Chapter Five: Trump Card



"Makoto? Come on, wake up."

The distant voice was slowly coming into focus though her eyes felt heavier than bricks. She could also feel strong hands holding her up a bit and she knew that he had gotten free of the cube. Even though she couldn't open her eyes, she felt like she could take on the world at his touch, "Ka.....Kage?"

Her voice made a relieved smile come across Dark Shadow Jupiter's face and he held her up slightly as he knelt by her, "Yeah, it's me. I'm glad to see you didn't leave me." Super Sailor Jupiter finally managed to open her eyes and she looked up to him slowly. Then a weak smile spread over her tired face and she reached up slowly towards him. Her hand traced across his face lightly and she spoke in an affectionate voice.

"I'm so glad to see you're okay."

Her touch made him chuckle a bit and he managed to smile in a way that she hadn't seen in a long time, "It takes more than a little mist to slow me down. Besides, I'm not about to take a nap while another girl I love is killed by those two." Hearing him say that made her eyes to waver a bit and she couldn't help but stifle happy laugh. The moment wouldn't last long, however, as he soon looked over her real fast, "Feel strong enough to stand?"

She was helped to her feet and he made sure she could keep on them by herself. His hands never left her and she felt safe in his grasp. Suddenly a loud yell came from the side and they both looked over to see a blast of energy coming from an enraged Kumo. He obviously had seen them as a quick target and threw a wild attack towards them before being attacked himself by Super Sailor Uranus and Super Sailor Neptune. The blast was on target, however, and Shadow Jupiter quickly stepped in its way and closed his eyes. The attack slammed into his back and made him push into Sailor Jupiter lightly. She just watched and blinked wildly as he didn't even seem to be drained very much by the shot. Soon his eyes opened once more and he took a moment to focus his eyes.

"Kage? Are....are you all right?"

"Hold on for a sec." She blinked even more as he turned from her and faced the battle once more. Her eyes widened a bit as he turned to reveal what the blast had done to his back. His uniform was torn and cuts adorned his back now. He didn't seem to care much about it and lightning started to surge over his body. Soon a point of energy appeared in front of him and he yelled out in anger as his Swirling Storm attack was sent back towards Kumo. It took him and Sailor Uranus both by surprise and they both scrambled out of the way to avoid it. The blast incinerated a wall of the cliff and made an entire mess of rock and dust. Sailor Jupiter just watched from behind and slowly rested her hand on her hip.

"Feel better?"

He looked over his shoulder to her and a surge of lightning coursed through his hair. A satisfied smile came over him and he nodded once, "Much."


"These odds are not favorable!" Fukai yelled out as he dodged attacks from the rest of the Sailor senshi. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shadow Mars and Shadow Venus also joining in the assault. Every time he dodged one attack another senshi would attack and he narrowly escaped being zapped by their energy. Hoping to get a break he jumped high into the air only to find Shadow Mars waiting for him. A quick surge from the aura that surrounded him caused Fukai to spiral back down to the ground where he barely managed to land on his feet. Just as he rose up Sailor Pluto sent a Dead Scream at him and the cycle began again. Finally his confident smile left his face and he stood where he was, "All right! That's enough!" A wave of energy suddenly burst off of his body and went out in all directions. Not only did it break apart the Dead Scream, but it also knocked all of the senshi to the ground. Then he stood there panting and watched as Kumo was having the same problem as he was. The exhausted Fukai wiped some sweat off of his brow and whistled loudly, making Kumo look to him quickly. Suddenly he disappeared and left Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune in a huff. He quickly appeared next to Fukai and the two took a defensive position with their backs against the cliff face. The Sailor senshi and Shadow senshi stood together with a good vibe flowing out between them. Sailor Moon started forward to ask about what they were up to when Shadow Mars appeared in front of her and faced the two alone.

"Giving up?"

Sailor Moon looked to him quickly and became uneasy at the look in his eyes. Soon her attentions moved back to the two as Kumo spoke in a devious tone, "You wish. We are just stalling."

"Is that so?"

"It is. Let us introduce you to the invasion force for the Omega Master." Kumo quipped and snapped his fingers loudly. Suddenly dozens of portals opened all over the mountain side and hundreds of warrior clones started to pour out. The senshi all turned their backs to each other and faced off against the clones. Sailor Moon looked around wildly and slowly backed into Shadow Mars with a terrified look on her face. Her voice barely whispered up over the sounds of the massing clones.

