Things you should know before you read: 1. The face in the Luna ball looked like Serena's mother to me. 2. As you all know, Sailor Moon and related characters don't belong to me. I'm just a poor fan. OPERATION END THIS STORY LINE By Cloretta Bailey Baileyct@ionet.net Episode 7: For Love And Fatherhood Here's the buzz sailor fans: Tuxedo Mask is fighting Rubeus in mortal combat. The scouts have created a forcefield to protect Renie and baby Crystal. Sailor Moon is still in the 30th century. Will she return in time to save them? Will this story line ever end? Read on and find out. It was late afternoon at the hospital, and things were not going well. Droids continued to pound the forcefield with their attacks. It was beginning to take its toll. The scouts wouldn't last much longer. Ken, Chad, Grandpa, and Greg fought them away from the ambulance. The droids, however, were winning the battle. Some of their blasts were banging the scouts and denting the ambulance. Inside the ambulance, Renie grabbed her Luna ball and pushed its button nose. Joe was still trying to prevent the jolly green giant from killing someone. Yet, even he couldn't keep up that pace for long. He was unaccustomed to using his powers so extensively. It was giving him a headache. Joe hoped he didn't end up with an aneurysm deep inside his brain. It would ruin his day. Nearby, Rubeus and Tuxedo Mask were slinging punches. Rubeus landed one to Tuxedo Mask's jaw. It sent him crashing to the pavement. Rubeus stood over him and laughed. "I can't wait to get my prize back. Your princess is quite a hot one between the sheets." "Liar!" "You mean you don't think so?" Rubeus laughed again. "I know Crystal wasn't conceived the normal way, you slime." "Crystal? . . .Aahh! Naming my child without my permission. I can't allow that." He raised his hands, forming balls of energy, and prepared to blast. Tuxedo Mask swung his cane at Rubeus' feet. The resulting blow broke both the cane and Rubeus' shin. Rubeus hopped around on one leg. Tuxedo Mask flung a rose at him. It knocked Rubeus down. Tuxedo Mask got to his feet and retrieved a piece of his cane. He aimed to smash in Rubeus' head with it. Rubeus blasted Tuxedo Mask. The Tux man was hurled into a twisted piece of wreckage. The piece of metal impaled him in the side. Bright colors radiated before Tuxedo Mask's eyes. He blacked out. Rubeus slowly got to his feet and formed more balls of energy. * * * * * * Queen Serena looked around her as if dazed. Crystal Tokyo's destruction was more than she could bear. Once she saw the spaceships above her home, she gave them a look a venom. 'You are history,' she thought. She undid her hair and revealed the Silver Imperial Crystal. Sailor Moon knew she would need help and produced her own crystal; but by the time she did, the queen had already caused all the spaceships to crash into the bombed out rubble that was Crystal Tokyo. The queen smirked in satisfaction. Sailor Moon gaped at her. Using that much of the crystal's power, should have weakened the queen. If anything, she seemed stronger. Sailor Moon had trouble equating this queen with the one in the yellow void who could barely lift her head. Though no one expected to find any, General Nephlite sent Melvin and a squad of men to search the various wreckages for any droid survivors. "With any luck, the people will now awaken," he said thinking aloud. "Of course, they will," Sailor Moon replied. "Once the minions are dead, the people wake up and wonder what happened. Always happens that way. I think it's a requirement in the contract with our writers." "Really?" Nephlite asked. "Excuse me, your majesty. Important business to attend to." He rushed off to his headquarters where his wife rested. He intended to be there when Molly awakened. The queen turned toward the palace and waited. One by one the colors of the forcefield vanished. She calmly walked forward into the palace. The graces and Sailor Moon followed. The king met the queen at the entrance. From their embrace, a person would think they hadn't seen each other for years. The dukes met their spouses in like fashion. The Duke of Mars lifted his mate up and spun her around. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him. Sailor Moon's toes curl inside her boots as she watched them. Even so, she found the Jupiters to be the most interesting. The warrior duchess lifted Joe over her head. Sailor Moon ached inside knowing no embrace like those awaited her return home. It wasn't fair. Sailor Moon could watch them no longer, so she turned away and wondered down the main hall. There she heard Luna's voice. She followed the voice into a nearby room. It was filled by sophisticated equipment. Sailor Moon had never seen anything like the technology. But why should she? She was 1000 years in her own future. She gazed around the room looking for Luna but the cat was nowhere to be seen. The only person in the room was a woman with violet colored hair wearing a uniform similar to Melvin's. She was busy talking to someone through the equipment. Sailor Moon recognized the woman's voice. "Mother?" When the woman finished talking, she turned to Sailor Moon. "You have no authorization to be here." This time her voice was different. Ann now sounded like Luna. "How did you do that?" "Guards!" Sailor Moon grabbed the woman and tried to peer down her throat. "Have you swallowed my cat?" Ann tried to extricate herself from the nutty teen. Both fell to the floor. "Ouch, that hurt," Sailor Moon said rubbing her nose. The king and queen rushed into the room. Ann stood at attention. Her tone changed back to Ann's voice. "Your majesties, the princess is in great danger." "How would you know?" Sailor Moon asked. Ann looked at her like she was an imbecile. "I am the chief communications officer of Crystal Tokyo. I have just been in contact with the princess via the Luna ball." She sounded like Luna again. "You're the person inside the Luna ball? You do know that a floating cat head shows evidence of a sick mind don't you?" "How is Renie in danger?" the king interjected. Sailor Moon gave no credence to what Ann said. "She's not in danger. She's with my friends." "The scouts and Tuxedo Mask are losing a battle in the twentieth century," Ann explained. That got Sailor Moon's attention. "Oh no, I must go home." "I'm going with you," the king said. "So am I," the queen added. "We all are," all eight of the graces said. "No!" the king said. "Men, you stay here and organize the defenses for the rest of the world." He glanced out a window. "And clean up this City." With the use of Renie's time key, the king, queen, Sailor Moon and four warrior duchess' floated up and disappeared through the crystal key's ring of clouds. "Janitorial services, again!" Ken complained. "We never get to have any fun." "The show's not about us," Greg replied. "What are you complaining about," Chad said. "You've been in more episodes than I have and I'm a contract player." Joe walked over to Ann. "Just out of curiosity, did you swallow a cat?" Commercial Break Rubeus prepared to bring down the balls of energy on Tuxedo Mask. He didn't get the chance. Sammy hurled a hub cap. "Moon Tiara Magic," he quipped. The hub cap crashed into Rubeus' side. Rubeus fell to the ground and rolled. He retaliated. Sammy dove for cover. The blast of energy went over Sammy and hit Evan knocking him into Sailor Venus. Both fell to the ground. Without Venus' energy the forcefield vanished. Several droids seized the opportunity. They blasted the scouts. The planetary warriors collapsed too weak to fight back any longer. Rubeus laughed. "Now to finish off Tuxedo Mask." He turned to face his prey again, but Tuxedo Mask was no longer impaled on the twisted metal. Rubeus' gaze followed the blood trail to the feet standing next to him. He looked upward at the legs clad in black. Higher up, Rubeus saw a blood soaked hip. His gaze ascended higher past the heaving chest to the hate filled face of Prince Darien. He was dressed in full battle armor. His sword at the ready. "Uh oh." Prince Darien shoved the blade deep into Rubeus' gut. "Being the father of Serena's children is my job. I'm not letting you or anyone else have it." He ripped Rubeus open harikari style. It took more effort than he realized. Prince Darien leaned on his sword heavily. Blood pored from the wound in his side. "Say hello to Malachite in oblivion for me," he panted. Rubeus looked beyond Prince Darien. "Master. . . please!" he gasped. The Wiseman's eyes glowed back at him. "You failed me too many times, Rubeus. Be happy you died by his hand. It is nothing compared to what I would do." He turned and walked toward the banged up ambulance. Prince Darien tried to gather the strength to stand. Instead, he collapsed onto Rubeus' body and reverted back to his regular self. As Rubeus faded into oblivion, Darien fell onto the pavement. Joe's headache was more than he could bear. He lost his concentration. The jolly green giant lifted what used to be a Honda Accord and started to bring it down on Joe. The telekinetic teen slowed its decent but only long enough to get out of the way. The jolly green giant lifted another vehicle. The scouts stood and combined what little strength they could to try to repel the Wiseman's advance. The Wiseman raised his arm in a sweeping motion. The scouts slumped against the ambulance unconscious and lost their transformations. Sammy jumped onto the Wiseman's back, but he fell through the cloak onto the ground. The Wiseman was nothing but glowing eyes beneath the cloak. He proceeded toward the