Married Life: Moon Storm Risen!
Chapter 10: The Rock Crusher!

        Arrayed around a table at one of the nicest restaurants in Tokyo
were Serena and Darien Chiba, Rei and Chad Kumada, Lita and Ken Asagiri,
Amy and Greg Urawa, Mina Aino and Kevin Pierce.  The waiter set in front
of each of them a wineglass.  Rei waved hers away, explaining that it
would interfere with the painkillers that she was on, requesting instead
a glass of white grape juice.  Once Rei's drink was brought and the wine
poured for each of the others, Serena stood and said, "To good friends.
May we always defeat every problem placed before us."

        Darien and Rei assented, "Here here," and the others followed
their cue.  Serena tipped her glass back and drank, allowing the tiny
sip that she took to wash all across her tongue before swallowing it.
She vastly preferred a smooth wine to the biting saki that Lita seemed
to prefer.

        As Serena leaned against her husband to savor the moment, the
matre'd slid up to her and said, "Ms. Chiba, you have a phone call."

        Serena picked up the telephone receiver that the matre'd handed
her and nervously said, "Hello?"  Her face grew tight, grief-stricken,
and angry.  She whispered into the instrument, "If you harm either of
them in the slightest way, I will make what happened to Coprolite look
like a walk in the park, do you understand?"  She punched the "end"
button and stood, snapping up her coat and purse in short, sharp
movements.  Darien stood with her.  As the other Inners stood up, Serena
told the matre'd, "We'll be back later, an emergency's just come up.
Hold this table."

        "Who was it, love?" asked Darien as Serena unlocked her car.
She pulled on the door handle. . . and Darien knocked her away from the
door just in time.  Carefully, minutely, he fiddled with a small object
under the handle and pulled it away.  A blasting cap.

        "Everybody, check your cars *very* carefully - somebody rigged
our car to explode when the door was opened, and yours may be similarly
boobytrapped."

        Of the other cars, only Rei's was trapped.  Serena went from
angry to livid.  "It was General Agate.  She's got hold of Sammy and
Mika.  We need to fix her good this time."

*       *       *

        Sammy was presenting a fierce front to the General who held him
captive.  He had to protect Mika - if she got hurt, or killed, he didn't
know how he could go on.  *Is this the way Serena feels?* he wondered.
Mika held tightly onto his hand.  "What are you going to do with us?"

        "Other than use you as a lure for your sister, nothing.  You've
nothing to do with the Negaverse's plans, and besides - I don't think
I'd want to hurt the person who gave 'Sidian and I such a good laugh
seeing that arrogant prick Coprolite's bubble burst." Her laugh was
surprisingly gentle for a minion of the Negaverse.

        "Speaking of our now-late comrade, darling?" asked the suddenly
present Obsidian.

        "The late, and lamentable, Coprolite," responded Agate, clasping
her lover's hand tightly and leaning her head on his shoulder.  "You
see, child, your sister will have a much more difficult time defeating
us than she did Coprolite, because we can draw on the same inexhaustible
well of power that she does."

        *Damn it,* thought Sammy, *They're right!*  Agate and Coprolite
were behaving toward one another much as Serena and Darien did, or as he
did with Mika, the impulsive touches and half-hugs indicating that
theirs was a relationship built not on power but on love.

        "Why don't you give up the Negaverse!?" Sammy asked.

        Agate responded, "Because we owe our duty to the Negaverse, kid.
We have both served in the Dark Army for thirty years, and it has
rewarded us well."

        "Do you know how young we are, relative to the overall lifespan
of the Negian race?  We are relative adolescents, yet we've climbed the
ranks to be Generals already.  If the Dark Prince hadn't taken over, we
and your sister could have been allies, not enemies.  But since we owe
our allegiance to Roxix, we must carry out his commands."

        The group heard several cars stopping outside.  Agate shoved a
gag into Sammy's mouth and leaped upward fifty feet to the catwalk
above.

        Sailor Moon cautiously slid the door open.  Sailor Selene was
right behind her, holding a crystalline sword.  The sisters saw Sammy
and Mika tied together in the middle of the floor, and Serena nodded to
Imbri.  "It's a trap," she mouthed.  Imbri nodded, and the two
cautiously proceeded under the catwalk, followed by their friends.

        Serena untied Sammy, while Imbri freed Mika.  Rei and the rest
watched from the door.  As soon as Serena had the gag clear of Sammy's
mouth, he whispered, "It's a trap, Serena."

