GODDESS REVEALED A Sailor Moon fanfic By: Alan O'Kelly Kodachi16@fcmail.com lavender.fortunecity.com/dolls/119 DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon and the rest of the gang are property of Naoko Takeuchi, not me. However, the Goddess Stones are my creation. ----- PROLOGUE You may not know it, but there was once a vast empire within the Milky Way. 67 million years ago. It controlled a quarter of the entire galaxy when it was at its full glory. What happened to this race, why haven't we seen or heard of them by now? Let me tell you their story. The race of beings that ruled the empire were humanoid in form and were very peaceful. As they spread through out the galaxy they found new races, some with spacefaring technology, and some just evolving into intelligent species. They gathered the technology of the hundreds of races that they found and applied them to their own technology. The technological knowledge of all the combined civilizations were put to use to create devices of protection against hostile races. Weapons of mass destruction. The highly advanced weapons were rarely used by the alien beings because of their hatred of war. A decision was made by the four members of the council, which ruled the civilization, to create a special device that would allow them to create life on barren planets in a matter of minutes, to stop disasters like super novae, and to finally end all war. Four stones made of rare minerals were imbued with the most powerful technology, known as Tetra, within the aliens' grasp. Tetra was so advanced that it could be called magic. The four stones were named the Goddess Stones. Each council member was given control of one of the Goddess Stones The four stones had limited power when used separately, but only when they were used together would they release their full potential, this was so that if one of the council did not agree with the actions being taken, the stones would be nearly useless. All was well within the empire, the civilization began to grow triple its previous rate, because of the magnificent power of the Goddess stones. But, like all things, nothing lasts forever. One of the council became corrupt by the power of the stones and demanded that the others give up theirs, or die. There was a battle in the great council room and only the traitor and the high councilman survived. The traitor, a female named Tsuoki, was able to get the two Goddess stones from the fallen councilmen. The mighty empire split into two separate groups and there was an immense galactic war, unlike that of any other being had ever seen in the universe. The war machines that were rarely used became fully functional and were prepared for full-scale battles. In four galactic standard years near to twenty trillion beings perished, thirty-two worlds were destroyed, one hundred and eighty nine planets became uninhabitable, and eleven stars went nova by the two opposing forces. On the fifth year of the galactic war the two sides met for one final showdown with the small, tattered remnants of their once mighty star fleets. During the battle the two mother ships from each side docked with one another and a battle raged on the inside of the two massive ships, like a virus. Tsuoki and an armored escort battled their way to the bridge of the high councilman's ship. Tsuoki demanded the final stone, but the councilman had only smiled and shook his head at her. Tsuoki began to torture him immediately; he cracked and told her the truth. He had put the stone in a sublight fusion transporter and shot it to the other side of the galaxy. Tsuoki became enraged and began destroying everything around her. The high councilman saw his chance and dragged his broken body to a command concil. Unnoticed by Tsuoki he had put his palm on a smooth metal plate and all the screens on the ship came alive with red lights. The self-destruct mechanism turned on and then the main computer linked onto the destruct mechanisms of every loyal ship. The whole fleet began to count down in unison. Tsuoki, finally noticing the grave danger, screamed in rage and bolted for an escape pod. She jumped in and was followed by two of her personal guards. The bulkhead slid closed and they were jettisoned out of the space cruiser. The Tetra-light drive kicked in just as the battlefield bloomed into thousands of fireballs. Her rage had been powerful and some how she had managed to keep from killing her two fellow passengers. She sat and looked longingly at her three Goddess stones. The fourth was out there, she knew it, and she would scour every single inch of the galaxy for it, even if took all eternity. She laughed maniacally and her guards cringed. Once she had the last stone she would be the ultimate power, she would become a goddess. ----- Two million years later the fourth stone entered into a distant star system and streaked towards a planet in its path. As the black, fist sized stone entered the atmosphere, thousands of large reptiles looked into the sky. The stone hit the surface and a gigantic explosion followed. The shockwave spread over a huge area on the planet, destroying and killing everything in its wake. The destruction was equal to that of a seven-mile wide meteor impacting with the surface. Dust was thrown into the atmosphere and the climate changed. The large reptiles died and life on the planet became nearly extinct. Thus began a new era. ----- CHAPTER 1: The Stranger Mamoru walked down fifth street towards a small market, intending to purchase some groceries for the week. He turned as he heard his name called. "Mamo-chan!" cried Usagi happily. She ran to him with Chibbi Usa following along behind. She rushed into his arms and sighed with pleasure. "Mamo-chan, I'm so happy to see you. We're going to go to the mall, would you like to come?" She looked hopefully at him. Mamoru sighed inwardly, well it appears that I'll be getting my groceries later, he thought. Mamoru nodded and smiled at her, "I'll be happy to go along." Usagi hugged him harder, obviously pleased. Chibbi Usa stood behind Usagi, fuming. She reached up and pulled out one of Usagi's hairs. "OUCH!" exclaimed Usagi. She left Mamoru's arms and glared at Chibbi, "That HURT you little brat!" Chibbi Usa only smiled at her then ran to Mamoru. He picked up Chibbi Usa and put her on his shoulders. Now was Usagi's turn to be jealous. Chibbi stuck her tongue out at Usagi and then grinned in triumph. Usagi settled for wrapping herself around one of Mamo-chan's arms as they began their walk to the mall. It was a warm summers day but the trip was not too far. They walked together as any normal people in love would, except they weren't just any couple, they were prince and princess, lovers destined to be together. Through out their lives they had fought evil and their love had always triumphed, they were truly a match made in heaven. Usagi, Mamoru, and Chibbi Usa rested on a bench outside of the mall after they arrived. Usagi lost herself in Mamoru's beautiful eyes; it was like staring out at the magnificent glory of space. She felt as though she could sit there, in that bench, staring into his eyes for the rest of her life. Mamoru put a hand on her shoulder and reality rushed back. "Usako, are you all right?" He asked, concerned, "We can go home if you like." Usagi shook her head, "No, it's okay, I was just thinking of how beautiful your eyes are." Mamoru chuckled, a little embarrassed, and Chibbi Usa growled at her. "Let's go!" Usagi said as she stood up. Together they walked through the main entrance of the mall and began to shop inside clothing stores. After a while Usagi and Chibbi Usa sat down at a table in the food court. Mamoru volunteered to get food for them and disappeared in the large crowd of hungry people "Do you think you asked Mamo-chan to get enough food for you Usagi?" Asked Chibbi Usa sarcastically, "He'll bring back enough to feed a table of six." Usagi harumphed and refused to give Chibbi the benefit of that remark. She looked through the crowd to see if she could spot Mamoru. He was over at a stand buying some hamburgers, per Usagi's request. Then a very tall muscular man moved over to Mamoru and whispered something to him. Usagi watched this with some concern. Who is that weirdo, she thought. The strange man then put a finger on Mamoru's forehead. That does it. Usagi stood, told Chibbi Usa to wait at the table, then ran to Mamo-chan. By the time Usagi reached Mamoru the stranger was gone without a trace. Mamoru looked dazed so Usagi supported him, "Who was that Mamo-chan?" She asked. Chibbi Usa came over, ignoring Usagi's command. Mamoru put a hand on his forehead, where the man had touched, and shook his head, "I don't know, but he did something to me, it was like..." he tried to describe what he had felt, "It felt like he was looking into my memories...searching them for something." "Let's go find him, and we'll figure out what he's up to." declared Chibbi Usa. Mamoru would have used his better judgment and left it alone, but not this time, he had a horrible feeling about it. He had to find out what the man was searching for. Mamoru finally regained his sense of balance and the three of them went to look for the mystery man. They finally managed to spot him six minutes later; he was like a shadow, slipping from place to place quickly and unseen by others. They were able to keep up and followed him outside. Mamoru, Usagi, and Chibbi Usa hid behind a row of large bushes and watched as the strange man met up with an even larger man. They began to speak. "No luck here," said the first, shaking his head, "But I know it's on this planet, I've never gotten a stronger feeling of it before, except during the showdown in Mikagou system." The second nodded, "I believe it is time to awaken her majesty and tell her that we've discovered the location of the fourth stone." Usagi looked at Mamoru, puzzled, and he only shrugged. It was a very strange conversation, but so were the two men. Chibbi Usa sneezed and Usagi's hands flew to Chibbi's mouth to muffle any further noise. Mamoru peered through the bushes again but the men were gone. Mamoru sighed, "They're gone now. I don't like the sound of what they were discussing. We'd better keep our eyes and ears open for anything, something could happen." Mamoru shook his head in helplessness, "Come on let's go back to my