That Special Magic
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com

http://
strands-of-moonlight.my3gb.com
-or-  http://strands-of-moonlight.6te.net

A Sekkushiaru Roman
featuring characters from the anime "Sailor Moon"


> Chapter 75 - Fear of the Next Time <

       In a cavern deep beneath the ruins of an ancient castle in a remote corner of Wales, over one of the several magic points still to be found in the British Isles, a tall bald man in brown robes raced up a flight of stairs into a large room. All around the room, lights were flashing and alarms were sounding.
       "What the hell was that?!" the man demanded.
       "Magic wave, Gordon," another answered. "Very powerful, and completely uncontrolled. It was preceded by a series of much less powerful ripples."
       Gordon looked up at the global projections, with flashing points on the image of the globe indicating incident reports. "Effect is worldwide, Benjamin?"
       "It certainly looks that way," the other man answered. "Reports have only just begun to come in. We're also encountering sporadic communications blackouts, so not everyone may be able to report yet."
       "Do we know where it came from?" Gordon asked.
       "Not with certainty," a woman, named Dorothy, answered. "The initial ripples appear to match with the earlier spike reported by the Japan bureau as being a silver crystal incident related to the Sailor Soldiers."
       "But this was a far, far more powerful incident," Benjamin said.
       "And many stations are reporting the major wave overwhelmed their sensors," Dorothy added.
       "Benjamin, what's the exposure estimate?" Gordon asked. "Is our secrecy in any jeopardy?"
       "Actually, no," Benjamin replied. "We got lucky on that one. The magic waves were undetectable to non-adepts. They're only seeing widespread natural phenomena."
       "How bad?" Gordon asked.
       "We have confirmed reports of multiple earthquakes on all continents, even in areas that should be tectonically stable, and all at virtually the same time. Seismologists will be utterly mystified by the coincidence of it all, but there's nothing that points to us. And fortunately, the magnitudes of most of the tremors were comparatively low," Benjamin reported. A screen in front of him flickered with new information. "We're seeing reports of power outages with no visible alternative cause; New England, Quebec, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, East Anglia, Provence, Munich, Rome, Krakow, Istanbul, Alexandria, Cape Town, New Delhi, Shanghai, Manila, Papeete, Melbourne, Brisbane, Honolulu." He checked another report. "Tsunami alerts are beginning to be posted... but from what we know so far, we have nothing to confirm any actual surge events."
       Gordon's eyes shifted to a man near the front of the room who was hunched over his console, conversing with the image of a wizard elsewhere in the world.
       Benjamin also noticed the man.
       "Sir," the man called, sitting up. "A report from the head of the Japan bureau. He has information concerning the event."
       Benjamin nodded, looking back at Gordon for a moment. "Let me talk to him," he said.
       At once, a projection appeared above Benjamin's desk.
       "You know what this was, Yusuke-san?"
       "Yes, Benjamin-sama," Yusuke replied. "Like the previous event, this one originated in southern Tokyo, Minato-ku."
       "The Sailor Soldiers are active again?" Gordon asked, moving up next to Benjamin so that he too would appear in the projection Yusuke was seeing.
       "We are not certain of that, Gordon-sama," Yusuke answered. "In both cases, we observed only a single event. There was no indication of further magic to suggest a battle or some other extended event. Given the nature of the magic released, we are confident in our identification of the silver crystal as the source. The fact that this discharge seems to have been completely uncontrolled, however, is most alarming. This event blacked out a significant number of our monitors and it momentarily interrupted our communications."
       "Yes. We share your concern, Yusuke-san," Benjamin said. "We're experiencing similar disruptions elsewhere, and we have incident reports from all over the world."
       "As you will also know, we are not prepared to address such a situation," Yusuke said. "The silver crystal is far too powerful, and the Sailor Soldiers..."
       "Are outside your jurisdiction for enforcement of the secrecy of magic," Gordon finished. "Yes, we know." He thought for a moment. "Do you have any information on how to make contact with the Sailor Soldiers? Depending on what more we learn, that may become unavoidable."
       "Not as yet, Gordon-sama," Yusuke answered. "We are aware of an unidentified, possibly unregistered adept at large in Minato-ku, who appears to be involved with the Sailor Soldiers. Since the operational instructions for the Japan bureau are to remain strictly hands-off with regard to the Sailor Soldiers and not to interfere with their mission in any way, we haven't made an effort to pursue this individual, and in any case, he has not violated the secrecy rule in any way that we are aware of."
       "I understand," Gordon said. "We are certain that their mission, to prevent another invasion by the Dark Kingdom, has been successfully completed. We need you to investigate whether a new threat has appeared that is within their purview, or whether this is something else. And we need you to locate this unidentified adept and determine if he is connected with the Sailor Soldiers. We cannot risk any more pulses like the one we've just seen."
       "Yes, Gordon-sama," Yusuke replied, with a bow. His image faded.
       "You think the Sailor Soldiers could actually become a threat?" Benjamin asked.
       "I don't know," Gordon replied. "But it certainly does appear the silver crystal was the source of this pulse. We don't know yet just how damaging this one was, but I already know we don't want to see a repetition."
       "What can we do if they are a threat?" Benjamin asked.
       Gordon looked at him for a moment. "I honestly don't know."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Rei and Atana arrived at Mamoru and Usagi's apartment.
       "What happened?" Atana asked.
       "It... was an accident," Usagi said quietly. "I tapped into it by reflex... and then..."
       "An accident?" Rei gasped.
       "This accident has caused earthquakes and blackouts all across the planet," Atana said. "A number of coastal areas here in Japan are being evacuated because of the fear of tsunami, and emergency services are on tsunami alert in just about every coastal region around the world."
       "I know," Usagi replied, as Mamoru held her in his arms. "It... it happened so fast... I... I couldn't stop it."
       "Have you been able to learn anything about what is going on?" Mamoru asked.
       Atana sighed and shook his head. "No. I'm afraid not," he said. "All I can determine is that the ginzuishou breaks just about every rule for a talisman."
       "What do you mean?" Usagi asked.
       "Well... a talisman is usually crafted for a single purpose, whereas the ginzuishou can do just about anything the user wants it to do," Atana explained. "A talisman generally works for any person with sufficient magic training and ability; the ginzuishou only works for you. A talisman can exhaust its power if used at high output; just from personal observation, I know that's not the case with the ginzuishou. The limiting factor seems to be your strength, not that of the ginzuishou."
       "That could mean it's truly unique," Mamoru suggested.
       "That's what I'm afraid of," Atana said. "And if it is entirely unique, then I'm not going to find the information I need as to what is going wrong."
