Shin Kidou Senso: Tsuki no Wing 
(New Mobile War: Wing of the Moon)

A Sailormoon/Gundamwing crossover by Heero and Marj

Edited by Duo, Chibi-Imp and Fizzy-chan



CHAPTER TWO:  THE GUNDAM CALLED DEATH 

". . . and now for the international news.  Five hours ago, a section of 
the Juuban District of Tokyo, Japan, was reduced to almost nothing 
after a few minutes of continuous explosions emanating from the area.  
Witnesses say that a huge, armed robot approximately 20 meters high 
and five girls in short skirts and sailor outfits - more popularly
known in Tokyo as the Sailor Senshi - were the cause of the
destruction.  They also claimed that, seconds after the huge battle 
in the city streets, another was held between the aforementioned 
robot and a "battalion of machines" which mysteriously appeared in 
the skies from unknown sources.  Although many were able to escape, 
the number of people injured and dead is still rising as rescuers 
search through the buildings that were leveled by huge amounts of 
heavy artillery . . ."

A boy dressed in black stared at the old television, an interested 
expression on his face as the screen flashed pictures of sailor-
suited girls facing off against a white humanoid machine amidst a 
ravaged city block.

"Hmm . . . so there they are . . . and I thought it'd take forever to 
find them . . ."  The boy ran a hand through his brown hair and 
casually flicked back the braid slung over his shoulder. 

"I guess I'll be heading off to Japan . . . ne, partner?"  Heaving an 
inaudible sigh, he turned his gaze towards where a silent, dark-
colored Man Machine knelt within the cramped quarters of the 
abandoned aircraft hangar, the shadows caused by the late afternoon 
sun almost concealing the entire machine from plain view despite its 
size.

Giving his "partner," the Man Machine, a somewhat amused glance, Duo 
Maxwell started to gather up the things scattered on the floor of the 
hangar as his thoughts reverted once more to the pictures he had seen 
on TV. 

  Placing his things inside a 
large, cylinder-shaped bag, Duo slung the pack over his shoulder as 
he climbed up a makeshift ladder that led to his Man Machine 
Deathscythe's cockpit.

<. . . Well, at least, it'll make things interesting.>

*****

Things were quite different at the Juuban District during the morning 
aftermath of the battle.  Instead of the usual hustle and bustle of 
people heading off to work, most paused at the scene of the 
confrontation, where a mixture of fear, sadness, and depression was 
present.  The area was surrounded by police and relief workers, 
striving to save those that could still be saved, and help those who 
were fortunate enough to have escaped or survived so they could at 
least have a last moment with those whom they loved yet who had not 
been so fortunate.  Other government officials were helping people 
evacuate to places where they could stay temporarily until they 
managed to rebuild their lives, all of which had come crashing down 
after the previous day's madness.  

It was this grim sight that greeted Rei early that morning while she 
walked to school.  She was not really in the mood to go to school, 
but the school officials had announced earlier that classes would 
continue despite the recent tragedy, so she and many other students 
could not object.

 Rei thought angrily to herself.    She remembered the scene at her grandfather's shrine - ever 
since the battle had ended, the shrine had been full of people 
praying for their safety and lamenting for those who had been lost.  
The feeling that filled the air had been so dreary, Rei almost 
suffocated inside her own home from it.

She stretched, trying to relieve the stress in her body, but she 
ended up wincing instead.  Her body still ached from being slammed 
against the wall the previous day by the powerful draft their enemy's 
huge shield had created.   Rei asked herself.  

Images of the previous battle raged through her mind.  The feeling of 
hopelessness when the huge slabs of concrete rained down upon them . 
. . the face of death brought about by the menacing, glowing saber 
carried by the machine . . . if anything, Rei thought that the events 
during the final battle against the Dark Kingdom were taking place 
again, except this time everything would be much, *much* more painful 
with no hope of winning . . .

The glowing eyes of the metal giant . . . the glowing green eyes of 
the five shadows in her dream . . .

Rei closed her eyes and shook her head, willing the image to go away.

She couldn't see where she was going, so she couldn't have known that 
she was about to bump into someone who had paused to look at the 
waste left behind by yesterday's skirmish.

"Whoa!!" Rei exclaimed as she knocked into him.  She lost her footing 
and started to fall, her arms flailing out in a desperate attempt to 
regain her balance.  Before she felt the ground underneath her, 
however, she felt an arm around her shoulders as the boy she bumped 
into managed to catch her in the nick of time.

She sighed in relief before looking up to see the face of the one who 
saved her from possible embarrassment.  And she silently gasped.  The 
young man was a good-looking gaijin bishounen, with long, brown, 
braided hair that hung behind his back, and a shining face with a 
huge smile.  He wore a black school uniform, his school bag slung 
over his shoulder with his free hand.  

Rei stared at him for a while, then blinked, blood starting to creep 
to her face.  "Go-gomen!" she stammered as she straightened herself.

"That's okay.  Be careful next time, alright ojou-san?" the young man 
said, the smile on his face not dissipating, not even a little bit.

Rei nodded slowly, her face flushed.  "Hai . . . arigato."

"No prob.  Oh, could you help me?  I'm kind of new around here.  
Could you give me the directions to Juuban High School?" the young 
man asked.

"Juuban High School?  Sure!" Rei said, helping him find his way to 
Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Minako's school.  She sometimes envied her 
friends - they always had some sort of new classmate worth hanging 
around with, while she usually got left behind.   Rei thought, sighing to herself.

The young man gave her a bright smile again.  "Arigato.  Hey, I heard 
the news last night.  What happened here?"

Rei frowned slightly.  

"Well . . . there was some sort of a battle here yesterday 
afternoon," she answered quietly.

"The newscaster said something about giant robots and girls in mini-
skirts . . . ?"

"Uhh . . . they said so."  

The young man nodded slowly.  "I see."  He glanced at his watch.  "I 
have to go now.  Thanks again!"

"Thanks, too.  Sayonara!" Rei said.  The young man waved good-bye 
before leaving her, going towards the direction she had told him to 
take.  

After he disappeared around the corner, Rei took a deep breath and 
smiled.  She felt slightly elated, especially after meeting the cute 
guy.  Her steps became a lot livelier, and for a moment it seemed as 
if she was a small island of happiness in the midst of a sea of 
despair.

Until she passed by an area where an apartment once stood.  Since the 
price of land in Tokyo was so expensive, most of the population lived 
in condominiums, like Ami, or in high-rise apartments, like this one.  
What had once been a tall, proud building had been reduced to rubble, 
with rescue workers working feverishly to save those who had been 
trapped inside.

Rei felt a stab in her heart when the workers retrieved the lifeless 
body of a young boy from the ruins.

Hastily wiping away the tears forming in her eyes, Rei stormed down 
the walkway, a determined look on her face.   Rei thought grimly.  

*****

The wind gently blew past the deserted landscape, the soft touch of 
its fingers creating a stir among the endless sea of emerald grass, 
brushing over the petals of fresh wildflowers and carrying their 
fragrant scents into the heavens above.  A rare man-made paradise, 
built for a specific purpose . . . 

Thousands of small, ivory monoliths, eerily similar to tombstones, 
adorned the entire countryside, the sunlight glinting upon their 
silvery surfaces.  They are what they seem to be, memorials of lives 
long lost, souls long departed, and dreams long shattered.  Even the 
glare of the artificial sun and the beauty of its surroundings failed 
to lift the mood of sadness clouding the whole panorama . . . 

