Note: Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation, and DIC. This particular story is set in a fantasy realm based on Advanced Dungeons And Dragons 2nd Edition, which is owned by TSR and Wizards Of The Coast. All characters are based on actual role-playing characters from a group I used to DM for!

Sailor Moon: Quest for Marius
By D. Pung
Part 10: Out Of The Frying Pan
PG-13

Sailor Moon was aware of but one thing as the great wyrm red dragon carrying Marius swooped closer, preparing to breathe its powerful breath upon them.

There was nowhere to run, dodge, or hide.

They were all going to die.

As the red prepared to exhale, Derrelli rode up, noting the situation.

"Derrelli!" said Siko sadly. "Come to die with us?"

"I think not," stated Derrelli with utter calm. "I brought some friends."

"Huh?" blinked Moon.

At that precise second a golden blur dropped out of the overcast sky and slammed into the red. Marius was jolted loose and tumbled to the ground near them as the red dragon was fighting for its life against.. a great wyrm gold dragon. The gold suddenly used the plummeting red to launch itself upwards. The red struggled to regain itself and pull out of the dive it was in, but couldn't. It slammed into the ground with awesome force, shaking the ground under their feet, even though it was miles away. The gold swooped low and breathed, and a cloud of chlorine gas impacted the red with physical force. The gold swooped around for another pass.

Marius struggled to her feet. The sword in her hands pulsed as she mentally commanded the other dragons. The green was the first to respond. It charged the gold. The gold dragon saw it coming and smiled to herself.

The green swooped, preparing to unleash a spell barrage.

The gold turned away, giving the green a clear shot.

The green began casting.

A bolt of lightning arced from above, ripping into and electrocuting the green dragon, destroying its wing membranes. As it faltered in flight, a great wyrm bronze dragon dropped into the green, claws raking. As soon as it made contact, the two began brawling. The white moved to the rescue of the green. As it did, a cone of pure heat and sand nailed it, staggering it. A brass great wyrm dragon flew in from above, distracting the white. As the white looked up, the gold came around. Blazing hot dragonfire raged from the gold*, which finished the job of the brass. The white was the first to die. Its smoldering body, spiraling, trailing smoke, smashed into the ground just outside of town, near the team. It didn't move.

At the same time, a cone of freezing cold smashed into the green, right as the bronze launched himself clear. Another bolt of lightning slammed into the green, finishing the job. The blue didn't even react noticeably. It had missed its target. The bronze swung around, as the green's corpse crunched into the burning seafront, smashing into the burning ship hulks, coming to rest on the docks.

Marius watched the battle, but not who was near her. She raised Dragonsbane, an evil grin on her face. She reached out with Dragonsbane, attempting to seize control of the good dragons as well.

Derrelli frowned. He raised his staff, chanting. Flames swirled around him, and launched out into a spiral of fire. The impact visibly staggered Marius, who gasped, concentration broken, and spun around. Moon leveled her staff.

"MOON EVIL ELIMINATION!" With those words, pure silvery moon power blasted from the staff into Marius. Her goodness disrupted Marius' evil aura for a few seconds.

It was all Dragonsbane needed.

The dark aura faded from the sword, and electricity ripped through Marius. With a loud gasp, she dropped the fabled weapon.

Mask heard a voice in his mind.

Huh? he thought.

Tuxedo Mask, I am Dragonsbane. You are to be my wielder for this fight! You possess the necessary skills, and the necessary outlook. Pick me up! Take me in your hands and smite the evil! the sword said telepathically.

Heedless of Marius, Mask dodged in. Marius swiped at him as he ducked low, snatching up the blade as he rolled to his feet. He blocked her blow with Dragonsbane. He could hear the sword's laughter, as Marius was electrocuted again.

Meanwhile, the fight in the overcast skies above raged on. The blue aimed himself at the bronze, still in the vestiges of control of Marius, as was the other two. The black was flying in, charging the group. The blue exhaled.

"No!" gasped Venus, as everyone looked up to see the lightning impact on the bronze. The nimbus faded, and the bronze dived beneath the blue, unleashing a Fireball spell. The billowing explosion rocked the blue.