place for a little while." Usagi only nodded and Chibbi Usa looked down and studied her shoes, ashamed of her self. "Don't worry Chibbi Usa," assured Mamoru, "Let's go get some ice cream on the way back, okay?" Chibbi Usa smiled and nodded, relieved to find out the Mamo-chan wasn't mad at her. ----- CHAPTER 2: Visions Setsuna Meiou sat on a park bench, watching small children play. Youth, she thought, so unaware of the evils of the world, and not to mention the universe. The life of a child is bliss. Setsuna sighed and shifted her position on the hard seat. She was the guardian of time, and ironically, she had no time to have a relationship. It was agony for her but she did not regret being one of the senshi for a minute. Childrens' laughter. Setsuna was afraid, afraid for the children in this world, in this era. The negaverse was all around before the rise of Crystal Tokyo. No one was truly safe...but the children played, unknowing and happy. The wind ruffled the leaves in the trees around her and sent shivers down her spine. For the third time today she felt the evil building around the planet and knew that another attack was coming. Setsuna watched a large odd looking man walk through the park towards the playground. He seemed out of place as if he somehow didn't belong there. Meiou knew who it was at once. He was part of the new alien group that would soon be attacking. She watched him approach a little girl and place a finger on her forehead. The small child flopped onto her bottom and began to wail, the child's mother ran to the her, never noticing the stranger that had made the her daughter fall. Setsuna waited till the stranger left, and she followed him. He stopped behind a bathroom area and Setsuna stood just around the corner listening. "The energy we're following around appears to be emanating from several people that have come close to the stone's location. Just tetra-energy residue. We need to a high detail density and probability tetra-scan, to narrow our search." The first voice was a deep baritone. She peeked around the corner, the man she had seen in the park was smaller than the one he was talking to, "How is it going this Lady Tsuoki, I trust all is well?" The second man spoke, "I just let her majesty out of the stasis freeze, she needs to rest for a day or two, but she'll be fine." The second man was of higher rank guessed Meiou, "She will want a full report and much progress when she is fully recovered, Shimasama." "Yes, yes, fine. She shall have them, but remember that it was your idea to search these people one at a time." Said Shimasama with much irritation. Setsuna Meiou nodded, yes the puzzle was coming together and the time line was passing as it should. She listened to them for a few minutes longer until they de-materialized, heading back to their command center, whereever that currently was. Meiou turned back to look at the small children. The senshi and I will make the world safe for those children, she thought, and for their future generations. She watched them a minute longer than began the long walk back to the cafe Elranger. ----- Sterile, recycled air rushed into her lungs. She bolted upright and panicked. Who am I, she though, where am I. Then it all flooded back. The war, the search that had lasted for millions of galactic years, and the final, elusive, Goddess stone. She looked around and saw her three Goddess stones on a stand in the northern corner of her room. Tsuoki pushed herself off of the raised bed and gripped the side to keep from collapsing on the floor. "Damn, I hate getting out of stasis freeze." She walked slowly and carefully to an inter-ship communications holograph that was built into the wall next to the stones. She placed her palm on the panel and an image of Matsumuri was projected in front of her. He looked up at her surprised then dropped to the floor on both knees, bowing deeply as if in worship. "Rise." She commanded. The image flickered twice and the man rose. "Tell me, have you found the final stone." Matsumuri spoke, "Yes and no, your majesty. We know for a fact that it's on this planet, but we're unable to pinpoint its exact location." He cleared his throat and bowed again, this time on his feet, and began to speak again, "Shimasama is out right now searching. We're currently screening through this planets beings for any signs of the Goddess stone's powers. So far we've narrowed it down to two hundred and thirty eight beings that could possibly have any knowledge or actually have the stone." Tsuoki felt her anticipation growing and she felt better again. "Good work," she told Matsumuri. "Let me know when Shimasama gets back." She waved her hand over the image and it disappeared. Time for meditation, she thought. Tsuoki sat down with the three stones set out in front of her and closed her eyes. Her meditation was the link to the secrets of the universe, she knew things that no other being could possibly understand, or would ever know. She knew the secrets of life...and death, and Tsuoki intended to use them once she got the final stone. "And this time," she whispered to herself, "The council can't stop me from using the stones to their full extent." While in a trance she was in a place, like a different dimension, that was between the plains of life and death. She stared of into the void and whispered in an ancient tongue to the eternal beings that made it their home. Images began to form in the void, sounds, smells, feelings, all strange and familiar at the same time. The spirits, if that is what you liked to call them, appeared. They had no definite shape or mass but they were all as black as the void itself. An aura was around each of the void dwellers, but they were not beautiful, and colorful, like that of a normal being...no, they shriveled and ugly, swirling around their bodies. The creatures whispered low inaudible things that only Tsuoki could hear, the things they said to her, the horrors they told her about the universe, drove her near to the edge of insanity. That, of course, was the risk of the link. She focused her mind and continued to listen, there was no time in the void, she did not know if she listened to the denizens of the strange dimension for a few minutes, or for several hours. At last the ruler of the void creatures took form before her. It floated close to her and circled around her, tasting her essence; seeing if she was worthy of its help. It stopped behind her and floated close to her right ear. It spoke in another ancient tongue, in riddles, as the void people nearly always did, -What you seek is here. A warrior of future watches this past, while Saturn holds the stone. Beware the moon and her followers, for they will thwart your plans.- "Where?" she whispered to the void king, "Where can I find the stone that I search endlessly for." The king rumbled laughter and at once she was no longer in the void, but floating several hundred feet above a large city. The king and its followers were still around her. The void king roared like a dying Malukanassis, -YOU CAN FIND THE STONE, WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT, HERE. IN THIS PLACE CALLED TOKYO.- After he spoke these final words he, and his servants, vanished. Tsuoki was returned to her personal quarters on board the cruiser "Huntress", which she had claimed as her own, 135,000 millennia ago, after her final confrontation with the council forces. Tsuoki stood and stretched; her muscles no longer weak. She moved for the communications holograph and called Matsumuri once more. His image flickered on in front of Tsuoki and he bowed his deep bow to her again. "Rise," she said, and he rose. "How long have I been in my meditation?" she asked. "Seven standard hours your majesty." He said watching her, "Forgive me my Lady, but could I be outright and ask what it is that you saw?" She considered if his request would help in any way with the mission, then nodded, "I was told that when the time comes, we will find the final Goddess stone in a city called Tokyo." Matsumuri nodded, making a mental note, then she added, "A few other things, someone knows what were doing, a 'warrior from the future', find this being and exterminate it. Also, I want you to watch out, we may have some troubles with some inhabitants of the planet, 'Beware the moon and her followers' I was told by the void people." Matsumuri bowed, "It shall be as you command." His loyalty was unquestionable and she knew he would keep his word. "Your Majesty, Shimasama has returned and is ready to give you a full report if it is your wish." "Send him in immediately." She turned off the holo-communicator and walked to the viewing window that was the west wall of her room. She looked out at the earth as her flagship now circled in orbit around the blue planet. The words echoed over and over in her head. Saturn holds the stone. ----- People walked up and down the streets going, on with their inane lives. Cars drove through the heavily trafficked streets. Some where a man was mugged, some where else a drug lord and a several police were having a shoot out. The day went on like any other. Faintly, a deep rumbling started beneath the city, ancient pressure finally being forced out. The ground shook slightly then the pressure was released full force. On one side of the city the ground rose one hundred feet strait up. Buildings downtown began to collapse and manhole covers exploded upward into the sky, smashing cars and killing a many people on their return trip to the ground. Fire burst forth from the cracked earth and the quake continued on. More skyscrapers toppled over, killing thousands. One fissure burst wide and a small rock shot out like rocket, from the intense pressure. Then the massive quake stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The stone fell from the sky two miles away from the city and made a twenty-foot wide crater on impact with the earth. The stone was bright red from the intense heat, and would remain so for several hours. In the city, screams of the wounded and dying could be heard, accompanied by the sirens of police, fire trucks, and ambulances. The once large industrious city now lay crumpled and destroyed by the small display of power from the Goddess stone. ----- Hotaru sat on a grassy hill next to the small road that led farther into the country, from the city which