Chapter 118
"Here we are," Sailor Moon said as the Sailor Scouts, Doctor Tomoe, and Tuxedo Mask walked in the front doors of the infinity academy.
"Her throne room should be that way," Doctor Tomoe said pointing down the hall.
"Isn't it ironic that some evil being would choose a school as a hideout?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Why?" Mercury asked.
"Oh..well you probably wouldn't get it, never mind," Sailor Moon said.
"Not everyone enjoys school Mercury," Jupiter said.
"I know that, but school is far from evil," Sailor Mercury said.
"Really Mercury? Would you like to do my midterm research thesis for me. It only needs to be a thousand pages long," Tuxedo Mask said.
The scouts all grinned at that.
Seconds later a large daimon emerged from a classroom and stood there. The scouts all stiffened up.
"How you folks doing tonight?" the daimon asked.
"What do you mean?" Sailor Moon snapped.
"Just being polite," the daimon said.
"Why?" Mars asked.
"Why not?" the daimon asked.
"Oh..well..uh..things are okay..I guess.." Venus said. "Uh...we're kinda busy though."
"Oh..sorry to hear it," the daimon said.
"This conversation will go down in the history books," Sailor Pluto muttered. More classroom doors swung open and more daimons emerged, totaling six in all.
"Wow, that's a lot," Sailor Moon said.
"We'll have to get by them all to get Tomoe," Sailor Pluto said.
"Okay...all we need is a plan. Each of us can attack one, Sailor Moon can stay in reserve," Mercury said.
"I love that plan," Sailor Moon said. Everyone glanced at her.
"There is no need for that," came a familiar voice. They all turned to see the four Guardian Scouts standing there as well as the two outer scouts.
"Surprise," Guardian Neptune.
"You're telling us," Mars said.
"With your assistance Tuxedo Mask, I believe we Guardians can handle the daimons," Guardian Neptune said.
"How?" all eight Sailor Scouts said.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence ladies," Guardian Uranus said.
"Listen..we've got a surprise for them..when we say go..you go..we'll do the rest," Guardian Neptune said.
"If you say so," Sailor Moon said.
A smoke pellet exploded in the air.
"Go!" Neptune shouted. The scouts rushed forward. They reached the end of the hallway. The smoke began to clear.
"She's behind this door," Doctor Tomoe said.
The Sailor Scouts looked behind them to see Tuxedo Mask and the four Guardians each fighting a daimon. A sixth daimon was already lying on the ground.
"Odd," Mercury sad.
"I'm not sure I want to fight with those two," Mars said looking at Neptune and Uranus.
"You have little choice," Uranus said.
"For once we have a common enemy, " Sailor Neptune said.
"Sailors, I think we have to work together here," Sailor Moon said. "Let's go."
They pushed the door open.
The Sailor Scouts rushed into the room. Hotaru Tomoe stood at one end of it. The room was darkened, but she was glowing with energy.
"Well Sailor Scouts, I see you've made it this far," Tomoe said.
"Hotaru! Please stop this!" Doctor Tomoe said rushing into the room.. "You can beat it."
"Father?" Hotaru asked.
"Hotaru?" Doctor Tomoe said.
"Please come here father," Hotaru said.
"Is he reaching her?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Stay on your guard," Sailor Pluto said.
Doctor Tomoe advanced towards his daughter slowly.
"I'm so glad to see you father, I think I might be able to beat it...if you help...me.." Hotaru said.
"Yes..I'll help you.." Doctor Tomoe said moving closer. The scouts all tensed.
"Hug me father, let the love save me,"Hotaru said.
"Right.." Doctor Tomoe said and gave his daughter a hug. There was a flash of energy and Doctor Tomoe crashed to the ground.
"It didn't work," the Dark One said letting a grin slide across it's face.
The scouts all gasped.
"Well? Aren't you going to attack me?" Hotaru Tomoe asked.
"I'm not sure," Sailor Moon said.
"There's a human in there," Jupiter said.
"We have no choice," Sailor Neptune said.
"That's right, we must attack," Sailor Uranus said. "And we must all attack."
"Uranus is right, the Dark One cannot be allowed to live," Sailor Pluto said.
"But will we kill Hotaru Tomoe to do that?" Sailor Moon asked.
"I can't be certain how it will work," Sailor Pluto said. "But it's not debatable."
"I'm the Leader!" Sailor Moon said.
"Not of us!" Sailor Uranus shouted back.
"You're conflict bores me!" Hotaru said and raised one finger. Out of it came a fireball which rapidly expanded to the size of a minivan. It went flying at Sailor Moon and the outers who stood right near her. The scouts all moved out of the way as it hit the wall and began to burn.
