If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky that would be the splendor of the Mighty One... I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. The Bhagavad-Gita, chapter eleven. ---The Silver Millennium--- Minerva looked in horror at the being now floating in the air in front of her. "Maiya..." she gasped, clutching her ribs in pain, "If you're in there, fight it." The thing that was once the princess' chancellor laughed. "Pathetic." she hissed, "I am Babylon, not some trifling little spirit. She can no more fight my control than you could resuscitate your subjects back to life. I will kill you Minerva, leaving nothing behind but a dead husk of rock where your kingdom once was. Then I will go with what's left of my fleet and I will do the same with each of the other worlds, starting with the next closest, Pluto. Minerva's grey eyes widened at that, as Babylon's cruel smile widened, "Oh yes, Minerva. The princess in that picture you seem to like so much, she will be the next to die by my hands. Then all the others will fall, just like you; with the screams of their subjects ringing in their ears." The princess looked at the monster before her as she clenched her fists. "No." she growled out in an almost guttural voice. Her people were dead, and even without Babylon carrying out her threat, the monarch felt fairly certain her injuries were terminal. She was going to die no matter what, a failure to her people. But, perhaps, if she could defeat this thing here, she could save her "sisters." She would do it. She would give her life for theirs. "NO!" she screamed, launching herself at the demon with incredible speed. Grabbing the demon off-guard, it took a second or two for her to summon up the dark field around herself once again. By that point, the two of them were already three-quarters of the way to the mothership. Babylon, realizing what Minerva had in mind, began desperately striking out at her through the Senshi's force field, slashing and hitting her as she tried to kill her before they reached the control ship. From the bridge, all Commander Yukio had time to see on the view screen was two balls of energy, one gold and one black, headed straight for his ship. Before he could even react, the two crashed into the control room with all the force of a small bomb before crashing through the back of the room on their way to the warp engine. Some of the crew were killed instantly, while others were either sucked out into space due to the sudden decompression or pulled after the two battling women. Minerva ignored her now broken cheekbone and her two black eyes as she closed in on her goal. If this ship was in any way similar to the ship the emissaries from Neptune had used, the engine was close by. Babylon sunk her claws deep into Minerva's abdomen, ripping it open and in effect disemboweling her just as they finally reached the warp drive. "War arrows! War arrows! War arrows! WAR ARROWS!" the Senshi screamed. The resulting explosion destroyed not only the mother ship, but the other three war vessels nearby, and left a large circular scorch mark on planet Minerva's surface. Her host body destroyed, the shockwaves sent Babylon deep into the outer recesses of Space. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away, the ruler of Pluto suddenly felt an intense, inexplicable sadness overtake her. Unable to account for the sudden melancholy, she shook it off as she went back to check up on the timegate. ---South Orange Grove, Texas--- ---June 20, 1952--- Jack Parson's was working in his laboratory alone when, at 5:08 PM, the place blew up. The explosion killed the scientist and magician instantly. The official cause of death was that he had simply dropped a container of fulminate of mercury, but none of his friends seemed to buy this explanation. Various occult writers have provided alternate theories to account for his demise, but of course none proved correct. Only one person knew the truth. And she wasn't telling. ---Tokyo, the Present--- She closed her eyes tight as she felt the other woman explore her body tenderly, almost reverently with her hands, her mouth, and her tongue. She took a quick intake of air as she clutched onto her partner's long brown hair, arching her back as she felt something build up within her. She could feel her muscles begin to tighten up, and her breath was now coming in quick pants. Her pelvis began to move in rhythm with her lover's movements, and as the heat rising up in her reached a crescendo she opened her mouth and cried out as every muscle in her body went rigid. The intense sensation over, she went limp, physically drained from the experience. As she lay on the bed panting for air, sweat beading off her brow, her partner poked her head out from underneath the covers and carefully turned her over onto her side. She