PREFACE
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In all the myths of mankind, one thematic device seems to stand out most above all others-- good versus evil. Heroes versus villains.
It fascinates us-- the notion of a lone fighter for good, standing strong, set squarely against the tumultuous tide of vicious villainy. But along with this thematic device there is also a critical corollary... the fall from grace. As heartwarming as it is to hail a wholly wholesome hero, it seems to be even more compelling to scrutinize the slow, shameful slide of one into the hellpit of hubris. This is why so much has been written about the events of 2011 and 2012 on Earth-- why so many teraquads of scholarly supposition have been archived at The Library, all about the seemingly inexplicable insanity of the one woman who was, at one time, humanity's glowing light of hope-- Tsukino Usagi. "Galaxia II", scholars called her, in reference to the powerful Sailor Solider who had cast aside her own goodness and light in order to seal away the darkness that was eating away at the cosmos, and satisfied themselves with the relevance of that overly facile parallel. But no one knows the true story... the real reason. Or rather, no one will acknowledge it. Because everyone likes to think that a noble hero falls because of a noble sacrifice, made in an effort to save others. It at once enhances and embellishes the legend that came before it, adding a certain tragic piquancy to the proceedings. "She broke herself in order to save us all," is what we want to say, because it makes us feel better, as opposed to "we burdened a 16 year old with the fallout of an ancient war, then granted her unlimited power, locked her in a crystal tower, placing the entire fate of an interplanetary empire on her shoulders at 20, robbing her of any chance to have a normal life." Tsukino Usagi. A girl who wanted to draw cartoons for a living, made into a queen and expected to handle whatever crisis the universe threw at her with aplomb and gracious humility, always sacrificing for the good of everyone else. That's what everyone wants out of their heroes, after all. But to admit that a hero might be scared, or lonely, or have desires beyond the cape and miniskirt... people might like to hear that kind of thing in graphic novels, to an extent, but at the end of the day, they still want that self-sacrifice. For a hero to get tired, and not merely retire, but actively demand something more... well then, that's when we start to call them villains, isn't it? Tsukino Usagi had gotten tired. And like any young person who was tired and had no succor from the world, she had lashed out, bringing together those like-minded individuals who had also become tired. Meioh Setsuna, formerly "Sailor Pluto", the woman whose power was stripped away by an arbitrary quirk of planetary science. Chiba Mamoru, Usagi's King to her Queen, the man who always lived in the shadow of stronger women. They were all tired. And for better or ill, they lashed out. This then, is their story-- the last story, the final hurrah. The tale of heroes turned villains, of destinies coming to a head. I saw it all happen. I was there. And now, abusing my privilege as a Time Traveler-- and a longtime friend of the family, I'm going to tell it, and close the book on this sad, sordid section of history. --Sakura Xadium Aino, 5037 C.E. SUBURBAN SENSHI: THE MOVIE III - HER FINAL LEGACY | ||
INTRODUCTION
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It had been almost four months since Usagi Tsukino had "Gone nuts", using her Ginzuishou to randomly punish anyone she disagreed with. Turning Haruka Ten'ou male, Kaioh Michiru into a hipster, erasing most of Aino Minako's married life from history, reducing Tomoe Hotaru into a seven year old, making Mizuno Ami into a drooling idiot and Tsukino Chibiusa into a literate / emo nun-like girl? Par for the course. Worse still, was that the people best suited to try and bring her back down to Earth, hobbled as they were by their long friendship with her, and their intimate knowledge of the limits-- or lack thereof-- of the Ginzuishou, had actively shied away from actively taking her on.
Hino Rei had run off to Paris with Yuuichiro, and gotten married there, hoping to stay "under the radar" and just live out the rest of her days in relative peace rather than lock horns with the girl she considered more of a sister than any blood relation could be. Similarly, Kino Makoto had dropped off the face of the Earth, after having broken off her engagement with Furuhata Motoki for the nth time after he decided to become a "Pokémon Trainer" for some probably less than noble reasons. To make matters worse, Tomoe Hotaru had just recently become trapped in an Electric Warp saving her friends from a Kaolinite clone. This series of shocks left the remainder of the Sailor Senshi and their friends somewhat at a loss for words and ideas. All efforts were focused now on saving Hotaru-- and what little remained of their sanity. But the notion that things could get better without any kind of direct intervention was, of course, ludicrous. Ironically, the first person to really take action on that front was the one most people would have considered the most self-centered of all... | ||
I
THE CENTER
CANNOT HOLD
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Snow was falling lightly in Gotham City, a rarity for the post-Christmas season. The nighttime streets were devoid of almost all life, criminal and civilian alike. The city was like a pretty picture postcard, quiet as a tomb. Well, almost as quiet.
One solitary sound broke the silence, small, crunchy and light. The sound of small feet pressing into fresh snow pack. A diminutive figure, clad in a nun's habit, slowly making its way down a sidewalk. A sidewalk in a dark, dismal alley. Crime Alley. More sounds now, even quieter, and more subtle. The sounds of predators stirring from hibernation, attracted by the fresh cherry scent of the errant nun. The sounds of criminals readying the tools of their trade. The looming, deafening silence that was the sound of a storm cloud about to burst. A swoosh from above. Ruffling in the air, as a billowing black cape spreads outwards, a dazzling miasma of danger that immediately sends the predators back into their holes, dead silent. A man dressed like a Bat, soaring in the air. Fear incarnate, descended from the rooftops. Landing silently in front of the nun, the Batman loomed large above her, eyes blinding white against his black mask. "You should go," he said in a raspy voice, looking down at the hooded nun. "It's dangerous here." Looking up, the nun pulled back her hood, revealing a head of shockingly pink hair. It was then the Batman realized just truly who was in danger here. As his heart sank in depressed resignation to cruel fate, he mumbled "Tsukino Chibiusa" by way of acknowledgment. "Hello, lover~" Chibiusa replied with a slow, self-satisfied smirk on her face, slowly, seductively latching onto his leg. "I told you never to call me that!" The Batman snapped, wrapping her in his cape and whisking her into the sky. For a brief, brief moment he pondered dropping her-- and almost did when her hands wandered where they really shouldn't. This was going to be a long night, he could tell. SOME MONTHS LATER, HALF A WORLD AWAYMARCH 15th, 2012Given the shrill screams and swearing coming from the Maternity Ward at Juuban Second General Hospital, one could be forgiven for not believing that the person giving birth was none other than the refined, cultured Kaioh Michiru. But it was, and 26 hours into labor, her child was born. Not that Haruka saw it. He was in the waiting room waiting with Jedite, his overflowing beard making him look like some kind of grizzled wizard hippie. "I don't understand it, Ten'ou," Jedite mocked, "after all that *material* you consume on the internet, you couldn't stay in there and watch your son be born?" Haruka didn't reply, just stroking his beard, which he called "Sven." He stared ahead into space, jaw moving up and down slightly, but no words escaping his lips. Jedite stole Ten'ou's phone and checked it. "She just twittered its name: ' Alexander Ferdinand Kaioh'. Looks like you got shafted in the last name department." Haruka didn't reply. "AFK. Isn't that 'Away from Keyboard'? Airheadedness and thus, your paternity, confirmed*?" Jedite pushed even further. * Thanks for the joke, Souldier! At the word 'paternity,' the look in Haruka's eyes changed, and sweat filled his brow. Anyone else would not have noticed it, but Jedite, a keen observer, picked up on it instantly. It wasn't the standard look of nervousness one night expect from a new father. It was a look of fear. Pure, raw, unadulterated fear. "Don't tell me you're afraid of being a father," Jedite prodded. It was just too easy a shot to take, but Jedite would come to regret it. Haruka twitched, wringing his hands, in a deep, deep cold sweat. Jedite blinked. Using his Dark Kingdom training, he visualized the energy fields around the man. It was a billowing, black storm cloud of negative energy. This fear... this looked like something that had been festering in Ten'ou for a long, long time--probably ever since he got the news he was going to be a father. Normally Jedite would have laughed at Haruka's fear, but his othersight gave him pause. He could see that all the negative energy was swirling and twisting, funneling itself into... no--being *pulled* into Haruka's beard. Something had always been wrong about that beard. Haruka had cultivated it, fed it, stroked it, talked to it-- strange even for him. And now Jedite knew why-- the thing was alive! This insight came a millisecond too late, as the beard SHOT forward, dragging Haruka along like a limp puppet, wrapping itself tightly around Jedite's neck, choking with incredible force. "GRRRK!" he grunted, levitating up and forwards to try and relieve the pressure, but the beard flung Haruka up and over Jedite like a rag