Chapter Seven: Costly Victory



The final clone was facing against the senshi she was cloned after and the hyped up Shadow Venus. The trend had been kept through all of the enemies and this would be no different. However this fight was going a bit differently, "Come on, Suteki, let me see what you have!" His blue eyes were full of concern as he helped up Super Sailor Venus from the ground. This clone had been backed into a corner and was proving to be very dangerous. Shadow Venus's usual happy candor had momentarily disappeared and he looked Sailor Venus over real quick.

"Are you hurt, love? That was a pretty nasty blast."

"I'm okay. I just wasn't expecting that." Her clone was all set for the battle but his entire attentions were on her for the moment. A light giggle came over Sailor Venus as she watched him and she messed up his hair lightly, "Baka blonde, quit worrying about me and let's finish this clone off." They both then turned to the clone and found her all worked up over that little scene.

"You're obsessing over her little fall? You never pined over me like that!" Her anger was directed right at him and he did something that infuriated her even more. He merely shrugged at her and got ready to attack once more. It broke her clone in to a fit of anger and she flung two chains of energy at them both. Although he was able to avoid the attack by disappearing, Sailor Venus's attempt to escape it still caught the rim of the explosion and it sent her flying over the side of a cliff. On her way down, however, she caught onto a small bush and hung there precariously over a huge drop to the forest below. Her clone quickly appeared above her on the edge and laughed as she looked down, "I won't cry when you go. It'll just choose for him who he really wants. Bye now." A flash in her eyes made the bush suddenly break away and Sailor Venus began to fall once more. Her scream echoed up over the cliff and her clone just reveled in it. Suddenly Shadow Venus appeared right in the air in front of her clone and with a quick kick, sent her flying into some rocks. In the same motion he flipped over and hurled his arm down towards the falling senshi. Sailor Venus yelled at the top of her lungs until she felt something stop her from falling and looked up to see his Passion Link energy holding her around the waist. A huge sigh of relief escaped her lips and she smiled as he brought her back to the top. As her feet hit the ground and his energy faded away she felt her heart racing a bit and looked at him wide-eyed.

"Suteki! Thank you! What took you so long!? Why didn't you just fly down and get me!? Did you see how fast I was falling!? Did you see the bush break!?"

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down, you're talking too fast! Take a breath."

His warm smile and chuckle made her laugh sheepishly and hug him tightly, "Thank you, Suteki."

A content look came over him and he hugged her back just the same. The tender moment was cut short, however, as her clone appeared once more from the rocks and held a massive energy blast in her hand, "Knock it off! You two make me sick!" The two had just enough time to look over before the blast was coming down on them quickly. A bitter look came onto Shadow Venus's face as he looked to Sailor Venus slowly. His eyes reflected something that burned deep inside of him and he saw the most important thing to him about to be lost. His chances of a normal live with a girl he loved were shattered as he pushed her to the side quickly and out of harm's way. She, in turn, turned to look at him and saw the regret in his face. Then the blast struck him and sent him flying over the edge of the cliff.

"Minako...." It was the last word he said before he disappeared into the darkness below. She rolled onto her stomach and leaned over the edge, watching him fade away into her dreams once more.

"Suteki!"

Then to her horror her clone appeared above her and looked off into the darkness as well, "And just to make sure......." She hurled another blast over the cliff and it lit up the forest below in a massive explosion. After that her clone laughed loudly and landed softly on the cliff near Sailor Venus. It was all that Sailor Venus could handle.

"How could you do that? Don't you understand?" Her clone blinked and looked over at her. A bright glow covered Sailor Venus's body and she stood up slowly, looking to her clone with a fierce glare, "Don't you know that I loved him!?" Her clone stepped back and Sailor Venus used her Love and Beauty Shock attack at very close range. The blast sent her clone flying to the ground thirty feet away and glared at her in anger. She waited for her to stand back up but a voice from behind startled her.

"Minako...."