"How?" asked Jupiter.

"Dragons are immune to their own breath weapons!" snapped Derrelli. He drew their attention back to the fight. "That applies to all similar energies!"

Marius blinked in dismay, then mentally commanded her dragons to different targets. The red was even now beginning to rise, extending its battered wings.

The blue swung around. Following Marius' instruction, it charged the gold. The gold dragon rolled its eyes. Marius had forgotten the other good dragons. A stream of the most deadly, concentrated, corrosive acid nailed the blue, disintegrating one wing and scorching its side, mortally wounding the beast. The copper great wyrm swooped in, jaws still dripping with acid. The gold sensed the movement beneath it, heard the intake of breath. She swooped in front of the copper that had just saved her, absorbing the raging dragonfire from the red. She viciously twisted and raked the red with her claws as it flew up past her, drawing its attention and its blood, which fell on the wind as burning droplets. Another gust of pure cold slammed into the red, as the silver great wyrm that had been hiding in the clouds revealed itself. Even as the red was trying to defend itself against the onslaught, the brass smashed the blue a final time with its cone of sand-blasting hot air. The blue fell from the sky, narrowly missing the diving black dragon as it plummeted into the heart of the destroyed buildings. The body of the blue crumpled on impact, in accompaniment to the cloud of dust and smoke that arose.

As Omega and the Scouts scattered from the oncoming black dragon, Marius grinned. Then she saw Mask take a defiant stance as the black opened its dripping jaws and spewed a stream of deadly acid. He help up the sword, which pulsed with power. The stream of acid slammed into and temporarily obscured Tuxedo Mask and Dragonsbane, smashing them backwards.

"Darien!" gasped Moon. Then the acid finished splattering, sizzling on the ground. Mask grinned at the black's surprise, and allowed the sword's power to pulse through him as the black swooped overhead. A blur of white-silver energy consumed the sword, leaving a light trail as Darien launched himself upwards, spiraling and slashing with the sword. The power of the sword flashed on impact, releasing a small shockwave. The black screamed hoarsely as its right wing was broken, shredded, and very much destroyed. Its momentum was much too fast, as it was trying to pull out from a dive. The wing hung limply against the side of the dragon as it spiraled out of control. Its impact shot shockwaves through the ground, almost knocking everyone of their feet. The black, while not dead, was extremely badly wounded, trying to get up. Moon's eyes were wide as saucers as she eyed the impact trench, half a mile long, of the black. She glanced at Mask, who was holding Dragonsbane high as he charged the black to finish the job.

He didn't have to.

The bronze dived in, like an airplane, pulling up just short and exhaling. Its powerful lightning cracked into the hulk of the black with explosive force. Smoke poured into the sky from the dead black as the bronze performed a victory spiral and climbed for the last enemy.

Marius gritted her teeth as the Scouts and Omega redeployed themselves around her. Mercury already had her planar phaser in hand. She glanced at the sky, where the red was fighting a hopeless battle against five uninjured good dragons. She grimaced as she realized her lack of foresight and planning had caused this devastating defeat. Oh well, time to find something else to use against them, she thought, shrugging it off. Shame I'm not ready to transfer yet. I'll just teleport and find something else to batter them with.

Mercury frowned as dark energy crackled around Marius, dropping her phaser and whipping out her computer while activating her visor. Mars saw what Marius was trying to do.

"No, I don't think so! MARS SEARING INFERNO!"

"JUPITER CHAIN LIGHNING BURST!"

"VENUS SHINING LOVE FORCE!"

"Mere's wrath descend! Flamestrike!"

"Woslak Draneth...Magic Missile!"

"Gosklah Ulasmiz Karimij....Thirty Feet! Fireball!"

