Married Life: Moon Storm Rising Chapter 11: It is a Sin to Kill a Mockingbird Dedicated to the eternal memory of Harold (1908-March 21, 1987) and Mary (1915-June 22, 1998) Werner. -- Royal Sailor Moon looked back and forth between the desperately pleading general and the man who lay on the ground, slowly bleeding out. She made her decision. Sailor Moon drew the Silver Crystal out of the locket and began to send a stream of healing energy into Obsidian's body. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. "Agate - You're in my heart," he groaned. "And you will always be in mine, 'Sidian." she replied. Then General Obsidian died, as tears began to stream down Sailor Moon's face. Agate looked up at Sailor Moon. The death of her Eternal Love had sent her mind reeling into shock. The last thing she knew was that Sailor Moon had hit Obsidian with some energy beam and he had died. She killed him. Sailor Moon was a murderer, was responsible for the death of the only man Agate would ever be able to love. Sailor Moon must die. Agate's eyes took on the fire of the insane, and she grated, "Sailor Moon, you are responsible for the death of Obsidian. I invoke Right of Vengeance upon you, and I shall not forgive you. In the name of Obsidian, you evil bitch, I WILL PUNISH YOU!" The general leaped at her enemy, and Serena barely managed to get out of the way rather than be landed on by the larger woman, who had suddenly sprouted very sharp claws from her fingertips. Agate sliced her claws along her own skin, leaving a bright blue rake on each forearm. She coated each of her claw tips in the blood that oozed from the cut. "My blood is poisonous to you, human. If I can puncture your skin with my claws now, you will die in a horrendous, screaming agony, over a period of several days. A fitting punishment for the death of Obsidian." Serena dodged like there was no tomorrow. If she could just evade the crazy general enough for Darien to pin her down with a well-placed spread of roses, then she could combine her powers with those of the people around her and revive Obsidian, just as long as his soul hadn't moved too far from his body. Hurriedly, she incanted, "Moon Crystal Healing, Activation!" However, for the first time in her life, the beam missed the mark and she barely got out of the way before Agate crashed through the space where she had just been. Meanwhile. . . "Shining Aqua Illusion!" shouted Amy, freezing Obsidian's body. This would preserve him until Sailor Moon could restore his lover's sanity and bring her back to help her repair the damage done to his body. If Sailor Moon could restore Agate's sanity. Sailor Moon was running hard. Her healing powers in Royal form were sorely underdeveloped - the youma that she'd fought before her pregnancy had been pure-youma, without the ability to possess human beings. She began to grope in her mind for a possible solution. She rolled left to avoid Agate's claws, placed her boots in the general's midsection and flipped her into a group of crates. Five years ago she probably would have been skewered. Small comfort, she thought. Agate was looking more insane by the second, and it was all her fault. Serena mentally slapped herself across the face - now was not the time for self-recrimination. Agate was barely functioning on her higher cognitive levels. She was completely unable to tell friend from foe, with the pain that was washing her mind. All she knew was that out there was a woman that she had to kill. Serena realized that she hadn't gotten off totally free from that last shot: her fuku was shredded across the stomach. An inch more and she would have been exposed to Agate's poisonous blood. An idea came to her - why not use a lesser form with better developed healing? Good idea, she thought. Hiding, she pulled out her Eternal Locket and called, "Moon Eternal Make Up!" Becoming Eternal Sailor Moon, she exchanged the Rapier for the Silver Moon Tier, and with it her most potent healing power of all. She stepped out again, making sure to thump the long staff of the tier loudly on the floor beneath her. Agate looked up. "General Agate, I realize your grief is great, but listen: I can still bring back your lover." "You lie, bitch!" Agate leapt for Sailor Moon, but the world had already gone into slow-motion for the heroine. The Tier glowed in Serena's hand. Speeding up the motions that it required, Serena quickly held it in front of her. Going into her rotation, she cried, "Silver Moon Therapy Kiss!" Healing energies washed over Agate, repairing the damage to her shattered mind. In the moment of contact, Agate saw Serena's soul: a glowing, beautiful winged girl, loving, good and full of hope. Then, a youma appeared and clubbed the general. Agate fell to the ground in a crumple of gray fabric, pale skin and brown hair. "I am Kota, master assassin of the Negaverse. I am here to insure that you do not survive, Sailor Moon." Eternal Sailor Moon transformed to Royal Sailor Moon. As she transformed, she said, "Well I stand for love and justice! Nobody, especially somebody who was born and raised in such an awful place as the Negaverse, deserves to have their true love, one of the most positive influences in a person's life, ripped callously away from them. There is no justice in a situation like that, and you