Rated PG-13 Disclaimers: Sailor Moon and everything affiliated with her are the property of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, Kodansha, and DiC. They are not mine, I am only borrowing them for a little while. Any other characters are mine. If anyone wishes to use them, please notify me first. Just a bit of clarification: the * * signify a person's thoughts the ***** before a section signify either a memory or a shift into the mindscape or dreamscape (don't worry, this will make sense eventually, I hope). Comments? Questions? You want to praise me or curse me out? I'm at engjng@worldnet.att.net Daughters of Destiny Part 15 by: Johnny Ng "C'mon!" Mars said, "Let's get this bucket in gear and go!" Uranus ignored the fire scout and concentrated on the control panel in front of her. She hadn't been flying this thing for long, but managed to figure out what most of the indicators were telling her, and right now they were telling her that the shuttle was primed and ready. She touched a button that she hoped was for the retro-rockets. The shuttle gave a low roar and started to shake. Venus looked out one of the portals and reported, "That's it, were starting to move!" "Wait!" Everyone turned at Rhea's cry. The mage was still by the open hatch. "We have to wait for my grandfather!" Sailor Moon turned to Mercury. "How much time do we have left?" "Less than two minutes." The scout leader nodded. "We'll wait for as long as we can. Uranus, keep the engines on for a quick escape." Then they all waited. Distant explosions rocked the _Wrath_ and caused their shuttle to shudder sickeningly. The seconds ticked by slowly and Sailor Moon was about to order the retreat when Rhea suddenly shouted. "He's coming!" Sure enough, the translucent figure of Inverna's greatest hero was approaching the hatch quickly. Just then the force fields holding the shuttle in place winked out and it began to slip slowly out into the vacuum of space. The deck plates began to buckle and give way as well. Aiden managed to steady himself on the churning deck and launched himself at the shuttle hatch. It looked as though he would make it when a loose bulkhead tore free from the _Wrath's_ hull and slammed into the shuttle. That caused the craft to be knocked out Aiden's path. Everyone watched helplessly as the spirit tumbled past them. "No!" Rhea cried. "Venus Love Chain Encircle!" A gleaming length of chain spiraled out and lassoed Aiden around the waist. Sailor Venus jerked the chain taut. "A little help would be greatly appreciated," she grunted. Rhea and Jupiter were by her side immediately and the three of them managed to haul the wayward spirit inside the shuttle. Sailor Mars closed the hatch as soon as Aiden cleared it. "We got him!" the fire scout yelled, "Punch it!" Uranus didn't need to be told anything. As soon as the display showed that the hatch had sealed, she had activated the shuttle's thrusters and angled the craft away from the larger ship. Mercury had her computer out and it displayed the time left until the _Wrath's_ power core self-destructed. "We have less than twenty seconds!" Uranus grunted and put her hand on the throttle. "Hang on everybody!" She pushed the throttle switch as far as it would go. The hum of the shuttle's engines grew to a dull whine as they labored to propel the craft forward. Unfortunately, it wasn't going as fast as they would have liked. "It's no good," Mercury said. "At this speed we're going to be caught in the explosion!" "This shuttle wasn't built for speed," Uranus said. "This is as fast as this tub's gonna go!" Tuxedo Mask suddenly thought of something. "Doesn't this ship have shields?" "Maybe, I didn't have time to find out where they were." Everyone quickly began to examine the controls for the shield generators. "Five seconds!" Mercury shouted, sounding like a harbinger of doom. The search became more frantic. "Four. Three." Sailor Moon spun around to look at the control panel on her left and caught her foot on the carpeting. "Two." The scout leader fell forward and her hand brushed against the console accidentally flipping a number of switches. The shield indicators which been dark a moment before, suddenly lit up as an envelope of protective energy surrounded the shuttle. "On--" The _Wrath_ suddenly chose that time to self-destruct, spoiling Mercury's predictions. Great sheets of iridescent energy tore through the ship's midsection and radiated outward. The shattered hull began to bulge as more runaway energy sought escape. For an instant the _Wrath_ looked like an overripe melon, but only for a moment. It exploded in a huge ball of white-hot magical energy and jagged bits of wreckage. The shuttle was just caught in the outer edge of the explosion but it was still thrown for a ride. Angry currents of energy lashed at the ship's fragile shields as it was tossed around like a leaf in a hurricane. Inside the craft was not much better. The first shockwave from the explosion threw everyone who was standing to the floor. After that, it became a little crazy. Alarms were going off all around them and the shield indicators went from a steady green to a flashing red. "The shields are failing!" Mercury shouted over the tumult. "But we're almost clear of the blast radius!" Neptune was about to tell Uranus to keep the speed up when she saw that her partner had slumped over the