Chapter 18: Scholar Sailor Moon vs. Ensign Saturn Welcome to the final battle!!! It's me again, Chibi- Mamoru Darien Chiba. The world of Sailor Moon is the brainchild of Naoko Takeuchi, but this story, Scholar Sailor Moon, the Sailor Scouts' daughters, the Outers' kids fathers, and Sandra and Shelly are mine. Making a guest appearance are King Cornelius and Queen Gaea of the Earth Kingdom as King Endymion's mom and dad of the Silver Millennium. Oh, and before I turn you loose, I have decided to give Zaccheus a last name. Before marrying Christine, he was known as Zaccheus Caballero which means "Righteous/Pure Gentleman" which he tries to be to everyone he meets and especially to his wife Christine and his daughter Cleopatra. Neat, huh? ********************************************************** *******Crystal Tokyo UltraDome: July 26, 2996, 1:30 pm******* "Will Reenie Chiba and Cleopatra Tomoe please report to the center of the arena?" Shelly announced. "Well, Reenie, this is it," my dad King Endymion told me. "I don't want to do this, Daddy," I said to Endymion. "We know you don't, Reenie," my mom Neo-Queen Serenity agreed, "but sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do in order to get somewhere we want to be. I want you to learn Cleopatra's strengths and weaknesses well so that you can help her work on them and vice versa. This is also part of your training and I want you to put as much effort into this duel as you have with the others." "I have faith that you'll do well, Reenie," Endymion said. "Now get out of here and show me what you can do." With that, I walk towards the center. On the eastern side of the arena, Cleopatra's parents Zaccheus Caballero and Christine Hotaru Tomoe had told Cleopatra to report as called. I arrive at the center and hand over my transformation compact to Shelly and Cleopatra arrives a few seconds later and hands Shelly her transformation ring. Shelly then places the items at our feet. "All right, girls; face me!!" Shelly belted out from the north. Cleopatra and I do as we are told. "Bow." We bow to Shelly and she returns our bow. "Now face me!!" Sandra declared from the south. "Bow." With a voice like that, Cleopatra and I couldn't help but to do as we are told. Sandra then bows back and says, "Face your parents!! Bow." I bow to my parents and Cleopatra bows to hers. "Face each other!!" Shelly barked. "Bow." Cleopatra and I bow to each other. "Out of the inner rectangle." Cleopatra and I walk to our respective ends of the inner rectangle, the western end for me and the eastern end for Cleopatra. "Yohi?" Shelly asks Sandra. Sandra sets his watch for one hour and nods after he and Shelly back away from us. Shelly sets hers and cries out, "HAJIME!!!" "Prepare to face Armageddon!!!" Cleopatra declared as she runs toward her transformation ring. "I'd rather go out fighting!!!" I screamed as I rush towards my transformation compact. I then waste no time in seizing it and beginning my transformation. "Moon . . . quasar. . . SCHOLAR POWER!!!!!" "Saturn quasar power, blast off!!!!" Cleopatra cried after she recovers her ring and puts it on her finger. As soon Ensign Saturn completes her transformation, I immediately greet her with a right lunge punch and five reverse punches. "Nice try, Scholar Sailor Moon," Ensign Saturn remarked as she answers my last two reverse punches with inside blocks, "but no cigar." Ensign Saturn then pounds me with a right side kick which knocks me off balance and a foot sweep which finishes the job. "A bit of advice, Scholar Sailor Moon; don't start something you're not willing or able to finish." I scramble onto my hands and knees just as Ensign Saturn is preparing to launch an attack and sweep in with a flying tackle and a knee kick. Then for show, I subdue Ensign Saturn in a flying mare and send her flying 70 feet into the air . . . right into Zaccheus and Christine's laps. "I'd keep her on a shorter leash," I advised Zaccheus and Christine of Ensign Saturn as I fly overhead. "This round goes to Scholar Sailor Moon!!!!" Shelly declared. "You sure showed Cleopatra, Reenie," Hermione greeted me as I'm landing. "Congratulations, you won a round, Reenie," Ariadne agreed. "Now all you have to do is win the next round and you'll have the tournament." "If Cleopatra can't do any better than what she just did, then winning this tournament is no contest," Clotilda bragged. Claribel nods in agreement but says nothing. "Claribel, you're