Takeuchi Disclaimer goes here. Thanks to Will Wolfshohl for being such a great editor! Big thank-you to Jendra for giving me permission to use "Moon Power, Duo!" for the transformation of Serena and Imbrium together. To everybody who likes my `fic, thanks for the support. To everybody who doesn't, I can't do *everything.* "I am Francois du Grimm, and I spit towards you!" - Francois du Grimm, *Medieval Madness* Sailor Moon Married Life Chapter 5: Moon Storm Rising Part 3 - Roxix's Revenge Imbrium woke up in a sleeping bag on the couch. She had volunteered to sleep there overnight rather than put Reenie there. In the afternoon, she would be moving in with the Tsukinos and getting to know her sister's modern family. Sitting in front of her was a photo album, so she opened it. Inside were pictures of Serena and Darien, and their friends. The entire first page was taken up by an oil painting of Serena's face, looking as composed, relaxed, and beautiful as she had as Princess Serenity, and signed "Peggy Jones." The second page was a group of pictures, arranged around a shot of Serena taking a big chomp out of a hamburger. "Would you like some coffee, Imbri?" "Thanks, Serena." A few minutes later, Serena entered the room again, two cups of coffee in her hands. "My daughter woke me up. Not this one," she said as she touched her stomach, "Reenie." "Who is Reenie? I mean, I know she's the pink-haired one, but where did she come from? You didn't have a daughter in the Silver Millennium, and I know for a fact that it's not possible that my twenty-year-old sister has an eleven-year-old daughter." Imbrium blew across the top of her coffeecup, sending a wisp of aromatic steam into her sister's nostrils. "Reenie's a time-traveler from the future. She came from the thirtieth century, a time when the Earth is ruled by me, and when Tokyo is instead a city called Crystal Tokyo. I've seen it myself - it's a beautiful place. In that time, I'm known as Neo-Queen Serenity, and I *thought* before that I didn't fight as Sailor Moon anymore, but Reenie told me that in fact I do." "No surprise - I can't imagine you giving up the fight when there are innocents who need to be protected." Imbrium sipped her coffee. "Ahh. You can't imagine how good this tastes to me. I don't know *what* it is that they use for coffee in the Negaverse, but it tastes like a cross between dishwater and blood. Smells like it, too." "Yuck. Imbri, are you sure you didn't just defect to get some decent food?" Imbrium laughed. Reenie watched her mother and Imbrium carefully and quietly. She trusted the Aunt Imbri that she knew, but this Imbrium wasn't necessarily yet Imbrium, President of the United States of North America in the Crystal Millennium. Serena said, "We need a name for you, Imbri. We can't just call you Imbrium - it's not a common name on Earth, and especially not in Tokyo. Serena's distinctive enough here that I often go by my middle name, Usagi." "How about `Irene Imbrium Shaw.' That way, I can keep my name, but it's not the name everybody knows me by." "Sounds good to me. I can have Amy hack into the main government database for you and create a set of fake records. I hate to do it, `cause it's illegal and if she gets caught, trouble will rain down from on high for all of us, but it's worse trouble for you if you don't have a social security number - almost every application for any kind of major financial transaction requires you to give your SSN." Darien stepped out of the bedroom, headed for the shower. "Serena, have you used the shower yet?" "Not yet, Muffin. Why, you want me to join you?" "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Usako. Why don't you have Reenie talk to Imbrium for a while - she should get to know her aunt." "Reenie? You wanna come out of there and talk to Imbri for a while?" Reenie cringed. She should have known her mother's complacency was too good to be true. "All right, Mom," she said neutrally. "Hello, Small Lady." "How'd you know I'm called that?" Reenie heard the bathroom door click shut behind her parents. ". . .I don't quite know. I just did." The Negaverse Prince Roxix was furious. His General had been healed of her darkness by Sailor Moon and gone to the Universe where he couldn't directly get her. Worse yet, she had entered a house so completely warded and magic-shielded that he couldn't teleport anything within a half-mile radius without setting off warning bells all over the place. He had several youma who knew the Reflex Blast spell, but getting them to Earth was difficult, because the teleport spell to get them to the planet was so powerful that anybody