doll, snapping him backwards and slamming him into the ground. "SVEN MUST LIVE!" Haruka croaked, his voice not his own. Jedite pressed the flat of his palm to the beard and fired a ki bolt into it, but the beard absorbed the energy, tightening its grip around his neck even tighter. It then began to absorb his energy. So this is what it feels like on the other side, Jedite mused ruefully as he felt his body getting weaker. Rolling hard to one side, he whipped the beard and Haruka around, slamming them onto the ground beside him. Still, the beard did not let go. Calculating mentally, he tried to determine a way out of his predicament. Clearly the beard was possessing Ten'ou. If he killed Ten'ou, that should solve the problem. Opening a portal, he dragged himself and Haruka out onto the roof of the Hospital. Having more room to work, Jedite threw out an energy boomerang, which flicked outwards and circles back, shearing the beard in half. But any respite gained was quickly lost as the hair lashed out like a mass of dirty-blonde tentacles, reattaching itself to Haruka's face and the hair around Jedite's neck, tightening so hard Jedite could feel his neckbones cracking. This was ridiculous, Jedite thought. He'd fought and killed *elder gods*, and here he was being done in by a mass of hair?! "WILL YOU KILL YOUR FRIEND TO SAVE YOURSELF?!" Haruka's flaccid body rasped. Friend? Jedite thought to himself. After almost a decade, could he consider Ten'ou Haruka his friend? After all, did he not believe that his needs were superior to those of all others? It shouldn't even be a question, what that beard had just asked. He was one of the Four Kings of the Dark Kingdom. The world had trembled at his feet! To kill a senshi would be as nothing to the likes of him! Jedite grabbed the beard right next to Haruka's face, feeling it drain the energy away from him even faster. He yanked Haruka nose to nose with him, and literally tore the hair off of his face. Haruka crashed to the ground, convulsing in shock. "IT WILL DO YOU NO GOOD!" "Sven" said in Jedite's mind. "I WILL JUST TAKE YOUR BODY!" "J-Jed...?" Haruka asked groggily, looking up, eyes half-open, seeing his beard swirling around Jedite, swallowing him up. "You've got an airheaded son to raise, Ten'ou--" Jedite rasped, the hair wrapping itself tighter and tighter around his body. "Jed!" Haruka exclaimed, trying to stand, but too weak to do anything but lie on the ground. "It's time you grew up," Jedite snapped, sensing he was running out of time. "You keep calling yourself a leader-- calling yourself 'The Man', but a sniveling little infant has you so filled with fear you gave life to a Hairclub for Men cacodemon!" His bones started to snap under the pressure, but there was a look in his eyes. A cold, calm, confident look. One Haruka had seen before, in the mirror... back when things had seemed hopeless, and the solutions even more so. "Jedite!" Haruka croaked, gritting her teeth, trying to will herself to stand, goddamit. To so something! "D-don't..." "Grow up, Ten'ou Haruka," Jedite lectured again as the hair began jamming itself into his mouth. "I won't always be around to save your ass." Before Haruka could reply, a portal opened up... seemingly from _inside_ Jedite. The next moment, both him and the beard ripped and distorted, winking utterly out of existence. Haruka tried in vain to sense Jedite's ki, or his energy, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Jedite was gone... totally gone. He laid on the ground, dizzy, weak, not wanting to believe, not wanting to face the inevitable conclusion he had reached-- Jedite was dead. By the time the others had found Haruka on the roof of the Hospital, he was lying on the ground, tears all over his face, refusing to speak to anyone. THREE WEEKS LATER - JUUBAN GENERAL HOSPITAL"I'LL KILL HER! I'LL KILL THAT GODDAMNED BUN-HEADED LITTLE S[BLEEP]T!" Sakura April paced up and down the hallway adjoining Mizuno Ami's hospital room, eyes glowing red with heated rage. Ever since she had gotten word that Jedite had been killed, she'd been obsessed with killing Tsukino Usagi, whose magic she blamed for causing the whole mess in the first place-- ironically not for revenge, but in order to prevent another such disastrous happening. "Really now, Sakura April, when the only weapon you have is a gun, everything starts to look like a target." The voice was firm, mildly sarcastic and laced with a high intelligence. The killbot jerked her head up and looked around in surprise. That voice... it belonged to one of her rivals from the 31st century, back when she'd walked the path of blood a lot more freely than she did now. "Brainy," she growled in a silken purr of irritation. Brainiac 5 nodded in recognition. "I see you are doing well in this time zone." He paused. "I am sorry for your loss." Saki ignored the sentiment. "Still working for the legion of the do-goodies?" She chuckled. It was more of a rhetorical question. The Legion of Super-Heroes always had been a thorn in her and her mama's side back in the day. "Indeed," Braniac 5 confirmed, ignoring the slight. "Still killing things randomly?" "Just so," Saki lied. She'd actually forced herself to become a lot more discriminate over time, killing only when it was really and truly needed-- unless her berserker rage was awakened. Still, it did no one any good to see her as a tame beast, so she did her best to perpetuate the notion that she was an infinitely hair trigger. "So what brings you here?" "Some weeks ago the Batman was made aware of a situation, and took it upon himself to contact me." "The Ginzuishou?" Saki asked. "Yes," Braniac 5 confirmed. "As clever as the Batman is, he is even cleverer in utilizing all the resources at his disposal. I can tell you that there is a solution to the Ginzuishou problem, but it it one that will have to be discovered in the proper course of events." "Then why are you here if you can't do anything?" Saki asked irritatedly. She knew the laws of time as well as anyone else who routinely traveled. "Your assumption is flawed," Brainiac 5 countered. "I do have something to contribute." "And what's that?" Braniac walked past Sakura April and opened the door to Mizuno Ami's room. Inside it, the girl sat in her motorized weelchair, drooling. "A Third level intellect, reduced to this," Braniac mused. "Shameful." He walked over to her, and felt the back of her neck. "What're you doing?" Sakura April asked, following him into the room. At that moment, someone burst in the room. "You can't be in here!" a nurse protested. Her protests stopped the moment Sakura April shoved her out through a wall with a simple open-handed palm strike. "Poor impulse control as always, Sakura April," Braniac tutted, finding a small flesh-colored tab on the back of Mizuno Ami's neck. He peeled it back, revealing a 4 port data jack. "She's got a brainjack?!" Saki mused in astonishment. She'd never bothered to actually scan Mizuno Ami ever, since the girl was so ridiculously weak and could be killed by one solid punch from the killbot. "Standard 31st Century model," Braniac 5 confirmed, interfacing with Ami through the port. "Hey, you shouldn't just stick your things into a girl's port, you know," Saki chided. "Silence, I'm uploading," Brainiac 5 scolded. Within moments, the light had returned to Ami's eyes, her bobbed head now straight once more. "I am using nanobots of my own design to rewrite her neural infrastructure," he muttered. "There. Operation complete." Brainiac 5 removed his interface from Ami's port and turned to leave. "Wait, you're just making a cameo?" Saki asked askance. "Missing me already, Sakura April Shinguuji?" Braniac asked with a wry smile. "In this great game of chess, you all fight against nothing less than destiny itself. It is not my battle, and harder times are to come." He said no more, and took his leave. Sakura April watched him leave, and then turned her attention to Ami, who was pulling herself out of her wheelchair. "Hey nerd girl, how're you feeling?" Sakura April asked nonchalantly. Ami looked at her slowly, and thought about answering. Then she looked at her hand, flexing it. Finally, and uncharacteristically, she slammed her fist into the wall, causing the plaster to crack, letting out a cry of frustration. "Mizuno?" Saki asked curiously. This violence was a promising turn! "I... I couldn't stop her," Ami spluttered out though tears. "All my intelligence, and all my science and she just overwrote me like it was nothing!" She sat down on the edge of the hospital bed, head hung. "Well, Miss Scientist," Saki cooed dangerously. "Let me tell you, I hate magic for the same damn reason." She ran fingers over the elaborate anti-magic tattoos embedded all over her body. "It's so random and unfair." She walked over to Ami and squatted down, going eye-to-eye with her. "But you and I... we're women of science. And violence. Well the violence is mainly me... but still, the point holds. Brainiac 5 used his power of science to save you. So why don't we use science to save the others?" Ami raised her head to meet the blood-red glowing eyes of Saki, which were becoming calmer and browner by the second. "Why not?" Ami asked, quietly, tiredly. Then she burst out "Because I'm not *insane*, like you!" Saki blinked. "Eh?" "I've already calculated the odds, and re-calculated them. Against that... that crystal, we have less than a 0.00008965 chance of victory." Saki nodded, her calculations had run much the same way. "Yes, but there's a way to increase the odds to a 78.6% chance of victory, with one small adjustment." "I know,"Ami replied flatly. "And the 'adjustment' of which you speak..." She got up and walked to the door, turning her back to the android. "I'd sooner kill myself than do it. My part in this fight is over. There's no sane way to win. Because there's no way I would..." Ami closed the door to the room and was gone. "...kill Tsukino Usagi," Sakura April completed, shaking her head. | ||
II
TO BE
THE MAN...