"What are we going to do, Yami?"

To her surprise he merely stood there calmly and watched the clones surround them as well. She could feel how relaxed he was and his voice even reflected his lack of concern, "Don't be afraid, Usako." She found an odd feeling of reassurance in that statement but couldn't help but press her back into his a bit more. Soon an entire army of clones were circling the senshi and Kumo watched it all with a tone of delight.

"The Omega Master's army is grand, wouldn't you say? Tomorrow they will enslave this planet and use it as a base to conquer this new dimension. But first thing's first.....are you ready to die, senshi?"

"I'm afraid not. Suteki?"

Suddenly all eyes moved to Shadow Venus and he raised one hand up into the air with a wink. A fast moving breeze blew through all of the clones and Kumo and Fukai suddenly realized something was in the workings. They realized this too late.

"I want to show you my new attack. It's a winner, baby. Venus.....Meteor....Shower!"

"Meteor Shower!?"

As the two looked up Shadow Venus flicked his wrist a bit and an orange glow appeared up in the sky. The energy he had created earlier suddenly came speeding back down towards them and burst into hundreds of smaller streaks of energy. Soon after the Shadow senshi used their energy to create an energy shelter all around the Sailor senshi. Sailor Moon suddenly turned around to Shadow Mars as he faced her. Before the energy started to strike the ground he stepped closer to her and she shivered as his body lightly brushed against hers. His aura of flames suddenly covered them both and protected them from the slaughter. All of it was a million miles away, however, as she looked up into his dark eyes.

Meanwhile, the clones were easy targets as they were bunched so close together and the raining energy started to destroy them like a wildfire. Kumo and Fukai both created their own energy field but could only watch as the entire invasion force was being slaughtered. Even as the last few clones were trying to dodge and escape destruction, most of them were turned into fading vapor by the attack. Soon the energy stopped coming down from the sky and the energy around the Sailor senshi disappeared. They were all shocked at the fact that nearly all of the clones had been destroyed. Shadow Venus just planted his fists on his hips and laughed out loud.

"Hah hah! That was a pip! Did you all see that? That was great!"

The other senshi just eyed him with sweatdrops rolling down their head but that didn't bother him. Soon the energy around the last two senshi fell and Sailor Mars idly glanced over. Her breath was suddenly taken away as Sailor Moon was holding onto Shadow Mars's shirt lightly and staring into his chest with a bitter smile on her face. He just stared forward over her head and had a very blank look in his eyes. Feelings of jealously burned in Sailor Mars's chest and she clenched her fists at her side while she watched.

However Kumo and Fukai reacted much differently as they energy faded away and they looked over the destruction, "No...this can't be. The invasion force is.....wiped out?"

"Almost. However, we shouldn't leave things partially done." Shadow Mercury said and looked at Sailor Mercury with a smile. She nodded and the two turned around and destroyed two of the remaining clones with their energy attacks. Taking the initiative from them, the rest of the senshi also set about finishing off the last clone. Finally the last clone faded away into vapor at the hands of Sailor Pluto and they all faced the two angry figures in victory. By now Sailor Moon and Shadow Mars had rejoined them as well and faced them as a united group.

"We were prepared for you this time. You are all alone now with no one to save you. I would say you two are through."

Shadow Mars's cool words made Kumo sneer in anger and clench his fist in front of him, "It will take weeks to rebuild that army!"

"It won't get rebuilt!" A voice yelled out from the senshi and Shadow Jupiter jumped out in front of them. His eyes were burning with revenge and he suddenly gathered all the lightning flowing on his body and focused it into a swirling point in front of him. None of the other senshi had a chance to object before he blasted the energy out in a huge column, "Jupiter Swirling Storm!" The column of energy sped towards the two at an incredible speed and an arrogant decision was made. Instead of avoiding the blast, Kumo stood his ground and gathered a massive energy blast in his hands. Just as the blast reached him and Fukai, he sent his own blast towards the senshi. Both blasts reached their targets within seconds of each other and the senshi were thrown away from each other in a massive explosion. However, the two former Shadow senshi were also blasted away as the entire battlefield was cleared of warriors.