For this is an abode for the dead . . . a place of graves . . . 

Right now, a man knelt in front of one of those graves, shedding dry 
tears even after all those years since the tragedy.  The silent 
breeze served as the only witness to his sorrow.  Under his right arm 
sat a white helmet, tightly pressed against the red and gold fabric 
of his coat, a symbol of a military officer.  With his free hand, he 
gently laid down a single white rose upon the unmarked grave, part of 
his face covered by his long platinum hair.

" . . . My dear sister, I must be going now . . . "

Touching the base of the grave briefly, the man slowly stood up, 
revealing the crescent insignia of Lunar II upon his breast, and 
donned the helmet, which covered half his face beneath a white mask, 
signifying a vow of revenge made many years ago. Turning on his 
heels, Zechs Merquise started to walk away but paused in mid-step 
when someone he hadn't expected to see came walking down the stone 
walkway . . . 

"I'd thought I'd find you here . . . " the woman said, with a solemn 
look in her eyes. She was wearing a Lunar II uniform, like him, 
except that hers was a deep blue in contrast with the stark red of 
his.

"Noin . . . " The name of his longtime friend and companion somehow 
tasted bitter upon his lips, his guilt creeping up the walls of his 
conscience. He had involved her in this . . . and he knew he would 
pay the price . . . sooner or later.

Lucrezia Noin glanced at the white headstone, before turning her dark 
eyes towards him. "You still haven't marked her grave even after all 
these years . . . "

"It will be . . ." Zechs answered, but it all sounded like a bleak 
whisper, ". . . when my goal is achieved."

The emptiness in his voice was not lost on Noin. "Zechs, I . . ."

But Zechs silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Please, don't say 
anything more. You know I have to do this." 

With that, the masked colonel started to walk away, but not before 
telling the woman behind him, "There's no need for worry. I will not 
die . . . not until I have avenged her." His long white tresses 
flowing in the wind, he then left the speechless Noin by his sister's 
graveside. 



*****

The sound of scampering footsteps warned the students that were still 
loitering in the hallways of Juuban High School to give way to two 
desperate girls trying to make their way to their classrooms before 
the bell rang.

"Why does this *always* happen to us?!?" Usagi complained as she 
rushed up the stairs, Minako right behind her.

"Maybe  ~heave~  I should have let  ~heave~  Artemis set  ~heave~  my 
alarm clock again today!" Minako said between gasps.

They were in such a hurry that Usagi would almost have run over a 
young man with braided brown hair walking casually down the corridor, 
had she not applied her brakes.  Minako, in constant coordination 
with Usagi, skidded to a stop as well.  They caused so much noise 
that the young man turned around to look at them.  "Hmm?"

Minako's jaw dropped as she stared at the good-looking young man.  To 
her, everything was in slow motion and surrounded with flowers as he 
turned around and looked inquiringly at them.  She saw nothing else.

Usagi glanced funnily at her gaping companion before grabbing her 
arm.  "We're really sorry we almost bumped into you and we would 
really like to stay but we have to go because the bell's about to 
ring so maybe we'll see you around the school later so bye-bye!" she 
blabbered before running off, dragging a still distant and dreaming 
Minako behind her.

Duo shook his head as he watched them run off.  "I seem to keep 
running into a lot of girls this morning," he said to himself.  
Shrugging, he continued to walk casually down the hallway, seemingly 
not bothered by the sound of the bell echoing across the hallway . . 
.

*****

The scene inside the classroom was not so different from what was 
transpiring outside the school grounds.  The instructor had still not 
arrived, so the students milled around, listening and talking about 
the event that had transpired the previous day.  Most, like Rei, were 
complaining about still having class that day when the government 
should have declared a state of mourning.  Some were very nervous and 
were becoming quite insecure of the days to come.  One of these 
students was Makoto, who was staring at Ami as she quietly read a 
book.

"I can't believe you're so calm about this, Ami-chan," Makoto said, 
pacing about.  

Ami said nothing.  She just turned a page.

"Of course, you're probably not bothered about it at all, seeing that 
it certainly hasn't distracted you from your studies," Makoto 
continued dryly.

Ami finally shifted her gaze from the book to Makoto.  "I *am* 
bothered by it, Mako-chan.  Especially after discovering what I did 
last night," she said, her voice lowered as she said the last 
sentence.  "I'm just trying to relax, that's all."

"Relax?  Right . . ." Makoto leaned closer, her voice lowering as 
well.  "Did you find anything?" 

"I'm not sure . . ." Ami shrugged.  "But it is something to ponder 
and worry about.  I'll tell you later, when we all get to Rei's 
place."

Usagi suddenly burst inside the room, panting and out of breath.  She 
looked around, surprised to see that most of the students were still 
standing and talking with their fellow classmates.  "Eh?  Where's the 
instructor?" Usagi asked as she, still dragging Minako behind her, 
walked towards her friends.

"We don't know.  He should have been here by now," Makoto said, 
looking around as well.

Ami noticed the spaced-out look on Minako's face.  "What's wrong with 
her?" she asked Usagi.

Usagi shrugged.  "She saw some good-looking guy earlier while we were 
on our way here, and she's been like that ever since."

"A cute guy?  Where?  Where?" Makoto asked, suddenly paying close 
attention to them.

"Outside, in the hallway-"

Before Usagi could even continue, Makoto had already rushed towards 
the door, trying to see if she could get even a small glimpse of him.  
Ami and Usagi sweatdropped.

Minako, who up until then still had the vision of the young man 
facing them in her mind, suddenly broke off from her reverie when she 
saw Heero sitting alone in his seat, reading a book.  Forgetting 
about the other young man for a while, she decided to approach this 
much-harder-to-please guy again.  "Hee ~ ro ~ kun!" she said cutely, 
leaning her face closer to his, trying to vie for his attention.

He never even lifted his eyes towards her.

"Why don't you come and converse with the rest of the students?" she 
asked, still smiling.

Heero suddenly closed his book.

 Minako thought, thinking that she had succeeded.  That is, 
until Heero, still carrying his book, decided to stand at the 
farthest corner of the room and continued reading there.

Minako stood up straight and continued to think up of ways to get him 
to act a little bit more casual around her.   she thought to herself.  




She never lost the smile on her face as she sat down on her chair.

*****

Haruka clenched her fists as she watched the television, greatly 
upset at the estimated number of people who had died and who were 
injured in that single battle alone.  Muttering a curse under her 
breath, she turned the television off just before Michiru entered the 
room.

"The number of casualties will continue to increase unless something 
is done about this," Setsuna said gravely from the kitchen as she 
prepared their lunch.

"Where did those machines come from?" Michiru asked as she sat at the 
dining table, a deep frown on her face.

Setsuna shook her head slowly, almost remorsefully.  "Sadly, I was . 
. . unable to perform my duty.  They were able to pass through the 
timestream and had slipped into this era."

"But for what reason?"  Haruka leaned forward on the sofa, her elbows 
on her knees, one hand cupping her chin.  "What are their intentions 
for coming here, of all time, of all places?"

The Senshi of Time remained silent.

Haruka sighed.  Though she knew that Setsuna could answer all of her 
questions, she also knew that, for the sake of the future, she would 
never disclose enough information for them to be able to defeat the 
enemy.  Finally she stood up and walked towards the dining table to 
stand behind Michiru.  "Eh?  Where's Hotaru?" she asked, her head 
turning from side to side as she looked for their young teammate.

