The as the others bowed their heads in individual prayer, Makoto walked away from the others to stand in front of the spot where Voldone had disappeared. ::How can they still pray to a God who has taken so much from them? How can they rely on a God who has so obviously abandoned them so long ago? Even if there is a God, he doesn’t concern himself with the lives of men, so why should he love us?:: As she stared blindly at the unexceptional place on the pavement where the creature had left, she failed to notice a well dressed man and his camera crew carefully approaching her as if she were a wild creature about to pounce. When the well-dressed man cleared his throat, Power leapt from Jupiter and lightning crackled around her in warning. “Excuse me, Sailor Jupiter – that’s you, right?” Looking at him up and down, she nodded in an uninviting way and then turned back to the spot. The man walked around so that she was facing her again. “Can you comment on the upcoming battle? What are your chances of winning? What is your strategy?” Jupiter looked at him incredulously. “Are you mad?!” The man looked at the camera in apprehension. “What do you mean, Lady?” Jupiter tossed her hair over her shoulder and said forcefully, “You are standing in a combat zone, and not just any combat zone either! This is one where Powers beyond your comprehension will be thrown around at random. You all are in our way. We cannot pause to be worried about making sure all of you are safe. You WILL be caught in the crossfire, and we will not be responsible for the deaths that result.” With that she turned to go back to the Senshi, but the idiotic man followed her, asking her questions that totally disregarded her warning. Jupiter turned around and pointed at the camera, and a lightning bolt flew into it. The cameraman shouted and dropped the ruined piece of equipment. The man started shouting in anger, but it was not directed at Jupiter, so she calmly returned to her sisters and offered what comfort an emotionless woman could.

Only moments later, Voldone appeared once again, this time on top of a nearby building, lounging as if he was unconcerned with the events that would take place. He spoke, and his voice carried easily over the intersection. “Let the battle begin.” Five monsters much like the ones from before appeared in front of them. But, as they did, a dome of Power encased the group of eleven, making escape impossible, but also preventing Power from striking the humans. The Senshi ignored all this and stared at the creatures in front of them. As noted before, they were much like the monsters they had first fought, except for the calculating intelligence in their eyes. Mars stepped forward and shouted, “Mars Fire Disc!” and a disc of flame struck the nearest one a little too far to the right, cutting off its arm. The creature didn’t react at all. ::They have no response to pain, but we can work past that, right?:: Jupiter Felt the wave of worry that shifted through the others minds and watched carefully. The injured creature merely flexed what was left of the injured arm, and a mew one sprung forth into its place, as if it were being shot out of the flesh. Luna winced on Sailor Moon’s shoulder, but otherwise all stayed silent. But Venus gasped and said, “Look at the severed arm!” It was moving, twitching and rolling... and growing. A few short moments later, another creature stood where the arm had been. Sailor Mercury turned to Voldone and said accusingly, “You said five!” Voldone smiled unpleasantly and said, “I gave you five. If you create more, it is beyond my control. And by the way, it doesn’t have to a severed limb to be regrown. And bit of flesh, whether burned to a crisp or no, any ashes, any insubstantial bit of monster will grow into another one.” As the Senshi stared at him in shock, anger and fear, he stood and said, “I will stay and watch, of course keeping your lovers apprised of each death, each injury, each loss of faith. Fight well, Senshi, for that makes it all the more amusing.”

DIVIDER

Trowa leaned back against the wall, ignoring the pain in his legs and back as if it were a separate part of himself. He feared something that he couldn’t understand, something that he didn’t see or experience, but feared all the same. ::Makoto, what’s happening?:: He almost wished for the mocking voice to return, just so he could know a little of what was going on, even if it was the worst possible news. From what he could Sense, his love was still alive, but suffering from some strange enemy. She didn’t fear, he knew that, but he feared enough for both of them. His licked his lips with a dry tongue and closed his eyes, concentrating on Sending thoughts and emotions to Makoto. It hadn’t worked much thus far, but the bond he had with her had suddenly grown, and he assumed that she had transformed into Sailor Jupiter.

