"Does she know?" The inner senshi met once more at the shrine, all save for one.
"No, I intercepted your call, Ami-chan. I couldn't let her hear it. Not yet," Mamoru announced, holding up his wife’s communicator.
"So, you think this is it then, Mamoru-san?" asked Makoto
"I don't know...we never knew what led to everything," he answered
"I wish they had told us," Makoto mused.
"We all know they couldn't, it would likely have jeopardized the path of time. They should have kept their complete silence regarding the future. I suppose its influence upon our decisions now is a moot point, as Sailor Pluto would not have allowed such a thing," Ami reminded them. "Luna…anything from your end?"
"No," the feline shook her head. "Things are quiet."
"What about you, Rei-chan?" Mamoru asked.
The priestess slowly blinked, her long black strands swaying against her back as she shook her head. "There is nothing -- nothing I am able to see. If there is anything lurking on Nemesis it is hidden from my sight. Has anyone contacted the outers?”
"No, they always come when there's real serious trouble around. Hey, maybe nothing's going to happen!" Minako smiled, bouncing on her crossed knees.
"Maybe not now, but something will. I hate waiting around like this, I feel so helpless." Makoto impulsively cracked her knuckles. Then everyone began talking in a flurry, as thoughts, concerns and theories flew from their lips. A sense of dread had taken hold of them all when they heard the news. They had expected something to happen on Usagi’s birthday, and when it didn’t a false sense of security had taken them over. Even Mamoru had been willing to believe everything would be normal. Usagi was the only one who realized the truth.
Suddenly, a pair of dark eyes shot wide open, urging the Miko to her feet. "We need to find Usagi." Rei's words stopped their chatter, and all eyes turned to her.
"I know," Mamoru answered. "She needs to know-"
"No, I, I feel-Something is here, on this planet, not on Nemesis. Where is she?"
+++
The arcade buzzed with electronic sounds and the subdued tunes of the old-fashioned jukebox. Children and couples sipped upon thick milkshakes as an excited group of teenagers played the latest Sailor V game. In a corner booth she sat, her legs moving nervously beneath the glossy red table.
"Well, this was surprising, Usagi," said Usagi’s mother as she sat across the table with her husband.
"Yes, being treated by our daughter for once," Kenji concurred.
"I'm sure Mamoru-san is paying for it."
"Shut up, Shingo." Usagi relaxed enough to stick out her tongue at her younger brother sitting beside her.
"Well, at least she looks like she's grown up," Kenji shook his head.
"Oh, you looked so beautiful Friday," Ikuko beamed with pride.
"Thank you," Usagi smiled genuinely, finding a little relief in her mother’s grin.
"Yeah, maybe they should name the new planet after you, fatzoid."
"Shingo…you're still such a little monste -- wait, what’s that about a new planet?"
"You're so dumb, Usagi. They discovered a new planet yesterday," Shingo informed her while his eyes remained intent on his phone.
"Will you stop sending those message texts, we're eating."
"They're text messages, Mom." As they argued, they were unaware of the swift breaths the blonde across the table took, and the startled look in her eyes.
"It can't be," she whispered to herself.
"Usagi, what's wrong? You're as white as a ghost!"
"Honey…?"
"What's your problem, Sis?"
"I have to tell you guys something -- something you won't understand, or probably believe." She took a deep breath, and looked around to make sure no one was near. "I-"
Without warning, the world shattered around them as pieces of glittering glass exploded across them. A second later, the crash of a chair flying through the window reached their ears, and they covered themselves to avoid the jagged edges of glass.
"Get down!" Kenji yelled, pulling his family under the table. Usagi continued to watch and gasped at the sight that met her eyes outside. People were rampantly storming the streets, shattering windows and wrecking cars. Their faces were full of rage and malice unlike she had never seen before. A dark shadow was following behind them, eating up the buildings as a sundial envelops time. Above all the noise and movement, she could feel the dark energy buzzing.
"Help me!" Shouts came from outside, and she turned her eyes to a captured woman on the other side of the street. A man approached her, a sharp piece of glass in his hand.
"No!" Usagi bolted through the broken window, the screams of her family following in her wake. She wove her way through the crowd, running faster than they could catch her. When she reached the crazed man, she kicked the glass from his hand, pushing him with all her might away from the woman.
"Hurry, go inside!" she urged.
"Thank you!"
"Usagi!" She turned on her heels, and her eyes grew large with fear. At that moment, the dark shadow finally decided to show itself. He floated on a cloud of dark energy, his face covered by a long, black hooded cloak. The energy around him radiated out like riving tentacles with the deepest of the ocean’s murky depths wrapped around them. As these appendages touched the frightened people attempting to outrun this evil, they either fell instantly to the ground or were driven mad. The sight of this new enemy frightened her more than just about anything else she could think of, for she knew what he would bring.