"When I called her for lunch, she was inside her room reading," her 
partner answered.

She looked at the hallway leading to the rooms.  "I'll go check on 
her," Haruka said.

Michiru stood up.  "I'll come with you."

As they were nearing Hotaru's room, they felt a sense of foreboding 
that they had not felt since the Sailor Wars had started on Earth.  
Concerned, they rushed to Hotaru's room, where they found the black-
haired young girl sitting silently on her bed in the darkened room.

Tomoe Hotaru's attention was on the huge sphere floating in her 
hands, her almost disturbed, purple eyes seemingly glazed over as she 
stared at it, barely noticing that she had visitors.  The sphere's 
glow was radiating across the room, and on it was a view of the 
satellite of the Earth, the Moon.

"Is it . . . ?" Michiru started to whisper.  Haruka held up her hands 
to silence her, then shook her head.  They had seen this before, not 
too long ago.  Back then, they had admired the view of their past 
lives' former home, but now they had learned to be wary, for the 
previous sight was a prediction of the war between the Sailor Senshi 
of the universe that came afterwards.

The present display suddenly changed, the scene moving closer and 
closer to the Moon and its Sea of Serenity until the hidden ruins of 
the Moon Kingdom, the center of the grand Silver Millennium during 
the olden days, were revealed. 

"Millions of years have passed.  All this remains a memory . . ." 
Hotaru's haunting voice echoed throughout the room.  "A time long 
gone . . . a secret remains uncovered . . . forgotten people . . . 
forgotten civilization . . .

. . . they have come back to haunt us . . ."

Michiru gripped Haruka's arm as the words came out of Hotaru's mouth.  
"What does she mean?" she asked nervously as a small amount of fear 
started to overcome her.  "The Silver Millennium?  Forgotten people?"

"I don't know," Haruka answered as she continued to stare at the 
sphere, a deep frown marring her face.  "I don't know."

*****

"Ne?  What are *those* girls doing?" Usagi asked, watching a huge 
group of girls pass by in the far distance.  "I haven't seen that big 
a group since the Starlights were here!"

Unexpectedly, Usagi's head and shoulders were pushed down as Minako 
suddenly appeared behind her.  "The Starlights?  They're back?!?  
Where??"

"I didn't say they *were* here!  Ittai!  Get off me!!" Usagi said in 
a muffled voice, her face shoved down on the picnic blanket that was 
spread below them.

Minako hesitantly got off Usagi's back and resumed eating her meal 
for that afternoon.  Usagi tried to catch her breath, while Ami and 
Makoto looked at both of them amusedly.

"Honestly, Minako-chan," Makoto said.  "Mention a boy or a popular 
person, and you'll go crazy!"

"Look who's talking!  I wasn't the one who ran out of the room 
earlier just because Usagi said we met a *good-looking* boy!"

"Maybe not, but you were so spaced out after meeting him, you 
practically had yourself cut off from the rest of the world!" Usagi 
said cutely.

Ami sweatdropped, Makoto laughed, and Minako looked as if she wanted 
to shove Usagi's head into the ground again.

"Good-looking?  Did you say a *good-looking* guy?" one of the girls 
Usagi had been observing earlier suddenly said, shocking them.  Usagi 
was so surprised - the girl hadn't been there a moment ago - that she 
cried out loud and fell on her back, landing on Minako's lap.  How 
the girl heard what they were talking about when they had been about 
fifty meters away was beyond them.

Another sweatdrop appeared on Ami's forehead.  "Umm . . . yes, I 
believe my friend did . . ."

Within seconds, their small lunch spot was instantly surrounded by 
screaming girls.  "Where?  Where did you see Duo-kun???" the 
desperate group asked.

"Duo-kun?" Minako inquired.

The group of girls suddenly went into hysterics, even more so than 
they had been already.  They all started talking at the same time so 
that the Senshi couldn't understand a single thing, until one of the 
girls held up her hands to silence the group.

"The guy we're looking for has braided hair and a beautiful, bishounen 
face . . ."  The girl's eyes sparkled as she recalled the man of her 
dreams.  Usagi noticed ruefully that the rest of the girls sported 
the same looks on their faces.  "Duo just arrived today - he's a 
transfer student . . ."

"Another one?" Makoto said.  "Well.  For once, the new student didn't 
end up in our section . . ."

The group glared at the four girls in front of them.  "You already 
had the Starlights, now give this boy to us!" they said.

Usagi thought for a while.  "Duo, huh?  Well . . . I think we saw him 
at the fourth floor hallway, but that was-" 

The girls ran off in a frenzy, leaving dust in their wake.

"-earlier this morning . . . ?" the startled girl finished her 
sentence, although there surely wasn't anybody left to listen to her.

Ami continued to stare after the group of girls as they disappeared 
into the school building, shock still evident on her face.  "They 
sure seem desperate," she said as she watched a few students and 
teachers jumping out of their path of mayhem and destruction.

"And I thought Mako-chan was bad . . ." Minako commented.

Makoto nudged her playfully at the arm.  "Hey!  Speak for yourself!"

Usagi smiled from her place on Minako's lap as her friends started 
arguing lightheartedly.  She sighed, content, not willing to get up 
anytime soon.   she thought as her head kept on sliding down her friend's lap.

As soon as she was pretty much settled, Usagi looked at the view in 
front of her.  The sky was beautiful that day, and everything seemed 
so peaceful, especially compared to yesterday's events.  It was as 
though nothing had happened at all.  The white clouds gently moved 
along . . .  the birds flew, some of them chirping . . . the leaves 
of their lunch tree swayed in the soft breeze, except for that big 
bunch of black leaves on top of Usagi . . .

Big bunch of black leaves?

Usagi frowned and squinted her eyes.  "Ami-chan?"

"Hmm?" her friend responded.

"Is there such a thing as black leaves?"

Ami looked started at the question.  "I think so, Usagi-chan.  It 
depends on what kind of plant it is, although mostly some of the 
leaves look black only because they have such dark colors, but if you 
look at them closely you'll see . . ."

"How about this tree?"

"Eh?  No, I don't think maple trees have black leaves, Usagi-chan-"

"How come there're some over there?"  Minako, talking with Makoto 
then, was startled as Usagi's pointing finger suddenly appeared in 
front of her face.

All four of the girls looked up at where Usagi's finger was directed.  
True enough, there *were* some black leaves on their lunch tree, but 
a closer look let Ami and Makoto discern a boy cleverly hidden by the 
leaves and branches of the tree.

"Hey there!"  Makoto called out.  "You, up in the tree!"

The figure moved slightly, visibly stiffening.

"Yeah, we know you're up there.  Come down, will you?"

The figure came out from hiding and turned over, his legs hanging by 
the branch, his head hanging upside down so that his long braided 
hair was suspended in mid-air.  "Are they gone?" he asked.

"Is who gone - oh!" Makoto exclaimed as she finally got a chance to 
get a good look at the intruder.

"Konnichiwa!  You must be the one those girls were looking for 
earlier," Ami said politely as the boy released his legs from the 
tree and flipped down to the middle of their picnic blanket. 

"Oops. Sorry about that," he said, as he sat down with them.

"Kakkoi . . ." Usagi muttered as she sat up.  She had fallen 
completely off of Minako's lap the moment her friend had seen the boy 
come out of hiding.  Makoto could only nod in agreement.