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It had been a month and a half since Jedite had fallen, and Haruka had said not a word. Not one word to his wife, Michiru, or to their infant son, Alexander Ferdinand Kaioh. All he did was stare out the window at his yellow Ferrari.
Michiru was at her wits' end. She'd tried consoling him. Berating him. Lecturing him for hours about how things used to be in the old days. But nothing got through. He just looked up at her and smiled. And then, one day, he spoke. Getting up, he looked deep into Michiru's eyes, and kissed Alexander on the head. "I'm going out,'' was all he said, with a soft, almost peaceful smile. Michiru should have realized it then. But she was too shocked at hearing him speak to actually process what her senses were screaming at her. It was only until after she'd heard the sharp clang of the car door, the spluttering to life and revving of the engine, and the car tearing out of the driveway-- only then did she realize-- he had no intention of ever coming back. It was six hours later when she got the call from the police. An accident, they said. The car skidded off Rainbow bridge, they said. Plunged into the icy water, they said. No sign of the body, they said, trying to give her hope. But she knew. Inside, even as the baby cried in sympathetic understanding, she knew. He was gone. Steeling herself the next day, Michiru checked the bridge. The pattern of the skid marks did not indicate a collision. Haruka had purposefully driven himself off the bridge. But to what end?! She cried for weeks, doing nothing, eating less than that. Mentally, Michiru cursed Usagi for her misfortune. For the loss of something more important to her than she herself. But as wave after wave of tears was shed, something stepped in to fill the void. An old feeling. A feeling she hadn't had since the days before she had even met Haruka in the flesh. A feeling of destiny, of responsibility. As long as Haruka had been around, she'd allowed herself to become soft, and gentle. Allowed Haruka to lead in the dance of their senshi duty, a complete reversal from her forceful awakening of Haruka that day in his mechanic's garage. But now, alone, isolated, with no one to turn to save the mad Professor who was more focused on saving his daughter... she realized it was her time to rise. Gathering her information, Michiru prepared. Then, slinging Alexander into a papoose, she slung him over her back, took one last look at Ten'ou House, and walked out the door, beginning her quest. As dark as things were for the heroes at this time, Usagi's side wasn't exactly peaches and cream, either... "Mamo-chaaaaaaaan!!" Usagi screeched, her voice a sharp piercing knife of sound in the tiny apartment they called home. "I'm booooored! let's do that thing where you use my pigtails like handlebars agaaaaain~!" Mamoru shuddered, going pale. She'd been like this ever since it had become clear there wasn't going to be any resistance from her friends. "Mamo-chaaaaan you better do what I say or I'll eeet yuu for dinner!" she whined. Mamoru groaned and secretly wished that Usagi had left him dead on the dinner table last Thanksgiving. "Leave Endymion-sama alone!" Setsuna protested to Usagi. "He needs his rest, it looks like he's withering up!" Usagi stuck her tongue out at Setsuna. "Quiet, Setsuna-san, or I'll take your powers away again! Would you like that?!" Setsuna fell instantly silent, remembering how it felt to be completely bereft of her Pluto Planet Power. It was a sickening, humiliating time in her life she never wanted to relive. She looked at her King wistfully, but said nothing. "Heh", Usagi chuckled. "his cane is mine." She twirled Mamoru's cane in her hands. Setsuna looked away, biting her jealous tongue. "He's mine forever~" Usagi cooed. "The true miracle romance~" Mamoru looked from Usagi to Setsuna, and Setsuna to Usagi, and he could not tell the difference. There were two women, each sizing him up like a piece of meat to be owned, possessed, controlled! He'd had it. As Usagi continued to bait Setsuna, Mamoru snuck out the door and decided to head downtown. HALF AN HOUR LATERWith a crack, the love hotel's door smashed open, revealing Chibiusa bouncing up and down on the prone, weeping Batman, who wore nothing but his mask, utility belt and his tears. "Oh... my god." Mamoru choked back some vomit and tried another door. With a crack, the love hotel's door smashed open, revealing a boy with white hair in a very compromising position with a Sarah Palin cosplaying Bayonetta cosplayer. "Elios!" Mamoru exclaimed. "Hand over the Golden Crystal! Your king demands it!" "Yo, the only 'king' in this room is me, yo!" Elios exclaimed, sending the cosplaying cosplayer packing, and not even bothering to cover his "black stallion". "Then why are you 'saluting' me?" Mamoru asked slyly, causing Elios to stutter and limply reply "yo dawg what the f[BLEEP]k you talkin' bout, yo?!" scrambling to get some cover over his rapidly retracting racehorse. The opening was all Mamoru needed. In a flash, he transformed into Prince Endymion and pimp-slapped Elios over the head with the blunt side of his sword. Woozy, Elios staggered around the room, receiving blow after blow from the Prince. Eventually, he dropped to his knees, panting. "I believe this belongs to me?" Endymion asked, pulling the crystal from Elios' skull, and feeling the power coursing through him as he absorbed it into his system more deeply than it had ever gone before. Elios' body slowly went an ashen white, then settled into an almost plaster-like texture before petrifying. "Heh!" Mamoru laughed, taking his leave, walking out of the sickly-pink love hotel and into the noonday light. He had finally done it. Reached down and grabbed his destiny with his own two hands. Now he would walk tall and carry a big stick! Mamoru looked up into the sun, grinning, eyes bright. Everything was going to be perfect from now on. And then the giant ball ate him. "0HH, j00r 5w337 d31ici0u5 7457y g01d3n 50u1~"* The demonic Luna-P purred in l33tspeak. * Ohh, your sweet delicious tasty golden soul~ The next moment, it belched some smoke, and Mamoru, dressed as Tuxedo Mask, popped out. Grabbing another smoke bomb from hsi pocket, he threw it on the ground. "TUXEDO LA SMOKING BOMBER!" He exclaimed, as the smoke wafted up between himself and the demonic Luna-P. "did j00 r3411y 7Hink 7H47 w45 g0ing 2 52p m3? [did you really think that was going to stop me?]", Luna-P cackled, opening its giant maw and inhaling all the smoke. "i'v3 c0m3 pH0r 73H cry5741 [I've come for the crystal ]". "Never!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed, poking the ball with his stick. Luna-P simply floated back, unhurt, then bit the end of Tux's cane off. Tuxedo Mask reeled back as the ball approached again, maw wide open, row upon row of shining shark-like teeth glinting in the light. As he twisted to avoid decapitation, he saw-- an instant too late-- a pair of slender female arms reach out from inside the ball. Arms covered in Sailor Senshi gloves. Of course, Tux remembered, after the Luna-P had been supercharged and went evil, the first thing it did to acquire itself a perpetual power supply was to consume "Sailor Supervolt", the half-Phage form of Osaka Naru. Ahh Osaka Naru. The perpetual energy source villains loved to use and abuse. And now, Luna-P was using her as a taser. Tuxedo Mask writhed as 10 million volts surged through his system. And then, he passed out as Luna-P forcibly ripped the Golden Crystal energies right from his chakras. " i pH331 i7...", Luna-P exhaled, rising into the sky, "73H 4p073H05i5... 