The mountainside was silent for a long time as nothing stirred. The two powerful blasts had stunned both sides long enough to let deafening silence fill the air. Then it was Fukai who first made a noise as he sat up weakly, "What hit me?" His eyes scanned the area around him and he suddenly came across most of the senshi laying about the area. A deranged smile came over his face and he chuckled a few times to himself while he tried to stand, "It seems everyone was taken on that one."

Suddenly he was jerked into the air by his torn shirt and he stared into the eyes of Shadow Mars with fear pounding in his chest. Shadow Mars looked at him darkly and deep flames were burning in those terrible pupils. The energy that was surging off of him was the source of Fukai's fear and Shadow Mars spoke in a low, dark tone, "You've harmed my friends long enough, Fukai. Prepare to meet Sentaku on the other side." The flames around him started to flare up and the sweltering heat caused Fukai to turn his head a bit. Something caught his eye when he did and his voice was shaky as he yelled out loudly.

"Wait! Look over there! She's in trouble!" Shadow Mars first dismissed it as a ploy to escape but something deep inside of him told him to look. So he did. Sailor Mars was lying unconscious under a teetering rock as it threatened to come down on top of her. The ledge under the rock was cracking and beginning to give away when Fukai spoke in a slightly more calm voice, "In the time it'll take you to kill me, she will die as well. How much is your revenge worth, Yamito?"

Those dark eyes stayed on the rock a bit longer and an exasperated breath left his lips. Then he looked back to Fukai and pulled him close, "I'll be back for you." The swirl of flames he disappeared into made Fukai shriek and wave them off before they caught his clothes on fire. Shadow Mars quickly appeared over Sailor Mars and caught the rock just as it began to fall. His body strained under the weight of it and his eyes slowly moved down to the serene face of the girl he was protecting. That was more than enough reason to put some extra effort into his rescue and his aura of flames suddenly caused the rock the shatter into pieces and fall away from them both harmlessly.

Soon Sailor Mars felt someone lifting her up into the air and her eyes slowly fluttered open, "Yami?" She was met with a warm tone on his face and she couldn't help but forget what she had seen earlier and smile at him. Being held in his arms made her feel safe and that was all that mattered for the moment. A reddish blast of flames suddenly appeared around his back and he yelled out in pain which brought the moment to a close. She was startled by his outburst and suddenly felt him fall forward to his knees and nearly drop her. She quickly wriggled out of his arms and knelt on one knee with her hands against his chest, "Yamito!? Are you okay?"

"Those two never give up. I don't care which one it was, they're toast."

However a familiar voice filled the air instead and caught both of them by surprise, "What if it was neither?" Sailor Mars looked over his shoulder slowly and saw her clone standing with a casual smirk on her face. She was even dressed in a similiar fuku that the original wore but with some major differences. The midriff of the clone's fuku was missing and the skirt was much shorter. Her brooch was also different as he held the symbol of Omega on it instead. The entire sight made Sailor Mars narrow her eyes lightly.

"I never thought I'd be so disgusted to see my face."

Shadow Mars just closed his eyes at the situation and the clone laughed lightly as flames danced across her gloved hand, "I'll make sure that only one of us is left to look at it anymore."


"Ami?"

Shadow Mercury groggily rose to his feet and looked around after the blast. A sudden shooting pain in side made him place his hand across his hurting ribs. Soon enough a familiar figure pierced the dust and approached him slowly.

"Hello, Kurai."

He suddenly jumped and turned around quickly to Sailor Mercury. The dust was still lingering in the air and even his eyes were a bit shaky from the blast, but he smiled lightly at the sight of her, "You startled me."

"I'm sorry. Are you feeling well?" An odd feeling was trickling down his neck but he regarded it as the pain from his ribs. With a quick nod he looked around slowly and started to walk off to find the others. Suddenly another figure came into the view through the dust and caused Shadow Mercury to stop. The silhouette made him blink and he tilted his head a bit in curiosity.

"Sailor Uranus?"

To his shock Sailor Mercury stepped through dust and gave him a very odd look, "What? It's me, Kurai. It's Ami."

"That can't be. You're right behi........" His face suddenly paled and his entire body stiffened up. As soon as he had turn around to see if it were true, a foot came flying up and caught him across the face. His body was thrown back sprawling in front of Sailor Mercury and she quickly looked up to her clone.

"You must be pretty hurt to be fooled like that." Her clone quipped and looked at them both with a wide sneer.