with even a smidgen of sensitivity would detect it fifty miles away. It would be a million-candlepower beacon to the Sailor Senshi. He studied the statistics and image of his opposite number. Her smiling portrait next to the hologram floating in the tank was her high school senior picture, a head-and-shoulders shot in three-quarters profile, her right hand curled into a half-fist under her chin, managing to look young and happy, yet mature and studious at the same time, the sparkle of her bright blue eyes captured by the camera. (note: all units are translated into their Terran equivalents) Name: Queen Serenity II A.K.A.: Neo-Queen Serenity, Sailor Moon, Serena Usagi Chiba (nee Tsukino) year of birth (est.): A.D. 1978, Gregorian calendar Height: 5'5" Mass: 115 lbs. (currently estimated to be ~10-20 lbs. heavier than mean due to pregnancy) Threat Rating: 100+ Current Status: Commander of the Sailor Senshi Known Relatives: King Endymion (a.k.a. Darien Chiba, Tuxedo Mask) Threat Rating: 100+ Serena Chiba II (a.k.a. Reenie, Younger Sailor Moon) Threat Rating: 78 Princess Imbrium Threat Rating: 80 Ikuko, Kenji and Samuel Tsukino Threat Rating: 30, 40, 30 "Serena Chiba, I will make you wish you had never opposed the Negaverse. I will strike where you live: your family." When Serena and Darien emerged from the shower half an hour later, Reenie was much more at ease with Imbrium. Imbri wasn't *quite* the same as she would be in a hundred years (that obviously wasn't possible), but she was close. The Silver Millennium Princess and the Crystal Millennium Neo-Princess were chatting casually, a fresh cup of coffee in front of Imbrium and a cup of hot cocoa in front of Reenie. "You leave any hot water, Serena?" asked Imbrium. "Yeah." "I think I'll just take a short one. After all, Reenie still needs hot water for hers." Serena called her parents just before Reenie got out of the shower. After eight rings, she put the phone down - nobody was home. Not even Voice Messaging picked up, which meant that they hadn't left normally. "Hey, guys - I think something might be wrong at home. We should go check." The two cars nosed out of the garage, Serena and Imbrium in one, Darien and Reenie in the other. Serena was scared. "So help me, if anything's happened to Mom and Dad, in the name of the Moon I'll get medieval on the Negaverse!" Walking through the Tsukino home, Serena felt unreasoning terror seeping into her. As she walked from room to room, the sense of innate wrongness grew worse and worse, and she gripped Darien's waist and hand tighter and tighter. Walking into her parents' bedroom, she screamed. On the bed were two mutilated bodies. She bolted for the bed, when Darien cried out, "NO, IT'S A TRAP!!!" and became Tuxedo Mask. The bodies on the bed jerked to life and became youma. Tuxedo Mask threw roses at both, as Serena backpedaled. She pulled her brooch from her chest and held it up. "Moon Royal - Make Up!!" In the basement, Reenie felt her mother transform. She raced up the stairs, shouting, "Moon Crystal Power!!" Elder Moon had her rapier out by the time Younger Moon and Imbrium arrived in the room. She growled, "You're outnumbered and outmaneuvered." *Even if one of us doesn't have Sailor powers* "Just give yourselves up and give back my family, and I promise to make your deaths as painless as possible." "Never." "Okay. Moon Rapier. . . Annihilation!!" The rapier's energy blast disintegrated the first on contact. The second chose to leap for Younger Moon, claws bared. Elder Moon and Tuxedo Mask were out of position to help their future-daughter, with Elder Moon recovering from her attack and between Younger Moon and Tuxedo Mask, and watched in horror. The youma landed and was about to disembowel the girl when it found a sharp crystal spike protruding from its chest. The spike disappeared and the youma's head suddenly exploded, painting the wallpaper a bright green. "Nobody, but NOBODY messes with *my* niece," growled Imbrium. Younger Moon started to shake uncontrollably. Imbrium put her arm around her niece to steady the girl. "Easy, girl. You're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you, I promise." Younger Moon hugged her aunt with desperation. "You saved my life. Thank you, Aunt Imbri! I'm sorry I ever doubted you!" "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Imbrium transferred Reenie to Serena's arms. Serena let Reenie cry on her shoulder. The attack, so physical and violent, had shaken the young warrior. "Serena. . . Are you sure that letting her fight is wise?" Finally, Reenie fell asleep, having cried herself into exhaustion. Serena carried