CHANGED by Rose PART 11 A pool of red. She was laying in a pool of red liquid... but was it? It wasn't water, she could vaguely remember that water was blue, or green, not red. What kind of water was red? Blood. It was blood. Was it her own? No, she didn't appear to be hurt. She didn't feel hurt. It all came rushing back to her. She felt like she had been hit with a ton of bricks. She propped herself up, to see a bloodbath. Soldiers and youma, all dead, laying, blood stained on their faces, rips in their stomachs that showed glistening pink intestines, some with no heads, viens and arteries coming from their necks. What had she done?! "What is this?" She asked, histerical. "Hime-chan." Hin appeared in front of her. He helped her up. "Did I do this?" She asked, shakily. Hin nodded, gravely. "Yes, you did. This was one of the main base. I've no idea how you managed it, Princess. You ran from the house, after Neo told you all the details, and automaticly came here. I watched you fight for a while, before Tuxedo Kamen came and helped you, although he kept yelling about how this was a sucide mission. I fought after he was knocked out. Do you remember now?" "Oh, my god." She whispered. She did remeber now. How she came here in her rage and fury at Beryl to kill the men who would do it. She remembered... "Mamoru." She ran and knelt by his side. She was relieved at his ragged breathing. She hugged him, crying. What had she been thinking when she came here? "Hime-san, You have defeated half of Queen Beryl's main forces." Hin said quietly. "You and Tux helped." Sailor Moon said, inbetween her sobs. "I killed less than ten. Tuxedo Kamen maybe got a few soldiers. His roses and cane isn't much." "How could I have done this, Hin? This was murder...." "No, Usagi." Hin watched silently as Sailor Moon sobbed, still hugging Tuxedo Kamen. The man was breathing, of course, but had been knocked out cold as one of the youma flung him against a steel beam. Beryl had ordered her forces to attack the city, to slaughter as many as possible. kenji hadn't known about this; it was in an envelope that he was not allowed to open until it was too late. Tuxedo Kamen stirred slightly. Sailor Moon didn't notice it, but Hin did. he disappeared, just as Mamoru came to. The first thing he saw were blonde odangos. "Sailor Moon." He whispered, but she didn't hear him; she was sobbing over her memories. "Sailor Moon." He sat up. Moon jumped, startled. "Mamoru!" She yelped, then clamped a hand over her mouth. She jumped away from him. "Wha?" He was still a little distorted by the terrific throbbing in his head, but he could have sworn he heard her say his real name. "Mam--! Tuxedo Kamen, I'm so sorry... are you hurt?" She asked, helping him to his feet. He looked at her suspiciously. "I've go to go..." Sailor Moon turned and fled, leaving Tuxedo Kamen to wonder how she had figured out his identity. ********************* "I'm a failure, Mother. I'm so sorry. I tried..." Princess Serenity wept to the moon. She was in her full princess attire, standing at the egde of the dock, gazing at the moonlit sky. "Princess, what do you mean by failure?" Sailor PLuto asked gently, appearing behind the girl. "I killed, Pluto. Killed." She sobbed. "I've been killing all along. Isn't there a better way?" "If there was... you would find it. But you killed in self defense. They would have killed the city, and you stopped that. It will be a long while before Queen Beryl has the power to attack again. She is weak right now, Hime-sama." "I do not wish to kill." "I know. but there is nothing I can do." "Nothing?" Serenity asked. "Nothing? Are you sure, Sailor Pluto. You could go back in time and prevent this mess from happening." "If you only knew how easy that would be, My princess. But I cannot. You must go back, own up to your actions, and be the leader they need you to be." "I am not meant to be a warrior!" "You were. Look at your spirit, child." Sailor Pluto said softly. A dark red light appeared in front of Sailor Moon, and slowly took form of a sword, it's blade silver and the hilt gold, a moon engraved where the two met. "A sword..." "Not just any sword, mind you. Do you know of the legend? "Any one of the Etern Blood that has a soul that can take shape of the Eternal Sword is a