controls. There was a large gash over her right eye and blood covered that part of her face. A small gasp escaped the aqua scout's lips, but she steeled herself and managed to reach over and kept pressure on the small ship's throttle. The shuttle's thrusters coughed and sputtered before reluctantly catching fire again. Neptune glanced at the engine displays and cursed under her breath. "The engines have been damaged!" she shouted over her shoulder. "They won't last for long!" "Just a little longer!" Mercury shouted back. She was over by the shield generator console that Sailor Moon found accidentally and was working feverishly to try and coax some more power to the ship's shields. However, virtually every system on board had been disabled or destroyed, including the power generators. Rhea made her way unsteadily over to the blue-haired scout. "Maybe I could summon a barrier around the shuttle." "I don't think you can," the scout said, "the _Wrath's_ explosion is releasing enormous amounts of wild magical energy. Any spell you cast now would most likely fizzle at best...or you might lose control of it at worst." The shuttle's thrusters began to rumble noisily for a moment before they died altogether. "We've just lost our engines," Neptune said. "We even lost our maneuvering jets. There's no way to steer this thing now." Mercury glanced down at her computer screen. "It should be enough. We're coasting at a pretty good speed. We should clear the blast zone soo--" A shrill alarm suddenly went off in the shuttle. Neptune looked at the flashing monitor next to her. "That's the proximity alarm. Something's going to hit us!" As soon as the aqua scout finished speaking, a blackened and charred piece of the _Wrath's_ hull suddenly sliced through the weakened shields and punctured the ship's side. Precious oxygen began to rush out the jagged hole. Sailor Venus had seen enough sci-fi movies to know what was happening. "We've gotta get that hole patched up or we'll suffocate!" "I believe I saw a maintenance locker towards the rear of the shuttle," Pluto said. "There should be something there that might seal up the breach." Tuxedo Mask took off his cape and bunched it up. He shoved the bundle into the hole and shouted, "You go find the locker. I'll try and keep this plugged up." The two scouts nodded and headed aft. Mercury had abandoned the shield monitoring station and was now working on the repair station. She finished inputting a series of commands and sighed with relief as they began to work. She yelled across the ship to Neptune. "You should have some control over the thrusters now. It was the best I could do!" The aqua scout was cradling Uranus's head in her lap when she heard Mercury's report. She immediately looked at the engine displays and smiled. They showed that the thrusters were only operating at ten percent but the main thing was that they were working. She began to ease the throttle up slowly. Back towards the rear of the ship, Tux's hands were starting to go numb from the cold when he finally saw Pluto and Venus emerge from the aft section with a large crate held between them. The two scouts had succeeded in locating the maintenance locker and were going to use a small section of metal plating they had found there as a temporary seal. Venus waited until Tuxedo Mask removed his hands before the slammed the plate over the hole. Pluto took out a laser welder they had also found in the locker and welded the plate in place. When the job was finished the air leaking out went from a torrent to a trickle. "How much longer till we're clear, Mercury?" Sailor Moon asked. "It shouldn't be long now." The scout grabbed hold of the console's edge as the shuttle rocked from a particularly strong shockwave. "But I don't know how much more of those this ship can take. The shields have nearly failed." The proximity alarms suddenly sounded again and Neptune shouted back to the others, "The sensors are reading several large pieces of wreckage on a direct collision course with us." "Can you dodge them?" Sailor Mars asked. "I'll try." Neptune concentrated on the sensor screen in front of her and banked the shuttle hard to the right. The thrusters protested loudly but the craft turned. Rhea was looking out the port viewport and saw a crumpled piece of destroyed machinery race past. She sighed and felt the shuttle turn left. She looked across the ship to the starboard viewport as a twisted section of hull plating floated past. The scout at the pilot's controls was sweating now. Neptune had managed to nurse the engines well enough to dodge the first two pieces of flotsam, but she cursed at what the sensors were showing her now. "The last piece is too large and coming up too fast; there's no way I can avoid it," she told the others. Mercury spoke up. "We should be free of the blast radius in a few seconds, and the wild magic field is getting weaker." She turned to Rhea. "You still think you can raise a barrier around the shuttle?" Rhea nodded. "Just tell me when." "Three seconds till impact!" Neptune called out. Mercury was watching her computer's screen and saw that it said they were free of the wild magic. She waited a heartbeat more then shouted, "Now!" The mage wove her spell quickly and threw out her hands. Outside the ship, a shimmering sphere appeared around the ship, but it began to writhe and pulse as the wild