Marius screamed in agony, sill gathering her power to teleport, as a column of fire slammed on her from above, and another charred her from the front, and a billowing explosion rocked her from her feet. As she stood back up, a wall of golden love energy smashed into her, and electricity once again surged through her. She dropped to her knees, and glanced up as five glowing green spheres hit her, lifting her off her feet. Her energy gathered, she managed to teleport in midair, writhing in pain. As she did, the red blinked and regained his own mind. As he faltered in his fighting, the good dragons struck with vehement force. A cloud of chlorine gas hit him from the gold, which exploded as the bronze exhaled a bolt of lightning into him. The copper and silver made a pass simultaneously, freezing his wings and corroding his underside enough for a blast of superheated air and sand to rip into his guts. The red lost flight capability, trailing smoke and flaming blood, and slammed with concussive force into the water. A twenty foot wave slammed ashore as a cloud of steam rose into the air. The five good dragons formed up, and made a victory pass above the applauding survivors of the town. They swooped low, back-winging above the group, throwing up clouds of dust. Everyone was forced to shield their face as the wind passed.

"Damn!" cursed Mars. "She got away again!"

"It's okay," soothed Mercury. She was tapping on her keyboard. "I have a fix on her location. It'll be a cinch to track her down and finish the job."

Moon gazed at the dragons in wonder, then shook her head and glanced at Mercury. "You go, Amy!"

* * * *

Lord Armen Viaradi surveyed the repair efforts. The fires had been quenched, mostly through the efforts of the silver dragon, and the magic of Omega and the "Sailor Scouts", as Derrelli had told him was their name. They really didn't look like any sailors he had ever seen, but that wasn't important anyway. He lowered his spyglass. He was standing on the hill that was the entryway into Placid, near the ruined inn. Many civilians had died, but it was unanimous that for the efforts of the three allied forces- the dragons, Omega, and the Scouts- Placid would be a complete ruin, and casualties would have been much higher. He looked over at the group, just outside of town. The sun was shining now, and it was almost painful to the eyes to look at the metallic dragons, particularly the silver, considering the light reflection off their hides. They were deep in discussion. He was curious as to the topic. He wandered over.

"So that's why that fight was so easy," murmured Auris, the gold.

"Mind control with Dragonsbane, huh?" grinned Tranyth, the silver.

"Didn't know you had it in ya, D-bane," chuckled Ferriyn, the copper.

Hmph. I tried to fight it, but it was a little too strong for me, the sword said indignantly. You should really be grateful to Omega Adventuring Company and their companions, the Sailor Scouts. Marius was about to use me to capture you as well.

"To suffer such stupidity and be forced to do evil, that would have been nasty," sniffed Glaryisan haughtily. The brass shifted her wings, then relaxed and got comfortable again.

"We are indeed grateful," agreed Morys, the bronze. The huge dragons were loosely arrayed in a semicircle, with Omega and the Scouts in front of them. The size comparison would have been hilarious in any other world, but the smallest of the good dragons, Glaryisan, was herself almost two hundred and fifty feet long. Auris was near four hundred feet long. One generally didn't laugh at something that could inhale you on accident.

Lord Viaradi nodded. "All of Placid is extremely grateful to all of you. Especially you, lordships," he said, bowing to the dragons.

Tranyth shook his head. "Say no more, Lord Viaradi. It was a pleasure. We," and he indicated the good dragons with a huge, clawed hand, "couldn't very well allow such death and devastation. We may not always agree with humanoids, or even take them seriously, but such rampant murder and destruction will not be tolerated from other dragons for no reason. It simply isn't right."

Venus blinked. "You mean, under certain conditions you would allow such atrocities?"

Tranyth narrowed his eyes at her. "Some of us. It depends on the situation. For example, if a group of adventurers from a town raided a dragon's lair and killed its hatchlings, the dragon is well within its rights to retaliate. Even if it were a red."

Auris continued. "Or if an army of, say, orcs, were to attack a town, well, that's none of our business. That's not to say that one or two of us wouldn't help behind the scenes, or repay a debt of honor by making a few passes. But generally, we allow humanoids to go about their daily lives."

"Most dragonkind will not affect the environment around them on a day-to-day basis," explained Morys. "It is bad for us. We like comfortable places to live. Drawing too much attention to ourselves has all kinds of undesirable effects. Which is why we prefer to remain in the background." With that, Morys relaxed, and a spiral of power morphed him into a regal half-elf, albeit with bronze-colored eyes. He stretched.