0H y355, y355!" [I feel it... the apotheosis... oh yess, YESS!] Tuxedo Mask lay on the ground, a greenish hue to his skin, barely breathing. Moments later, Setsuna, who had finally realized her object of infinite love had gone missing, arrived on the scene, and knelt before him. "My king..." she exhaled softly, looking down worriedly at her face, touching it. Tuxedo Mask did not reply, his life force fading away. "I won't..." Setsuna bit her bottom lip. "I won't let it end... like this, my king." Without thinking, she produced her Garnet Orb, the source of her new-found power as bestowed by Usagi. She held it above Tux's body, and willed it to suffuse him with all its energy. Setsuna gritted her teeth as she pushed out all the Plutonic energy into Mamoru, feeling herself weaken in the process. All the power she'd longed for, wanted, coveted for herself, at the end, it didn't matter. She would always give it up for him, to protect him, and save him... even if he never looked at her the way she wanted him to... Eventually, Tuxedo Mask's breathing returned to normal, and it was Setsuna's turn to lie passed out on the ground. As he awoke, he looked at her with concern, realizing everything she'd done for him. "Setsuna..." he began slowly, pondering if there was any way he could help her. "No... my king," Setsuna said, opening her eyes slowly. "I'm still alive. I just... have no more powers. This is... is the way it should be. " Tux looked at her with such pity even as the Luna-P exploded into a golden shower of sparks and ascended into a new realm of being. Before Tux could speak again, Setsuna pressed a finger to his lips. "Go now. To the one you truly love." She turned her head away from him. "That light in your eyes when you think of her does not lie. It's your true destiny." Tuxedo Mask nodded, and leaned down, helping prop Setsuna up against a mailbox, and kissing her forehead. Then he flew into the sky. Setsuna sat there, head hung low, bangs covering her eyes. She was mortal again. Powerless, again. She'd abandoned her quest for the man she loved, and the other man who might have stayed with her, Souichi Tomoe, was now happily engaged to his lab assistant, Mimete Hanyu. She sighed and finally accepted her destiny... to be forever alone. "Need some help, miss?" A man asked, hunching down to speak to her. His hair was shockingly white, he wore a strangely patched up white lab coat and turtleneck sweater, and had a strange bolt driven into the side of his head. And every now and then, when the light caught his glasses just right, they shone just like Souichi's.. Setsuna looked up, and blushed before she even realized what she was doing. "I-- I could use some..." "The name's Stein," the man said with a smile, helping Setsuna up and letting her rest her head on his shoulder as they began to walk down the street. "Professor Franken Stein." He smiled brightly at her, and all her troubles seemed to melt away... | ||
III
RAISING
THE STAKES
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Usagi felt it the moment it happened. Mamoru's sudden collapse, followed by Setsuna's. The power she'd given Setsuna was gone. And someone or something had attacked her Mamo-chan! Perhaps there was resistance after all. Even though the couldn't imagine her friends doing this, some of the crazier types like Professor Tomoe, Jedite or Sakura April might be ruthless enough to just attack.
She had to move to wipe out her opposition now, before it was too late. She transformed, and leapt out a window. time to get to work. A few moments later, Tuxedo Mask swung in the window, finding the suite empty. Confused, he sat down and waited for Usagi. LATER THAT NIGHT, GINGA TV HEADQUARTERS, MORI TOWER, ROPPONGIShe stood there alone, behind the desk that used to be hers, back to the door, staring out the giant 20-foot windows that looked out over the city. The lights in the C.E.O.'s office were off; there was only the sea of lights from the city, like a sea of man-made stars to light up the night. The City, she mused. Her city. Well, what used to be her city. "Miss the old digs?" A male voice from behind her. Light, yet deep at the same time. Playful, yet hinting at serious depth. She knew who it was instantly. It was the man she'd sold Ginga Enterprises to for a quarter billion dollars. Michael Sunnyside III, from New York. "I didn't even have to pick the lock, Sunnyside-san," Aino Minako replied slowly, never taking her eye off the city below. "That's because I never changed them," Sunnyside replied with a smile that seemed just a little too forced. "Why not?" Minako asked curiously, still not turning to face him, but looking at his reflection in the window, even as he was looking at her face the same way. "Waiting for you to come to your senses? Who knows?" Sunnyside shrugged. "Being a pop idol is great and all, but you never struck me as being that completely vapid. You always seemed your best behind this desk." Minako half-shrugged. "I wanted a change." "A change. Years after your marriage goes south, and you only now suddenly decide you needed a change." The statement hung in the air. "What about it?" Minako mumbled. "You know something's rotten in the City of Tokyo, don't you," Sunnyside replied. He sat on the edge of his desk. Minako stayed silent. "Come now, come now, you can't tell me 'Sailor V' hasn't noticed something amiss?" He grinned. That got Minako's attention. She turned to look Sunnyside right in the eye. He just adjusted his glasses. "Come now, why do you think I paid so much for Ginga Enterprises?" Sunnyside asked. "I needed a new foothold here in Tokyo." "Foothold?" Minako asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. "Now, now, it's nothing like what you must be thinking," Sunnyside assured her. "Do you know about something called the 'Capitol Defense Plan' that was put into effect shortly after World War I here in Tokyo, and then shortly thereafter in Paris, then New York and finally Berlin?" "Sakura-chan told me something about it," Minako replied slowly, referring to her alternate-timeline daughter, who had apparently lived through those times. "Well I was / am in charge of New York's. And we've been putting those plans back together again after the giant clusterbomb that Berlin turned out to be. With all the strange incidents of monster / alien / spiritual attacks on the rise once more, it only made sense to do so. " "But wait!" Minako protested, looking at the young man before her. "That would make you really old!" "Heh, girls today, they think a man's life ends at 25." Sunnyside laughed, skirting her question. "The point is, I've been setting up operations here at Ginga and the old Grand Imperial Theatre in Ginza-- which Ginga had bought out and which is why I needed to make the acquisition in the first place-- and our 'Dream Division'-- a group of miko dedicated to sniffing out trouble before it happens-- produced this report." He showed Minako a graph that started out fairly flat, but had larger and larger spikes as the time approached present day... and the largest spike of all was-- "--Tomorrow," Minako said, eyes wide. "Tomorrow," Sunnyisde confirmed, and pressed a finger to the desk. "And more than that, the location appears to be... this very building." "We've got to get ready!" Minako said firmly, slamming the side of her fist into her palm. "You've got to get ready," Sunnyside said, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "I've got to get Ginza base up and running tonight." He slid some papers across the desk at her. "What's this?" Minako asked, picking up one of the sheets. "Your contract. I'm taking you on as C.E.O. of Ginga Enterprises, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rising Star Media, Inc." Sunnyside grinned. "I've already taken the liberty of having your signature forged. Welcome back to the team!" Before Minako could protest, Sunnyside was out the door. Walking past him, and into the room, were Vice-Presidents Karasuma Akane and Aya Reiko. "Welcome back, boss," Karasuma said, sipping a latte. "Hi-hi!!!" Aya waved cheerfully. "It's good to see you back, Minako-oyabun-chaan!" Minako grinned. It felt like old times. "Crow-chan! Siren-san! Let's get fizzy!" "Busy," Karasuma corrected dimly, giving Aya a significant look. THE NEXT DAYPARIS, FRANCE"Hino Yuuichiro-san?" Yuuichiro started at the unexpected, lyrical female voice behind him. He turned to see a hooded figure facing him. "Yes?" He asked. "I need to see your wife." "She's not--" Yuuichiro began to lie. The hooded figure quickly whipped around and pinned him to the ground, a boot on his neck. "Now... if you please." TOKYO, JAPAN - KINO'S COMESTIBLES"Kino Makoto?" Makoto looked up from where she was busily decorating a Birthday