magic started to affect it. Beads of sweat collected on Rhea's forehead as she fought to keep control of her barrier. Aiden was by Rhea's side in an instant. He placed his ghostly hands on her shoulders and channeled his energy through her. The spirit felt his granddaughter relax and the barrier strengthening. A moment later, the last piece of floating debris struck. The barrier buckled and Rhea grunted and collapsed. Aiden hissed as the wild magic twisted his own and he was thrown to the floor as well. Neptune shouted from the pilot's station, "We're clear!" Daniel was beside his daughter in an instant. "Rhea, are you alright?" Rhea groaned and shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "Ugh...did I do it. What happened to grandfather?" Aiden got up and grimaced slightly. "I am well, child, but I fear that my power has been rendered untrustworthy. The wild magic contaminated me. I will need rest to cleanse myself." Mercury nodded gravely. "That is one of the dangers of wild magic, but if it is any comfort, you have saved the ship." She turned to Sailor Moon. "I'm going to help Neptune plot a course back to Earth." "You mean we're going home?" Sailor Moon asked hopefully. "Well we're certainly going to try. This shuttle has been through a lot, though." The scout leader put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know you can do it, Amy." Mercury nodded and went up to the navigational console. She jacked in her minicomputer and her hands fairly flew over the keys. "Neptune, I'm feeding you the coordinates for Neflyte's base." The aqua scout watched the numbers appear on the screen. "I got them. Imputing them...now." Neptune entered the last digit and engaged the shuttle's piloting computer. The ship responded by firing its engines and turning towards Earth. Mercury sighed. "Well, that's it. As soon as we pass the Moon, we'll be on our way home." Sailor Moon looked out the viewport and saw the Earth's lone natural satellite and gasped. She had seen the Moon up-close before, but it never ceased to amaze her. The Earth was just rising over the Moon's horizon and the lunar surface gleamed with reflected light. "It's beautiful..." she whispered. Tuxedo Mask came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "It is." The shuttle began to dip as it passed by the Moon and was affected by its gravity. Neptune nudged the thrusters up a notch and the engines responded by rumbling louder. The scout frowned and checked the displays. She then asked Mercury to have a look as well. The two water scouts discussed the situation for a moment before trying to manipulate the controls in front of them. After a few minutes of this, Mercury stood up and walked resignedly back to the others. "The engines are failing again, this time for good." Venus was puzzled. "But we already cleared the blast radius, right? Couldn't we just coast back to Earth?" Mercury shook her head. "Normally we could, but with the Moon right next to us, its gravitational pull is dragging us down." She looked at each of them. "The shuttle is going to crash into the Moon." There were startled gasps from everyone. "We have to get out of here!" Sailor Moon said. "Thanks for stating the obvious!" Mars retorted, "Now do you have any ideas how?" "What about a Sailor Teleport?" Jupiter volunteered. Mercury looked around. "I'm not sure if that'll work. Uranus and Saturn are in no condition to help and we'll have to take Rhea and the others with us." Rhea interrupted, "I can teleport by myself." "Are you sure about that?" Trent asked. "What's the farthest that you have ever teleported?" "A couple of miles..." "We're probably 200,000 miles from Earth--" "238,857 actually," Mercury informed them. Trent continued, "None of us can teleport that far." He saw his niece's face crumble and added, "But it was a nice idea, though." Saturn spoke up. "What about your portals, Pluto?" "It would be unwise to use them," the time scout said. "The explosion of the _Wrath_ caused major disruptions in the flow of space-time and the temporal portals." "Well we have to do something!" Sailor Moon said. "We are," Pluto said. "Out of all of us, you and Prince Endymion must survive. You can perform a teleport with the Inners and save yourselves." "But what about Trent and Rhea and you guys?" Venus asked. The time scout hesitated before answering. "If it is necessary, we will chance using one of my time portals. Now you must act quickly," she looked out the viewport and saw the sphere of the Moon looming closer. "There isn't much time." The five inner scouts moved reluctantly into position. They linked hands and formed a circle with Tuxedo Mask in the middle. The scouts each closed their eyes and began to power up. Suddenly, a white beam lanced out from the Moon's surface and struck the shuttle. The ship rocked gently as the beam engulfed it. "What's happening?" Rhea asked as she looked out the viewport. Sailor Moon gasped as the Silver Crystal floated free of her broach and Queen Serenity's voice spoke to everyone. <> The Crystal sparkled for a moment longer before growing silent and returning to the broach. Everyone was silent for a moment before Sailor Jupiter spoke up. "I guess that's that. Anyone got anything to do in the meantime?" The shuttle landed on the lunar surface in a relatively short period of time. The white beam winked out and left the ship