Moon blinked. Auris and Tranyth had followed Morys' lead, and were now a beautiful gold-haired elven woman and a silver-bearded human wizard respectively.

Mars blinked. Before she could react, Ferriyn snorted.

"Show-offs. We actually have to use a spell to do that!" Glaryisan chuckled, and both chanted. Ferriyn became a dwarf with copper hair, and Glarisyn became a halfling with brass-colored eyes.

"Wait a minute!" gasped Mars, eyeing Auris. "You were the bard in the inn!"

Auris nodded. "You are correct, Sailor Mars. Derrelli had explained his suspicions to us, and we agreed that the situation was sufficiently serious to warrant our attention."

"How do you think we got here so fast?" smiled Tranyth. "Not everyone can instantly teleport, you know!"

"We were in various locations throughout the town, betting on where each chromatic's powers would be used. Once the attack began, we each cast Invisibility on ourselves, again guessing that with Marius in control, she wouldn't think to use the chromatic dragon's innate invisibility detection, or any of their more subtle abilities. We then went to our normal forms and took off," explained Glaryisan.

"You were the bartender's assistant!" said Jupiter. Glaryisan nodded smugly.

Lord Viaradi shook his head with a smile. "So, Lord Tranyth was with the ballistae forces, right? And Lord Morys was..?"

"I was a dockhand, and Ferriyn mimicked a shopkeeper in the residential district," explained Morys. "We guessed the various attack locations, and took up positions there."

"How did Lady Auris and Lady Glaryisan know to be at the inn?" asked Emilie.

"Us," guessed Moon. "Marius would naturally send her most powerful recruit after us."

"Correct, Sailor Moon," nodded Auris. "Simple deduction. Obsessed individuals are sometimes so easy to outthink."

"So what now?" asked Mask. He still proudly held Dragonsbane.

"First and foremost," began Derrelli, withdrawing from his cloak a beautifully jeweled scabbard. "Good job with Dragonsbane, but since the threat is over, it is time to restore Dragonsbane to the Repository. If you would..."

Mask held the sword aloft, catching the reflections of the sun, admiring the sword one final time. "It was a pleasure, Dragonsbane," he said.

Indeed, and you were an excellent wielder. Perhaps another time, Tuxedo Mask, Dragonsbane answered. Well done, everyone.

With that, Mask slid the fabled weapon into its scabbard, and Derrelli very carefully stowed the weapon under his cloak. He nodded.

"Okay. Now, we track the Locust down," he said. He glanced at Mercury.

"She's still here. Matter of fact, when she teleported, I detected a loss in the background of her energy potential for planar transferring. She could take even longer to build up the necessary potential than usual. I think this is due to the damage she suffered just prior to teleport," Mercury commented. "It should be remarkably easy to track her down, considering I have her energy signature recorded."

"So, we follow Sailor Mercury's lead and track down Marius, and finish this," smiled Siko. "Where do we start?"

Mercury glanced at the dragons. "Well...."

* * * *

Marius grinned as she surveyed the carnage. It had been tough at first, but now she had one of the fire-breathing dogs under her control. She glanced at the... what was it called? Oh yes.. a hellhound. It wasn't a very powerful creature, but it served as a minion until she could figure out what to do next. She gave it instructions, then proceeded on her way...

* * * *

Marius frowned. Her journey across these plains was arduous, but to conserve her powers for a planar transfer she had to resort to mundane methods of transport such as walking. Damn those cursed scouts! Marius was so caught up in her dark, evil thoughts that she didn't catch the early glimpses that may have warned her of her fate. She never noticed as the Scouts and Omega landed behind her. She never noticed as the dragons swooped higher into the sky. She didn't notice her enemies spreading out to surround her.

Most importantly, she didn't notice Mars charging her attack.

"MARS SEARING INFERNO!"

The blast smashed into Marius, who fought to resist the searing heat and flames even as she was knocked off her feet. As the fires passed, she staggered upright. Then she blinked, and looked around her.

She was surrounded.