awfully quiet," I said. "Say, where's Cara?" "Last time I saw Cara, I saw Mrs. Aino carrying her bodily out of the stadium with a very pissed-off look on her face," Claribel told me. "I was thinking about why Cleopatra has not used her intangibility shield yet and how you can attack her while it's up. Umm . . ., Reenie, aren't you going to detransform?" "Why? If I do, I'll just have to transform back again when it's time to go back to battle, Claribel," I replied. "So anyway . . ." "It just doesn't make sense, Scholar Sailor Moon," Claribel continued. "As the daughter of Sailor Saturn, Cleopatra is endowed with more power than she knows how to handle responsibly. Handling you should be as easy as stomping a cockroach. So what's she waiting for? Speaking of waiting, what the heck is taking Cecelia and Irvette so long?" Claribel then leaves and I follow her to a women's restroom. *******In an entry/exit corridor: July 26, 2996, 2 pm******* "Cecelia, Irvette, are you guys in here?" Claribel called. I hear groans of pleasure around the next bend and tell Claribel. "Shhh," Claribel hisses. "Cecelia, for a tomboy, you sure have a gentle touch," we heard Irvette say. "Thanks, Irvette; I try to strike a balance between being tough and tender," we heard Cecelia reply. "I don't know what I'm going to do about your mom, Irvette. I mean, she's a nice lady and all, but I swear if she doesn't stop trying to feminize me, I'm going to lose my mind!!! What's it going to take to get it through her thick skull that I don't have any femininity to work with?!?!? Never did, never will. I don't feel feminine at all, Irvette. Why did God make me a girl?" It's now Claribel and I reveal ourselves. We find Irvette sitting on a changing table (you know, like parents use for changing babies) and Cecelia kneading Irvette's quadriceps. "Cecelia, are you okay?" I asked gently. "I don't know what I am, Reenie," Cecelia told me, directing Irvette to lay down on her stomach so that she could massage her hamstrings. "I have the body of a girl and the heart, mind, and spirit of a boy. I'm so confused. I have to fight it back somehow; you're going to need my support if you're to win this tournament." "Cecelia, you're not fooling anyone but yourself if you think you can just make your problem vanish just like that," Claribel advised as she snaps her fingers. "My mama and papa know that something is not right with you and your sister as do . . . " "STOP RIGHT THERE!!!" Cecelia thundered at Claribel as she stops massaging Irvette and turns on Claribel with bright yellow eyes. "Claribel Mei'ou, just WHAT gave you the right to include my sister in this?!!? You can say what you like about me to my face, BUT leave my sister out of this!!! She's normal. And what's wrong with you, Claribel!?!? Can't you say something without bringing your parents into it??!!? It seems to me that *you* ARE the one who isn't normal!!! You're always quoting your parents and saying what they think!!! And while we're at it, what was that little act in the arena all about?!!?!? Huh!?!!? It seems to me that you like to run your mouth!!! And another thing . . . " "STOP!!!!" I yelled. "We don't have time for this bickering!!! I'm going to have to go back to battle soon and we need a way to beat Ensign Saturn's intangibility shield." "I have a plan!!!" Irvette cried as she climbs down from the table and lands on her butt. "Uff!!" Cecelia runs over to see if Irvette is okay. "Cecelia, I'm fine. I may be easily exhausted, but I'm not easily hurt." Cecelia helps Irvette to her feet. "Irvette, you do know that you stole my line, don't you?" Cecelia asked. "Never mind whose line it is," I interrupted. "What's your plan, Irvette?" "Ensign Saturn's main weapon is her ability to shoot out sound waves at her enemies which she learned from Professor Tomoe," Irvette said as she holds up a hand to stop Cecelia from interjecting. "Well, what I was thinking was that Scholar Sailor Moon could use Ensign Pluto's "Cereberus Concussion" as a sort of battering ram to get an attack through the intangibility shield, like your World Shaking, Cecelia." "Irvette Kai'oh-MacGrinrun, that is the craziest plan I have ever heard!!!" Cecelia exclaimed. "But I think it just might work. Let's try it!!" "We don't have much time," Claribel said as she wills her transformation ring to appear on her finger. "Pluto quasar power, blast off!!!!" A moment later, Ensign Pluto is standing where Claribel was