Shadow Mercury slowly rose to his feet and held his side once more, a very annoyed look coming across his face, "It was my fault for letting my guard down. It will not happen again."

"Are you okay, Kurai?"

Sailor Mercury's concern seemed much more sincere this time and she eyed his hand resting over his ribs. However, the concern gave the clone a wide grin and she tilted her head a bit, "Ami? So that is our human name?"

"Oh no, I've just put my mother in danger!"

The panic in those true, blue eyes made Shadow Mercury wince and he suddenly brought his triad up in front of him, "It doesn't matter.....this clone will not live to tell anyone."


"Sailor Moon!"

Sailor Jupiter came running out of the dust and found the dizzy Sailor Moon sitting on her butt. Sailor Moon held her head a moment and slowly looked up to her with a sore tone, "Sailor Jupiter, where is everyone?" Then the severe lacking in Sailor Jupiter's fuku made her blink and look her over once quickly, "What happened to you?"

"We're in trouble! Shadow Jupiter has gone crazy! He got angry and started attacking me and Sailor Venus! We have to stop him!"

"On no! I thought we had worked through this!"

Suddenly a dark smile came over Sailor Jupiter's face and she turned away to run off, "Come on, let's go stop him." Sailor Moon blinked as she ran off but followed to see if she could help.

Shadow Jupiter was resting on his knees a moment and shaking the dust out of his hair. A very angry look was plastered on his face and he was just taking a moment to breath. Then he saw Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon running towards them, "Well, at least they're........" Suddenly something tweaked his senses and his peat green eyes narrowed. He quickly disappeared from his place and left only fading lightning in his place.

Sailor Moon peeked around her friend's shoulder and blinked a few times, "Where'd he go?" Her question was quickly answered by a figure appearing behind Sailor Jupiter. With a quick movement he twisted her arm behind her back and reached around with his other hand, grasping around her neck tightly. Sailor Jupiter yelled out in surprise and made Sailor Moon skid to a stop. Shadow Jupiter just leaned to the side and glared at the person he held.

"You thought I would fall for that? You're overestimating yourself. Nice outfit, by the way." He snarled and twisted her arm even farther. She yelled out even louder and Sailor Moon quickly yelled out in a panic.

"Kage! What are you doing!? Let her go!"

"Sailor Moon, help me! He's crazy!"

"Shut up! I know what you're trying to do and she may be blonde, but she won't fall for......."

Suddenly the Eternal Tier came raking across his head and cut his sentence short. It stunned him long enough for Sailor Jupiter to step to the side and throw him from them. As he moaned and rubbed the back of his head, Sailor Moon clutched her Tier tightly and watched him with extreme nervousness in her eyes. Sailor Jupiter seemed very amused by it and lightly rested her hands on her hips, "Thank you, Sailor Moon."

"You damned odango!"

"Why are you attacking Sailor Jupiter!?"

"Ugh, that is not Sailor Jupiter!"

Just as he said it Sailor Jupiter extended one of her hands and blasted him with more lightning. The force made him skid a bit farther away and stir weakly on the ground. A satisfied smile came over her face but Sailor Moon just watched in horror, "Why'd you do that!?"

"Simple, I'm going to kill him."

"What!? Isn't that a little extreme?"

Sailor Jupiter stopped a few feet from the cursing Shadow Jupiter and leaned bit heavily on the side that held her hand on her hip, "You're too soft, Sailor Moon. That will get you into trouble someday."

"Wha......? What's wrong with you?" The figure, who was obviously not Sailor Jupiter, turned slowly and exposed a glowing symbol of Omega on her forehead. The sight made Sailor Moon shriek out in shock and the clone laughed lightly, "Nothing's wrong with me. But something will be wrong with you shortly!" A crackling ball of lightning, much like Sailor Jupiter's Sparkling Wide Pressure, appeared in her hand. Before she could use it, however, the real Sailor Jupiter jumped next to her and with a powerful kick, sent her clone flying into the ground.

"Not while I'm around! I'm the only real Sailor Jupiter!"

The clone slowly got to her feet and rubbed the side of her face, glaring daggers at the true senshi, "You'll pay for that." Yet another blast appeared in her hand and she got ready to use it on both of them. She quickly pulled her arm back to throw it but someone grabbed her wrist and made her yelp out. As she slowly turned her head Shadow Jupiter shook his finger at her.