"Sailor Moon we have to attack!" Sailor Pluto shouted. "Think of Rita, that creature's responsible!"
"The Dark One is responsible, not Hotaru Tomoe, still..we have to attack..ready scouts?"
The other four inner Sailor Scouts nodded.
"Now things get interesting,"Hotaru said.
"Mars Fire Ignite!"
"Jupiter Thunder Crash!"
"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"
"Mercury Bubbles Blast!"
"Moon Tiara Magic!"
The five attacks flew at Hotaru who raised two fingers, energy flew against the attacks and dissipated them.
"Not strong enough," Sailor Pluto said.
"Pluto Dead Scream!" Pluto shouted unleashing her own attack. It flew at Hotaru who blasted it away with two fingers again.
"Neptune Deep Submerge!"
"Uranus World Shaking!"
The two finished their attacks in three seconds and sent it out as the Dead Scream was destroyed. It flew at Hotaru who let energy radiate from all four fingers on her other hand. It met the attack and dissipated them. She raised her other hand and flexed a finger on her right hand and let a windy attack fly out from her and sweep in towards the outer scouts. The leapt out of the way but began to be pulled into a whirlwind. Sailor Moon grabbed Pluto who reached out. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune grabbed the staff, the other scouts pulled them in.
"Think of what happens when she attacks with more than one finger," Jupiter said.
"Maybe she can't,"Mercury said. "And for that matter, if she does too much damage, she may not get the holy grail."
"You're right," Sailor Pluto. "She doesn't know where it is..yet.."
Seconds later there was a small flash and the holy grail appeared in Sailor Pluto's hand.
"The Grail!" Hotaru Tomoe said.
"A GRAIL?" Guardian Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto said.
"Where'd you come from?" Mars muttered.
"Just beat the daimons out there, Tuxedo Mask and Saturn are cleaning up," Neptune said.
"I'd be careful what you do Hotaru," Sailor Pluto said. "You destroy the grail and the Messiah of Silence will destroy us all."
"Very true," Hotaru Tomoe said. "But you know the holy grail is impervious to all but the most devastating of damage."
She held out four of her fingers, an meteor shower of energy flew from it at all of them. They all screamed, or grunted or whatever as they moved to dive out of the way, but this attack was very hard to avoid and many of them were hit. The three Guardian's went down, as well as Sailor Venus. The others stood up and readied themselves. A rose smashed into the ground.
Hotaru blasted it apart with a beam of light from one finger.
"That wasn't very nice," Tuxedo Mask said walking into the room. He rushed forward. Hotaru raised her hands. Tuxedo Mask threw several roses. They flew at her hands as she let loose of an energy attack they were pulverized, except for one which embedded itself in her palm. She screamed.
"Pluto Dead Scream!"
"Jupiter Thunder Crash!"
Two scouts yelled thinking quickly. The attacks flew at Hotaru. She whirled and blasted them away with the full force of her other hand. An energy bolt flew over the scout's heads and blew away the wall. Part of the roof began to cave in. The scouts under it dived out of the way.
"You may have hurt one of my hands, but I still have another..." Hotaru said. The scouts all began to stand up to face her. Mercury stared at her computer.
"She must be weakening," she said. "The more she attacks, the more energy she loses."
"We just have to drive her to exhaustion," Sailor Mars said.
"That'll take far too long..she'll have killed us for sure by then," Sailor Uranus said.
"Sailor Moon, take this," Sailor Pluto said handing her the holy grail.
"But why?" Sailor Moon asked.
"It's important, trust me," Sailor Pluto said. "Besides, I may have to charge Hotaru soon, and I can't risk the grail."
Another barrage flew at them, some of the scouts were hit others, avoided it.
"Tuxedo Mask, if we can take out her other arm," Sailor Pluto said.
"We're with you too.." Guardian Uranus said. The other three Guardians nodded. The scouts rushed forward. Hotaru readied herself.
"Power up girls..full power," Sailor Moon said.
"Mars....Fire..Soul.."
"Jupiter Oak...Evolution..."
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody..."
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock.."
"Neptune Deep Submerge.."
"Uranus World Shaking..."
"Moon Spiral Hearts Attack..."
The four Guardians, Tuxedo Mask, and Sailor Pluto all let loose attacks seconds before Hotaru hit them with a massive wave of energy coming from her healthy hand. The six of them were thrown back the way they came. The other scouts had wisely gotten out of the way so the attack didn't come near them. A second later Hotaru felt a sharp pain in her palm. She looked down to see two energy swords sticking into it. She screamed. Seconds later seven energy attacks flew through the air at her. Maverick dived out of the way as she was hit and slammed back into the far wall. She crumpled to the ground.
"Her power level's are way way down..." Sailor Mercury said. "But she's only stunned."