may have compounded my mistake with a greater injustice! For that, I will grant you no forgiveness! On behalf of the Moon, I will punish you!" "You talk big, Sailor Moon, but you are just as much a murderer as anybody you have ever fought. More, even. You killed my sister, Morga! It is because of you that I stand before you as this bitter creature. You are responsible for your own demise!" She screamed incoherently and jumped at the Soldier of Love and Justice. "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" yelled Sailor Venus. Her energy projectile hit Kota in the side and knocked her away from Serena. Serena's mind was a mess of memories and horror. How many Negacreeps had she dusted, not caring that they might have homes, families, hopes and dreams in the NegaVerse, a place which she had always automatically assumed was entirely evil. God, she was horrible! She was on the verge of tears when Mina's voice shouted practically in her ear, "SAILOR MOON, MOVE IT!" Woodenly, Sailor Moon called forth a weak (but adequate) Moon Rapier Annihilation, and the youma was gone. She went through the motions of picking up Agate and helping Mina drag the general back to Obsidian's body. By the time they were there, Agate was walking on her own. For her part, Agate noticed that Serena was walking as though a million years were pressing on her shoulders. "Sailor Moon, I have faith that you will be able to heal my beloved Obsidian." "I'm a. . . monster," Serena whispered. "No you aren't," replied Agate vehemently. When you healed me, I saw a glimpse of your soul. You aren't a monster, you're an angel, given human form and tasked to fight the evil that my former compatriots do." "But I killed Kota's sister. The first time I ever fought the NegaVerse, I killed her sister. . ." "And if you hadn't?" "She would have killed me, Molly, Molly's mom and everybody in Tokyo." "Exactly. And besides, Kota's not like I am and Obsidian. . . is," Agate failed to notice how badly Serena's face fell when she paused, "She's a typical youma, barely human. And I truly mean that: they're not as well-evolved in the higher functions as we are." Serena was crying. Agate's astonishment was, to put it mildly, incredible. For this powerful girl, on whom the fate of the world rested, destroying a being that would have ripped her heart out and handed it to her wasn't an act to cheer, but one to be saddened and distraught over. When Serena, Mina and Agate returned, Amy made her ice vanish. Sailor Saturn powered up into Super Sailor Saturn and laid her hand on Sailor Moon's arm, saying, "Sailor Moon, if you and I combine our powers, we should be able to restore Obsidian without draining either of us too severely." The two girls concentrated, and as the others watched, Obsidian's horrendous wound closed and the flesh re-formed. Through her closed eyelids, Serena could see the man's soul returning, drawn by the beacon of Agate's love back to his mortal shell. Obsidian groaned and sat up, and Agate fairly flew to him, at his side before he could get all the way up. "Dearest, you need to rest." "That's so sweet, I could get a cavity just watching you two lovebirds." "Roxix," growled Agate, anger and protectiveness etched across her face, "I should have known. It was you who sent us into this wasteful conflict with the Sailor Senshi anyway. I never trusted you, and neither did Obsidian. Well, we no longer have any loyalty to you. Why should we when you tried to abandon us to certain death?" Agate stripped off her uniform jacket and threw it to the ground, disgusted. "Good, you finally figured that out. Here's another bit of news: I'm the one who set the explosives in the door handles of Sailor Moon's and Sailor Mars's cars. I knew that they would find them and link them to you." "Why!?" "You really don't know? Because you and your lover are too soft. Your feelings would only become a stumbling block for me, and I can't have that if I want to restore my mother's kingdom." "You only want your kingdom, you bastard." "You're right. I served Mother faithfully and well for several centuries, but when it comes right down to it, I was meant for better things than being a general in some half-assed army full of youma." Sailor Moon saw Roxix gathering power and interposed herself between Agate and Roxix, throwing up a magical barrier and absorbing the power blast that he threw their way. "Only the lowest of the low would prey on young lovers like this, Roxix!" Without further ado, Sailor Moon cast herself, rapier extended, at the Prince. He parried her with a broadsword and the fight was on. Tuxedo Mask worried. Serena was exhausted mentally and emotionally, and physical exhaustion couldn't be too far behind. He freed up the sword at his side and readied it, prepared to enter the battle if his wife faltered. Sailor Moon feinted, parried, thrust and counterthrust with the skill and grace of a person years more experienced at the art of fencing than she really was. "Roxix, you slime, you're going to die." "Not in your lifetime, Moon stick." "Nice to know your mother's stupidity has reached *your* head. I hope you never had children." "I plan to change that, Sailor Moon. As soon as possible." "The hell?" "Soon you will be dead and your homeworld will be under my dominion. The dead can't