laid a mile to the north. She, Haruka, and Michiru had gone out for a picnic in the country. Hotaru smiled and listened to Haruka and Michiru, who were a short distance off, talk. You can't ask for a more perfect day, she thought, birds chirping, sun shining, a cool breeze, and no troubles. Things had calmed down recently since after the last attack by aliens two months ago. She flopped onto her back and spread her arms wide, trying to soak up as much sun as she could. Hotaru felt a peculiar rumbling and she sat back up and looked around, Haruka and Michiru had also stopped talking. The shaking rose to an incredible intensity. Hotaru gripped some grass between her fists to get some leverage while the other two senshi fell over. It seemed to go on forever, but in all actuality the quake only lasted about a minute and a half. Silence spread over the valley, all the birds and animals were not making a sound. Faintly, very faintly, she could hear the death cries in the city. Haruka Ten'ou helped Michiru up and they ran to Hotaru. "We must get to the city and help the survivors," cried Michiru. Hotaru was up and she followed them to Haruka's red convertible. She jumped into the back seat and the other senshi slipped into the car. Haruka turned on the car, jammed her foot on the gas pedal, and it shot towards the city at one hundred and forty two miles per hour. Hotaru listened to the engine shift gears and accelerate, it was hypnotic. All she could hear was the engine. Then all the noise began to fade, Michiru and Haruka disappeared and darkness filled her vision. A voice whispered to her, it was a pleasant, soft voice. She couldn't understand its words, but they filled images inside her head. She saw an empire and its fall, she saw a war that killed trillions, and she saw four stones of immense power. The voice filled her with more visions, visions that told her of a maniacal plot by an evil being that planned to rule the galaxy. It told her of the last stone and she understood. Hotaru wanted to ask were the stone was, but she found that she could not speak. As if reading her thoughts (which it was most likely doing) the voice showed her the location of the stone. The voice showed her a spot out in the country where there was a large crater and a super heated stone. Then she understood the final words of the voice. "Protect the stone." Hotaru woke from her trance and was back in the speeding car again. Her eyes searched in the distance until her eyes found the location she was looking for. "I'll go back for the stone soon," she whispered to herself. Fear of the new threat spread through her, "I shall protect the stone with my life." Haruka's car screeched to a halt at the end of a blocked road, just inside the city. The damages were staggering. Buildings had collapsed and roads were split several feet apart in many areas. The three senshi jumped out of the convertible and ran to check for people that were still alive. Hotaru heard a pitiful moaning and she searched for its source. Amid the trash and rubble on the far side of the street a young man was lying face down on the pavement. A manhole cover had landed on his back. A busted fire hydrant four yards away from the man gushed a huge geyser of water into the sky and had soaked him thoroughly. Hotaru grunted as she moved the manhole cover off of the injured man. He was still alive, but his back and at least six of his ribs were broken. She looked at his face, which lay turned to his right side, and saw blood flowing freely from his nose. She concentrated and put her hands out over the injured man. Hotaru called on her powers of healing and the man's bones began to set and knit themselves, big purple and black bruises disappeared, and the bleeding stopped. Hotaru knelt down, tired from using her healing powers, and watched as the man got up. He looked dazed and confused then turned and staggered off. For the next two hours Hotaru, Michiru, and Haruka were busy helping the seemingly inexhaustible number of wounded until paramedics could arrive and give more proper aid. When all the wounded in their area were seen to they walked back to Haruka's car and slumped in the seats. All three groaned and closed their eyes, trying to get some much-needed rest. The symphony of screams and sirens could still be heard in the city, however, the senshi had helped all they could. Hotaru opened her eyes. The sun had moved to the horizon and it was beginning to get dark. I fell asleep, she realized. Hotaru saw Haruka and Michiru sleeping in the front seats. Get the stone. Hotaru realized with a start that the stone, which she had temporarily forgotten about, was in great danger. "Michiru! Haruka! Wake up, we need to hurry!" Michiru opened her eyes and yawned. She looked back at Hotaru, "Hugh? What are you talking about?" Haruka was also awake and watching Hotaru. "I had a vision. There are aliens coming to claim a powerful artifact." Hotaru pointed out to the valley they had come from, and told them of what she had seen. "It's out in the valley." Haruka spoke, looking angry, "When did you have this vision?" "I had it on the way to the city. We were so busy I thought I-" Haruka cut her off, "That was incredibly stupid, this is a very important matter." Haruka was angry, but she realized she was being a bit to rash, "I'm sorry that I yelled. Please, Hotaru, if you have another vision you must let us know." Hotaru nodded, "I apologize, I wasn't thinking right. I will make sure to tell you anything else that I see." Michiru nodded and Haruka turned on the car. "So," asked Haruka, "Where can we find this rock?" ----- CHAPTER 3: Decisions Ami strolled down Tantaia avenue on her way home from her advanced computer training class. The air was beginning to cool and the sky was darkening. A few cars passed by and she sighed. It is so beautiful outside tonight, she thought; it's almost a shame that I've got to study for my advanced calculus class. "Ami!" called a familiar voice. She stopped and turned to see Makoto run up to meet her. "I was just at Usagi's. How's it going?" A breeze blew some hair into Makoto's eyes and she brushed it away, irritated. "Oh, it's okay. I was just thinking what a nice night it is." The first stars could now be seen in the darkening sky. Makoto nodded her agreement. "How's Usagi?" She asked, wondering if the mystery man from the mall was still on Usagi's mind. Makoto laughed, "She's the same old Usagi." Makoto knew that Ami wanted to know about the man. "Usagi does seem to be a bit more relaxed about our stranger from the mall, but Luna says that we should still keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Ami only nodded as they walked down the sidewalk. They walked in silence for a while, each following their own thoughts. "Excuse me." A voice penetrated the silence and the Ami and Makoto stopped and turned around to the voice's source. There was a very tall muscular man, like a six foot seven inch Arnold Schwarzeneger, and he was standing by a lamppost. Odd, thought Ami, I didn't see or hear anyone coming before I passed that post. "What can we do for you?" asked Makoto. The man took two steps from the lamppost, which was quite a distance considering the man's enormous size. "I'm looking for a smooth, round, black stone. I just need to check your memory for a second." The man reached out his giant hand attempted to put his fingers on Makoto's forehead. Makoto lurched back and took a defensive stance. "Back off buddy," she bluffed, "Or you'll have to mess with me." Makoto knew she was no match for the man in hand-to-hand combat. Makoto's comment apparently amused the giant and he bellowed raucous laughter. After a moment he stopped and smiled at her, "Little girl, I have no time for this." The large man held out his hand, palm up. A ball of high-density plasma energy took form in his hand; it twisted and grew larger slowly. The man thrust his palm out and the blast streaked towards Makoto. Leaping, just in time, Makoto evaded the large blast and tumbled into some bushes beside the road. The plasma energy collided with a concrete wall and enveloped it in liquid flame. The area became well lit by the fire. Ami pulled out her transformer, "MECURY STAR POWER...MAKE UP!" The large man watched in amusement and surprise as Ami changed. "JUPITER STAR POWER...MAKE UP!" Jupiter and Mercury stood on opposite sides of the huge man. Jupiter pointed at him, "I am the guardian of the planet Jupiter. I will not allow you to find that what you seek, for you are wicked. Beware...I am Sailor Jupiter!" "And I am the guardian of the planet Mercury, your search stops here, you will no longer harm others...I am Sailor Mercury!" They stood poised to fight. To their utter amazement the man bellowed laughter again. "Since the two of you wish to pursue this to the end, I will be happy to oblige you. Come...show me what you've got." He folded his arms and waited. Mercury took advantage of the man's stupidity while she still could. "AQUA RHAPSODY!" The aqua blast streaked to the giant and collided into an invisible barrier that surrounded him. He stood unharmed, smirking at them. Jupiter was infuriated by the man's belief in his superiority. She took a shot at his back, "SPARKLING VITAL PRESSURE!" The ball of electricity diffused on the surface of the giant's protective barrier. Jupiter roared and charged the man, his back was turned to her and his legs were planted wide. I'll show him his inferiority to a woman, she thought. Running towards him she swung her foot up as hard as she could, intending for it to connect with the man's crotch. With unbelievable speed he turned and caught her foot in mid swing. He lifted her up by her ankle. "My my. Quite frisky aren't you?" He smiled down at her. The man's face became thoughtful for a moment, "You and your friend are obviously the followers of the moon." Ami stood three yards away. "How about we cut a deal. I'm trying to find some one from the future, a warrior. If you tell me where this being is I'll consider letting you both live." "Go to Hell," shouted Jupiter. She struggled but couldn't get out of the man's grasp. He sighed and flung Jupiter through the window of a closed coffee shop. Makoto slammed through the glass and fell onto the floor. She groaned and tried to get up but passed out instead. "JUPITER!" cried Mercury. From where