The first thing that Rei was aware of was that her chest was heavy. It was very had to breathe and when she tried to take a deep breath there was hard, cold pressure. Without opening her eyes, she lifted her arm to touch the shattered bricks on her breast. With painful, bruised hands she cleared them away. The next thing she was realizing was the stinging wet sensation on her face was rain. She squeezed her eyes tight and groggily wiped her soaked face. Finally, she realized she had no sensation in her legs. For a moment, fear shot though her. Had she lost them? Maybe when the wall collapsed they had been severed. Oh God! oh God, it would have been better just to die. Better make sure, Rei.
She opened her violet eyes quickly. A long green metal object lay across her thighs, cutting off the circulation to her legs. It took her a dazed moment to realize it was the street lamp she had been clinging to. It was a wonder her legs were not broken. Relief over took her, and was burned off just as quickly. “This is going to be hell to move.”
Rei leaned forward to push on the heavy lamp. No good. She searched the littered surroundings for a tool. She felt a familiar shape that she realized was her star wand. Momentarily distracted from her mission, she took the wand and stuffed it away into her torn school vest. Next, she lifted a broken two-by-four and wedged it under the lamp. She then lay some bricks underneath the piece of wood to act as a fulcrum.
“Okay,” she said to herself, “on three. One...two...three.” And with a bloodcurdling scream, she strained against the weight of the lamp. It lifted but her legs were so numb they felt like pieces of meat attached to her hips. “Damn!” she spat, still straining. Then, she got another idea. She shifted, rotating on her butt to swing her legs outward and away from the lamp. That done, she let it fall flat with a metallic clang.
At first, pain shot up through her thighs as her pain neurons became active. Soon, her legs felt normal again. She again realized she was lucky they weren’t both broken.
Satisfied that she was okay, Rei made a clumsy attempt to stand up on legs that felt as if they had never been used. She stumbled on the first try but managed to stand.
The sky was the gray overcast it had been that morning and raindrops were showering down lightly. For as far as she could see, buildings were cracked, cored, or simply flattened. By some miracle, a few seemed untouched.
Rei could see black smoke billowing in the distance from the now smoldering fire. It suddenly reminded her of something.
“The temple!” her violet eyes went wide, “Gramps!” Without further delay, she rushed through the rubble-filled streets toward home.
“I guess.” the white one shook himself dry, not much use in the rain, and began licking his sore paw.
Meanwhile, Luna climbed a pile of rubble. She was shocked to see almost the entire city destroyed. “Artemis, come look!” she said. Artemis limped to the top of the pile that had once been a building and his jaw dropped as he saw the destruction.
“I wonder if any of the scouts survived.” he gasped. Luna could only offer a shrug. “At any rate,” Artemis continued, “We have to find them.”
“Or their bodies.” Luna added as the cats scampered down from the rubble.
“If that’s your take on ‘is everyone okay,’ I’m fine.” Lita said.
“Yeah, I’m alright, too.” Amy sat up in the reaking water.
“Ewww!” Mina shrieked, “I got something in my hair!” She stood up, “God, we must be in layers of...”
“Oh hush up, Mina.” Amy snapped, “This isn’t human waste anyway. It’s industrial drainage. You know, machine oil, polymers, diluted paint, molding wax, saline water, and nitrogen compounds.” She snapped her minicomp shut loudly enough for Mina to hear and be reassured.
Mina gave her a blank but suspicious stare. “You’re lying to me to keep me from grossing out aren’t you?”
“Well,” Amy felt the hot prickle and cold chill of embarrassment sweat. “yes.”
“Ewww!” Mina and Lita squealed in disgust.
“Calm down. I’ll get us out of here.” Amy said as she opened her minicomp again. The girls began walking in the knee-high water. “Just be thankful you didn’t drown in this stuff.”
“Oh...God!” Mina leapt up, startled, “I swear something tentacle-like swam past my leg.”
“Oh, shut up!” Amy snapped and continued walking.
“Hold still.” Darien dabbed the alcohol-soaked cotton ball on the gash below Serena’s eye. The two had gone to an abandoned and smashed drug store to clean and dress Serena’s various cuts and bruises.