Suddenly, he heard the mocking voice come from thin air again, chuckling in foul humor. “Your beloveds are about to fight a most hopeless fight, I’m afraid. They should be more cautious when making deals with devils, don’t you think?” Trowa shook of an image of Sailor Jupiter’s impassive face, knowing she was going to die. The voice continued, either unaware of the men’s sudden movement toward the center of the room. “But I have further information for two of you that might make this even more fun, for me at least.” Trowa felt the presence focus on him, an uncomfortable at the best of times, but the malicious glee that he Sensed made him nauseous. “Your lover, Trowa Barton, has destroyed herself in her mourning for you and her sense of duty to her Princess. She now no longer feels emotion, and has made herself into a fighting mechanical alien, focusing only on the logical and not on the emotional. She knew that it was either that or death, for she couldn’t live without you. Isn’t that sweet? She destroyed herself for you.” Trowa felt his heart constrict and cringed physically at the visions in his mind of what Makoto had done to herself. He knew that the monster was speaking the truth, because he had Felt it himself, but couldn’t name what was wrong.

The attention shifted from him and Millardo shifted uncomfortably, fearing what the voice would tell him. “Congratulations, Millardo Peacecraft, you are a father to be.” Millardo’s jaw fell slack. “My Ami – she’s pregnant?” The voice laughed in amusement, “Yes. Isn’t it a shame that the child will not survive to be born, and instead will die along with its beautiful mother.” Millardo stiffened in anger, quite the opposite effect that the monster wanted. “You – will – not – touch – her!” Trowa picked up on his anger, his despair and fear turning to rage. He had never understood the phrase “seeing red”, but now he did. Everything he saw was tinted with absolute fury. But the voice wasn’t finished. “And I do know about the offspring of the Senshi and their lovers. I will not rest until they are hunted down and dead. I will not lose my prize to the progeny of goddesses.”

That pushed them over the edge. Millardo started screaming and Trowa saw that he was glowing with a blue light. Trowa sat straight and shouted, “I call upon the Powers of Jupiter!” Pain instantly consumed him, but he focused instead on drawing Power from the Planet that he now somehow Felt a part of. If was as if the Planet was a living entity, and saw his struggles and wrapped Power around him to protect him. The Pain threatened to overwhelm him, but the entity seethed with comfort and strength, not letting him lose himself in pain. Trowa shut his eyes tightly and focused the Power towards the shackles. Green light flared and the shackles shattered. Trowa stood and this time the Power solidified around him. He felt cleansed and empowered, and somehow knew that he was receiving his fuku. When the Power finished with him, but never left, he looked down. He was wearing boots and a tight body suit made of unidentifiable material that was as black as pitch except for the lighting the curled around his limbs. It was sleeveless, and Trowa saw tattoo-like lightning on his arms that reached to the wrist-length gloves that encased his hands. He touched his hair and felt that his normally anti-gravity bangs had been swept back into a ponytail, and he had a sneaking suspicion that it was highlighted green.

He looked at his comrades and saw that they had different variations of the same body suits, except for WuFei, who had reverted into his ca shape and now clumsily climbed up onto Heero’s shoulder. Trowa smiled at their impending victory and said, “So what does this make us? Not Sailors, certainly.” Heero looked down at his new fuku, a crescent moon on his chest. “No, we are the Soldier Senshi.” Duo whooped and said, “So lets go kick some monster ass!” Millardo nodded, and then sent a blast of blue Power onto the wall. Nothing happened. There wasn’t even a scratch on the smooth alien surface. Millardo’s face contorted in anger and eh said, “Everyone on the same spot, at full Power until we break through this damned wall!” There was no argument and soon five sets of Powers focused unsuccessfully at the wall. They all stopped at once. “Damn it!” Trowa cursed. The wall seemed to absorb whatever they threw at it, and there was never any damage done. Millardo threw himself shouting at the wall, banging his fists against its cold metal. Trowa only just stopped himself from joining his friend, knowing that it wouldn’t help. Duo looked at Millardo and said, “Mill – er, Mercury’s going to shit a brick.” Yuumichiwu watched Millardo, a lost look on his face, and then said to Trowa, “We have to get to them. We have to protect them. If either my wife or my daughter dies, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” WuFei said, “Concentrate! There has to be a weak spot somewhere!”