"Usagi!"
She turned to her family on the sidewalk. It was then she realized the tentacles were reaching towards them. "No! Look out!" she yelled. "I have to do something!" Throwing caution to the wind, she rushed into the middle of the street and turned to face her destiny. "Death Phantom!" she screamed, and everything suddenly seemed to stop. Those gone mad on the street around her fell silent and strangely calm, turning to face the brave woman with unseeing eyes. The abomination stilled as well, glowering down at her.
"How do you know my name?" His voice made her shiver, but she stood strong.
"I'm the one you want, leave these people alone!"
"Why would I care for you?"
She unclenched her fists, looking at those around her. There was nowhere for her to go, no place to hide to transform. She spun around to face her family and saw their fear and worry, and knew what she had to do. "Because I am your enemy… Silver Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!" She waited for the familiar tingles to race across her body, but nothing came but a horrible chill of fear. "Oh no..."
Death Phantom shook with laughter at her shocked expression. She took the brooch in her hands, staring at it as if it was an alien artifact. Questions, reasons and worries raced through her mind, but she was unable to come up with the right answer.
"Was something supposed to happen with those pretty words? No one, especially you, is going to stop me from attaining my goals! Now perish!" She reached for her communicator, and her breath stalled as nothing but empty space met her hand. He unleashed his force; Usagi knew she had barely enough time to escape.
"Mars Flame Sniper!" The fire attack thwarted the Death Phantom's deadly power, and he yelled in surprise. "Usagi-chan, what are you doing?" Mars shouted.
"Rei, Rei-chan… I can't transform!" Usagi shouted, her brooch shaking in her hands.
"Tuxedo Kamen, get her out of here!" Usagi felt his arm slip around her waist as he pulled her to safety on the side of the street. Her family came rushing up behind them, concern written upon their faces.
"Are you all right, Usagi?" her mother asked frantically.
"I can't transform," she repeated quietly.
"Usagi, what are you talking about? What were you yelling out there?" Shingo asked.
"Stay here… I have to go help the others." Tuxedo Kamen turned to go, but like lightning, her hand reached for his.
"No, Mamo-chan! Don't leave me!" He looked at her and back at her family in shock for a moment, before a small smile dashed across his lips.
"Mamo-chan?" Ikuko repeated. Tuxedo Kamen took off his mask, letting Usagi see his eyes clearly.
"Tuxedo Kamen is Mamoru-san?" Shingo exclaimed.
Tuxedo Kamen reached out, and held her face in his hands. "I'll be all right. Please, stay here." He kissed her softly, lingering only for a moment. "I love you, Usako." With a flash of a smile, he replaced his mask, and ran towards the battle.
"Is she all right?" Mercury asked as he neared.
"Yes, but she says she can't transform," he answered.
"Well, that's wonderful -- looks like we'll have to tackle this by ourselves… Jupiter Oak Evolution!" The Death Phantom shielded himself, Jupiter's powers pushing him back only slightly.
"Ah, the Sailor Senshi, I wondered when you would come."
"We aren't afraid of you. In fact, we know you're kind of wussy, so why don't you just give up now?" Venus shouted.
"I do not think so." Blasts of black energy came driving towards them, forcing them to separate. They steadied themselves, drawing power once more. They shouted their unique attacks, combining them into a power mass of crackling energy. It impacted upon him, but the energy seemed as if it were being absorbed into him with no ill effects. He only laughed once more, his power maintaining its strength and growing with every passing moment. "I will not be destroyed."
The tentacles of dark energy shot up into the sky, descending farther into the city. With a maniacal laugh, he rose into the air, his power accumulating into a massive dome, dark and dangerous.
"We can't reach him from up there!" Mercury mentioned.
"What's he doing?" Mars asked.
"I don't know. It just looks like he's sitting there… Come on, let's regroup and figure out a plan," Venus answered as the possessed crowd around them reanimated, and looked at them with hungry eyes.
Only stopping to gather Usagi and her family, the Senshi raced inside and up to the top floor of the apartment building next to the Arcade. They worked to block the stairwell leading to the last floor, pushing anything heavy they could find from the abandoned structure.
"Did you see all those people out there? Something's wrong with them," Venus said, calling upon her powerful attack to cave the ceiling in to block more of the stairs so no one could follow them.
"It's the Death Phantom's effect. Don't you remember that's what they told us he did to the Earth? He made people become violent, turning everyone against one another," Mercury reiterated.