warrior that none can defeat. You must believe, Sailor Moon, my princess. Reach out and take it. If you believe it is there, it will be so." Pluto smiled. Princess Serenity hesitantly reached towards the wonderful blade, her azure eyes closed in concentration. Her fingers slowly touched the cool surface of the hilt, and a beautiful warm feeling surged through her body. She felt free, uplifted. Her soul healed, and her mind became clear. Her eyes opened, no longer a pure, midnight blue, but a dark blue-silver. Her hair went from it's straw blonde to a whitish-silver color, darker than that of her eyes. A moon appeared on her forehead, only to be shifted and reformed so that it was a full moon with an infinity symbol inside. Her dress changed dramiticly, going from the frilly white princess dress to an elegant, yet simple dark blue gown that touched the ground. "I feel... different." She said slowly. Her voice had a slight accent to it that made her words sound like music. "You now carry the soul of Etern, as you did before, only stronger. Serenity XXI, your mother, had only a smidgen of the blood in her body. there was doubt you had it at all. Now it was if you were his own daughter." Pluto waved and disappeared. Serenity looked around her. She felt that her senses had been heightened. She saw more, heard more. She felt strength within her body, almost twenty times of what she was as Sailor Moon. The sword remained in her hand, until she put it away in her sub space pocket. She began the walk home, not sure of what they would think of the new her. ********************** "She just ran off?" Mars raged. Tuxedo Kamen had returned to the senshi's house, and told them of the fight. At first they didn't believe him, until both Neptune and Mercury affirmed it. Now they were yelling at him because he let Sailor Moon run. "Well, I was in a bit of shock, ya know, and my head felt like crap because I was thrown into a steel beam!! And the shock was because she knew my name!" "Well, she just killed a LOT of people, and she's always hated killing in the first place!" Luna yelled at him. "She's probably off sobbing somewhere." Artemis suggested. "I'm right here, Artemis." Serenity said, from the doorway. "I am sorry to have run off like that, Tuxedo Kamen-sama. Minna, you should not have blamed him for such." She said, her accent quite noticable. They stared at her, open mouthed. "I think I'm seeing things." Uranus raised an eyebrow. "And hearing things." "Luna, do you recognize me?" Serenity asked. Luna and Artemis were on the verge of passing out. "Eternia." Luna whispered. "She's got the symbol, alright." Artemis was first to recover his senses. "Usagi, you have the true blood of Etern. More so than I have ever seen." He admired. "Pluto said I was the one with the Eternal Sword. I was the one that was not defeatable. I am already immortal, and now this?" Sereity shook her head, while Tuxedo Kamen drew in the imformation. "The sword." Luna murmured. "I thought it was just a legend." "Like the dress, Usa." Venus grinned. "And the whole silver eyes and hair thing is way rad." Jupiter gave Usagi a V for Victory sign. "Your power level is beyond the Mercury computer." Sailor Mercury gave up her scan. "My princess." Saturn bowed quickly. "Usagi!" Tuxedo Kamen exclaimed. Zoe, Neo, and Kage, who had been speechless until that moment, face faulted. "My prince, I think it's time we should leave..." suggested Kage. "Yes, I need to go relieve Jake of his shift..." Neo slipped out the door and was gone. Zoe looked around, but could think of nothing, so he dove and hid behind Mercury. "Explosion." Mars mouthed to Venus. "Yes, I am, Mamoru." Serenity said. "What do you think of it? The Queen of the universe is just a clutzy fifteen year old." She said, anger growing for no reason. "And do you see now that Beryl is evil? I hope Kenji does." "That reminds me." Uranus spoke up. "Kenji gave us some very valuble info about the sercurity systems of the Dark Kingdom after Neo showed him the papers. Your father is at home now, Jake is still there." "Really." Serenty looked down at her dress, at the sleekness of it. "I do believe I like this dress better. At least I could actually fight in this. That stupid frilly one was ridculous." She sighed, and looked back at