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launched from a cannon, his sword still protruding from his chest.
She followed his trajectory until his body disappeared into one of the
dark corners of the warehouse landing with a painfully loud thud.

As the dark splotches died away from her view, Serena gasped when she
noticed Cindy's slumped form in front of the platform.  A reflective
pool of blood surrounded her as well as coated her hands and chest.
Her blond hair, now undone from the fight, hung forward over her face,
shaking as she visibly sobbed into the crimson pool.  In the red light
glow, her pale skin reminded Serena of a cursed spirit kneeling at a
dark lake.

"Cindy."  Serena murmured, rushing forward to embrace the shaken woman.

"My, my, what a performance, Xendyte."  Serena stopped and her body
numbed like she'd been dumped in icy water when she heard the harsh
and dispassionate voice.  Nervous, she peered toward the platform
where she saw an old man clapping.  "So what are you going to do for
the next act?"

Serena's heart leapt into her throat as she watched Reenie standing
rigidly beside him as if something inhibited her movement.  A ghost of
a smile crossed the old man's hard well-defined features reflecting
the red light.  "And I must thank you for all your efforts to help me
retrieve the Silver Crystal.  I am indebted to you, my faithful
servant."

Cindy only swayed and sobbed some more not even turning toward the old
man.  At this, Serena balled her fist and straightened her back.  She
wasn't going to let this old man do this to her.

"Leave her alone, Halebit!"

As if he had just registered her presence the old man addressed her
with an air of disinterest.

"Ah, yes, the great Queen Serenity.  I see my soldier has made mention
of me."  He said coolly.  "But I am in no mood to make niceties so if
I may make a humble request that you hand over the possession of the
Silver Crystal to me."  Halebit rested one of his hands upon the
child's shoulder. "So that I may guarantee her safety."

Serena could feel the rest of her group tense, but Pluto stepped
forward before any of them could take action.  "I believe you are not
in a position to make demands, Traveller.  Killing Small Lady will
only expedite your death."

Halebit chuckled dryly but kept the same emotionless expression.  To
Serena he looked like a freaky ventriloquist dummy which she found
eerie and terrifying.  "Go ahead, but let me ask you all this: which
one of you wants to carry the guilt of this child's death on their
shoulders?  Who wants to be the one who must witness the birth of the
child they killed?  For you see, Time Guardian, I might be dead but I
will be happy knowing that one of you will live miserably with the
guilt of killing this daughter of your future."

"Don't you dare!"  From below, Cindy lunged at Halebit ruby sword=20
in hand.

Immediately, Halebit threw out his hand, stopping the sharp blade mere
inches from his face.

Suspended in midair, Cindy glared at Halebit.  "You son of a bit-"

Without a word, Halebit waved his hand sending the blonde woman
tumbling end over end until she slid to a stop at Serena's feet.
Recomposed, Halebit returned his attention to Serena as if he'd just
batted away a fly.

"What is it going to be Princess?"  The old man sounded rather edgy.

Serena gazed to her brooch which held the Silver Crystal, the source
of all her power.    Should she give him the crystal?  There had to be
another way, but what was it?  Serena sweated and a panic she hadn't
felt since those first awkward fights as Sailor Moon gripped her.  She
had to get Reenie back but she could see two choices, peacefully or by
force.  Grudgingly, she realized she had little choice.

As she took a step forward, Pluto grabbed by the shoulder.  "Do not do
this my Queen.  We can not give up the Silver Crystal to that
Traveller.  There's no telling what he'll do with it."

Serena remained facing the platform, but sighed.  "What about Reenie?"

At that Pluto didn't reply and Serena could feel her hand tense before
slowly sliding away.  With her heart drumming and her fingers
twitching, Serena approached the platform like she was walking to her
own execution.  To keep her nerves, Serena never left her eyes waver
from Reenie.

Once she reached the ledge, she hesitated as she ran her fingers over
the Silver Crystal.  Taking a deep breath, Serena closed her eyes and
tugged on the stone.  She shivered when her uniform loosened and the
ribbons that formed her uniform unwrapped from her body.  As she
tugged harder, she could see the red ribbons slip back into the
shimmering crystal.  Once she had the crystal cradled in the palm of
her small hand, Serena stood in her white dress that she had worn to
the restaurant.