cake. Her eyes widened. "Y-you?!" When Makoto's employees came looking for her a few minutes later, no one was there. TOKYO, JAPAN - ROPPONGI MAYFLOWER HOUSE MINATOThe window to Mizuno Ami's condominium swung open in the breeze, her room a trashed mess, an intruder alarm wailing pitifully in the morning air. GINGA TV HEADQUARTERS, MORI TOWER, ROPPONGIThe sun had barely broken the horizon when the top of Mori tower liquefied, turning into an ice cream sundae which slowly slid sideways, sending thousands of gallons of milk and ice and sugar crashing down onto the Tokyo streets. The sound of hundreds of car alarms going off cut through the air with piercing shrillness. Down at street level, Neo Queen Serenity tapped her feet and waited, spinning her Royal Tier. She looked to the left, and looked to the right. Not seeing anyone, she ran some fingers over a chunk of the fallen ice cream and tasted it. As the last of the car alarms died down, Serenity shot off another blast from her Ginzuishou, this time turning the next few floors of Mori Tower into chocolate. "WHERE IS EVERYONE?!" Serenity bawled, in something of a panic. Her plan was to draw out Minako-chan and the others, but she'd wrecked half the building and not even a peep! What Serenity didn't realize was that Aino Minako was currently tied up in the basement of her own building. "Sorry about this, Boss," Lead Crow said tersely, making sure Minako was securely bound and gagged. "I'm aware that while for some people seeing you like this would be the ultimate fetish experience, I'm only doing this because I know Tsukino wants that Crescent Compact of yours, and that if you catch up with her, you'll be too soft on her." Minako protested, the look in her eyes pleading mercy for Usagi. "Ara," Sailor Aluminum Siren said, "we've already been forced to serve one power-crazy senshi, we won't let another Galaxia rise." "Yeah..." Lead Crow agreed. "We're not fighting this as Sailor Senshi, or Animamates... we're fighting this as "The Dirty Pair." * * see Breakout, Episode 3 "I thought we hated that name," Siren remarked flatly, not really objecting. "A dirty name for a dirty job," Crow replied coldly. "Let's move." At street level, Neo Queen Serenity was pouting, sitting on a bench, eating some of the ice cream she had created. Her head jerked up as she heard a scream from behind her. "HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" yelled a tall, lanky girl with black hair, who was being restrained by Sailor Lead Crow. "I knew you'd become evil!" Neo Queen Serenity yelled, taking a moment to gulp down her ice cream. "Taking hostages is a mean thing to do! Let her go, or in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!" "Fine, take her, it's you I want anyway," Crow snapped, violently hurling the girl at Serenity. Serenity jumped forward to catch her, only noticing at the last second that the girl's black hair was flying off her head, revealing shockingly pale blue hair underneath, and that the girl was pulling something out of her pocket even as she crashed into her... Sailor Aluminum Siren jabbed her Taser into Serenity's side and blasted her with 10,000 volts. Neo Queen Serenity dropped to the ground, twitching and detransforming, as Siren tied her up. "Let's get her downstairs," Crow ordered. "And end this." SUB BASEMENT 3 - GINGA TOWERUsagi Tsukino awoke to a splash of cold water in her face. There was a harsh spotlight set in front of her, basically blinding her. "Crow... Siren...." she spluttered. "Let me outta here!" "Screw that," Siren snapped, cracking her whip in front of Usagi's face. "We've had it with Sailor Soldiers with god complexes!" "We're never going to have another Sailor Galaxia again!" Aluminum Siren cried out, bad memories resurfacing. "I'm not like that!" Usagi protested. "Just do what I say and everything will be fine!" "THAT'S EXACTLY LIKE THAT!" Crow and Siren chimed in unison. "But I'm the QUEEN!" Usagi protested. "you should obey me!" "I didn't vote for you to be queen," Crow said flatly. "Did you, Siren?" "Ara... there was an election?" Siren asked blankly. "I didn't know Queens got elected anywhere but Naboo." Crow facepalmed. "The point is, 'Neo Queen Usagi', that we're free now of things like dictators and Queens who want to tell us how to run our lives. And we're not going back to it!" "You sound just like those Nemesis people!" Usagi screeched. "They were all about 'freedom' and 'the right to fail', but they didn't understand that I just wanted to make everything better! I wanted to make them happy!!" "You can't just 'magic' happy!" Crow snapped. "People have to work for that! If they don't work for it, struggle for it, achieve it, then it's meaningless!" "No way!" Usagi protested. "All that struggle and hardship hurts! And sometimes you make mistakes that can haunt you! I was given the power! The power to reshape everything, to make it all good! And I want to use it!" "Is that why you were running around zapping people into kids, or hipsters, or breaking up marriages?" Crow yelled, pounding a fist against the wall. "to make those people happy?" "No one WAS TAKING ME SERIOUSLY!" Usagi yelled. "I HAD TO SHOW THEM!" Crow snarled. "Siren, get the car battery and the jumper cables." "Which car should I take the battery from?" Siren asked innocently. "Oh my god! Any car!" Crow exclaimed, exasperated. Siren giggled and went off to get one. "W-what are you going to do?" Usagi asked, eyes wide. " Well, the last time a Sailor Soldier decided they'd impose their will on us, we had to become craven hunters of the innocent, whether we liked it or not." Crow looked down, fury in her eyes. She tightened a fist. "We had to learn new tricks. Very nasty tricks." Siren returned with a car battery, jumper leads attached to the terminals. She crossed the leads, making sparks shoot out. "So I'm going to show you," Crow said darkly. "What an omnipotent dictator makes a person into." She grabbed the cables and advanced towards Usagi, who gulped. "Ara..." Siren said slowly, as Crow brought the leads closer to Usagi's odango, "are you sure about this, Crow-san?" Lead Crow kept on her poker face and didn't answer. But damn if she was sure of anything right now. She just... she just could not countenance the rebirth of another Chaos Galaxia. It was with no small measure of relief that Crow welcomed the stiff boot to the face that was delivered to her in the next second. Crow went crashing sideways, the recipient of a Sailor V kick, the jumper leads she was holding flying into the air, arcing dangerously. At the same time, Venus' crescent compact flew through the air and sliced through Usagi's restraints, before flying back into Venus' grip. "Karasuma-san, What do you think you're doing!!" Sailor Venus yelled, just before the jumper leads brushed against her and shocked her into unconsciousness. As Sailor Aluminum Siren raced between Crow and Venus to make sure everyone was okay, she completely failed to notice Usagi creeping up on her with a fire extinguisher... Braining Siren with the extinguisher, Usagi grabbed Venus' crescent compact and transformed into Neo Queen Serenity, grabbing Venus and flying up through the ceiling, emerging back at street level. Carefully laying Venus down on the ground, Serenity hunched over her and looked down at her. "V-chan..." she said slowly. "You came to save me." "A-always, Usagi-chan," Venus said slowly, coming around. "But what you're doing... it needs to stop." "You're right," Serenity said slowly, looking around. "It does." Venus smiled a bit. She knew that given enough time, Usagi would always do the right thing! "This world isn't ready for a Queen," Serenity noted. "So I'll just have to make it ready..." her voice trailed off. "What do you mean, 'make it ready'?" Venus asked in surprise, not liking where this was going. "What's a queen without her kingdom?" Serenity asked, pulling the Ginzuishou out of her pocket. "Crystal Tokyo must rise..." | ||
IV
THE FINAL
COUNTDOWN
|
"You're going to turn Tokyo into Crystal Tokyo?!" Venus asked in shock, trying to force herself to her feet, but still woozy from the electric shock. "We already lived through that, remember?! It was hell!"
