The Battle of Tokyo Midtown "Thank you for riding Tokyo Metro Hibiya. Now stopping at Roppongi Station. Please bring all belongings with you. Please stay seated until the train comes to a complete stop and watch your step as you exit the train. Have a nice day," the automated message said in Japanese, then repeated itself in English, Chinese and Korean, as the subway train lurched to a squealing stop, like a giant underground slug dying a sweet slow death. Rei, already not a fan of public transportation, found all versions of the announcements irritatingly cheerful. Who wouldn't, after spending the last thirty minutes sitting crammed between a rather creepy looking middle aged business man, and a loud obnoxious teenage boy that wouldn't stop leering at her and asking for her phone number? The nuns at TA academy had described to Rei the Christian hell many times, and from what Rei could recall from those long lectures of eternal damnation, fire, and brimstone, hell couldn't hold a candle to having to endure a trip via public transportation. Especially on the subway. She had originally planned to get to her destination with Minako, but since the blonde had to work unexpectedly, Rei was forced to take the subway since the shrine's old battered car was in the shop. Minako had apologized profusely when she had called earlier that morning, and had promised she would be there later to enjoy at least a little bit of shopping with her friends and to bring Rei home. After this, though, Rei was seriously considering killing Minako on sight, until she realized that would mean she would have to ride the subway again to get home. The moment the doors opened, Rei practically pushed the irritating teenager out of her way, scrambling toward the door as fast as she could, like a moth flying toward a bug zapper. There wasn't a force in hell . . . or worse, this subway car, that could keep the fiery miko from missing her stop. While Tokyo Midtown could be reached by an underground passage, Rei felt a little sunlight and fresh air would do her good after being crammed like a sardine inside of that tin can. Besides, it was only a short walk to her destination from here. She didn't stop running until she was out of the terminal and back in the morning sun. She stopped for a moment to take a deep breath of fresh air (at least, fresh air for a major city) and enjoy the feeling of warmth that the morning sun provided to her skin once again. Rei said out loud, happy to be free from her subterranean prison, "Oh, Kami! It's nice to feel human again!" The newest addition to the Tokyo skyline was her destination. Nearly six years in the making, the Tokyo Midtown Tower Project loomed over her as if she were a mere bug. At fifty-four floors, the glass skyscraper was the tallest building in the Tokyo prefecture and the fourth tallest in the country. The various buildings and land that made up the the Midtown Project housed a wide assortment of facilities. Everything was there, from museums, residences and office space to the new Tokyo Ritz Carlton, a rather large park this deep into the city, and restaurants. It was literally possible to live, work, and play all in the same complex without ever having to brave a journey across town. And of course, the stores! Even Ami could find a shop to happily blow money here! Still, Rei never really did enjoy modern architecture. The tall, gleaming glass building smacked of modern monstrosity. She much preferred the peaceful grounds of the shrine to places such as this. But then, they were going shopping, so she could overlook what was in her mind -- the building's unappealing design. An amused smile appeared on her face as the thought that Ami would probably not shut up about the architecture of the building for the next three weeks. Once Rei reached the entrance to the main tower, she walked inside the glass doors, which opened by themselves like something out of Star Trek. The area beyond the entrance was a large, brightly lit, open five-story area, lined with shops on both floors. There were support columns throughout, and on the far end were elevators and escalators. Hard gray marble floors beneath her feet and a building directory directly in front of her made up the rest of the environment. Ultra-modern summed it up nicely. Rei did find the support columns scattered throughout the area interesting though -- they seemed to split up like branches of a tree near the ceiling. Just as Rei was through the doors, she was pulled into a bear hug by Usagi. As Usagi proceeded to squeeze the life out of Rei, she said excitedly, "Hi, Rei! It feels like forever since we got together just to have some fun! Just think of it! No setting people up, no meetings, no saving the world, just all nine of us having fun! Won't that be great, Rei?" Roughly the time that Rei was going to complain to Usagi about not being able to breathe, Usagi let her go. As the oxygen rushed back into Rei's lungs, she noticed that Setsuna was the only other one there at the moment. Deciding in the interest of preserving the happy atmosphere, for once Rei didn't gripe at Usagi and instead said, "Minako is going to be late, but