Chapter 14: Final Battle

Chizuru leaned back in her chair, satisfied. She had all the Senshi trapped in her illusion labryinth, and her followers had been sent to kill them. Surely the Senshi would not be able to fight their own friends and family, and they would easily submit to death. She picked a stray manga off the floor.

“Heh, Sailor Mars has interesting stuff here in this temple,” she commented, “Maybe when I make sure all those Senshi are gone, I can start my plans for conquest with this temple.”

“Think again before you claim to take over the Hikawa Shrine!” shouted a voice. The door to Rei’s room swung open and Sailor Mars herself burst in, and not only were all the other Senshi with her, but so were the people who Chizuru had taken as her minions!

“What the--?! How did you escape my labyrinth?!” she gasped at the Senshi. She glared at the others. “And you guys, why didn’t you kill them?!”

“Because Usagi is my daughter. She would not have evil friends,” declared Ikuko. Kenji and Shingo nodded in agreement and stood beside her.

“Me too! Usagi is a kind girl! I wouldn’t attack her friends!” added Umino.

“And the Senshi aren’t bad, Chizuru, you were lying all along. I remember that they have saved me from monsters many times,” Naru pointed out.

“Even if you let me be a Senshi, then I would have to fight evil. Being a Senshi isn’t just about messing around with magic,” said Nagisa.

“Killing Usagi isn’t going to help things, I want to be her friend again!” Yumiko shouted.

“And now I can find out the truth and know if you were just trying to trick me!” Kuriko blurted out.

“Get out of the Hikawa Shrine! This is NOT a place for you! How dare you capture me and turn me against my own granddaughter!” finished Grandpa Hino, his psychic aura blazing with fury.

“Shut up! You evil girls! You messed it all up!” Chizuru screamed, flinging bolts of energy at the Neo Starlights, who were knocked back. Sailor Moon stood up and blocked the three girls.

“We can defeat you. No, not defeat you. I shall turn you away from evil and heal you of your corrupt desires. Come, girls, we can help her like we helped Nehelenia see the light,” she declared. One by one, the Senshi stood up and joined Sailor Moon, including the Neo Starlights, who were helped up by their parents. Chizuru shot another energy bolt at them, but Sailor Moon blocked it with the Silver Crystal, which was glowing on her chest.

“We won’t let her die! Uranus Crystal Power!”

“To protect the shrine! Mars Crystal Power!”

“To ensure the future! Neptune Crystal Power!”

“For the sake of the timeline! Pluto Crystal Power!”

“For the Starlights, who trusted me! Saturn Crystal Power!”

“To help Seiya and her friends! Jupiter Crystal Power!”

“To save the Starlights’ children! Venus Crystal Power!”

“For the sake of Usagi! Mercury Crystal Power!”

“For Taiki and Yohko! Pink Moon Power!”

“To get revenge on Chizuru! Fighter Prism Power!”

“To save Mommy from being killed! Healer Prism Power!”

“To beat the one who would ruin our planet too! Maker Prism Power!”

“Silver Moon Crystal Power!”

Each of the Senshi’s symbols glowed on their heads as their energy was combined in Sailor Moon’s Silver Crystal, creating a gigantic iridescent blast that washed over Chizuru and temporarily blinded the users of that power. When the light faded, Usagi collapsed to the floor, drained from using her powers, but she did not faint. She crawled over to where Chizuru was lying and felt her chest. Usagi sobbed and let out a wail.

“I killed her! I didn’t want to kill her!” she sobbed, “Please forgive me, Starlights! I killed your princess!”

“Are you kidding?! I would’ve been mad at you if you DIDN’T defeat her!” snapped Yohko, who had detransformed with the other Senshi. Usagi screamed and ripped the Eternal brooch from her chest and flung it across Rei’s floor.

“Worthless! My powers are worthless if I can’t heal!” Rei knelt down to Usagi’s level, raised her hand to slap Usagi, but to everyone’s surprise, she did not. Instead, she gently wiped away the blond’s tears.

“You did what you could, Usagi. Maybe it was too much power with the Neo Starlights here, we’ve never tried combining like that with Senshi from another system. But it would’ve been much worse to lose you,” she said. Usagi jerked away from Rei with a cry.

“No! I needed to heal her! She didn’t deserve to die!” she snapped.

“Whether or not she did, everyone dies. And it was fitting that she died now. We are not immortal, you know, that would make life cheap,” said Miaka.

“No it wasn’t! I wanted to save her and I couldn’t!” Usagi retorted.

“Please stop it, you two. Miaka, let Usagi mourn if she wants to. That’s just the way she is,” Makoto scolded, butting in and pulling Miaka away.

“So where will you girls go now? Will you be in trouble on your planet? Will Princess Kakyuu be angry that her daughter died?” asked Hotaru.

“If she is, that’s her problem. We’re going back home,” shrugged Miaka.

“Yes, they would be waiting for us to return,” added Taiki.

“Goodbye, Odango. It was interesting to meet your future daughter, I’m sure you’ll be a great mother,” Seiya said. Chibi-Usa rolled her eyes at that.

“Yeah, sometimes she’s okay,” she admitted. After saying goodbye to the Earth Senshi, the Neo Starlights and their parents went out to the lawn in front of the Hikawa Shrine, where they had crash-landed. They stood in a circle, and in a flash, they were gone, teleporting back to Kinmoku. Usagi watched them leave, her eyes still filled with tears.

“I hope...I don’t want Princess Kakyuu to be angry at me!” she wailed.

“Well, even if she is, she’s millions of miles away, she can’t hurt you from Kinmoku,” Minako teased. She then giggled. “Unless she comes back to attack Earth to avenge her daughter.”

“Minako! You don’t really think that’s gonna happen, do you?” Makoto asked, sounding rather worried.

“Maybe, maybe not. Whatever happens next, I’m sure we’ll be ready for it. We’re the Sailor Senshi! But for now, let’s just relax! I mean, wasn’t it fun to have the Starlights visit again?” Minako asked.

“Yeah, I guess it was. Maybe they can come back sometime for a visit when there’s not a fight and we can just have fun,” said Rei. Usagi nodded, still staring at the sky.

“I hope that the Starlights find happiness on Kinmoku,” she whispered.