she stood she could tell that Jupiter was hurt, but she didn't know how bad. "You bastard. I won't let you do this." "Really?" he asked matter-of-factly, "You are no match for me-" "No," interrupted a feminine voice, "But I am." The big man turned to see who the owner of the third voice was. A figure stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light cast by the street lamps. The green haired woman in the black senshi uniform stood and watched the man. "I am Sailor Pluto, guardian of the Time Gate and protector of the innocent. Your plot for domination shall fail, for I Sailor Pluto and the sailor scouts shall stop it!" The man stood straight and seemed to grow a few inches taller. "So you are the warrior from the future. I'm afraid you must die now, Lady Tsuoki will not tolerate any resistance from you or the pitiful race of this planet." Sailor Mercury moved stealthily to Jupiter inside the cafe and knelt down to try and help her. "You know me," said Pluto, "Who are you?" She stalled to formulate a plan for her attack. "I am known as Shimasama. I don't think, however, that you will be living long enough for it to really matter." He raised both his open palms facing her. "Now die. Guardian of Time!" Two plasma blasts shrieked from his hands towards Pluto. Sailor Pluto twirled her time staff and deflected both blasts off into wide angles. She ran and dodged behind a Mitsubishi, which was immediately struck by three plasma blasts. Pluto leaped out into the open and began her attack "Dead Scream" she whispered. The energy began to swirl into the Garnet orb on top of the upraised Time Staff, then she lowered it and released the powerful sonic attack. The sonic blast roared towards Shimasama, tearing up the earth along its path. The energy hit the man's shield and pushed at it, trying to break through. The energy shield around Shimasama began to bow and then collapsed. Sailor Pluto saw his eyes before it hit him. She saw the realization. The fear. Pluto's Dead Scream blast hit Shimasama and the impact ripped him to shreds. A shower of blood, bone, and flesh exploded into the cool night air and splattered down like rain all around Sailor Pluto. The nearly disintegrated corpse fell to the ground in several large chunks. Pluto wiped the gore off of her face and walked to the shattered window where Sailor Jupiter lie injured. Sailor Pluto's senshi fuku shimmered and vanished, replaced by Setsuna Meiou's dress that she had had on earlier. Ami transformed back into her street clothes as well. Setsuna leaned over and helped pick up Jupiter with Ami. "Jupiter's fine Ami. Don't worry." It was the best Setsuna could manage at the moment. Jupiter was still unconscious so they wrapped her arms around their shoulders and half dragged her out of the cafe. Ami was worried for her friend. "Lets get Makoto over to Rei's temple, she can rest up there." Police sirens were not far off and it was time for the senshi to make their exit. "Let's hurry before the police get here." Setsuna pulled Makoto up higher on her shoulders and nodded her agreement. The two carried the comatose girl down the gore covered street, looking around constantly, still worried about the alien attackers. They stuck to the darker streets as they traveled, not wanting to encounter any people. "Haruka and Michiru's place is close to here." informed Setsuna, "We can probably get Hotaru to help heal Makoto and then get a ride over to the temple." Ami agreed and they went down a rather foul smelling alley. They kept walking until they reached Haruka Ten'ou's house and they saw some lights on. Setsuna Meiou shouldered Makoto's weight as Ami knocked on the front door. There was some muffled noise and then they heard the deadbolt unlock. The door opened and Michiru stood in the entranceway. "Makoto!" she said in suprise. "What happened to her?" They hauled Makoto in and laid her down on the couch in the living room. Ami checked on Makoto again and Setsuna looked around the room. "Were is Hotaru? We need her help." Michiru looked confused but she knew that Makoto was top priority at the moment. "Hotaru is up stairs taking a bath. I'll get her." Michiru ran past Haruka, who was just coming in from out of the kitchen. Haruka walked to Makoto and watched her for a moment. "Is Makoto all right?" Ami turned to her. "She got hurt bad but she'll be okay." Ami turned back to Makoto and began checking for broken bones. Five minutes later Michiru and Hotaru came down the stairs. Hotaru moved to Makoto and Ami stepped out of her way. Hotaru pushed her damp hair away from her face and put her hand on Makoto's forehead. She closed her eyes and called on her healing powers once more. The power that poured into Makoto began to heal her injuries. She groaned and opened her eyes. "How are you feeling?" asked Haruka gently. Makoto lay still as Hotaru finished her work, then she spoke in a hoarse voice, "I feel like some one hit me in the head with a baseball bat." She reached for her face and began to massage her temples. "Did you get him?" Setsuna Meiou nodded, "He won't be bothering anyone anymore." Makoto smiled and nodded, groaning as she did. Haruka looked impatient, "I must insist that you tell us what happened." ----- Usagi, Chibbi Usa, Rei, Minako, Luna, Artemis, and Diana sat on the porch of the entrance to Cherry Wood temple. Ami had called an emergency scout meeting. They sat waiting for Mamoru and the other senshi to arrive. "What's going on Luna?" asked Minako as she yawned. They were all tired and ready to go to sleep, and Chibbi Usa was so exhausted that she kept fading off and waking up. Luna was lying beside Artemis, "Makoto and Ami were attacked by the same person that Mamoru encountered at the mall. Plus, Hotaru found some sort of alien artifact, which is what they seem to be after." They were silent, and sat looking at the crescent moon. Usagi let her mind drift to fantasies of Mamo-chan, until something caught her eye. Up in the sky, near the moon she saw a large star. "Luna." Usagi asked, "What star is that. The big one just left of the moon." Luna looked up, just to go along and humor Usagi. It was definitely not a star. "Looks like a satellite to me, or maybe a space shuttle." Usagi didn't take her eyes off of the heavenly object until Mamoru's car pulled up outside of the temple. She stood up and embraced Mamo-chan. "Hello Usako," he whispered to her. Together they walked to one of the benches outside the temple and there they waited. Usagi held Mamo-chan's hand and watched the strange star. Just holding Mamoru's hand made Usagi feel like everything would be all right, his touch made her feel warm inside and full of joy. She breathed in the cool night air and listened to the distant noises of bids and trees rustling. Usagi rested her head on Mamo-chan's shoulder and closed her eyes. And as she drifted off to sleep, she knew that everything would be all right. ----- Tsuoki roared and threw the seven-foot tall Matsumuri across her personal chambers using kinetic energy. He slammed into the far wall and made a large crater in the Quintain alloy hull. Matsumuri groaned and coughed up blood, "F-Forgive me your majesty, Shimasama was careless...I'll make sure that you get the Goddess stone." He raised his arms over his face like a child trying to avoid getting hit. Tsuoki stood over Matsumuri and sneered, "Make sure that you do, I will not tolerate any more failures." She watched him cower for a moment then walked of to her viewing wall and stared out at the blue planet. "What is your current plan." Matsumuri stood slowly then replied, "I managed to download the retina-image recorder data from Shimasama as he was fighting the earth warriors. I have a positive ID match of the three females, one of which is the time warrior you want dead." Tsuoki immediately got in a better mood when she heard this, "Excellent, the time warrior will be the first to die." She laughed and punched up commands on her portable tetra-command computer. She typed in the confirmation code that turned on the worker droids in the hanger bay. Then Tsuoki began typing in commands for the droids to follow. "-Your Majesty?" interrupted Matsumuri, "Have you any more need of me?" Tsuoki looked up from her personal computer. "No, you continue with the mission. I'm going down to Tokyo, to prepare for the stone's arrival." Matsumuri became worried and moved closer to Tsuoki, "But who will protect you your majesty?" Tsuoki waved her hand in the air, "I can handle it myself, but I'll take along four MC-8D Tetra-War Droids, they could wipe out a small army with out any problem." She went back to her computer and spoke without looking up, "Now go." Matsumuri opened the bulkhead that lead to Tsuoki's personal quarters and looked back at his leader, fear and awe in his eyes. As the bulkhead slid closed Tsuoki began programming a kamikaze droid. It would follow Matsumuri until he was fighting with the earth soldiers then it would detonate a simple neutron warhead and kill every living thing within its blast radius. How she wished she could see the carnage of the warhead in the bustling city, but she had more important matters to attend to. Tsuoki downloaded the final commands and the droids in the hanger began loading the small assault transport. Tsuoki set down her command computer and walked to her three Goddess stones. She caressed her fingers over the smooth black minerals and became inflamed with the need for the final stone. Tsuoki slammed another large dent into her wall with her fist. "Damn, Damn it to Hell. I'm so close to the stone and these God forsaken earth beings are in my way." She roared and punched a third dent into her wall. Tsuoki took a deep breath and calmed herself. She would get no where by punching holes in her wall. Tsuoki picked up her three stones and put them in a small metal case. She locked the case picked it up and walked down the sterile looking maze of hallways until she emerged into the hangar bay. It was cluttered with crates and robots. Two small sized assault transports normally sat in the hanger, but now there was only one since Matsumuri had finally left. The kamikaze droid had left the ship in a drop pod and would reach the blue planet before Matsumuri. Two large military class droids were walking up the ramp into the rear of the shuttle, they were of the four MC-8D