Chapter 2

The army of the Negaverse was well prepared, and there was very little that could surprise them. Fortunately, an experienced Sailor Earth was not among the things that they expected to oppose them. Though he was only one man, his ambush had proved very successful. He had reduced the original ranks to half that size, and the rest were already terrified of him. In fact, there was only one more real challenge: their general, the clever and unpredictable Jedite.

Earth and Jedite knew each other very well. Their fighting styles were very similar, and as Earth was considered the best soldier in the Moon Kingdom, so was Jedite for the Negaverse. Each had led successful raids on the opposing force, and it was believed that when one of them fell, the war would soon be over. Both were marked men, and were to be killed on sight by enemy forces.

So when Earth had finally spotted Jedite in a clearing with only five guards, he knew that his time of reckoning was coming soon. With a loud battle cry, he charged from the brush, swinging his long sword in wide arcs. All but one guard was dead soon, and he was poised to attack, but Jedite ordered him to stand down. With an attitude of pure arrogance, Jedite smiled down at his old foe.

“It is good to see you again, my light brother. You have no idea how comforting it is, knowing that you have come to your senses and returned to the winning side.”

Earth smiled grimly and shook his head. “No, my dark brother. I have not returned to this side. Now and forever, I fight for the Moon Kingdom and seek the destruction of you and the unholy demons you lead. You know what I have come for. I suggest you give it to me, and quickly!”

But Jedite would not submit so easily. “Not on our side, you say? I beg to disagree, Beloved Son of the Moon! Was it not you that supplied the maps that led my forces to the very gates of the Moon Kingdom?”

Earth’s eyes darkened with anger as he spat in Jedite’s direction. “You poisoned my sister and threatened to let her die! I did what you said only to save my precious sibling! Now give me the antidote, as you swore you would!”

Jedite nodded and drew a red vial from his breast pocket. “Here is the potion. But I was hoping that the mighty soldier of the Moon Kingdom would honor me with a final battle. Is this too much to ask in return?”

With a wide smile, Earth shook his head. “Has it ever been too much, Dark General?” he asked as he readied his sword.

Jedite smiled and turned to the guard. “I suppose this should be a fair fight, a one-on-one sort of thing. Do you agree?” The guard slowly nodded, and with a maniacal grin, Jedite lashed out and cut the fool’s head off.

“Always did love a fair fight,” Jedite said as he turned back to Earth. With that, he leaped into the air, whipping out a sword that had been concealed in his outfit. Earth narrowed his eyes and charged forward, awaiting Jedite’s first strike.

“Sailor Pluto, where are we?” Sailor Moon asked as she looked around. “And why are we dressed for battle?”

Pluto replied, “I’m surprised you don’t recognize this place, Sailor Moon. This is the Moon Palace.” The other Scouts observed their new surroundings.

“We’ve all been to the Moon Palace before,” Mercury said, “but we’ve never seen this room before.”

The large room was covered from top to bottom in red rose petals. From all appearances, it was the bedroom of a small child. There were many toys stacked in a chest against the wall, and several small dolls were on the bed in the center of the room. Lying motionless in the bed, not even breathing, was the still form of a teenage girl. As the Scouts came closer, all of them recognized the person.

“But that’s me!” Sailor Moon cried as Pluto reached out and touched the sleeping girl’s arm.

“Yes, Sailor Moon,” she whispered. “This is the Moon Princess. But I’m afraid she’s very sick, and won’t live much longer unless she receives the cure.”

“What cure?! Where is it?!” Sailor Moon frantically shouted.

Pluto shook her head. “There is nothing we can do about that. All we can do is stand guard over her, until the time arrives.”

“Yes, Pluto, but I’m afraid you can’t even do that very well,” a voice said. The Scouts turned to see Jedite and three Negaverse soldiers emerge from the shadows. Jedite’s suit was torn in many places, and blood stained his entire body. There was a long gash on his neck, and dark blood flowed from it freely. The guards didn’t look much better. “The Moon Princess dies this night,” he said. Then, as he saw Sailor Moon, he added, “Both of them, that is. Prepare yourselves for the cold hands of death.”

Jedite had only taken a few steps forward when a man leaped from behind a nearby set of curtains and stabbed him the back. The general moaned and fell to the floor, even as his soldiers rushed toward the man and viciously beat him with their clubs.

Pluto raised her hand and shouted, “Attack, Hunter!” Nivek charged at the startled guards and literally ripped them to shreds. When he was done, he sat down next to the fallen man and licked his arm. The man forced himself to a sitting position and brushed the long hair out of his eyes.

Pluto walked up to him and slapped him soundly across the face. He rubbed his jaw and muttered, “I know I deserved that, Pluto, but would you mind giving this antidote to the Princess? I would hate to see her die after all the trouble I went through to get it.” He held up a small red vial, which Pluto quickly administered to the sleeping girl.

Once she had done that, she turned back to him, an angry look on her face. “I know all the evidence points to it, but I want to hear the truth from you. Did you invade my chamber and steal the Time Staff?”

The man nodded solemnly and replied, “You know I had to do it, Pluto.”

She glared at him. “Maybe, but what you did was still wrong. By the order of Father Chronos, Lord of Time, you are hereby under arrest, Sailor Earth.”

“How can you arrest him?” Mars asked. “He just saved our lives!”

Pluto sighed and took Earth by the arm. “That may be, Sailor Mars, but he has broken the law, and he must be punished. Now, it’s time for us all to go. Father Chronos is waiting.”

As Pluto conjured up the teleportation mist, Earth whispered, “I’m so sorry, Pluto.”

She only sighed and squeezed his arm. “I know, Luke. Believe me, I know.”