They spent what felt like hours for that weak spot, from the floor to the ceiling, but it was of no use. They collapsed in the center of the room, not exhausted, but despaired. ::What irony. We escape our shackles, only to find it only frees us to walk around this single room.:: But, just as he thought that, there was a noise from the ceiling. Before the Soldier’s shocked eyes, the ceiling parted to allow for their escape. Three creatures leapt down into the cell. The Soldiers immediately drew their Powers to them, but the strange creature said, “We are here to free you, Lovers of Goddesses.” They were humanoid aliens, pale as a sheet of paper, impossibly tall – they towered over Trowa, who was the tallest of the group - and was thin as sticks. Their pupiless green eyes stared eerily at them. “Why?” asked Heero, none of them having stood down. The creature seemed amused by their untrusting natures. “We are shape-shifters from the same Clan as those who replaced you. Voldone made a grievous error in judgment when he broke contract with us by killing six of our best.” ::These are the creatures?:: If anything, the knowledge made the Soldiers all the more paranoid by the knowledge. But the second Doppelganger said soothingly, “Unfortunately, our part of the contract included the stipulation that we not kill him or destroy his kingdoms.” The third said happily, “But he didn’t say anything about our giving others the means to do so.” The first nodded then spoke again. “We have released you from your prison, and now we will give you the knowledge to destroy our common enemy.” The second stepped forward and said, “All of this – the ship, the creatures, everything – was made with Voldone’s Power.” Heero looked at them, vengeance in his eyes, “If we destroy him, we destroy everything of him.” All the Doppelgangers nodded in unison, then said, “Now we leave you. Luck be with you, Soldier Senshi.”

They vanished, but Trowa’s attention was instead focused on the hole in the ceiling, which was at least twelve feet out of his reach. Gathering Power around him, he leapt, and was carried easily through the hole. The others followed his example and examined this new part of what was obviously a space ship. There were dead bodies all around, seemingly of a melting pot of different aliens. WuFei leapt off Heero’s shoulder and nudged something on the floor. “Look, they used guns. They don’t have the Power we do.” Trowa knelt and put his ear to the ground. “You better hope so, because there is a large group of them coming towards us now.”

Years of working together made them all start running together, moving from the room and down what seemed like endless empty passages ways. Finally, Neko WuFei called, “We have to stop and discuss what we are going to do!” Trowa and Heero followed the running cat into a room to their right, this one empty as well. As soon as they were securely ensconced on the room, Yuumichiwu leaning on the wall to listen for the guards hunting for them, WuFei leapt onto Trowa’s shoulder. Trowa couldn’t help himself – he chocked on a laugh. WuFei glared at him and said, “Shut up, fool!” Heero looked around and said, “I’m a little concerned that we haven’t met much resistance yet.” Duo smiled slyly and said, “I think our goddesses have provided us with a distraction.” Yuumichiwu laughed, “That’s right! They thought we were weak! They must be preparing for an invasion!”

Trowa nodded in agreement. “So now we have to figure out how to get out of here.” Millardo said grimly, “We could be in the middle of space for all we know.” The Soldiers turned to WuFei, who looked at them with wide eyes and asked innocently, “What?” Heero asked carefully, “Luna was training you to be our guardian, right?” WuFei looked at them all in disbelief and protested, “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I know anything!” The room was filled with the men’s curses and Neko WuFei’s protestations. “Um…guys…” said Yuumichiwu, moving away from the door. The men fell silent and Yuumichiwu said, “I think they found us.”

Trowa went on instant alert. “Yuumichiwu, weld the door shut!” Yuumichiwu hurriedly did what he was told, but even as he finished, the aliens crashed against the door and it shook with a fervor that no human could have accomplished. Millardo shouted, “That won’t last!” Heero swung around to Trowa and said, “Sailor Jupiter can make a shield! Did she teach you.” Trowa delved into his memory and then nodded, remembering the pathetic little excuse of a shield he had created which was only useful as a mosquito block. ::Hopefully, I have the strength now to make it work correctly.:: “Everyone behind me now!” They ran, Power making them faster than anything he had seen before. “Prepare for battle,” Heero said evenly. This cause WuFei to panic, “What do I do? I can’t fight in this body!” Millardo turned to him and said angrily, “You stay behind the shield and out of the way. And pick your brain for anything that might get us out of here!”