we should be able to meet up with her at the food court around lunch time. Where is everyone else?" Setsuna answered quietly, leading the small group to a nearby coffee shop on the other side of the plaza. "They went to pick up Ami and Makoto. I came here by myself so they would have enough room in Haruka's car." Rei looked at Setsuna with a puzzled expression and asked as she walked with them, "Why didn't Ami just drive up here in her car?" Then she said with a little surprise in her voice as she put two and two together, "Ami was already with Makoto? As in, overnight?" Usagi's eyes darted back and forth between Setsuna and Rei as the two spoke. Rei took Setsuna's silence as a yes and said excitedly, "Ha ha! Minako owes me twenty yen!" Since they had reached the coffee shop, Usagi ordered them all just a plain cup of coffee to help conserve their money for shopping, and quietly listened to the exchange between the two as she waited for their order and for the others to arrive. Setsuna looked a little frustrated with the turn of conversation. "Look, it's none of our business. Besides, they didn't do that. They just explored their relationship more, that's all." An amused smile crossed Rei's face as she spoke. "I see. They 'explored there relationship'. Is that the term they are using for it nowadays? Cause that's a new one. You actually saw what they did, huh? Let me ask you something, Setsuna." Turning her head to the side a bit she asked, "What constitutes sex between two women in your mind?" Trying to remain the voice of reason in the conversation, Setsuna replied, "I didn't watch them, and to answer your question, I . . .", Setsuna paused for a moment, then gave a shrug almost as if conceding defeat. "I honestly don't know the answer to that. I've never been with a woman before, and it has been a long time since I was with someone at all. Why don't you ask Michiru and Haruka?" Usagi paid for the coffee and handed her friends their cups as she took a sip of her own. While the blonde hadn't said a word yet, she found the topic of conversation between her two friends strangely fascinating. Ignoring Setsuna's suggestion, Rei opted to tease Setsuna instead, saying, "OK. I'll buy your whole you didn't watch but you know what they did excuse, but, if you don't know what constitutes sex between two women, how do you know they didn't," Rei gestured to emphasize the end part as she said with mock exasperation, "ya know, do it?" Setsuna moved her cup of coffee up to hide her smile just as Usagi asked, almost as if on cue, "Why are you so interested in that, Rei?" Rei got a look of surprise on her face, then glared at Usagi angrily for a moment before answering. "I'm just curious, that's all." Then twirling away from the two with a frustrated sigh, Rei asked, "Where are they anyway? As fast as Haruka drives, shouldn't they be here by now?" She stood glaring at the entrance she had come through only a few minutes ago on the other side of the plaza, secretly hoping the other group would be entering at that very moment to help give her an excuse to change the conversation. This subject had suddenly become uncomfortable to Rei, even if she had started it. Just as Rei was about to turn back around to face her friends, the glass doors exploded inward, throwing shards at nearby patrons to the new building, as a battered yellow sports car flew through it. After the car smashed through the building directory, it spun in circles for a moment as it came to a stop near the center of the shopping area, throwing one of its unlucky occupants through the front windshield as it did so. The impact of the car against the doors set off several sprinklers near the entrance, soaking everyone who was trying to flee. The body flew through the air like an out of control missile, past terrified onlookers and between support beams. Then, just as the unlucky individual got a few feet from the wall on the far end of the plaza from the entrance, it did something that even with Usagi's limited understanding of physics, should have been impossible to do. It stopped in midair. Hovering for a moment longer, Dark Sailor Pluto lowered her small frame to the ground. After taking a moment to dust herself off, she jumped back into the air and flew back toward the car, sending a bright purple ball of energy flying ahead of her. It smashed into the car, blowing it to bits just as its occupants scrambled to get out of it, sending her friends and foes alike, plus small hot pieces of the car flying in every direction. Setsuna watched the cashier run back into the kitchen to tell her coworkers what had just happened. Seeing that they were temporarily alone, Setsuna grabbed her companions' shoulders and said, "Now would be a good time to transform." Usagi let her attention leave the tire she was watching roll across the floor when Setsuna spoke. Feeling a little stupid for not coming to the same conclusion' she said said, "Uh . . . right!" Once the three of them had transformed, Sailor Pluto commanded, "You two find Ami and Makoto, and make sure the two of them are OK. We will buy you time for Ami to formulate a plan. Once she has, back us up. Until