        Serena replied, intentionally making her voice carry, "I know
it's a trap, Sammy.  Get out of here."

        Lights came up all over the floor, revealing a *lot* of youma.
"Time to die, Sailor Moon," chorused Agate and Obsidian.

        "Great, another Zoisite and Malachite pair," said Serena, "Well
I've got news for you. . ."

        "Love, justice, yadda yadda yadda, you'll punish us.  Forgive us
if we've heard it a million times before, but it doesn't impress us
anymore," said Agate in a bored tone of voice.

        "Fine.  Let's see if this does."  Serena aimed the Rapier at the
nearest group of youma.  "Moon Rapier. . . Annihilation!" Dusted.  The
battle began.

        Serena spun away from three youma that were trying to tackle her
like linebackers, slicing each across the arm as she did so.  As she
spun, she took a quick look at how her Senshi were doing.

        Mina was fully engaged with a group of six, and in trouble, even
with her Eternal powers.  Serena pulled away from her opponents to try
to head toward Mina.  She annihilated three more youma en route, then
helped the Soldier of Venus out of trouble.

        The pair headed toward Tuxedo Mask, fighting hand-to-hand most
of the way, saving their powers for when they couldn't avoid using them.
By the time they had reached Darien, Serena's Rapier looked strange with
the various garish colors of Youma blood on its blade.  She smiled at
her husband and thought, *Things could be a lot better.*

        "They could also be a lot worse, dear."

        "WHAAAT!?"  Serena's eyes went huge and she didn't see a claw
aimed at her face until almost too late.  She ducked to the side,
screamed something incoherent, and impaled the Youma.

        "I said. . ."

        "I heard that, but I didn't say anything aloud!"

        "WHAT!?"

        "I was thinking - you heard my thoughts.  Watch your head."
Darien ducked and Serena thrust through where his head had been, neatly
skewering something that looked like Cardian Four-Face on steroids.

        On the opposite side of the battle, Sailor Selene was heavily
engaged, back-to-back-to-back with Pluto and Saturn.  Sailor Saturn
smiled grimly and said, "It's a good day to die, isn't it, Sonya?

        "I certainly hope not, Heather-chan."

        "But it looks that way," added Sailor Selene.  "Heather's been
watching Star Trek again, hasn't she?  Commander Worf's lines do *not*
fit a Sailor Scout," she said, lecturing as she fought, "We fight to
live, not to die."

        "Imbri-chan, this is *not* the time to be lecturing," said
Pluto.

        "Got it, Suna-chan."  Imbri lengthened her crystal sword into a
short-handled yari, closing up the weak end of the formation created
between the three.

        "Huh?" asked Saturn.

        "We'll explain later."  Princesses Setsuna and Imbrium had been
close friends in the Silver Millennium, an affection that was
reasserting itself now, millennia later.

        Jupiter and Mercury had managed to band together with Uranus and
Neptune, and the four together were cutting quite a swath through the
Youma.  "Get to Sailor Moon!" shouted Jupiter, "We have to protect her!"

        Noticing how quickly Serena was moving her rapier, Amy noted, "I
hardly think she's the one who need protecting, Jupiter-chan." She was
trying hard not to show the claw strike to the ribs that she had
absorbed earlier.

        The armor had protected her from most of it, but she felt waves
of fire spread across her body every time she took a breath.  Lita took
a moment to glance at Amy and cried, "Amy-chan, you're hurt!"  Amy
looked down to see a slight, small stain of red in the side of her fuku.
Suddenly more pain crashed in on her and she fainted.

        "One Senshi down," noted Obsidian, as though the battle were
fine theatre put on for the entertainment of him and his beloved.  The
formation of Sailors Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune tightened to protect
the prone Sailor Mercury as best they could.

        The battle didn't so much end as grind to a halt.  In the end,
nine bone-weary Senshi and Tuxedo Mask stood or sat in the warehouse.
Amy sat propped against a wall, eyelids at half-mast, tears of pain
flowing down her face, and trying her absolute hardest not to give the
Generals the satisfaction of seeing her cry, with Lita trying to make
her comfortable.  Uranus and Neptune sat near her, tending one another's
wounds.  Serena and Darien were sitting on the floor holding each other,
looking carefully to see if their wounds were serious.  A cut on
Serena's face looked like it could be serious, and Darien held his hand
to it, healing it most of the way, though he'd have to rest and do it
again or the resulting scar would be permanent.  But nobody was missing
any body parts, and nobody would be any the worse for wear in the
morning.