Reenie into her old bedroom and laid her down on the bed. "Imbrium, unlike you, who have about forty years of the last ten thousand to draw on, remember that I'm twenty and Reenie is only eleven. Despite the fact that she's been into and through hell, and back, she's still a little girl. I remember how I felt the first time a youma came and tried to physically attack me - After that, it took me a week to get back into fighting shape, because I kept losing my cool. Reenie's earned being Younger Moon." "Jeez, you sound almost like a general." "Must be Neo-Queen Serenity talking," she grinned. The word `general' sparked an idea in Serena's mind. "Who was slated to be the next General after Quartzite?" she asked. "I think that it was. . . Coprolite. Not the smartest of them, but he has his moments. He looks like Nephy, but with no hair at all - a few of the soldiers called him `Cueball-ite.' Of course, it didn't help him one bit that *I,* or rather, Quartzite, called him that myself." Sailor Moon, despite the desperation of the situation, giggled a bit. Tuxedo Mask, who had been quietly thoughtful for the past minute, spoke, "Serena, since you and Imbrium are both Moon Princesses, would it be possible for Imbrium to transform into Sailor Moon?" "I think so. I remember hearing in the histories of how the Silver Millennium came to be that during the Ancient Ones' battles with the Daemons. They originally created the Sailor Senshi to fight the Demonic Queen Metallia, before she became Queen Metallia of the Negaverse and later just the Negaforce. There were originally two Sailors of each planet, but it eventually became only one, because it was more sensible to concentrate all of the power into one individual, creating one massively powerful Senshi where two powerful ones had stood before. "I believe that the command words were the same, but with the addition of the word `Duo' at the end. Do you want to try it, Imbri?" "Sure, can't hurt." Sailor Moon transformed back into Serena. She held up her brooch, and Imbrium's hand touched the Crystal. They cried in one voice, "Moon Royal - Duo!!" The transformation took both of them, rebuilding their bodies as Sailor Moon. When it was done, Serena/Moon looked at her sister. Imbri/Moon was dressed identically to Serena/Moon, but with greens where Serena's blues were. "You look like Jupiter-chan, Imbri!" "So what if I do? I happen to *like* green." "So what should we call you?" "What?" "Well, we can't call you `Imbrium,' and if they say, `Sailor Moon,' I don't want us trying to figure out who's in danger or needs to respond." "Well, how `bout Sailor Selene? It's derived from the Greek goddess of the Moon. . ." "Which just *happened* to be also part of a couple of regional Terran mispronunciations of Mother's name - Selenity. I'll go with it." "Go with what?" asked Rei. "Well, as you can see, Imbrium can also transform into Sailor Moon, or more appropriately, since she chose it, `Sailor Selene.'" "Sounds good. Well, Serena, you might as well not even have stopped fighting, what with all that's been going on in the past few days." "The past few days are an anomaly and you know it, Rei. Personally, I hope Imbrium and Reenie can pick up until I have this baby. I don't want to put her repeatedly in harm's way." "I know. Believe me, I'm uniquely suited among the Sailor Senshi to understand your position, but she's going to always be in danger just because of who and what you are. It's the price we pay for what we do." Serena was about to start crying. "I know that, I wish it wasn't true, but it is. Look at what's happened to my family. They've been kidnapped." She held on to Darien as if he were a life preserver thrown to a drowning woman as she spoke. Quiet tears began to slide down her cheeks. Darien said, "Just because they have been kidnapped doesn't mean they'll stay that way, honey. We'll get your family back, and make the Negaverse wish they had never taken them." He turned Serena around and wrapped his arms around her waist, allowing her to lean back against his chest. Since moving in with Darien, Serena seldom wailed anymore. Her well-known habit of sitting down and crying her eyes out (or doing so while standing) had become a thing of the past. Luna had once asked why, and she had told the cat that it was because through all of those years of her modern life, she had felt so insecure, without her Prince by her side, that she'd had to make sure it was known when she was hurting. Now Darien was here, and he always knew, so she didn't need to cry loudly anymore. It had taken Darien a while to get used to it - the first time she had cried