then felt her partner lovingly pull her closer from behind so that her nude body was spooned up against hers. She was using the woman's right arm as a pillow, and she could feel her lover's breath against the nape of her neck. Her partner kissed her on the cheek as she brought her lips up to her ear. "Setsuna." she heard Kihomi whisper as her left hand slowly caressed back and forth across her abdomen, "Sets-chan, are you alright?" Setsuna nodded her head as she slowly felt herself recovering. "Kihomi." she said nervously. "Yes?" the teacher asked as she kissed her along the jaw line. She wondered if it was too soon, if Kihomi shared the feelings or would pull back from her if she said it. She was scared, but even so she felt the need to give voice to her feelings. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and blurted out what was in her heart. "I love you." There was silence in the room as neither woman moved a muscle. Then, after a few agonizing seconds, she felt herself being hugged tighter by the woman behind her. "I love you too Setsuna-chan." Kihomi answered, "With all my heart." Setsuna closed her eyes and smiled as she felt her lover's naked body against her back, and she began to wiggle a bit as she settled into Kihomi's embrace. She felt so safe, so happy in her arms. As the teacher heard Setsuna's breath slow down a bit, she glanced quickly over to the small clock on the table by the bed. It was five o'clock. As she continued to rub her hand slowly across the woman's smooth flat abs, she smiled to herself. If she had to leave tomorrow to go to some hospital off in Nagoya, she couldn't think of anything else she'd rather be doing than this, or anyone else she'd rather be with. Kihomi kissed Setsuna's shoulder as the Senshi let out a contented sigh. "Setsuna-chan?" "Hmmm..." "You're awful quiet. What are you thinking?" "I... didn't get much sleep last night." she admitted. The night had been long and painful for Setsuna, who had been brooding over leaving Kihomi the way she did, to say nothing of the fact that someone had gained access to the timegate yet again. "And I'm thinking that, as comfortable as I am right now, I could very easily fall asleep if I'm not careful." "Well, it's five now. I have nowhere else to be if you want to take a nap." Setsuna turned her head to look back at Kihomi, "Really?" she asked, "You wouldn't mind?" The teacher chuckled a bit, "Of course not." she said, leaning over to kiss her lover on the cheek, "I'll wake you up at seven, and we can grab dinner or something." Setsuna looked at the teacher's smiling face a few seconds before bringing her lips to the other woman's. Pulling back, she smiled as she lay her head back down on Kihomi's arm. Snuggled close in the teacher's embrace, she closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep. ------ As Beniko left the back room she and Marika had been sharing, she found Professor Miyagawa pacing impatiently as he waited for her. Raising an eyebrow, she walked over to the scientist as she heard the door to the room open behind her. "Professor, what's wrong?" she asked. The professor gave her a worried look. "Tomorrow night's the final night of the ritual, and we still need a sacrifice. We need a girl child without blemish, having never been touched by another, and with her virtue intact." Beniko frowned. Virgins were generally much harder to find nowadays, and just because a girl said she was one was no guarantee of an intact hymen. Any young girl who would've protected her virtue in today's age was certainly not going to be a willing participant in any sacrificial sex rite. She looked back over to the door, and saw Marika smiling. "Marika?" she asked, "Could you find us a suitable sacrifice?" The redhead nodded, tapping the side of her nose as she did so. She had her own motives for being involved in all this. Once the Senshi was trapped within the magical container, she would reveal her true agenda to all. ------ Hotaru walked from the den where Michiru was painting a still life to the living room where Haruka was silently watching the news. "Papa?" she asked, "Is something wrong?" The blond raised her eyebrow a bit, "What do you mean?" Hotaru sat next to her, "You didn't talk much after Setsuna-mama and Kihomi-sama left. Papa, it may help if you talk about it." Haruka gave the Senshi of Death an amused look, "Just when did you become the parent?" she quipped. Noticing her daughter's determined look, she sighed. "It's your Setsuna-mama." she admitted, "Both her and Kihomi looked so happy together when they left, and they seemed serious about each other. I guess I worry about what happens if they stay together and..." "And you worry about when Kihomi-sama starts to age, while Setsuna-mama stays young?" Haruka looked at her daughter and marveled at how mature