"With her hands damaged she shouldn't be able to stop us now though," Sailor Mars said.
"Not necessarily," Sailor Uranus said. "We have to destroy her now."
"No..let me try to heal her," Sailor Moon said.
"Very well," Uranus said.
"Moon Crystal Healing Power!" Sailor Moon shouted. The white energy flew out from her crystal and moved to Hotaru, only something blocked it before it could get to her.
"What is happening?" Sailor Moon asked.
"See..there's still power there," Sailor Uranus said.
"She can't be healed," Sailor Neptune said.
"I have to keep trying," Sailor Moon said holding her crystal aloft.
"There's still energy there," Mercury said.
"Sailor Moon can't keep this up much longer," Sailor Jupiter said.
"Maybe we can blast away the energy," Sailor Venus said.
"I don't know Venus, at this close range, the energy is enough to stop the healing, but it may not be enough to stop an attack, we could hit Hotaru," Mercury said.
"So it's worth a shot," Venus said.
"Oh.no..her power level's rising," Mercury said.
"We should have destroyed her when we had the chance!" Uranus shouted.
"No..come on Hotaru..."Doctor Tomoe said.
"Maverick! Fire at her! Try and break through the energy barrier!" Jupiter shouted.
"But..." Maverick said.
"You're energy might not be high enough.."
"Very well.." Maverick said and fired. The blast smashed through the air and knocked the energy barrier down and also hit Hotaru.
Maverick winced. The healing energy fell on Hotaru, but then fell away seconds later. Sailor Moon fell to the ground.
"Did you do it?" Mars asked.
"The energy's still there in part, or no..it's not the same," Mercury said.
"Not the same...we can't take chances," Sailor Uranus said.
"She's right, power up," Sailor Neptune said.
"No!" Sailor Moon moaned.
"Yes, we can't kill her, she may be healed," Mercury said.
"I healed her, before it gave out, I know," Sailor Moon said.
"You can't be sure there's still energy there," Sailor Neptune said.
"I'm inclined to agree with them, as much as I dislike them," Maverick said.
"You're support is welcome regardless, but we need to act," Sailor Neptune said.
"We won't let you attack them," Sailor Venus said.
` The other Sailors and Guardians all looked at each other and nodded. Then Hotaru Tomoe stood up. Neptune, Uranus and Maverick all took fighting positions. Sailor Pluto staggered up and did the same.
"What..what..happened..." Hotaru said.
"See..she doesn't know..." Sailor Moon said.
"It could be a ruse, remember her father," Sailor Neptune said.
"We can't risk the human race on this," Sailor Uranus said.
"Wait a minute! There's another energy!" Mercury said.
"Where?" Pluto said.
"All around us," Mercury said.
Then everything went silent.
"What's going on?" Venus asked.
"It's the messiah of silence! It's arrived," Sailor Pluto said.
In a flash of light a ghostly apparition appeared in front of them.
"I am the messiah of silence," it said. "Who among you possess the holy grail?"
"Uh..that's me," Sailor Moon said nervously.
"And what do you request?" the messiah of silence asked.
"Uh..I request...um..that..you move on and not return for millennia, like the last time," Sailor Moon said.
"I see..so you represent the side of good?" the messiah asked.
"Yes, I do, we all do," Sailor Moon said.
"I'm afraid I cannot grant your request," the messiah of silence said.
"What?" the entire room said.
"I have been bound by the Holy Grail and the rules that control it. But when it was used, I could sense that it was not used by a true controller. No...you are not a threat to me because you do not know how to use the grail, and so you cannot stop me from choosing to do whatever I please," the messiah of silence said.
"What?" Sailor Moon said.
"It must have sensed me using it before," Pluto said. "You see I am not meant to use the grail, you are."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"But..how.."
"You will know.."
"But what do we do now."
"You have to stop him."
"And how do I do that?"
"I will show you?" Hotaru said walking up to her. Her dark hair flew off of her brow and their appeared a symbol on her forehead. The entire group gasped.
"The symbol of Saturn!" Sailor Neptune said in shock.
"Saturn power!" Hotaru shouted and was immersed in energy. She emerged wearing a violet outfit and holding a scythe like weapon.
"Messiah of Silence, you have failed to follow the rules, now I Sailor Saturn, the soldier of death, will deliver you!" Sailor Saturn said. "Sailor Moon...come with me!"
"Wha.."
Saturn held out her hand. Sailor Moon took it. The two of them and the messiah of silence disappeared in a flash.
"Just what's going on?" Mars said.
"Even I'm not sure," Sailor Pluto said.
"Well..I'm so glad we're on top of things," Guardian Neptune said.
There was another flash of light and Sailor Saturn and Sailor Moon appeared on the ground. The scouts rushed over to them.
