Chapter Nine

	“This is going to be a tough one,” Sailor Uranus said.  Her, and Sailor Neptune, 
had rejoined Sailor Pluto, Sailor Chibi Moon, and Sailor Saturn, and had met up with the 
other senshi.
	“There was hardly any lead up to this,” Sailor Neptune said.
	“We should go then,” Sailor Cheron said.  The fourteen senshi looked at the 
Tokyo Tower, now laced with icicles from the Anima Mates.

	Once inside the tower, the senshi started towards the top.  A youma with a black 
flower on the top of its head came and blasted the senshi from behind.
	“I’ll take care of this!” Sailor Chibi Moon yelled.

	Pink Sugar Heart Attack!

	Nothing came out of her wand.  It clattered on the floor and disappeared.  A white 
blast of light came out of the youma’s head.  A pink flower floated out of Sailor Chibi 
Moon and into an already bulging sack the youma was holding.  Sailor Chibi Moon’s 
eyes turned black, and she fell to the ground.
	“Chibi-Usa-chan!” Sailor Moon yelled.
	“Usagi-chan, Mommy, I love you.  I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble...” 
and Sailor Chibi Moon died.
	“No!  Chibi-Usa-chan!” Usagi started sobbing violently, “I have no one now.”
	“That’s not true, Sailor Moon,” Sailor Mars said.
	“Yeah, Sailor Moon, we’ll get Chibi-Usa-chan back,” Sailor Venus said.
	“We should keep moving,” Sailor Saturn said, despite the sorrow of losing her 
best, and only friend.
	“Well, well, well,” A mocking voice came over the loudspeaker, “One down, 
thirteen more to go.”
	“This is fun!” another voice chimed in.
	“Better hurry up!” A final voice said, then the speaker clicked off.
	The tower suddenly morphed from an ice ridden building, to a dense forest.  All 
of the senshi tried to stick together, despite the thick trees.  Sailor Venus backed up 
against a tree.  The tree grew arms and held her tight.
	“Sailor Venus!  I’ll get you out!” Sailor Jupiter yelled.

	Jupiter Oak Evolution!

	The tree absorbed the energy of the attack and shocked Sailor Venus.  The youma 
appeared again and shot Sailor Venus in the stomach with the beam.  A bright yellow 
flower came out of her.  Sailor Venus’ eyes turned dull and black as the tree released her.
	“Sailor Venus!” Sailor Moon cried.
	“Usagi-chan, I’m sorry,” Sailor Venus said weakly.
	“For what?”
	“I failed being leader.”  Sailor Venus’ body became motionless.
	“Is this every going to end?!” Sailor Moon Cried.
	“Sailor Iron mouse appeared, floating above the senshi.  “Let’s see who’s going to 
be next.  Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo!” She pointed to Sailor Celestial, then disappeared.  
Sailor Celestial looked horrified.
	“Don’t worry, she’s not gonna get you,” Sailor Sun said.
	The tower morphed again, into a barren desert.  The senshi trudged up large 
dunes, and sinking sand.  Sailor Celestial turned around to see how far they had walked, 
and a large blast of sand shot up from a dune, burying her.
	“Sailor Celestial!” Sailor Sun, Comet, and Cheron yelled.
	Sailor Comet tried to dig through the spot where Sailor Celestial had been buried.
	The same youma appeared and fired her blast at the sand.  An ice blue flower 
came out through a hole and into the youma’s bag.  The youma laughed and disappeared.  
A breeze blew away the sand and revealed Sailor Celestial, battered and dying.  sailor 
Comet, Cheron, and Sun leaned in to hear Sailor Celestial’s whispered last words.  
“Please, live, for me.  Tell Yaten-kun that I love...” her head dropped to the ground and 
her eyes closed.  Sailor Cheron started crying.
	“Sailor Cheron, we don’t have time for that.  We knew this was eventually going 
to happen, “Sailor Comet said.
	Sailor Cheron stood and brushed sand off of her knees.  “I’ll never understand 
how you can be so cruel.”
	Once again, the tower morphed, this time into a swamp.  The remaining eleven 
senshi trudged through knee deep mud and plants.  Sailor Jupiter spotted something 
swimming underneath the water.
	“Everyone, watch yourselves,” Sailor Jupiter cautioned.
	A tentacle reached up and wrapped itself around her leg.  Sailor Jupiter fought to 
get it off, but it pulled her under the water.
	“I’ve had enough of this!” Sailor Sun yelled.

	Sun Eclipse Dry Freeze!