“I hate rubbing alcohol!” she proclaimed, stamping her feet.
“I sure hope the others are okay.” Darien said, finally finished.
“Have you tried my communicator?”
He simply shook his head and held up the shattered communicator.
“Damn!” Serena pouted. Darien didn’t have one on him.
“We have no way to find out if the others are still alive.”
“Then we’d better get moving.” Serena stood up, all business.
“Gramps?” Rei cried out, “Gramps, where are you?” A strong hand landed on her shoulder. Rei grabbed it, fully prepared to throw the owner to the ground.
“Whoa, Reiko!” Chad’s familiar surfer-boy voice caused her to stop, “It’s just me, girl.”
“Oh,” under any other circumstance, she would have blushed, “Is Gramps okay?”
Chad’s shoulders drooped and he shut his eyes. Words were not needed.
“Oh, god!” Rei choked out. She didn’t realize it but she was hyperventilating. A lump developed in her throat and she had to gasp for breath. Then there was the burning behind her eyes. Hot wetness rolled up from under her eyelids. She took a deep breath and let out a ragged sigh before collapsing in tears. “What now, Chad?” her voice was meek. She had never felt so tiny before.
“I don’t know, Rei.” Chad shrugged, “I’m not sure there’s anything we can do.”
Rei sat down on the partially burned porch. Chad sat next to her. He put his arm around her just before Rei lost it completely.
“You are beautiful.” he said, rubbing his hand on her cheek, “And Flute likes you.”
“I’m allright, I guess.” she shrugged, “I only do my best.”
“That’s all Flute asks, my love.” Jekter told her, “I’m glad he hasn’t any projects for you lately. It has blessed us with time together.”
“Oh,” she winked, “Yes.”
Just then, Jekter’s communicator beeped. He sighed and picked it up. “Yes, sir?”
“Jekter, my boy.” Flute sounded elated, “Total success. Earth is in ruins.”
“Good show, sir!”
“I’m not finished. I have a favor to ask of you.”
“With pleasure. What is it?”
“I need you to create a mount for the Pluto Star Crystal. I need a device that will project and amplify it’s power.”
“But it was powerful enough to ruin Earth’s civilization.”
“Yes, but it appears drained now. I need something to make it weildable anyway.”
“Well, sir, that I can do.”
“Good boy.” Jekter could almost hear Flute’s smile in his voice, “And is Meredith with you?”
“Yes, I am here.” the woman answered.
“Excellent. My dear girl, I need you to build me a batch of slaves. I need both workers and soldiers. I also want two creatures to command them.”
“I’ll get right on it sir, but it will take me a while.”
“I’m in no hurry.”
At least Amy hoped she had not been home. She stood atop the same undamaged building others were using to survey the flooding. The water had receded quite a bit and Amy could just see the roof of her house with a pair of borrowed binoculars. Not too far out in the distance, the red orange and black dot of a Coast Guard SH-3A Sea King rescue helicopter hovered over a family lucky enough to survive the flooding.
They had an infant and the mother was insisting the rescuers take the baby first. The chopper was dangerously close to some high voltage wires and Amy could only hope the pilot was aware of them.
She turned away form the spectacle and beeped Mina. “How does it look there?”
Mina was obviously in a panic. “The whole area is burned out. I can’t find my parents!” she whiped a tear from her face. “I...I don’t know what to do. My mom was at home when the quake started. No one’s seen her. My dad was at work and his office building collapsed.”
“Mina, you have to calm down.” Amy said, “You aren’t doing your family any good by panicking.
“If I even have a family!” Mina shut her eyes for a moment. “Rei’s grandfather is dead and so are Lita’s aunt and uncle. Have you heard from Serena yet?”
“No.” Amy didn’t betray her concern, “Not yet.”
“Oh god!” Mina winced, “Is her communicator answering?”
“It’s not registering, no.”
“Oh, Geezus.” Mina choked out.
From behind her, Amy heard a collective gasp and a scream went up from the two dozen people around her. She turned in time to see the helicopter twist oddly in the air among a shower of sparks and plunge into the water.