hope for anything." "And they can't plan anything either, Nega-scum. Yak or fight?" "Always the latter." "Then SHUT UP!!!" Sailor Moon kicked Roxix away from her and let off a Moon Strike into his stomach, driving him further back. The pinkish beam of energy slammed him into a wall, and she kept up the blast, battering Roxix into the wall with the force of a magical fire hose. As she shut off the energy flow, "Roxix" stood back up and began swelling all over the place, becoming a huge youma. "What are you!?" "I'm a Replicate, a youma that can take on the shape of another. I was sent by the Prince." Sailor Moon simply growled and renewed her attack, running and delivering a flying kick to the Replicate's head. The being absorbed the blow, grabbed Sailor Moon's leg and cast her, right shoulder first, to the pavement. Her eyes flew wide as the pain registered in her consciousness, and she involuntarily let off a little scream before she clamped her mouth tightly shut. "Let me hear that again!" The youma slammed her into the ground again, magnifying the pain in her shoulder. This time, blood flowed where her arm struck the ground. "Leave her alone, jerk!" A rose-dart struck the Replicate's hand and it dropped Serena. She passed out from the pain in her shoulder, and Reenie and Sonya quickly pulled her out of the way. Darien was seeing red. His righteous fury fueled his powers in a way that nothing ever had before: seeing Serena hurt was far more than he was willing to bear, and he leaped at the Replicate, sword extended. Away from the fight, Sonya gently probed Serena's arm. "Dislocated," she said, "Mina, hold her steady." "All right." While Mina held Serena's shoulders, Sonya pushed on her arm and, with a hideous popping noise, it went back into its socket, and Serena gave a shuddering moan. "My arm," she groaned as she came to. She tried to sit up, but Sonya held her down. "Rest, Serena," ordered Sonya. "Darien needs me." She grabbed the Moon Rapier and tried to stand again. "Serena, you can barely use your sword arm, and you're completely exhausted. Let your friends handle this fight." "Sonya, I can *fight.*" "Not half-exhausted you can't, Sailor Moon. You mustn't re-enter this fight until you've got all your strength back. I'm not putting that much effort into holding you down. It should be taking all my might to keep you from getting up again." "Maybe I'm just conserving my strength." Sonya grasped Serena's wrist in her hand and squeezed. Despite Serena's best effort to keep her grip, the Rapier clattered to the ground. "I rest my case, Serena." The girl lay back, then she called to Agate. "General, I would ask you something: Will you spend the rest of your life fighting for good?" "Do you mean?" "Yes, I am asking you to enter the service of the Royal Guard." "I gladly accept, Neo-Queen Serenity." The battle was going badly for Darien. He was bleeding from his left shoulder, and as a result, his sword wasn't landing as often and wasn't hurting as much when it did. Out of seemingly nowhere, Younger Sailor Moon leapt, screaming, "BANZAI!!!!" She landed on the Replicate's back and connected solidly with the Moon Scepter three times before leaping clear, limbs and body forming a clean curve away from the creature. The Replicate swiveled, bringing its dangerous attention to bear on Younger Moon. Its moment of inattention on its wounded, but still dangerous, foe proved its undoing. The moment it turned to face Younger Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask allowed his sword to fall to the ground and reached into his cape. The clanging noise drew its attention again. . . Just as Tuxedo Mask let fly with a quintet of roses. Two stuck in the Replicate's eyes. One stuck into each side of its chest. The last hit dead-center in its throat. All five roses detonated at once, bringing the youma's life to a fiery conclusion. Younger Moon saw Tuxedo Mask and cried, "Dad, you're hurt!" Agate was kneeling next to her beloved, with Sonya and Serena nearby. "Darien!" said Serena, jerking from Sonya's grasp to bulldog her husband in her typical fashion. "You were wonderful out there, honey," she enthused, "Strong and brave and handsome, just like I've always loved you." "Thanks, Serena," answered Darien, "And you were as you always have been, just as strong and beautiful as ever. No wonder we make such a great team." "Team of failures," said Prince Roxix, as he teleported in, "You may have defeated my servants, but you have lost!" "Bull, Roxix," Agate shouted, "You're the loser and we're going to put you on ice." "But Serenity won't do anything to me as long as I have her daughter!" "Liar!" shouted Serena, angrily surging forward. "Oh, am I? I may bluff and exaggerate, but you ought to know by now that I *never* lie. Behold, your first-born daughter, Irene." The baby appeared and he held her out. Serena staggered as though struck. "How do I know you're not holding another Replicate?" "You don't, but I'm holding the most important card in the game right now." Serena growled low, and in the back of her throat. "I will destroy her, then you." Roxix's evil laughter rang out long and loud, then he disappeared. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Serena's cry was that of a mother terrified beyond belief for the life of her child.