"This time it'll be different!" Serenity insisted, smiling brightly. "You'll see!" "I can't let you..." Venus grunted, pushing herself to her feet, "do this..." Serenity smiled, and held up Venus' Crescent Compact. "You just did." She flipped it open, revealing the small crystal inside. "Now there are two of them!" Venus' jaw dropped. Serenity did something odd, and all of a sudden the energy from the Crescent Compact flowed into the Ginzuishou. At the same instant, Venus detransformed, and Minako lay on the ground, gasping for breath. "Don't worry!" Serenity chirped. "I'm just borrowing it, you'll be fine in a second." Minako couldn't reply, being out cold. Usagi noted this, and decided to hurry. ....Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world... The words floated in the air, like a dark pronouncement of death over a summer's breeze. Serenity turned to face their source, confused. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. The speaker of the words was a slender, pale young woman, a sailor solider, clad in the purple and black uniform of Saturn. "H-Hotaru-chan!?" Serenity gasped. Saturn gave no inclination that she heard Serenity, and instead completed her poem. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand; A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? Saturn pointed the tip of her glaive at Serenity, who had fallen asleep during the recitation, a snot bubble popping as she groggily woke back up. "Usagi-san," Saturn said flatly. "My father just released me from the Electric Warp, and this is what I awaken to find?" Serenity blinked. "Hotaru-chan! You're back to being 17.. err 20... err 25..." she trailed off, pondering. "Who the hell knows how old I am any more," Saturn mumbled disgustedly. "Since I was reduced to data in the warp, Papa overwote the changes you made to my body." "That's cheating!!" Serenity protested, flailing the Ginzuishou around. " I won't allow it!" She swung the crystal forward and fired a blast straight at Saturn. "SILENT WALL!" Saturn gritted her teeth and brought forth a barrier, but the Ginzuishou's light slammed into it and began cracking the dark dome almost instantly. "Dammit..." Saturn grunted. "I can't... fall here... I'm the... only one left... I'm all alone..." Then she was struck in the back by a beam of energy. And another. And another. And one more. Aquamarine, Red, Green and Blue power surged into her, strengthening the shield. "Heh," said a haughty, elegant voice from behind her. "In my day, we learned that we are never alone. Kids today, with your themes of self-sacrifice and righteous isolation... how gauche." Sailor Neptune smiled. "Hello, Hotaru-chan." "Michiru-momma!" Saturn was honestly glad to see her. And... behind her. Ami, Rei and Makoto, as well. "Michiru there forced us to come to the party," Sailor Jupiter said, grinning, giving Saturn a thumbs up. "Reminded us of our duty." "The odds may be against us, but we'll never give up!" Sailor Mercury exclaimed proudly, before meekly adding "twice" to the statement for total accuracy. "Usagi!" Sailor Mars yelled. "You're misbehaving and we're going to stop you!" Serenity looked at the scene in disbelief. Her lower lip twitched. Tears began filling her eyes. The others looked at each other, confused. "Why?" Serenity whined, eyes filled with tears, slowly rising into the sky like some kind of angel. "Why do you guys hate me so much, after all we've been though?" Sailor Saturn levitated up, boosted by the powers of the others, but she felt oddly unsteady for some reason, as if the others weren't concentrating fully. "I love all you guys," Serenity continued, almost bawling. "WHAT'S HAPPENED TO US!?" Mars, Jupiter and Mercury's eyes filled with tears. Sailor Neptune looked at them dimly, having a bad feeling about this. "Usagi-chan!" Mars cried out, tears flinging from her eyes. "Usagi-chan!" Jupiter wailed, choked up with nostalgia and grief. "Usagi-chan we still love you!" Mercury shrieked, feeling so guilty for everything. "Oh for the love of God, " Neptune muttered. But it was too late. The lines of power from the three girls had begun to waver and crack. "Remember, she's out of control! FOCUS!" "Michiru-san you never liked me!" Serenity continued to bawl. "You were so graceful and perfect and mature and awesome and I always wanted to be just like you and I was your greatest fan and I went to your concerts and everything and I adored you you were the best and my hero and all this time you hated me, no no no it's too much to BEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARR!" Serenity's whine was so loud it broke Neptune's concentration utterly, actually causing her and the other girls physical pain, shattering their concentration. Saturn's shield broke, and the white hot power of the Ginzuishou lanced right at her. Saturn barely dodged. "You lose!" Serenity playfully mocked, pulling down the lower lid of her eyelid and sticking out her tongue at Saturn before zooming to the ground and detransforming. At first, Saturn didn't understand what she meant, swinging her glaive around to make a strike. Then she realized that there was now no energy from the other girls fueling her upward ascent, and, from three hundred feet up, she began to fall to Earth, detransforming in shock. | ||
V
LAST MAN
STANDING
|
Suddenly, her fall stopped, and Hotaru found herself held in a pair of strong arms.