Instinct suddenly compelled Trowa to throw his arms out in front of him and shout, “Jupiter Energy Shield!” A disc of pure energy formed in front o them all, large enough to block the entire group. Just as the energy solidified, the door blasted out and hit it. Trowa winced as the green energy shuddered from the impact. Just as he recovered from that, the aliens started shooting and the pain from the strain in Trowa’s arms made him groan. Millardo saw this and said, “You better think of something quick, WuFei!” One of the guns was much larger than the others, and when its first shot hit, Trowa nearly cried out in pain, and was driven back at least a foot. “Really quickly, Neko-chan!” Duo said, looking at Trowa with worry. Finally, WuFei cried, “I’ve got it!” Heero, seeing Trowa’s muscles twitch with exertion said, “For God’s sake, man, just tell us what to do.”

As Trowa poured more Power into the shield, WuFei jumped onto his shoulder. “Everyone get into a circle! Trowa, when we’re ready, turn quickly around and call your Power!” Trowa grunted in response, feeling the muscles in his arms rip. Duo stood next to Trowa and said in a high-pitched voice, “Oh, Friend Trowa! Look at those rippling pectorals!” Trowa’s eyes narrowed and he said, “I’m going to kill you, Duo!” But Duo only laughed in the face of the threat and turned to face the center of the circle, where WuFei stood. “Soldier Teleport!” the little black cat shouted.

“Venus Galaxy Power!”

“Mars Galaxy Power!”

“Mercury Galaxy Power!”

Trowa swiftly dropped the shield and called out in his turn, “Jupiter Galaxy Power!” He cried out when a bullet imbedded itself in his back. Distantly he heard Heero shout, “Moon Crystal Power!” and he shouted “SOLDIER TELEPORT” with the rest of them. The actual teleportation felt as if they were floating in space. Trowa was reminded of the time his Gundam exploded, leaving him helpless and injured and floating in space for an indeterminable amount of time. But as soon as it began, it ended.

The light of the setting sun in a blood-red sky blinded Trowa for a few moments, but as soon as he adapted, he looked around at his new surroundings. They were on top of a building, close enough to the center that they wouldn’t be seen from the ground. Trowa had been shot in the back, but most of the others had also been shot at least once. The only ones who hadn’t been injured were WuFei and Duo, and they had the decency to look ashamed. Millard had been shot in the shoulder, Yuumichiwu in the upper arm and Heero in the thigh. WuFei asked in concern, “If everyone basically alright?” Trowa nodded. “I don’t think there’s anything mortal. Yuumichiwu said accusingly, “We would have been a lot better if you had remembered the teleportation spell BEFORE the guards caught us.”

Just as WuFei was about to retaliate with a set of sharp claws, the ground shook as if trying to lift itself away from the confines of the Earth and there was a large white light just next to the building. “That felt like an explosion,” Millardo said. Trowa looked at him, then walked to the edge of the building. What he saw made him cry out in a mixture of shock and joy. There was the Sailor Senshi, right below them, fighting against what seemed like at least thirty enemies. Trowa couldn’t tear his eyes away from Sailor Jupiter, his eyes drinking in the sight of her like a starving man staring at his salvation right before him. Her face was a mask of unemotional determination as she attacked her enemy without passion, and obviously with out any hope of winning. ::Oh, God, Makoto. I missed you so much.:: She and the rest had been badly injured. It seemed as if the monsters would get close enough to slash at them, and then pull back again, leaving the girls with the agony of huge slashes in their flesh.

WuFei cleared his throat and said, “There’s a dome of Power over them, so we can’t get to them without breaking it.” Millardo suddenly stiffened and Trowa could feel his cold hate in his mind. “Voldone,” whispered the god of Water. For the first time, Trowa noticed the creature that was on the building across from them, totally unconcerned and obviously enjoying the scene before him. ::He must not know that we’ve escaped yet.:: Heero said soothingly, “One thing at a time, Millardo. First we must get to the girls, then we’ll kill him.” Millardo quickly got control of himself and nodded in agreement. “Look for weak points in the shield.” It didn’t take them long to find one. There was a point in the shield that had been cracked by a Powerful spell. They all focused on the spot determinably wedged their Powers onto it and pulled. The shield burst in a shower of light that fell gracefully to the ground. The Senshi froze along with their enemies, and turned to where they Sensed the source of the Power. Voldone sat up straight, anger in his eyes as he saw his prisoners freed. Obviously, his guards had failed to inform him of this new development.