then, I want you all to watch and make sure the other Sekkou don't show up and outnumber us." Rei looked furious at being told to step aside. After all, It wasn't like they were kids anymore. "You expect us to just sit off to the side while your group gets all the glory?" "This has nothing to do with glory. It's the closest thing to a plan we have for the moment. Now go!" said Setsuna, finding it suddenly difficult to keep her patience. Trying to end the argument, Usagi grabbed Rei's shoulder and said, "Come on, Rei. I think Ami flew this way when the car blew up, and I saw Makoto land somewhere inside that clothing store over there." Meanwhile, out in the plaza, the fight was already in full swing. The area was lit up by various energy attacks being hurled back and forth as pedestrians ran out of the building to avoid getting killed in the powerful crossfire. The phenomenal attacks formed craters into the hard marble floor and smashed through walls. Merchandise and parts of the building flew through the air like deadly shrapnel as brand new shops and displays became part of the expanding war zone. Haruka set her sights on her double, Amara, but from the moment she started her assault, the odds quickly went in her double's favor. Not necessarily because Amara was a better fighter, but because, unlike Haruka, Amara simply refused to fight fair. At first the two merely traded punches back and fourth, nether able to score a decisive blow on the other. Then as they moved their fight near a small jewelry stand, Amara brought her fist down onto the glass case, shattering it. Blocking Haruka's next punch with one hand, she used her other to scoop up a hand full of glass. Ignoring the pain as the shards cut into her hands, she brought up her hand as if to return the punch, then instead threw the glass at Haruka's face. Haruka closed her eyes for a moment and stepped back, bringing up her hands to protect her eyes as the sharp pieces of glass sliced into her skin. When she did this, her opponent wasted no time in delivering a powerful kick to Haruka's stomach. Haruka staggered back for a moment, but had recovered quickly since she had tensed her stomach muscles in anticipation of her opponent's actions. However, it gave Amara just enough time to prepare for her next move. Amara did several back flips while Haruka was preoccupied so as to put some distance between the two. Then she pointed at Haruka and yelled out "Tidal Submerge!" At first, nothing happened. Haruka smiled and took a few steps forward, saying, "Looks like you need more practice with --" She was cut off by a low rumbling sound. Now it was Amara's turn to smile as the cinder block wall just above her shattered as if it were glass, and a wave of water smashed into Haruka, this time knocking the air out of her. The wave lifted her off her feet and smashed her through a wall, then receded just like a gentle tide, as Haruka slowly slid to the ground. Michiru had her hands full with Michelle. Unlike her lover, who preferred to get up close and personal, Dark Sailor Uranus preferred to attack from the air. Hovering several feet above Sailor Neptune, she rained attack after attack down on her opponent, mostly just sending yellow blasts of energy toward her. As Michiru jumped behind a column for cover she thought about how strange it was that her double could attack repeatedly like that without even using a verbal command. Sure, they had all used an attack once or twice without doing so throughout there careers as Senshi, but not in a repetitive barrage like this. Thankfully, they were relatively low-powered compared to a standard ability. Granted though, even a low powered attack from any of the sailor warriors would kill a normal human being with a near miss. As that thought crossed Michiru's mind, she started to get the impression she was being toyed with. As if to confirm her suspicions, she heard her rival shout "World Smashing!" and felt the steel column she was hiding behind buckle then splinter into pieces as a powerful yellow energy wave smashed her into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust and chunks of marble. As the dust settled, Michiru found herself lying in the center of a crater. Hotaru and Trista were locked in a contest of skill over who was the better with their weapon. Trista's version of the Silent Glaive was a bit longer than Hotaru's, which, along with her height, gave her more of a reach, but Hotaru was just a touch quicker which allowed her to compensate. The two weapons clanked together loudly for a third time, then as before the two began twirling their weapons, trying to slice into each other and at the same time dodge the other's attack, resulting in both hitting only air. If it weren't for the large sharp point on their staffs glistening in the light, they would have looked as if they were putting on some kind of a show. However, whenever Trista felt Hotaru was starting to get the upper hand, or came just a bit too close for comfort to slicing into her flesh, Trista would swing her glaive straight down toward the ground. A seemingly simple and perhaps unwise act given the fury of Hotaru's