"You've gained some weight, Goth no Senshi", Jedite said with a smirk. "J-Jedite?!" Hotaru exclaimed, eyes wide as saucers. "But you... you died?!" On the ground, Neptune and the other inners shared a similar shocked reaction. Crow and Siren joined them, having crawled up from the hole Usagi had made exiting the Ginga Subbasement. "Hey!" Usagi yelled angrily. No one paid any attention to her. "Hah!" Jedite laughed. "Whatever gave you that idea?" "Haruka-poppa..." Hotaru began, trailing off sadly, remembering his death. "--Is an idiot," Jedite finished for her, nodding profoundly. "DON'T SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD, ASSHOLE!" A very female Haruka yelled from ground level, shaking her fist angrily at Jedite. "HEY!" Usagi yelled again, fretting, stamping her feet on the ground. Again, no one paid her any mind, all focused on the mindboggling reappearance of both Haruka and Jedite to the land of the living. "Haruka-poppa... you're alive?!" Hotaru was crying despite herself. Haruka shot Jedite the bird, utterly ignoring Hotaru's feelings. "I KILLED MYSELF TO GO DOWN TO HELL AND DRAG YOU OUT JOHNNY CAGE STYLE AND YOUR ASS WASN'T EVEN THERE, BASTARD!!" Jedite laughed heartily. "Who told you I was dead, idiot?!" "HEY, DAMMIT!" Usagi screamed and shot at Jedite with the Ginzuishou, sending a searing bolt of silver energy at him. Irately, the Dark General simply battled the blast away with his forearm, sending it careening into a semi truck, which then transformed into a bad Optimus Prime ripoff (i.e. Bayformer Prime) and walked off. EVERYONE except for Jedite and Haruka boggled at that sight, as they were too busy arguing. "GROWN PEOPLE ARE TALKING!" Jedite yelled at Usagi, then turned his attention back to Haruka. "Who told you I was dead." "He batted it away... like... like it was nothing..." Minako observed, jaw hanging out almost to her feet. "Dude, I *saw* you sacrifice yourself to save me," Haruka protested. Jedite started coughing. Horribly. Then it turned into a raspy, raucous laughter. "Moron. When, in all the years that you've known me, have I *ever*-- and I mean *ever* sacrificed myself... for anyone?" Haruka paused and thought for a moment. "Well.... ummm.... I figured since I was your friend and all this was an exception? And you said...you SAID you wouldn't be there to save my ass all the time!" Jedite laughed so hard he dropped Hotaru, who luckily had gotten back enough of her strength to retransform and landed safely on the ground, where she proceeded to gawk at the scene like everyone else. "Of course I won't be there to save you all the time. I have things to do!" Jedite spluttered. "But that portal... it came from inside..." Haruka was really reaching now. "Face it, Ten'ou, you're not that important to me," Jedite said with a smirk. "Also, I see the gyneomastia's returned." He patted his chest by way of indication, not really wanting to touch Haruka's. "Oh yeah, when I appeared in the Afterlife whatever Usagi did apparently wore off or didn't reach my soul or something so I was my normal self again. Then I evaded the guards and looked for you all over the place but I couldn't find you, and then they kicked me out. Man, I drove my car off a BRIDGE for you, man!" "...I'd forgotten she'd gotten herself banned from the afterlife by Lord Enma," Michiru reflected. "HARUKA!" she yelled. "YOU MADE ME WORRY!" "I love you too, babe," Haruka replied with a toothglint. Michiru would have swooned, but was too cool a hipster to do that. Instead she took off and cleaned her glasses embarrassedly. "SO WHAT IF THERE'S TWO MORE OF YOU!?" Usagi screamed. "I'LL TAKE YOU ALL DOWN JUST LIKE THE OTHERS!" "No, no you won't, Usagi-chan," Setsuna Meioh said, appearing in midair with Elios and Chibiusa. "We're all back." Eliso gave a thumbs up. "My lady found my statue in the love hotel yo, and she couldn't help herself yo, she used and abused it until my sick powers resurrected, yo! Then I gave her a little 'adjustin' of my own, yo~" "tit wwuz sew god tit blewo mai dam mynd," Chibiusa exhaled, still flush from the passion. "I FEAL GRATE!!111" "You mean all she needed was a good--" Makoto began before Ami clamped her mouth shut, blushing, scandalized. Hearing that, in the shadows the Batman limped away doing a walk of shame, the implication that the "Batarang" had not been good enough to serve the purpose of setting Chibiusa to rights, wounding him more than any assailant's knife ever could. Haruka looked over to the inner senshi, and to Michiru, and where she was standing, and in a glance realized what she had achieved. "You did good, Michi," Haruka said softly, standing by her, being joined by Hotaru, Setsuna, and Elios. Ami, Minako, Rei, and Makoto also stood alongside, with Professor Tomoe , Mimete, Sakura April and Tuxedo Kamen joining the line. Jedite stood in front of them, near Haruka. Usagi looked at everyone now arrayed against her, and shook her head. "It doesn't matter how many of you there are! In the name of the moon, I'll beat you! I'll remake Crystal Tokyo and make everything perfect again!" "Try it, moon girl," Jedite mocked. "Just like you tried to fry me just now and failed." "Shut up! I remember when you were run over by a stupid plane!" Usagi snapped. "Ahh, the good old days," Jedite mused, pressing a finger to his forehead. "Too bad that's all they are now... old days." His eyes narrowed and he grinned darkly. "Dude," Haruka whispered. "How DID you block that shot, anyway?" Jedite shrugged. "Haruka Ten'ou. What's the one thing I believe in more strongly than anything else?" "That you're better than everyone else?" Haruka volunteered. "Close," Jedite corrected. "I have supreme self-confidence in myself and my abilities as opposed to everyone else's. My will and my ego are in perfect harmony." "So you're a dick," Makoto helpfully observed, drawing murmurs and nods of agreement from everyone. Jedite ignored them all. "All of you senshi have worked with Tsukino the Elder there for so long that you literally believe she can move mountains with her mind." "Hello magic space rock?" Rei pointed out. "Hello Ginga building turned to Ice Cream?" Minako observed, pointing to her poor skyscraper. "Hello hipster Michiru?" Haruka noted, ogling her, and approving of the glasses. "Hello...." Michiru blushed despite herself. "Yes, yes, yes. And how does she perform half her miracles? I've watched the videotape; she asks _all of you_ for help, to boost her power and bring her visions to life. " He looked at the senshi, crossed his legs, made big watery eyes and mockingly said "Onegai, Minna-san!" in the most girly voice possible, in one stroke pissing off every senshi there. "Anyway," he continued, resuming his serious tone, "You're all so invested in her seeming omnipotence that you let her roll you over with ease. All her crystal does is translate thoughts into reality." "YOU SAY THAT LIKE IT'S A SMALL THING, JED" Professor Tomoe interjected. "Yes yes. It translates thoughts. But _whose_?" "Hers, duh!" Makoto replied. "Why?" Jedite asked sincerely. Everyone just looked at each other, murmuring. "Because she has posession of it?" Ami ventured. Jedite shrugged. "Sure she has the ignition key for the car, but once it gets rolling, it's out there. Think about it. How else can all of you add to her little lightshows?" "So what are you saying?" Haruka asked slowly. "I'm simply saying-- and by Metallia I want to vomit hearing these words come out of my mouth-- that we all have to believe in ourselves and each other, absolutely, and that Space Rock will have as much impact as a pebble to the face. " "bat wat if da peoble gatz in ur eyz" Chibiusa pointed out. "You are not helping, Exploded turnip-head." Jedite growled. "Remember, there are fourteen of us and one of her." "But I don't want to hurt Usagi-chan!" Minako protested. The other inners agreed, while Haruka and Michiru sort of gave lip service to the sentiment. Jedite facepalmed. "Who said anything about 'hurting'? I can't believe *I'm* the one who has to lecture you about victory without bloodshed. Just focus on nullfying whatever she does, that's good enough!" The others murmured amongst each other, muttering "we knew that" and "who does he think he is". "But I wanna hit her," Haruka protested, drawing a sharp "NO!" from the others, and a very-half-hearted "no" from Setsuna. "Dammit," Haruka grumbled. "Talk all you want," Usagi said confidently, "but I'm still going to win!" She fired a shot from the Ginzuishou at everyone. "Come on, let's all be one big happy family again, and do what I say, okay? here's to CRYSTAL TOKYO!" The others looked at each other, and collectively looked back at Usagi, saying "NO!" Their ki auras flared as they closed their eyes and just envisioned themselves staying exactly the way they were. "We are a happy family already!" Hotaru exclaimed. "ya, butt ot ov oar sit! nobadi neadz kistal tokio nemore!1111" Chibiusa chimed in. "Don't be a homewrecker, yo," Elios lectured sternly as everyone else sweatdropped at the hypocrisy. "We've grown up already, Usagi-chan, now