"He looks just like my old boyfriend who broke up with me!" Makoto 
told Minako, who couldn't hear a thing as she went spiraling off into 
her own universe again the moment she saw the gaijin smile.

He sighed.  "Yes, well, they wouldn't stop chasing me, so I had to 
hide somewhere."

Ami smiled.  "The girls in Juuban usually get pretty excited when a 
new student arrives . . ."  she thought, but she didn't dare voice it out loud.  "I'm 
Mizuno Ami."

"Duo Maxwell.  And you are . . . ?" he asked as he shook hands with 
Ami, all the while indicating Usagi.

Usagi grinned and extended her hand towards the newcomer.  "Tsukino 
Usagi.  I think we met earlier today . . ."

"Yeah, in the fourth floor hallway, like you told those girls.  
Unfortunately, they didn't stay behind to hear the most important 
part of the message, ne?" Duo winked.  Usagi and Ami giggled.

In the meantime, the fourth floor hallway was filled with girls 
wandering about and looking inside all the classrooms, calling out 
Duo's name everywhere . . .

"These are our friends, Kino Makoto and Aino Minako," Ami introduced 
them, since she knew that both her friends would be speechless for a 
while.  True enough, Makoto couldn't speak as she shook hands with 
Duo, managing only a small "hi" while blushing all the while.

Minako, however, was still out of it, her eyes staring off into 
space.  

"Is she always like this?" Duo finally asked, giving up on his 
attempt to get her attention.

The other three girls nodded solemnly.  "You don't know how much . . 
." Usagi said.

While Duo's efforts had been in vain, all Heero had to do was pass by 
in front of the small group, although not intentionally, since he was 
actually on his way towards his own secluded spot.  The minute Minako 
caught a glimpse of his somewhat unruly dark hair, she blinked and 
snapped out of her reverie.

"Hmm?  Oh, hi!" she said, finally noticing that Duo was right in 
front of her, although as of that moment he looked shocked from her 
sudden movement.  "I'm Aino Minako!  We've met before, remember?  
Just this morning?"

Duo and her three friends sweatdropped.  "S-so I've heard . . ." Duo 
answered.

"You're a new student, right?  I just *know* you're going to enjoy 
your stay here . . ." Minako rattled on and on.

Duo leaned towards Usagi and whispered, "Is she always like this, 
too?"

"You don't know how much . . ."

When Minako's voice finally trailed off - not that anyone was 
actually listening - she stood up so abruptly that only then did she 
catch everyone's attention.  "Minako-chan?  Where are you going?" Ami 
asked.

"Where else?  Mina-chan, you don't really intend to invite *him* over 
here, do you?" Makoto looked at her friend sternly.

Minako shrugged.  "Why not?  I mean, look, Duo's so friendly here, 
and he's also new, so maybe Heero-kun's just shy.  Besides, I have a 
feeling that they'll both get along, since they're new students and 
all."

"Please, Mina, do you honestly think he's just *shy*?"

Duo decided to join in the conversation.  He moved between Minako and 
Makoto and looked inquiringly at them.  "What's this all about?"

"It's that guy over there," Usagi said, tilting her head in Heero's 
direction.  "His name is Heero Yuy.  He's a new student, too, 
although he's in our section.  They also say that he's pretty rude."

Duo raised an eyebrow.  "Really?"

"He was so rude to Minako the first day he was here, and she was only 
trying to help him," Makoto said, trying to contain the anger that 
was slowly building up as she recalled that event.

"Nonsense!  Maybe he was just having a bad day!" Duo said jokingly.

"So he's having a bad day everyday," Usagi giggled.

Duo stood up next to Minako and held her shoulders.  "Sit down for a 
while, and let me show you how to handle him."

Minako looked up to him skeptically.  "Are you *sure*?  You know, you 
haven't really met him, so I think I . . ."

"Don't worry!  Just watch, okay?"  With that, Duo started walking 
away from the group before anyone could say anything else.

"Ah - Duo-kun, no . . . !" Ami tried calling him back, but he was 
pretty determined to talk to his fellow new student.

The four girls stared intensely as Duo - his back towards them - 
conversed with Heero - who was covered by Duo.  They had been very 
tense at first, but after a long while, they started to relax.

Minako looked at her watch.  "Wow, I never lasted this long with 
Heero-kun.  Didn't I tell you they'd get along?"

Makoto shook her head in disbelief.  "I can't believe *anybody* would 
get along with that guy . . ."

Ami smiled gently.  "Maybe we *did* catch him on a bad day.  We 
should have given him time to adjust . . ."

"Wait!" Usagi called their attention.  "Duo-kun's coming back!"

They waited until Duo sat himself on the blanket, their faces 
expecting good news from him.  He smiled.  "Well . . . you're right . 
. ."

"Huh?" Usagi asked.  "Right about what?"

"You're right about him being a rude, hopeless guy . . ." Duo finally 
said, his shoulders drooping, his smile turning sheepish.

The Senshi sweatdropped.

*****

Leaning his elbows on the ornate table, Dechem examined the single 
sheet of paper laid out in front of him.  After a short moment of 
deliberation, the commander of OZ reached a decision.  "We will do 
nothing.  The Gundams will be able to take care of them," he stated.

"Are you sure of that, Father?" A tall, purple-haired man answered, 
worry evident in his voice.  Already in his mid twenties, Garn Harman 
would probably be considered as handsome for his age despite the 
stern look that was always present in his expression.  But as of now, 
that stern look was marred with uncertainty.  "With Sailorpluto's 
whereabouts unknown, Lunar II has unlimited access to the Gates of 
Time and-"  Garn was silenced by a glare from his father that made 
him step back.

"My orders will not be questioned," the older man said coldly.  "Not 
even by you."

Garn tried to reason with his father.  "But . . ."

"Sailorpluto's presence will not affect anything."  Dechem said in a 
slightly angered voice, "Now, have I made myself clear?"

Garn cleared the lump that had formed in his throat.  "Yes."

A moment of silence passed between father and son before Dechem 
turned his chair from the younger Harman.  "You may go now..."

"Hah."  Garn had an impassive note to his voice.  "De wa..."

As the hum of the closing doors faded away, Dechem once again turned 
his chair to gaze at the spot where his son had stood moments ago. 


His thoughts were interrupted with a sudden, incessant beeping.  With 
a casual flick of his hand, a holoscreen opened up from his desk and 
an image of a wizened old man with unusual eyewear came up.  "Your 
Excellency."

"Dr. J."  White-gloved hands clasped each other and went in front of 
his chin as he coolly eyed the image of the old doctor.  He needed no 
more words to let the other know to continue.

Despite the fact that he was facing the most powerful man in OZ, Dr. 
J remained calm and composed.  "Progress on the Propagator Project is 
proceeding smoothly.  The activation of the 7th avatar has been 
successful, as are the inceptions of the 8th and 9th."  Dr. J paused 
for a moment, before continuing.  "So far, the 9th's growth has been 
phenomenal, very similar to the 1st avatar, Proto Zero.  If I may 
suggest that we momentarily halt its development and study-"

"No."  Dr. J never finished what he had been saying.  "There will be 
no halts.  The Propagator Project continues."

"Yes, Your Excellency" were all the words Dr. J said, his tone far 
from being satisfied, but his expression meekly obedient.

