Original Creator: Sailor Saturn (Verdi)
Forum: Crystal Tokyo
Advanced or Relaxed: Advanced
Plot Summary: In the battle against the Black Moon Clan, Neo Queen Serenity has been killed. There was no crystal encasing to save her from the attack, and she took the full brunt of it before any of her guardians could protect her.

Now, the sailor soldiers must deal with the repercussions of no longer having her light in their life. How will this affect their friendships and their daily lives? How can they keep up the fight with guilt pulling at them with every turn?

And the threat of the Black Moon Clan is growing stronger everyday. Without Neo Queen Serenity to help in the fight, and most of Crystal Tokyo either destroyed or occupied, how will the remaining sailor soldiers keep them from taking over completely?

But never forget: starseeds are always reborn to live again...

Details and Restrictions:

OOC Thread: [Advanced] Metamorphosis OOC

Member to Character List:
Neo Queen Serenity (deceased) // Sailor Mercury (Aurae)
King Endymion // Sailor Uranus (Kyra)
Small Lady - Queen Lady Serenity // Sailor Mercury (Aurae)
Sailor Mercury // Sailor Mercury (Aurae)
Sailor Mars // Sailor Neptune (Bubbles)
Sailor Jupiter // Sailor Uranus (Kyra)
Sailor Venus // Sailor Saturn (Verdi)

previous update:

original format:

It was quiet. The only sounds were that of the soft patter of footsteps from the maids as they flitted from one room to the other. Minako stared at her crystalline door from her seat at her desk, imagining it opening and someone, Makoto maybe, telling her that another ship had been spotted.

The quiet wouldn't last long after that.

But stare as she might, no one came to the door. It made Minako uneasy. In the lull of battle, there wasn't much to do but wait. And she hated it.

The wicked rested for no one. Or something akin to that.

More time passed by with her simply staring and waiting, body taut and ready to spring into action at any moment. She felt it in her bones. Something was going to happen soon. She couldn't explain why she felt that way, and she couldn't even pinpoint what she thought would happen. There was just this sense of foreboding that she couldn't shake.

It didn't help that she hadn't had a proper night's rest in days. It was what Ami had sent her to her room to accomplish, but Minako found it impossible to relax enough to even think of resting.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Minako leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. No sounds now besides that of her breathing. In and out.

With a swear, Minako got up from the chair in one swift moment and made her way to her door. There was no way she would get any sleep tonight, so her time was better put into doing something productive. There were a million and ten things to do, and she could at least begin working on one of them.

She walked with purpose down the hall but paused before she got too far. Turning, Minako backtracked and stopped in front of a closed door that was next to her own. Usagi's room. Well, Usagi and Mamoru's, though recently neither of them were able to rest much either.

Minako knocked on the door, rather urgently, suddenly swamped with the need to see her queen and best friend. "Usagi? Are you in there?" It was likely that she wasn't. Usagi was normally in the infirmary with Ami helping apply aid to those injured in battles, or comforting the civilians who had taken refuge in the castle, or dealing with the many things that needed her attention. "Usagi?"

OOC:

Flopping down into her chair in a very unladylike manner, Ami blew out a deep breath and put her face in her hands. She was absolutely exhausted. She had been working on the wounded ever since the last battle and they were all finally taken care of. Looking down at her self she managed not to start crying when she saw the blood all over her. She had been around it for a long time now, she was a doctor after all, but the sight of it still disturbed her to no end. Especially when she new that some of that blood was from people would had not made it through surgery.

Jumping up she ran to the bathroom, stripped her clothes off and spent an hour in a scalding hot shower trying to erase the feeling of the blood.

Ami had never been good with fights, much less war. She knew she needed to be strong for her princess and for the rest of the senshi but sometimes it was hard to hold on to that strength. Many a night has she lost sleep over the images she had seen in battle.

But it did no good to worry herself over something inevitable. When she had been young and fighting crime with the rest of the senshi she had traveled forward in time to this century and found the battle with the Black Moon growing. She had known this battle would happen. And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the battle she had been prepared for. She felt as if the fight with the Black Moon clan now was different from the one she had been a part of in the past.

Ami shook her head in frustration. She might be considered a "genius girl" but time travel, alternate futures, space-time patterns and all that jargon still confused her. That was all Pluto's department.

Putting on some different work clothes she headed to her lab to continue her research of the Black Moon Clans base. She had been working 20 hour shifts trying to figure out how to get through their security. But the magic of the Black Crystal and the layers of guarding they had over Nemesis was very secure and Ami hadn't been able to find a weak spot yet.

Scanning over her math equations and calibrations again she rubbed her eyes and sighed again. How was she ever going to figure this out? The others were counting on her to find a weak point and even though she had been working on this for weeks she still hadn't come up with any results.

How were they going to defeat the Black Moon if their magic and their armies were so powerful?

Luna yawned and stretched. In the room she shared with her small family a small black cat lay on the bed. Her mind was spinning with the battles ahead. They had fought so hard to this point and they seemed to only be just hanging on. Jumping down from the bed, she stood in the center of the room. She shifted her body and light fell around her. When the light faded, where had moments before stood a cat, there was a woman in a yellow dress. Her hair fell around her shoulders in dark waves. Sighing she looked at the mirror. She liked her human form well enough but it felt strange to her still.

Walking to the door, Luna's bare feet padding softly she made her way to the lab. Maybe she could help Ami. They had been working hard and it seemed like they would never get anywhere in finding a weakness of the Black Moon Clan.

Finding herself at the lab, Luna gently pushed open the door to find Ami already hard at work.

"Hi Ami." Luna said her usual smile far from her voice and lips." Need some help or just company?" The cat-human asked coming in and pulling her own lab coat over her yellow dress. Walking around the tables she looked over the notes and equations she had many times before. Maybe they could find something they hadn't now that they were desperate to find some way of defeating the Black Moon.

