Welcome Back Mercury

 

“I’m worried about the girls Luna, they haven’t reported back to us at all about their safety.  V-chan, she should have remembered to at least tell us that they got there safely.”

“Artemis… SailorMoon?  What are you doing back here?”  Luna yelped in surprise as SailorMoon tumbled out of the sky into her bed, missing Luna by a mere millimeter.  “Where are the others?”

SailorMoon grunted softly and crawled into a comfortable position, pulling the covers from underneath her.  Once she had snuggled against the softness of her pillow and toys, she stilled, Luna climbed onto her pillow to look at the sleeping girl radiating pink rays as she de-transformed.  Stroking her forehead gently, she looked at the Princess, “poor girl, she must be…” Luna’s soft paw hesitated at the middle of Usagi’s forehead, “she’s been injured very badly, the Guizuishou, I have to use it to save her!”

 

“Venus!  Catch!”  Mars yelled as the guards rushed towards her to take the crystal.

Venus’ glitter hand caught the Kurizuishou Go and laughed, “come on monkeys, take the crystal if you can!”

The guards changed directions immediately and fell over themselves as they ran towards the senshi of love, who simply shrugged and tossed it to Jupiter at the other corner of the small room, a few meters away from Mars.

“Enough!”  Kurai-ousama yelled, “arrest them all!”

Mars leapt to defend Jupiter who held the crystal above all the guard’s heads, “Fire Soul!” she yelled, aiming her attack to their backs, calculating it to end a few centimeters from Jupiter’s nose. 

Jupiter Oak Evolution!  Jupiter yelled as their attacks cross-fired, quickly dispelling the guards between them. 

Striding to Jupiter’s aid in a few steps as the guards fell to ashes, Mars turned around to face new attackers, “Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen. Akuryou taisan!  She quickly dispatched their attackers using the charms she held, although more kept coming.

“Damn!  Jupiter Coconut Cyclone!

Mars Snake Fire! 

The two of them yelled simultaneously, the guards fell away without resistance, and none returned, but behind them was another, much more dangerous enemy.  His low voice, shook into the very depths of their souls, “no more games, I am a very busy man, return the crystal to me at once and I might let you live.”

Mars, ever defiant, flung her long hair behind her, “come make me!”

 

Meanwhile, Venus and Mercury were faring just as well as their counterparts on the other side of the room, although, Mercury found herself huddled in the corner being protected by Lord Takeuchi who had merely said “you’ve been injured.”

Using his sword, and Venus with her love-me chain, their attackers stood more than a meter away from them as they continued to back away from the aggressive pair.  Mercury stood there, watching the scene, wondering why their supposed enemy was fighting for them, questioning her belief that no one could love her.  The world around her continued in slow motion as she continued to think, it had not been the first time that she had debated whether love should exist in her dictionary, now, as she saw this man sacrificing his life for her, she could not deny its existence in the world.  Clutching the key to her chest, she saw him slaying the guards who had once served him well, without thought of his own safety, his own well-being.  It was once said by a wise man that ‘love was unconditional giving’, she stared into her mind as she felt the humiliation of having him misunderstood her so in what could be their final moment.  He was fighting for her, despite believing that she did not love him and had used him, she wanted to at least let him know that she returned part of his feelings, but she trusted not herself to explore those feelings further.

“Mercury!”

She lifted her head as she heard her name being called; looking at the direction from which it came from, she saw Jupiter and Mars being accosted by the Kurai-ousama.  He was advancing on them slowly, clearly after the crystal that was in Jupiter’s hands… until the present moment, when the crystal came flying towards her.  Reaching upwards, she caught it with both her hands.  He turned to follow the crystal, but that was all the distraction that they needed as their attacks singed his cape; it was their duty to destroy the man who was trying to destroy the world.  In a rage of fury, his attention returned to them, continuing to strike them all the harder.

Once the crystal touched her hand, she felt a strange sensation of warmth overcome her; the sickle that lay on her hips radiated another wave of the same feeling.  It began to glow a comforting blue hue, then, as suddenly as it had fell onto her hands, it disappeared into thin air. 

“HA!”  Lady Kimiko cried as she leapt into the flinging the shurikens at Lord Takeuchi and Venus, “we don’t have time for traitors like you.”

“Kimiko?”  Lord Takeuchi said as he swept them away with his knife, as did Venus with her chain, although Mercury found herself ducking as they ripped her way having escaped her protectors’ actions.