Gathering her nerves, she fixed the old man a hard gaze and offered
her crystal.  "Here."

With a nod, Halebit carefully leaned over and plucked the object from
Serena's hand.  "You are indeed as wise as the legends make you."

"What about Ree-"  Before Serena could finish her sentence, Halebit
had pushed on the child's shoulder sending her head first into
Serena's chest.

Despite having the air knocked out of her, Serena reflectively wrapped
her arms around Reenie and rolled with the child's momentum.

"Ompf!"  Both girls grunted as they landed hard.

"Serena!  Reenie!"  Instantly her friends surrounded her and they
looked eager to strike back.

"I'm fine."  She waved her hand dismissively at them before peering
down at Reenie.  "Are you okay?"

The pink haired child pondered a moment and then nodded wearily.

"World Shaking!"  Just behind the wall of worried faces of Raye, Amy,
Lita, and Mina, Serena heard Erica retaliate, the sound of concrete
uprooting from the fury of her attack.

Then she heard nothing except Erica's curse.  "Shit!"

Lifting herself, mindful of Reenie, Serena peered over the heads of
her friends to see the brilliant light of the Silver Crystal as
Halebit held it over his head.  Serena decided right then and there
that the crooked and gnarled smile upon the leather surface of the old
man's face ranked up there as one of the most unsettling things she'd
ever witnessed.

"Deep Submerge!"  This time Serena could witness the attack and gasped
as the ball of water Michelle had hurdled at Halebit harmless crash
against an invisible barrier.

"The Traveller must be stopped at all cost!"  Pluto barked while
swinging her staff around, the end gathering a large collection of
sand.  "Dead Scream!"

Again nothing happened.

A groan caught Serena's attention and she noticed a weak and
despondent Cindy kneeling next to her and Reenie.  When she finally
came to her senses, Cindy threw herself at Serena.  "I'm so sorry!"

"That's okay Cindy."  Serena watched the glow of her crystal with
dread when a sudden thought occurred to her.  "Do you have any idea
what's going on?  Did he ever tell you what he wanted with the Silver
Crystal?"

Cindy, now transfixed like Serena on the glowing crystal, shook her
head and gulped.  "I-I don't know.  He never told me what he wanted it
for."

Serena swallowed hard while the light continued to intensify.  "I was
afraid of that."

--------------------------------------------

"Fuck!"  Tracer gasped as the burning in his chest became more intense.

The Timelord gritted his teeth as he re-gripped the hilt protruding
from his chest.  The pain was excruciating however he didn't give a
damn, as long as he could still move he wasn't ever going to give up.
He didn't know how that bitch was able to throw him across the
warehouse but if she thought he'd go easier on her yet again, she was
in for a surprise.

"Graargh!"  He screamed as the pulled the sword the rest of the way
out of his gaping wound.  Immediately he could feel his blood oozing
out of his wound at an alarming rate.  He tried holding his hand over
it in hopes of suppressing the flow of the silver laced crimson fluid.
 However it became apparent it was a futile exercise especially when
he felt the wound on his back spurting even more of his blood onto the
ground.

'I'm not going to let it end like this!'  Despite the pain, the
dizziness, and coldness ebbing into his limbs, a pressure built behind
his eyes and spread throughout his head.  His body began to quiver and
convulse.  'I will make them all pay!  They will all pay!!'

Quickly Tracer jumped to his feet, oblivious to the fountain of blood
streaming from his chest cascading down his pants and finally
splattering onto the concrete floor.  He tightened his hold on the
hilt of his sword and sneered.  Though the coldness continued to
spread, his limbs tingled with excitement.  Yes, he was going to make
them pay, he determined.  He was going to destroy them all.

In the back of his mind, Tracer knew his world should be spinning
around him and that he should be wobbly on his feet.  Hell, it was a
miracle he was able to walk in a straight line much a less gain speed.
 However, that was what happening as he ran towards them keying in on
the brilliant light that was threatening to swallow the surrounding
darkness.  Instinctively, he knew that hiding behind that bright light
was the old man.

'I will show you I am not a failure, you bastard.'  His sneer
deepened.  'I'll defeat you in front of Serenity and Cindy and once
they see my prowess, they'll tremble with fear and beg me for mercy!
Then we'll see who the failure is then!'