onslaught, except that Hotaru knew that simple move could very well bring about the end of the world. So, Hotaru was forced once again to stop trying to inflict a decisive injury upon her opponent and block the other's weapon, which brought the two back to square one. This time, when the two weapons made contact, Trista used her staff to push Hotaru back several feet, then jumped into the air and flew in the opposite direction several more feet to give herself more room. Once she reached a more desirable distance, she hovered in the air and watched Hotaru regain her balance. Dark Sailor Saturn smiled evilly down at her opponent, then called out, " Harvester of Souls!" Then as she laughed insanely, she raised both hands, as a ball of energy black as night formed between them, then she opened them, releasing it. As it flew toward Hotaru, the black sphere took on the shape of a giant skull, and seemed to make a sound reminiscent of laughter as it flew toward Hotaru. Hotaru had just enough time to raise her silence wall. The hideous skull smashed into the shield, sending waves of dark energy curving around her barrier, then caused an explosion that was strong enough to send Hotaru, still encased within her shield flying like a ball through the air. Sailor Pluto and Dark Sailor Pluto were standing several feet from each other, talking as if the fight raging around them weren't happening at all. "It's awfully nice of your companions to leave you to us," the evil twin of Hotaru said as she gripped her Garnet Rod in her hand tightly. "Why should we waste our time fighting anyway? We both know who is going to win, so you should just surrender now." As if observing the destruction around them for the first time, she added with mock sadness, "All this violence and destruction is such a waste of time and energy." Setsuna looked at her opponent as if sizing her up and said, "They haven't abandoned us." She left it at that to indicate she wasn't about to give away how much or little they had planned for this encounter, even though this was potentially impossible to avoid while dealing with a warrior of time. Then, answering her second comment, she said, "The future is never set in stone. It is always in motion, always changing. We wouldn't fight you if you would just come and talk to us. There is still the chance we could actually resolve whatever your dispute with us is peacefully." Narrowing her eyes at Dark Pluto, Setsuna said with just a hint of anger, "But a peaceful resolution isn't your desire, is it." It wasn't a question. The seemingly youngest Sekkou cackled insanely for a moment as if Setsuna's response were the funniest joke she had ever heard. "You know what your problem is? You are so predictable, and you want the rest of the universe to go how someone else has decided it should go. In reality you would be a lot happier if you would just step aside and let the universe do whatever the hell it wants to." Then, as she gave Sailor Pluto a rather insane smile, she said, "If you joined with instead of fighting the chaos of the universe, I think you would find you would greatly increase your own power. For instance, Pluto is the god of the underworld. Yet you seem to have no wish to use that power. You rely on a limited ability to control time and space, and one insignificant attack, when an entire army rests at your feet." Then, as if to demonstrate, she whispered, "Summoning of the necromancer." She tapped her staff on the ground gently, then three rectangular shaped holes formed in a row in front of Dark Pluto. "Witness a taste of what you could be capable of if you would simply choose to not follow the rules laid down by a kingdom long since turned to dust." As she spoke, three beings emerged from what Setsuna had come to realize were graves. The animated corpses clawed their way into the light for the first time in apparently a long while. The first were the badly decayed remains of a samurai, his once proud katana badly rusted, and leather armor weathered and rotting away in some areas. He seemed to have the look of someone who had died on a battlefield and was left to rot away with no one but the crows to mourn him, rather than being given an honorable burial. Second was a businessman. From the looks of his suit, he had died in the late 1950's. He had pale skin that looked cold to the touch, his eyes had sunk far back into his head, and his skin had only recently started to grow a dark green mold on it. He made a moaning sound, and as he did so a greenish liquid spewed from his mouth. Last in line was the reanimated body of a small girl clutching a stuffed bear. She looked to be from about the early 1900's, judging from the design of her dusty, discolored kimono. She lurched forward slowly, as chunks of her decomposed skin and locks of hair fell from her body. This last poor soul struck a cord somewhere within Setsuna. It was bad enough to have died so young, but to have someone desecrate her innocent body in this way was simply appalling. Clutching her staff tightly, she said, "The dead deserve to be allowed to rest. As a guardian of time and as the senshi of Pluto, there are many things we are not