Tuxedo Kamen. "I don't know what you remember about the past, mister, but if you care to remember, it IS in the past." She said, although, strangly, it hurt to say the words. "But--" He started. Serenity held up a hand. "No. You will remember that." She ran up the stairs, powering down as she did so. "I can't fall in love... I can't." She whispered. ************************ A field of flowers. Lovely, blue and pink flowers that gave off a fragrance so heavenly one thought you were actually in heaven. A girl, with blonde hair pulled into odangos and sky blue eyes that sparkled in excitement wearing a white, frilly dress ran from a man with dark hair and the deepest midnight blue eyes in armor. They laughed, and Usagi could tell they were having a wonderful time. The man caught the girl and they both went rolling in the grass, and when they stopped, they shared an earth shattering kiss... Usagi sighed. She recognized the couples quite cleary, and remembered the day. The scene changed, drasticly. The same man, only he had a serious, determined glint in his eyes. He faced off against a creature more horrible than fear itself. She stood a thousand feet tall, with har as red as blood and eyes the most pecular shade of yellow. Evil energy radiated from her. With one mighty blow, the wicked woman crushed the man, Prince Endymion. Princess Serenity, the girl from before, ran for her fallen lover, and got to his side just in time for him to whisper good bye. Serenity cried out in anghish and brought his sword to her stomach... The scene changed again. And again. Some of them were happy, some of them not. Each of them deplected a bit of the Silver Millenium. Each time Usagi remembered more, and learned things she didn't know. She woke up, a scream caught in her throat and her mind swimming with images. ************************* Mamoru had returned to his apartment that he shared with Kage. He thought about how the senshi had given up their families to fight. He had been a bit surprised at Usagi's outburst, and her new look. What was so important in the past? "Kage." He said. Kage spun around so fast Mamoru was afraid his head would fly off. "What?" "What did she mean, about the past?" he asked, and watched Kage facefault. "Heh heh... um... no clue?" "Get real. You know exactly what she was talking about, so did the senshi. What did she mean?" Mamoru pressed. "My prince, this is not a good topic..." Kage tried to back away. "I don't care, Kage. What did she mean?" "Well... I've no clue of how to put this to you, so... in the Silver Millenium, in the past, you and the princess... were um..." "Spit it out, *already*." Mamoru grumbled. He can be soo dense. "You were engaged, my prince. Lovers." Kage sighed, face red. "WHA?!" Mamoru choked. "Yes. That's right. Now breath, before I have to tell the funeral parlor what kind of flowers to put at your wake." "We were..." Mamoru trailed off, and began banging his head on the wall. Thump Thump Thump. "Duh Duh Duh!" Mamoru realized it. Finally. The reason for his feeling about Usagi. "Huh?" "Nothing, Kage. Thanx for telling me." *************************** "I am the world. I *am* the world. I am the *world*. *I* am the *world*." Beryl chanted, trying to sooth her nerves. She knew she was losing. They had just gotten word of the main part of their forces being defeated by Sailor Moon herself, with hardly any help. The problem was, she didn't know who Sailor Moon was. There was old saying she had heard once, Know your friends. Know your enemies better. But they didn't know a thing about Sailor Moon. Three of her generals gone. Three forths of her army vanquished. The energy reserves were low. Metalia was becoming more and more angry with her. Kunzite was babbling about four men who were exact copies of the generals. She had a good reason for stress, if you ask me. "My queen, Kunzite wishes to see you." one of the lower ranking youma said, timidly. "Fine, fine." She murmured, and went back to chanting. "My Queen." Kunzite announced his presence. Beryl looked up. Kunzite was swearing the biggest smile. Like he had found out a secret and couldn't wait to tell. "What is it, Kunzite?" She snapped. "I have some interesting news." "And that would be? I hate mysteries, Kunzite!" "We have discovered Sailor Mercury's