12/07/00
“December
seventh, nineteen fourty-one; a date that will live in infamy.” Amy Anderson
recited the line from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s address some
59 years before as she looked herself up and down in the cracked mirror.
The address had been the harbringer of a four-year long war for the American
people.
Oddly enough, Amy felt very much now like a soldier of those times, when war was hell. She hadn’t really bathed in six months, and her entire slender form was darkened with grime. Her scalp was terribly flaky and there were innumerable cuts, bruises, and aches that never went away. Her hair was a thick ragged mess and she was constantly sweaty. For a moment, she imagined herself in the green fatigues and askew helmet of the 1940’s marine with an M-14 rifle slung over her shoulder and various pieces of equipment attached to her belt. Momentarily, she wondered if this was how her father felt in the jungles and rice patties of Viet Nam in 1969 when he was a young draftee in an unpopular war.
This war had lasted so long. Too long, Amy reminded herself. In less than a month, it would be over. Serena was so skilled now that she could weild the negaverse staff as if she were born with it. Amy and Rei had both improved their skills immensely as well. Furthermore, the Moon Crescent Wand and tiara were in perfect working order thanks to Amy’s repairs. The Moonlight Knight was still with them, honing his abilities.
It surprised Amy that he had not dissappeared as usual, but she really didn’t want to think about the metaphysics of it all. She hated metaphysics. It made no sense at all, really. Something existed that was not explainable by any natural laws. Ghosts, devils, God; all fell into this realm of the inexplainable. It made her feel very unintelligent just thinking about it.
She looked down at her tummy, trying to envision the little life that was growing inside her. Morning sickness had stopped not a week ago and she was relieved that she was no longer nauseated after waking up. Somehow, she no longer minded so much that one of her ova had been fertilized and had imbedded itself into her uterine lining. She was even picking out names. She wanted it to be a girl, and so had been picking out girl names for the past few days.
Her favorite names were Sara, Elizabeth, and of course, Amy. She almost wanted to name the child Lita or Mina, but Rei would cry blaspheme. Perhaps Chance would be appropriate. If it were a boy, she would most definitely name it Greg. She didn’t like any other male name save for Albert.
So it would be either Gregory Albert or Sara Elizabeth.
“Wutcha doin’, Ami-chan?” Reiko asked, startling the blue-haired Catholic. Amy let her black shirt back down and turned around.
“Just thinking.” she answered, motioning for Rei to enter.
“About..?” the young preistess cocked her head.
Oh,” Amy shrugged, “names for the baby.” and she patted her belly, “You know, Serena promised to help me deliver.”
“I know. She told me.” Rei nodded. The two were silent a moment.
“I don’t know how I feel about this.” Amy’s accent only amplified the sadness in her voice. “I mean, if we defeat the enemy and destroy the Pluto Crystal none of this will have ever happened. Mina, Lita, Darien, and Greg will all be alive. The world will be healed, yet...” and she trailed off.
“Yet your baby will be gone.” Rei finished for her. Amy nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek. Rei thought a long time before challenging this. Amy was Catholic, and conservatively so. She followed the Pope’s words, since she believed them to be inspired by God. And so, as per Papal decree, there were to be no abortions performed on Catholic women under any circumstances.
If the Sailor Scouts were successful in restoring time to its proper flow, Amy’s rape and therefore pregnancy would not have occured. The baby would be gone.
It would be just like an abortion. A mid-term one at that. Even Rei agreed that abortion when the baby was distinguishably a human being was abhorrable.
Yet this was compared to the Earth. Billions had died in the past year due to Negaverse activity. The Needs of the Many outweight the Needs of the Few, or the One, so said logic.
“I guess,” Rei spoke up finally, “That this baby would be sacraficing itself for everyone who died.”
Amy pondered this a moment, then responded. “My father was in Viet Nam during one of that war’s worst periods. He got shot. Twice. He was awarded two purple hearts, three gold stars, and a Congressional Medal of Honor. He was the sole reason for his unit getting the Presidential Citation.” Rei was taken aback. It was the first time she had ever heard Amy talk highly of her dad.
Amy continued, her voice rising in volume and emotion, “During the time he spent there, the way to victory was body count. How many gooks can you kill? How many teenage boys with AK-47s can you tear open with your M-16? How many can you blow apart with your grenades? How many can you vaporize with artillery shells?
“Well the bodies kept piling up and piling up. The American public didn’t care. The odds didn’t matter; not 10-1, not 15-1, not 30-1 if that one was their son.” And the rant came to a quick and emotional stop. The air would have been easier to breathe had it been lead as Rei mentally juggled Amy’s point. She could only repeat her first statement.
“The baby doesn’t have a choice, goddammit!” Amy screamed at her. “And neither did those kids we kept sending to that bloody hellhole!” she poked a finger at Rei, “And I don’t care if we save a thousand, or a million, or a billion. My child is going to die, Rei!”