Hmm, she thought. Looks like I have to absorb some energy to survive this... She moved towards Consis.

"VENUS SHINING LOVE FORCE!"

As the wall of love energy smashed into Marius, she was knocked down again. It was then how she saw how they had found her so quickly. The good dragons still spiraled overhead, circling like vultures. She grunted and staggered to her feet again. She looked up in time, and just barely threw up her defenses to block the determined physical assault from seven directions at once. She generated a negative power wave, and released it. All seven of her attackers flew backwards. She grinned, taking some of their energy from the impact of the wave.

"MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!"

The silver blast of Moon power crunched into her, throwing her towards the ones at her back. It had hurt far more than..

Than any previous attack in recent memory...

That's it! she realized as she recovered her balance. Get rid of her, and killing the Scouts would be easy! She had been utilizing her powers wrong! She called to her hellhound as Jupiter charged in and punched. She stumbled forward...

"NOW!" shouted Artemis.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" called Venus, as the golden links rose around her and looped around Marius, ensnaring her and holding her still. Marius didn't even struggle, merely grinned as Mercury stepped forward and raised her phaser.

She pushed the button, and white energy lashed out. The impact jolted Marius, and ripped most of the power from her, leaving just enough for the final transfer. White energy surrounded her, and she was banished back to the Negaverse.

They hoped.

They glanced at Derrelli.

He nodded affirmative, quickly replacing his microcomputer into his robes.

"YES!" shouted Jupiter as Venus threw up a "V" for victory.

"We did it!" shouted Mars and Moon, hugging excitedly. Mercury grinned. Perhaps only Derrelli and Consis, who were exchanging looks, wondered what Marius was up to, why she was smiling. Why did she not resist at the end? Derrelli shrugged, and they joined in the celebration.

* * * *

It was lush, peaceful, and resounded with the calls of various birds. The light filtered through the trees, highlighting the path as the Scouts followed Derrelli and Mirk. They broke into an open clearing, filled with exotic flowers. Derrelli stopped, and turned. The Scouts stopped behind him. He glanced at the sky, then pulled out his microcomputer and pressed the screen. After a moment, he looked up.

"We are currently standing in the middle of a natural node. In exactly fifty-seven minutes it will activate. The destination? Your prime, in the middle of the night," Derrelli explained. He put his microcomputer away. He grinned. "Scouts, it's been a pleasure. While I hope such a situation never arises again, maybe this won't be the last we see of each other. Oh, and Sailor Mars, keep on burnin'!"

"Farewell," smiled Mirk. "It was.... fun."

"Indeed," grinned Moon. She glanced over at Mercury, who had her computer out, with a timer counting down. "Well, this has been one screwed-up trip. At least things worked out in the end." She hugged Mask. The two companions gave their final goodbyes, and set off through the woods.

The Scouts sat down and got comfortable. The flowers around them moved gently in the cool breeze. The breeze carried the lovely scents of the forest, although Moon thought she smelled something else.

The scent reminded her of the aftermath of Mars' attacks. An unpleasant reek of charred... something. She couldn't place it. She shrugged, rejoining the conversation.

"Back to the daily grind," sighed Jupiter.

"Not quite," said Mercury. "Things were changing, remember? We are going back to our own brave new world."

"Speaking of which," said Moon. She pressed the button on her communicator.

* * * *

Amara, Michelle, and Hotaru weaved their way amongst the shops, heading to the food court to link up with Trista, Sam, Mel, and Reeni. They had just entered the area and arrived at the table with the other four when all seven communicators beeped simultaneously. As one, they blinked, and activated them. They were hardly surprised as the place became dead silent. Every eye in the mall was upon them.

They were getting used to it already, though.

Amara glanced down at the screen to see Sailor Moon, with a bunch of.. flowers?

"Hey everybody," Moon's voice said from the communicators. "Its just us."

"Of course," chuckled Amara. "Who else would it be? What's happening, Moonface?"

"What time is it there?" asked Moon.

Amara blinked at the question. "It's, uh, five thirty-seven, p.m.," she answered. "Why?"