standing. I was still in shock from Claribel willing her ring to appear on her finger instead of the ring appearing in Claribel's hand and then Claribel putting it on. "Umm, Scholar Sailor Moon?" Ensign Pluto urges me. "What? Oh, yeah," I responded as I shake myself from my trance and summon the Adaptation Sceptre. Touching the business end to Ensign Pluto's heart, I cry out, "Adaptive Assimilation!!!" As the Adaptation Sceptre does its work, I see memories of Claribel hearing how her mother Sharon Setsuna Mei'ou said that Claribel is the relief she needed from guarding the Time Gate. I then encounter a lot of memories of Sharon and her husband Kerwin Del Trabajador pushing Claribel very hard in school. After that, I see one incident in particular of Sharon beating Claribel with the Time Staff until black and blue because of a bad grade in history. I also find that Claribel is afraid of being alone and many instances of Sharon and Kerwin exploiting this fear to punish Claribel and remind her of who's in charge, now moreso for the former than the latter. When the Adaptation Sceptre finishes, I am still trying to digest the information I gained from the Adaptation Sceptre. "Scholar Sailor Moon, you okay?" Ensign Pluto asked me as she shakes me gently. "What? Oh, yeah," I told Ensign Pluto as I retire the Adaptation Sceptre. "I can't believe that your parents were such monsters to you." "Not really; my papa taught me how to play the electric guitar and some of that crap I brought on myself," Ensign Pluto disagreed. "I got Cereberus for my sixth birthday from my parents. He was bred especially for me. He protects me, amuses me, and is a welcome companion when I roam the streets. He also taught me the "Cereberus Concussion" which was weak in the beginning but took a sharp hike in strength when I sat in on some of Professor Tomoe's lessons. Anyway, you better get going, Scholar Sailor Moon." I turn to leave and Ensign Pluto calls after me to listen for the words 'Saturn Silence Ghost.' "That activates Ensign Saturn's intangibility shield!!!" Ensign Pluto tells me when I ask her why. *******Crystal Tokyo UltraDome battle arena: July 26, 2996, 2:30 pm******* "You thought you could beat me so easily, didn't you, Scholar Sailor Moon?" Ensign Saturn scoffed at me. "I know I can beat you, Ensign Saturn," I replied. "How easily I do it is not important." "Yohi?" Shelly asked Sandra as they get into position between us. Sandra nods and reminds the audience that I have won one round. "HAJIME!!!!" I open up the fight by flying at Ensign Saturn with a palm heel thrust to the chest and a heel drop from above. "Nice moves, Scholar Sailor Moon," Ensign Saturn gasped as she tries to get to her feet and I land thirty feet away in the northeastern end of the arena. "You can't get at me from this distance!!!" I taunted Ensign Saturn although I know better. "Saturn Doom Gaze, buffet!!!!" Ensign Saturn cried as her eyes turn indigo and shoot out twin lasers towards me. The lasers get me solidly in the abdomen, doubling me over and dropping me to my knees. Ensign Saturn unleashes another Saturn Doom Gaze at my knees when I stand up before walking towards me saying, "School's out for you, Scholar Sailor Moon, and I'm afraid I must fail you." "Cleopatra, use that move my papa taught you!!!" Christine called out to Ensign Saturn. Ensign Saturn turns to me with a very evil look in her eyes. "Saturn Omega Silence, reverberate!!!!" Ensign Saturn cried out as she unleashes a very tumultuous blast of the most horrible sound I have ever heard at me. The blast sends me flying against the arena wall. "Saturn Doom Gaze, buffet!!!!" Another laser attack, but this time, in pulses. Satisfied I'm stunned enough, Ensign Saturn then proceeds to kick the everliving daylights out of me. ********************************************************* ********************************************************* "Reenie?" a voice whispers. I wake up to find myself lying on a couch and a strange man and woman standing over me. "Who . . . who . . . who are you?!?!" I ask, sitting up. The man pushes down on me gently. "Easy, little one; we're not going to hurt you," the man promises me. "In fact, we can help you against Ensign Saturn." This gets my attention. "You can help me against Ensign Saturn?" I ask. The man and woman nod. "But how did you know?" "Queen Serenity and King Prometheus relayed to us your situation, Reenie," the woman explains. "You guys