       "Is there anything else that could have changed?" Mamoru asked.
       "Well, you tell me it was broken up into several pieces and then restored. That could have caused a problem, but if it had I think you would have noticed it right away," Atana replied. "The only other thing I can see that is different is that we're on Earth, not the Moon. I'm not sure how that could make a difference, but since the Moon Kingdom no longer exists, that wouldn't be a situation we could fix."
       "So, I'll never be able to use it again," Usagi said.
       "We don't know that for sure," Atana said. "But for the present at any rate..."
       "I understand," Usagi replied.
       "We need time to try to figure this out," Atana continued.
       "He's absolutely right," Luna agreed. "But to have that time, we can't afford any more events like this one."
       "Especially not if they get progressively stronger," Rei added.
       "OK. I understand," Usagi said firmly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       "Mamo-chan, it's like they suddenly don't trust me," Usagi said, as they cuddled on the coach.
       Mamoru kissed her cheek. "It's not that they don't trust you, Usako. It's that we all know it's become second nature for you to draw energy from the crystal. That's how you've been minimizing the side-effects of pregnancy."
       "And that's what caused this accident," she acknowledged. "I understand that. I really do, Mamo-chan. But I can keep from using it."
       "I'm glad," he said, kissing her again. "We're all counting on it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Rei held Atana's arm as they entered their building. "Do you really think she can manage it?"
       "I think she is sincere in her intention," he said. "But I'm not sure if she realizes just how difficult it will be. She's been augmenting her own life energy from the crystal for several months. The problem is going to come in those situations where she doesn't even think about it."
       "So, what do we do?" she asked.
       "We hurry."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       In the cavern in Wales, a sense of urgency also predominated.
       Benjamin approached Gordon with another man. "We have a lead on Yusuke's unidentified adept."
       "You've found him?" Gordon asked.
       "Not yet," the other man, named David, answered. "But we think we've identified him."
       "How?" Gordon asked.
       "Yusuke actually already had several clues in the files he and his team have put together on the Sailor Soldiers, but apparently no one ever thought to compare against the known partners of the Sailor Soldiers in the past," David said.
       "I'm not following you," Gordon said.
       David led them to a table, where he activated an image crystal. "This is Yusuke's unidentified adept."
       "Right," Gordon acknowledged.
       David displayed another image. "And here he is again. Same man, correct?"
       "Certainly," Gordon agreed.
       "So, what else was common in those images?" David asked.
       "He was with Sailor Mars," Gordon said.
       "Exactly." David produced a different crystal. "This is one of the few that survived the cataclysm." He activated the crystal, displaying another image. "This is the last princess of Mars on a state visit to the high king's court. It is widely agreed that the current Sailor Mars is her reincarnation. The resemblance between Sailor Mars and the princess of Mars is only passing, but that is because all the modern Sailor Soldiers use a disguise magic to subtly alter their appearances. But of particular interest here, take a look at the man accompanying the princess."
       Gordon leaned closer. "The same man."
       "Yes," David agreed. "We know the man accompanying the princess of Mars was Prince Atana, a younger son of the king of Rangarota, one of the Polynesian states of that era. He was also a trained wizard."
       "So, the current man is his reincarnation," Gordon said.
       "I don't think so," David replied. He pointed to the picture of Princess Rei of Mars. "You notice here, the princess of Mars is pregnant. The surviving records tell us the princess was engaged to Prince Atana, and that they had a daughter born shortly before the Dark Kingdom invasion. We know the princess of Mars died during the attack on the Moon, but we have no record of what became of Prince Atana or their daughter." He touched the first image crystal, displaying another image. "Here, we have Sailor Mars' companion." He zoomed in the image. "Just behind him, you will notice a young girl who bears a very pronounced resemblance to the princess of Mars."
       "Yes, I see," Gordon acknowledged. "But the current Sailor Mars could not possibly be old enough to have given birth to that child."
       David nodded. "We estimate the child is perhaps four or five, and the current Sailor Mars perhaps fourteen or fifteen. While a small percentage of girls do experience puberty and become fertile early enough for it to be technically possible, we consider it highly unlikely. That leads us to conclude that the child is the actual daughter of the princess of Mars, and that this man is Prince Atana."
       "And how could that be possible?" Gordon asked. "Time travel?"
       "That is our theory," Benjamin said.
       A woman approached the three men, carrying a report. "Excuse me. David, this is from Tokyo, marked urgent for you."
       "Thank you," David said, taking and scanning the report. "They think they've found him," he informed Gordon and Benjamin. "There is an archeology exhibit at a Tokyo museum that includes two masks listed as being on loan from the private collection of one Atana Magi of Hawaii. Having a name, their contact with the immigration authorities was able to confirm that a temporary residency permit was issued several months ago to an Atana Magi of Hawaii and his daughter, aged four. The photo in the immigration record confirms he is Prince Atana of Rangarota." He checked the information again. "And the residency permit names only Mr. Magi and his daughter, and lists his age as twenty-three, four years older than Prince Atana at the time of the fall of Earth, both of which support our time travel theory. His Japanese address of record is an apartment in the Juuban district of Minato-ku. The Japan bureau also checked with our office in Hawaii. They have no registration on him, but do have open files on a number of as yet unexplained magic events in the general locale of Magi's home."
       The woman hurried back with a second report. "Another update from Tokyo, David."
       "Thank you." David looked it over. "We just got very lucky. One of Yusuke's agents went to Magi's apartment building, and happened to spot him returning." He held up a picture of Atana with Rei holding his arm.
       Benjamin and Gordon studied the photo.
       "The princess of Mars," Gordon said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Atana was again searching through his books, while Rei and Akari watched as Kara practiced her own magic.
       "Very good, honey," Rei said, as Kara made a small ball float up off the floor.
       "Yes. Very good," Akari agreed.
       Kara grinned happily at the praise.
       "Now start it spinning," Rei instructed. "Slowly."
       The little girl furrowed her brow in concentration as the ball continued to float there without spinning. Finally, it began to rotate, but then quickly picked up speed, before shooting off across the room, only being intercepted by Akari's quick reflexes. "Ooohhh," Kara groaned.
       "Well, it was still a nice try, honey," Rei said comfortingly.
       "Why won't it do it right?" Kara cried in frustration.
       Atana looked up from his books. "It's because you don't balance it out..." His eyes widened in realization. "The ginzuishou... It has nothing to keep it in balance..."
       "You're right," Rei said softly. "Magic depends on maintaining a proper balance."
       "Yes... and up until now, I would have assumed it was self-balancing," Atana said. "But after what we've just been through, that's clearly not the case."
       Rei nodded in agreement.