His body felt so cold yet so hot, Tracer was thrilled.  He couldn't
get over how it was possible to feel two completely different
sensations at once.  He honestly didn't care anymore as he gave in to
this sensation that had taken over his body.  He ran even faster and
it got to the point where he swore he was floating on air.

When he saw Serenity's group huddled together in front of his old
teacher, Tracer smirked.  He secured his sword with both hands ready
to strike with all the force he could muster.  Merrily, he imagined
all of the destruction that was about to take place.

He hardly registered how bright it was glowing as he raised it over his hea=
d.

--------------------------------------------

"This is bad!"  Serena flinched when she whipped around towards Amy.
It was never a good thing when she said that.

"What is it?"

Amy was once again furiously tying away on the translucent keypad and
her eyes were moving back and forth reading her display like the
roving eyes of her cat clock mounted on the wall of her bedroom.

"It appears Halebit is distorting the physical space around his
hands."  Amy shook her head, somewhat confused.  "If I were to
postulate, it looks like he's using the Silver Crystal as a type of
hot cutting apparatus."

"Huh?"  Serena blinked.

Suddenly Pluto hunched over and grimaced.  Steadying herself with her
staff, Pluto fixed Amy with a glare.  "She means that Traveller is
punching a hole through the timeline like a hot knife through butter
if I understand the saying correctly.  Ugh!"

"Pluto!"  Lita jumped to the Time Guardian's aid and provided her=20
with
some support.  "Are you going to be okay?  What's going on?"

"It's a portal."  Cindy said, her eyes widening in awe and fright.
"I
can't believe he's actually trying to make one.  This is really bad."

Amy stopped typing a moment.  "What do you mean?"

Realizing she was the center of attention, Cindy squirm a little as
she explained with a sense of urgency.  "Er, well, when I first joined
the Society he had asked me if I knew how to build a portal generating
machine.  When he found out I didn't he went ahead and built one based
on the specs my father had researched."

"What happened to that machine?"  Amy pursed her lips like she usually
did when she was worried.

Cindy interlaced her fingers and muttered.  "It kinda blew up when he
activated it."

"What!?"  Serena jumped at their exclamation.

Cindy returned her weary gaze to the increasingly intensifying glow.
"I'm not sure if there's anything we can do now to stop him, it looks
like he's already begun to open the portal and if we disturb the
process there's no telling what catastrophe it'll trigger."

A swirling wind whipped Serena's blond tails of hair drawing her
attention to the platform.  A jagged burning line now appeared tracing
the path of Halebit's glowing hands downward.

The dread was evident on the faces of her friends as it settled like a
heavy blanket upon them.  Underneath that dread, little prickles of
guilt pinched Serena's self-conscious.  She was center of this
turbulent storm and every effort to bring a peaceful calm to the
situation only seemed to make it rage even further out of control.
There was very little she could do anyway since without the Silver
Crystal she was just plain normal school girl.  Her only option was
just to sit back, wait, and hope.

"There is a solution."  Pluto said under her breath, more to herself
than anyone else.  "There is always a solution.  I just need to open
my eyes to see it."

"I'd keep our eyes behind us," Mina replied, jumping to her feet,
battle ready, and facing away from Halebit, "because we have a very
angry Timelord coming right at us!"

"What does it take to keep this creep down!"  Raye growled bringing
hands in front of her already nurturing a small flame between them.

Both Serena and Reenie twisted their heads around.  The light of the
Silver Crystal had grown so intense that it now illuminated the entire
warehouse.   The crazed expression on Tracer's blood spattered face
appeared with frightening clarity as he charged at their group at an
alarming rate of speed holding his sword with hands over his head.
Serena imagined that if he looked any madder, he'd snort dust from his
nose like a rampaging bull.

By now, every Scout, with the exception of Reenie and herself, had
position themselves to stop the Timelord's mad dash toward Halebit.
Serena uttered a silent prayer to whatever Gods might have been
listening that this would end without more death and then watched,
saddened it had come to this.

To everyone's dismay though, just as Tracer within range of their
attacks he leapt high into the air.  Serena's jaw hung open at the
height he had been able to reach and maintain.  Everyone stood
stunned.  It was impossible for any one to jump this high but there he
was sailing above the entire group.