still haven't told me who you are," I say. "I want to go back to my mommy and daddy and I want to go back NOW!!!!" "We are your daddy's parents," the man finally tells me after a long pause. "I am King Cornelius and this is my wife Queen Gaea." "I'm Reenie, princess of the Sun, Moon, and Earth Kingdoms as well as Crystal Tokyo," I introduce myself. "No need to introduce yourself, Reenie," Cornelius says. "We could sense that you had some Earth blood in you." "The way I see things, the moves you have right now do not take into account Ensign Saturn's intangibility shield," Gaea says. "So we will need to teach you three new moves that will prove deadly to your enemies, especially ones like Ensign Saturn." "Grandma, all I want to do is get past Ensign Saturn and win the tournament," I tell Gaea. "I'm not interested in killing anyone." "We know you don't want to kill anyone, Reenie," Cornelius says, "and I don't think Ensign Saturn was trying to kill you at all." Cornelius then picks me up and hands me off to Gaea who carries me to the couch I woke up on and sits down laying me on my back across her lap. "Hey!!!" I shout at Gaea when she hikes up my dress high enough to expose my belly. "What do you think you're doing!?!?" Gaea ignores me and I feel her hand on my belly. The next thing I know, I feel a frigid sensation on my stomach. I begin to struggle, but Gaea pushes down firmly on me and advises me that if I don't lie absolutely still until she's finished, she'll strap me down to one of the tables in the dungeon and make sure to cause me a lot of pain while she finishes whatever she's doing. "But . . ." I had not time to finish when Gaea resumes whatever she's doing. I could feel my stomach turning blue, but I keep quiet about it. Eventually, Gaea lets me up saying that she's finished. "What I just gave you was the ability to perform the move known as the 'Oxygen Ball Resuscitation', Reenie," Gaea explains. "This move is a ball of pure oxygen that you can encase yourself or one of your court members in to protect and heal yourself during a fight. Its only drawback is that you cannot attack the enemy while it is active." "Being the princess of the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth also gives you the power to cause lunar and solar eclipses at will," Cornelius explains to me. "Really?" I ask Cornelius. "Really, Reenie," Cornelius replies. "You CAN cause a lunar or a solar eclipse whenever you want. The commands to do that are 'Lunar Ecliptic Resolution' and 'Solar Ecliptic Resolution', respectively. You can also determine where you want the total eclipse to take place. But be warned: these moves are only temporary, so work fast. Also, these moves will only work if you're on Earth." "Wow, Grandpa!!! But what good will these moves do me?" I ask Cornelius. "My scholars tell me that Ensign Saturn's intangibility shield is useless during a lunar eclipse," Cornelius tells me. A very evil grin plays across my face. "I hear that your mother's power increases sharply during a solar eclipse, Reenie," Gaea says. "Yours should also." My face picks up at the news but soon falls when I realize that I cannot have my cake and eat it too. "But I need a way to render that intangibility shield inoperable, Grandma," I sigh dejectedly. "I need Ensign Saturn's intangibility shield to be down and a lot of power to beat Ensign Saturn, but I can't have it both ways." "Reenie, you don't need a lot of power to beat Ensign Saturn," Gaea tells me as she kneels to my eye level. "The reasons your parents are making you fight in this tournament are to show you that there are other ways to win a fight besides using brute force and test the new quasar-driven powers your court members have been given. You've done well so far; all it takes is another victory and the tournament will be over and something you can be proud of all your life. Reenie, smile!!! You have no reason to be sad. Just go out there and use what we taught you and you can't go wrong." ************************************************************ ************************************************************ I shoot up awake. I find myself in the infirmary with my mom Neo-Queen Serenity and my dad King Endymion at my side with worried looks on their faces. "Reenie, are you okay?" Endymion asked. "I'm fine," I told Endymion as I leap off the table. Amy gets in my way as I try to leave the room. "Not so fast, young lady," Amy said as she carries me back