 
trap; she had no idea where they all were or how many had survived.  Aurora 
must have approved this in the hopes I would die, she thought.

	She felt bad for her unit; they'd followed her bravely and didn't deserve to 
die like this.  It was a strange feeling; sympathy.  I was too proud, she 
thought.  Given I was held by a bunch of teenagers, of course real professional 
adult warriors would be this tough.

	However, her opposition was now dead or chasing her minions or lost behind 
her, and she'd reached her target.  The Prison.

	A large chunk of the TDDC seemed to be locked up here; many of them were 
expendible, but she did have a little respect for a few of them, like Hikaru, 
who might not be a great fighter, but was vicious enough to be a youma.  
Although she now realized Hikaru wasn't here.  Strange, the Daichi boy was 
here, though...Maybe she was dead, what a waste.

	She walked over to Sensei's cell and blew the lock off it.  "I've come for you 
and Noriko," Tethys said.

	"Hey, what about the rest of us?" the Daichi boy said.

	"You're not my problem," Tethys said, walking over to Noriko's cell.  Noriko 
stared at her with an expression Tethys found hard to read.  "I expect the 
Zodiac just wants to use you as bait for the Senshi, if they ever return."

	She blew the lock off Noriko's cell and let her out.

	"Please," Daichi said.  "Even if you just leave us here, we can at least try 
to do something."

	"Please release them, Tethys," Sensei said.  "We have to stop them before they 
kill the Star Princess and take her power for themselves.  You know what will 
happen to your kingdom if that happens."

	Tethys hesitated.  "Tell me about Atlantis.  And this vase."  She held up the 
battered, damaged vase.

	He frowned.  "Not one of my successes.  I was unable to contain or store most 
of the energy which got released from it, although the experiment helped me 
improve my knowledge of magic, which enabled me to build the containment unit.  
I really could have used another exotic energy expert.  But they're very rare."

	She could feel her nerves jangle.  "Is it connected to Atlantis?"

	"Yes," he said, turning it over and over.  "It sank beneath the waves.  This 
was its last queen, who I think was named Beryl."

	"Who lived there?" Tethys asked urgently.

	"Humans.  The humans of Atlantis, wise and powerful, but destroyed in the end 
by their own power.  But most of what we know of them is only myths.  But they 
appear as great warriors who fought the dark powers, in the oldest artifacts," 
he said.  "Later, I can have Horus show you a paper by Ms. Lovegood.  Young 
lady, but very brilliant in these things."  

	"There's nothing left of Horus but a snack machine," Tethys mumbled, staring 
downwards.

	"He's backed up," Sensei said.  "I can restore him from backups, later."

	Noriko nodded; she was trying to rip the doors open, but without any success.  


	"I..."  She couldn't ask him, not with all these humans watching.  Did he know 
of the Shield of Metallia?  Why...how...  "You can just bring him back that 
easily?"

	"Well, the hardware will be expensive, but it's mostly a matter of time," 
Sensei said.  "Can you help Noriko?  She's not having much luck."

	"I have to...you need..."  Tethys tried to pull herself together.  No 
weakness. Not in front of all these humans.

	"It will take all of us to have any chance of stopping the Zodiac, and I think 
we've all seen how much that Orb can mess with reality in the wrong hands," 
Sensei said.

	The Orb...if she could get that from the Zodiac, Jadeite would definitely 
favor her.  And she could probably remove Aurora from the equation, thus 
neutralizing the love threat, as Rei had no interest in Jadeite...but could 
they really grab the Star Orb?  And would Sensei really be safe in the middle 
of a war zone?  Noriko was tough enough to survive anywhere, but he was an old 
man like her father.  No one sent Magnetite into battle any more.  His bravery 
was commendable, but foolhardy.

	"Alright," Tethys said.  "We may well not make it out of here without it at 
all, anyway.  Now we need a plan."

	There was a swish and suddenly Hikaru appeared, pulling back her hood.  "I 
have a plan.  We might even survive it."

	"It´s not a plan to get me to date you," Daichi said.  "So I´m sure it will be 
fine."

	Tethys was about to ask, then decided it best she not waste time trying to 
understand the boy.  

*************

	The elven and Senshi auxillary forces were already beginning to withdraw when 
a huge lance of darkness fired off the surface of the Earth.  Both sides paused 
to stare at it.  

	"What the fuck?" Hudson asked the universe.

	The answer was a huge explosion of darkness, followed by a seemingly endless 
horde of youma rushing towards the palace defenses.

	Team elf used this as cover to pull out.

	Hudson was screaming and blasting everything that moved, Izuko next to him 
shooting calmly, when Sayuri, the junior Istarri of Leo, found them.  "Come 
with me.  Your destiny lies elsewhere."

	"You could just say you want us," Izuko said.

	"Can´t retreat, monsters are...stop dragging me!" Hudson said as Sayuri 
armlocked him and began dragging him off.  "They´re coming!  And the main 
shield is still down!"

	"I know," Sayuri said.  "But not every enemy is to be found outside."

	"What?  There´s a traitor?" Hudson said.

	"Possibly several," Sayuri said.  "Now, come with me."

	They headed off deeper into the palace, leaving the Star Guard to its work.

*************

	Augur wished he knew why exactly it was important for him to be in the 
auxillary communications room.  Astrology was not always the clearest of 
things.  A few technicians were helping handle the communications end of the 
defense against the dark kingdom, but even if someone took out this room, the 
defense would go on.

	Unless someone wanted to make a phone call to Earth or play Minesweeper, there 
was not much reason why anyone would attack here.

	It suddenly hit him that with Luna in prison here, Queen Hecate was likely to 
be wroth with him if he didn't somehow get her released.  Not that Hecate could 
do much to him, but...

	He'd been too focused on not going down with the wreck of the HSS Astra to 
think about what Hecate would think, so to speak.  He frowned, feeling foolish. 
 It was best to keep his options open.  The Zodiac was friendly now...

	And, he liked Luna.  He didn't want to see the Queen's daughter kept as a pet, 
or worse experimented on.  Or want the Sailors...but if Luna lived, they would 
know.

	Somehow, it had seemed simpler...until he had nothing to do but to sit around 
on his...

	There was an invisible blade at his throat.  A tiny whisper said, "One word 
and you die."

	Augur froze up.  Everyone was too busy trying to help coordinate 
communications to even notice his dilemna.

	"Darkness," a woman said.

	The room went pitch black, followed by the sounds of extreme beatings.  When 
the darkness cleared, everyone but Augur was unconscious and Luna in human form 
was now picking him up by the scruff of his neck.  The blade had moved to his 
belly.  

	"We can do this two ways," Luna said angrily.  "You can show us how to work 
this equipment.  Or we can feed you to the youma."

	"Cats are tasty," Tethys said, licking her lips and looking like she was very 
hungry.  

	Augur knew when the jig was up.  "Promise you won't kill me if I cooperate."

	"I promise if you cooperate fully and don't betray us again, then I will hand 
you over to Queen Hecate for justice instead of searching for justice inside 
your intestines," Luna said.

	"Right," Augur mumbled, then began instructing them.

	"You really think you can..." Tethys began to Sensei.

	"I can hardly believe they have so much bandwidth," Sensei said.  "The bill 
must be obscene.  But it will definitely help us."

	"And you can use this...," Tethys began again.