It was only when Tracer cleared them and made his descent that it
became obvious how he was able to accomplish such a feat.  A pair of
transparent skinny strings, that reminded Serena of creepy black bony
fingers, had sprouted from the shoulders of the dark man and spread
out like wings.

Once the shock wore off, Serena's heart stopped realizing just where
exactly Tracer was going to strike: right at the hands of Halebit.
Several of the Scouts took off; hoping to catch him in time but it was
no use.  Serena shielded her eyes when Tracer disappeared into the
glare preparing for the worst.

A moment later the glare became blinding and the roar of the wind grew
louder.  There was a soft but vibrating sound, like the glass legs of
a wind chime gently tapping against each other which increased in
pitch till the point it hurt her ears.  Finally, the sound reached a
fevered pitch and then it stopped.

At that, the blinding glare collapsed and turned into a pitch black
void.  The wind that had been swirled around pulled on them hard.
Serena looked around frantically for something to hold onto but the
smooth floor of the warehouse offered her no anchors.  She dared a
glance back, realizing to her horror that her friends had just been
right there a second ago were nowhere to be seen.

The vortex pulled on her harder and Serena slid across the glossy
floor unable to stop her momentum.  Desperately, she clawed at the
surface hoping to hit a crack or seam with her fingernails.  Just as
she was losing hope, a strong hand snatched hers and held on for dear
life.  Surprised and elated, Serena whisked her head around to see
Darien straining to keep his grip around his cane which he had nailed
into the ground.

"I've got you Serena!"  He yelled over the roar of the vortex.  "I
won't let go!"

Bringing both of her hands to hold her lovers, Serena felt Darien slip
slightly and then he slipped some more.  Quickly, Serena figured out
that his hold on the cane wasn't strong enough to keep both her and
Darien from being pulled to the darkness.  Looking into his eyes, she
could see his determination.  He didn't need to do this.  She wasn't
worth this kind of sacrifice.  Now that she'd lost the Silver Crystal,
she wasn't important any more.  They'd already lost everyone else!

"Darien!"

Darien shook his head, knowing full well what she was thinking.  "I'm
not letting you go!"

"Darien, you must!"

The man strained and screamed in anguish.  Serena closed her eyes and
cried, knowing this was probably the last time she'd ever see her
lover's face ever again.  As she untangled her hand from his, his
other hand shot out and grabbed her forearm.  In her tear clouded
vision the serene smile was evident on Darien's face before he wrapped
his arms around her.  Burying her face in his chest, she sought to
embrace him tighter.  In each other's arms they both relaxed, finding
mutual comfort.

It took Serena a moment to realize they had finally been swallowed up
into the black void and were now falling.

And they fell.  And    they    fell.    And       they       fell.

--------------------------------------------

Greg hated waiting in cars.  His mother had done to him as a kid
whenever she'd run into a store to 'pick up a few items' as she'd
say.
 Of course with the ability to foresee the future, he knew there were
going to be more than a few items that she'd promised.

To him it was agony, knowing exactly how many minutes he was going to
sit there until his mom returned.  He'd noticed that other people
tended to make promises they never intended to keep and all he could
do was nod pretending he'd never closed his eyes to check.

Leaning his head back, Greg let loose a frustrated sigh.  Unlike all
those years ago, he couldn't foresee the future since the Travellers
arrived (apparently there was a connection) and because of that he had
no idea how long it was going to take before something would happen.

'I don't know why I'm so irritated.  I always viewed these powers as
a
nuisance.  All I wanted was to be normal guy for Amy-'

Suddenly an image of Amy's flushed and passionate face flashed in his
mind.  He sat up with a start and cursed his bad luck.  Why did he
stop when he did with her?  It had been well over a week since that
incident with her and now he was just kicking himself for the missed
opportunity.  He knew Amy was willing but he didn't want to ruin the
moment.  He didn't want to close his eyes and see the possible
consequences of his actions.

Leaning back again, Greg stared out into the night lost in his
thoughts.  He'd changed, he decided.  The week he spent tagging along
with Tracer had changed him.  He'd endured a great trial and came out
feeling much older and more mature.

The entire time he had no idea what was going to happen next and
Tracer proved to be a rogue and maverick the world had yet to see.  He
saw first hand what it was like to think on one's feet and just how
tenacious a person could be when they wanted something bad enough.