	The water evaporated, revealing Sailor Jupiter.  The youma floated high above, 
catching her light green flower.
	Sailor Moon fell to the ground beside Jupiter.  “Mako-chan, please don’t die.  
Please?” 
	“Usagi-chan, I didn’t listen to my own advice.  I’m sorry,” Sailor Jupiter’s head 
went limp and fell to the mud.  Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars went over and hugged 
Sailor Moon, crying themselves.
	“Sailor Moon, be strong,” Sailor Mercury said.
	“Yeah, quit whining, Sailor Moon!” Mars said harshly, but with kindness in her 
eyes.
	The tower morphed once again, into a mountain.  Rocks tumbled toward the 
senshi, tattering their clothes further.  A large boulder crashed it’s way down the 
mountain.  The more the senshi tried to avoid it, the larger, and faster it began to fall.

	Silent Wall!

	Sailor Saturn tried to disintegrate the boulder, but it slammed into her, knocking 
her down with a force.  The youma once again appeared.
	“Why do we sit here every time and do nothing?” Sailor Uranus asked herself.

	World Shaking!

	The attacked knocked a hand off of the youma.  It became angry, “You all are 
going to pay with even more than your lives!  I’ll make sure of it!”  The youma 
disappeared along with Sailor Saturn’s purple life flower.  Sailor Saturn lay crumpled 
over a rock, lifeless.
	Sailor Cheron walked over to Sailor Pluto, “Sailor Pluto, are you alright?”
	“She’s with Small Lady now,” Sailor Pluto said.
	There’s this strange feeling in my heart, Sailor Cheron thought, like I’m going to 
lose something very dear to me.
	The tower morphed again.  The senshi were now walking in ruins that seemed to 
come from a once magnificent palace.  They picked their way over smoldering ashes and 
cracked rocks.  Sailor Pluto was walking ahead of the group, when a large hole opened 
beneath her, and engulfed her.
	“Sailor Pluto!” Sailor Neptune, Uranus, and Cheron yelled.  The remaining eight 
senshi crowded around the hole.  Inside, Sailor Pluto was fighting the youma.  The 
youma blasted Sailor Pluto and extracted her life flower.  The dark purple flower flew 
into the Youma’s bag, which now glowed with the senshi flowers.  Sailor Pluto slumped 
against the side the hole.
	“No!!” Sailor Cheron screamed.  She slid herself down into the hole in a frantic 
frenzy.  She held Sailor Pluto, who’s breath was now shallow and fading.
	“You’re on your own now.  Use everything that I taught you,” Sailor Pluto said 
softly.  Her head slumped against Sailor Cheron’s body, her hair covering her face.  Her 
breathing stopped.  Sailor Cheron held her body, sobbing, her tears running down onto 
Sailor Pluto’s body.  Sailor Cheron eventually let go of the body, and leaned against the 
side of the hole, cradling her head on her knees.
	Sailor Moon extended her rod, “Come on, Sailor Cheron, we have to keep going,” 
she said kindly.
	“The only thing important to me is gone.  I’m completely useless now.  Just leave 
me here to die, it’s going to happen soon anyway.”
	“You know that’s nowhere near the truth, right?” Sailor Sun yelled.  “let’s not 
forget that you have us!  And how about Seiya-san!?  Huh?  What about him?  I’ll tell 
you right now that if you don’t get your pathetic little self up here, then we have no 
business with you anymore, and we will leave you here to die.”
	“Such words of encouragement,” Sailor Comet whispered to Sailor Sun.
	“I try,” Sailor Sun gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.
	Sailor Cheron climbed out of the hole, her clothes and body stained with mud and 
blood.  “I’m sorry, slap me if I ever become like that again.”
	“Easier done than said!” Sailor Sun announced.
	The senshi expected the tower to morph again, so they stood, anticipating it, but 
the more they stood there, the more the ruins seemed to increase.
	“We should keep going instead of just standing here,” Sailor Neptune said.  “If we 
want everything to get back to normal, we’re not going to achieve it standing here.”
	“I agree,” Sailor Comet said.
	“But it seems like every time we actually try to defeat something, it ends up 
killing one of us,” Sailor Moon said.
	“I would sacrifice myself if it meant protecting the Earth,” Sailor Uranus said.
	“As would I,” Sailor Comet said.  The others nodded.
	There was a violent shake in the ruins, and several pillars fell.  One landed on 
Sailor Comet’s stomach, pinning her down.  She screamed in pain.
	“Don’t worry, we’ll get you out!” Sailor Sun yelled.
	“We can’t let them get anymore of us!” Sailor Cheron shouted.  The two 
struggled to lift the pillar.  The other five senshi ran to help.  They all struggled to lift the 
pillar.
	The youma appeared again, the hand Sailor Uranus had blasted off, taped and 
dangling in place.
	“You guys, save yourselves.  You’re not going to be able to get me out,” Sailor 
Comet panted.
	Sailor Sun bit her knuckles, “she’s right.  I’m sorry, Sailor Comet.  We’ll get you 
back, I promise.”
	The youma fired it’s beam, and extracted Sailor Comet’s orange flower.  “Now, 
let’s see how many senshi are left.”  She counted off on her fingers, “I count seven.  Not 
much longer now!”  The youma cackled, and disappeared.
	“I’m sorry, I’ve been such a brat.  I really do miss Miaka-chan,” Sailor Comet 
said to Sailor Sun and Sailor Cheron.  Her eyes went lifeless, and her head lolled to one 
side.
	The youma reappeared, “I’m not done yet!  I’m going to get you back for taking 
away my hand!”  She waved her uninjured hand around in the air, and shot a large black 
beam out of it, knocking the senshi backward.  “Don’t underestimate my powers, Sailor 
Senshi!”  She disappeared once again.
	Everyone got up and walked back to the center of the ruins except for Sailor 
Cheron.
	“There’s one of us missing,” Sailor Moon said.
	“No, really, Sailor Moon?” Sailor Mars said sarcastically, “Sailor Cheron!  Where 
are you!”
	“Over here,” cried a weak voice.
	The six senshi ran over to the spot where Sailor Cheron was lying, covered with 
debris.  A large tear in her clothing revealed a large, jagged gash, hemorrhaging heavily.
	“Oh, God,” Sailor Mercury said.
	“I’m alright, really.  Just a little run in with a sharp rock.  I’m fine.”
	“You baka!  You probably haven’t even looked at it yet,” Sailor Sun joked.
	“Yeah, I’m trying to spare myself.  Somebody help me up,” Sailor Cheron said.
	Sailor Uranus hoisted Sailor Cheron up and carried her.
	“Uranus, I can walk.  Please, put me down,” Sailor Cheron requested.
	“There’s no use in you slowing us down by stumbling behind us.  Just shut up and 
enjoy the fact that you don’t have to walk.”
	The tower morphed again, into a volcano, which was shooting large lava bombs.  
One shot out of the volcano and headed straight toward the senshi.
	“It’s time to fight fire with fire!” Sailor Mars exclaimed.