“Mina, keep looking for Serena. I gotta go.” Amy blipped off and shoved the communicator in her pocket. She ran down the fire escape to the street. When she was sure no one could see her, she pulled out her wand. “Mercury Star Power!”
“I think so.” Artemis replied, squinting.
“Yep, It’s her.” Luna said, “I’d recognize those meatballs anywhere. Serena!” The pigtailed girl must not have heard her. Instead, she dropped to her knees and began to sob. The cats learned why when they reached the gates of her house. The house had totally collapsed and littered the yard. Wood, brick, and clay shingles lay everywhere.
“My...my family.” Serena sniffled, “Oh god, Luna.” Luna, being a cat, couldn’t offer an embrace. But she rubbed her head against Serena’s arm. Serena, momentarily forgetting that Luna was no ordinary feline, stroked her.
“Serena, it’s going to be okay.” Luna tried to hold back tears.
“But it was my family, Luna.”
“I know,” Luna said, sadly, “They were my family, too. I loved them just as much as you did.” Serena hugged Luna close and buried her face in Luna’s side. The black cat didn’t struggle like she usually would have. It was a touching moment, rare and valuable.
“I hate to break this up,” Artemis said, “But we need to find the others.”
“That’s what Darien is doing.” Serena looked at him with one eye. The human and cat locked eyes for a moment, then Serena stood up. Luna was still in her arms, looking sulky. She soon hid her face in her mistress’s breast and shed tears of her own.
“Come on,” Serena flicked a tear away, “Let’s go find Amy first. If she’s like anyone else, she went home too.”
The street ran right into the water, and being February, the water was cold. Sailor Mercury winced as she waded in. “Okay,” she tried to cheer herself, “you can to this.” She stumbled and was suddenly shoulder-deep in the water. A terrible shock of cold ran through her and she could have sworn her heart stopped. Trying desperately to ignore the chill that stabbed at her like a thousand icy needles, she began to swim.
Amy had always been a strong swimmer, and she was fast. Being the aquabelle made it that much easier for her to get her rhythm right.
It suddenly dawned on her that powerlines had probably gone down in the water. She should have been fried by now. “Count your blessings, Mercury.” she said to herself before continuing.
She stopped to tread water for a moment to get her bearings. The helicopter had fallen into a particularly strong tree branch that barely kept it out of the water. The electrical wires lay across the boom. She could see the tail rotor was still turning. That meant the engine had not shut off and would complicate things. She had no choice but to go forward. If she didn’t get there in time, the chopper could fall into the water, bring the wires with it, and electrocute her and any survivors in the aircraft’s cabin.
“There she is!” Artemis pointed.
“It’s Sailor Mercury!” Serena was surprised. Wasting no time, she went for her locket.
“What are you doing?” Luna was surprised.
“What does it look like?” Serena snapped, “Moon Crystal...”
“Wait!” Luna stopped her. You can’t just go after her. You don’t have her swimming stamina and the water is probably freezing!”
“Good point.” Serena bent down and stuck her hand in. “Yikes. There has to be another way!”
“I don’t see one.” Artemis smirked, “Looks like Mercury’s on her own.”
Mercury swam up to the helicopter. Blessedly, the door was in reach.
“Mark, who is that?” the woman asked as Sailor Mercury hauled herself into the chopper, shifting it hazardously. Inside, she heard the baby’s cries and saw her on the other side of the cabin in the rescue basket. The whole place smelled like blood, oil, and gasoline. The pilot and copilot were dead in their seats and she could see the rescuer still attached to the winch floating in the water. The chopper shifted once more and the Sailor Scout edged carefully forward.
“It’s okay, Ashley.” Mercury tried to comfort the baby. “It’s going to be okay. I’m going to save you.” Just then, Mercury slipped and went sliding down toward the infant. Before she slipped right out of the chopper, she latched her arm around a seat leg and jerked to a halt within easy reach of the child. The helicopter lurched and then slowly began moving. Mercury yanked the baby out of the basket and began climbing up the increasingly steep floor. She hauled herself out of the helicopter and leapt just as the aircraft and the powerlines fell into the water.