Tetra-War Droids she had called for on this mission. The MC-8D droids were top of the line equipment, that was, during the galactic war so many millions of years ago. They each weighed twelve tons and stood seven feet tall. They had four legs that resembled those of insects'. The main body swiveled on an advanced servomoter at the waist and was capable of full 360-degree rotation. The armament of the MC-8D consisted of four high automatic Tetra-Tachyon particle blasters, two medium density charging Tetra-cannons, and one Heavy type warhead launcher. The first of its class, the MC-8A, had been field tested on enemy troops during the galactic war and the prototype in the first test killed over twelve hundred mobile infantry troops in one hour. The MC-8D's she had were Delta models and their kill ratio was five times greater than that of the Alpha model. They didn't move too fast but the servomoters at the waste were capable of swiveling at about twenty miles per hour, plus the sheer fire power made up for the slow travel speed. Tsuoki watched as the last MC-8D lumbered onto the now fully stocked assault transport shuttle. She walked to the bow of the shuttle and spoke to the main computer, "Extend ramp from AT-2 shuttle, verification code: Tsussutaru ni'matude histresamads." She always used her native language for codes but she used the planet's language as a rule, it made working on the surface with the natives much easier. She walked up the now extended ramp to cockpit of the shuttle. Tsuoki sat down in the pilot's seat and powered up the main grid, then she programmed the nav computer. The sub-light engines powered up and lifted the twenty-meter long shuttle up and out of the hangar bay. The shuttle's sub-light engines kicked in full throttle and Tsuoki's shuttle roared towards the planet. ----- Officer Namura sipped the hot tea from his thermos as he sat in the driver's seat of his police car. He had parked behind a few trees just off of the road, waiting for some young punk to blaze by at illegal speeds. He took in a mouthful of tea and swished it around. The tea exploded out of his mouth as something huge flew by overhead. The whole car shook and the sky became very bright. Namura coughed out the hot liquid he had sucked into his lungs and wiped the tea off his windshield with his hands to see the strange ship better. Damn. It's some sort of alien UFO, he thought, I knew they were real. The ship settled to the ground a quarter of a mile away and the engines threw dust out in every direction for fifty meters. Officer Namura stepped out of his patrol car and coughed as he took in a lung full of dust. He pulled his flashlight out and turned it on. Namura walked to the landed alien craft, intending to great the otherworldly visitors and welcome them to his planet and its people. The rear wall of the craft opened and lowered to the ground to provide as a ramp. Namura shone his flashlight into the ship, trying to see the little green men. But to his surprise there were no little green aliens, only one very tall and beautiful woman. He gulped and tried to speak, but nothing came out. The woman saw him and smiled, he smiled back. Namura heard her speak to some one in the ship, "Nnamireasd d'kahras." Strange language he thought. He looked at her and she smiled back at him again, he thought that the smile looked malicious. Namura heard a noise in the ship; an electronic whine, then a clomping sound, followed by another heavy sounding clomp. A huge four-legged robot materialized out of the shadows of the belly of the ship and it swiveled to face him. Namura began to tremble. Shaking, he pulled out his pistol. "D-d-don't make m-me shoot." The woman laughed and whispered to the huge robot. The giant robot was bristling with all types of strange weapons, four of which were mounted on the sides of the electronic monster and they looked oddly like big automatic anti-aircraft guns. The cannons on the two sides trained on Namura. He screamed and shot the metal beast. The bullets hit the robot and were deflected off, not even scratching the metal. The robot's cannons fired in rapid bursts and spears of light slammed through Namura. The electronic whine of the tetra-carbines pulsed as the beams of deadly fire sliced through him. Namura fell to the ground spurting blood from hundreds of holes and a few missing limbs. Still the cannons fired and all the while the tall woman shrieked with laughter. After a minute the Tetra-carbines shut down and the laser barrage stopped. The MC-8D scanned the area then pulled back it's weapons into standby-mode. Namura's body was now charred like burnt meat and smoke spread upward as his skin popped and hissed. Tsuoki walked to the dead earthman and sneered down at him. "Earthlings," she shook her head and smiled, "So annoying. And so weak that it is pathetic." She leaned her head back and let another fit of laughter fill the starry night. Tsuoki wiped the tears of laughter out of her eyes and walked back to her ship. She had much to do before the night was over...yes, much to do. ----- "-we found the stone in the country outside of the city, it's what the aliens are after." The senshi all leaned over to look at the black stone. "But," Usagi spoke, puzzled, "Why do they want it? It's just a rock." Usagi picked it out of Hotaru's hand and turned it around, inspecting it. Ami held her hand out for the stone and Usagi handed it to her. "Let me run a diagnostics scan on it, hold on, this will take a couple minutes." Ami began typing on her small computer. The last of the scouts had arrived twelve minutes ago at the temple and they had begun telling their tales of the stone and the alien Shimasama. Makoto was all right now, thanks to Hotaru, and she was walking around without any assistance. They were inside the living room of the living area of the temple. Setsuna, Minako, and Rei sat on a couch, watching Ami who was on the floor at the coffee table. Usagi sat with Mamoru on a smaller couch with Chibbi Usa sleeping on their laps, the other senshi were sitting in chairs. "***" The computer displayed, "...<13 UNKOWN MINERALS PRESENT IN STRUCTURE> ... ...***." Ami gasped. "What!" several of the senshi chorused? "What did you find out Ami," asked Artemis Ami shook her head, "It's utterly amazing, and frightening, this stone contains the power roughly equivalent to that of our own sun. It's many times stronger than Usagi's Silver Crystal." The scouts all looked amazed, "The minerals are all foreign and the energy that it does posses is of an unknown type as well." Ami shuddered. "It's no wonder why they want the stone, with it they could use the energy to destroy the Earth if they wanted to." The scouts sat in silence and then Minako started in. "So we've got the stone, can we use its energy to fight the aliens?" Ami shook her head and Minako sighed. "So then what's next, we've got to find where they are based at." Luna looked at Setsuna with a pleading look in her eyes, "I don't suppose you could let us know where the aliens are hiding out, hmmmmm?" The Guardian of the Time Gate shrugged, "I don't know where their head quarters is. I'm sorry but I can't say anything, you know that. It could change the time line." Luna stretched, "Well it was worth a try any ways." They sat and pondered their next move. "I guess we'll just have to wait for the next attack, then we can get the information we need out of the aliens." The scouts nodded at that, it did seem their only course of action at the moment. Usagi closed her eyes and laid her head on Mamo-chan's shoulder. It was hard fighting evil, it seemed as though there was no end to it. Whenever evil was defeated their was always some other evil to take it's place. Many times Usagi wished she could just be normal and not have to worry about such things as saving the human race, to just be with Mamo-chan and her friends. As Usagi was on the edge of sleep she felt a soft rhythmic pulse. At first she thought it was some sort of dream, but then she realized she was awake. Still half asleep, she could see ripples in the air emanating from the black stone on the table. The pulses impacted over and over into her, sliding over her figure and continuing onward. The effect soothed her and reality faded slowly into nothingness. Usagi floated serenely in a black void, time passed but she did not know how much, it was bliss. Whispers echoed from the void and Usagi heard them, the voices soothed her more and she replied with a sigh of pleasure. A dark shape floated to her, and she could just make out its outline against the black backdrop. "Who are you." Usagi's voice seemed to echo of into the distance. The creature of smoke swirled around her and held her in it's soft, entwining, embrace. It whispered in her ear, -I am the ruler of this reality that you see, you have summoned me and I am here to give you help.- Usagi had a hard time trying to think through all of the pleasure coursing through her mind and body, "Why do want to help me?" The smoke pulled away from her and spoke in an alien language. More shadow creatures appeared and they began a gentle chant. -I help you because the one you seek, the leader of your enemies, is in Tokyo, she is unprepared for your arrival. You should leave soon and attack her while she is vulnerable.- -Here, is where she is hiding.- An image flashed in her mind, a small park, an old abandoned warehouse, and several industrial buildings.