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Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its associated characters and canon belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. The text of this creative work was written by Dejana Talis and is her exclusive property. Not to be used without permission.  The daimon straightened up, laughing. Its violet tail twitched as it towered over the four Sailor Soldiers lying crumpled at its feet. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus... they had all fallen to Nekonell's whiplike tail and lay groaning on the floor of the abandoned house, unable to muster the strength to get up again. "Everyone!" Across the room Tsukino Usagi crouched helplessly, cradling Miharu's unconscious form. Usagi was all that stood between the daimon and the child now. Miharu's pure heart crystal had already been proven not to be a talisman - whatever that was - but who knew what Nekonell might do now that its mission had failed? The daimon twisted around. Its spotted violet tail lashed out, and before Usagi could react, it was wrapped around her neck. The teen kept a firm hold on Miharu even as she struggled to breathe, the impossibly long tail tightening around her throat. Nekonell began to pull Usagi toward itself, dragging her across the floor. Was this how it was fated to end? The Silver Crystal's light gone, her transformation locket unresponsive... After all she had survived, a common monster would get the best of Sailor Moon? The daimon flicked its wrist, catlike, and the bells on its dress jingled as if mocking its prey - so powerful as a soldier, so helpless as a girl. Suddenly, the pressure on Usagi's throat was released, the tail dissolving into puzzle pieces that scattered across the floor. Usagi looked up to see a familiar red rose sticking out of the tiles, its petals still quivering from its flight. "Who is it-nell?" Nekonell demanded, looking up furiously. Usagi knew without looking, the sudden leap of her heart signaling the arrival of her beloved savior. "Tuxedo Kamen!" she cried with eager relief. He was standing on a high windowsill, arm raised and ready to throw another rose. The red-lined cape of his familiar black tuxedo swirled around him, creating the air of mystery and majesty that had enchanted Usagi from the very beginning. "Those who toy with pure hearts will someday be brought to justice by pure hearts," Tuxedo Kamen announced. Some found his speeches futile and meaningless, but Usagi never tired of them. It was as if he found all the meaning in the world and knew just how to put it into words that Usagi would understand. New confidence flooded into her. He would always be there to protect her. Even if she couldn't transform, there was nothing to fear. Tuxedo Kamen leapt down from the windowsill and landed in front of Usagi. She gently laid Miharu down and stood up, but it was too much to hope that he would even glance at her. Tuxedo Kamen was always so focused during battle... "Nekonell!" The self-named daimon whirled around. Again its tail lashed out. Usagi gasped and shrank back, but Tuxedo Kamen stood firm and assumed a fighting stance. He was always so brave, her Chiba Mamoru, no matter what happened. The enchanted black cane extended from Tuxedo Kamen's gloved hands, shattering Nekonell's tail as it stretched across the room. Its tip plunged into the daimon's abdomen and pushed it back against the wall. The masked fighter held firmly to his end of the cane, and for a moment, the creature was still, hanging limply over the rod in its stomach. Then Nekonell smiled. Its red eyes opened, and the foul thing licked its lips, as if savoring the sweet taste of its victory to come. It seized the cane protruding from its middle and snapped it off at the end, causing the rest of the enchanted stick to shrink back to its normal size. The daimon tossed the broken end toward Tuxedo Kamen, who batted it harmlessly away, but when the creature launched itself into the air vicious claws sprouted from its fingers. Usagi braced herself as Tuxedo Kamen pulled his cape in front of them both. Nekonell came down and struck. The daimon's talons slashed the man's cape to ribbons and swiped his mask from his face. His top hat tumbled to the tiled floor. Clearly the new monsters were just as dangerous to Tuxedo Kamen as they were to the Sailor Soldiers. Usagi cried out, but her protector kept his feet, unwilling to expose her to the enemy. "Run, Usa-ko!" Run? Impossible... Usagi was a soldier; it was her job to tell others to run, not to flee herself. She was afraid, but she could not abandon the people she loved. Nekonell charged again. Tuxedo Kamen threw another enchanted rose and it hit the catlike creature full in the face. For the moment it fell back, the shock of the impact interrupting its deadly onslaught. "Now, Usa-ko!" Tuxedo Kamen insisted urgently as rose petals filled the air. "At least you should get away from here!" His energy fading, the dark-haired man dropped to the ground, barely managing to remain upright on one knee as his head drooped. At least you... Could it really be that serious? The Sailor Soldiers had overcome so many enemies. It could not all end here, there was always something... but even the Silver Crystal had gone dark. Still, Usagi could never leave her friends, no matter how hopeless things seemed. "I can't do that!" Usagi knelt beside her boyfriend and reached out to put her hands on his. He could just as soon ask her to put out the sun. Wherever Mamoru went, she would follow... A strange phrase; it felt like an echo from far away... "Hurry and run!" Now Tuxedo Kamen looked at her, and Usagi saw the familiar sadness in his eyes. Mamoru's eyes always seemed sad, even when he was smiling and laughing. Usagi often wondered about it, but there was no time for that now. She knew what he really meant, and knew just as clearly why she could not do what he asked. "No!" Usagi felt the tears starting in her eyes, but she fought against them, desperate to make her conviction clear. It always came down to this, when things were at their worst. Against normal enemies they all fought together, and the other girls came down hard on Usagi if she did not pull her weight, but when things were at their