Sailor Venus quickly turned around to Dark Shadow Mars and she took in a few shaky breaths as she looked at him. His dark eyes just stayed on her softly and she could tell he knew what had happened, "Yamito? Suteki's down there! You have to go help him!" His eyes never moved from her and he spoke the words that she didn't want to hear from him.

"Suteki is gone, Minako. All of them are. We have to accept that and move on. The Omega Master is the final destination."

His cold tone made her step back from him and shake her head in disbelief. She wanted to question how he could be so cold but two other figures came on the situation, "What's going on?" Super Sailor Mars looked at Shadow Mars a moment and Eternal Sailor Moon was close behind. Shadow Mars slowly looked to them both but Sailor Venus couldn't look away from him. They could see the loss in his eyes and he let out a slow breath before speaking.

"Suteki is gone. Kurai too and......."

"Kage." Super Sailor Jupiter finished as she joined them as well. her face was heavy with grief and she slowly looked up to them all with a deep frown, "He faded away again."

"No.....it can't be."

Sailor Moon looked around in disbelief as her ribbons of blonde hair danced around her in the slight breeze. Super Sailor Mercury came upon the gathering also and held the same look on her face, "I'm afraid it is. Kurai, he's......."

She couldn't finish her sentence and finally the rest of the senshi came. Super Sailor Uranus was looking around quickly and soon her eyes fell upon Sailor Jupiter. The look on her face proved what Kumo said was true and she clenched her teeth in remorse. The growing breeze swept over the side of the cliff and muffled out any of their sounds of grief. That is, only until Shadow Mars spoke again.

"I am the only one left."

"What?" Sailor Moon asked and looked to him slowly. Sailor Mars looked just as concerned and they all watched as he stepped to the side of the cliff and looked over at the distant city. He didn't say anything else for a moment, but soon he closed his eyes and sighed lightly.

"I am the last Shadow senshi. The fates are laughing. I should have been the first to give my life." Sailor Moon clenched her hand near her chest and moved over to talk to him. Oddly, she felt someone grab her hand and looked back to Sailor Mars with wild eyes. Sailor Mars just looked at him quietly and shook her head lightly. Then he continued once more, "They are all gone....even Uranus and Neptune now. I am the last of a fallen order." Suddenly they all heard someone laughing loudly and all looked over to see Sailor Venus's clone stumble out of the rocks weakly.

"What's the matter, Yamito? Are you sad because you're the last loser?"

Although her words didn't even make him flinch, his face was weighed down by the truth of the matter and he didn't offer anything back at her. It did, however, prove to stir up Sailor Moon, "Shut up! You're just angry because you lost!"

The clone stumbled out a bit more and a sublime aura started to surround her. Her blue eyes started to flash a bit and she kept them on Shadow Mars the entire time, "The Master was always going to destroy you Shadow senshi......even Uranus and Neptune. Once he used you up, you would have been killed."

"I guess it's my turn to get rid of my clone!" Sailor Venus called out and started towards her clone. Now the aura around her started to glow even more and a devious smile spread across her lips. The plan was slowly coming to Shadow Mars but the clone slowly looked to Sailor Venus.

"You could finish me now but I'm going to do one last service to the Master."

The aura started to make the very air vibrate with energy and the senshi started to stir lightly. The ground under them started to shake and wind really picked up over the cliff face. The energy flowing over the clone started to rip her fuku and a wry smile came over her face. It all made Sailor Moon very worried, "What's going on?"

The other senshi also wondered about it but Shadow Mars had the answer, "She's going to destroy herself to kill all of us."

All eyes went to him and Sailor Venus pushed her hair out of the way from the wind, "We have to stop her!" Without another word she stepped forward and intended on ending this with her Love and Beauty Shock attack. However her attack simply absorbed into her clone and caused her to both glow and laugh more. Not to be daunted Sailor Jupiter suddenly stepped next to Sailor Venus and glared intently at her clone.

"Let me try!"

"Stop!" Shadow Mars ordered and caused them both to look at him in surprise. Even as the wind tossed his white hair around his face his dark eyes could be seen perfectly as he stared at them, "The more energy you throw at her, the faster she will reach her limit."