Yes, this was a new Greg who replaced the old the moment the Timelord
appeared in front of him in the alleyway near his home.  From now on,
Greg was no longer going to-

*CRASH!*

Jerking from the back seat, Greg watched as one of the warehouses
collapsed.  Without a second to lose, Greg was running towards the
wreckage hoping against all hope that Amy wasn't underneath the
twisted steel girders and jagged concrete.

"Dear God, no!"  Greg cried as he pulled on one of the heavy metal
beams but it wouldn't budge.  "Give, damn it!  Give!"

"You're wasting your energy."

Instantly, Greg went still.  Slowly, Greg let go of the metal beam and
swiveled to whoever it was that was talking to him.

When he fully turned around, he saw a man with short stark white hair
that radiated around his head like a hallo.  A dazzling white cloak
draped over his shoulders that sparkled from the fine bits of sand
which dusted it.  Underneath the folds of the cloak, the stranger held
a bundle of cloth securely in the crux of his elbow.

Greg stared intently at the stranger before him, having an eerie
sensation of d=C3=A9j=C3=A0 vu.  Except last time he had been staring down =
the
barrel of a gun.  "Who are you?"

The stranger pursed his lips and turned his head, showing him a
profile of his elegant and sleek face feinting interest in Greg's
question.  "I have a message I need you to pass along for me."

"For who?  Tracer?"

"No!"  The ferocity of the stranger's reply made Greg step back and
it
also made the bundle in his arms wiggle.

Greg's eyes widened when he heard the unmistakable gargling of a baby
just waking.  The stranger saw the boy's expression and glared at him
as the man cooed and rocked the newborn in his arms.

"Is that your-"

"I have wasted enough time already=E2=80=A6 Greg, correct?"

The boy blinked.  "Uh, yes."

The man nodded and continued rocking the increasing agitated child.
"I need you to communicate a message to Setsuna."

"Who?"

The stranger rolled his eyes, his task with the baby quickly taking up
the rest of his attention.  "She will know who she is when you tell
them."

Greg furrowed his brow; he swore he could hear an edge of bitterness
in the man's voice.  He was about to ask who was this 'them' he was
going to relay this message to, but the stranger had already began
talking again.

"It's Small Lady's duty to protect the future."

Greg knitted his eyebrows trying to comprehend the message but ended
up thoroughly confused.  When he noticed that the man was already
walking away apparently satisfied, Greg followed.  The man knew
something about what happened to Amy.  There were still many
unanswered questions.  Very important questions.  "Wait!"

The man paused, looking over his shoulder shifting his arm as the baby
began to squirm.

"What happened to the others?  Are they okay?"

Greg could see the man close his eyes and exhale.  He stood there a
moment.  Finally he spoke with an even tone his words carefully
chosen.  "All I can tell you is it will get worse before it gets
better."

-End of Part 8-

**End of Arc I =E2=80=93 Serenity**

**Begin Arc II =E2=80=93 Faust's Sword**

Author Notes:
Well, I hoped you liked this chapter, I'm personally rather proud of
it.  I thought it turned out pretty well considering some of the
different tangents I went on here and there.  I hope the technical
jargon about making portals and such didn't kill the flow of the story
if it did, let me know, I'm kinda curious about that.

Also, I apologize about this whole arc deal.  See from here the story
shifts to something wholly different and I felt it would better to
make a definitive break signifying it.  Trust me, there's going to be
several before we're through, this story is far from over.  So stay
tuned because this ride is going to get out of control like a katamari
ball across the world!

Soundtrack:
Various scenes inspired by music.
Pluto Waits =E2=80=93 Forever by Orbital
Tracer vs Halebit =E2=80=93 The Way Out is Through by NIN
Tracer vs Cindy =E2=80=93 Enough by Gravity Kills
The Final Showdown =E2=80=93 The Canyon by Phillip Glass
The Final Showdown (Remix) =E2=80=93 I Got the Fear Pt. 5 by Meat Beat Mani=
festo
Passing on a Message =E2=80=93 Recessional by Vienna Teng

Disclaimer:
All original characters are owned and copyrighted by Bastion (c) 2008.
And Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and in America by DIC and Pionee=
r and
ADV and a whole boat load of other people.

Bastion
Rev 01/08