The men leapt off the building as one, landing as softly as any fabled elf onto the top of a news van, then leaping into the area free of humans where their loves fought. The humans and camera crews cleared the area behind them, either having enough sense to know when to move or desiring a better angle. The Senshi looked at them in numb shock, not moving and not speaking. Jupiter looked at Trowa up and down, no hint of the hope or uncertainty that played across the other girl’s faces in her features. Luna shook herself out of her trance and said loudly, “Doppelgangers!” Jupiter nodded and cupped her hands towards them. “No!” shouted Heero. “We –” But Jupiter didn’t give him a chance to finish. “Jupiter Lightning Blast!” A huge cylinder of electricity flew their way and Trowa shouted the same attack in response, his meeting hers head on before it could strike any of them. Jupiter dropped the attack, confusion in her features. “Mercury!” she shouted. Trowa noted that the mother-to-be had been carefully tucked in between the circle of girls, but she now stepped forward and shouted angrily, “Do you think we are so gullible as to fall for this trick again! Mercury Raging Torrent!”

This time, Millardo wasn’t fast enough to stop the huge blast of water that threw them back and pinned them against the concrete building, crushing them into it. Trowa felt his ribs crack as the pressure increased. Millardo grunted against it and called out in a voice that bordered on begging, “Mercury! Mercury please! It’s really us!” Her only response was to increase the pressure. Trowa groaned as one of his ribs broke. Sputtering around the water, Heero shouted, “Do something, Millardo! She’s your wife” Millardo grunted in response, and then shouted, “Koibito! Koibito, PLEASE!!” The water disappeared so quickly; they all fell forward onto their knees. Trowa clutched his rubs as the impact drove the air from his lungs and pain made his eyes tear. But he stood slowly, and looked at Mercury in apprehension; she had moved so that she was only five feet from where they were.

Tears were falling down her cheeks and she looked at Millardo with hope. “What did you call me?” Millardo stood and said, “You are my Koibito, my love, my life.” Mercury sobbed and threw herself into Millardo’s arms, sobbing hysterically in joy and pain. Soon, all had sobbing and laughing armfuls, and even Neko WuFei and Neko Luna were rubbing against each other as all cats do to show affection. But Trowa was left staring at his beloved, who examined him with a passionless eye. “Jupiter, my love…” ::The creature had said that she destroyed her emotions. But, she loves me, I know she loves me, and there is no way she can defeat that.:: She tilted her head to the side and asked politely, “What is it?” ::I don’t want her to be polite, I want her to be ardent.:: Trowa swallowed and closed the space between them. “I love you, Jupiter.” Before she could protest, he covered his mouth with his and trapped her in his embrace.

At first, Jupiter felt nothing but slight shock at her daring. But although she could block the emotions in her head, it was a different story altogether with her heart. For a few moments, it seemed as if the two were engaged in a silent battle. But it didn’t take long for her heart to conquer her head. Trowa held Jupiter tighter when she suddenly arched her back in pain, and then went altogether limp. Trowa suddenly felt a wave of panic rush through him, and he gently shook Jupiter and whispered her name. Out of the blue, she suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and began laughing and crying at the same time. Trowa nearly jumped out of his skin, but hid it carefully. Jupiter pulled out of his embrace and smacked him soundly on the shoulder. “Itai!” Trowa looked at her stern face in shock as he rubbed his sore shoulder. “Don’t you ever leave me like that again, Trowa Barton!” Trowa chuckled ironically and replied, “Believe me, I don’t intend to let you out of my site for even a single moment for the rest of our lives.” She smiled, rubbing tears from her cheeks, and Trowa couldn’t resist. He leaned forward and kissed her fervently, knowing that they would be together always, whether they survived or not.

He heard a noise a little further off and opened his eyes and saw that one of the creatures was slowly stalking forward, intent on the kill. Without releasing Jupiter, he called lightning down from the already assembled thunderheads and struck the monster down where he was. Jupiter pulled back and looked at him in shock. “Well, I guess you’ve got your Powers under control.” Trowa laughed as the entire group of Sailor and Soldier Senshi turned back to their enemies, the thunderclap having forced them to remember where they were. “I still need a lot of lessons, if that’s what you mean.” Heero cleared his throat and said, “The key to the monsters is Voldone. If we destroy him, we destroy everything.” Sailor Mercury said, “So we need to kill him, but the monsters wouldn’t give us enough time to break the dome shield, much less attack him.” Luna nodded. “And I think that if we attacked him directly the monsters would go insane with anger and rend us to pieces. They’ve only been playing with us so far.” Sailor Mars nodded in agreement. “We need a distraction big enough to take their minds off of us.”