“The saying is ‘once you had it, now you don’t’, sorry for shocking you out of your little naïve mind, but its time you wake up!”  Once again, she flung the shurikens at them, this time however, they did not come to them in straight fashion, rather, they seemed to move randomly towards them.  Lord Takeuchi and Venus tried their best to shield themselves, but many found their way onto their bodies, both of them quickly fell to their knees as it sliced through their flesh. 

Mercury found herself standing to face Kimiko, the shurikens laying at her feet.  “You injured my friends, by the power of Mercury, douse your head in water and repent!  Mercury Aqua Rhapsody! 

A vent of water immediately rushed to Kimiko, however, just as it reached her, Kimiko leapt upwards into mid air, and seemingly levitated herself there until the attack had ceased to be.  “What?  No more bubbles?  Did you run out of soap today?”  She laughed, and prepared more shurikens that she seemed to have taken from another pocket.

Mercury activated her visor and calculated the flight of each shuriken as it came flying towards her, she nimbly jumped out of the way, she dared not use her shabon attacks in fear that the shurikens would injure others. 

She glared at Kimiko from her new position, when she felt herself suddenly flung backwards by a force that hit her in the middle of the abdomen.  As she looked downwards, she gasped in horror as she realized that she had miscalculated two of the shurikens, both of them lay imbedded in Lord Takeuchi’s body when he had dove to save her.  Touching him, she knew that he was already unconscious, the shurikens she had thrown at her had been dipped in poison, and one was on his neck.  Standing on her feet, she found herself empowered by a new energy, “I will not stand for someone whose desire of power for their personal enjoyment would stoop to harm others, it is wrong, and it shall be punished!  Mercury Ice Wave! 

She jumped upwards with her body leaning forwards, the sickle, now complete with the crystal filling the empty spot on the handle, sliced through the air.  The air split as though it was a piece of thin material, the moisture from the atmosphere gathered at the tip of the blade waiting for her to unleash it. 

Her body turned as though she were skating while drawing a circle from before her chest to above her head.  The once-missing jewel glowed brightly, the power concentrated and shimmered down the blade as it disappeared into the curved point, a wave of water ripped through the room, once finding its target, it encircled the ground around Kimiko with a spark of light at the blade.  The water leapt to her and clashed in a deafening roar enveloping her in the middle, once the wave subside and ceased, left a trial of sparkling ice on the ground which it had encircled and flakes of soft ice drifting to the ground from the globe that once was.  Kimiko’s ice statute stood in the center, her body crushed, stretched, torn and broken by the massive wave and power of ice that had never before been demonstrated by the blue senshi of ice.  The statuette cracked and shattered into pieces as her body lay scattered on the ground that she was once to rule.

All fighting ceased as the ripple of energy flowed through the room, the members of the Kuriverse felt their power flicker and fade as the Kurizuishou-Go was cleansed of its dark powers and become one the Universe crystals, the illusion of the palace warped then dissipated into nothingness, leaving only two alien figures in this time and space.  The injured Lord Takeuchi and Kurai-Ousama whose energy flow lessened, further beyond them, were the slaves of Kuriverse-Go, including Asuka Akiyama who appeared somewhat lost in a world that had vanished from under his feet.  The atmosphere remained contained and intact, yet the ground had melted from sight, in place was left only the depths of space beneath them.

Venus was already standing with the other senshi who had joined them, facing Kurai-Ousama with Lord Takeuchi struggling to his feet using his sword as leverage.  “Takeuchi, you gave up all for this woman who allowed you to be injured, I now give you the power to avenge those wounds you incurred.” 

A dark orb appeared at Kurai-ousama’s hands, swirling maliciously, the orb grew as moments passed, holding it upwards, he prepared to launch the orb of power that would once again control his son.  “NO!”  Lord Takeuchi lunged at his father with his sword, pushing it through his body.

“Everyone!”  The four senshi’s eyes locked together in a showing of comprehension at Mercury’s cry, nodded their heads in consent.  They concentrated as their powers poured into Mercury as she activated her computer in her mind and pressed the yellow button.  Moon Healing Escalation!!

Kurai-ousama quickly disappeared into the porthole that he had drawn in response to Lord Takeuchi’s mad strike at him once SailorMoon’s attack was launched.  Lord Takeuchi vanished with him, as did all the Kuriverse slaves who finally returned to their respective homes.  The illusionary palace flickered into view for a brief moment, it then rippled lightly and then shattered as it exploded into dust that shimmered and died.  The atmosphere that had been contained as the Kuriverse-Go space was released, the burst of energy that had held Ami captive for nearly six months finally settled, only five beissngs remained, the senshi and Asuka Akiyama whose link to the Kuriverse required a more earthly medicine than that of SailorMoon’s mystic power to break.

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