       "You're sure Luna and Artemis never gave Usagi-san any special instructions about using the crystal?" Atana asked.
       "No," Rei said. "As far as I know, the only instructions Usagi got came directly from the spirit of Queen Serenity. The rest of us were all shocked when she suddenly transformed into the princess and then merged the nijizuishou into the ginzuishou."
       Atana frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. "The only thing I can think of for why Usagi didn't have trouble with it before would have to be that she was using it enough that it did manage to balance itself."
       "And now that the Dark Kingdom has been destroyed, she's only been using it very minimally," Rei agreed.
       "But what could possibly balance out something that powerful?" Atana wondered. "There'd have to be another magic object of similar power."
       "But there is," Akari said.
       "There is?" Rei asked.
       "Of course," Akari replied. "The golden crystal. If Prince Endymion didn't have it in your previous life, then his mother must have still had it. Certainly Mamoru-san should have it now."
       "No, he doesn't," Rei said.
       "Now that you mention it, I do vaguely recall something about a magic crystal that belonged to Endymion's mother," Atana said. "But I don't think I ever learned anything about it." He turned to Rei. "Do you remember anything about it?"
       She shook her head. "No. I don't."
       "You say this golden crystal would balance out the silver one?" Atana asked Akari.
       "I don't know if that was an intended purpose," Akari answered. "But in my time, on the only occasions when I know they were used, they were only used in tandem."
       "Maybe they were meant to be a pair," Atana said thoughtfully.
       "But you say Mamoru-san doesn't have it?" Akari asked.
       "That's right," Rei confirmed. "If he did have it, he certainly would have used it in the final battle with Metallia."
       "Yes. Yes, of course," Akari acknowledged. "But why doesn't he have it? As the guardian of Earth, it is his birthright."
       "I don't know," Atana said, rubbing his chin. "And why wouldn't Queen Serenity have told him and the Senshi to search for it? She was entirely on target about everything else. And if the golden crystal was destroyed, then why didn't she warn Usagi-san that the ginzuishou might become unstable and tell her how to prevent that...? It just doesn't make sense."
       "Is there any chance Luna or Artemis might know about it?" Rei asked.
       "I would doubt it," Atana replied. "If they do know about it, then why didn't they instruct you and the others to search for it as well as the ginzuishou? Given that they didn't know the ginzuishou would only work for Usagi-san, they would have had to have thought anyone who could hold the golden crystal would be able to use it too."
       "True," Rei agreed.
       Atana shook his head. "These books have nothing about the ginzuishou, and I'm sure there's nothing about the golden crystal either. I guess I need to find out if Mamoru-san remembers anything at all about the golden crystal. Then we need to figure out how to search for something we know absolutely nothing about."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Ami and Ryo had finished cleaning up around her house.
       "I'm beat," he said as they headed back up to their room.
       "Me, too," she agreed.
       As they started to get undressed, he looked at her necklace on the dresser, suddenly experiencing a brief image. "Uhm, I think you may need to check your necklace," he said softly.
       She looked at him uncertainly for a moment, then produced her scanner. Her eyes widened as she ran her scan. "It's been disabled," she said softly. Running a scan of herself, she found the protective magic was also gone. "The protection is gone too."
       He nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "How about you? Are you...?"
       She smiled. "Not pregnant," she said. "As I said, I'm not at the right point in my cycle. We still get to decide that for ourselves."
       "But we should let the others know," he said. "Atana and Rei are the only ones with enough magic sensitivity to recognize this, and they're both a bit preoccupied right now."
       She nodded, pulling on her robe then producing her communicator. "This is Ami. I have something urgent... and private." She added the 'private' reference in the hope that Rei would get the hint that this wasn't for Kara to hear.
       "Minako here. What's up?"
       "Makoto here."
       "What is it, Ami-chan?" Usagi asked.
       "This is Rei. I assume the 'private' bit means no little ears."
       "That's correct," Ami replied. "I've just discovered that the ginzuishou's pulse has disrupted the magic in our necklaces, and the protection they provide."
       "That means we can each get pregnant," Makoto said.
       "Yes," Ami confirmed. "We were all protected up to the time of the pulse, but not since."
       "OK. Thanks for the warning," Minako said. "Guess we all have to start being very careful again."
       "And we still have the ingrained habit of taking it for granted," Rei added.
       "This is Atana," he called. "Changing the subject for a moment, does anyone remember anything from your past lives about a golden crystal that belonged to Endymion's mother? I think it might have been meant to be a counterpart to the ginzuishou, and its absence may be why the ginzuishou is going out of balance."
       "I vaguely remember something about a golden crystal, but not very much," Mamoru said. "I do recall she usually wore an ornate chain draped over her shoulders which had a large golden jewel attached to it, but that's the extent of it."
       "Yes. I remember the golden jewel she wore, but nothing about it being this golden crystal," Usagi said.
       "I don't even remember that much," said Minako.
       Ami tapped at her computer. "My computer tells me only that it was a magical power object of considerable power that belonged to the guardian princess of Earth. Nothing more."
       "Not very helpful," Rei said.
       Atana thought for another moment. "Mamoru-san, is there any chance Endymion might have gone back to Earth after evacuating his forces to the Moon?"
       "I... I don't think so," Mamoru answered. "Everything I can remember involves consulting with Lunar commanders and organizing the Earth forces. I don't think there was time for a clandestine trip back to Earth."
       "I agree," Artemis said. "From what I can remember, Prince Endymion was present at every one of the meetings of military commanders. I know Endymion's force was significantly larger than the Lunar forces, and they were all battle-tested, so it was inevitable he would be present at every meeting."
       "I understand," Atana said. "I'm just trying to anticipate the possibilities here."
       "Everything I can recall from Princess Serenity's memories seems to indicate he was there the entire time," Usagi added. "And those memories match with what Mamoru and Artemis have already said. Endymion spent most of his time in meetings or preparing his forces."
       "Thank you, Usagi-san," Atana replied.
       "I just managed to awaken a memory of the time of the last few days on the Moon," Artemis said. "After the report had been received that Endymion's parents were dead, Queen Serenity was expressing concern that he did not have the golden crystal, but she was saying the situation had become so bad it no longer made any difference," he said. "That's all I can come up with."
       "Well, it helps a little," Atana said. "It means Endymion's mother clearly wasn't able to pass it to him. We already know the magical harmony that allowed life to survive on the other planets had already been fatally disrupted, so that was probably what Queen Serenity was referring to."
       "You think we need to find this golden crystal?" Mamoru asked.
       "I've ruled out every other possibility I can come up with," Atana replied. "This seems to be the last available possibility."
       "But how do we search for it?" Usagi asked.