darkest, all illusion of equality vanished. Tsukino Usagi was the reincarnation of the Moon Princess Serenity, and to her friends, that meant her life was more precious than any of theirs. Again and again Usagi came up against the barrier of that truth, and again and again she fought it. "I want to protect everyone!" she insisted, tightening her grip on Tuxedo Kamen's hand. "And you, my dear Mamo-chan, too..." Was this the fate of a Princess? To stand helplessly while her loved ones died to protect her? Tuxedo Kamen's expression softened as Usagi's eyes filled with tears. She might have been a Princess once, but now she was Tsukino Usagi, and she would not accept such a cruel fate. Life was not worth living without Mamoru and her friends, and the duties of a Princess were nothing compared to that. If her loved ones had to fight, Usagi would fight too. If they were in danger, she would protect them. "I will fight with everyone..." Usagi was abruptly conscious of her ordinary blouse and plain skirt. If she could not transform into Sailor Moon, how could she protect the people she loved? Why had the light of the Silver Crystal gone out? She had always hated fighting... she had always wished to be an ordinary girl... but if her friends could not be with her, none of that mattered. Being a soldier had always been an unwelcome burden, thrust upon her by destiny, but now, for the first time, Usagi wanted to be Sailor Moon with all her heart. She raised Tuxedo Kamen's hand in hers and closed her eyes. For my beloved Mamo-chan... please, Silver Crystal, shine again! Please, Moon Kingdom watching over me, make me a soldier again! Please... I want to protect the people I love! Usagi felt her hands grow hot with a sudden warmth. She heard Nekonell yowl in pain as it charged again and was thrown back by a mysterious force. Somewhere Luna was yelling something, and the warmth was spreading, growing larger until Usagi felt herself pulsing with it. Still, she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to disturb whatever magic was happening. It was keeping her dearest one safe, and for the moment, that was enough. I want to fight... to protect my dear Mamo-chan, who I love! Usagi opened her eyes to see her beloved opening his as well. Had he been wishing with her, wishing the same thing? Mamoru's clothing had changed. The slashed tuxedo had vanished, replaced by plates of armor and a fresh cape. Usagi's ordinary clothes, too, were gone, replaced by a flowing white dress she knew well. A shadow of their past lives had come to the present, an echo of the time when they had existed as Endymion and Serenity. The towering marble of the ancient Moon Castle towered over them. Was it all an illusion, or had they been momentarily transported to the Moon? A rosy spark of light burst from the highest tower and soared down to envelop the joined hands of the reincarnated couple. It burst outward, enveloping them both, and the coalesced into something solid that forced their hands apart and hovered between them. It was a slim rod, longer than Usagi's forearm, bright pink with a gold-edged red heart at its top. Usagi caught her breath, hardly daring to believe it. Had the Moon itself heard her call and sent her a new item? It sparkled between her and Mamoru with unknown power, nearly too dazzling to look at. Mamoru stared at it with amazement to match Usagi's wonder. "This was born from our combined power?" the reborn Princess breathed. From their love, their mutual desire to protect each other, the reincarnated lovers had summoned a great magic from the distant past. "The legendary rod..." Luna's voice, filled with stunned disbelief, reached Usagi's ears. It seemed they were all sharing the dream, all experiencing the echo of the long-lost world they had once inhabited. "The Spiral Heart Moon Rod!" Artemis proclaimed from wherever the cats were standing. Together, Usagi and Mamoru reached out and took hold of the rod. The illusion was fading, the dark walls of the abandoned house returning around them. Their eyes met. Mamoru seemed to be searching for something in Usagi's face, waiting for her to speak. "The legendary Spiral Heart Moon Rod?" she repeated. That was an odd phrase... If this was a new item, why would it be legendary? The searching look faded from Mamoru's face. "Nekonell!" Usagi snapped back to reality as the long white dress of her past life was replaced by her modern street clothes. There would be plenty of time for her unanswered questions later. Right now, there was an enemy to be defeated, and she was determined to do what she had promised to do. The enemy, shattered into puzzle pieces by the rosy light, was reforming itself and yowling a fresh challenge. "Usagi! Transform!" Artemis yelled from across the room. "I'm sure you can do it now!" Luna called. Usagi seized her transformation locket and discovered the object itself had been transformed. The Silver Crystal had not only restored its strength, but had evolved into a new shape with new power. With this, Usagi knew she could become a soldier strong enough to protect her friends. "Moon Cosmic Power!" she cried out. The locket opened, and the jewel inside shone with the rosy light of Usagi and Mamoru's shared wish. "Make Up!" The crystal flashed. Ribbons of warm energy wrapped around Usagi's torso and limbs, forming the sailor suit that gave her the strength to fight. She was going back to war again. She had given up an ordinary life and accepted the fate of a Sailor Soldier... but this time, it was a path she had chosen. She knew, as she seized the Spiral Heart Moon Rod and shouted the words that would destroy the daimon, that she had made a great sacrifice. With her own will, she had summoned this weapon, and the destiny of a soldier could not so easily be put aside. If her loved ones would be with her, however, it would be no burden. The echo of her past life flowed through her, and it fueled the new power she wielded, but she would not allow it to control her future. She had been Princess Serenity, a jewel to be polished and protected and given away. Now she was Tsukino Usagi, a girl who understood love and friendship were more important than anything, and would fight to defend what she held dear. Now she was Sailor Moon. |