Dechem grunted in response.  No doubt that Dr. J was far wiser than 
his son had been.  "What else, Dr. J?  I'm sure the purpose of this 
transmission wasn't to inform me of events that I will know of sooner 
or later."

The old doctor's answer was to divert the screen from his image into 
a part of the hangar, where an immense, uncompleted Man Machine 
stood. Various engineers were scattered around the area, around 
different apparatuses, conducting numerous tests.  Although its outer 
armor plating still hasn't been installed, Dechem immediately 
recognized the distinctive forehead crest and the covered lower jaw . 
. .

"Gundam . . ." Though still far from being complete, it seemingly 
emitted a dangerous sense of power to those gazing upon it.  Dechem 
narrowed his eyes, admiring the raw beauty and power of the metal 
giant as one would a rabid lion.

"We found the frame blueprints at an excavation of an ancient 
observatory in one of the border colonies in the Uranian Cluster," 
Dr. J's voice might have seemed normal to most people, but Dechem 
detected a hint of excitement in the twisted voice of the old man.  
"It seems to have been designed by the great inventor Daedalus during 
the time of the Silver Millennium."

"Interesting.  Tell me, why the features of a Gundam?"

Dr. J cackled with amusement. "For one with such raw power, no doubt 
it deserves a name fit for the most powerful Man Machine."

Dechem couldn't help but agree with the aged professor.  "Continue 
your research about this . . . interesting piece of machinery.  The 
various technologies hidden within it may be of some use for our mass 
production Man Machines." 

With that, Dechem turn his gaze from the screen and moved his hand to 
turn off the holoscreen, but stopped himself before he could. "One 
last thing, Dr. J . . ." Dechem once more faced the image, "Tell me 
its name . . ."

Dr. J had only one word for an answer. 

"Zero."

*****

The scene at the Hikawa Shrine had not changed much from how Rei had 
left it earlier.  The shrine was so full of people that Rei's 
grandfather - the high priest - and his apprentice, Kumada 
Yuuichirou, had their hands full trying to serve them all.  Rei would 
have loved to help them, but since there were more important matters 
to address at the moment she excused herself, saying that she and her 
friends had to study for a vital exam.

She lay down on her bed, waiting for her friends to come.  Lately, 
she hated it when she had nothing to do - her thoughts always 
returned to the events of the previous day, and her dream kept 
reappearing as well, even if she wasn't asleep.  That was why she 
reached down to grab one of her mangas scattered on the floor, 
reading it before her mind brought her anywhere else.

Minutes later, the shoji to her room slid open, and in slipped Usagi, 
Ami, Makoto and Minako.  "You're late," Rei said without taking her 
eyes off the manga.

"Gomen.  We had to stop by the shrine to pay our respects," Ami said 
as she sat down on the tatami mat in Rei's room.  The sight of all 
the people reminded them of the events of the previous day, and the 
lighthearted times experienced earlier at school were all but 
forgotten.

Usagi pouted.  "It's quite upsetting that the school officials didn't 
give us this day to do just that."

"Where's Mamoru-san?" Rei asked, finally moving down from her bed to 
sit beside her friends.

"Artemis and Luna went to pick him up.  He should be here any 
minute," Minako informed them.

Makoto leaned forward on the table.  "So what were the results, Ami?  
What do we have?"

Ami took out her computer.  "Everything is right here, although I 
think we should wait for Luna and Artemis to come.  They should find 
this interesting, too."

So the five girls waited for a moment longer, with Rei immersing 
herself in her manga once more.  There was an uncomfortable silence, 
each of the Senshi reflecting on her own, until Mamoru came with the 
two cats hanging on his shoulder.  "Sorry I kept you waiting," he 
said.

Usagi shook her head and gazed up to her boyfriend.  "That's okay."

"Now that we're all here, we may as well begin immediately," Luna 
said, jumping onto the center of the table.  "Usagi and Minako told 
Artemis and me what happened last night, but I would like to hear 
from the rest of you."

"Let's start with the enemy," Artemis added as he settled himself 
near Minako.  "Tell us what you saw."

"Well it certainly wasn't a youma or anything," Makoto started, 
squinting her eyes as she brought yesterday's events back to mind.  
"None of our attacks could faze it, not even if we combined them."

"And the Sailor Planet Attack?"

Minako shook her head.  "For such a huge thing, it sure moved 
incredibly fast.  I couldn't risk having all of us perform Sailor 
Planet Attack - we all would have been dead before I could even say 
the words," she said sarcastically, knowing that the delay would come 
from the enormous amount of concentration the attack required.  

Mamoru agreed with Minako.  "Even if I had volunteered to distract it 
like I would usually do, it still wouldn't have been successful.  I 
was lucky I was able to save Usagi without getting hit myself."

"The weapons it used were what I would consider alien to this world, 
or to at least our planet," Ami shared.  "The heavy artillery used 
were similar to those that are utilized in the military, but instead 
of gunpowder, it uses another element that I cannot identify.

"And the armor plating . . . it's also made of something I couldn't 
ascertain."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"When I asked my computer to identify the armor when I found out that 
our attacks were useless against it, it did not show an unknown 
message as I had somewhat expected, nor did it display a familiar 
metal.  Instead, it came up with this."  Ami typed a few keys on her 
computer before showing the screen to the others.  

On it was the word:  Gundanium

Artemis looked slightly confused.  "Gundanium?"

"I looked it up in various books and encyclopedias, but I found 
nothing pertaining to it, not even something that relates to the word 
itself," Ami said a little shakily.  "But, it seems, from my 
observation, the armor is so strong that it can withstand numerous 
missiles head on . . . without even being scratched."

There was a long period of silence as the people in the room absorbed 
that new piece of information.  "Was that what was bothering you 
earlier, Ami-chan?" Makoto asked quietly.

"Mostly.  But there's something else.  That machine, and all those 
that it fought afterwards, used a huge amount of magical energy that 
had been concentrated in such a form that I had once thought was 
impossible to achieve.

"And that's not all that I noticed," Ami continued before anybody 
else could say anything.  "I said that most of the data that appeared 
on my computer when I tried to look for information about this 
machine came out as "unknown", right?"

"I do seem to remember seeing your computer sometime during the 
battle yesterday," Minako said.

"Well, then you can also remember that my computer could read the 
enormous amount of magical energy the machine was radiating, right?"

Minako nodded slowly.  "Yes . . ."

"Then how was my computer able to determine that, *and* the armor, 
when it couldn't deduce anything else?"

Silence enveloped the room once more.

"Well . . . your computer has existed since the time of the Silver 
Millennium . . ." Luna remarked.

"If that was so, then . . . " Artemis looked up with an alarmed look 
on his face.  ". . . could the enemy be using technology that was 
lost when the Moon Kingdom was destroyed?"

". . . technology that was lost . . ." Ami echoed, ". . . and 
possibly mixed with a more current technology of their time . . ."

"That . . ." Luna paused for a while before continuing.  "That 
couldn't be!  No one survived that war, and everything was virtually 
destroyed!  The possibilities of the Silver Millennium's advanced 
technology surviving following that time are next to impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible anymore, Luna . . ." Rei finally spoke.  "Not 
anymore."

"You are partly correct," a familiar voice suddenly said.

The Senshi and Mamoru, startled by the voice, abruptly sat upright 
and turned towards the shoji, which was now wide open.  "Haruka-san!  
Michiru-san!" Usagi exclaimed, standing up from the tatami mat as 
soon as she saw the two girls.