identity, along with Sailor Venus's, my queen." This was good. Beryl jumped up in her seat, her full attention arroused. "Sailor Venus's true name is Aino Minako. Unfortunatly, we have no records of her what-so- ever, so that is a dead end." "And Mercury?" "Her real name is Mizuno Ami." "Mizuno? Don't we have a--" "Scientist, yes. Her mother." "How was this information obtained?" "I had one of my scouters follow her." "Do we have a lead on the other senshi's identites?" "Yes. We checked the cameras. Appartantly, just after the senshi appeared, Mizuno-san aquirred some new friends. Tsukino Usagi, Hino Rei, Aino Minako. And she as been sighted with Tenoh Haruka, and Kaioh Michiru, and Kino Makoto." "So? These do not prove that they are Sailor Senshi." "Yes, but all of them have been reported as runaways, except for Tsukino Usagi, and she cannot be reached. She hasn't been to school for many monthes." Kunzite smiled. "AND, she fits the description of Sailor Moon exactly." Sailor Moon! "You have my permission to take any course of action nessessary, but you are not to kill Sailor Moon when she has been captured. I wish to deal with her myself." Beryl had a feeling she'd sleep easy tonight. **************************** It had taken Usagi a good while to fall asleep again after the onslaught of memories. Now she sprang awake again. Before she could think, she grabbed the locket. "MOON SILVER POWER MAKE UP!" She screamed. Nothing happened! She looked at the locket in shock. What was wrong with it? Why couldn't she transform? Did her blood effect it... yes, that must be it. But how would she transform? An idea seeped into her mind, a whim of a thing, but she had nothing to loose. "MOON CELESTIAL POWER MAKE UP!" A magical light came and hid her from view, though no one was watching. There were no real changes to the fuku itself, but the locket had been replaced by the Silver Crystal, but the crystal itself was a bluish color, not the clear crystal she remembered. She wasn't alarmed, she felt it was right. Her hair and eyes were different. In her hand was the staff, but the sword was at her waist, sheathed. A new power was running through her body, the eternal power. She ran through the house, pounding on doors with all her strength. Saturn was the first out, like she had been expecting it. The other came out, unhenshined and sleepy. Haruka was downright cranky. "What the hell are you doing, waking us up at this UNGODLY hour?!" She yelled. "Minna, henshin yo! They've discovered our indentites, they're going after our families." Sailor Moon yelled. In a flash, they all pulled out their henshin sticks. "MERCURY PRISM POWER MAKE UP!" "VENUS PRISM POWER MAKE UP!!" "MARS PRISM POWER MAKE UP!" "JUPITER PRISM POWER MAKE UP!" "URANUS CRYSTAL POWER MAKE UP!" "NEPTUNE CRYSTAL POWER MAKE UP!" **************************** "We're too late." Sailor Moon murmured, as she saw the devastation that was her house. The door was smashed in, and there were burn marks on the floor just inside. "Do you-- do you want to in?" Mercury asked hesitantly. Sailor Moon narrowed her eyes and shoved back all her feelings, all her emotions, locking them away in some hidden part of her mind. "Uranus, Neptune, Zoe. Go look for Neo and Jake. Mercury, Jupiter, Venus. Come with me inside. Saturn, Mars. I want you to look for any leftover enemy. If there's not too many, crush them. If you believe you can't handle them, call some of us." She said coldly. She pulled out her rapier, waiting for something to come flying out at her. DARING something to oppose her. She walked over the splintered door, not flinching at the blood nor the reek of youma. She looked in each room, her eyes trailing over the dead body of her earthly father. He was half buried beneath a couch, so all she could see was the blood pooled around him. "Gods." She murmured. She spun around. "Jupiter! Venus! Go to your houses immediatly... oh, right. Jupiter... would you mind going with Venus since you don't...." "Of course." The two senshi ran out. "Mercury... get Zoe and head to your place." "Okay, Sailor Moon. Will you be okay?" Mercury asked. "Yes. GO on now. Maybe some of them can be saved." As soon as Mercury turned around, Sailor Moon tapped the watch on her wrist. "Minna, everyone who wants to save their