- The image implanted in her head made her feel like she had gone there before many times, she knew exactly how to find the spot in Tokyo. The chanting stopped and the beings of smoke faded away. The pleasure began to fade as well and she was returned to the waking world. As she left the land of darkness she thought, though not sure, that she heard faint laughter. Usagi leaned straight and spoke out loud, to no one in particular, "She is in Tokyo" Michiru's brow creased, "What was that Usagi?" Usagi had a dreamy look on her face, but then again, she usually did. "The one we seek, the leader of the aliens, is in Tokyo, in an old warehouse. She doesn't know that we know about her." Usagi carefully put Chibbi Usa on Mamoru and stood up. She stretched and yawned, "We must all get some sleep, tomorrow we will confront the aliens and finish it." Luna was amazed and proud of Usagi. At times she was truly like a princess, not a klutz like she usually was, and that princess-like behavior was awe-inspiring. They stood one at a time and smiled warmly at Usagi, they too were proud of her. Hotaru picked up the stone. The Senshi left the temple and went to Mamoru and Haruka's cars. Fatigue had them all walking slowly and limp. The girls piled into the cars. Usagi, Mamoru, Chibbi Usa, Minako, and Makoto crammed into Mamoru's car. Setsuna, Michiru, Hotaru, and Haruka got into their car after Mamoru and the others were already gone. They waved to Rei as the left the temple, Setsuna looked out the window and watched the lights of the signs pass by. Young lovers walked under the streetlights holding hands. Hotaru yawned beside her, she was still tired from the earthquake. "Hey. Do you hear that?" Hotaru was looking out the windows for something. Setsuna strained her ears to pick up every sound. She did hear something, sounded like a jet. "Probably just an airplane Hotaru." said Setsuna. "No, look at that!" Hotaru pointed out the back window. Setsuna looked. There was a large space ship and it was getting closer. She watched it, it might not even be following them. The ship accelerated and hovered just forty feet above Haruka's car. Setsuna groaned, no such luck. "Haruka!" shouted Michiru. The car swerved just in time to avoid a burst of laser fire. Haruka slammed the gas pedal down to the floor, carefully dodging and weaving through cars. The ship had no trouble keeping up though. Another laser fired from the ship and blasted a crater in front of the car. Haruka slammed her foot on the brake and tried to turn but the wheels locked up and the car skidded into the pit. They screamed and were thrown forward as the front end of the car collided with the bottom of the crater. The car was now at a forty five-degree angle. Setsuna Meiou rubbed her head and looked around at the other scouts. The air bags had inflated in the front and Michiru and Haruka seemed to be okay. Hotaru pushed herself up. Setsuna kicked open her car door, it squealed in protest. She pushed herself out of the car and dropped five feet to the ground. Setsuna felt something warm running down her face, she brought her hand up to feel what it was and realized it was blood. She looked at her hand, there wasn't that much blood. Forgetting the wound she put her mind on more important matters, mainly the alien starship with the big laser cannons. Setsuna climbed the edge of the crater and peeked over. The huge ship had landed and some sort of door was opening up on the ship. Setsuna Meiou moved her head back down and looked back at the car, everyone was now out. It was time to fight. "PLUTO PLANET POWER...MAKE UP!" Setsuna transformed into Sailor Pluto. She jumped out of the crater and back onto the road. "URANUS PLANET POWER...MAKE UP!" "NEPTUNE PLANET POWER...MAKE UP!" "SATURN PLANET POWER...MAKE UP!" The rest of the sailor senshi joined Pluto's side, together they watched the ramp lower. ----- A humanoid shaped droid with red glowing eyes stood in an alleyway near the landing sight of Matsumuri's transport. The droids sensors picked up unknown Tetra readings that confused the K-55 cybertronic brain within its head. The signals did not deter its priority one order in any way, so it would ignore the source. The chronometer in its head began counting down. 300...299...298...297... On the back of the droid was the bulge of a partially visible warhead casing, and within it there was a one hundred and fifty megaton neutron bomb, counting down to destruction. ----- A huge man stepped out of the open ship and looked at the four warriors. Setsuna knew that he was very dangerous, much more than the other goon had been. The giant stopped and looked at her. "You are the time traveler. You are the first to die, it has been ordered by Supreme Commander Tsuoki herself." Setsuna watched his eyes, he was an experienced soldier, he had seen more death than anyone else had ever seen in a lifetime. "Fuck you." shouted Uranus, "You have put the lives of innocent people at risk, and we are here to stop you, we are the Sailor Scouts." The giant paid no attention to Sailor Uranus and continued to study Pluto. He charged. Pluto ran forward to meet him, she swung her staff at him as they came together but he knocked it aside and rammed his huge fist into her stomach. Pluto grunted and the her vision reeled, she leaned up and saw that she was ten feet away from the alien, and her stomach hurt like hell. She coughed up some blood and got up. Setsuna staggered over to her staff. The other scouts were now fighting as well. "WORLD SHAKING!" The blast hit the big man unaware and he was sent flying. He landed in a small park just off the road. Pluto picked up her staff and was about to join her friends when she saw something. A robot stepped out of an alleyway nearby and began running towards the fallen body of the alien. Pluto watched the robot speed towards its intended target, she knew what was going to happen. She stood and watched, unable to move as it stopped at the alien. "NOOOOOO!" screamed Pluto. She held up her staff and invoked the powers of time. Pluto began to say the words of the forbidden power within her, "DARK DOME CLOSE!" The droid exploded in a flash of white light and enveloped the alien and the other three scouts, she closed her eyes and dropped to the ground, expecting to get hit by the blast wave of the nuclear weapon. Nothing happened. Pluto opened her eyes. Time had stopped, the blast wave had stopped only a foot away from her. She began to weep, her friends were gone, taken by the nuclear blast. -Why have you invoked the forbidden power- The voice filled the silence of the frozen world. Pluto heard it but did not answer. -Why have you invoked the forbidden power- Sailor Pluto wiped away her tears and stood up. The voice was not a living being, it was the universe its self. "It was the only way, if I had not, everyone in the city would be dead, I would be dead, and the other scouts would be dead. I must go back, just before the alien attacked. I've got to stop the bomb from going off, or else the people of this planet will be butchered by the alien invaders. -You have used the power for a noble cause, but it is still forbidden. You may go back, but this will not be forgotten- ----- Sailor Pluto blinked, when she opened her eyes time was flowing again. There was no explosion, and the ship was gone. She was back in the past, before the senshi had arrived. Pluto looked at the alleyway where the robot hid. She thought and made a decision, she had come back to save her friends and there was no way she could defuse the warhead, so there was only one thing to do. She would sacrifice herself. Though she would die, the Setsuna Meiou of this past would survive, and everything would be fine. Sailor Pluto took a deep breath and took a moment to savor her existence on this life, a tear rolled down her face. "Good bye my friends, and good luck." Sailor Pluto issued a war cry and charged into the alley. The robot made no move as she ran to it. She threw her arms around the robot and held it tightly. Setsuna Meiou, the guardian of the Time Gate, and Sailor Scout, took one last look at planet Earth. She opened the Time Gate and was sucked in with the robot in her arms. Setsuna floated serenely in the void, the neutron bomb that she held tightly in her arms was forgotten, her thoughts flashed to her friends and all of the good times they had shared together. She smiled. The neutron warhead detonated in a blaze of white light. ----- CHAPTER 4: Goddess Unleashed "Dead Scream!" whispered Sailor Pluto. The energy blast was the final blow, the already wounded alien took the attack head on and was thrown through the air. Blood splattered everywhere as he smacked into the ground. The huge alien vomited up blood, then rolled onto his back. He held his hands up to the sky, "D-dasda-asryda..." he vomited up more blood, "Hdas...udk." His arms dropped back down and life slipped away from him. Sailor Uranus staggered over to the alien and looked at him. His eyes were rolled back into his head. "Is he dead, Uranus?" asked Neptune. Uranus looked back at the wounded senshi. "He's dead." She looked at the corpse a moment longer then walked to a nearby tree and sat down. "I hope that's the last of them." Sailor Pluto and the other senshi transformed back into their normal forms. "Only the leader is left, she will be much stronger than her warrior here." Setsuna nodded to the dead alien. The starship's engine roared to life and all of the girls jumped. The ship lifted into the air and blasted off at an incredible speed, "Must be some sort of auto-pilot." offered Michiru. They watched the ship until it was too small to see. The girls helped each other to get up and they began hobbling down the sidewalk. Haruka looked back at her car and sighed. It would be a long walk home. ----- Tsuoki finished setting up her welcoming party for the Earth warriors. She looked at her small computer to check the chronometer. She stared at the displayed time, then she typed in commands in her computer, the log showed no communications signal sent from the kamikaze droid. The droid should have downloaded a signal into her computer before it detonated. Tsuoki brought up the visual recorder data from the droid and watched in disbelief as the time warrior sacrificed herself to stop the warhead from killing everyone in the city. "Dasoiu!" she cursed in her native tongue and threw the small computer across the room. She drew a deep breath and sat on the dusty floor, the three Goddess Stones were laid out in front of her. Tsuoki closed her eyes and began to meditate. A hollow voice spoke to her from no where and every where, the voice was the lord of the void creatures. -The warriors will be coming soon, they will bring what you have been searching for.- The voice faded a moment then came back slightly louder, -Beware the one that carries the stone, she could cause your downfall.