Sweat dripped from Small Lady's forehead and coated her face, neck and shoulders. Her fuku clung to her back and her muscles burned. Panting she stood, her arms hung at her side. She had been training for hours now, without stopping. She knew she needed to be stronger to protect her mother and friends. She walked to a chair and lifted the towel off the back and wiped her face. She didn't sit down, she instead reached down and lifted her water bottle to her lips. She would keep training herself, growing stronger so she would be able to fight and protect those she loved most. She would not be the weak child the Black Moon used before. A determined look on her soft features said all that needed to be said to any who saw her then. She would prove she was strong enough to fight.

"Lady, don't you think you should stop?" A small voice asked from her feet. "You've been at your training for hours." Diana looked up at the pink haired teen.

"No, Diana." Small Lady spoke slowly. "I have to get stronger and I have to be able to protect them." She looked away from the cat. and set her water bottle down. Turning on her heel, the skirt of her fuku fanning out with the motion, she started back to the training grounds and the simulation that waited her. She would keep doing this till she got it right. She would keep training until she saved them all in the simulation. She could never save them all, and she had come so close last time, but her simulated mother had died. The thought that she couldn't protect her mother sent a chill down her spine. This time she would be able to beat the simulation. This time her simulated mother would be saved.

Spoiler:

Ami looked up, startled out of her spinning thoughts by Luna.

"Oh! Hi Luna. Yeah, come in, Im just going back over some of these equations. I just cant seem to put them together correctly. No matter which way I try I can't figure out how the Black Moon's Crystal is gaining such power." She ran her fingers through her damp hair and rubbed her eyes. 

When she looked back up her brain finally caught up and she realized that Luna was in her human form. Taking a moment she looked her over and thought about how little Ami had actually seen Luna's human form. "Luna, I'm curious. Why do you so rarely take on your human form? You are so lovely in it and I'm sure it must be easier to do things with aposable thumbs hehe!" She giggled a little at the memories of Luna trying to do things as a cat. It was the first time she had laughed in a long while and it felt good to relax a little.

OOC:

Luna looked over at the blue haired senshi and thought about the question. "Well I think, it's because I feel so strange after a while." She said looking down at her feet, legs, and hands. "I was a cat for so long that it feels natural to me, and this isn't. Not yet anyway, and while having a-posable thumbs is nice, it doesn't replace the enhanced hearing or smell, that I have as a cat." She smiled. She still didn't understand why she didn't take human form more often herself. Sometimes she forgot she could, it was still so foreign to her. But all that said it was still good to hear Ami laugh. She didn't need cat hearing for that sound to be wonderful. She smiled at Ami. "So where are we?" She paused. "Never mind we'r still at a loss, I know." She sighed and looked over the papers again. There had to be something here.

It took a moment, but Minako heared the clicking of heels against the crystal floor from beyond the door. Another moment, and the door opened.

"Yes, Minako-chan?" Usagi was smiling, but Minako knew it was not one of true warmth. Those particular smiles had been missing for a while now.

Minako smiled back, mimicking the brightness in Usagi's voice and ignoring the traces of wetness on Usagi's cheeks. "I just wanted to check in on you," Minako answered. She faltered after that, unsure what else to say, but unwilling to leave. "Have you been able to get any rest at all?"

A blaring alarm screeching and echoing through the crystal halls caught Minako off guard as she finished asking her question. The magical lighting of the palace flashed and pulsed with warning.

An enemy ship had been spotted.

Damn it, why had she allowed herself for relax for even a moment?

Minako turned her attention onto Usagi again, her heart racing. "You should stay here, Usagi-chan." Minako said it out of reflex, out of habit. Usagi was always told to stay away from the frontlines of battles. And always Usagi would insist on fighting.

Turning away from her Queen, away from her best friend, Minako ran to the observatory. It was the pre-planned place that they all agreed meeting in upon any attack or danger.

The observatory was empty at the moment, but Minako knew that her best friends would be there soon. They had a fight to deal with. Minako stumbled into one of the chairs. She wasn't good with all of the buttons and the weird symbols on the crystal keyboard, but she knew enough to get started until Ami arrived.

Minako got to work as the black screen in front of her continued to flash "Enemy Alert" in blood red letters.

OOC:

Small Lady heard the alarm and ran towards the observatory. She knew the others would be there and she knew they would want her away from the fight but she had to do something. She was still in her fuku and she was sweaty from her workouts. She had been in the middle of another simulation, when the alarm had gone off.

When she arrived Minako was already in one of the chairs in front of the controls. "Do we know anything yet?" Her voice was tense and her breath heavy. The look on the princess' face was a serious one. She meant to help.

The alarm sounds and Luna looked up at Ami. "We should go." She said and tore off her lab coat. As she did the white light that always came with her transformations, engulfed her. She was faster as her cat self. As the light faded she was already starting for mission control. She darted off down the hall to the observatory. She would be able to better help from the control room, that just about anywhere else in the palace. Whens she arrived, Chibi Moon and Minako were already there. Jumping with a lightness that she only had in her cat form, Luna reached a spot near the control panel that she could work the keys and not be in the way. "Enemy Alert" was flashing in front of them. "Alright, Ladies, let's get ready for a fight." She said with a voice that spoke of wanting nothing more than to have peace again.

Makoto had been using the punching bag as a way to let out her frustration. She hated feeling like this. Defenseless, almost defeated. Of course, she was a firm believer that Usagi, with the help of all the senshi, was invincible. That was how the legend always went; Sailor Moon cannot be defeated. And yet she couldn’t help but feel this time they might have not only met an enemy that could evenly match them, but was also on the brink of defeating them. Mako shook her head, refusing to even entertain the notion for another second. They would deal with this. They would come out of this alive, or at the very least, Usagi would. She always did.

She hoped Minako, Ami, or Rei had come up with a new strategy to beat back the Black Moon’s relentless assault. She knew things looked bad now, but they always overcame a challenge, no matter how great. They could overcome this too, if they just believed in Usagi like always. Everything was going to be alright.