to the table and plunks me down. "You're not doing anything unless I scan you and *I* say it's okay." "Amy, I'm all right!!!" I snapped as I try once again to get away. I run right into a very angry Serenity who grabs me and spanks me with one of her shoes. "You will sit on my lap and let Amy scan you, Reenie Chiba," Serenity declared firmly as she puts her shoe back on and sits me on her lap, "or I will spank you again. Understand?" "Yes, Mommy," I replied. The ensuing scan is the most painful that I have ever undergone. I mean Amy has scanned me before, but this time, my parents are forcing me to let her scan me. "Well?" Endymion asked Amy. "Is my daughter going to be okay?" "Yes, she will be fine," Amy told Endymion. "But I have my doubts about letting her go back into that arena." "It's just one more round; I can beat Ensign Saturn," I said. I mean, just how bad can that one round be? Yes, it's just as possible that Ensign Saturn could win that round despite the powers King Cornelius told me that I had and Queen Gaea's 'Oxygen Ball Resuscitation' as it is that I could win that round. One thing is certain, though: if I don't go against Ensign Saturn now, I'll never have any respect for myself because I'll be kicking myself for not having the courage to take that risk. If I win, this tournament will be something I can be proud of all my life. If I lose, I'll be able to take comfort in knowing I did my best no matter what else happens to me. After telling all this to my parents, I ask for my transformation compact. "Oh, Mommy," I tell Serenity, "your daddy King Prometheus of the Sun Kingdom says hi, loves you very much, and hopes that you are well." "Serenity, I never knew that you had a father in the Silver Millenium," Endymion said. "Neither did I," Serenity replied heavily. "Reenie, what did Prometheus look like?" "He had blond hair and yellow eyes," I told Serenity. "It looks to me that you have your dad's blond hair and your mom's blue eyes." "This is incredible!!!" Serenity exclaimed. "I must go back sometime and find out if King Prometheus is my father." "It looks like you have some introducing to do, Reenie," Endymion said as he hands me my transformation compact. "But first, I want you to finish this tournament." "Moon quasar scholar power!!!!" I cried out. *******Crystal Tokyo UltraDome battle arena: July 26, 2996, 3:30 pm****** "WHAT!?!? You're back for more!?!?!" Ensign Saturn asked me in shock. "Annoying, aren't I?" I returned. "Yohi?" Shelly asked Sandra as the two judges get into position to either side of us. Sandra nods. "HAJIME!!!!" I begin with a left jab and a right ridge hand and follow up with several reverse punches. Ensign Saturn gets me with a left roundhouse kick to my shoulder, hook kicks her right leg around my neck and pulls me down. "KIAI!!!!" Ensign Saturn screamed as she and I fall to the ground. Now that hurts and I'm not letting that go unpunished. "Solar Corona, shine!!!!" I shouted. The intense heat makes Ensign Saturn let go of me real quick. "You'll pay for that, Scholar Sailor Moon!!!!" Ensign Saturn yelled as she heals her burnt leg. I hold myself on guard in case Ensign Saturn tries anything. My caution was well rewarded. "Saturn Doom Gaze, buffet!!!!" I see the indigo lasers coming at me and soar up into the air just in time to avoid them. "Saturn Doom Gaze, buffet!!!!" I hover in midair just in time to avoid flying into the lasers. Knowing that I'm making myself an easy target by simply sitting here in midair, I waste no time in summoning the Adaptation Sceptre and assuming the Jupiter battle mode. No more being nice!!!! It's time to fight fire with fire!!!! I touch down. "Jupiter Thunder Snake, strike!!!!" I cried out, ramming the Adaptation Sceptre business end first into the ground. The ground laser gets Ensign Saturn and I decide to repeat the attack twice more for good measure. I switch to the Venus battle mode and Hermione shouts at me from the stands to let Ensign Saturn have it. "Reenie, you can fire the Venus Crescent Beam in pulses!!!" Ariadne shouted at me from the stands. I turn to Ensign Saturn with an evil grin on my face. "Venus Crescent Beam, pulsate!!!!" I yelled as I send out five pulses of energy. All five pulses get the still dazed Ensign Saturn, but alas, all that did was make Ensign Saturn very angry and determined not to be defeated. I could already tell that I'm not going to forget this battle anytime soon. While Ensign Saturn