	Mars Flame Sniper!

	The attack made the bomb bigger, and it hit Sailor Neptune dead on.
	Sailor Uranus put Sailor Cheron down roughly.  She ran over to Sailor Neptune.  
“Michiru, please, don’t die!”
	“Haruka, don’ be such a baby.  I’ll be alright,” She said, ignoring the fact that the 
youma had already taken her sea green flower, and was floating above.
	“Please, the world isn’t worth protecting if you’re not in it!” Sailor Uranus cried.
	“Haruka, don’t be silly.  It was our mission, and now it’s yours alone.  Please, 
complete it,” Sailor Neptune said, then she died.  Sailor Uranus screamed in agony.
	She got up and walked over to Sailor Mars.  “Everyone knows that you don’t fight 
fire with fire!  You killed Michiru!” Sailor Uranus slapped Sailor mars, then ran to where 
Sailor Neptune’s body was lying.  “I’m right here!  Take me!  It’s not worth living!” 
Sailor Uranus shouted to the youma.
	The youma reappeared, “Well, since I never pas up a free offer.”  The youma took 
Sailor Uranus’ white flower, and she dropped to the ground.  “Some of you are such easy 
targets!” the youma bragged, then flew away.
	“Michiru....Michiru...I’ll be with you soon.  Michiru...please...wait for me...” 
Sailor Uranus’ eyes closed, and her breathing ceased.
	Sailor Moon walked over to Sailor Mars and placed a hand on her shoulder, 
“Mars, it wasn’t your fault--”
	“Of course it was my fault!  Any half wit knows that you don’t fight fire with 
fire!  it only makes things worse!”  Sailor Mars threw off Sailor Moon’s hand and ran 
blindly away from the group.
	The others chased after her.  The tower morphed again, into a field full of flowers.
	“Don’t let this fool you!” Sailor Mercury instructed, typing furiously into her 
computer.  “There’s lots of evil energy here, within these flowers!”
	
	Sailor Mars tripped on a root and fell to the ground.  She attempted to get up 
again, but the root grabbed hold of her.  “Let go!  Let go!” she cried in vain.  the youma 
appeared once again.