without the then-still-usual wail, Darien had been absolutely desperate to know what had been the matter, so unusual was it. Now, it was just taken in stride as part of the Neo-Queen's maturing. Sailor Jupiter showed up and looked over Sailor Selene. "Whoa, Imbrium. . . Lookin' sharp!" "Thanks, Jupiter-chan. I always wanted to have Sailor Powers, now I do." Pluto appeared next, and stood next to the bed, her hands on Sailor Moon's. "Sailor Moon, I promise you that we will get your parents and brother back." Sailor Moon allowed her transformation to collapse, then called the phone number Jadeite had given her. "Moshi-moshi," answered the Guardian. "Jadeite, this is Serena. I need your help." "I'll be right over, Highness." Five minutes later, Jadeite arrived. As he walked into the house, he smelled coffee. "There's something I haven't had in millennia," he said. Walking into the parents' bedroom, he noted Rei, Serena, and Darien, the indomitable trio, sitting together with cups of coffee in their hands. "Mind if I have some coffee? Nephrite didn't keep any at his mansion, and I haven't had any in ten thousand years." "Nephrite's mansion?" "Yeah. It's a slightly spooky place on the edge of town, a remodeled Catholic church. He had a Ferrari in the garage, which I'm going to sell to a dealer in exchange for a little more reasonable car - those things use gasoline like nobody's business. I'm not on the Negaverse's budget anymore, and I don't have the ability to fabricate whatever I need from the four mystical elements, that's Coprolite's ability. By the way, love the redecorating job on the wall." Serena automatically looked at the bloodspot on the wall, and turned slightly green. "Uhh, Imbri, could you wash that up?" Younger Moon woke up in Serena's old bed. She felt the dried blood on her face and body, and went into the bathroom to wash up. Taking the binders out of her hair, she allowed it to hang freely, the ends dangling just below her butt. She transformed back to Reenie, then took off her clothes and stepped into the bathtub. She spent a long time there, making sure every trace of youma blood was off of her skin. Finally, she let the water out and dried herself with her towel, scrubbing it through her hair until it was as dry as she could get it. Stepping out of the tub, she took a moment to admire her reflection in the mirror. Now that most of her baby-fat was gone, the resemblance to her mother was astonishing. Reenie was only beginning to enter puberty, her hips just beginning to widen and her breasts beginning to bud, and already it was clear that Serena's slender figure would be echoed in her. Then, she looked at her clothes, and her good feelings melted. The blood that had gotten on her fuku had transferred over, and was staining the clothing Serena had just purchased for her yesterday. *Stupid,* Reenie thought, *That was so stupid of me. I should have been ready for that, not standing there like some rubberneck - I'm supposed to be Sailor Moon. I could have gotten killed.* "Reenie?" came Serena's voice, "You in there?" "Yeah." She tried to pitch her voice to sound like nothing was wrong. A few years ago, it would have fooled her mother. No chance now. "Reenie, are you dressed?" "Just a sec, Mom." She pulled the brooch from her clothes and called, "Moon Crystal Power!!" As soon as her transformation completed, she opened the door. Her long pink hair was still down, making her look almost like a miniature version of Sailor Venus, with pink in her hair and fuku where Mina's gold colors were. "Do you want to talk, Reenie?" "I guess." "Why'd you transform?" "`Cause that needs washing," she said as she gestured toward the green-stained pile of pink sweatshirt and blue jeans on the floor. Serena opened her arms and Reenie let her mom hug her. "Now, what's on your mind, Spore?" Reenie smiled sadly. Serena usually called her `Small Lady,' calling her `Fungus' when she was teasing. She only called Reenie `Spore' when she was concerned about the girl. "I'm scared, Mom. I don't know what to do - I should have been ready for that youma, should have been starting a Scepter Elimination or at least a Tiara Magic before it got in the air." "Don't worry, Reenie. These things really do just happen. Somebody once said that `no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.' You came out of this alive, and with a little bit better knowledge of the capabilities of a youma - a species of Nega-monster that you've never faced before." "Well, you've never faced a Boomer before, so we're even." The words popped out before she could stop them, and she immediately covered