        Mina said, "I wish Rei were here, Serena."

        "I know, Mina-chan."

        Just then, the sound of four hands clapping entered the room,
along with the sight of two new Generals, above them.

        "Congratulations, Sailor Senshi," said Obsidian, "You've beaten
the first test that we've given you, but now for dessert." Sailor Uranus
groaned.  She barely had enough strength left for one World Shaking,
much less the Space Sword Blaster attack.

        The Sailor Soldiers stood near their leader, getting ready to
fight again, despite their weariness.  Serena held the Moon Rapier at a
shaky readiness, her earlier strength all but spent.  This was a last,
do-or-die effort by the Senshi, and they would gladly use every power in
their arsenal to defeat their opponents.

        Agate and Obsidian leapt down from their perch to strike once
each at Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus.  Jupiter and Neptune warded off
the initial attacks, and Sailor Moon backed up, moving the Rapier from
guard to low position, ready for lightning-quick attacks.  Even in the
low stance, she was being cautious, though - ready to switch to a medium
or high guard at a moment's notice.

        Reenie arrived at the site of the battle just after Obsidian and
Agate made their first attacks and called out her transformation
quietly, changing with minimum fuss.  Surprise would be vital for her
attack.

        Back in the warehouse, the Generals' attacks were telling rather
heavily against their opponents.  The Senshi were faltering severely,
falling back. . . and back. . . and back again.  Suddenly, their backs
were up against the wall.  Serena just grumbled, "How many of these
fights is it gonna take?" and started to attack back.

        Younger Moon leapt up next to her mother and brandished her Moon
Scepter.  She shouted, "Future Strike!" and a beam of pink energy shot
from her extended hand and hit Obsidian, knocking him back.

        Obsidian fell to the ground, and the Sailor Senshi moved forward
again, firing off their attacks at Agate.

        "Is that the best you've got, Sailor girls?" sneered Obsidian,
getting up, "I didn't realize that you let little kids do your fighting
for you, or that you attacked only with eleven-to-two odds."

        "Shut up, Obsidian," said Younger Moon, "You're annoying us."

        Agate returned fire, throwing a large crystal at Younger Moon.
It hit the girl in the neck, knocking her down.  Serena saw red as her
daughter grabbed at her bruised throat, gasping for air.

        "Damn you," snarled Sailor Moon.  The other Senshi backed up
cautiously - they knew what Serena was like when this happened, "Moon
Rapier Annihilation!"

        "NOOOOOOO!!!" shouted Obsidian.  To Serena's shock and
amazement, he hurled himself in front of the beam headed for Agate, took
the blast, and fell to the ground, writhing in agony but still alive.

        "'Sidian!" The pain in Agate's voice stopped Serena in her
tracks. . .  It was the exact same tone in which Molly had screamed,
"Nephrite!" five years earlier.  *Oh God,* she thought, *What have I
done?*

        Agate cradled Obsidian's head in her lap, weeping for her dying
lover.

        "I'm sorry, my love," rasped Obsidian.

        "Sorry for what, 'Sidian?"

        "Sorry that there was so much that I didn't ever tell you, like
my favorite color. . .  It's that beautiful color that your hair
reflects in Earth's sun, by the way."  Obsidian gently stroked his
lover's thick brown hair, as if he were trying to hang on to the world
of the living, or at least have something pleasant to carry with him
into the afterlife.  Agate's fingers gently intertwined with Obsidian's
and held them to her face, to touch the moisture on her cheeks where
tears flowed freely.  "Mostly, sorry that I'm going to leave you alone."

        Now Serena realized why the Moon Rapier blast hadn't killed
Obsidian right away: because he had been acting from true love, a love
that might even run as deep as her love for Darien, as Lita's for Ken,
or as Molly's had been for Nephrite.  But he was still dying, just as
Nephrite had died five years ago.  She felt her own eyes clouding with
tears.

        "Conserve your strength, dearest."  Agate turned an entreating
gaze up at Sailor Moon, who looked for all the world like an animal
caught in a trap.  "Please, Sailor Moon, if you truly fight for love as
you claim to, heal him!"

--
Next: Married Life Chapter 11: It is a Sin to Kill a Mockingbird

Author's Notes: This chapter took me the longest of all of them to
complete - almost two months from conception to completion, though it
didn't help that I interrupted in the middle to finish off chapters 11
and 12.  I sure hope it was worth the wait.