The
chopper sank a moment before electrical sparks ignited the leaking fuel
and the helicopter exploded.
Sailor
Mercury had just cleared the blast radius in her leap and could feel the
intense heat on the back of her legs. Riding the shockwave, she landed
roughly on the roof next to the baby’s parents.
“Ashley!” the mother ran up. Mercury handed the screeching child to her. “Thank you so much, Sailor Mercury.” the mother said, hugging the infant.
“Good show, girl.” the father slapped her on the shoulder.
“Don’t thank me yet.” the Scout smirked. “We still have to be rescued.”
“I think they can handle that.” he pointed to a small speedboat skimming over the water to them.
“Thanks.” Amy put her stick away. “Where’s Darien?”
“Darien went to look for the others.” Serena told her, “Are they okay?”
“Yeah. Mina and Lita both lost their families and Rei’s grandfather is dead.”
Serena’s shoulders fell. “Well, do you have a communicator?”
“Yeah.” Amy handed it to her.
“This is Serena to any Scout. Are you there?” Rei was the first to answer.
“Serena, thank goodness.” the Japanese girl said, “Are you okay? Where are you?”
“Yes, Reiko, I’m fine. I’m down at the new waterfront. Amy’s here with me.”
“Great. It looks like Darien just came through the gate.”
“Serena?” Lita and Mina popped in.
“Lita, Mina, hey guys.” Serena said, trying to cheer them a little, “Hey, I heard about your families.”
“Yeah, well.” Mina tried to hide her sadness, “At least it was quick. How did yours come out?” Serena was equally guarding of her feelings. She shook her head. “Well, hey,” Mina forced a smile, “at least we didn’t lose each other.”
“Yeah,” Rei said, clearing her throat, “and we all need to get together. How about we meet in the park at the gazebo in about thirty minutes?”
“Okay.”
“Great.”
“See
you guys then.”
The one thing the gazebo didn’t protect them from was heartache. Mina, Serena, and Lita had lost their families. The feeling wasn’t so new to Lita, who had lost her parents when she was younger to an air crash. But Mina and Serena had never been through such a loss and were totally unprepared.
Also, Rei had lost her grandfather and Amy still did not know the fate of her mother, and her father, an artist, lived in Miami. None of them really knew what to do but sit the rain out.
“What now?” Serena looked up after a while.
“Well, we all know that this happened all over the world.” Amy said, “So there is no place we can go.”
“This is it.” Mina let out an angry laugh, “This truly is Armageddon.” She gave everyone a crystal blue look. “The world is ended. Civilization has truly been destroyed. And to think that I laughed on New Year’s when no flying saucers landed, the rapture didn’t come, and not one computer crashed. That was stupid.”
“We can look back and examine what was and was not stupid later.” Darien said, “Right now we need to focus on surviving and rebuilding.”
“That’s going to be easier said than done.” Amy smirked, “The whole world experienced this ‘phenomenon’ meaning every center of government and commerce is destroyed. My guess is that there will be a sincere attempt to rebuild and relief efforts will continue along for a while until supplies run out and everyone discovers the truth. Money will become valueless in the face of commodities like food, shelter, clothing, fresh water, weapons, and fuel. Humanity will revert to the basic instinct of survival at all costs.”
“In other words it’s going to be hella ugly down the road.” Rei said.
“Right,” Amy confirmed, “We need to take advantage of the relief efforts when they start. Keep ourselves fed and sheltered until everything goes to hell.”
“And then what?” Lita asked.
“I don’t know.”
“This is going to be tough.” Artemis told them, “But we can do it.”
“What I can’t believe is,” Serena shook her head, “after we defeated Queen Beryl and later the Doom Phantom that this happened anyway. After all this effort, the world is still gone.”
“Wait a minute.” Lita held up her hand, “Maybe this is the disaster that befalls Earth before Serena becomes Neo-Queen Serenity in the 30th Century.”
“But Serena and I were supposed to be married by then.” Darien argued, “She was supposed to be in her early twenties at least.” From there, they dropped the subject. Only Amy made permanent note on Darien’s point. They sat there until the rains finally let up, then they left to find whatever friends and collect what belongings they could.