Haruka and Michiru took one step inside the room and acknowledged the 
moon princess with a nod.  The expressions on their faces looked 
strained - as if they were carrying an incredible burden.

"Correct in what sense?" Mamoru asked Haruka.  "What do you mean?"

Two other people entered the room behind the first two visitors.  
"The Silver Millennium was much, much more than what we can recall of 
it now," Hotaru explained in a low, serious voice, sounding more like 
an older woman than her current age.  "There are many things that 
have lapsed from our consciousness . . . numerous factors overlooked, 
all of which are being used against us, that could decide the fate of 
our solar system in the days to come."

"But how?" Makoto asked.  "The Silver Millennium is nothing but ruins 
lying in the Sea of Serenity on the Moon.  How can anybody gain 
anything from such remnants?  And where would they be able to receive 
that incredible amount magic Ami was talking about?"

"Actually, they can't," Artemis said.  "Unless you came from the Moon 
Kingdom or were part of the Silver Millennium, there is no other way 
or place where you can gain that kind of magic.  Unless you're an 
alien and obtained that power someplace else, like most of our 
enemies."

"Setsuna-san . . . do you know something about this?" Usagi asked 
hesitantly, looking at the tall woman, who was standing behind 
Hotaru, with a pleading, almost desperate look.  "Is there any more 
to this than what we already know?"

Setsuna shook her head, her face almost devoid of any emotion.  "If I 
do know anything else, princess, I cannot tell.  Right now, do not 
expect the future to assist you . . . do not expect the past to give 
you information.  They have nothing to offer you, for the enemy is 
the affiliate of both, however unintentional it may have been."

"Onegai . . ." Usagi sank to her knees, her fists tightly clenched, 
tears starting to form in her eyes.  "Onegai, Setsuna-san, tell me 
how we will be able to end this madness.  There've been enough 
deaths, and we've barely even begun to fight!  We can't let anyone 
else die!"

The ancient looked away, refusing to meet her princess's pleading 
gaze.

Haruka fought the urge to grab Setsuna by the shoulders and demand an 
explanation from her.  Instead she focused on the people in the room, 
a steady, determined look on her face, a gaze completely opposite 
from the turmoil that was raging inside her.  "This is not your fight 
anymore.  We are claiming it."

The Inner Senshi looked at the Outer Senshi with stunned expressions.

Michiru's gaze was cold as she agreed with Haruka.  "You cannot 
handle this, as was proven by the fight yesterday.  We will take care 
of this on our own."

"Are we going to have to go through this again?" Mamoru asked, moving 
to comfort his girlfriend, who was slowly shaking her head.

"You *can't* do this!" Minako argued, slamming her hand on Rei's 
table.  "This is our battle as well!"

"It is our duty to defend the princess from threats that come from 
beyond this solar system!" Haruka said, her voice rising slightly.

"But they're already *in* our solar system!  And defending the 
princess from threats from within is our job!" Rei defended.  

"You are incapable of this mission!  Compared to us, you're too 
weak!" Michiru said.

Makoto stood up in anger.  "Says who??"

"YAMETE!!"

The Senshi turned to look at their princess, who was still kneeling 
on the floor.  Usagi was biting her lower lip; the tears that had 
formed in her eyes were now falling down her cheeks and on to the 
tatami mat.

"Yamete kudasai . . ." she whispered softly.  "It's bad enough that 
we don't know who our enemies are and how to defeat them.  We can't 
start another conflict between ourselves, too!"  Usagi looked up, her 
gaze focused on the Outer Senshi.  "Haruka-san, Michiru-san . . . 
Setsuna-san, Hotaru-chan . . . we need you, and you need us.  We have 
fought the enemy, and though we may not have succeeded, we have 
gathered some information that will be useful to all of us.  Please 
do not divide this team again!"

Silence filled the entire room.

Hotaru stepped forward, her gaze even more expressionless than 
Setsuna's.  "It's not enough."

"What do you mean?" Ami asked.

"According to news sources, there are more than one enemy of the same 
type that you have fought.  As of this moment, there had been five 
discovered around the world, including the one from yesterday," 
Setsuna informed them.

"But who are they after?" Luna wondered.

Minako leaned her elbows on the table, her hands under her chin.  
"Could it be us?  It seemed to ignore everything else when it saw us 
. . ."

"Did you see that huge rifle it was holding?  If the monster was 
ruthless enough to kill all those innocent civilians without a second 
thought, why didn't it use that . . . that *thing* to wipe us out 
along with the entire Juuban district?" Makoto pointed out.

Their conversation was interrupted by a small tremor that shook the 
temple.  Luna, Artemis, Minako and Rei suddenly snapped to attention.  
"Did you feel that?" Artemis asked.

The vibrations continued in separate intervals.  Usagi could hear her 
heart pounding in her chest, the tremors feeling so familiar to her.  
"Oh, no . . ."

"Masaka . . . !" Haruka exclaimed.

The group of girls rushed outside, just in time to see a huge, black 
humanoid machine laying waste to a building just two blocks away from 
the Hikawa Shrine.

*****

The man slammed his white-gloved hand down on the ornate desk, his 
white hair and beard signifying his old age, and the golden crescent 
moon scepter held in a silvery stand behind him his position - the 
head of the Hall of Judges, and temporary regent for the young queen, 
the most powerful man in Lunar II at that time.  "This is 
preposterous! Are you saying that a single Man Machine was able to 
destroy this much!?" 

"Hai, Dermail-sama.  There is no doubt of the information gathered by 
the scouts I sent . . . "  One of the members of the Hall of Judges, 
a stern man with gray hair brushing the collars of the blue robe he 
was wearing over the white Lunar II uniform, answered the high-
ranking duke, a serious expression in his aged face.

"Baka na . . . this is impossible . . . "  Duke Dermail set down the 
report previously given by the man in front of him, Tsubarov.  "No 
Man Machine in history has achieved such power . . . "

"It was rumored to have been made of a form of Gundanium, so . . . "  
Tsubarov said, a hard look in his eyes, disbelief painted on his 
features.

Recognition flashed across Dermail's face. "Gundanium . . . ?" 

"Yes.  Gundanium," the other man echoed, pausing for a slight moment 
for his superior to gather his thoughts.  "If Dechem actually built 
such a monstrosity . . . "

Dermail grunted in irritation. "If we had discovered their plot 
earlier, this wouldn't have happened . . . " he said angrily, 
obviously disgusted by the fact that they had been too late in 
reading Dechem's intentions . . . 

"Shiroi bakemono . . ." the old duke murmured, as he gazed upon a 
surveillance shot, no doubt taken by one of their spy satellites sent 
back into the past, showing a white Man Machine with a distinctive 
head, and wings, slicing a bluish gray Man Machine - a Geminas - in 
half.  "And there are five of them . . . ?"

"Yes.  That's what our spies report.  Each different from the 
others," the long-haired Judge continued, "In our present capability, 
even with the aid of the Chronos Gate, it would still be difficult 
for us to track them down, considering how much damage we could do to 
the continuity of time in the past and to the present Crystal Tokyo, 
but if we continue to leave things as they are now, I'm afraid that-"

"I know of the consequences, Tsubarov.  Do not try to lecture me," 
Dermail interrupted, an irritated note in his voice. 

A moment of silence passed between the two old men, both unsure of 
which piece to move on the chessboard of war.  If things were left the 
way they were, no doubt the stalemate would be broken and it would 
not be long before their enemies would poise themselves for a checkmate.
A very dangerous and tricky situation indeed . . .