As soon as she said that, inspiration struck Jupiter and she smiled from the sheer pleasure of coming up with the idea. “What about my Dragon?” Luna shrugged off the idea. “You know he only last for long enough to take out one yoma, and then he goes back to the skies.” Trowa looked over at her in shock. “We have a Dragon?” Jupiter nodded. “Yes, the Thunder Dragon attack is used only rarely because it’s very difficult to control. The Dragon is a living entity, a spirit that we can put into semi-physical form through lightning. The problem is that he’s very difficult to control and you have to make sure he goes after the right prey.” At this she turned to the others and said, “This is my theory – and Mercury, you’re going to have to tell me if this will actually work – I call the Dragon, then, all of you pour some of your power into it. That combined would make it completely physical until we draw our Power back from it.” Mercury chewed her lower lip in concentration. “It should work in theory – but would you still be able to command it so it doesn’t go after humans?” Jupiter nodded. “He is bound to the planter Jupiter – to Trowa and I – so he will not be able to completely renegade.” Luna perked up a little and said, “Alright, lets do it!”

Sailor Jupiter smiled and said, “Yosh.” She would call the Dragon herself, because it took centuries of trying to master it, so Trowa wasn’t going to get it in one sitting. She walked towards the ever-increasing amount of monsters until she was a safe distance from them. She saw with disgust that they were beginning to tear each other apart in order to augment their numbers. Crossing her hands in front of her, she felt the lightning dance through the skies in anticipation. “Jupiter –” The Dragon felt her call and began awakening from the confines of his Power. “Thunder –” Sailor Jupiter struggled to hold him back. She hadn’t sent him an image of prey as she usually did, and he hungered for the kill. “Dragon!” Humans screamed and monsters leapt back as a huge lightning-formed Dragon materialized in front of Jupiter.

It roared, sounding more like a thousand rolling thunders instead of anything that had been heard by man before. Jupiter commanded it to silence and obedience with the force of her will. He bowed his head and nuzzled her gently; the lightning that he was made of didn’t bother her at all. “All right, now!” she said to her comrades. At first nothing happened, besides the Senshi glowing with their individual Powers. Then the scales under Jupiter’s hands solidified, and the Dragon began to glow as well. Jupiter closed her eyes when the light became too intense, and opened them to a lovely sight. The Dragon’s scales were silver and blue from the Powers of Mercury and Jupiter, his eyes were white and pupiless from the Moon’s Power, his fangs long and white from the Power of Venus and when he threw back his head and roared, it was now the sound of a raging flame as a result of Mar’s Power. Jupiter felt a wave of pride and pleasure wash through her, but kept a careful hold on the Dragon’s will. “Now listen to me, my pet,” she whispered, and the Dragon nuzzled her with true affection again. Carefully, Jupiter showed him what she wanted him to do, and riskily added the stipulation that he was not to hurt any human. It was a success.

As the Senshi’s Dragon began annihilating the yomas, the Senshi turned to Voldone. He looked as if he were going to explode at any moment. “He’s drawing Power to himself!” Mercury warned, and just in time. They managed to dodge the blast of raw Power that he threw at them. Rei and Yuumichiwu made their mandalas and hurled them at the Leader of Monsters with no effect, besides making him even madder with rage. Between dodging Power and launching attacks, the Senshi were becoming exhausted. Jupiter felt her hold on the Dragon slipping, and she Mindsent a message to Luna to tell her that. ::What are we going to do?:: asked Venus to all the Senshi at once. ::This isn’t working!:: WuFei said quickly, (his Mindvoice weak from lack of practice) ::The Soldier Senshi hit together, high. The Sailor Senshi wait until he’s distracted and hit him pointedly low!:: Luna, her approval evident through he mind said, ::Usagi, use the crystal! Girls, use your stones.:: Jupiter sent a private message of well-wishing to Trowa before allowing him to step before her to take up the attack. ::Remember to call on Jupiter’s full Power if you need it, but channel it through my stone so that you can’t hurt yourself!:: He nodded his assent, still not comfortable with talking mind to mind.