       "I'm not sure yet," Atana said. "It's clear that Endymion's mother didn't have the chance to pass it on, and we're reasonably sure the Dark Kingdom didn't have it, so that leaves us to assume that she hid it. Now we just have to figure out where."
       "And how do we do that?" Ami asked.
       "The most obvious choice is one we don't dare use under the present circumstances," Atana answered. "In a perfect scenario, I would suggest using the ginzuishou to try to make the golden crystal react to it, on the theory that they are counterparts. But with the way the ginzuishou has been acting, that's just not worth the risk."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Atana had again returned to Hawaii. In the cave that was his magic sanctum, he knelt on the floor. A ring of candles burned on the floor, and ribbons of energy swirled around him.
       He let his senses expand, reaching outward. All around him, he could feel the swirls and eddys of the planet's natural energy, intermixed with the much more discordant flashing of man-made sources, which operated with no thought for natural harmony.
       As he slowly conducted his search, he could sense natural magic points. He also found several points of magic that did not seem natural, but were unquestionably not what he was looking for. At long last, as his own strength began to fail him, he had to give up the effort.
       Sitting there in silence, he knew he would need help.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Atana rushed back up the slope to his house and picked up the phone. There was only one other wizard in this time whom he knew personally, but he could put him in touch with the modern-era magic authority. He punched in a Hawaii phone number and listened as the phone rang.
       "Hello?" a voice answered.
       "Brian, it's Atana."
       "Atana! Good to hear from you, but what is going on there?"
       "It's a long story," Atana replied. "At the moment I'm back in Hawaii because I needed access to my sanctum and my books, but it's now absolutely clear I need help. A lot of it. Since I've been in Tokyo, I've learned the truth about my past. Everything before the explosion of my workshop is a fabrication. I arrived here by a time travel spell with my daughter, fleeing the Dark Kingdom invasion."
       "That makes sense," Brian said. "Your time travel spell must have been accompanied by an assimilation spell, to make you completely fit in when you intend to permanently relocate. So in the past, who were you?"
       "Prince Atana of Rangarota. I had been sent to Atlantis for education as a wizard, and then had remained there as a teacher, until I became engaged to the princess of Mars," he explained.
       "Of course," Brian exclaimed. "One of those young superheroes I've been reading about is called Sailor Mars. She's the reincarnation of the princess, right?"
       "Yes, that's right," Atana confirmed.
       "So... that also means the princess of Mars was Kara's mother," Brian realized. "That's really great news."
       "It certainly is," Atana agreed.
       "But wait a minute," Brian interrupted. "Time travel spells almost never work. So how is it you managed to wind up in just the right era to reconnect with Kara's mother?"
       "Most time travel spells are blocked by the guardian of time, but my time transit, and the assimilation effect, were both arranged by the queen of the Moon," Atana said. "In fact, she made all the arrangements back then to bring the Sailor Soldiers and their companions together in this time to be able to block the resurgence of the Dark Kingdom. But that assimilation effect has also buried a lot of my memories of the past, so there are plenty of things I still don't remember."
       "Yeah, I can understand that."
       "It's the same for the others who've been reincarnated. Nearly all of the memories we've recovered were related to the Dark Kingdom and their mission to defeat it," Atana said.
       "That makes sense," Brian said. "I recently read an article in one of the magic journals about that. It recommended avoiding complete past-life recovery unless absolutely necessary, since the dual sets of memories often lead to memory conflicts and emotional disturbances."
       "Yes. I can see the point of that," Atana agreed. "But just now, I have a problem that is well out of my league. Sailor Moon is the reincarnation of the daughter of the last queen of the Moon, and she has a very powerful magic object called the silver crystal. It has become dangerously imbalanced."
       "And that's what caused that magic flare?"
       "Right," Atana confirmed. "Now, I've learned that there was a similar object, a golden crystal, that belonged to the guardian of Earth, and that one seems to be the only thing powerful enough to exert a balancing effect on the silver crystal, but it disappeared during the final stage of the Dark Kingdom's conquest of Earth. I have determined that Prince Endymion's reincarnation does not have it, so I don't know where it is. I just tried a search for any concealed magic points, but I didn't find anything that could possibly have been the golden crystal, and with that I've exhausted all my own resources. I need help."
       "So what can I do?" Brian asked.
       "I need to make contact with the International Magic Authority," Atana said. "I've never registered myself in this era, in large part because I didn't even know fully who I was, but now there's no choice."
       "I understand," Brian replied. "I'll contact the enforcement office here in Hawaii. You want me to identify you as Prince Atana of Rangarota?"
       "Yes," Atana said. "Tell them I was registered with the Magic Guild of Atlantis, a graduate of the Andar Academy, and was subsequently admitted as a junior fellow of the faculty. Then you can tell them my current name, and that I am an associate of the Sailor Soldiers."
       "And I should tell them about these two crystals."
       "And that I need help to search for the golden crystal," Atana said. "I'm sure they already know about the magic flare, and where it came from. Tell them I know the cause, and I think this is the only way to eliminate the danger, but that I don't have the information or the resources to continue this search any farther on my own. And make it clear, time is absolutely of the essence. We're certain to see more flares, and I can't say how quickly they will escalate into becoming truly destructive."
       "I understand," Brian said.
       "And give them my address and number in Tokyo. I'll be returning there very shortly," Atana added. "Remember, there is no time to waste."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       David hurried to the conference table where Gordon and Benjamin were sitting. "He's called us."
       "Who?" Benjamin asked.
       "Prince Atana," David said. "His permanent residence is in Hawaii, just as our investigation had concluded. He had a registered adept in Hawaii call the local enforcement office on his behalf."
       "What does he say?" Gordon asked.
       "His identification of himself confirms what we had already determined," David said. "His friend said Atana of Rangarota was registered with the Magic Guild of Atlantis, was a graduate of the Andar Academy, where he later was admitted a junior fellow, and that he arrived in Hawaii about four years ago. We had no record of his academic career, but it does all fit. We know he was sent to Atlantis for his education, and the statement that he joined the faculty as a teacher explains why he chose to remain there instead of returning home to Rangarota. Given his age, he must either have been admitted to the faculty right after his graduation, or he completed his course of study much faster than usual; either way, it shows he is plainly very intelligent. We also know that his daughter was only a few months old at the time of the Dark Kingdom attack on the Moon. According to his statement, his transit and assimilation were arranged by the magic of Queen Serenity of the Moon."
       Benjamin and Gordon looked at each other in surprise.
       "His account is that Queen Serenity arranged for all the Sailor Soldiers and their companions to be reunited in this time, since she foresaw the renewed threat of the Dark Kingdom."