supposed to do. Just because someone can do something, doesn't mean you have to. Your actions are . . . unforgivable. Disgraceful at best." As her slaves stalked toward their prey, Dark Pluto said, "You see? There you go again with your rules. You keep referring to us as guardians of time, when what we really were meant to do is be mindless enforcers of destiny. Let me tell you something . . . Setsuna, is it? I have decided to make my own destiny, and I personally find the experience to be liberating. If we aren't supposed to be able to do things, then why give us the power to do so?" It seemed the damned souls took her closing words as their command to attack. Now forced to defend herself, Setsuna parried a swing from the samurai's sword, sending rust flying as their weapons clashed together. The warrior's animated corpse tried to scream with rage as he attacked again, but his jaw and bits of his dry flesh fell from behind his ceremonial mask, distorting his battle cry to a high-pitched demonic shriek. Then, as she blocked another blow from the samurai, the child zombie threw her worn bear to the ground and jumped onto Sailor Pluto's staff, wrapping her arms and legs around it and trying to bite Setsuna's hands. As Setsuna changed her grip to avoid receiving a nasty bite, she noticed her third attacker approaching her at as close to a run as the rotting businessman could manage. Seeing an opportunity to get rid of her hitchhiker on a stick, she swung her staff at him, smashing the little girl into his ribs. There was a loud, sickening, wet cracking sound as the two undead collided. Just as the two smashed into each other, the suit zombie burst into flame, catching the small rotting child's kimono on fire as well. He twisted involuntarily as his tendons and what was left of his muscles and bones burned. The dead child released her death grip on Setsuna's staff, fell to the ground with a thud, and ran a few feet before the flames consumed her entirely. As both corpses burned to dust on the marble floor, Setsuna and her undead Samurai opponent both looked around for a moment to try to discover the source of the blast. Setsuna laid eyes upon Sailor Mars just in time to see her send another blast of fire at her last attacker, causing his leather armor to curl up as it burned. The katana fell from his hands as he landed on his back, while the fire engulfed him and slowly burned the fallen warrior and his comrades to ashes. Then she watched as electricity wrapped around the evil version of Hotaru, causing her to scream in a mixture of surprise, pain, and pure rage. Her adversary momentarily stunned, Sailor Pluto asked whichever of the nearby senshi would answer her, "What plan did you come up with?" Makoto, stepping from her hiding place behind a rather tall floral display, put a hand in front of her mouth nervously for a moment as she answered quietly, "Uh . . . none?" Rei spoke up, practically gloating, "We realized you were losing so we decided you all needed our help." Smiling at the irony of it, she added, "For once we get to save your butts!" As Sailor Pluto looked around for a moment, she noticed Ami was helping Michiru fend off Michelle, and Usagi was doing her best to help Haruka deal with Amara. Makoto was already making her way over to Sailor Saturn to help her defeat Trista. Despite the lack of coordination they usually used, the battle had clearly reached a turning point in their favor. It looked like the loose objective was to herd all the outer rim planetary Dark Sekkou to the corner farthest from the entrance. That would make it possible to allow them to either talk over their differences, or annihilate this group of Sekkou once and for all. Setsuna decided to take the moment to make sure that the evil version of her daughter was out of the fight. She whispered "Dead Scream!", sending a large ball of purple energy slamming into the girl before she could fully recover from Makoto's attack, causing her to fly through the air, ricochet off of a column and slide across the floor, stopping just shy of the corner they were trying to herd the Sekkou to. She was either badly hurt, or knocked out all together from the looks of it, because she didn't even try to get up. Odds were she would still be there by the time her teammates joined her. Surprisingly, the Senshi were able to get the rest of the Sekkou to congregate there without using much force. As soon as Trista saw Dark Pluto's body slide to a stop, she yelled out to her partner, abandoning her fight with Hotaru and Makoto, as she ran to aid her fallen comrade. Realizing they were severely outnumbered, Amara and Michelle quickly made their way there as well. It was almost too perfect. The senshi seized the moment and surrounded the sekkou, effectively trapping them in the corner. Even if the Sekkou tried to fly now, they would be knocked out of the sky in an instant. Sailor Pluto said calmly, "Now, as I was saying to your injured team member, it still isn't too late to talk this out. What is it you want?" Trista was showing a surprising amount of concern for Hotaru as the Sekkou of time lay on the ground. As she tended to the other's