her mouth. "A Boomer? I take it I don't want to know." Serena was cat-curious about the future, only natural, since she'd already seen part of it, but she knew better than to press her future daughter for details about it. She'd find out when it happened. The Negaverse "What are you doing with us!? Let me go!!" Ikuko Tsukino struggled violently against the ropes binding her. Just because she wasn't Sailor Moon, didn't mean she was going to let these. . . creatures kidnap her. "Shut up, will you?" growled the bald man in a gray uniform. He pressed his hand to Ikuko's heart and drew out some of her energy. He didn't need to touch her at all, but it added to the intimidation factor. She felt so tired. . . it was all she could do was stay awake. "Prince Roxix will be pleased. Now that Sailor Moon's family is here in the Negaverse, she'll have to come to us!" At the Tsukino house, Sailor Moon's face was taking on a determined cast, one that the Senshi knew very well. It was the look she wore whenever somebody she loved had been kidnapped by the Negaverse. It made Mina profoundly glad she wasn't in the shoes of whomever it was who had taken Serena's family. She had once coined the term `Moon Maternal Vengeance' to describe Serena's righteous fury when people, especially her friends and family, got kidnapped or hurt. It had gotten a laugh out of everybody at the time, but to see the Senshi leader so wound up was no laughing matter. Sailor Moon smacked a fist into the wall and walked back to her parents' room. Speaking softly in a tongue that none in the group save Darien had heard before, she incanted a spell and finished by crying out, "Warp Hole!" A black space warp appeared in the master bedroom, in the closet door. She stepped through and called for the others. They followed her. "Now, don't you guys think maybe, just maybe, you should transform? The other Senshi blew sighs at their oversight. "Mercury Eternal. . ." rang Amy's crystalline soprano. "Mars Eternal. . ." called Rei. "Jupiter Eternal. . ." thundered Lita. "Venus Eternal. . ." cried Mina. "MAKE UP!!" chorused the Scouts, just before their transformations took them. "Saturn Crystal Power - Make Up!!" yelled Heather. "Uranus Crystal Power - Make Up!!" roared Alex. "Neptune Crystal Power - Make Up!!" said Michelle. "Pluto Crystal Power - Make Up!!" said Sonya. Within seconds, the Outers were finished transforming, about the same time that the Inners finished. Then, Sailor Selene crossed the warp hole and Royal Sailor Moon let it collapse. Dark Kingdom Castle Prince Roxix saw the Sailor Senshi enter his world. "General Coprolite, come here," he called. "Master, do you think it's wise to leave the prisoners unattended?" "They are mere humans. They aren't too much concern." The Forest Selene's lips quirked into a grin when she saw where they had been deposited. "The Arcadian Forest. How appropriate." Younger Moon was sticking close to her aunt, with Royal Moon paired off with Tuxedo Mask. The other Senshi powered up and formed pairs: Eternal Sailor Mars with Eternal Sailor Mercury, Eternal Jupiter and Eternal Venus, Super Uranus and Neptune and Super Pluto and Saturn. Mars commented, "This is the first time I've actually gotten to use my Eternal transformation!" She commanded a tiny flame into existence, then snuffed it out. "None of us really knows what our Eternal attacks are yet, Mars," replied Jupiter. "At the last fight, I was still using Oak Evolution, remember?" Royal Sailor Moon said, "You won't be able to use your Eternal attacks until the time is right. Then, and only then, will you be able to use them for the first time. After that, you will be able to use them as though they were your Super attacks." Rei and Ami nodded solemnly. The group moved cautiously, making half-decent time. In the Negaverse, the sense that allowed them to tell when youma were about was next to useless, what with all the youma life signatures all around them. Sailors Moon, Uranus, Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus had their weapons out, as did Younger Sailor Moon. Sailor Selene created a crystal sword. Tuxedo Mask held his cane like a bludgeon. Sailor Mercury was constantly scanning with her TACS[1]. "Why is it that of all of us, I'm the only one whose powers have never improved?" groused Tuxedo Mask. "Well, dear, have you ever concentrated on improving them?" asked Serena. "Well. . . no." "Just try it sometime. It isn't easy, but it can be very rewarding when you're in trouble up to your hinder." "Easy for you to say, Sailor Moon." Sailor Moon patted Tuxedo Mask's cheek. "Aww, poor Muffin. You'll get the hang