       "Impressive," Benjamin said.
       "He also reports that neither he nor the Sailor Soldiers have recovered full memories of the past, so they are still operating in the dark on some of these matters," David added.
       "But what about the current situation?" Gordon asked.
       "According to his friend, the source of the magic pulse is the silver crystal, which is in the possession of Sailor Moon, who is the reincarnation of the last princess of the Moon," David continued. "Again, that matches precisely with our own conclusions. Atana says the silver crystal has become imbalanced, and he needs help to find the golden crystal, which had belonged to the guardian of Earth. He believes it is the only object of sufficient power to exert a balancing influence on the silver crystal. He has made his own search but has come up empty, and concludes that he lacks the resources and the specific knowledge to continue the search on his own. He says he is certain the guardian of Earth did not pass it on, and he has verified that the reincarnation of Prince Endymion does not have it. He also says time is of the essence, as he is certain there will be more pulses."
       Gordon nodded. "Find out everything you can about the golden crystal, and have his hypothesis checked out. I need to know if his interpretation seems correct, and if so, I want Yusuke's people to have as much information as possible when they make contact with him."
       "Right away," David acknowledged.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Ami worked at her Mercury computer, trying to develop a scanning program to aid in the search for the golden crystal. Finally, she shook her head.
       "I'm not getting anywhere, I'm afraid," she said. "Neither the computer nor I know what to look for."
       Ryo nodded. "I rather thought that would be the case."
       "Are you having any luck?" she asked.
       "Not so far," he replied. Just then, he stiffened.
       "What is it?" she asked.
       "A new threat," he said softly. "Two young women... They look like Sailor Senshi..."
       "What?"
       "They... they're determined to destroy the threat of the ginzuishou," he said. "No matter who or what gets in their way."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Mamoru and Usagi walked through the mall, hoping that the distraction would minimize the risk of accidentally triggering the ginzuishou.
       "I'm glad we've finished our Christmas shopping, Mamo-chan," she said. "I just don't feel like it right now."
       "I know," he said softly.
       They continued to walk.
       "In a day or two, we'll have to go get your wedding kimono and your dress fitted," he reminded her.
       "I know," she said, squeezing his hand.
       He grinned, happy to see that that thought could still bring a smile to her beautiful face.
       As they approached the main entry of the mall, they passed a tall, thin boy with blond hair, wearing a leather jacket.
       "Would you like to walk down to the park?" Mamoru asked.
       "Sure," she said.
       Just then, Mamoru's cell phone rang. Seeing the call was from Ami, he handed the phone to Usagi.
       "Hello, Ami-chan," Usagi said.
       "Hi, Usagi-chan," Ami greeted her. "Ryo-kun just had a vision you need to be aware of."
       "What's up?" Usagi asked.
       "There's a new threat," Ami said. "Two young women. Ryo-kun says they look like Sailor Senshi, but they're utterly ruthless and they're out to destroy the threat of the ginzuishou by any means."
       "You mean... they're after me?"
       "That's right," Ami confirmed. "Where are you now?"
       "Mamo-chan and I are at the mall," Usagi replied. "But we're about to leave to walk to the park."
       Mamoru began to glance around, hearing the conversation through their link.
       "I think the rest of us should meet you there," Ami said. "Ryo-kun is certain they're going to try to attack you in the very near future."
       Usagi took a breath. "I agree," she said. "Call the others." She looked up at Mamoru nervously.
       'Ask if Ryo-kun can give a description of them,' he suggested.
       Usagi nodded. "Uhm, does Ryo-kun know what these two look like?"
       "One has shoulder-length dark hair that appears to have a green tint," Ami said. "And the other has very short blond hair."
       Mamoru slowly turned around, his eyes again lighting on the tall, thin 'boy' they had just passed. The 'boy', who had to actually be a young woman who chose to dress in a more masculine style, was making a gesture and looking across the broad concourse. Continuing to turn, Mamoru immediately spotted a green-haired young woman who gestured in reply. 'They're here, but I don't think they've identified us yet. I'm sure it helps that you're now wearing your hair down.'
       "Mamo-chan sees them," Usagi said into the phone. "They're here at the mall, but he doesn't think they've identified us."
       "Ryo-kun thinks at least one of them has some degree of psychic perception," Ami said.
       "Then have everybody come here and plan to follow us to the park," Usagi said.
       "Understood," Ami said. "Bye."
       "Good bye," Usagi said, pressing the button.
       'Let's go into that shop over there,' Mamoru suggested. 'We can give them some time to move along, and give the others some time to get here. Then we can leave.'
       Usagi nodded.
       The shop sold dolls and figurines. One wall featured a collection of samurai dolls and dolls of women in ornate kimono. The rear wall was filled with the traditional Girls' Day figurines of emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians.
       'We're going to need to think about Girls' Day, Mamo-chan,' she said.
       He nodded. 'But not right away,' he reminded her. 'Girls' Day is March 3rd. The twins aren't due until May.'
       'I know,' she said. 'But we still should be thinking about it. Your parents didn't have to.'
       'That's true,' he agreed. 'And my father was also an only child.'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       In the Welsh cavern, David found Gordon and Benjamin in Gordon's office. "We've been checking out Prince Atana's story... and we found he lied."
       Benjamin studied him for a moment. "In what way?"
       "Atana's report claims that the guardian of Earth, who would have been Prince Endymion's mother, did not pass the golden crystal on to him, and that the reincarnation of Prince Endymion does not have it, but we have evidence that she did indeed pass it to him just before the Dark Kingdom overran Atlantis," David said.
       "Wait a minute," Benjamin said, holding up a hand. "I'm sure he's getting his information straight from Endymion's reincarnation, himself. What's our evidence?"
       "We have a witness who saw Endymion meet with his mother just the day before the fall of Atlantis," David said.
       "A witness? From a thousand years ago?" Gordon asked dubiously. "Who?"
       "Gregory. A chief investigator in I-4," David answered. "In a past life, he was a member of the household staff at the Royal Palace in Atlantis. He has recovered his memories of that life, and he insists he saw Prince Endymion meet with the queen."
       Benjamin shook his head. "I don't buy it. Atana is our one connection to the Sailor Soldiers, and in the present crisis, we need him. I don't see that what you've found is the least bit relevant."
       "Yes, I agree," Gordon said.
       "Does this man expressly say he saw the golden crystal change hands?" Benjamin asked.
       "No," David conceded. "But what other reason could there have been?"
       "There could have been any number of reasons," Benjamin said. "We cannot afford to cut off our only connection in a situation this desperate over something this weak."