"I thought this was supposed to happen during Crystal Tokyo!"
"Apparently they were wrong, something must have happened with the timeline,” Mars guessed.
"Or they lied," Mercury spoke up. "So we would be unprepared, just like they were."
Jupiter growled. "We only need to kill him now, so our future is free."
"And I'm sure we thought the same thing,” rationalized Mercury. “And would likely have tried with all our might. Something must happen to stop us from defeating him."
"What do you think they did?" Venus asked.
"We will drive ourselves crazy asking that question," Tuxedo Kamen put in. "We need to figure out what we can do."
"He's right, let's go to the rooftop and see if I can get a better reading," Mercury suggested.
"Tsukino-sans… stay here, you'll be safe," Venus said, trying to sound as reassuring as she could under the circumstances, before turning to a still shaken Usagi. "Usagi-chan, you should stay also."
"No, I'm coming."
"But-"
"I'm going!"
"Usagi…no! What are you thinking?" Kenji grabbed her arm tightly. The grown woman turned to them, a look in her glossy eyes that startled her father.
"Don't you see yet?" She spoke softly.
Ikuko peered at her daughter questioningly, and at the young women around her. The Senshi gazed at one another for the briefest of moments, before silently allowing their powers to diminish ever so slightly. To Ikuko, it was as if a veil had been lifted from their young forms, and her eyes widened. "I recognize these faces... Aino Minako?"
Venus smiled, making a V for victory sign. "You got it."
"All your friends are the Sailor Senshi, Usagi?" Shingo gaped, not believing his eyes.
"Yes, and I am their leader, Sailor Moon. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I knew you weren't ready, and it might put you in danger. Please understand." Usagi waited for their response, but Ikuko only smiled.
"Now that I think about it, how could I have not known?" Ikuko said thoughtfully, gently grabbing one of Usagi's long strands. "Who else wears their hair like this?"
The two women grinned at each other, before Usagi launched herself into her mother's arms. For a moment, the whole family shared in an embrace until Tuxedo Kamen called to them. "Stay here… okay? I'll be fine." Usagi smiled bravely, and followed the Senshi up to the roof.
"Usagi's Sailor Moon? Now I know the world is going crazy," Shingo muttered.
+++
Once outside, they immediately wished to retreat down the steps behind them. The Death Phantom's power raged like spring's worst storm, the air haunted with blackness and great bolts of angry lightning. His power enveloping all of Tokyo, blocking out the sun and sky.
"Look at all the people." Glancing down they could see that entire streets were littered with fires as a number of buildings were burning out of control, the chaos causing fear to creep into their hearts. Screams and shouts floated up to them like deadly incense threatening to choke their sanity as people fled in terror, and those infected ran rampant and unchecked.
"This has never happened before, a forceful attack out of nowhere like this…? Usually, we deal with some youma and then some higher ranking bad guys, but this-"
"What are we going to do?" Mars interrupted Venus' rant.
"Whatever it is we need to do something fast, people are dying!" Mars shouted.
"Are you sure you can't transform, Usagi-chan?" Mercury asked, hope in her expression.
"Yeah, try again, Usagi-chan," Jupiter encouraged. The princess sighed, raising her brooch-- ushering forth the words of power once more. Lightning and thunder continued to echo across the sky, as if mocking them. They stared with disappointment as Usagi remained the same.
"I don't know what's wrong," she sighed as she shook her head.
"The Eternal Tier did break during our struggle with Galaxia. Perhaps because it broke, you can't transform into Eternal Sailor Moon anymore," Mercury deduced.
"Every time something like that has happened she's always received new powers, though," Venus recalled.
"Eternal is my last power, my last form. There is nothing left for Sailor Moon, nothing left for me except-" She looked up at her friends, and indiscernible shimmer in her eyes. "We need to get closer to him."
+++
The sailor soldiers moved with ease across the tops of the buildings, maneuvering themselves directly beneath the Death Phantom's feet. The streets below were barren and calm here, the aftermath of the chaos flooding the outer rims of the city. The thunder seemed far away, the flashes of lightning following the mass wave of destruction. On this night, the growing silence scared them more than the loud clashes of battle.
"Mars, get his attention," Usagi instructed.
"Right. Mars Flame Sniper!" The fiery arrow rushed through the air, making contact with their foe.
The Death Phantom moaned, and quickly descended to their level in a state of utter rage. "You pesky fools, you cannot defeat me!"
"No, but I can." Usagi stepped passed them all, standing half way between her friends and her enemy.
"Usako!"