of it." As she finished speaking, a powerful youma ripped out of the woods. Its body was shaped like a giant panther. It landed on Sailor Moon, stunning her. "Ahh, Sailor Moon. Prince Roxix will reward me well for delivering him your heart." "NO!!" cried the Senshi from all sides. Serena's eyes pleaded for help. "Serena!!" yelled Darien. Desperately, he racked his mind for a way to help his beloved. Suddenly, an idea surfaced: remembering the times Reenie had used her moonbeam to summon help, and the times he had combined his own powers with those of Princess Serenity and the Silver Moon Crystal. *It's so crazy it just might work,* he thought. Younger Moon and Tuxedo Mask nodded at one another, then at Elder Moon. "Future. . ." called Younger Moon. "Earth. . ." continued Tuxedo Mask. "Moon. . ." added Elder Moon. "SLASH!!" they chorused. A moonbeam emanated from Younger Moon, to be joined by a beam of green energy from Tuxedo Mask, and joined a third, pink, beam emanating from Elder Moon's upraised palm, became bright white, twisted upward and punched into the youma. Its scream was hideous as it disintegrated to ash. Elder Moon stood up and offered the others a shaky smile. "I'm okay, really I am." A thin trickle of blood showed where the panther-youma's claws had dug into the exposed, soft flesh of her upper chest. Tuxedo Mask removed a glove and began to incant a healing spell he had come up with. The rents in Serena's skin quickly vanished. Tuxedo Mask then put his glove back on and the two began to move more carefully. "That was impressive, Muffin. When did you come up with it?" "Hey, Usako - you and Rei aren't the only ones who can do magic around here." Elder Moon snorted wryly, "I wasn't asking *how,* but *when.*" "Well, I've been working on it for a couple of years now, Serena. I just didn't finish the fine-tuning until a few days ago. I was surprised at how hard it was to create a brand-new spell." Elder Moon noticed something different about Darien's tux. It had gained armor, and his walking cane had become a sword. "Now, what's this?" she mused, "Super Tuxedo Mask?" Tuxedo Mask agreed with her. "Sounds good to me, Sailor Moon." "AHEM!!!" said Rei, "Now if you two LOVE BIRDS are quite finished talking, the rest of us would like to get going sometime in the near future." Sailor Moon remembered her family's situation and her face hardened again. "Let's go." Elsewhere, a cart was continuing to pull Serena's family toward the castle of Prince Roxix. Sammy growled, "What are you going to do with us!?" "You are bait for Sailor Moon, nothing more. When we have disposed of her, you will be used as Prince Roxix grants us permission to use," said the youma with the family, "You look quite tasty." She licked the tips of her pointed teeth, and Sammy shuddered. He wished he had even a tiny bit of his sister's power. His hands had been rubbing against a loose piece of metal for the last hour, and were starting to become raw. Suddenly, he got an idea. He began to carefully saw the metal along his bonds, and they soon ripped loose. He quickly untied his feet when the youma's eyes were on the road ahead. It turned around to look at the prisoners, and. . . The boy lashed his right leg out at the left kneecap of the youma. His legs were toned and powerful from playing soccer for nearly ten years. The youma went down, clutching the leg. In the confusion, Kenji managed to kick the sword the youma had been carrying over to Sammy, and he picked it up. "Okay, now you're in real trouble, Nega-scum. You'll let my family and me go right now, or you won't live to regret it!" The youma wisely chose to let the family go. "Go back to your prince and tell `im that the Sailor Senshi aren't the only ones who can hurt you!" The Sailor Senshi were under serious attack by a group of youma. They had walked into a trap about a minute ago, and two Senshi, Venus and Uranus, were already down with serious injuries. They had made fair accounting of themselves though, and two youma were also down for the count. Royal Sailor Moon, momentarily disarmed, thrust her palm into the stomach of the youma in front of her. Its breath rushed out of it, and it backpedaled a step. She reached to her forehead and her Tiara transformed into a blazing crescent of energy. "Moon Tiara Star!" she shouted, and thrust it into the youma's stomach. Suddenly, her uniform was dusted gray with the youma's ashes. Tuxedo Mask sent a rose whistling past Sailor Moon's ear, to stick in the eye of a youma. It staggered back three steps, then the rose exploded! Everybody did a double-take, and Darien muttered, "Sticky-bomb like-ah