wounds, she answered angrily, not even bothering to look up at her double as she spoke, "There isn't anything to discuss. Only a fool tells their enemies what they are doing." Makoto spoke up, trying to stay calm and keep the adrenaline flowing through her under control, "You can't win now. Even you must be able to see that. We aren't about to stoop to your level and torture you. All we want to know is why you insist on fighting us, and to see if we can come to a mutual understanding without having to kill each other. That's really not too much to ask, is it?" They watched as large sinister smiles formed on Amara and Michelle's faces. Ami was thinking maybe they were going to get at least a delusional comment or insult, but nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her own voice answer Makoto from behind her. "It's really quite simple, even for a bunch of simpleton, goody goody, screw ups like the lot of you. We want you to die, one by one, slowly and painfully." Then after giving an amused laugh, Ami heard her voice add, "Preferably screaming all the way on your journey to hell." Usagi looked at Ami sounding bewildered as she said, "Geez Ami, I know you had a rather rough experience with them, but don't you think you're being just a little harsh?" Ami turned around slowly while a look of dread formed across her face and answered ruefully, "That wasn't me, Usagi." Rei, Usagi, and Makoto joined Ami in turning around, while Hotaru, Setsuna, Michiru and Haruka kept watching their doubles. Sure enough, the five missing Sekkou had finally decided to make their appearances. Suddenly the tables had turned and they were the ones that were surrounded. Dark Pluto let out another insane laugh as she jumped to her feet, demonstrating that she wasn't as badly hurt as she had let on. Haruka finally decided to voice what the others were thinking. She said angrily, "Damn it! It's a trap!" Rei, refusing to believe they were suddenly in the loosing situation, and sounding as if she were just told she had done a complicated math problem wrong, said, "Wait a minute. We're smarter than this." Rei strained her mind to its limits trying to think of how they were going to get out of this. As the de-facto second in command behind Minako, she felt it was her responsibility to get them out of this. 'OK . . . we are surrounded by people who for the most part have scaled up abilities compared to us, cheat, and want to kill us for reasons we still haven't figured out, and we are out numbered by one since Minako isn't even here. What would Minako do in a situation like this?', she thought to herself as she looked around. Then she looked in to the eyes of the Sekkou they had had the most experience with almost as if she would give her an answer. As Amy glared down at them from where she was hovering, it clicked into Rei's mind what Minako would do. "OK, Ami, what do we do?" Rei asked. If any of them knew how to get out of this, surely it was Ami. As the Sekkou moved to neaten up their circle the senshi were now trapped in, Ami edged toward Hotaru slowly, trying not to be obvious about it. She hoped Hotaru was getting the message. Ignoring Rei for the moment, she looked at Dark Sailor Moon and asked, "So, you're just going to kill us all, right here, right now," Ami spread her arms out for a moment then finished, "and not even tell us why?" Serena looked at Ami with genuine regret on her face. Unable to look them in the eyes, she looked away as she spoke. "Because it is the only way we can think of to save ourselves." Then she said sadly, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Finally Trista, unable to stand the delay any longer, yelled out, her voice echoing like an angry god in the large, cavern-like room which for several moments before that seemed entirely too quiet, "Enough! Serena, kill them." Dark Moon hesitated another moment, as if she were unable to make up her mind. Then, a look of fearsome determination crossed her face as she started to glow brightly and lifted herself in the air. She started to spin slowly, then quicker and quicker as she built up energy and lowered herself back to the ground. Still spinning, she knelt down, then held up her hand and stopped so she was facing the senshi, and yelled out, "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" As the area around the Senshi turned dark, Ami yelled, "Now Hotaru!" Once again, Hotaru cast her silence wall, the dark energy barrier forming around their group just in time, as a giant blast of energy in the shape of a heart slammed into them. The heart smashed into the shield causing a small explosion. Some of the Senshi yelled out in panic, not fully realizing what had happened. A bright light suddenly blinded everyone for a moment, and then . . . As the light cleared, and their eyes adjusted, the Sekkou looked at the sight in front of them with emotions ranging from confusion to anger. All that was there, was a large dark hole, with sparks from exposed electrical conduits, and water from burst water pipes shooting into the air. The senshi had apparently been completely annihilated.
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