"Sailor Moon? What happened?" Mars asked.
"Are you all right?" Tuxedo Mask asked.
"I'm fine...Saturn is she?"
"She's stirring,"Sailor Pluto said.
"Good..." Sailor Moon said. "We beat it, I can't even explain how..but we beat it."
"Well that's just great, we'll never know what happened," Mars said.
"I'd be more concerned with the outcome," Mercury said.
"I'm not sure about all this Pluto," Sailor Uranus. "The appearance of Sailor Saturn is not a good sign. She's been cursed."
"She is the Sailor of death itself," Sailor Neptune said.
"I know," Sailor Pluto said.
"What's all this Sailor of death stuff?" Guardian Saturn asked.
"It's complex," Pluto said.
"So it is," Guardian Saturn said.
"You see...Sailor Saturn was a Sailor Scout assigned to guard the outer solar
system like we were, but one day there was an attack..."
"I am the Nalik, all of you will fall before me!" a darkly dressed creature shouted and sent waves of fire flying out of a dark black emerald he held in his third hand.
"The source of his power is that emerald! We have to get it," Sailor Saturn said.
"Concentrate on him!" Sailor Pluto said swinging her staff and unleashing energy.
"Neptune Deep Submerge!"
"Uranus World Shaking!"
The attacks flew at Nalik, but he blasted them away with the emerald's energy.
"We need the emerald!" Saturn said leaping forward and swinging her staff.
"Don't touch it, he is a wraith!" Sailor Pluto shouted. Saturn swatted the emerald out of the Nalik's hand. She swung around knocked his two legs out from under him. Nalik kicked at her and lunged for the crystal.
"I can't let him get it," Saturn said.
"No stay away from it!" Sailor Pluto shouted rushing forward. Saturn swung her weapon, it smashed down onto the crystal a second before Nalik could grab it. The emerald blew apart and Nalik screamed as he disintegrated. Saturn was enveloped in dark energy.
"Oh..no.." Sailor Neptune said.
"Stand back," Sailor Pluto yelled and rushed back, the other two outer scouts followed.
Saturn disappeared in a dark flash of light.
"What did that mean?" Guardian Saturn asked.
"All wraiths have their energy in dark emeralds. This energy is some of the darkest imaginable. The only way to beat a wraith and survive the encounter is to separate the crystal from the body for a long period of time. Eventually the body and the emerald die. However, destroying a crystal causes the energy in it to search for a new host. It found Sailor Saturn. Wraiths bring death to worlds, and when Sailor Saturn absorbed that energy, she became controlled by the power, and even worse, she wasn't even under control of the wraiths, instead she became a different force. I don't know how she got here, but we know that if Sailor Saturn appeared she should have brought massive evil energy with her," Pluto said.
"So why didn't she?" Guardian Uranus asked.
"I don't know yet," Sailor Pluto said. "That's what I can't be sure about."
"It would be useful to know," Sailor Uranus said. "For the meantime we're going to have to keep an eye on her."
"I know," Sailor Pluto said.
"You see...Sailor Scouts, we still don't know who's right," Sailor Neptune said.
"Yes, and if we were, well, look out, because it will be your fault," Sailor Uranus said.
"That's a chance I'm willing to take," Sailor Moon said. "I think she saved this planet."
"We'll see," Sailor Uranus said. "Won't we?"
The sun rose as another morning began in Tokyo. Serena, Mina, Lita, Raye, Amy, Greg, Rick, Steve, Mike, and Patterson all staggered into class at varying stages of exhaustion ten minutes late.
"Well looks who's back," Miss Haruna said. "My five favorite male students."
"What did I do?" Greg muttered.
"Guilt by association," Haruna said.
"Ehhh..." the guys all sighed.
"What's up with you anyway? No witty comments?" Haruna asked.
"We're too tired," Mike said.
"Yes, much too tired," Steve said.
"Why?" Miss Haruna asked. "And for that matter why are you all late?"
"Miss H. I think you can guess," Serena said.
"Oh..yes that makes sense," Miss Haruna said.
"What do you mean Miss Haruna?" Melvin squeaked.
"None of your business Melvin," Haruna said.
"Oh.."Melvin said. "Why?"
"Because it isn't!" all ten scouts shouted. "Sorry...we're tired.." they all added seconds later.
"This is going to be an interesting class," Haruna said.
The door opened and Haruka and Michiru walked in, widening the eyes of the Sailor Scouts.
"Well..more surprises," Haruna said.
Haruka and Michiru just grinned.
"Miss H. Can I go to sleep?" Serena asked. Haruna glanced at her.
"Uh..sure..just try and be quiet about it," Haruna said.
"Sure thing," Serena said and quickly dozed off.
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