The duke sighed in anger. He would not let Dechem grasp the upper 
hand. Not while he was alive. His ambition of creating an empire as 
great as the Silver Millennium *would* become reality.  The expanse 
of the Lunar Kingdom would extend over the entire star system, no, 
the entire galaxy . . . and no doubt, in the firm, powerful hands of 
Dermail von Zavi. *His* hands.

"If I may ask, Dermail-sama . . ." Tsubarov's grave voice interrupted 
his thoughts, "But what action do you think we should take in this . 
. . immediate matter?"

Dermail grunted in response. There was no doubt that he had already 
come to a reluctant decision, but there were still a lot of loose 
ends. Of what things might bring and the consequences their actions 
might result in . . . 

The hum of the opening doors suddenly attracted the attention of the 
two men, as both turned to gaze at the newcomer, distinctly angry at 
the notion of being intruded upon. 
        
Tsubarov narrowed his eyes in irritation.  Not even a fellow member 
of the Hall of Judges would dare barge into one of his private 
meetings with the duke, much less one of a more inferior rank.  He 
opened his mouth to reprimand the rude intruder, but quickly closed 
it when he saw who it was. 

Though only wearing a simple red uniform trimmed with gold lacings, 
it was obvious that she was royalty from the way she carried herself.  
Striding confidently towards the lavish desk, Mariemaia von Zavi gave 
her uncle a not-so-amused look and threw down a small silver disc in 
front of him.  "Oji-sama, what is the meaning of this!?" 

Dermail gave the object one glance.  "Mariemaia-sama, if it is about 
the demonstration at Calliope, then please, ignore it.  They are just 
ruffians who are trying to get themselves involved in the war."

"Then why is it that my people are opposing my rule?" Mariemaia 
demanded.

"As I said, they are only trying to cause trouble for us-"

"You know that that is not what I meant," the young queen said 
coldly.  "I do not want their objectives - I want their reasons."

Dermail had had enough.  "Mariemaia-sama, that is not yet for you to 
know.  And even if you were informed of the details, what would you 
be able to do?  This is not a game, and until you have reached the 
proper age, I suggest that you leave the matters of the kingdom to 
me."

Mariemaia glared at her uncle before turning on her heels and 
storming out of the room.

Tsubarov gave the departing queen a sidelong glance.  "It seems that 
being a temporary regent appointed by the previous queen has its 
advantages, doesn't it . . .?"

The man behind the desk grunted.  "She is merely a doll set up on the 
stage to suit my purposes . . .  A doll that someday will lose its 
usefulness . . . "

"Dermail-sama . . . about the situation in the past . . . "

"I don't care how you handle this - just do everything in your power 
to destroy those Gundams!"

*****

The people at the Hikawa Shrine started to panic and scream in fear.  
The huge mob caused so much chaos, the senshi were overwhelmed as the 
crowd started to run in each and every direction, having no idea 
which route to take to escape the semblance of Death that was 
standing just a few kilometers away.

"Minna!  Please!  Don't panic!" Rei tried to shout, but her voice was 
drowned out by the extreme amount of noise the people made.

"Kuso . . ." Haruka mumbled, trying to push forward against the flow 
of the people as Michiru protected Hotaru from the mob. 

"Even people from outside the shrine are filtering in!" Makoto called 
out.

"The shrine is a safe haven for them - they don't think even that 
thing would dare come here!" Minako shouted, wincing as she saw a 
young child trip and fall, crying before her mother hastily picked 
her up and carried her away.

"Everyone back inside!!" Mamoru ordered, a protective arm around 
Usagi, whose eyes were wide with fear.

Rei locked the shoji as soon as all of them were back inside her 
room.  Luna stepped forward, her voice full of authority.  "Minna, 
henshin yo!"

Seconds after the transformation, nine Sailor Senshi and one black-
caped man emerged from Rei's room, the people too panicked to notice.  
Luna and Artemis, determined to see the battle that would take place, 
ran along side them.  Adrenaline coursed through their veins during 
the brief run, but to the Inner Senshi, fear was mixed with it as 
memories from the previous battle continued to haunt them.

"Hold it right there!!" Eternal Sailormoon shouted as they skidded to 
a stop a few meters in front of the huge mecha, right before the 
black giant started moving to another, undamaged section of the 
street.  Holding up a shaking finger, she called out in her loudest 
voice, "You who have been murdering innocent civilians and destroying 
countless lives and property!  How dare you commit these crimes 
without reason and remorse, you heartless beast!  I won't let you get 
away with this!  I am the pretty sailor soldier of love and justice, 
Sailormoon!  And in the name of the moon, I will punish you!!"

*****

Inside his Man Machine's cockpit, Duo sweatdropped upon hearing 
Sailormoon's supposedly brave speech.  he thought, his dumbfounded expression slowly 
turning into a smirk as he prepared his "partner" for battle.

*****

The Sailor Senshi tensed when the dark-colored machine turned to face 
them, its black armor gleaming wickedly in the afternoon sun, the 
green energy scythe it was holding flaring brightly even in the 
bright daylight.  Sailormercury gulped.   she thought, her computer displaying almost the 
same information that it had garnered from the previous fight.

Luna and Artemis could only stare in astonishment and fright.

Sailormars and Sailorjupiter were about to step forward when 
Sailorpluto's - Setsuna - and Sailorsaturn's - Hotaru - staffs 
suddenly blocked their way.  "We will take care of this," Pluto said.

"Demo . . ." Sailormars protested.

"Those people need your help," Sailoruranus - Haruka - said, pointing 
to the people trapped under a collapsed building - the first 
casualties of that day's battle.  "If we're hoping to have fewer 
victims from the battle today, then some of us are going to have to 
act now because the rescue workers won't arrive until later!"

"We'll distract it and then try to lead the mecha back to the location 
of yesterday's battle, to the evacuated part of the city," 
Sailorneptune - Michiru - informed them.  "Now, go!"

"Matte!" Sailormoon said, but the Outers have already begun to move.

"World Shaking!"  Uranus called out.  Magical energy collected at her 
right fist, which she held above her.  As soon as she had completed 
gathering the energy, she brought her hand down to the ground, 
releasing it.  The yellow sphere of magic moved from the ground to 
the air in an ascending path, succeeding in hitting the black giant 
just above the waist.

"Ku-" Uranus muttered, angered as she watched her attack disappear 
into nothingness against the armor. In the corner of her eye, she saw 
Neptune moving at incredible speed towards the back of the mecha.  She 
smirked a little, and then faced the scythe-wielding giant with 
renewed confidence . . .

. . . just in time for her quick eyes to catch the movement of the 
muzzle located at the its head seconds before it started to fire ammo 
at them.

"Silence Wall!!"

Uranus was about to warn her companions when she heard Saturn call 
out.  The volley of ammunition ricocheted on the surface of the 
shield, Saturn furiously concentrating to keep the protective barrier 
up until the end of the attack.

Moving into position and taking out the Space Sword right before 
Saturn brought down the shield, Uranus sensed the movement of magical 
energy towards Pluto's staff.  In a gathering of energy similar to 
Uranus's, Pluto whispered "Dead Scream" in an eerie voice before 
turning and releasing a violet sphere of magic from the garnet orb on 
top of her staff.