The Japanese girl flushed a shade to match the burning anger in Amy’s face. The blue eyes locked onto her violet ones and she stepped backward. “I don’t know.” she thought. That was the hard thing about arguing with Amy, she was so intelligent that she could screw you six ways from Sunday. Even if you did manage to win, she’d give one of those patient smiles and make a promise in such a twisted way that it had no meaning at all.
“Amy, you can’t just give up on our mission.” Rei glared hard, “You’re sick. You have HIV and in your condition, it will become full-blown AIDS in no time. You’re exchanging blood and thus this virus with the baby. If it isn’t stillborn, it will suffer and die anyway. Then you’ll die, too. Eventually, it will be too late for us to fulfill our mission and we’ll be stuck here in this Hell forever. And why? Because Amy Anderson can’t stand the thought of sacraficing an already dead child!”
Amy took in a ragged breath and blew it angrily out her nose. Her blue-black eyebrows drew close and she glared with narrow eyes. Suddnely, she slammed her fist down on the desk. “Damn!” and she turned away.
Reiko simply stood there, realizing with no amusement that she had finally beat Amy at an argument. “Don’t cop out on us, Ams.” She said.
Amy glanced back over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Reiko-chan. I intend for the world to be right again.” She saw Rei nod and leave. Whe she was sure the raven-haired girl was gone, her hand pressed against her crotch and she winced as pain from the herpes sore shot up her back.
She had always been smart like that.
Before he disappeared, Jekter reported to Flute that he intended to find the Sailor Scouts and challenge them all. Flute was reluctant to send his last warrior, but he finally nodded and allowed Jekter to leave.
Were he aware of Jekter’s intentions, he would not have done such a thing.
“Something wrong, Darien?” Serena asked, watching him closely with her blue eyes. She had taken to calling him that, and he seemed not to mind too much.
“He’s coming.” the turbin-clad warrior announced.
“The carrier of the Pluto Star Crystal?” Serena stood next to him, ready use her locket.
“No.” the knight shook his head, “Jekter.” Serena suddenly understood and once again raised the locket.
“Moon Crystal Pow...”
“What’s going on?” Rei entered, finding the two readying for battle.
Serena rolled her eyes, muttering “How many times am I going have my transformation interrupted?”
“Amy!” the temple maiden was calling, “Come on. Something’s up.”
“Be there in a sec.” the response sounded painful. The three friends noticed it only momentarily before the little genious appeared. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Darien?” he cocked his head, deeply vexxed. “How in the blue blazes of hell..?” He squinted at the small screen to make sure he was reading it right. Just as he was reading the words to himself, a hot white flash punctured his hand and blinded him with both pain and brightness. He let the scanner clatter on the ground as he fell backwards. When he opened his eyes, there was a single white rose stuck in the ground.
“Stop right there, Negatrash!” Sailor Moon’s voice pierced his ears. He looked up at the three Sailor Scouts standing before him. Darien was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, an angry cry filled his head and he was paralyzed with fear. A shiny blade flashed before his face. Painlessly, the scimitar had scraped the first two layers of skin from the tip of his nose, proving both its sharpness and the wielder’s skill.
Jekter sat stunned.
“Who are you?” Sailor Moon questioned.
“J-Jekter.” The astonished warrior coughed out his name. Regaining his composure, he glaced sideways at the white form poised over him. “I thought I’d killed you? Guess I failed.”
“Well guess what,” the Moolight Knight growled, “I will kill you.”
“Better listen to him.” Sailor Moon said.
Jekter glared at her. “You can execute me later. Right now, shut up and listen. You have a lot to learn, child.” Next to him, the Moonlight Knight raised his curved sword, ready to deliver the deathblow.
“Whoa!” the moon princess held out her hand. Thankfully, Darien stopped. The young warrior princess turned to him. “Okay, whatever you have to say, say it. Then, due to circumstances beyond my control, you die.”
Jekter swallowed hard, but nodded. “Might as well. I can’t go back to Master Flute after what I’ve done. Or am about to do.”
“Who is Master Flute?” Sailor Mercury asked. Jekter looked at her a moment. He was astonished at how beat up she looked. She looked frail, sickly, and exhausted. Her blue-black hair was in a tangle. The exposed skin that he could see was a mass of cuts, bruises, and dark grimy smudges. Truthfully, all three of the Scouts were bad off, but Mercury was the worst.
“That’s it,” he thought, “this tyranny ends.” And with a mental throwback of the shoulders, he said, “Where should I begin?”
Sailor Moon, as if noticing his mood, softened her stony composure. “From the beginning would be nice.” she answered.
“Very well,” Jekter nodded, “it’s a long story, but if you’re going to win, you need to hear the whole.”
“Go on.” the moon princess nodded, settling into a kneal. With that, Jekter began the first chapter, some eleven months previous.