is recovering, I check the Adaptation Sceptre's energy supply. It's at 5%. Terrific!!! I change to the Jupiter battle mode, call for the Jupiter Thunder Dragon, turn the Adaptation Sceptre off, and fling it into the Dragon's mouth. "Come on, Ensign Saturn; get up!!!" I urge. "You want a fight; I'll give you one!!!" Ensign Saturn slowly gets to her feet and I charge forward only to be greeted by a speedy left side kick. I return the greeting with a right inside block and a foot sweep which knocks Ensign Saturn on her back. I jump back a short distance and beckon Ensign Saturn taunting, "Is that all you have?!!?" "I should have done this from the very beginning!!!" Ensign Saturn growled. "Saturn Silence Ghost!!!!" Now intangible, she then launches a left roundhouse kick at my face. I set up an outside block, but the kick passes through my arm and hits me in the cheek. Owwww!!!!! "Hey, you're breaking the rules!!!" I shouted at Ensign Saturn, nursing my face. Before I could do anything else, a right back spinning kick nails me in the other cheek and sends me flying against the spectator's box Zaccheus and Christine are sitting in. It's at that moment I detect a strange nasty taste. I wipe my face with my right glove and it comes back with a red liquid. Blood. MY blood!!! Now THAT is the LAST straw!!!! "Adaptation Sceptre, come to my hand!!!" I scream. Adaptation Sceptre now in hand, I assume the Uranus battle mode and set myself on a collision course with Ensign Saturn. "Uranus Sky Comet Celerity!!!!" "That attack will never damage me, Scholar Sailor Moon!!!!" Ensign Saturn scoffed at me. Unfortunately for me, she's right. I pass right through Ensign Saturn and wind up completely vulnerable. "Saturn Omega Silence, reverberate!!!!" The sound waves send me flying against the spectator's box that Endymion and Serenity are sitting in. Well, that didn't work. Time to see what Ensign Pluto's powers can do!!! I switch to the Pluto battle mode. "Cereberus Concussion," I whisper. I snap my fingers and the shockwave does faze Ensign Saturn somewhat, but when I change to the Uranus battle mode and send out 200 World Shakings, they all pass through. Before Ensign Saturn could do anything else, I fly up to the stands where my court is. "Irvette, your plan failed!!" I exclaim. "Say, where's Clotilda?" "WHAT!?!? That's impossible!!!!" Irvette said in shock. "I guess you just don't have my knack for planning, do you, Irvette?" Cecelia teased. Before Irvette could say anything, Cecelia pushes us down to avoid a laser attack of Ensign Saturn's while Claribel does the same for Hermione and Ariadne. "Claribel, are you, Hermione, and Ariadne okay over there?" "Yeah, I'm okay," Claribel replied. Hermione and Ariadne reply in the affirmative. "I'm ready for my nap now," Ariadne whined fearfully. "What is Ensign Saturn's problem?!!?" Cecelia demanded. "What happened with the Cereberus Concussion, Reenie?" Claribel asked me. "I thought it was supposed to act as a battering ram through Ensign Saturn's intangibility shield." "It fazed Ensign Saturn a little bit, but when I followed up with 200 World Shakings," I explained to Claribel, "they all passed straight through her." "What are you going to do now?" Irvette asked me. "I'm going to cause a lunar eclipse," I stated. The girls stare at me in shock. "You're going to do what!?!?" Cecelia asked me in shock. "Cause a lunar eclipse," I said again. "Reenie, you cannot cause a lunar eclipse," Claribel objected. "It's impossible!!!" "Ensign Saturn's intangibility shield will not operate during a lunar eclipse," I said, ignoring Claribel's pessimistic objection. "Causing a lunar eclipse is a Herculean feat, but it's my only chance to defeat Ensign Saturn. Wish me luck." I then fly down into the arena. I look myself over and find that I'm hurt pretty bad. I return to using my regular powers and take off into the air and decide it's time to see what the Oxygen Ball can do. "Oxygen Ball Resuscitation!!!!" I can't begin to describe the invigorating feeling that's galvanizing my body while I'm inside this ball of pure oxygen. This reminds me of being inside of Serenity's uterus so many months ago. Sigh. Everyone is looking up at me. Endymion and Serenity are wondering what's going on and are worried about my condition. I see Sailor Mercury typing away on her mini-computer and scanning with her VR goggles, probably trying to find out what this ball is and if I'm okay or how to attack