- The voice disappeared and Tsuoki opened her eyes. Sunlight poured throughout the broken windows of the warehouse. Tsuoki squinted through the light and stood up, she stretched out her sore muscles. Several hours had passed, judging by the position of this system's sun. She walked to her computer and checked the time, *09:23:54*. Tsuoki looked up at the four MC-8D's, they were positioned at each corner of the warehouse and covered with old cloth that make them look like piles of stacked crates. They weren't too obvious looking, but it didn't matter, all she had to do was lure them into the warehouse and the Tetra-war droids would do all the work for her. Tsuoki dusted off her computer and began typing. The Tetra-scanner on board the "Huntress" picked up no life signs of Matsumuri. It was just as well though, if he had come back she would have killed him anyway. Tsuoki knelt and picked up her Goddess Stones and then put them in a pouch tied to her leg. The stone was coming to her, after all these Millennia the final stone was finally within her grasp. ----- All the scouts were there. They stood on a side street, a short distance from the rundown warehouse in Tokyo. Luna, Artemis, and Diana watched the scouts as they worked themselves up for the final confrontation. Super Chibbi Moon stood close to Tuxedo Kamen as they began the walk. Super Sailor Moon moved with confidence and the other scouts walked behind her. The cats watched the scouts go, they knew that they could be of no help for this battle No one spoke, in their minds they ran over what they planned to do, though no one knew what to expect. The sky was a beautiful light blue and the streets were empty of people. No birds chirped, no dogs barked, it felt as though they were the only people left in the world. All of the scouts stopped when they reached the front of the warehouse. Every scout could see the horrible black aura coursing out of the condemned building. Super Sailor Moon turned back to her friends, "This is it, it's time to stop the negaverse from destroying our planet. Good luck scouts." All the scouts were afraid this was the last time they would see one another, they didn't say goodbye but they could see it in each other's eyes. "SPARKLING VITAL PRESSURE!" Jupiter blasted the huge wooden doors open and the scouts ran in. They all stopped in the middle of the huge building and stood back to back with one another. The warehouse was well lit, but the evil aura of the place seemed to make it as dark as night. "I'm so happy to see all of you." A feminine voice called down from a walkway high above them. They all looked up. the woman was tall, about six foot seven. she jumped down from the walkway and fell fourteen feet before landing gracefully on the ground. The scouts tensed up to attack. The woman didn't move, she only watched them. "You're the alien leader?" asked Sailor Mercury. "Oh yes," the tall woman nodded, "My name is Tsuoki. I've been searching for the stone you posses for close to sixty seven thousand millennia." The woman looked at Sailor Saturn, "How kind of you to find the stone for me, little one. You can hand it over to me now." "Piss off you bitch!" shouted Sailor Mars, "You're not getting the stone." Tsuoki sighed and took a step back, "Fine then, we'll do this the hard way." Tsuoki did an incredible back flip and landed on a walkway on the far side of the warehouse. "Dasd'fisma!" she shouted. Mechanical whining sounds came to life and four huge robots the senshi hadn't even noticed, swiveled their huge bodies to face them. Super Sailor Moon realized what was happening, but it was too late. "Shit." The four robots opened fire on the senshi. The rapid laser fire converged on them and they weren't quick enough to dodge the energy bolts. Sailor Neptune exploded into a cloud of bloody mist. Sailor Jupiter turned to the gory remains of Neptune, her mind racing, uncomprehending, but the torrent of emotions were ceased as a tachyon bolt disintegrated her head. Another salvo of laser passed through the body of Jupiter as she fell to the ground. The scouts were in disarray, unknowing what to do. Even more lasers sprayed into the middle of the room, a broad sweeping rapid laser fire plowed down Super Chibbi Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, and Sailor Mars. Over the laser fire the laughter of Tsuoki could be heard. Venus was struck in the stomach. She felt herself flying through the air, and she landed with a bloody thump. Her head reeled, something was wrong. Venus lifted her head, which took great effort, and saw that the bottom half of her body was gone, her head dropped back to the ground. She heard a scream, she could tell that it was from Sailor Mercury. Venus closed her eyes and was swallowed by darkness. Sailor Mercury slumped to the ground, she screamed again but it was cut off as a laser blew off her head. Sailor Saturn gathered what remained of her sanity, "SILENCE WALL!" a protective shield went up around the remaining scouts, the lasers impacted into barrier and were deflected off. Pluto looked around her, things were not good. Sailor Uranus was still alive, so was Super Sailor Moon, and Sailor Saturn. Saturn was using all of her strength to keep up the shield, "I can't hold the shield much longer," screamed Hotaru over the torrent of noise. Pluto looked over at Super Sailor Moon, she was curled up in a ball on the floor, "Super Sailor Moon, get up, we need your help, get up!" Super Sailor Moon didn't get up, she just cringed even more. It was obvious that the only help she could get was from Sailor Uranus. "Uranus I have a plan, when the shield drops, each of us will run as fast as we can to one of the robots, the others should keep targeting us and they should destroy one another with friendly fire." The plan was ludicrous, but it was all that she could think of, they were no match for four of the giant monstrosities. Pluto put a hand on Saturn's shoulder, "Count to five then drop the shield, make sure to duck." Sailor Pluto and Uranus got into a running stance. The shield dropped and the two scouts took of running. Saturn turned and jumped for cover but was shot in the back by a stray laser. Uranus and Pluto ran to two different corners of the room. Pluto managed to slip by one of the huge droids and she dodged behind it, the upper part of the robot's body tracked her and aimed its turrets. The robot suddenly exploded as laser fire from two of the other robots hit it, Sailor Pluto was torn to shreds by the detonation. Uranus was able to leap onto the robot's back as all the others were firing at Pluto. The robot swiveled its body to tried and get a shot off at her, but she was so close that none of the gun turrets could get a positive lock. The robot continued to swivel and began firing randomly, there was a hollow sounding thonk as the robot launched a small explosive warhead. The explosive that was meant for her, detonated and blew apart one of the robots. The smoking droid took a step forward and its servomotors locked up, the whole thing crashed and made a deafening noise. Super Sailor Moon finally got up, she looked around. Tsuoki was still watching from the high walkways, and there were only two big robots left. One of them was spinning its torso around in circles at a high speed, shooting everywhere. She could see Sailor Uranus hanging on tightly to the back of the spinning droid. The other robot stood and waited for a clear shot of Uranus. The logic circuits of the robots weren't highly sophisticated, the robot went over its mission priorities. 1:kill all with class-uknown Tetra readings 2:do not harm commanding officer or MC-8D class war droids. The two priorities flashed back and forth until it decided on priority one, the robot began firing again, Uranus saw it coming and let go of the spinning robot. The momentum threw sailor Uranus and she collided with some empty crates a short distance away. The laser barrage tore apart the armor of the robot and it exploded. Super Sailor Moon was thrown to the floor by a small concussion wave that followed the explosion. Sailor Uranus got up with a grunt and charged the final robot. She held her sword out in front of her, "SPACE SWORD BLASTER!" The laser hit the big robot's head, what was left of the head after the explosion were a few burnt wires and coolant fluid gushing out like blood. the headless robot took a few steps forward and teetered, it made a broad sweeping fire with its auto lasers then fell over. Uranus panted and kneeled on the floor. She jerked back up, Tsuoki had been forgotten during the fight. Sailor Uranus looked up at the walkway. Tsuoki was not there. Uranus looked over at Super Sailor Moon, "Where did she-" Uranus was cut off as large hands wrapped around her throat. Tsuoki laughed and lifted Uranus off of the ground. "Leave her alone! Please!" shouted Super Sailor Moon. "You can have the stone, just let her go!" Tsuoki laughed even harder. "You are in no position to be asking of anything, I'll take the stone when I please and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Tsuoki sneered at tightened her grip around Sailor Uranus's neck. Super Sailor Moon charged towards the alien, but Tsuoki shot her with a low energy plasma blast. Super Sailor Moon was thrown into a steel support beam, she groaned as she leaned up. "I want you alive to witness the birth of a Goddess." Uranus's neck snapped. The dead scout fell like a rag doll onto the floor as Tsuoki let her go. Tsuoki walked nonchalantly to the body of Saturn. The stone was in a pouch by the warrior's side. Tsuoki felt a rush of exhilaration as she probed the pouch, at long last the stone was hers. Soon she would become one with the four stones and she would rule the entire universe. Luna and Artemis jumped through an open window and ran to the pouch. They leaped onto Tsuoki, Luna on the aliens arm and Artemis was going for her face. Tsuoki shrieked in surprise and recoiled back, she grabbed the strange black animal off of her arm and threw it across the room, and then she grabbed the head of the white creature and crushed its skull. "Gadefs'dra miiwe!" she wiped the blood off of her face and went back for the stone. Tsuoki opened the small pouch and pulled the final stone. The black stone called to her, she held it tightly in her hands and shouted triumphantly, "Waserisd ashy'ffe eironamdo!" Super Sailor Moon gripped her wand, now was the time to attack, "MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!" she flew forward with the wand thrust out in front of her. Tsuoki didn't even look up from her stone, she lifted her right hand and stopped Super Sailor Moon in her tracks. "You don't get it, I'm invincible. I've won and you've lost." Tsuoki