	The other senshi arrived just as the youma was flying off with Sailor Mars’ fiery 
red life flower.
	“Mars!” Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury shouted.
	“Usagi-chan, Ami-chan, I was stupid.  I deserve this.  I just don’t know...how 
grandpa is going to manage....the shrine without me.  Yuuichirou-kun is no help.  I can’t 
help but like the incompetent thing,” Sailor Mars babbled incoherently.
	“Rei-chan...”Sailor Moon cried.
	“Usagi-chan, be strong,” Sailor Mars said.  Usagi felt Sailor Mars’ body sag in 
her arms.
	“Usagi-chan, I’m sorry, but we should keep going,” Sailor Sun said.
	Sailor Mercury stood, “You’re right.  We have to fight for the others.”
	“Let’s Make the Anima Mates burn in hell!” Sailor Cheron chimed in.  Sailor 
Moon, Sun, and Mercury looked at her.  “Sorry, I guess I got carried away.”
	The tower morphed once again, into a series of cliffs.  The remaining senshi 
walked on, cautiously, Sailor Mercury leading them, looking through her visor.  The 
rocks beneath Sailor Mercury gave way, and she slid down one of the cliffs.  Sailor 
Moon, Sailor Sun, and Sailor Cheron rushed to the side and looked down for Sailor 
Mercury, who was nowhere to be seen.
	The youma showed up at the other side of the cliff, “Well, well, well, looks like 
we’re down to only a few senshi.  The Anima Mates will be very proud,” the youma 
cackled.  A deep blue flower floated into the youma’s sack.  She struggled to lift it up 
into the air with her, “Have fun trying to protect yourselves.  It won’t last much longer,” 
The youma flew down into the cliff.
	Sailor Cheron started crying, and collapsed onto the ground.
	“Sailor Moon and Sailor Sun rushed over to her.  “Are you alright?” they asked.
	“I don’t think I can move anymore.  Everything is spinning.”
	“Damn it, Sakura-chan!  You’d better get up!” Sailor Sun shouted.
	“I wish I could, but I can’t.”
	“Leave her be, Sailor Sun,” Sailor Moon said softly.
	“We all knew that I was going to die.  I wasn’t strong like you guys in the first 
place.”
	“What do you mean?!  You lasted this long!” Sailor Sun cried.
	The youma floated back up from the cliff, and shot Sailor Cheron with her beam, 
engulfing her in white light.  Her silver life flower appeared from her chest and floated 
into the youma’s outstretched hands.  “I’ll be coming back to finish off the rest of you 
soon!”
	“I’m so sick and tired of you taking my best friends!  I’ve had it!”

	Sun Eclipse Dry Freeze!

	Sailor Moon combined her power along with Sailor Sun.

	Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!

	Sailor Cheron struggled to send her attack.

	Cheron....Screaming....Ice....Fire!

	The three attacks combined and the youma disintegrated into several pieces, it’s 
sack floating in the air.
	“We did it!  We did it!”  Sailor Moon jumped up and down.
	“Sakura-chan, how did you--” Sailor Sun looked down at Sailor Cheron, who’s 
eyes were blank, and seemed to be looking at the sky.  “Sakura-chan?”
	“Hime-chan, please, if you make it out, tell Seiya-kun...Tell Seiya-kun that I love 
him, and that I’ll never forget him...”
	Sailor Sun picked up Sailor Cheron’s frail hand, “You’re going to make it out, 
you can tell him yourself.”
	“It’s over for me, and you know it,” Sailor Cheron said.  “I was never a use to you 
guys anyway.”  Her hand released it’s grip on Sailor Sun’s hand.
	“Sakura-chan!”  Sailor Sun started crying.  “I have nobody left, nobody.”
	Sailor Moon looked hurt.
	“Forgive me, Princess, but they’re all I’ve had for the longest while, and now 
they’re gone.  But I promise that I will protect you at all costs.”
	Sailor Moon and Sailor Sun picked their way along the cliffs and were about to 
cross a rickety bridge when the Anima Mates appeared.
	“How rude of you to kill our youma.  For that, you’ll have to be punish!” Sailor 
Tin Nyanko said.
	“And I know just how to do it!” Sailor Aluminum Siren said.  A smoke hand 
reached out and shot towards Sailor Moon.  Sailor Sun jumped in front to shield her, 
covering her face with her arms.  The hand plunged into her chest and removed a shining 
gold flower.  Sailor Sun dropped to the ground.
	The Anima Mates laughed cruelly and flew off.  Their voices faded away saying, 
“Hurry, Sailor Moon, before it’s too late!”
	“Princess, I’m so sorry, I failed you,” Sailor Sun said.
	“How have you failed me?  you did everything you could to save me!  And you 
did!”
	“I’m of no use now, but I will lend you my powers when they are needed.”
	“What do you mean?” Sailor Moon asked.
	“A large battle...you’ll be on your own, but we’re still on your side, no matter 
what.  you can do this Sailor Moon, trust me.”  Sailor Sun died.
	Sailor Moon wiped her nose on her arm, “Why is it, that whenever there is a 
major battle, I’m always alone when I have to fight it?  I’ve gone on luck all this time, 
but now, I don’t think my luck is going to last much longer.”