The alarm that blared through the castle snapped her out of her thoughts, and Mako straightened up. She felt dread, but she also embraced the surge of adrenaline. Staying idle had nearly driven her crazy. She was a woman of action. She wanted to take enemies down. And now it looked like they’d shown themselves again, which meant Mako couldn’t wait to kick them into submission.

She rushed into the control room, where she found Minako, of course, already there. There was Chibiusa and Luna as well, and Mako was a bit relieved about not seeing Usagi there. As much as she knew deep down Usagi was the strongest of them all, and she was their best chance at defeating the enemy, she also had a job to protect the queen. Ever since she became Neo Queen Serenity, she had not been able to fight as Sailor Moon anymore. Maybe… A strange unease enveloped her. If they didn’t have Sailor Moon, did they still have hope?

“Tell me where the enemies are,” she said to Minako, standing just behind the other girl. “I can’t wait to shoot them down from the sky.” Mako wasn’t going to think about premonitions or omens right now. That was Rei’s department. She was a fighter, and she was a doer. She was going to bring down the wrath of Jupiter down on their enemies’ heads. No matter what.

Small Lady was the first to arrive and Minako had to remind herself that little Chibiusa was older now, and a capable senshi. She wanted nothing more than to send the younger girl away to her room, to keep her safe.

But Chibiusa was just like her mother in that she was frustratingly hard to put out of the fight. The two of them always found a way to be in the battle regardless of multiple orders to stay in the castle.

Minako did not spare a glance to Chibiusa and instead kept her eyes trained on the screen in front of her. The alarm still flashed, sending its warning call, but Minako had changed the screen to show the locations of the incoming enemies.

Before she could answer the princess's question, Luna bounded into the room and up onto the control panel. Even after all these years of powering up and becoming both stronger and older, Minako couldn't help but to feel comfort at the sight of Luna. Everything would be okay under the guidance of the two cat guardians. It was what she believed when she was younger, and a part of her still wanted to believe.

Even as the screen in front of her flashed and displayed the incoming strength of their enemies.

Minako's hands fumbled as she worked the keys of the control board, both from inexperience and a hint of fear for the people she was meant to protect. The Black Moon airships flung black matter bombs towards the already suffering city. The city buildings had been evacuated days ago, most people seeking refuge within the castle itself, but she knew that there must still be people who refused to leave, or were incapable of leaving. And the castle was suffering critical damage. What if it fell?

How could she protect everyone?

Already her mind raced with all of the possibilities, and her thoughts were torn between working the controls to find out more information and figuring out various battle plans and strategies.

Hearing Makoto's strong voice brought Minako out of her own thoughts with a rush of warm strength that only Makoto could bring. The air seemed to crackle with life with Makoto in the room and Minako relished in the feeling. It felt good to have one of her best friends close by.

Minako laughed at what Makoto said, though there was no humor in it.

What was that saying again? If you don't laugh, you'll cry? Something like that.

Minako realized that everyone was waiting on her to say something, and here she was, just laughing while thinking of the utter demise of the entire city and everyone she loved.

Running on pure adrenaline left her a little crazed, it seemed.

"The computer has calculated that there are at least 7 airships coming in." Minako turned a knob to zoom in. "Looks like they've sent Esmeraude to command them from the air, but that's not all." After a series of button pushes, the screen changed to an overview of the outskirts of the city. Rubble and debris littered the once sparkling streets but that wasn't what the computer focused on. Rubeus and his Ayakashi Sisters stormed the streets, sending their attacks towards already decimated buildings, causing more damage as they made their way towards the castle. They were flanked by even more nameless Black Moon soldiers. "They've sent two of their highest officers to attack simultaneously."

Minako let go of the various buttons and leaned back in the chair. "So the question now is which do we focus on? The air attack, the ground attack, or do we split ourselves up and attack both at once? Do we stay on the defensive and allow them to come close as we attack from the castle walls?"

After going through all of the possibilities in her head, Minako still wasn't quite sure which course of action would be best. Too many variables to think of. "What do you think?" she asked the other girls. She valued their input and it would help to condense all of their tactic ideas together. And then, as an afterthought, she added, "Where is everyone else?"

Chibi Moon looked at the screens as Minako pressed the buttons and told them what new information they had. They were being attacked on two fronts and that wasn't something they were prepared for. She looked again at the airships and the people on the ground. This wasn't good. She took a deep breath. "Some of us should go out and meet Rubeus, while the others stay and defend the palace and the people inside." She said her voice didn't waver and she wouldn't be told to stay behind this time. She wanted to prove she could be just as strong as her mother. She as a Sailor Moon after all.

She looked at the others as they worked over what she said. She knew they would find something wrong with the plan or she hoped another would be offered that didn't take some of her dearest friends into the heart of battle that they may not come home from.

She took a deep breath and let it out through gritted teeth, and waited for the verdict to come down.

Luna turned to see Mako enter the room. She was a good sight to see, after all she was a strong fighter. Luna didn't look as Minako laughed, she kept her eyes trained on the screens in front of her. What could they do? Attacks on two fronts and no real way to defend from either. She hung her head. This did not look good. And it was about to get worse as Chibi Moon spoke up. Her plan while sound was not what Luna ever wanted to hear the young princess ever suggest. She knew what she would try and do and she knew what that would do to her mother.

"Chibi Moon is right." the small black cat said. "We have to fight on two fronts and we have to choose how we do that. But the point remains still that we have to defend the palace and the people here." She paused and looked at Minako. "We'll need everyone in this fight." She said hoping the senshi of love and beauty got her meaning. Chibi Moon, their princess would have to fight too.

Mako was surprised when Minako laughed at her words, but she realized the other senshi must be trying to find humor in the situation rather than letting herself crumble under the pressure. Smiling sympathetically, she looked at her friend and her leader, trying to lend her some strength and confidence. She knew that they could get through this if they stuck together.