the young woman was. "Papa, they only just started dating. I think it's a little early to worry about things like that, but if and when the time comes to deal with it, we'll all be there for her and Kihomi-sama." The blond looked at her daughter in silence for a few seconds before rubbing her head and messing up her hair. "Okay, firefly; you win. We'll worry about it later. Where's your Michiru-mama?" "Painting." Hotaru answered. Haruka flashed her a smile. "Want to sneak some ice cream before dinner?" the racecar driver asked. Hotaru jokingly put her index finger up to her chin as if she was deep in thought. "Hmmm... Make it two scoops?" the girl asked. "Deal." the blond said with a smile as the two raced into the kitchen. ---7:10 PM--- Setsuna finished dressing and came out of Kihomi's bedroom to find the teacher leaning up against the wall looking at her. "What?" the Senshi asked nervously. The teacher just shook her head as she looked at her, "You're so beautiful, do you know that?" Setsuna blushed at the compliment. "Thank you." she muttered. She then remembered something. "Kiho-chan, may I use your phone?" ------ Hotaru was on the phone with Usagi when she heard someone trying to get in on the other line. Having call holding, she put the blond on hold as she switched to the other line. "Hello." she answered. "Hotaru honey? How are you doing?" "Setsuna-mama? I thought you were out on a date with Saito-sensei." "I am, hon. I'm just calling in to check up." "Oh. So how's the date going." "Wonderful, hon. How'd your homework go?" "Okay." Hotaru answered. She hesitated a bit and then asked, "Setsuna-mama, will you be in tonight to say goodnight like you normally do?" There was a few seconds of silence before she finally heard, "Of course, hon. I'll be home around nine." After a few more minutes, Setsuna said goodbye and switched back to Usagi. "Sorry about that Odango, but Setsuna-mama was just calling in." "Really?" the future queen asked, "So how's her date going?" "From the sounds of it terrific. She's coming home around nine, and..." "Really?" she asked excitedly, "Wow, I've got to call the others. We can't wait to meet her!" "Usagi wait, I'm not sure she..." "See you tonight, bye!" Usagi said as she hung up. ------ As Setsuna hung up the phone, she felt her girlfriend's arms encircle her. Smiling, she leaned back into the embrace. "Nine o'clock?" Kihomi asked. The Senshi turned around so that she was facing her. "Yes, if that's okay? It's just to say goodnight to my daughter. It's sort or a tradition we have." Kihomi kissed her lightly on her lips, "Of course it's okay. Meanwhile, let me just go into the kitchen and fix us up something." she said as she turned away. Setsuna found her way into the living room and started looking through the teacher's books and film collection. She found a large group of DVDs together, and looked at them with interest. "Kiho-chan?" she asked as she pulled one of the boxes out, "What's this?" The teacher looked in from the kitchen and smiled, "It's a fan sub of a British sci-fi show. I'm a bit of an otaku for it, I'm afraid. I don't think you'd like it much, though." Setsuna looked back at her, "Kihomi, I love you. Anything that interests you is interesting to me." The teacher blushed warmly at that. After a quick dinner, the two found themselves sitting together watching the show. "So," Setsuna began, "Does the Doctor always run around with that large scarf?" Kihomi snickered a bit, "Well, this one does. There's actually been ten of them by now. At the end of this episode we'll go back to your place." Setsuna nodded as she watched the program. The Time Senshi found this "Dr. Who" fellow fascinating. She felt her partner's arm around her, and smiled as she made a mental note to see the other two chapters of "City of Death" when Kihomi came back. When Kihomi came back. She was leaving tomorrow. The thought suddenly sucked all the joy away from her. "Kiho-chan?" "Yes, Sets." "I... I'm going to miss you." she said. "I know." Kihomi said, "I'll miss you too. I'll try to call you from the hospital every day. It'll only be for a little while. And once I know what's happening..." "You mean once we know." Setsuna said with a determined tone in her voice, "I'm going to be there with you through this." Kihomi turned to look into the Senshi's violet eyes. She leaned over and kissed her. "Thank you, you don't know how much that means." she said. As the episode ended, the two women left the apartment for Setsuna's house. The drive was spent largely in silence as the city passed them by. As they came up to her house, they both saw a few other vehicles parked outside in front of the lawn. Setsuna immediately recognized one of them as belonging to Usagi and allowed a groan to escape. "Sets-chan?" Kihomi asked out of concern, "What's wrong?" "I'm... afraid