"What do you suggest we do then?"

An oddly cool look came over him and he looked to the clone. Even as she laughed insanely and tried to destroy them he felt sorry for it and started walking towards her, "I suggest you Sailor senshi defeat the Omega Master."

That got both Sailor Moon's and Sailor Mars's attentions rather fast. Sailor Mars looked at him and bit her lower lip while Sailor Moon blinked wildly, "What? What are you talking about?"

"What is a leader without anybody to lead? I think it's time to join the others."

"What!? What do you......"

His feet came a stop and a red aura started to surround him. He slowly turned his head and looked at the two specifically, "To save you all, I will cancel her energy out with my own. Besides myself, only Sailor Moon has enough power to do this and you'll need her to defeat the Omega Master and save Tuxedo Kamen." The thought of this was too much for Sailor Mars and she suddenly ran over to him. She placed herself between him and the clone and pressed her hands into his chest forcefully.

"Please, don't leave again.....I love you, Yamito."

His dark eyes just looked down at her and a moment passed where he could say nothing. Then she felt his hands move up onto her wrists and he split apart her arms slowly. The next thing she knew his lips were pressed against hers in a tender and gentle kiss. The surprise was so shocking that she almost didn't believe he was doing it, especially in front of all of the others. Then her emotions took over and her eyes closed slowly. Her hand snaked up along his neck and rested along the base of his jawbone, her fingers curling slightly against his skin. She became lost in the kiss and became weak in the knees at his touch. Even the clone was awed by the moment and time itself seemed to stop for the two. Then his lips slowly came apart from hers and she couldn't help but struggle for her breath. His voice was the next thing that got her attention as his breath was soft across her yearning lips.

"Good bye, Rei."

The ground was breaking apart all around them as the clone came closer to her limit and eventual destruction. Shadow Mars lingered one last moment and looked into Sailor Mars's violet hues, then stepped past her and towards the clone once more. Sailor Moon watched all of this with reluctant acceptance, "Yamito....."

"To get to the Omega Master's castle, you will have to return here during the next new moon. The portal that leads there is only open when the moon is not shining down, guarding the Earth. Trust in yourself, Sailor senshi, and you will be victorious." His words floated over the destruction and the wind to everyone one of the Sailor senshi. They all watched him with silent admiration but Sailor Mars watched with a bit more. Her eyes were still wide with emotion and she stood shakily as he approached the clone.

Sailor Venus's clone watched him as well but with anger on her face. She knew what he was trying to do and knew it could work. Beams of energy started to glow off her and strike him in an attempt to stop him, but he merely slowed a bit and pushed through them. His own aura was much brighter than hers and he stared at her apathetically as he was just about to reach her.

Sailor Mars couldn't help but whimper a bit and yell out after him.

"Yamito!"

The clone and the Shadow senshi touched and a bright light filled the side of the cliff. The forces from the contact was almost enough to push the Sailor senshi off the cliff but they managed to stay where they were. Then the light slowly shrank into nothing and there is only a light scorching on the ground where they stood. The night suddenly became quiet once more as the battle had finally ended. The cost of such a victory was high and the Omega Master was still on the horizon. The senshi finally got a breath and the weight of the cost came over them once more. The four Inner senshi had realized the worst loss but even Sailor Uranus was distant as she looked over Shadow Jupiter's sword as it lay on the ground. All of them had suffered from the loss but none more than Sailor Moon.

She simply stared up at the waxing crescent moon and a heavy look came over her face. She stood alone from the others and was confined within a conversation to herself and stars above, "Yamito.....he was such a great leader. He didn't think twice about making decisions and going through with them. He even gave up his life to save us.....all so we can keep his promise. I can't believe he's gone." Her face suddenly lowered at the thought of the final moments of his life. She could feel the burning in her chest from the way she felt about him. In her mind a flash back of the moment when they were both alone in his energy shield and safe from Shadow Venus's Meteor Shower attack flooded in. She could still remember what he had said perfectly.