Her heart felt cold when she heard that there were seven enemy ships approaching. And that wasn’t all? No, they had ground troops as well. Mako thought about Minako’s question for a moment, trying to come up with a logical solution. Strategies weren’t her thing. She was more used to being told where to attack and doing it with all she had. Strategies were for Ami, who could see the logical side of everything and make chess moves out of all the enemy positions and their own army.

“We definitely don’t let them get as close as possible,” she decided. “I’m not sure where Ami is, but I feel like she would be the one who can tell us what the best move is.”

Chibiusa spoke up next, stating that they needed to split up their forces. As Luna said her piece too, Mako felt more and more worried. “That means we need three different groups. One to deal with Esmeraude and the air attacks. One to deal with Rubeus and his ground army. And one to defend the palace. Minako, if that’s what you want to do, I want to lead the army dealing with the air forces. The sky is kind of my dominion, after all.”

Minako listen closely to everything that was said by the other women. She watched each of them in turn, going over every word, playing through the scenarios in her head. Both her heart and thoughts raced without pause, and already Minako felt exhausted.

A quiet lull took over the room for few moments after Makoto finished speaking. Minako still wasn't sure what the best course would be. No matter which way she played it in her head, none of the outcomes were as ideal as she wanted.

Splitting everyone up into three groups? They would spread theirselves far too thin, and then where would they be? And yet, it seemed to be the only option they really had. It wasn't as if they could just leave one of the attacks unanswered.

Or could they?

Minako frowned, and spun back around to look at the screen. She pressed a few buttons and zoomed in on Rubeus and his troops. They had yet to move very far, instead Rubeus was taking his time to wreck as much havoc onto the city as possible. The husks of empty buildings burned in his wake, but at least the main part of the city had been ordered to evacuate ages ago during air attacks that had left the city nearly in ruins. If Rubeus wanted to spend his time destroying barely standing buildings, then Minako wasn't going to complain.

"Two groups," Minako decided suddenly. Her determined voice cut through the silence like a whip. "Rubeus is moving slowly. With that many men behind him, and with his cocky desire to destroy everything, they won't move much quicker than a snail's pace." Minako wished that Ami was here by now, as Ami would know what to calculate in order to know exactly just how long it would take for Rubeus and his troops to reach the palace gates. "Most of the citizens are already evacuated from that area, and with our crystal defenses, he can only come to the gates if he hopes to attack us head on."

Minako brought up a map of the city, and outlined the route that she thought Rubeus would take. It was a straight forward route, but she guessed it would still take the Black Moon general a good amount of time to reach the gate. The gates were the palace's only real weakness against ground troops. The air attacks had left some parts cracked, but the crystalline walls still held strong.

"With Rubeus temporarily out of the picture, we can focus our attacks on putting up defenses at the palace gates, and to attacking the air ships." Minako turned her attention onto Makoto then. "You should lead our defenses against the air ships. Your lightning attacks are exceptionally good at short circuiting and damaging their ships' mechanisms. If we can get the ships out of the air quickly enough, we can have everyone regroup at the palace gates before Rubeus even gets there. We'll keep an eye on him though, and adjust the plan as needed."

It was a risky plan. There were a number of things that could go wrong with it, and Minako could imagine every single one of them. Her heart ached at the thought of going through with a plan with so many flaws.

But it felt like the best chance they had without splitting theirselves up too much.

"Does that sound good?" She paused, and a frown came to her lips. "We need to find Ami and Rei quickly, and get them up to speed."

Ami jumped up and was about to follow Luna out and to the command center but she realized she was still in a nightgown and towel. Deciding quickly she grabbed her Transformation Crystal and called out the familiar words.

The rush of her senshi powers never ceased to amaze her. She never would have thought herself capable of being a goddess of water and protection.

As the sequence died down and she was in her Mercury outfit, she turned back to her desk and took one final look at the layout of the surrounding palace grounds. Taking a moment to absorb what she saw she paused, then bolted down the hall to catch up with the others who were surely wondering where she was.

Bursting into the room she threw out apologies of her tardiness, all while making a beeline for the console. Reaching over Minako in the chair she skillfully tapped buttons and moved the screen perspective around to get a better veiw of the enemy attack. As she was looking Minako filled her in on their tentative plan of action and Ami nodded along with her to signal she was listening.

Taking a moment after Minkao finished she kicked her brain into high gear, even going so far as to close her eyes, to get a mental picture of the tactical strategy they needed to succeed.

"Minako's right. Reubus will take much longer to arrive at the palace than the air ships, but he might also be using that as a distraction for a smaller group to sneak up on the palace and take out Usagi. For now we'll split up into 2 groups. One for the air ships and one to scout the palace for any intruders.

The group staying here will need to stay with Usagi at all times. I don't care if she has to pee whoever stays NEEDS to be by her side. Any slip up could potentially be an opening for a sniper group to take her out. Chibiusa and Luna should be the ones protecting her. If all else fails use your knowledge of the palace to find a hiding spot till the rest of us can help you.

The group taking out the airships will head out to the battlefield. I'll go, and ill need Minako and Makoto with me. We need to find Rei as well. I'm thinking if we can use Minako's Chain to grab the ships, Makoto can disorient their flight patterns with her Flower Hurricane. I will then shoot a stream of water into the jets and kill the engines. That should cause them to fall to the ground and if need be Rei can set the ships on fire. It's a risky plan but if we all cover eachother and keep our eyes to the sky we should be able to pull it off."

Looking up at the group she saw a lot of confused or frightened faces.

"You guys with me?"

Rei sighed in frustration and finally extinguished the flames before her. Hours of trying to look for an answer had not yielded much. She tried to find out the enemy’s weakness; none. She tried to find out who was behind all these Black Moon people; nada. And finally she had tried to find out the outcome of the battle, and that had resulted in something, but it was not at all good. It wasn’t anything clear, but she saw Usagi falling, and… and nothing. She didn’t know what it meant. It didn’t necessarily mean the worst, she knew. But it still gave her knots in her stomach that refused to go away.