ambulance and ripped the back doors off. "Hold it right there!" Every conscious person in the parking lot looked up to see where that voice came from. Floating down from the sky were Sailor Moon, and what looked to be older versions of the scouts. One in particular captured their attention. A beautiful woman with wings. "God in his mercy has sent an angle to save us," cried one of the humans. He was immediately clobbered by five droids. The reporters scrambled to retrieve their camera equipment. The equipment was broken into many pieces and useless. Even so, they fought each other anew trying to get an interview. The new arrivals ignored them. "Mister giant jawa person, you have caused a lot of havoc, trashed a beautiful city and caused me to have a majorly irreparable problem with my boyfriend. On behalf of everyone harmed by your evil ways, and also those just mildly annoyed, I am Sailor Moon. I will right wrongs and triumph over evil and THAT means you." "What's with the speech?" the queen asked her. The Wiseman's eyes glowed with anger. Both Sailor Moon and Queen Serena had escaped him. "Attack!" The droids rushed forward. The 30th century warriors blasted in every direction. They had the same powers as their 20th century counterparts except they were stronger. The blasts actually killed the droids they hit. The Wiseman turned back to the ambulance. It was empty. Ann and Renie had fled trough the front doors. Ann took baby Crystal and ran back into the hospital. Renie ran into her mother's arms. Sailor Moon rushed to Darien. "Mamo-chan, oops. . . I mean Muffin?" The fallen hero did not answer her. She cradled his head in her lap. He looked so helpless. Tears ran down Sailor Moon's cheeks. "Please wake up," she begged. The king lifted the unconscious man and raced through the emergency room doors. Sailor Moon started to follow, but the Duchess of Mars held her back. "Leave him to the people who can help him. You are needed here." Sailor Moon looked toward the hospital. Her face lost all expression. She produced her scepter and faced the battle ahead. "Moon Scepter Elimination!" The hospital was in relatively good shape despite its near proximity to a battle. The emergency room was swarmed with injured humans. The king dropped Darien onto a hospital gurney. "This man needs help. NOW!" Medical personal around him jumped to attention and saluted. "Yes, sir!" Several doctors ran over to Darien and inspected his wounds. The injury to his side was deep and he had lost too much blood. "Get this man to O R STAT!" They wheeled Darien away. Then King Darien barked a few more orders before returning to the battle outside. All eyes followed his exit. "Who was that guy?" an injured Nancy Bargis asked her cousin, the nurse, who was bandaging Nancy's head. "I don't know but he scared me." "Yeah, who died and made him King of the Earth?" * * * * * * Outside, the king looked around dazed. It was hard to see. Negadust was everywhere. The warriors were eliminating the remaining droids so quickly that dust was accumulating faster than it could vanish. The king soon joined them cutting through droids with his sword without breaking a sweat. The Wiseman stared at Sailor Moon. She was the cause of his problems in both centuries. She would die now. He raised his hands and aimed bolts of dark energy at her. Sailor Moon was no match for him alone. She could not even hold her ground. Her boots skidded across the pavement as he pushed her back. She retaliated with the use of the Silver Imperial Crystal but still lost ground. Queen Serena pushed Renie into the arms of the Mercury Duchess and raised her own crystal. Evan and Sammy leaned against the hospital building and watched as the magical battle raged on. White light against dark energy. The more strength the Wiseman pored into his blast, the more the Serenas pored into their counter attacks. It was getting dark by the time the warriors had destroyed the droids. Only one droid remained. The jolly green giant. The duchesses blasted it together. He turned to dust and his negacrystal turned black. The Wiseman pushed forth one final effort to break through the Serenas' attack. They pored more power into theirs. "SAYONARA SUCKER!" The light was so white that even the Serenas could not look at it. It gave the night sky an illusion of daylight. The Wiseman screamed in agony. When the brightness faded away the Wiseman was no more. They had won. The Serenas sank to the ground exhausted. King Darien and Renie ran to Queen Serena and hugged her. Sailor Moon smiled as she watched the family reunion. Then she remembered Darien and rushed into the hospital. The reporters wasted no time trying to get interviews from the warriors. They swarmed around them throwing questions at random. "Who was the cloaked man?" "Where