set down the fourth stone on the ground, she opened another pouch at her side an pulled out the other three Goddess Stones. The stones were placed in a line in front of Tsuoki. She held up her arms and the Goddess Stones levitated off the ground, they spun in a circular motion just above her out stretched hands. Thunder boomed outside of the warehouse, the sky was now covered with evil looking black clouds. The flow of negative energy was immense, Super Sailor Moon screamed as the energy pulsed through her. She screamed again and the senshi uniform disappeared, she was Usagi again. Tsuoki's voice roared out, it seemed as though the heavens themselves shook, "I AM TSUOKI, A GODDESS. I RULE ALL, EVERYTHING IS MINE, ALL SHALL KNEEL BEFORE ME OR DIE!" Tsuoki laughed an inhuman laugh. "AT LONG LAST IT'S FINALLY ALL MI-" A blade erupted out of Tsuoki's chest, she looked down at it in surprise. The blade pulled back out, blood began pouring out of her mouth and nose, "NOOOOOO! NO I AM A GODDESS, YOU CAN'T KILL ME. YOU CAN'T." The blade made a sickly crucnching sound as it jutted from Tsuoki's face. The negative energy stopped, gone as soon as it had began. Usagi looked in horror at Tsuoki. Tsuoki stood a moment longer then fell. Saturn stood behind her. Usagi watched in amazement, "Hotaru, you're all right!" Hotaru wavered and collapsed on the floor. Usagi ran to her and kneeled down. "Hotaru! Speak to me! Hotaru!" Usagi cradled Hotaru's head in her lap. "She's...dead. The world..is safe...again." and with those last words spoken, Hotaru died. Usagi shrieked, she stood up and looked all around her. All of her friends, her lover, they were all dead, heaped in the center of the huge warehouse, lying in a lake of blood. Usagi screamed, she screamed over and over. She fell to the floor and screamed until her voice wouldn't let her scream anymore. She laid there for hours, no police came, and no army came. Usagi stood and looked away from her friends, as her head was turned she saw something she had forgotten completely about. The four Goddess Stones laid on the floor next to the impaled body of Tsuoki. She looked at them, the four stones glistened, calling her like the fabled sirens that called sailors to their doom. With the stones she knew that she would be able to revive her friends, they had to. Usagi ran to the stones and scooped them up. The four stones that she held did nothing. "Please," she pleaded to the stones, "You have to revive my friends, I know you can do it." The stones didn't do anything. She threw them to the floor, "ANSWER ME, GOD DAMN YOU!" The stones did nothing. Usagi realized that she was losing her mind, the stones were simply tools, they were not alive. Silver Crystal. The thought flashed through her mind. Maybe, just maybe she could activate the Goddess Stones with her Silver Crystal. It was her only hope of saving her friends. Usagi held her brooch out and the crystal appeared. Light shimmered from the Silver Crystal and Usagi was changed into her princess form, the beautiful white dress took the place of her street clothes. A small dark shape crept out of the shadows in front of Usagi. It was Diana. "Usagi? What happened?" she asked innocently. "Don't worry I'll make things right again." Usagi turned her attention to the crystal. She focused all of the crystal's powers onto the four Goddess Stones. Usagi grunted with effort and fell to her knees. At first nothing happened, but after several minutes the stones began to react to the positive energy of Usagi's crystal. The negative energy of the stones subsided and positive energy began to flow from them. The black stones became white. Sweat poured down Usagi's face as she continued to unlock the power of the Goddess Stones. The positive energy of the four stones were attracted to her. The white stones hovered up into the air and began moving in a circular path around Usagi. The Silver Crystal finished linking to the stones at last. Usagi felt the power of the stones inside her, unlimited power, it was all most too much to bear. Usagi whispered to the Silver Crystal, "I need your help now, please revive my friends, I cannot go on without them, and neither can the people of planet Earth. Please grant me my wish." The Silver Crystal understood Usagi and waves of positive energy began pouring out of it, the energy waves activated the four revolving stones. The Goddess stones slowed to a stop, Usagi watched them closely. The white stones began to hum with power. Everything began to fade, the warehouse disappeared. She was in a white void, the light seemed to stretch out forever and stop right in front of her at the same time, perspective didn't apply to the void. Usagi was all alone, she floated blissfully until something materialized a few feet from her. The void creature was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, the being was transparent but all the colors of the rainbow appeared and disappeared on it's body, like the colors that could be seen on a soap bubble. The aura blazing off of the being was even more beautiful than its body's appearance. When it spoke the voice rang out beautifully in perfect melodic tones. -Hello Usagi, I am pleased to see you.- Usagi smiled and greeted back, "Can you save my fiends?" Usagi watched the colors ripple on the creatures body. -I can bring your friends back from the other side, but the stones were not meant for such a task. If your friends come back then the stones will be destroyed.- The being floated closer -Are you willing to give up unlimited power, just to save your friends?- Usagi didn't answer, a million thoughts raced through her head. She didn't want to give up the power of the stones, but she wanted her friends alive with her. Usagi felt the stones power and was inflamed with it. "Wait!" Usagi's voice seemed to cut the silence like a knife. The stones were testing her, to get what she truly wanted she had to give up ultimate power. Usagi spoke with confidence, "I will pay whatever the price for my friends to be alive and safe back on Earth, it is not their time to die." The transparent figure seemed to glow even more beautifully -A wise and noble choice Usagi. You will have your friends back. Good bye, and good luck in the future.- The beautiful being disappeared and the world reappeared. Usagi looked around. The pool of blood was gone, the scouts were whole again, they all sat up. Usagi watched them, just to make sure this was in fact real. Luna ran to Usagi. "You did it Usagi!" She picked up Luna and held her tightly. The scouts were all lightheaded and physically exhausted, after all, they had just died a short while ago. The happy reunion was cut short as the earth shook, the four white stones were lying on the dirty floor of the warehouse. Cracks began appearing on the stones' surfaces and bright light shot out through the cracks. -Run Usagi- The voice of the rainbow being entered her mind, Usagi knew that time was short. "Everyone run, we've got to get out of here now!" Most of the scouts managed to get out on their own, but Usagi stopped to help Rei, and together they ran from the warehouse, away from the Goddess Stones. They ran and didn't stop, the girls tripped constantly, but they didn't give up. They were three blocks away when the warehouse exploded. Usagi looked back over her shoulder, a huge wall of fire spread out from the warehouse and blew apart buildings as it expanded out farther and farther. The scouts still ran, the wall of flames stopped halfway to the fifth block. The senshi had just barely out ran the deadly wall of flames. They stopped and panted. Michiru and Makoto were coughing and hacking, the other scouts were doing just as bad. Mamoru had carried Chibbi Usa in his arms when they ran. They all looked up when they heard a roaring noise, a wall of super dense air was about to reach them. "Another shock wave!" Shouted Ami in fear. "SILENCE WALL!" Hotaru created a shield around them. Usagi put her hands on Hotaru's shoulders, giving her strength to sustain the shield. The wall of condensed air hit the Hotaru's barrier, it made a sound similar of that of a semi running into a brick wall at top speed. Usagi used all of her strength to keep the shield up. The sheer power of the shockwave made her feel like her insides would rip apart. The last shockwave finally passed by them. Usagi fell to the concrete as the shield dropped. Her friends rushed to her side, she looked at each of them, they were all safe. Usagi sighed a tired sigh and closed her eyes. She and her friends were safe at last. Usagi thought of how much she loved all of her friends, and her thoughts were still of her friends until she slipped into unconsciousness. ----- EPILOGUE Usagi opened her eyes. She was in a horizontal position, staring up at the ceiling of a strange room. She pushed herself up a little and looked around the room. She was in a hospital. An IV was in her arm and a machine was set up next to the bed to measure her heart rate. Mamo-chan was with her, he was leaning forward in a chair with his head resting on the bed, next to her waist. She could tell that he was asleep. Usagi ran her fingers through his hair and listened to his soft rhythmic breathing. He had stayed with her all this time. Usagi smiled with happiness and laid back down on her pillow. The TV was on with the volume set very low. Usagi moved her right hand over to the television's remote and turned up the volume a few notches. A female reporter was already in the middle of a story, the picture on the TV showed a huge area of demolished city from a camera in a helicopter, "...early yesterday morning. Three different terrorist groups have already claimed setting off the high explosives in the industrial district of Tokyo. The current death toll is one hundred and twenty one and officials-" Usagi turned off the TV and looked back at Mamo-chan. So many innocent people had died because of the explosion. It would be something that would be hard to live with, but some how she and the scouts would manage, they had to because they were all that stood between Earth and the Negaverse. Yes, we'll all be okay, thought Usagi, we just have to take it one day at a time. Usagi watched Mamoru until she fell asleep once more, and as she slept she had beautiful dreams, of Mamo-chan and her friends. Written by: Alan O'Kelly August 23, 1998