When she heard the alarm, she had not gone straight into the control room. Instead, she stopped by Usagi’s room to make sure she was still there and safe. The sight of her queen alive and well did not alleviate her worries, but it helped a little bit. After the pit stop, she hurried toward the control room where everyone had already gathered. She entered while Ami was talking, and Rei discovered her usually quiet friend adopting one of those more take-charge attitudes. Anyone knew the situation was serious when Ami no longer sat back and actually started issuing orders.

“I’m here,” she said softly once Ami stopped speaking. “Sorry for being late. I had to… uh… check on Usagi.” She turned toward Ami. “Your plan is sound. I admit, I would feel more comfortable staying behind with Usagi, too… but I know you guys need me.” She averted her gaze from everyone else, trying not to let her anxiety show.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Chibiusa and Luna to be able to protect Usagi properly, although the concern of involving Chibiusa at all and Luna’s considerable lack of power was also a factor. She knew if she and her friends did her job properly, the enemy should never even get to the castle at all. And she knew Usagi herself was powerful too. Her brain understood all these things, but after that premonition, Rei would feel more comfortable having another soldier standing with their queen just in case.

She finally deferred to Minako, acknowledging the fact that she was their leader and the one who should make the ultimate decision. “So is that what we’re going with?”

Chibimoon wasn't happy with what she was hearing but they were right she had to be here to protect her mother and she did know the palace nearly better than anyone around. She used to play in the grand halls. She and Luna could in theory keep the Queen hidden and safe for a long while. While Luna wasn't a senshi she could change back and forth from cat to human and they would have Diana to help. But the small pink haired teen wanted nothing more that to be able to prove herself in battle. Not that she wanted to fight but her mother had fought and that's why they had enjoyed peace for so long. For some reason the princess felt that it was some how her turn to fight for peace. "Alright if that's the plan." She said more to herself than the others.
She knew deep in her heart that they won't let her fight, and she understood why but it didn't stop her from feeling like she needed to.


Luna sat on the top of the console and listened. It all sounded good, but there was something nagging her. She would have to make it a point to ask Rei what she had seen that made her want to be with Usagi so badly. Speaking of the Queen she should be here. Yes Minako was their leader and she could command just fine, it would put them at ease a little to see the one they were all fighting for. It wasn't just Crystal Tokyo they were fighting for but the Queen, King and Princess as much as she would rather be out with them. Diana had been keeping Luna up to date on Small Lady's actions and she knew something was up from the way she had been training over the past few days.

'I hope we can find a way out of this soon.' The girls hadn't fought a battle like this against an enemy before and it was draining them. Luna could see it. The small black cat just sat waiting for them to make their decisions and move out. She would do whatever she could to help protect the Queen, even if that meant giving her life.

To tell the truth, Mako was fine with following whatever plan the other girls came up with. She just wanted to be out there and doing something already. So when Minako said they were splitting up into two groups and ignoring Rubeus for the time being, Mako nodded in agreement. They could come back to him once they’d taken care of the bigger threats. “Thanks, I will do my best to take as many of them down as quickly as possible.” This battle had been long and hard, and she was not at her prime any more, but the source of Mako’s strength had always been faith. And right now she had faith that she would be able to beat them. Or die trying.

Just when Minako mentioned Rei and Ami’s absence, Mercury appeared in the room as if on cue, and for her part, she immediately jumped into action. Mako felt better already seeing her smartest friend doing something to help them. Mako turned toward Chibiusa and Luna when Ami said they needed to be the ones protecting Usagi and gave them an encouraging smile. They could do this. Mako had faith in them and believed that just like the rest, they would protect Usagi with their lives. The thought of endangering the future queen of Crystal Tokyo, however, was a bit hard to stomach.

“I’m definitely with you. Let’s do this,” she said, hoping to infuse everyone with some spirit. It was then that Rei finally walked in, and Mako looked at her with concern. She had learned to be more attuned to Rei’s subtle mood changes, but something was definitely bothering her. Whether it was her close bond with Usagi or something else, she was understandably worried to leave her queen behind in case anything happened. Mako came to stand beside her and squeezed her shoulder gently to convey that everything would be alright. Hopefully.

Everyone else agreed with the plan, and Mako looked back at the monitor, toward the approaching ships. A foreboding sense filled her as she stood there among her fellow soldiers but with their queen missing. Usagi’s absence seemed to be a bad omen even if she knew it would be safer for her to stay out of sight. Still, even after all these years, Mako still missed fighting alongside the warrior of legends, Sailor Moon. She had always been the one that made her feel invincible.

Minako watched the raven-haired girl closely. Minako wouldn't say anything to her just now, but she filed it all away for later.

Preferably for when they did not have a horde of enemies on their way to the attack the castle.

With the final addition of Rei to their group, Minako felt more at ease. They were all together now. Things wouldn't be so bad when all four of them were at each others' sides in this fight. There was one final gap, the missing brightness from their Queen, but that was one gap that Minako was glad to see unfilled. Usagi needed to stay in the castle and be protected.

Minako stood up from her chair. "Alright we'll go with that, Ami. You know best. However, I think Rei should stay behind to protect Usagi alongside Chibiusa and Luna. The three of us can deal with the airships, well enough, especially with Makoto's lightning attacks. I want one of us four to stay behind with Usagi, and I think that Rei would do best in that mission."

Minako looked straight at Rei as she finished saying this. Rei was determined enough, strong enough, and her powers were versatile enough to keep Usagi safe. With Rei at Usagi's side, no one would ever get close enough to touch Usagi. Rei would never allow it.

The same could be said for any of them, they've all proved theirselves countless of times throughout the years. But the danger was too great to try and sugar coat things. Ami did not have enough elemental strength and her intelligence would be better for fighting the airships than being a bodyguard; Makoto was needed badly for the airships since her attacks were incredibly strong and effective; and as for herself, Minako knew that she was not the strongest and that her ability to keep an eye on everything going on, even in the midst of a battle, would be much better used on the roof where she could have a bird's eye view of everything approaching the castle. Minako just hoped that whatever had Rei so distracted wouldn't be a hindrance to her abilities. But Minako trusted that Rei could push that all away and focus on her task.