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"Usako.......you won't like what I have to say but it has to be said."

"Wha....what is it?"

"I have fallen in love with Rei."

"I.....know. Does this mean....."

"Yes, is does. As deeply as I do still care about you, my heart......my very soul belongs to her. Though you will always be close to me......we cannot be. I think you knew that from the beginning."

"Y-Yes.....I did. I'm glad you fell in love with her, Yamito. You two.....belong together."

"Usako, don't cry over this. You have to be strong for the battle. Wipe your tears, the shield will come down soon and you will need to lead your friends to victory. We are the leaders of our friends and have great responsibility. You and I will always have the same destiny.....just not together."
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The next day came for the remaining senshi and with it came the plans for the final assault on the Omega Master. The entire team had gathered at the Hikawa Jinja and had been discussing the move for hours now. Tensions were running a bit high as not many of them would bring up the fallen Shadow senshi. However it had finally progressed into a discussion that Luna and Artimus were spearheading.

"We should assume he will be alone. You say you destroyed the entire army of his clones?" Artimus looked around slowly and noticed some of the senshi were still a bit distant in their thoughts. However Setsuna nodded to his question and he slowly looked back to Usagi, "Good. If the others' clones are gone as well as Shadow Neptune and Uranus, we can assume he is alone."

The entire time Luna had been watching the weight in Usagi's eyes. Her obvious preoccupation worried her and she tilted her head a bit as she looked up at her, "Usagi-chan, I know you're worried about Mamoru but I know he'll be okay. He's strong enough to face anything the Omega Master can throw at him."

"Once we save him you'll feel better. We all will when this is finally behind us." Haruka added and adjusted her arms as they crossed over her chest. Usagi slowly looked up to her a moment and smiled weakly. Although she was deeply concerned about the welfare of Mamoru, her mind also dwelt on the loss of the Shadow senshi.

"We also need to do something about the actual fight. The Omega Master is still extremely powerful, even confined in the Dark Prism." Michiru added to the conversation. She had hoped to get some ideas from the others but, understandably, the four Inner senshi were silent. As much as she knew how they felt, a determined look came across her face and she took charge, "I know it's hard letting go. I myself was fond of Kage and I feel sorrow at his loss. But Yamito gave his life so that we could stop the Omega Master....they all did. We can't let them down."

"I'm sorry, I'm being selfish." Ami admitted as she looked up to the others. A bitter look came over her face and she regained a little bit of her former attitude, "I think we need to begin a severe training program that will prepare us for the fight. If we train for the entire two weeks, we stand a good chance against the Omega Master.....if he is in the Dark Prism still."

The last thought made Usagi visibly shudder and wrap her fingers around her arms in a light hug, "What if he......isn't trapped anymore?"

"We must except that if it happens. If he is in Mamoru's body, we'll have to find a way to get him out. That means we have to train like Ami has suggested." Rei joined in and stood on her feet confidently. The fires of determination burned in her eyes as she looked forward to finishing what her lover had begun. Makoto also stepped up into the conversation and clenched her fist into the air.

"Right. Extreme physical training and ways to increase our energy attacks."

"Okay, let's do it."

The words from Usagi made them all look to her and everyone seemed to be pleasantly surprised by it. Luna smiled lightly at her determination and hoped to lighten the mood up a little bit, "Usagi wanting to train? That is a miracle."

Instead of an argument from her, Usagi smiled a little and looked over them all slowly, "I know I'm a little whiny and weak, but the Shadow senshi believed I can beat the Omega Master." Her blue eyes came on Rei and a connection of feelings existed between the two, "Yamito believed that I could. I will do whatever it takes to not let him down. I'll show the Omega Master that he will no longer prey upon the weak." The others were becoming just as confident as she was slowly becoming louder. The hope for the entire world came upon the group of girls once more and Usagi planned to take Yamito advice and example to lead her friends, "He won't destroy our universe, not while Sailor Moon is around! We will all stop this evil and make the world safe for everyone everywhere!"


Next Chapter: The Ultimate Battle!