did you come from?" "Where did you get the wings?" Duchess Jupiter threatened to electrocute them if they did not go away. Their eyes became dots. They backed off. The duchesses knelt down by their 20th century counterparts. Amy opened her eyes and stared into her own face. She blinked. "There is two of me. I better be getting paid double for this episode." Darien was in recovery. None of his vital organs were damaged. He would be weak from the loss of blood, but he would by fine. Serena sat in a chair and waited. A nurse walked by the waiting room and noticed Serena's hospital gown. She forced Serena to return to her room. Eventually, everyone gathered there. Renie wanted to say good-bye to Darien so the 30th century warriors waited too. They all thought baby Crystal was adorable particularly the king and queen. Serena wished her Darien felt the same way. Chad was fawning all over Raye, and she was letting him. Serena seized the opportunity to lighten her mood. "When is the wedding you two?" "We are just friends," Raye replied. "Then what was that kiss I saw." She turned to Grandpa. "You should have seen it. She rapped her legs around his waist." "WHAT! I said no dating till she's 16. And I meant it." He chased Chad down the hall. Raye raced after them. Mina had a grin on her face. "What kiss?" Duchess Mars rolled her eyes. "That was me." Serena grinned. "I know." "Major migraine," Joe groaned. "Could you keep it down please." "We need an aspirin," Leta yelled. Joe's eyes bulged. He grabbed his head and moaned. "Make that morphine." "I'll get him something," Mina said. She walked to the nurses' desk. "Mina!" She turned to see who called her. It was her parents and they were angry. She darted back into Serena's room. "Serena, you have got to help me. I need the Luna pen. If my parents catch me, I'll be grounded until the Duchess of Venus is gumming her spinach." A sweat drop appeared by Duchess Venus' head. "I hate spinach." She walked out into the hall. Mina's parents accosted her. She looked at them. "Do I know You?" "You are our daughter and we are taking you home now." "Don't I look a little old to be your daughter?" "Yes." "That's because I'm not your daughter." "But--" "Feel free to look for your daughter. We are all in this room if you would care to look. Mina's parents looked at the people gathered inside Serena's hospital room. No Mina was present, but there was a grinning Raye with her arm around Ken. She was wearing a red bow in her hair and Artemis was draped on her shoulder. Mina's parents walked away in confusion. 'Raye' sighed in relief. Commercial Break It was morning before Darien could have any visitors. Renie ran in first to say good-bye. Shortly after her return, the warriors from the 30th century returned home. By this time Mina had talked Luna into going home with her and giving Mina's parents a dose of the Luna Mind-Meld. Mina's plan was to make her parents forget they had ever grounded her. Luna was also going to erase their memory of seeing her at the hospital. A doctor had given Joe a cat-scan because of his headache. It came back negative so he and Leta went home. She intended to take care of her telekinetic boyfriend. Since Amy's desire was to become a doctor, she took the opportunity to help the injured. She and Serena's family were the only one's still in Serena's room. All was peaceful. Serena decided to check on her daughter and walked to the nursery. Crystal was asleep in her crib. The crescent moon had almost faded from sight. Serena and the others watched her sleep. Until, Serena noticed something unusual. The name label on the crib was marked Crystal Serenity Ann EARTH. Serena turned to her father. "Daddy, you didn't make him claim her. Did you?" Evan laughed nervously and rubbed his neck. "It was his idea." "We'll see about that." Serena raced to the elevator leaving a cloud of dust behind her. Darien's room was on the third floor. Serena gasped when she saw him. Darien looked awful. Worse than she remembered from the battle. He was battered and bruised like he had been to death's door and back. He smiled. "I was beginning to believe you weren't coming see me." Serena sat in the chair by his bed. She was reluctant to broach the subject of Crystal knowing the baby was the only remaining link between them. She stared at Darien's blanket. It was light blue with an intricate design. "Serena, please talk to me," Darien begged. Serena looked up into his eyes. Those eyes she had lost herself in so many times before. "Renie has gone home." She was a safe subject. "I know. I'm going to miss her." Of course he would. Renie was his daughter or would be in a future lifetime. Unlike Crystal. Serena sighed. Renie wasn't a safe subject after all. Serena stood and looked out the window. "You should see the