standing alone on a cratered field. Inside, Mercury had her computer jacked into the shuttle's sensors and was scanning the outside. "I can't find the source of the tractor beam, if that was what that was, but the sensors say that there is a breathable atmosphere outside." Sailor Venus looked at Mercury in surprise. "How is that possible... unless..." The blue-haired scout looked up from her computer and nodded. "We're in the ruins of the Moon Kingdom. This is the same place that Queen Serenity brought us when we fought Malachite." Tuxedo Mask was already at the hatch. "C'mon," he called back, "it wouldn't do to keep the Queen waiting." He triggered the release mechanism and walked outside. The others soon followed with Pluto and Neptune supporting an unconscious Uranus between them. Everything was just the same as it was last time. The stars sparkled overhead and the air was slightly stale and cold. Broken pillars and shattered blocks dotted landscape giving mute testament to the one-time splendor of the Moon Kingdom, and to the awesome power it took to destroy it all. Sailor Moon looked around sadly. "Mother, mother where are you?" <> She turned her head and saw a miniature hologram of Queen Serenity standing on a marble slab, the same hologram from before. "Hello, mother." Aiden made his way over to the tiny queen. "You're looking a bit shorter than the last time I saw you, Serenity." The hologram smiled. <> The spirit nodded. "Alright, what did you want to speak to us about?" Serenity looked directly at her daughter. <> Sailor Moon looked back at Sailor Pluto and answered, "Only what I have seen when I went there, mother...and the little tidbits I have picked up from Reenie and Pluto." The queen nodded. <> The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask gasped. The blond scout leader blinked. She had heard of something like that, but never paid it much mind. "What are you saying, mother?" "She is saying that the Great Darkness is coming, Princess," Sailor Pluto said. Neptune, who had propped Uranus up against the base of a pillar, gasped and whirled around. "So that's what I saw in my mirror. You knew this was going to happen. That's why you didn't want us to stop Trent at Devil's Tower." "Yes, we were there to simply observe the events as they occurred. Trent was supposed to open the mana wells, Bane was supposed to take the Earth's magic, and the Darkness is supposed to occur." "Why?!" Tuxedo Mask shouted. "Why are you allowing the Earth to suffer through another dark age?" Serenity looked at the tuxedo-clad hero sadly. <> "Oh my god!" Rhea screamed, "Gaia! The magic, it's gone! The Earth's magic is gone!" She fell to her knees and began to cry. Venus went over to comfort the grieving mage while Mercury and Mars attempted to scan for the stolen magic in their own different ways. After a while, Mercury dissolved her visor and closed her computer and Mars came out of her trance. "She's right," the fire scout said. "I'm sensing the magic, but it is spread out very thin." Mercury nodded. "After the explosion of the _Wrath_, the Earth's magic was flung into space. It is too diffuse to collect." "You mean the magic is just lost, then?" Venus asked. "No, not really. It is even now returning to Earth, but it will just be added to the background magical radiation. Magic levels on Earth will be raised dramatically." Sailor Moon looked concerned. "That won't hurt the people, would it?" Trent spoke up. "No, it won't, not really." He saw the question brewing on the blond's lips and continued. "What I mean is that if the magical levels increase as much as Mercury says it will, then there might be a lot more mages being discovered than before." "Trent's right," Daniel said. "There are many on Earth who are latent magic users, those that have the ability to become mages, but whose power is dormant. This rise in the magic level might be what it takes to awaken them." While everyone was trying to absorb this information, Aiden went over to the where Mercury and Mars was standing. "Did you get any sense of Bane? If he's alive or not?" the spirit asked them. "No, he's gone," the fire scout spat out, "and I'm glad he is." Mercury, though, wasn't so sure. "There is a lot of interference out there, so I can't be sure, but chances are..." Aiden nodded slowly. He looked back and saw that Jupiter was saying something. "Ok," the tall brunette said, "preserving the future and Crystal Tokyo is great, but the fact remains that the Earth's magic has been mostly drained. Now, I'm no expert on magic, but I think that that is a bad thing." <> Queen Serenity answered, <> While everyone else was about to protest this, Sailor Moon didn't even hesitate. "I will do it. Tell me how, mother." The hologram smiled. <> Serenity saw the concern in the faces of the scouts and Tuxedo Mask, <> The queen summoned the scouts and the Earth Prince to her. When they gathered, she saw Neptune supporting a still unconscious Uranus. Serenity looked up and saw the silent plea in the aqua-haired scout's eyes and nodded. She waved her hand over the injured scout's head and a gentle light washed over her face. Uranus blinked her eyes and groaned. "What hit me?" Her eyes finally focused and saw Neptune's face. "At least I'm waking up to your pretty face." <> The scout's head snapped around and saw Serenity's hologram. "Mm... my Queen!" <