you." He threw a second, cried out in shock as Sailor Moon accidentally moved into harm's way. . . and gasped in surprise as the rose-bomb passed through her body as though it were a mere illusion. The explosive flower stuck into a youma's chest and detonated. Sailor Selene cried, "Crystal Shower!" and a hailstorm of multicolored crystals fired from her hands at the youma attacking her. Quickly, the creatures lost physical integrity and vanished. Eternal Sailor Mars cried out, "Mars. . . Flame. . . Engulf!" A wall of flame encircled a youma and shrank into a skintight casing, burning it to dust in a matter of seconds. Sailor Mars stared at her hands. Her gloves, below the red stripe around her wrists had become orange where they had before been white. "What. . . was that?" "I think it's your Eternal attack, Mars," said Sailor Moon. She bent down to get her sword. While Moon and Mars were talking, two youma snuck up behind them. "Mercury Shattering Freeze!" One of the two froze into a statue and cracked into a billion shards. "Jupiter Supreme Shock!" The Thunder Javelin, charged to its fullest and surrounded by Oak Evolution leaves, slammed into the torso of the second, dusting it. Sailors Jupiter and Mercury looked at the hands of their gloves, which were now green and blue, respectively. The last youma jumped at Sailor Venus, who was down with a twisted ankle. Unable to stand in order to do her Love and Beauty Shock, she shouted, "Venus Eternal Heartbreak!" and made a slashing motion with her hand. The youma clutched its chest and turned into an ash statue, then blew away. Venus' gloves had become gold from the wrist down. "Yatta! That was cool!" The Warrior of Love and Beauty smiled toothily and punched the air. Sailor Moon heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. She turned around and her sword clanged off of another. Then Sammy's head popped up. Serena's sword vanished and she hugged her brother. "Sammy! Where're Mom and Dad?" "We're right here, Serena. How did you get here?" "Never mind that! We've got to get home!" Dark Kingdom Castle Prince Roxix was fit to be tied. His prisoners, three normal humans, had escaped! "Calm down, My Liege," said Coprolite. "Calm down!? One of my soldiers has been outfought by a mere human!!" "Remember, this human's sister is the Princess Serenity. He may have powers from the Moon as well." "Don't you think that I didn't take that into consideration!? He was supposedly pure latent!" "Urgent situations tend to call latency into active power, My Liege." "General, you are dismissed to your quarters to think over this fiasco quite thoroughly. I want answers by tomorrow morning, now GO!" Prince Roxix spun in place to contemplate his situation. The Inner Senshi now had their Eternal powers. His traitorous general was now a Sailor Senshi herself. All in all, it was adding up to a very difficult day for him. A headache was developing, right between his eyebrows. * * * Generals' Quarters "Hail, the conquering hero comes," sneered General Agate. Her hair shone the rich brown-gold of her namesake stone, and her skin was very light in color. *A beautiful, desirable woman in all aspects - if only she weren't such a jerk,* thought Coprolite. Agate's lover, Obsidian, was just as aggravating. The man had no humility, and controlled the element of fire, like Sailor Mars. The two Generals taunted Coprolite as he stalked past. "Just you wait until it's *your* turn to tell the Prince you've failed. You think it's funny at the moment, but being beaten by those Sailor girls isn't." "Awww, Cueballite's got girl problems. I can make them go away," said Agate. The only response was Coprolite's door slamming shut. Inside his quarters, Coprolite swung his fist at a portrait of Sailor Moon. The glass over her face shattered. *Painful, yes,* he thought as he cradled his lacerated hand, *but satisfying to punch her nonetheless.* Earth, Tsukino home "We did it!" exulted Sailor Moon as she shifted back into Serena. She turned and gleefully hugged Imbrium, Reenie, Rei, and everybody who had made their victory possible. Even Sammy. "And who would have thought that my little brother would be a closet Tuxedo Mask?" "Hey, if my sister's Sailor Moon, I figure why shouldn't I do what I can?" said the boy. "Keep it up and you'll be just as dangerous as the Meatball Head. . . to yourself," laughed Rei. Serena shivered lightly, "Don't remind me, Rei. I don't think I want to do that *again,* at least for a few months. I'm glad you guys have your Eternal powers now, because I'm officially out of the Senshi until my baby's born." "WHAT!!?" cried the Outers and Inners in unison. "You heard me. I had a really close call today, and I don't want to take any more chances with my baby's life. She deserves the opportunity to be born, at the very least." "Serena, I can't transform without you," said Imbrium. "Yes, Imbri, you can. You have the power of Sailor Moon, just as I do. Well, maybe not *just* like I do, but very close." * * * Serena shifted uneasily in bed, troubled. She knew so much about herself, but the Crystal within her locket on the nightstand was a horse of a whole different size, texture, *and* color. It had so much power, the Silver Crystal. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd used its power over life and death. And yet, she didn't know what it was capable of, what kind of influence it was capable of exerting over *her.* Concentrating on the crystal, she levitated it from where it sat in the locket and plucked the infinitely precious jewel from midair. It had brought death to Queen Beryl, and renewed life to Heather Tomoe. Somehow, her worries were always magnified tenfold when Darien wasn't around. He had taken Heather home, since she didn't have a car. A familiar presence tingled at the corner of her perception. *Darien!* Suddenly, her worries about absolute power and the consequences thereof melted away, replaced by the certainty that no matter how powerful she became, her love for Darien would always be there, providing her a beacon for the right path. Darien walked into the room. "I could feel you worrying halfway across town, Serena. What's on your mind?" "The Silver Crystal. I mean, what does it really do? I know that the Royal Family of the Moon has drawn on its power for generations, but what does that really mean, and is it really the right thing to do?" "I'm not quite sure I understand you, Serena." "Darien, these last few months, I've been thinking at odd intervals about how much easier the Crystal could make my life if I only just. . . didn't care so much about the consequences, or who got hurt." "But if you didn't think about that, Serena, you wouldn't be *you.* Serena, you're a warrior, not just a killer. True, using the Crystal heedlessly might make your life easier. But, you wouldn't be able to be Sailor Moon anymore. It's your love that makes you Sailor Moon, not some silly hunk of rock." He hugged his wife, the holder of the ultimate power in the world. "And if you used the Crystal without care for consequence, you'd be turning your back on the memory of Queen Serenity." That part drove it home. The events of the past few months had slowly undone the memory blocks in place for ten millennia and her memories of the Moon Kingdom were completely restored. She knew the happy times and the sad times. The times of celebration that had come with feast weeks, the times of mourning over the ever-mounting losses to the forces of the Negaverse. But always her mother and her sister, and in the end, Endymion. The three of them, along with Rei, had been parts of her happiest memories. Especially Queen Serenity. How could she possibly dishonor the memory of her first mother, who had given her life so that she, Serena, could live happily? Serena gave a heavy sigh, expelling a good deal of her anxiety. It felt good, so she did it again. "Let's hit the sack, Darien." "Already? It's only ten." "Yeah, but it's been that kind of day and I wanna get it over with. I'll just go and give Reenie a kiss good-night and get back here as soon as possible." Reenie, in her room, curled up under the covers. She missed Diana. Her cat hadn't been able to come back in time with her this time. Serena knocked on the child's door. "Reenie?" "Yeah?" "Can I come in?" "Sure, Mom." The woman entered the room and hugged her future-daughter tightly to her. Kissing the girl on her forehead, she said, "Good-night, Small Lady. Sleep well." "Good-night, Mom." Serena left the room and closed the door all but a crack. Then she bent down to Luna and said, "Luna, I think Reenie's feeling a bit lonely for a cat. Maybe you should go and keep her company for tonight." "All right, Serena." The cat walked into Reenie's room and hopped up to the girl's bed, suppressing the feline instinct to knead the covers with her claws before lying down - she knew that Serena hated that. "Good-night, Luna." "Good-night, Reenie." In the master bedroom, Serena laid down in the bed. "Good-night, Darien." "Good-night, Serena." Finally, after a day that had been far too long, the Chiba house was peaceful at last. -- [1] TACS - Tactical and Analytic Computer System. Ami's visor and minicomputer. Yowsers! That was a long one! Next: Mina's Romance.