it's your turn!" Ami said boldly. Usagi's beam faltered, flickering a little. "No!" She cried out. "We should all be happy together like it was in Crystal Tokyo!" "No one was happy there, least of all you!" Tuxedo Kamen exclaimed. "It was just one giant chore, don't you remember?!" "But I--- I---" Usagi's beam faltered even more. "Without me holding things together--- everyone's drifted so far apart!!" "Is that what this is about, neko-chan?" Haruka asked gently, walking into the beam fully, totally unaffected. "People moving on?" "I thought it was about her wanting respect, yo," Elios asked in confusion. Usagi rubbed one eye with the back of her forearm to block the tears even as she futilely kept trying to bathe everyone in the light of the Ginzuishou. "I--" she sniffled "I became this big joke after Crystal Tokyo! And then all my friends, who used to hang out with me all the time, they started going off and having boyfriends and families and houses and adventures and-- and--" "---And you were left behind," Haruka nodded, understanding. "When I'm the leader I'm at the center! Everyone stays around and looks after me! But now... now it's just me and-- and-- I don't know how to live!! I don't KNOW WHAT TO DOOOOO!!!" Usagi dropped to her knees, letting the crystal clatter to the ground, it's light spluttering out. "Yoink!" Jedite exclaimed, reaching for it, but Michiru held him back even as he protested. "Now you're all against me!" Usagi exclaimed, looking at everyone. "All against me!" "Because you're being silly, dear," Michiru scolded. Usagi suddenly leapt for the crystal again, grabbing it, filling it with light. "I know! I know what'll make you love me again!" "We don't hate you now," Hotaru said quietly. Usagi looked over to Makoto. "Mako-chan!" "Huh?" Makoto asked, surprised Usagi had locked on to her. "Motoki-oniisan! You keep having trouble with him, right? I can use this to make him the perfect man for you, so you can love him and get married like you always wanted!" Makoto blushed, and then shook her head. "No, Usagi-chan," she said slowly. "That' wouldn't be right. " Usagi's eyes went wide and she turned to Ami. "Ami-chan! I know how much you miss your father! I'll get him to come back into your life!" "No, Usagi, but thank you." Ami smiled softly. Usagi was almost panicing now, turning to Hotaru. "I know! You want a bustline!" Hotaru fumed. "No," she said tersely, lying. Usagi looked from person to person. "What? None of you? Don't any of you want my gifts?!" Usagi bawled, tears filling her eyes and frustration rising not in her impotence at being able to convince anyone, but at the fact that her friends wouldn't let her do this for them! "Usagi-chan," Minako said quietly, smiling softly, "thank you, but we want to make our way ourselves... doing things with the Ginzuishou would be a cheat." Usagi grabbed Minako by the shoulders and shook her comically. "You've never not taken shortcuts before!!!" she insisted. Minako's head flopped back and forth as Usagi shook her. She stammered out "T-True! B-But I grew up a little!" Usagi let go, causing Minako to stagger back a few steps, dizzy. Makoto and Haruka caught her and held her steady as Usagi's eyes widened. "Grew up?" Usagi looked at her hands. They were the hands of a 25 year old-- youth preserved by the power of the Ginzuishou and her Senshi nature-- but at her heart, she knew she was still that 20 year old who had balked at the idea of taking the reins of the world, but who had resigned herself to that fate for the good of the world. "You never got to grow up, Princess", Haruka said, surprisingly tenderly. "We all did." She then belched. "Some of us, anyway," Michiru chided. Usagi looked at her friends with pleading, tear-filled eyes, all stubborn arrogance gone. She seemed smaller, somehow, tired. "I just..." she hesitated, almost trailing off. "I just want to make everyone happy. Let me. Let me give you your heart's desires! PLEASE!" It wasn't about victory now, or scoring points, and everyone saw it. Here was the old Usagi, driven by a an almost maniac desire to make things better in the way she never could for the world. Nemesis had rejected her. The 31st century had rejected her. Stubborn human foibles and fraility, and the desire to be free to fail had rejected her. And now, so too were her friends. Hotaru, who until this point had been content to remain silent, observing, finally spoke up. "Give us a moment, Usagi-san." She smiled at Usagi and motioned for the others to join her in a huddle, discussing something in hushed tones with the rest of them. Usagi watched in silence, blood pounding in her ears. She'd fought her friends and abused them so badly! She expected nothing less than to be totally rejected and sent away. Minute after minute went by, and the discussion grew more heated. Eventually, Usagi could take the tension no longer. "Minna-san--" she began tentatively, offering to hand the Ginzuishou to Minako. "I'll just go--" "Be quiet, Usagi-chan," Michiru said firmly, eyes firm with resolve as the others hushed and fell in behind her. "We have decided to accept your offer." Usagi blinked. She hadn't really expected that! Michiru walked over to Usagi and placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Let me tell you our wish." She knelt closer and whispered into Usagi's ear, telling her the one overriding desire that everyone had consented to. Usagi's eyes widened, and then she fell to her knees, shaking. Tears burst forth from her very soul, and her body shook as she was wracked with emotion. The wish they had decided upon... it was almost too much for her to bear! "I can't... I can't..." she began slowly, choking back sobs. "It doesn't work that way for--" Minako held up up a hand, smiling brightly now. "Usagi-chan, just open the floor for us... we'll do the rest. " "Door", Artemis , Hotaru and Ami reflexively corrected. "Whatever!" Minako snapped in indignation as Usagi nodded at the others with a weak smile. Usagi braced herself and held out the Ginzuishou, its light filling the area with blinding white brilliance. "Please, Silver Crystal..." Usagi began, "hear their wish..." Everyone looked at Usagi and smiled. Together, everyone, along with a few more who had just arrived from the ruins of the Ginga Tower-- Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Ami, Makoto, Minako, Chibiusa, Tomoe, Mimete, Elios, Artemis, Crow, Siren, Rei, Motoki, Mamoru, rei.bot and even Setsuna and Psycho Sakura April-- made one single solitary wish on the crystal... NINE MONTHS LATER"It's over." The terse, simple text from Ami was all anyone needed to see. Within minutes the Tsukino household was overrun by visitors. It was all anyone could do to cram into the once-considered spacious livingroom. All eyes were focused on the staircase to the upper bedroom. Slowly, carefully, Usagi, dressed in a pink fuzzy robe, and Mamoru, in formal dress, made their way down the stairs, cradling a delicate newborn swaddled in fresh linen. Usagi looked flushed, tired and frazzled-- and most notably for those who could see, the light of the Silver Crystal no longer filled her aura. Instead, it bathed the baby's tiny form. "Everyone," Mamoru said proudly, "I'd like to introduce the newest member of our family, Tsukino Kousagi!" He held up the baby akin to Simba in the Lion King. And then almost dropped it. "Way to go, Michael Jackson," Haruka chided, steadying the child. Everyone clapped and cheered, not just for the birth of the new baby, but for the symbolism it represented. Finally, their collective wish had been granted. Usagi would have the normal life she had never been able to have as Serenity. The power had finally been passed to a new generation that would be better prepared to handle it. "Thank you, minna-san," Usagi whispered gratefully, tears filling her eyes. She sighed with happiness, and with the burden of a great responsibility lifted from her shoulders. Never again would she wear the fate of humanity on her shoulders... She slid her hands into her robe pocket and felt the outlines of a small stick with a familiar ornament on the end, smiling to herself. ...For while Serenity III was no more, the heroine of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon... would be eternal. "Yoink!" Haruka yelled, having leapt up the stairs, grabbing the stick out of her pocket and somersaulting back down over Mamoru. "Hey!" Usagi yelled at her. "Give that back, Haruka-san!" "You're f[BLEEP]ing retired!" Haruka replied, flipping her the bird. "Take care of your kid!" She grinned, bolting out the door. "You'll get this back in 20 years or so. Until then, *we're* in charge~" "No way!" Usagi yelled, giving chase. "I know where you put those henshin sticks!!" "YOU DO?!" everyone yelled, sweatdropping. "Well-- no!" Usagi admitted, as she left the house, "But it can't be somewhere safe!" Mamoru stood there, cradling the baby as everyone else ran after Usagi and Haruka. He laughed. For the first time in a long time, he felt that everything was going to be all right. And you know what? It was. |