With that settled, Minako turned back to address the rest as she moved to the exit of the room. "Let's get moving. Once the airships are fully dealt with, we'll all meet up again at the gates to fight off Rubeus and his troops." She paused, her heart racing with both adrenaline and fear. "Good luck, everyone."

She hesitated, just for a moment as she looked at each girl individually, before turning and going out of the room. With determination giving her strength, she ran towards the stairs leading up to the roof of the castle.

Rei looked at Minako in surprise when she said Rei should stay behind to protect Usagi with Chibiusa and Luna. She smiled gratefully at Minako for granting her request. Minako must have sensed her anxiety, and the trust she put in Rei touched her every time. It was always strange to think that they had been friends and comrades for hundreds of years, but she knew their easy bond and the way they could always communicate without speaking out loud had been there almost from the very start. “Thank you. I will guard her with my life,” she promised. Rei would gladly die for Usagi, always, and it was something that was also never going to change no matter how much time had passed.

Rei looked at Minako as she turned to leave, wondering if this was the last time she was going to see her alive. It was the same with every battle, of course, the ones that required them to split up instead of being with each other. Those battles had always bothered her the most because she knew they were stronger together, united. And even when they were together, sometimes they could still fail. But this battle especially gave her a terrible feeling. And her instinct told her to stay close to Usagi—that it was more important than creating a united front at the expense of leaving their queen on her own.

“Good luck,” she said to everyone, and moved toward Chibiusa and Luna. “Let’s find Usagi and bring her here, shall we? I’d like to stay at the command center and keep watch over the battle.” Someone had to be there, and she would feel less useless this way. At least she could warn the others about incoming attacks and monitor everyone’s progress. It would be like watching over everyone simultaneously. She wondered why Usagi hadn’t barged in here yet, actually—she was never one to hide or stay in the sidelines. Although, for now, it was probably better if she didn’t feel like the invincible soldier she once was. She would be easier to keep safe that way.

Luna felt a wave of semi relief flood her when she heard that Rei would be staying with them. She believed an trusted in Chibimoon's abilities but she didn't have the experience in battle that the others had, and that could make up for all the power in the world. She waited and watched, as the others set about their tasks. The small black cat nodded. "Right." She could feel the tension in the room. ANd she wondered what was going through the pricness' mind. "Usa should be in her rooms still." Luna moved from the console where she had been sitting to the door. "The sooner we get to her the sooner we can support the others." 

Chibiusa wasn't really mad. More hurt. Was she that weak? or was it that she didn't have the experience the others did? Or was it the fact she was the princess and needed to be protected like her mother or some weak little girl? It upset her, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Minako knew what she was doing and if she said that Rei would stay with them then Rei would and Chibiusa would have to deal with that. Sighing she nodded her head. "I like this plan." She said more than an hint of scarscam in her voice. "I'm proud to be part of this plan." Yes as still a moody teenager, sometimes that slipped through. She wouldn't do anything to put her mother in danger though, she would fight to the death for her mother like al the others. Even small Luna whose only power was the ability to change into a human. Sighing she waited at the door for Rei. 

OOC:

Mako felt better hearing that Rei would be staying behind with Usagi. If she could be in two places at once, she would want to do the same. She was the soldier of protection, after all, and it was her job to protect everyone, most especially the queen. However, her strength was also needed out there, and she was also one of their greatest assets in the offense department. Rei, though, was someone she could completely trust to protect Usagi. She had seen time and time again how dedicated Rei was to Usagi, and the time when she once thought Rei actually hated Usagi seemed to be from a million years ago. Now? Now Mako felt like she could fight better without having to worry about their queen, knowing she was in good hands.

Minako finally gave the command to move out, and Mako didn’t hesitate. She nodded at the girls who would be staying behind and followed closely on Minako’s heels, not wanting her friend to have to fight alone for even a moment. Mako’s optimism didn’t even give her room to doubt that they all would meet again, and so she didn’t waste time saying goodbye. Instead, her mind was already on the battle ahead. Focusing only on strategy and how to bring down the enemy quickly, she ran to the roof, her boots pounding on the stairs in time with her own heartbeat.

The wind was whipping strong once she arrived at the open air area. Looking up, Mako felt a brief terror at the sight of countless airships peppering the Crystal Tokyo sky. Then her dread was replaced by anger. This was supposed to be their clear, beautiful sky. How dare these people invade and spread their threat upon her home? Upon her dominion? Jupiter channeled her fury into laser focus and without waiting another moment, she stood at the center of the roof, her arms lifted to the sky, her eyes closed. “My guardian Jupiter! Brew a storm! Call the clouds! Bring down the lightning!”

Instantly the sky grew dark, clouds began to form, and thunder rumbled in the distance. She opened her eyes and targeted the nearest cluster of airships. “Supreme Thunder!” she called out, striking them with precision. The lightning shot down from the sky, its branches hitting several airships at once. Some of them immediately began to smoke, their engines hit. One managed to evade her attack, but she wasn’t letting it go so easily. Gathering electricity in her hand, Jupiter threw it directly to the dodging airship. “Sparkling Wide Pressure!” Electricity crackled as the released burst of energy hit the front of the ship, exploding glass inward into its passengers. Adrenaline was running through her veins, and with each enemy that she shot down, Jupiter was feeling better and more confident.

We’ve got this.

Ami nodded along with Minako's changes to her plan. In truth Ami would rather have Rei there at the battle to help ease the burden but she also knew that they needed a safeguard to protect their Queen and no one was better fit for that position than Rei. They all loved their Queen and would gladly die for her but something about Rei and Usagi's relationship made it slightly stronger than the others', therefore making Rei the best bodyguard for her. 