parking lot outside. It looks like a war zone." "We did fight a battle there." Serena turned away from the window. "It's not as bad as Crystal--" She couldn't continue. The city of the future wasn't a safe subject either. Darien sighed. "Why don't you get to the point. You came to see me because of Crystal not because you were worried about me." "Why did--" She closed her eyes before continuing. "Why did you let my father force you to claim paternity of Crystal?" "It was my idea." "That's what Daddy said, but I didn't believe him. Why did you do it?" "Rubeus was a threat to her." "He's not a threat anymore. He's dead." She took a deep breath. Here comes the painful part. "You don't have to claim her now." "She needs a father. It's not like Rubeus would have made a good one." 'Is that the best argument you can think of,' Serena thought dejectedly. It wasn't good enough for her to risk staying with him. He still didn't care for Crystal. If only he did. They could be together like they were supposed to be, but he didn't and never would. "I'm going to have Crystal's name changed back to Moon," Serena said. She didn't bother to look at him as she said the words. She walked toward the door. There was nothing else to say. Darien and She were no more. Commercial Break "Going to take her from me too?" Huh? Serena turned back to Darien. There were tears in his eyes. "What do you mean? She's not yours." "Not now." "You have no responsibility toward Crystal. You didn't do anything to cause her to be born." "But I did. Rubeus would not have gotten near you if not for me. You went to the dance with him because I wouldn't" Serena got angry. He obviously hated Crystal so much he wished she had never been born. "Don't feel guilty," she yelled. "We don't need your pity." "I don't pity you," Darien said softly. "I pity myself. You're never going to forgive my stupidity. I might as well not have survived. It's not like I have any reason to live." "Don't say that." Tears ran down her cheeks uncontrollably. It wasn't fair. Why did she have to choose between them? "It's true. Before I met you I didn't truly live. I just existed. My life means nothing now. Nothing without you and the baby." "Without both of us?" She got angry again. "You liar! I saw your face when she was born. You hate her." "I have never hated anyone who didn't deserve it. And Crystal doesn't deserve it. People don't choose who they have blood ties with." He looked at Serena for several seconds. "Did you choose to have Sammy for a brother?" Serena shook her head. "You mean it don't you? Of course, you do. You can't act." She rushed to Darien and hugged him. "Oooouww!" Darien howled. "Not so tight. Cracked ribs and stitches." Serena crawled into bed with him. "Sorry. I'm just so happy. I knew we could be a family, but I didn't think you liked Crystal." Darien carefully placed his arm around her. "Why wouldn't I like Crystal" "Because of her father." "I'm her father," Darien yelled. He sat up. More pain shot through his side. He fell back onto the bed. "Don't do that again." "I didn't do it; you did." Darien smiled. "I love you Meatball Head. And I Love OUR child. You two are my family." Serena snuggled down next to him and closed her eyes. "Just don't ever call me Bubble Head." Darien giggled. "Ouch, It hurts to laugh." He gazed at Serena. She had fallen asleep. He smiled and moved her pony tail away from her face. He couldn't stop the yawn that came. He felt himself drift off. He was lying on a bed with Serena in his arms. If he let himself fall asleep, he would be sleeping with the mother of both his children for the first time. LITERALLY. Under normal circumstances, that would require a shotgun wedding. Darien giggled again. "OUCH!" All was quiet on the 20th century front. * * * * * * On the 30th century front, Sailor Moon had been right. The people had awakened and began to rebuild the city. Queen Serena had no trouble disposing of the remaining spaceships throughout the world. Without the Wiseman, the droids didn't seem to have any desire to die. They returned home to the Negamoon without further incident. Renie stood next to her parents and watched the reconstruction. She was home. Commercial Break Pugh, I'm glad that's over. Fighting evil is exhausting. It's better to attempt to talk your way out of a bad situation. Occasionally, however, a good kick in the rump is in order. But only as a last resort. SAILOR MOON SAYS Eye wink and giggle. THE END If think that this ending isn't written as well as the others. You are right. I only finished it last Friday. I am moving this week. Away from my brother's computer and internet provider. For that reason, I can't put it through as many revisions as the other episodes. I will be back when I can afford my own computer. Bye until then.