"No… Mamo-chan, it is my turn." A bright pulse emanated from the crystal, flooding the surrounding area in white.
"Ah, I see now. You are Sailor Moon, the holder of this legendary Silver Crystal. I have waited to challenge you. For years, I watched from afar, as your enemies failed to beat you. But I learned from their mistakes. I will reign where they had fallen!"
"I will not let you hurt this world anymore!" Her eyes were filled with determination, several rhythmic pulses beating off the crystal now. Like a ballet dancer, her feet slowly lifted off the ground, the air quickly becoming her dance floor.
"We shall see, Princess."
"I will destroy you now, so you may never plague our future again," she whispered to herself, and closed her eyes. She reached out with her consciousness, and in the dark of her mind, the crystal shone like a light at the end of a tunnel. Quickly the darkness was pushed back, and her mind flooded with warm light.
Across space and time, propelled to a once green land, she found herself captured within the walls of a crystal tower. The Silver Crystal hovered before her, caught in the center of the room by a beam of white light. As she moved, she felt the cool fabric of her gown brush against her legs, but barely had to look now to realize where she was, or who she had become. She was home. The ancient Moon princess knelt before the crystal, her head bowed in reverence.
"What do you wish, my child?" A sweet female voice reverberated within the tower. The feeling in this place was magical, full of comfort and warmth unlike anything she had ever known. It always took all her strength to remember why she was here, and to forget the seductiveness of safety the crystal offered.
"I wish for the power to protect my friends and this planet."
"As you wish, Princess. But be careful; this power may come at a price you will regret." In an instant, she was thrown back to reality. She then opened her eyes, bright and determined and sure. The Death Phantom had released his powerful attack, and with one graceful movement, she raised the crystal above her head.
The soldiers below did their best not to avert their eyes, but the brilliant light from the crystal overwhelmed them. They stood in amazed silence once more, always marveled by the power of the mysterious item. Usagi's energy met with his, creating an explosion that almost knocked them off their feet. Something felt different to the heroine this time, however. The power within her seemed hesitant, and she had to reach deep inside to pull its strength. When she reached a certain point something loomed in the recesses of her subconscious, and she feared to go deeper with the crystal's warning ringing in her ears. Something horrible was going to happen if she continued to reach further. Her hesitation did not go unnoticed.
"We should help her!" Mars shouted, sensing something amiss with her friend. The women of destiny circled beneath their princess, grasping each other's gloved hands. Their crystals began to glow brightly, the jewels on their tiaras brightening in sync with the Silver Crystal. With fervent cries, they shouted their respective invocations. In an instant, radiant beams shot up around them, encircling the glowing form of their leader. A short distance away, Tuxedo Kamen watched eagerly, shifting beneath his dark cape.
With all their mighty brilliance, the warriors battled the Death Phantom's sinister power, and with one mighty pulse from the Silver Crystal, he was engulfed in a wave of white. "No!" he screamed.
Usagi's eyes widened, for she was finally able to see him in all his dark glory. In her mind's eye, she saw the little boy he used to be, cowering in a dark corner alone. She saw him watch from inside his confinement as war raged outside. Cars and houses exploded as death and disease flooding his land as the mountain streams rush in the spring. The little boy grew into a man of hate, and she watched the moment he realized his far distant past, granting him ancient power beyond that of any normal-
'He's human!' Usagi's heart cried out to her. At this point in every battle, in every war she had fought, Usagi came face to face with her guilt. She knew in her heart that everyone had the potential to be good, and who was she to take that chance away? Even knowing their ultimate future, things remained clouded within her mind. Had she faced this very decision before? She did not know the future, but she knew what she should do in this moment.
"Leave my home, and find the peace you have been looking for!" she yelled to him within her mind, feeling the rush of power as she banished him from this earthly body, and sent him as far away as she could to another realm. Her energy spread ever outward, bathing the city in purifying waves of energy until nothing but white light could be seen.
+++
Author’s Notes:
In my experience, destiny never gives you time to prepare. It sweeps you up, changing the world you know seemingly overnight. That is how I saw the Senshi's future unfolding, for the long drawn out battles were a thing of the past. Death Phantom thought it would be their downfall, but the Senshi never disappoint. ^^;
Another issue I thought of is, with all her infinite power, Usagi could not defeat the Death Phantom in the past, and I knew it could not be, because she was weak. Something must have happened to stop her, but what exactly? I also wondered how Usagi saw the power of the Silver Crystal in her mind, and viewing my research and reading Dejana's story, Against All Odds, stumbled upon the Crystal Tower, and crafted this theory, which I enjoy!
The path of the future is unfolding, but not all their battles are over yet...