it. Sailor Neptune is using her Deep Aqua Mirror to help Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mars is concentrating really hard as if she's trying to find any evil and I see a ward in her hand, probably as a safeguard against any evil she finds. I groan to myself. Why do the Sailor Scouts act as if every new thing they encounter is evil? I'll have to leave the Oxygen Ball soon and when I do, the Lunar Ecliptic Resolution is my next move. But before I can do anything, I see Sailor Uranus leap into the air and launch her Space Sword Blaster at the Ball. I chuckle slightly when Sailor Uranus collides with the Ball and slips off, but then Sailor Neptune, probably thinking that Sailor Uranus had been attacked, sounds off with her Submarine Reflection which bounces off the Ball and nearly hits my parents. Sailors Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter follow up with the Mercury Aqua Rhapsody, Venus Love and Beauty Shock, Mars Flame Sniper, and Jupiter Oak Revolution, respectively. All four attacks bounce off the Oxygen Ball and would have hit my court members if they hadn't ducked. When I see Sailor Pluto conk the other Sailor Scouts over the head with her Time Staff for being so careless with their powers, I decide it's time I left the Oxygen Ball. "What's the matter with you guys?!!?" Sailor Pluto was upbraiding as she golf swings Sailors Jupiter and Uranus and sideswipes Sailor Venus. "With you guys as the King and Neo-Queen's protectors, who needs any enemies!?!?!" "Lunar Ecliptic Resolution!!!!" I declared. I see out the corner of my eye that Serenity is acting as if she's having a seizure or in some sort of pain. I could see Endymion rushing over to Serenity. Simultaneously, Sailor Pluto and Claribel are undergoing similar agony and the Sailor Scouts are rushing to their aid. There is a brief respite and then I look up to see Sailor Pluto and Claribel suffering anew as well as Endymion and Serenity worse than before. Sailor Mercury, of course, is using her mini-computer to get every minute of this. Sailor Pluto and Claribel stop suffering, but my parents remain unconscious. I also notice that Ensign Saturn's intangibility shield is no longer active and waste no time in taking advantage of that fact by assuming the Uranus battle mode. "World Shaking -- quadruple fifty!!!!" Ensign Saturn is able to dodge some of the World Shakings but not all of them. I then go in low and deliver a double thrust kick, sending Ensign Saturn flying into the southwestern corner. "NOOOOO!!!! My intangibility shield . . . it's down!!!!" Ensign Saturn gasped as she spits out blood out of her mouth. "That was my best move, Scholar Sailor Moon!!!! You better enjoy that little victory because I will reign victoriously over your bruised and bloody body!!!!!!!!!! Saturn Suicide Death Bomb!!!!!" I don't think that I'm going to like this at all. "Solar Wind, BLUSTER!!!!" I screamed in a last- ditch effort to prevent the attack. But I'm too late. All I could do is watch the indigo ball of energy as it homes in on me and then bend over and kiss it goodbye. Farewell, Crystal Tokyo; I'm proud to have known you . . . "Saturn Block!!!!" a voice called out. I peek out to see that Sailor Saturn has shielded me. "Arrrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!" Ensign Saturn shrieked when she finds that she is unable to continue her attack because of Sailor Saturn's shield. "You . . . you . . . you stopped me!!!" "Yes, I did, Ensign Saturn," Sailor Saturn agreed as she cancels the shield and advances on her daughter while holding the business end of the Silence Glaive in front of her. "And you want to know why? Because you WENT TOO FAR!!!!" The Glaive is now inches from Ensign Saturn's neck. "You will now detransform and surrender your transformation ring to me. Then you will bow out gracefully. Understand?" "Yes, ma'am," Ensign Saturn told Sailor Saturn as she immediately carries out her mother's instructions. I also detransform. Sailor Saturn relents and nods to Shelly and Sandra who have been scared stiff by the display of power both by me and Ensign Saturn. "This match goes to Reenie Chiba!!!!" Sandra declared. The audience cheers loudly with my parents and my court cheering the loudest of all. "Sailor Saturn, I thought you were on my side," Cleopatra said disappointedly. "I am on your side, Cleopatra," Sailor Saturn replied, "but do realize that I do not turn a blind eye to my sense of