Not even paying attention to the advancing attack, the black mecha 
made a move of its own, launching its shield at a slightly out-of-
breath Saturn.  Gasping, the young Senshi leaped out of the way to 
avoid getting hit.  The shield struck the ground, creating an 
explosion of dirt and debris that Saturn was unable to escape from.  
The force blew her small form away, toppling her over and causing her 
land forcefully on her leg.

The Inner Senshi were making their way through the collapsed building 
when they heard Saturn's cry of pain.  Turning, they saw the girl 
lying on the ground, her leg bent at an unnatural angle and bleeding.  
"Saturn!!" Sailormoon cried out.

Tuxedo Kamen left the Inner Senshi and ran towards the injured girl, 
gently taking her in his arms before carrying her away to safety.  
Sailorjupiter bit her lip, her fists tightly clenched as she 
hesitatingly started to walk towards the scene of the battle, which 
was not going anywhere near the way they had planned.  The agonized 
calls for help from the people buried underneath the broken building 
were the only factors that kept Jupiter from attacking the mecha in 
rage.  Even gentle Mercury trembled in anger.

While the Inner Senshi tried to suppress their feelings as they 
worked to save the people who were trapped, the Outer Senshi were 
enraged by Saturn's injury.  In perfect unison, all three of them 
called out their attacks, with Neptune's Deep Submerge coming from 
the rear.  Her water-based magic would have run into the metal giant 
at the same time as her companions' attack, but instead, the spheres 
of energy collided with each other.

"Nani?!?" Uranus angrily exclaimed, looking up.  Their enemy, moving 
with incredible agility, had jumped just before their attacks would 
have hit it and was now moving towards Neptune, its glowing, 
menacing-looking scythe held high, ready to slash.  "Neptune, 
NIGERO!!"

Neptune leapt to the side, the blade barely missing her and creating 
a huge gash in the ground where she had previously been standing.  
However, her close proximity to its emerald energy, even for a split 
second, had allowed her left leg to be badly burned.  

Biting her lip, the Senshi of the sea tried to stand, but a wave of 
pain washed over her.  She fell back down, her aquamarine eyes taking 
in the vision of death before her, its huge scythe held high above 
her.

"NEPTUNE!!!" Uranus screamed, running as fast as she could towards 
her partner, Pluto right behind her.

When the eyes of the black giant flashed, Neptune's gaze turned to 
Uranus's stricken face.   she thought, trying to 
memorize her partner's face, feeling that she would never see her 
again.

Sailormoon had seen what had happened from her vantage point near the 
broken building.  "IIIIEEEE!!!" she called out, about to use her 
attack to divert the black giant's attention when a large shadow 
passed over the ground where she was standing.  Looking up, she saw a 
large, bird-shaped object streak across the sky.

Apparently, the dark-colored mecha noticed it too, because it gazed at 
the unknown aircraft, pausing in its attack just long enough for 
Uranus and Pluto to reach Neptune and haul their teammate away.  

Suddenly, before their eyes the aircraft underwent a series of 
changes.  What had once been a flying vehicle was now a similar mecha 
which landed just alongside the street they were on.  It faced the 
black machine with glowing green eyes.

The Inner Senshi gasped.  It was the same white enemy that they had 
fought the day before . . . 

*****

Heero gazed at the black Man Machine, his cold, blue eyes watching 
its every move, all the while using Wing's main camera to scan its 
details and internal systems.  "Data search . . . none found. Man 
Machine type and designation unknown . . . Scanning . . . Gundanium 
Terra outer plating, rest unknown."

"Nevertheless . . . "  Taking out its Beam Saber from a hidden hatch 
on its shield, Wing activated the close range beam weapon, " . . . an 
obstacle to the mission must be destroyed . . . " as it positioned 
itself into a ready stance . . . 

*****

"You have to get out of here!" Luna ordered the Inner Senshi.

"We can't leave these people alone!" Sailormoon cried out.

"If all of you were to die now, who would protect the other people 
the next time the enemy strikes?"

Luna's stern gaze faltered as she looked at the Moon Princess and her 
guardians' determined expressions.  She sighed.  "Sailormoon . . . 
minna . . ." the lunar cat began, "I know that it is difficult for 
you to even consider leaving these people, but to try and save them 
now would be futile.  The odds are against us, Sailor Senshi, with 
two machines that can finish both you *and* the Outers.  Help is 
probably on the way for the people trapped here . . . think of how 
many more you can save if you survive this battle to fight in the 
next one!  Onegai . . . Sailormoon!"

Sailormoon bit her lip and turned away, tears falling down her eyes 
in defeat.

*****

With the data search and scan of the white Man Machine coming up with 
nothing except for the fact that it also had Gundanium Terra outer 
plating like his Deathscythe, Duo waited for the white giant in front 
of him to make its move, unsure of what to do, his mind reeling with 
many unanswered questions. 

  Duo grimaced as he recalled 
the events before his departure from his time.    Just then, the white mecha drew its 
Beam Saber, its green blade flaring menacingly as it stood in a ready 
stance. Ready for an attack, that is. 

  With that, 
Deathscythe readied itself, raising its Beam Scythe.  

*****

The Inner Senshi, moving with heavy hearts towards an alley, watched 
as the two giants burst towards each other like speeding bullets, the 
blades of both weapons meeting in a flash of sparks.

"Where's Tuxedo Kamen?" Sailormoon asked, looking around in fright.

"He's with the Outer Senshi.  He's assisting them in getting Hotaru 
and Michiru some medical help," Luna said.

"Look at them . . ." Mars said quietly, her gaze intent on the duel, 
both combatants seemingly performing a beautiful dance of death, as 
they continued to parry, evade, and attack from different positions 
and angles, neither one of them having been hit yet.  "How will we be 
able to defeat such enemies . . . !?" 

"I . . . I don't understand . . ." Sailorvenus said, watching as the 
mechas fought, her muscles still tense.  "The black one was fighting 
us earlier, the white one yesterday . . . so why are they fighting 
against each other now?"

Artemis moved beside her.  "Personally, I hope they will continue 
fighting each other.  That way, the battle will be evened out - one 
robot can harm the other and vice versa."

"I wish they would choose a battle arena other than Tokyo . . ." 
Jupiter said.

Mercury could only continue to stare at her computer in awe.  In 
curiosity, she had tried to scan the combined magical energies both 
machines were emitting.  The result made the chart on her computer 
fluctuate wildly.

The reading was already far beyond the capacity her computer was 
capable of displaying.

*****

The braided pilot of Deathscythe cursed silently as he maneuvered his 
Man Machine to avoid the sudden thrust of his opponent's red shield. 
 

Verniers flaring, the black mecha quickly boosted upwards, increasing 
the distance between it and its white opponent, all the while raising 
its left arm . . . 

"Eat this, ko no yarou!"

Without warning, the Buster Shield flared to life and blasted towards 
the winged Man Machine . . .

Heero grunted as he used Wing's saber to swat away the sudden 
projectile, which then crashed into a nearby building.  Wing followed 
up with a barrage of shots from the two Machine Cannons hidden near 
its neck.

Twisting in the air so as to avoid the salvo, Deathscythe quickly 
flew behind a tall skyscraper, which served as a shield against the 
intense gunfire . . .

. . . although not for long as the building started to collapse, from 
being continuously bombarded by the twin cannons.

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/field/4723/stories

               ( geocities.com/tokyo/field/4723)                   ( geocities.com/tokyo/field)                   ( geocities.com/tokyo)