So Ami agreed to Minako's new plan and once everyone had confirmed their duties and were ready to go she quickly followed after Mako up onto one of the roof platforms of the palace. Seeing Mako jump right into battle and begin to take down multiple airships at once kicked Ami's body and mind into high gear and she focused herself for her first attack. 

Centering herself she drew in her energy and called forth her strongest attack. "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!!" Throwing her body and hands foward she sent multiple streams of raging water towards the ships, each one aiming for their main engines. A few of the ships barely dodged her attack but most of the streams hit their targets and sent the ships spiraling downwards where they then exploded upon hitting the ground. 

After her initial attack Ami drew herself back and centered again, this time focusing on a weaker more defensive attack. Calling forth the water in the air as well as in the clouds that Mako had drawn in, she reached her hands out again said, "Sabao Spray!" A thick fog materialized from her fingers and was sent directly to the area around the ships, leaving the airships completely blind and only the Senshi able to see them. 

Ami smiled to herself and looked over at Mako. The thunder senshi was still deeply focused on the battle and as Ami glanced at her she noticed that there was someone missing. During her attacks Ami hadn't really paid much attention to her surroundings but now that she pulled back into reality she noticed that Minako hadn't made it to the rooftop yet. 

Ami was about to turn around and look for her more but it was then that an airship found it's way out of Ami's fog and began moving straight for them. Ami quickly drew herself together again and called out, "Shine Aqua Illusion!!" Her attack sent a stream of water at the enemy and it hit directly in the engine, making the ship fall to it's doom. Looking up Ami saw the shadows of more ships finding their way to the edge of her fog and she prepared herself for the next wave of attack.

Luna said Usagi should still be in her rooms, and Rei smiled as she led the three of them in that direction. “She’d better be; I told her to stay put.” When she first checked on Usagi earlier, Rei had argued with her; Usagi didn’t want to be left behind, of course, while everyone else was out there fighting. But Rei had employed her own special brand of stubbornness and, after promising at least ten times that she wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye, she finally managed to get the queen to wait there while they discussed how best to approach the situation. She hated putting Usagi on the sidelines, especially since her friend used to fight alongside them—lead them, even—but Usagi was not Sailor Moon anymore. She used to be a princess and a warrior, but now she was just a queen. Rei was always the first person to voice the hard truths and the fact was that Usagi was not built for fighting anymore.

Rei heard Chibiusa’s sarcastic reply and had to stop herself from smiling wider. Like mother, like daughter. Now she was going to have two stubborn princesses who wanted to fight but had been told they couldn’t. How on earth would she manage? “And you should be, Small Lady. Proud, that is. Your job is just as important as everyone else’s, even if it might not look like it. Sure, the other girls are obviously fighting out there, but if there’s an enemy breach in the castle, who do you think we’re counting on to protect your mother? We’re her last line of defense, and if you don’t think that’s incredibly important, then clearly you need to brush up on your training.” She gave the girl a comforting smile and put her arm around Chibiusa’s shoulder as she walked toward Usagi’s room.

Rei knocked once, heard Usagi’s eager reply, and pushed the door open. Usagi visibly relaxed when she saw Rei, Luna, and Chibiusa, the evidence of her worry clear in the creased lines on the front of her dress, where she’d probably been clutching it and wringing it around her hands. “What’s happening?” she asked, and Rei gently took her hand. “The others have gone to the roof to take care of the enemy ships. Come on, let’s watch over them together.” Usagi seemed upset at the idea that she hadn’t gotten the chance to see Minako, Makoto, and Ami before they left, but she also seemed grateful to have something useful to do. Rei led the group of four back the way she’d come.

“You’re staying behind?” Usagi asked a moment later. Rei nodded. “Someone’s got to keep an eye on you,” she said playfully, and when it elicited an annoyed grunt from Usagi, she knew she’d managed to lighten the situation. Settling on the main seat that was usually occupied by Minako, Rei deftly arranged the controls so that they had a lot more visual on the roof. She could see Mako and Ami there, both already causing a good amount of damage on the enemy ships. Still more were coming as if they had the ability to endlessly multiply, and her heart seized in worry. “Keep an eye on our girls,” she told everyone. “Warn them through the communicators if they’re missing an oncoming attack. Let’s all stay alive and get past this.”

It was the only way they always overcame everything; with teamwork and togetherness.

Minako had only been out of the observatory for a moment before she heard Makoto and Ami follow right behind her. Before continuing onto the roof, Minako closed her eyes, and transformed. Upon reaching the roof, the sight of the sky filled with so many enemy airships forced Venus to pause in her actions. The observatory had warned them of the vast amount of enemies that they would face, but seeing them on a screen was a different thing than to see them in person.

But Venus was not distracted by these thoughts. She pushed all of her worries and fears away, and focused on the battle at hand.

She could feel Jupiter gathering great amounts of power already, the growing levels almost pulsating off of her. Venus left that side of the roof to Jupiter then, and focused instead on the other side. Her attacks were not full of raw power, but she had a large arsenal of versatile attacks, and she would use that to her advantage.

Stepping close to the edge of the roof, Venus threw down her hand to her side and began to call upon her own power. Aiming at the guns of the three airships directly in front of her, she sent her attack flying through the sky as she called out, "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

The guns exploded in a burst of flame and smoke, debris falling towards the ground. Her attack had landed true, but it was not a destructive hit, and all three ships were still in the air, and still a problem. The front guns were not the only weapons these airships used to devastating effect, but destroying them would have bought the senshi a bit of time to focus on other ships.

As a familiar fog spread throughout the roof and the air around them, Venus spared a moment to look over at Mercury and Jupiter. She had been staying to the side since they had all reached the roof, but now Venus moved to be closer to them, to use the concealing fog together. The other two senshi had already done a lot of damage to various airships, and she couldn't help but to feel a little optimistic about this battle.

So far, there hadn't been many problems. They were bringing down ships left and right, and ridding other ships of their varied weapons. There were still many more airships in the sky, but Venus felt a strong confidence that they would be able to defeat them all.