Each of the Soldier Senshi chose their strongest attacks, and hit a single point in Voldone’s shield. He strengthened his defenses there, obviously believing that they were going to try to use full force to break his shield, so that then the girls would be able to kill him while his shield was still gone. ::Please let this work.:: Jupiter could feel the Dragon fighting her control so that he could go after the easier prey that was the humans, who were still surrounding the battlefield. The men increased their Power, trying to make the creature focus on them completely. ::NOW!:: cried Luna. Jupiter tilted her head back so that her face was towards her Planet in the skies. Drawing even more Power from it, she tore the stone from the belly chain around her waist and held it between her hands. ::Jupiter, if there was ever a time I needed a great deal more Power than you have given me, it is now. If this doesn’t work, we lose everything we have fought so hard to work.:: She blasted energy through stone without holding anything back, keeping constant contact with the Planet. As soon as the Sailor Senshi had attacked, the Soldier Senshi had held back, watching Voldone double over in pain with great satisfaction. Trowa watched Jupiter with pride for a moment, but then he saw her wince. ::Oh, no…::

Jupiter felt the magic areas in her mind char, but there wasn’t enough energy. In fact, it Felt as if something were drawing more energy from her than she was releasing. ::What’s happening!?:: she screamed into their minds. But as soon as she asked the question, she fell to her knees and realized exactly what had happened. ::Voldone…:: He was pulling their own Power from them. And with all of them directly connected to their planets, he had the Power of the galaxy at his command. Jupiter desperately and futilely tried to wrestle control back from the creature. ::HELP!:: She screamed into the minds of everyone assembled. Her fuku faded as she lost all energy to form it. She heard the others’ minds screaming as well, she knew that even the humans could hear this, but all were helpless against Voldone’s Power. As she finally lost control of the Dragon, she prayed for the first time in years that the men could do something to aide the people of Earth.

Trowa looked from Jupiter to Voldone in helplessness. “What do we do?!” he asked WuFei, but the cat only shook his head. Millardo watched tears of pain fall down his pregnant wife’s face, and then said harshly. “We do what we do best. A physical attack.” Trowa immediately followed him when raced forward with a burst of speed, and was soon followed by the others. Voldone saw them, but only smiled in amusement, and Trowa soon found why. As soon as the Soldier Senshi got within four feet of him, they contacted with a physical shield of magic. ::NO! I can’t lose her!:: Instead of falling back, both Millardo and Trowa pushed forward, sharpening the edges of their shields to razor sharp edges. Heero shouted to the men who had fallen back, “Help them!” and soon, The Lords of Mercury and Jupiter Felt their own Power magnified and refined by the presence of the others’.

It hurt like hell, much like trying to force through a brick wall with your forehead, but Trowa didn’t hesitate beyond the first shock of pain. He Felt himself slowly go through the shield, and felt the inside of it try to crush him from either side. ::Put a shield around us!:: He felt the pressure ease a little, at least to allow him to breath. He saw Millardo break the shield first, his fist extended so that when he was suddenly released from the grip of the magic, he slung forward, his fist colliding with Voldone’s jaw. Only moments later, Trowa fell through and purposefully rammed into him, knocking him over onto his back.

::Trowa.:: He immediately knew the Mindvoice, the length of time that she had been absent from his mind only made her voice all the more clear. ::Trowa, we can give the two of you some Power, but not much. You and Millardo need to kill him, or no one will be able to.:: Trowa immediately felt a wave of fear wash over him. He had heard of the Senshi using Death or Pain to boost their Power, and wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to handle being the recipient of that Energy. Catching his thoughts in a way he was still not Powerful enough to do, she said, ::The Pain will be part of it, but the rest will come from the Dragon.:: Trowa looked to the Dragon, who was obedient enough to Jupiter’s will to still be consuming the creatures. ::It needs to be Banished anyways before it finds other prey anyways.:: Trowa looked at Millardo, who was making sure that Voldone stayed down by striking him with powerful, well placed blows to any part of his body exposed. When Trowa saw the back of the creature’s head exposed, he kicked the uncovered flesh. ::He’s pathetic, helpless against physical attacks.:: Millardo said loudly, “Trowa!” The newly formed god of Jupiter looked up at his partner in surprise, and then nodded when he realized that his former enemy was inquiring about whether or not he had gotten the plan.