that word has reached some of my friends that I'm dating, and it looks like curiosity has brought them all over. I'm sorry Kiho-chan, they're all good people and very accepting, but if you don't want to meet any of them tonight I'll understand." Kihomi felt a bit of nervousness at meeting strangers like this, but as she parked the car she turned to her girlfriend. "Sets, for them to come out here like this means they obviously care a great deal for you. Of course I'll meet them." ------ "It's up!" the professor announced, his face beaming with pride, "And sooner than expected." Beniko smiled, "Good. I'll go and get the others." she declared. As she walked by, Marika turned to watch the way the blonde's hips moved as she walked. She smiled; the woman was so beautiful, so open sexually, so talented magically... And so utterly stupid. She began to disrobe as the others began to filter over to her and walked into the circle. ------ "...And this, of course, is Usagi." Setsuna said, introducing the blond to her girlfriend, "Everyone, this is Saito Kihomi, my... my girlfriend." she said nervously. Kihomi bowed to everyone, flashing her best smile as she did so. Almost immediately, she was set upon by Minako and Usagi. "So how long have you been seeing Setsuna?" "Where did you grow up?" "Are you really Hotaru's teacher?" "Are the two of you getting married?" Rei and Makoto came up behind the two blonds and put their hands over their mouths. "Let them sit down at least!" Rei yelled as she held her hand over Minako's mouth. "Yeah Usagi, calm down." Makoto added. "She just got here, and you two..." she was cut off by Kihomi. "We met three days ago, I was born near the stadium where the Hiroshima Tigers play, yes, I really am Hotaru's teacher, although since Setsuna and I am dating now she'll probably have to be moved to another class, and it's too soon to tell." she said all in one breath. Everyone in the room was now looking at Kihomi. Then, Haruka started to chuckle. Michiru and Ami joined in, and soon everyone was sharing a good laugh. The laughter was cut short, however, for Rei and Michiru. Michiru looked over to Rei, who nodded; she'd felt it too. Haruka, still laughing, looked over to see a very serious look in her wife's eyes and immediately guessed at what was wrong. Setsuna, standing behind Kihomi with her arm draped over her shoulder, picked up on the subtle body language as well. She wasn't sure what do, since Kihomi was still here. She was about to suggest that they go walk outside for a bit while the others talked, when she felt it. "Sets-chan?" Kihomi asked as she turned to her girlfriend, "What's wrong? I just felt you shiver." "I... It's nothing, I... I need to go upstairs for a few minutes, hon. I'll be right down, though. I promise." Kihomi looked questioningly at her, "Okay." she said, "I'll wait for you." Setsuna felt a second tremor go through her. She turned and ran up the stairs. Kihomi turned to see the once smiling faces suddenly looking pensive and tense. Michiru, Rei and Haruka were standing together discussing something important in low tones as Ami, Hotaru and Minako looked on worriedly. The teacher began to feel self-conscious and out of place, when Usagi and Makoto both came over. "I'm sorry if I barraged you with questions when you first came in." Usagi said, "Why don't we go in the kitchen and talk for a bit until Setsuna comes back." she suggested, hoping to get Setsuna's date out of the room so the others could talk more freely. Makoto smiled at the blonde's suggestion, "Usagi's right." she said, "I can fix us some coffee and... Kihomi-san? Are you okay." "No..." the teacher whimpered, "Not here..." "Kihomi!" Usagi yelled as the woman clutched the sides of her head in pain. Rei and the others looked over as the blond and Makoto held the other woman trying to calm her, even as the pain continued to intensify. "Hasten the Manifestation." It was happening again. The voices. "Join us." "Join us." Except this time, someone else was able to hear them too. "Usagi, Makoto, get back!" Rei shouted, "Hotaru, close the blinds." she ordered. "Get back?" Usagi asked, "Rei, what..." "You dare not refuse, you dare not refuse..." "She's being attacked!" the Shinto priestess yelled over Kihomi's screams as she pulled an ofuda from her purse. "What are you doing?" Haruka asked, caught up in the anxiety of the moment. "Exorcism." the young priestess answered. "Rin pyou tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen! Akuryou taisan!" she shouted as she threw the charm at the woman. She watched with the others as it burst and crackled into flames before it could reach her. "Kami-sama!" she yelled as blood began to once again flow from Kihomi, "Give her strength, Kami-sama," she said as she pulled out a second ofuda for her, "give..." The priestess