right and wrong or the rights of others and neither should you." Shelly, Sandra, Cleopatra, and I assume our positions at the center of the arena. "All right, girls; face me!!" Shelly belted out from the north. Cleopatra and I do as we are told. "Bow." We bow to Shelly and she returns our bow. "Now face me!!" Sandra declared from the south. "Bow." Again, Cleopatra and I do as we are told. Sandra then bows back and says, "Face your parents!! Bow." I bow to my parents and Cleopatra bows to hers. "Face each other!!" Shelly barked at Cleopatra and me. "Bow." Cleopatra and I bow to each other. "Good job, ladies. You are both dismissed." *******Crystal Tokyo Ultradome: July 26, 2996, 4 pm******* What a battle!!! I'm finally over this ordeal. Maybe now I'll wake up and realize that this was all just a VERY bad dream. I pinch myself and feel a sting of pain. Sandra and Shelly are declaring me the winner of the tournament. I have every reason to be proud of myself; I just won a very difficult battle and a very grueling tournament. So why do I feel so empty? Cara. It's because of Cara's absence that I'm feeling this way. I was able to keep this emptiness I'm feeling now at bay by concentrating on defeating Cleopatra. But since I defeated Cleopatra, there's nothing to hold back this deluge of hollowness at Cara's absence. Cara, why did you have to go and violate Clotilda like you did? Don't you realize how much I looked to you for support through that God-awful tournament? I needed you more as I neared the end of the tournament . . . "Reenie, do you know that you have a very bad habit of wandering off in crowded places?" Mina greeted me, tearing me from my thoughts. "Come on; I'm taking you back to your parents." I look up at Mina and make it very clear that I'm not going anywhere with her. "Reenie, what's the matter?" Mina asks as she kneels down to my eye level. "I miss Cara, Mina," I replied simply. "I feel as if she deserted me and left me to fight Claribel and Cleopatra all alone." "Oh, is that all?" Mina asked. I nod. "Reenie, when Sailor Mars told me what Cara had done to Sailors Jupiter and Uranus and Clotilda, I got extremely angry and did the first thing that came to mind: take Cara home and spank her. When Lita visited me the next morning, she told me that if she ever sees Cara here near her child, she would track me down and beat me to a bloody pulp. I could tell that Lita meant it and I kept Cara and myself home. I'm so sorry, Reenie; I wasn't thinking of you at all." "Cara was my first victory, Mina," I said. "As long as Cara was there, I felt that with a little bit of faith and a lot of effort, I could win this tournament. I was counting on Cara to be there whenever I gained a new court member and especially now. Even when I met Cara at the beginning of the month, I could tell that she and I were going to be great friends. But now she deserted me." "You and Cara remind me of your mom and me when we were young," Mina laughed. "We were very much alike. We both hated school, we were both kind of ditzy, we both lusted after ALEX." Alex groans and walks away. "In battle, we proved to be a kick-butt team and good leaders. In fact, I stayed and talked with your mom about how you and Cara would grow to become great friends." Mina sits down beside me and continues more seriously, "Reenie, Cara did not desert you. She likes you too much to hurt you like that. I personally made sure to teach Cara to care about other people. Cara is probably thinking that Alan and I are the two meanest people on the face of the earth right now, but I'm certain that when she's not thinking of a way to overthrow her father and me, Cara is thinking about you and how you're getting along in the tournament. So does that help?" "Yeah, a little, Mina," I replied. "Reenie, guess what?" Mina said cheerfully. "What?" I asked. "Today is Cecelia's birthday!!!" Mina giggled. "And you want to know what else? Cara will be there to celebrate your victory and Cecelia's birthday with you!!!" I could do nothing but hug Mina. "Now let's get you back to your mom and dad, Reenie." THE END So what do you think? Nice way to end the tournament, eh? I'm very proud of Reenie for what she has accomplished this chapter. Stay tuned for "Congratulations, Reenie!!! Happy Birthday, Cecelia!!!" Email address: CMDChiba@hotmail.com Please put the title of this fanfic in the subject line of your letter. Doing so will enable me to get back to you much faster.