As soon as he had nodded, he Felt Jupiter’s Power pour into him. The Dragon roared in protest, but that hardly mattered when the rest of the Senshi’s Power followed that of Jupiter. And then the guys, after watching what the Sailor Senshi had done, joined their Powers with the Sailors’. What he felt was a Power so complete it was intoxicating. ::The individual Powers must be a part of a whole. If the combination of the Inner Senshi’s Power feels like THIS, what happens when the Outer Senshi join in?:: But Sailor Jupiter was all too aware of the Dragon’s distraction, for that left Voldone’s creatures open to attack them. As the now tremendous herd of monsters leapt forward, Jupiter gritted her teeth and ignored them, instead concentrating on drawing Power from the Dragon in a way that left its Spirit unharmed.

Millardo yelled, “Mercury Aqua Explosion!” Impulsively, Trowa joined his attack with Millardo’s. He didn’t know where the knowledge came from; it just seemed natural. He Felt Millardo’s surprise, but the other god fell immediately into place, supporting Trowa’s attack with his own. “Jupiter Lethal Shock!” Voldone immediately threw a magical shield up around himself, but it wasn’t enough. Voldone was physically injured, enough so that he couldn’t combat the combined Power of both the Sailor and Soldier Senshi. He didn’t even have time to scream as he was entirely incinerated.

Jupiter cut of her flow of Power to her lover and his friend with a sigh of relief and looked towards the smaller monsters. They were no longer there, instead there was a black film covering the road that reeked of death and decay. Jupiter started when she Sensed an explosion, and looked up into the sky. There, in the twilight sky, was a small flash of light from the explosion of Voldone’s ship far out into space. Then she heard it – the applause. She hadn’t noticed it at first; she was so used to blocking it out during performances. The Humans had broken out into ecstatic and relieved applause as soon as the creatures had been destroyed.

Jupiter’s fuku returned as her Planet fed more energy into her. She looked at the other Senshi, unable to suppress her smile of joy. Ami was the first to begin laughing, but the others could not help but join her. It was the hysterical kind of laughter that only occurs after a seemingly hopeless situation suddenly evaporates. Tears ran down their faces as they realized that the fight was finally over – and that they could return home, along with their loves and return to the semblance of the normality and humanity that was denied them. The Soldier Senshi began running towards their partners. Jupiter stood just in time for Trowa to swing her into his arms and into a crushing embrace that nearly forced all the breath out of her. He was laughing as well, and the pure unaltered joy in his eyes made Jupiter feel like she was going to burst out of her skin in elation.

Trowa kissed her, slowly and deeply, and then asked, “What do we do now?” Jupiter ran her hand through his hair and said. “Now? Now we leave – disappearing from the sights and lives of these humans until they need us again. Now, we go home.” Trowa held her close and she rested her head on his shoulder. After a moment, she heard him whisper, “I have never heard of anything more perfect.”

“Sailor Teleport!” WuFei and Luna called together, and then looked at each other affectionately. They were Powerful enough to go a great distance, having bee revived by their laughter and their love. They formed a circle, but were suddenly interrupted. A well-suited man was hurrying out into the clearing that the humans had left for them, as if fearing another random explosion. Flashes went off at an increased rate, so much so that they narrowed their eyes against the glare. “Um…who is that?” asked Venus, more annoyed than anything. Ami cleared her throat and said, “Um, that would be the mayor. I’m surprised that it’s not the President. But then again, the last I checked, he was in America.” He scanned the group for the leader, and his eyes fell on Sailor Moon. “Please,” he said in awe, “What can we do to thank you?” Sailor Moon shook her head and smiled gently. “We are merely fulfilling our purpose, sir.” His face fell, but he continued his questioning. “Who are you?” Heero sighed and said, “The males in the group are the Soldier Senshi, we are the partners of the Sailor Senshi.” When he would have spoken again, Heero quirked a forbidding eyebrow and said, “We are tired. We will leave now.” At this, the mayor balked and asked, “But what will we do is something like this happens again.” Sailor Moon looked at her friends and sisters and said, “Then we will be back, human. We have always come back.” With that, they turned from the mayor and teleported back to the circus grounds.