"Tsk tsk, I don't think so." With that he pulled her towards him and crouched down a bit. His other hand grabbed her at the hip and she yelped even more as he hoisted her above his head effortlessly. Then he stepped forward and hurled her over the side of the ridge and down into the forest below. After that he dusted his hands off and got a satisfied look on his face.

"Kage? Are you okay?"

The voice made him slowly turn around to Sailor Jupiter. Seeing her made him instantly drop into his fighting stance and it startled her. Fortunately Sailor Moon was close at hand and ran up quickly yelling, "No, Kage! It's her! It's Makoto!"

That made him look between them a few times and he slowly relaxed in his fighting stance. Sailor Jupiter let out a slow breath and he laughed a bit sheepishly at the idea, "Sorry, ai. I thought she already had come back for more."

"I'm not finished yet!"

Sailor Jupiter's clone appeared once more in front of them and had leaves and sticks all over in her hair. She was a bit ruffled at the fact he threw her over the side of a cliff and glared daggers at him. Soon enough Sailor Venus's clone appeared as well and smiled widely as she looked at them all. Fukai and Kumo also regrouped with them and seemed glad to have some help. Sailor Mercury's clone was next to join and seemed a little beaten from her battle.

Sailor Mercury and Shadow Mercury came running up to join the opposite side and Sailor Mercury called out as they came, "Sailor Moon! Our clones are here! They are....." She trailed off as she saw them standing across from them and they both arrived with their friends.

"It seems you already know."

Shadow Jupiter rubbed the back of his head lightly and glanced over to Sailor Moon, "Yeah, we found out....the hard way." It made her grin nervously and laugh as she still clutched her Tier tightly. As the groups were grouping Sailor Venus appeared under the arm of Shadow Venus. They both had guilty looks in their eyes and Shadow Venus glanced around quickly.

"Hey, what's the deal? I get the feeling those clone girls are here somewhere."

Suddenly he looked up and saw the clones along with Fukai and Kumo. A light smirk came over his face and slowly took his arm from around Sailor Venus. Sailor Moon suddenly got a wry smile on her face and looked at the two with flat-topped eyes, "Where were you two?"

Red hues of blush washed over Sailor Venus's face and she looked to Shadow Venus with a blink. He just laughed out loud and ran his hand through the back of his hair, "Oh, uh...around? Why, did any of you....see....anything?"

"Yamito would breath fire if he knew you were neglecting your duties to.....well, I can only imagine what." Shadow Mercury quipped and eyed them both sternly.

"Yeah, but what he don't know, won't hurt him. Right, love?" Shadow Venus replied back and slid his arm around Sailor Venus's waist once more. Her eyes went a bit cross-eyed and she looked down in embarrassment. It amazed her how he could just dismiss getting yelled at like that and make it into a joke. Still, she was too embarrassed to say anything about it.

By this time the three Outer Sailor senshi had joined the group as well and looked annoyed at their enemies retreating as they did. Sailor Uranus miffed a bit as she looked over at Kumo with a smirk, "Cowards. All that power and you still can't beat us. Why won't they stay and fight?"

"Speaking of Yamito, has anybody seen him or Sailor Mars?" Sailor Moon asked and looked around slowly. Some loud noises made them all look tot he side and they found Shadow Mars and Sailor Mars fighting her clone. All three didn't seem to see the others watching as they exchanges an array of blasts and attacks. The fight went on for a few minutes and the others just watched solemnly. Suddenly, they all came to a stop and observed the others waiting for them.

Sailor Mars's clone quickly disappeared from them and appeared with her fellow clones. Sailor Mars watched her and huffed, then made her way over to the other senshi, "Are you waiting for us?" Shadow Mars was close behind as his eyes never left the other group. As he stopped behind Sailor Mars and quietly looked over the enemy Sailor Moon looked at the two and a light smile crossed over her face. It was soon broken up by Shadow Mars's quiet voice.

"They are afraid they may lose. This may make them more dangerous, so we must be careful."

The whole of the senshi looked over to the clones and two former Shadow senshi and got ready to battle one more time. The evil forces flowed through the six of them and although they had failed to beat the senshi before, they were confident they could do it now. The last battle for a group of them was about to begin and signal the beginning of the final push into the Omega Master's domain. From this point on, everyone involved knew what they had to do. Some more than others.


Next Chapter: Fallen