       Gordon nodded. "Unless you come up with something considerably more substantial, I want this dropped. Yusuke needs to be briefed right away." He glanced at the clock. "It should be late afternoon in Tokyo. I want Yusuke to make contact as soon as possible."
       "Very good," David acknowledged with a slight frown. "What about Gregory?"
       "We can ask Atana about the discrepancy when we meet," Gordon said. "Ask Gregory if he is willing to undergo a memory probe. That may help us with this. But I agree with Benjamin. At this moment, we need the Sailor Soldiers and they need us. I'm not about to blow this over something one person thinks he remembers."
       "But Atana's account is based on what he says he remembers," David pointed out.
       Gordon nodded. "Yes, but he makes clear the limits of his knowledge, and according to his report, he's going by the memories of several people. That gives us a reasonable basis for making contact with him and hearing what he has to say. I don't consider the claim of one person to be enough to reject that, especially when that account does not contradict the key claim that Queen Julianna did not pass the crystal to Prince Endymion."
       "And if Prince Endymion did make a secret trip back to Earth, it could be just as simple as his reincarnation not yet remembering it," Benjamin added. "What you have so far does not add up to Atana deliberately trying to deceive us."
       David nodded and turned away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Mamoru and Usagi returned to the front of the store, having spent about fifteen minutes looking at the dolls. He stepped out alone and looked around. Seeing no sign of either of the two young women, he looked back and nodded. 'Looks clear.'
       They walked toward the door, which he opened for her.
       She smiled at him lovingly. As they started down the steps, she groaned as she felt the power starting to swell again. 'Not now! Not now!'
       'Usako,' he called. Already, however, he could sense the ginzuishou's magic radiating from her, which meant they had only seconds before they were attacked. 'We have to get out of here!' Grasping her arm, he hurried away from the entrance.
       She struggled to make her feet move. At least she was successfully pushing the magic back down this time, but the harm had already been done.
       Mamoru sensed a surge of power and felt the ground shaking, which was very quickly followed by a massive explosion. They dove for cover as shards of glass, steel, and masonry flew. A second blast of energy followed the first, this one behaving like liquid, washing debris and people out of the shattered building like a tsunami. Looking up, his eyes widened as he saw the entire mall entrance had been demolished and a huge amount of debris swept out as far as the street, where a number of vehicles had been overturned or smashed. They had escaped it only because he had led Usagi out of the direct path from the front of the building.
       Usagi gasped as she heard screams of pain and terror, even as still more of the mall structure collapsed. "Oh... gods!" Behind them, at least a dozen bodies were scattered around the front of the destroyed mall entrance, with still more in the wrecked cars.
       Two figures emerged from the ruins, clearly attired as Sailor Senshi. Their expressions showed not the least bit of remorse at the horrific carnage they had just caused. The blond woman wore a sailor fuku with dark blue collar and skirt, a dark blue bow at the back of her waist, a yellow bow at her chest with a blue gem at the center, and she held a short-bladed sword in her right hand, while the green-haired woman wore a fuku with a green skirt and collar, a blue bow on her chest with a blue-green gem, a blue bow at the back of her waist, and she had a similar sword slung at her side. They began to climb down off the huge pile of rubble.
       "Shine aqua illusion!" Sailor Mercury cried, unleashing a freezing liquid blast against the green-haired attacker.
       "Sparkling wide pressure!" Sailor Jupiter cried, striking the blond attacker with an intense lightning blast.
       "Burning mandala!" Sailor Mars cried, her fire rings blasting into the blond woman who was already down, and knocking her sword further away.
       "Venus love-me chain!" Venus' chain wrapped around the grip of the green-haired woman's sword, yanking it away.
       The blond woman rolled to her feet, a look of cold determination on her face as she raised her clenched fist. "World shaking!" she intoned. At once, a brightly glowing yellow ball of energy swelled in her hand. As it continued to swell still larger, she hurled it toward Mercury and Venus. The ball, still growing larger, made the ground shake as it raced toward them, hindering their attempt to dive clear. On contact, it shook them both violently, then exploded.
       The green-haired woman stood up, turning her attention toward Mars and Jupiter. "Deep submerge!" She raised her arms as energy swirled upward, circling her body, and forming a large blue ball. Swinging her arms down, she launched the ball, which now seemed to be a mass of swirling liquid, at Mars and Jupiter. As it swept toward them, it grew still larger, crashing over them hard, throwing them around helplessly within it, along with other debris it had picked up, before slamming them into a wall.
       The blond woman stepped closer to the still dazed Mercury and Venus. "World shaking!"
       As the yellow ball burst out, Geoff dove into its path, covering his head with his arms to give himself some degree of protection from the shower of debris that went with it.
       The blond woman gasped in shock as her energy blast vanished just before reaching the young man.
       "Uranus!" the green-haired woman called, tossing her sword back to her.
       "Thank you," Uranus replied, catching the sword in mid air, then turning to lunge at Geoff.
       "Venus love-me chain!" Venus cried, snapping her chain hard around the legs of the one called Uranus, sending her crashing to the ground.
       Though finding one leg numb, Uranus rolled away, quickly grasping her partner's sword. "Neptune!" she called, throwing it.
       Neptune caught the thrown sword just as cleanly as Uranus had.
       "Sparkling wide pressure!" Jupiter cried, hurling her lightning blast against Neptune.
       With incredible speed, Neptune swept the blast away with her sword, sending it into the ground near Venus and Mercury, the explosive impact forcing them both back.
       "Burning mandala!" Mars cried.
       "Deep submerge!" Neptune countered, the swirling green mass swallowing up Mars' fire rings harmlessly, then forcing Mars to dive out of its path. The swirling ball continued across the street, striking a group of fleeing pedestrians.
       "Shine aqua illusion!" Mercury cried, striking Neptune only a moment after she had unleashed her power to counter Mars.
       Geoff rolled clear as Uranus swung at him with her sword, clearly intending to kill. As he moved, he shifted his direction, driving a foot hard into Uranus' abdomen. Uranus went down, and he grabbed her arm, yanking it up hard.
       Neptune, struggling against the chilling cold of Mercury's attack, hurled herself at him, already aware that this young man could somehow neutralize their attacks. She struck him hard on the head with the handle of her sword, drawing blood and perhaps doing more serious injury, then turned, intending to finish him off.
       "Venus love-me chain!" Venus cried, her voice ringing with pain and fury. The chain looped around Neptune's throat, and Venus, her eyes now burning with rage, pulled it tighter.
       "Sparkling wide pressure!" Jupiter cried, striking Uranus with the most intense blast she had yet managed to produce.