Venus hoped that other parts of the castle were faring as well as they were. But the worry for her loved ones was trying to distract her, and Venus would not allow that.

Stepping forward, Venus targeted an airship to the left of the gathered senshi. Aiming with a single finger pointed straight at the ship, she called out, "Crescent Beam!" The golden ray of pure energy made a brilliant streak through the foggy air, and it shot straight through the airship, leaving a gaping hole in the black metal construct.

Before she could feel too pleased with ridding theirselves of one more enemy, she heard the sound of the airship's guns beginning to warm up. It was a tell-tale sign that they were about to shoot at a target. The sound echoed all around them, signaling that more than one airship was about to begin firing at random through the concealing fog. They would only have a few seconds before the guns would open fire.

Glancing around, taking everything in, Venus came up with a plan. "Jupiter, use Oak Evolution on the incoming bullets. Mercury, you and your visor can tell us where to aim against those incoming bullets." Seeing as how Mercury did not have an area attack, all of her powers tended to focus on a single target, Venus wanted both herself and Jupiter to use their own attacks that could hit many tiny targets all at once. It only took one electric leaf or one glowing heart to take out the airship bullets, and they would need Mercury to be their eyes, seeing as the Black Moon bullets were tiny but deadly and hard to see.

"They will only have a few minutes before they have to reset their guns. We'll use that lull to take out the rest of the ships that way." Venus readied her powers, focusing and waiting for Mercury to guide her. She knew there was a risk of this maneuver tiring them out a bit, but she was confident that the airships would run out of bullets long before she and her senshi comrades would run out of power.

They were all far too determined to ever let that happen.

The sound of the guns warming up was almost complete. "Get ready!" Venus already had her power glowing and gathered in her hands.

Despite the high intensity of the situation, she felt calm and confident still. Outnumbered perhaps, but the battle would be theirs. And the sooner this part was over, the sooner they could join the others.

(Rubeus) 

It was the twelth hour of the day in the enormous city known as Crystal Tokyo. A luminous red glow bathed the city with it's sunset. The sunlight fell away from the densely packed buildings, turning the streets to a darker and much more unfriendly color. Multiple ships in the sky above Rubeus began to press forward. They were massive in size, hovering just above the rooftop of the buildings. The shadows casted covered most of the city's streets, and would cause the civilians to poor outside from their homes and local businesses. 

Now, only the palace in the near distance was lit.

Rubeus' well known smirk flashed as he stood at the head of the group. The strongest of droids from Nemesis were under his control for the ground invasion. The warrior stood at his full height, arms crossed over his chest. His fiery eyes scanned the parameters. With the ships near, the radiating power of the Black Crystal could be felt flowing through out his body. It was only fitting that Rubeus would attack from below with his sensibility for the life of humans next to nothing. For many of them, his face would be the last thing they saw before being erased from the planet. 

His thoughts would soon be interrupted as he heard an uproar and cries from the civilians of Crystal Tokyo. Many of them began to run, marking the palace as their destination. A maniacal laugh escaped from his lips as seconds passed, finding joy in their terror. The tall and slim warrior dropped his arms to his side. A sphere of energy formed within the palm and his fingers grasped around it. Within a swift motion the ball was hurled forward. 

Within the blink of an eye a group of bystanders had been struck. All that remained was a large column of smoke that began to rise into the air. His hunger was far from being satisfied.  

In the distance Rubeus could see the aircraft approaching the palace, and already under attack. To his surprise, one was already taken down, and surely more would follow unless he went to their aid.Obviously they had already been detected. 

The ground force moved forward. It wouldn't take him long to reach the gates, and a path of destruction would follow. Most of the droids found it irresistible not to demolish the now vacant properties along the way.

Their goal was simple: destroy all of Crystal Tokyo.

Fighting alongside her friends felt familiar and comforting. She also drew strength from their togetherness and their ability to work with each other, and Jupiter’s confidence was definitely building. Being on the forefront of battle meant being on her element. This was a lot better than just sitting around waiting for things to happen. She briefly wondered how Rei was coping with this. She knew Rei would be itching to fight too, and she was also one of their strongest when it came to offense. The same knowledge made her feel better about knowing that Rei would be there with Usagi at all times.

Mercury was fighting as hard beside her, and Jupiter admired her for it. Strength was not Mercury’s forte, but she made up for it with her mind and her strategies. As if on cue, the sky suddenly became blanketed by fog, which no doubt would make navigation difficult for the enemy ships. Mako returned Ami’s smile and grinned when she saw her friend single-handedly take down one incoming ship. “Way to go,” she said, even as more ships appeared behind the first wave. Just how many of them were there, and would the senshi be strong enough to bring all of them down?

A flash of yellow caught Jupiter’s attention and she turned to see Venus raining down attacks on her side of the roof. She moved closer to them, taking down another ship as she went, and once again Jupiter marveled at the ease with which Venus moved in battle. It was like she was built for this, despite the fact that no one would know that on first glance. She was supposed to be the senshi of love and beauty, and yet behind that pretty girl façade she hid a deadliness that most of their enemies would be sorry to find out too little too late.

Then a terrifying sound echoed through the air, and Jupiter looked up with her heart beating hard in her chest. Venus was already issuing orders, and Jupiter moved to carry them out before she was done speaking. Power was gathered in her tiara’s antenna, ready to be unleashed as deadly electric leaves the moment Mercury gave her instruction. “I’m ready when you are!” she said, adrenaline pumping ever faster as the seconds ticked by. They were fighting against bullets now—bullets that could easily rip through their bodies—and she would be lying if she didn’t say the thought didn’t scare her, standing there on the rooftop as easy targets without even a shield or any protection whatsoever.

But she trusted her friends. She trusted Mercury to be precise, and she trusted every one of them with their life because that was how it had always been. So Jupiter stood her ground and waited for the cue, placing faith in her friends as she had for thousands of years.