Moon smiled broadly. "Because.... Mission Accomplished! Marius is already back in the Negaverse, stripped of most, if not all, of her planar powers, with the Order planning to check on her as soon as they can and make sure. I understand the soonest they can is in about five weeks. At any rate, we stomped her and sent her packing! We'll be arriving back there later tonight."

Amara's smile matched those on the other's faces. "All right! Where and when?"

"The park, sometime after dark," answered Moon. "He wasn't very precise."

"We'll be there," promised Amara.

"See ya then!" Moon grinned. The screen went dark. Amara looked up.

The seven friends, soon to be fifteen, shared a high five, all the while forgetting one thing.

The Negaverse had a funny way of screwing things up when least expected.

* * * *

"It's almost time," said Mercury. She stretched, and stood up. All around her, everyone else followed suit. Mercury glanced at her computer. It was running down from two minutes.

Moon finished her stretch, thinking happily about her bed. It was then she caught another whiff of the same smell she remembered almost an hour ago. What is that? she wondered. She noticed Luna sniffing, too.

The sun was almost directly overhead now, and the plants around them began to glow. Suddenly, a dark blur, growling all the while, launched itself from the woods.

"What the!" snapped Jupiter. Her tiara shot up as the thing slammed into Moon, breathing fire. Luna went flying, to be caught by Mask as the thing and Moon hit the ground, rolling....

Right out of the node.

"Sailor Moon!" called Venus, running towards her...

A white flash blossomed as Moon, badly burnt, kicked the hellhound off of her and sent it flying into a nearby tree. She staggered to her feet, and her hand went to her already glowing tiara.

"MOON TIARA DEVASTATION!"

The white disk blazed right into the thing's grinning jaws before exploding.

It disentegrated instantly.

The shockwave passed her, and she dropped to her knees as she glanced back at the node.

She was alone. Moon's head dropped as she concentrated, ignoring the pain of the burns and calling upon the Imperium Silver Crystal. She sighed as the pain went away, even though it left her slightly drained.

She sat there for a bit, feeling utterly alone, dejected, and disappointed. Tears trickled down her cheek as she held herself, sobbing.

Before long, however, her innate optimism, coupled with the bright sun and cheerful surroundings, made her brighten up.

Is this any way for a leader to act? she mentally kicked herself. Think, Serena. Derrelli is still here. You just have to find him. Let's see, the nearest town was..... She got to her feet, wiped away her tears, brushed herself off, and stood tall. I am Sailor Moon, she thought to herself. I will not be beaten by so simple a thing as this!

She set off. She followed the trail, and before long began whistling to herself.

She was soon hiking across the grassy, rolling hills she remembered. She was heading up a hill, when she glanced up and realized someone was already at the summit. She recognized the robes and broke into a run.

"Derrelli!" she shouted as she drew close.

"Hello again, Sailor Moon," he said. "I'm sorry about that."

"Not your fault," sighed Moon. She remembered the discussion. "Maybe that's what Marius was smiling about."

"Possibly, though I would have figured something else," he shrugged. "Well, you have a decision to make."

She blinked. "How so?"

"You can either stay here seven weeks and three days and jump to the precise moment they arrived, or jump immediately at the time lapse of one month in your home plane," Derrelli explained, leaning on his staff.

She closed her eyes.

"I'll jump now," she said.

She had no clue she had just made a huge miscalculation, in her anxiety forgetting that the Order couldn't be sure for five weeks, sealing her fate. Derrelli grinned, and a swirl of flame rose around them, culminating in a flash. When it faded, they were at his tower. Within minutes, Derrelli had configured the node. The O-ring began rotating, and white energy filled it.

Derrelli glanced at her.

Moon took a deep breath, then leapt.

Everything went white....

To Be Continued...

*For those who are unfamiliar with AD&D Second Edition, Metallic dragons have two breath weapons, although only the gold does damage with both. The others have various effects, such as stunning, sleep gas, paralyzation, etc. Stay tuned for the thrilling continuation of Sailor Moon: Quest For Marius in Part 11: Lunar Eclipse!

GO TO PART 11