       Mars leaped forward as Jupiter and Mercury pulled Geoff clear, her own fire nothing compared to the fury blazing within her. The one called Neptune had collapsed, and Venus' chain had vanished. Bitterly resolved to end this, Mars brought her hands together, and the air around her and the two attackers burst into flame, sucking the oxygen away from them.
       Uranus struggled to breathe, not sure if she would succumb to the heat or suffocation first. She knew their mission was about to fail, which in turn would doom the entire planet. Killing these people was inconsequential compared to that. She grasped her sword and swung it at Mars, cutting deep across her abdomen.
       Mars cried out as a blinding pain cut through her. Her firestorm instantly vanished as she collapsed, bleeding profusely.
       Seeing the other three senshi falter at the sight of their friend so seriously wounded, Uranus hurriedly checked on Neptune to confirm she was still alive, then jumped to her feet.
       "Sparking wide pressure!" Jupiter yelled, hurling her blast at Uranus.
       Uranus was already swinging her sword, deflecting Jupiter's blast back at her, sending Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus tumbling to the ground.
       Neptune had regained her feet, and now raised her arms. "Deep submerge!" The largest ball of swirling energy yet swept toward Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus, picking up quantities of debris as it moved. It was upon the girls in an instant, the debris knocking them senseless before smashing them into a wall, pummeling them with still more debris.
       Uranus took a step forward. "World shaking," she intoned, clearly intending to finish them off.
       Geoff had pulled himself up, even as his head rang with pain. Pushing himself forward, he stumbled into the path of the swelling yellow ball, his presence instantly dispelling it. He collapsed to the ground again, hardly able to move.
       Cursing silently, Uranus retrieved her sword and advanced on her helpless adversaries.
       "Leave them," Neptune called. "We must find the one they were here to protect!"
       Uranus nodded, and they hurried away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Atana teleported to the mall. A few seconds earlier, he had felt a sharp flash of pain. He had felt that sort of pain only once before. His anxiety only increased as he found the front of the mall looking like a war zone, but all other thought fled at the sight of Rei lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood, and a deep gash across her abdomen. Taking her in his arms, he applied a healing spell.
       "Oh, God," he whispered, sensing the severity of her wound and of her blood loss, and that his healing spell seemed to be doing far too little. "Rei, please. I can't lose you again." Leaning down, he kissed her forehead.
       Ami ran a scan, seeing just how serious was Rei's loss of blood. Her breath caught as her scanner gave her the undeniable proof that Rei's wound was fatal. Fighting back tears, she turned to Geoff, finding him suffering from a serious concussion.
       Minako held Geoff, knowing there was nothing Atana could do to help him, even if he wasn't so completely preoccupied with Rei. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Geoff.
       Ami produced her communicator. "We, we have to warn Usagi-chan that they got past us." She pressed the button. "Usagi-chan."
       "Yes, Ami-chan," Usagi answered.
       "Usagi-chan... we couldn't stop them," Ami said, her voice still shaking.
       "Is anyone hurt?" Usagi asked.
       "Yes. We're all hurt," Ami answered. "Rei and Geoff quite badly. Rei... Well... she's in very bad shape..." Looking at Rei again, she saw an openly sobbing Atana brush his hand gently downward over her eyes. She gulped as the tears filled her eyes. "Rei... she... she's gone, Usagi-chan."
       "Gone?" Usagi asked. "Oh, gods! You mean...?"
       "Yes," Ami sobbed. "Just now."
       "Oh, gods," Usagi cried softly.
       "But they're still after you," Ami said. "If they weren't so determined to find you, they wouldn't have stopped until we were all dead."
       "Oh, gods," Usagi gasped. "But... right now... I can't fight... I don't dare."
       "Just stay away from them," Ami said. "That is what you have to do."
       "I... I'll get back with you," Usagi said, breaking the connection.
       "Who... who are they?" Atana asked, his voice trembling as he held Rei's body in his arms. For the second time in his life, he felt as if a major part of himself had been torn out.
       "They call themselves Uranus and Neptune," Ami said. "They're completely ruthless, and appear to be convinced they must kill Usagi to destroy the threat of the ginzuishou."
       "Idiots!" Atana growled, shaking his head. "They'll only bring about just the total destruction they fear."
       "How?" Makoto asked.
       Atana wiped his eyes and took a breath. "A sudden surge of emotion is all it would take," he said, his voice still shaking. "Either from them striking her... or Mamoru-san. Either way..." He let the thought hang there unfinished.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Mamoru and Usagi moved through the trees in the park, both still in shocked disbelief that Rei was actually dead. Just then, his phone rang. The display showed it was Ami's number. "Hello."
       "Mamoru-san, this is Ryo."
       "Yes, Ryo-kun," Mamoru said. "We've heard about Rei-chan."
       "Your two adversaries - Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. They know you're in the park, and they're close by," Ryo said.
       "I understand," Mamoru replied grimly. He disconnected the call and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. 'We have to keep moving,' he said to Usagi. 'We already know they don't care about hurting innocents.'
       'People like that don't deserve to be Sailor Senshi,' she said.
       Suddenly, Mamoru sensed something, grabbing her in his arms and diving behind a large tree.
       "World shaking!" A huge ball of energy hurtled past, tearing up a trench in the ground and making everything around it shake, before striking another tree and exploding.
       Mamoru jumped to his feet, instantly transforming into the form of Prince Endymion. He cleared his thoughts, drawing on the knowledge and experience of his past self.
       "Deep submerge!" Neptune cried, spotting him.
       With a scowl, Mamoru found himself responding by reflex, and moving faster than ever before. He hurled a rose into the on-rushing ball of energy, which instantly exploded, most of its energy blown back toward Neptune.
       "World shaking!" Uranus cried.
       Mamoru was already pivoting, swinging his sword to parry. With a clean strike of the flat of his blade, he deflected Uranus' blast toward Neptune who, still recovering from having her own blast explode back at her, was unable to get clear.
       Uranus lunged forward in fury, drawing her own sword. From her awakened memories, she recalled that Prince Endymion was reputed to be an expert swordsman, but just then she didn't care. Swinging her sword, she was stunned to find her strike blocked almost effortlessly.
       It seemed a bit surreal to Mamoru as he engaged in a sword duel. It was just a matter of not thinking about it, since Endymion had achieved such mastery that he could fight largely by reflex. Already, he found a part of himself calmly analyzing Uranus' form and style, and with it a certainty that she could not beat him this way.
       Uranus jumped back to avoid his blade. She had considered herself to be very good with a sword, but he looked like he was hardly even exerting himself. She lunged to the attack, but as fast as she was, he was much faster, his blade countering hers perfectly.