family, go for it. I can finish up here." "I'm staying." Uranus said, as did Saturn. "I've no family to save." Neptune said simply. "Will someone go with Mars, then?" "I will." Saturn answered. "Alright. Ruka? I've found my father... he's dead." "And we've found Neo and Jake. Jake's... out of it, and Neo looks pretty bad. He was thrown up against the side of the house or something." "Wake them up and tell them to heal themselves. I'm going to go through the rest of the house and find the others. If they're dead... I'll be out in a sec." Sailor Moon turned her commutnicator off. She already knew what she would find. SOme part of here new abilities were too good for her. She felt no life in the house. Not an ounce. She didn't want to see Ikuko. She turned and ran out, choking down the tears. 'I'm sorry, Ikuko-mama. I broke my promise... I'm so sorry...' ************************ Three days later~~ What was found at the other houses was just as bad as at Usagi's. Bodies torn to shreds. All of them had arrived too late. Saturn and Mars got to the temple just as the soldiers were leaving. In a rage, Mars had burnt nearly all of them to dust. Saturn managed to calm her and together, they deleted the little group. Ami's mother was dead, the appartment in flames. Luckily for her, she never saw her mother's body. Minako shrugged off her mother's death like nothing. Her mother had never been supportive of her and abused her. But still, somewhere in her heart of hearts, it hurt to see the pool of blood around the dismembered body. Jake just had a concussion, whereas Neo have some cracked ribs and some internal injuries. Both were so-so. "Senshi, we must do something." Usagi toyed with the Eternal Sword, twirling it around nervously in her hands. "Like what?" Makoto asked. "Well, I, for one, am sick of sitting here watching you guys mope!" Haruka stood up. "Alright. That witch killed your families. And yet, here you sit, just waiting for something to happen. Well, let me tell you, nothing's gonna happen unless you make it!" "Well said, Tenoh-san." A new voice, melodic, with an accent like Usagi's, said. They turned to see a girl with waist length hair so sky blue it looked white. Her eyes were silver, and she was in a senshi fuku with light grey bows and a lavendar skirt. "Who are you?!" Minako yelped. "I am the soldier that represents all the tears spilt by those who have cried for the lives of ones lost to the abyss. I am Sailor Sorrow!" She announced. Usagi ran forward and embraed the girl in a hug. "It's about time! I sent that message two days ago, Div!" She exclaimed. "Well, excuse me for having to travel through four solar systems!" "Uh... do you two know each other?" Haruka asked. "This is Divinity. She's very distant relative of mine from the Yujlid System. She's the only senshi there, but they are at peace, so I sent for her help." "Yup! Divie here to brighten things up! Come on, minna, let's get to work. Before I left, I had Jared, my advisor, arrange a plan..." ************************ "It's insane." Rei said immediatly. "I like it!" Haruka said at the same time. Usagi rolled her eyes at the both of them. Divinity's plan was a good one, with an approach they hadn't even dared think about. They would allow themselves to be captured. "No." Ami and Zoe said at the same time. "Right." Michiru agreed. "They have permission to kill us on sight. If we turn ourselves in, there's no way we'll come out alive." "Except for me." Usagi murmured. "What do you mean?" Makoto asked. Divinity stared at Usagi, and shrugged. Usagi looked at all of her senshi and generals, trying to decide. "I can't die." she said. "I'm immortal. Bonafide` goddess. Can't die." "Duh." Saturn rolled her eyes. But the others were stunned. "Oh, come on! Surely one of you remembered that once a mortal has became Eternia, they're immortal! "Hey. Where the hell is Kage?" Minako asked. The others looked around, realizing that Mamoru and Kage were indeed missing. "Dammit, we never though to tell them about... you know." Haruka muttered. "They'll be here any minute." Div said. Sure enough, about two seconds later, the door opened and Tuxedo Kamen and Kage walked in. "Boy, have we got some news for you!" Hotaru giggled. ************************************************* -Rose