was cut off as an invisible force picked her up and slammed her against the living room wall, knocking over a table lamp in the process. As the teacher's eyes rolled up into the back of her head, she began to slowly rise up off the ground. "Join us." "You dare not refuse." "Join us." Haruka, who had seen enough, pulled her henshin wand out. "Uranus planet power, make up!" The other Senshi in the room quickly followed suit, causing the room to become ablaze in lights for a brief period. Meanwhile, a small dot of light began to glow in front of Kihomi, growing in size as it got closer. A symbol, looking like two arrows with points upwards crossed against two circles, a smaller one within a larger one, appeared on her forehead as a henshin wand appeared in the ball of light. "No way!" Jupiter gasped. "Her?" Neptune asked, stunned, "It was her all this time?" "No." Mars answered Neptune, still rubbing her shoulder where she'd landed, "Usagi was right all the time; she's not behind any of this. She's been just as much a victim in all this as you and I have. Someone's trying to control her." The woman levitating above the ground was no longer screaming as the wand, with a dull ochre orb at the end of it, continued to come closer. As it at last touched her chest, she was enveloped in a golden yellow light, and her street clothes were replaced by a fuku with a golden skirt, a light green bow on her chest and back, and white boots that rose to just above the knees. As everyone stood watching, Kihomi suddenly felt weightless, and her pain was no more. She looked in front of her and saw the Sailor Senshi she knew from the TV news and papers. She also saw one that she'd never seen before, wearing a gold skirt and floating in the air. As she watched, she felt herself being lifted upward, even as one of the Senshi, a woman with long black hair wearing a red skirt, looked up at her in alarm. "They're taking her away!" she thought she heard her say, but already she sounded so far away as Kihomi, now lighter than air, found herself floating above the house as she left her body behind. ------ "Saito-sensei!" Saturn called out, "Saito-sensei!" "Kihomi, hold on." Sailor Moon whispered. The Senshi floating above the ground before them was giving no indications of even being alive, let alone any capability of hearing or comprehending the blond. "They're taking her away!" Mars yelled as Kihomi stopped breathing all together. "What are you talking about?" Neptune asked, "Whose taking her away?" Mars gave the aqua-haired beauty a fiery look, "Whoever the bastard is behind all this." she answered, "They're stealing her soul. We have to join together and we have to do it now if we're going to save her." ------ Tokyo spread out underneath Kihomi as she continued to fly over the landscape. The country was flying by quickly, and she could see the seaports before her. She began to slow down as she approached a large dilapidated building, falling slowly toward its roof as she did so. She passed through the roof, and entered a scene out of a horror film. There was a large machine within a drawn circle, a second circle with men and women cutting themselves with knives as two women had sex on the floor in front of them, and a man holding a sword that she recognized from her hallucinations last night who seemed to be in control of all that was happening. There was also a triangle, drawn in chalk, with various occult symbols written around it. She didn't understand anything of the nightmare she was viewing, but she did know one thing; she was being drawn inexplicably toward the triangle. Almost instinctually, she knew she had to stay away from it. ------ The eight Senshi circled around Kihomi, joining hands as they all focused on the teacher and the dire consequences she now found herself in. As they gave their energy willingly to save her, the room began to glow. ------ Just as Kihomi was about to enter the triangle, she stopped. One of the two women having sex on the floor, a redhead, looked straight at her as she floated just outside the barrier, and let out an animalistic roar of rage. The teacher had just enough time to note the woman's forked tongue before she felt herself being pulled back up through the roof and over the Tokyo skyline. Traveling faster this time, she saw Setsuna's house rushing toward her a split second before she saw the strange woman floating above the living room floor surrounded by the Sailor Senshi. ------ Kihomi's entire body suddenly jerked, then fell to the floor with a thud. Ami rushed over and put her fingers to the young woman's neck in order to confirm she was alive. As the others surrounded the unconscious woman, Haruka perceived a noise coming from upstairs. Setsuna was back. This wasn't going to be pretty.
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