       As Mamoru battled Uranus, Usagi assumed the form of Princess Serenity. Though the transformation was draining, she managed not to tap into the ginzuishou, but she could already feel it reacting to her emotions.
       A battered Neptune struggled back to her feet. Seeing that Uranus was clearly being bested in her sword duel with Endymion, she raised her arms.
       Usagi found a large branch and lunged at Neptune from behind, clubbing her hard across the back of the head.
       Neptune collapsed to the ground. Before she could roll clear, she was struck again. She kicked blindly with her foot, managing to knock away the branch.
       With a gasp, Usagi jumped back, knowing she was now in a far more dangerous situation as Neptune regained her feet. If Neptune actually struck her, it was very likely she would lose control of the ginzuishou.
       Seeing the girl who endangered the entire world, Neptune decided to seize the opportunity to end the threat once and for all. She drew her sword and lunged forward.
       Usagi immediately summoned her moon stick, again managing not to tap into the ginzuishou, and used the stick to block Neptune's sword. Neptune thrust her sword forward again, but Usagi managed to block it once more.
       Mamoru parried Uranus' thrust, forcing her sword arm out, then lunged. As Uranus flinched, he instead struck her wrist with the flat of his blade and knocked her sword away.
       Sensing her lover's danger, Neptune spun around. It was now clear the girl was not so defenseless as she had supposed and could clearly defend herself long enough for Prince Endymion to leap to her assistance. This meant they had no choice but to dispose of him first if they were to have any hope of killing the girl and eliminating the threat she posed. "Deep submerge!"
       Already aware of what Neptune was doing through his link with Usagi, Mamoru vaulted clear, letting Neptune's blast strike Uranus, knocking the blond woman senseless. Twisting in mid-air, Mamoru landed, his sword at the ready, and jumped toward Neptune.
       She raised her own sword, narrowly parrying his strike. Already knowing he was a vastly superior swordsman, she knew she couldn't hope to fight him this way. She jumped back, but found him already moving with her. As quickly as she could, she brought her sword up to block. The only thing left in her favor was that he seemed unwilling to kill.
       Mamoru continued to press his advantage, even as he struggled with the reality that Uranus and Neptune were not going to stop fighting until they were dead or severely wounded. The surviving fragment of Endymion within him clearly understood it, and that part of himself was plainly a bit frustrated at being held back. Mamoru had to concede that the instincts of his past self were right, as that was the only way he could protect Usagi from a threat of this degree. Determined to do whatever was necessary to protect her, he again cleared his thoughts, this time turning the fight over completely to that part of himself.
       Neptune gasped as he lunged, sensing the change in him. The slight reserve that had been holding him back from a killing blow was gone. She was now fighting the battle-hardened warrior who had no more qualms over killing an adversary than she did. Swinging wildly, she vaulted away, knowing she did not dare fight him at close quarters.
       Uranus shook her head as she regained her feet. The girl in the silver-white gown was unprotected, and her eyes widened as the girl moved, her gown clinging to her enough to reveal that the girl appeared to be pregnant. Given the threat she posed, however, that could not be of any concern. In the same instant, Uranus realized that Neptune was in serious trouble and probably could not buy her enough time to kill the girl. Knowing better than to repeat Neptune's mistake of blasting her own partner, Uranus drew her sword and jumped to the attack.
       Again having the benefit of Usagi's eyes as well as his own, Mamoru spun and extended an arm at the direction of the Endymion portion of himself, releasing an intense blast of force that sent Uranus sprawling. Continuing his rotation, he produced a rose, hurling it at Neptune, striking her hand and forcing her to drop her sword.
       Uranus regained her feet and rushed at him. He met her sword strike easily, forcing her onto the defensive, but she knew she had to keep him occupied until Neptune could get back into the fight. Only together did they have any hope of beating him.
       Moving quickly, Mamoru could sense how to beat Uranus, blocking her every move. His Endymion part was already certain this fight was as good as over. Just then, through his link with Usagi he was aware of Neptune moving again.
       Usagi forced herself to remain still, knowing Mamoru needed her to watch for what was happening behind him. As Neptune leapt to attack, Mamoru spun around to parry her strike.
       Uranus lunged forward, only to find yet again that he somehow seemed able to see behind himself as he reacted at once, turning with considerable speed to hurl a rose at her, striking her in the chest. Its magic burned to the core of her being.
       As he continued to turn, Mamoru's sword struck Neptune's sword hard, nearly knocking it away.
       Neptune stepped back, her sword hand stinging from the force of his blow, then lunged forward again.
       His Endymion part having already anticipated Neptune's move, he met her movement easily, then twisted to meet Uranus with a solid kick.
       Uranus dove away to retrieve her sword. Struggling back to her feet, she could hardly believe this fight was still going on. Though it had been a near thing, they had beaten the other Sailors and their companion when they were outnumbered five to two. How could they be losing with a two to one advantage?
       Mamoru saw Neptune lunging toward him, but this time his Endymion part responded differently. Instead of going for the block, he instantly thrust his sword straight into her, feeling the blade plunge deep into her abdomen, while he easily grabbed her sword in his left hand.
       Neptune gasped and her eyes widened as the sword tore through her in a killing strike.
       Uranus saw it too, jumping to the attack in blind fury. As she grabbed hold of him, his left hand unerringly drove Neptune's sword back into her. Though the pain was blinding, by pure force of will she thrust her own sword through his cloak, the tip finding a gap in his armor and plunging into his lower back.
       Even as the sharp, searing pain cut through him, Mamoru found himself jerking Neptune's sword to insure Uranus was finished.
       Usagi felt the blinding pain through her link, even as her heart felt like it was about to burst. As she felt his pain and saw the blood running down his back, her emotions immediately overwhelmed her.  "MMAAAAMMOOOO-CCHHAAAAANNNN!!!" she screamed. In that instant, the ginzuishou erupted, magnifying her emotions to an immeasurable degree. A blinding flash swept outward, consuming everything in its path.

< To be continued >

* * * * * * * * * * * *
NOTE: Terrible cliffhanger, I know, but there is still more to come.

Yes, I know that Uranus and Neptune didn't carry gladius-style swords in either the manga or the anime, but this is another area where this story departs from the canon of the anime. Considering my respective backstories for Mamoru, Minako, and Ami, this story has been an alternate universe from the start.

Hopeless Romantic and I now have a message group to notify our readers when we post new stories/chapters. Those who are interested can sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/strands_of_moonlight/ .

Always remember, good gentles, that a yarnspinner works from and within existing legends and stories. The characters of "Sailor Moon" belong to others. In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on their rights of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread the legend still further. "The moonlight carries a message of love." Enjoy.

-12.20.2012
 

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