This is the sequel to my earlier work, "Mars Fire Ignite". If you haven't read 
that one, you probably should. Some parts of this come >from my first work. 
Also, if you are wondering where this fits in in the Sailor Moon timeline, 
don't. It doesn't fit anywhere in that universe. The Inner Scouts are around 17 
years old right now, some two to three years after "Mars Fire Ignite". 
Disclaimer-wise, Sailor Moon and her friends are the property of Naoko Takeuchi, 
and they're copyrighted by her, and to a lesser extent, DiC (those manglers!). 
Also, there is a good bit of Forgotten Realms flavor in here, and they belong to 
TSR (or Wizards of the Coast, depending on how you look at it). Most of the 
other things spawned >from my own imagination, so I'd like credit for such. 
Enjoy! Note: For those of you familiar with Forgotten Realms, and more 
specifically, the drow warrior Drizzt Do' Urden, I would like to make it clear 
that Chaszmyr is NOT, I repeat, NOT a copy of that copyrighted and fabulous 
hero. Chaszmyr was a character created by my best friend long before I made him 
read the Drizzt novels. Both of us were rather surprised at the likenesses. 
Comments, criticisms, compliments to meech@mindspring.com 
------------------------------------- Questt for the Silver Imperium Crystal by 
Soumitra Choudhury Chapter 4: Mortal Combat 
------------------------------------- "Kamii-sama!" whispered an awestruck Sailor 
Moon. No one else could add anything more. Mars' transporting globe carried them 
out of the waterfall that dropped from the fountain chamber above. They emerged 
into a cavern far larger than anything they could have imagined. The water fell 
nearly three hundred feet from the ceiling, landing with a ferocious roar in the 
center of a small underground lake. Of course, small was in relation to the 
cavern itself, which, being vaguely circular in shape, had a diameter of roughly 
half a mile. The lake was only a mere five or so hundred feet in diameter. 
Still, as impressive as the size of the cave was, that didn't compare to the 
hills and mounds of piled treasure strewn about between the lake shores and the 
cavern walls. They knew there was that much wealth because the whole chamber was 
lit with literally hundreds of torches about the outskirts, held in wall 
sconces. The flickering flames lent the chamber an eerie mood, as there were 
many corners cloaked in darkness, though the glint of gold, silver, and gems 
aided in lessening the oppressiveness. Hundreds of thousands of coins lay about 
in great heaping mounds, saturated with gems and jewelry ranging in all the 
colors of the spectrum. Ancient weapons and armor rested with haphazard care, 
lying next to a king's fortune in artwork or pretty little baubles of minor 
worth. Crowns, scepters, and ermine robes, goblets, chalices, and tiaras, coins, 
bars, and gemstones, anything one's heart desired lay here, lost in this vast 
cave for anyone to find, but at what price? "We're rich!" Sailor Moon cried, 
gleefully jumping up and down. Though it didn't disturb the passage of the 
transport globe, Mars grew irritated nonetheless. "Stop it, Serena! Have you 
forgotten that we're already rich?" Moon stopped jumping. "Oh yeah... well, now 
we're more rich!" The leapings began again. By this time, the globe had found a 
clear patch of land near the shore, and settled to the ground. With a small pop, 
it disappeared. Mercury instantly dropped her visor over her eyes and started 
typing at her keyboard. "If anyone is interested, there is over $3 billion worth 
of gold in this cave," she said blandly, her concentration focused on finding 
the Crystal. Szaravel also scanned about the area, using her sight to 
distinguish between the mundane wealth and the enchanted. She didn't seem too 
disappointed. Every few minutes, she would push an object aside with the tip of 
her staff, idly searching through the piles. Meanwhile, Sailor Moon and Xune 
went to the shore to help Chaszmyr and the remaining Scouts back to dry land. 
When Jupiter and Venus managed to flop down, breathing hard, Venus gasped out, 
"Want to try that again, Jupiter?" "Anytime, Venus, though let's make sure to 
keep our Scout suits on. I think they may have saved us from serious pain." Mars 
muttered something foul about stupidity in accordance to brunettes and blondes. 
Chaz removed his helm, shaking his head to let his flowing hair free of tangles. 
"My, my. This little fortune can buy quite a bit of Sembia, now couldn't it?" He 
picked out a gleaming bracelet of emeralds and held it out to Xune. "A trinket 
of love to match your beautiful eyes." Xune smiled, a bit foolishly. Mars leaned 
over and whispered into her ear, "If I were you, I'd consider keeping him." If 
there was a response, it was lost in the sudden roar of all the torches flaring 
in brilliance, bathing the vast cavern in a fiery, hellish glow. "WHO ENTERS MY 
DOMAIN WITHOUT PERMISSION?" The voice tore through their minds, dropping them to 
their knees. In the center of the lake, the waters erupted in a boiling froth. 
"What in the Nine Hells is that?!?" screamed Xune, though her voice was tiny 
compared to the dull roar of the torch flames. On her back, Orthae Abban burst 
into a pure silvery white glow that illuminated even through the leather 
scabbard. No sooner had he seen that then Chaszmyr had Lyonesse and Azariel 
drawn. "It seems we are trespassing!!" he cried back. "Yes, but trespassing on 
whose property?!?" Mars yelled. As if on instinct, Jupiter, Venus and she had 
surrounded Sailor Moon, attempting to shield her from whatever danger was about 
to pose itself. In the center of the lake, a colossal serpentine head broke 
through the surface, a full hundred feet in length. In the glow of the flames, 
darkened blue scales, the hue of the deepest sea, shone with a dull polish, 
contrasting frighteningly well with the pearl white orbs. Those eyes, pupilless, 
were much bigger than any one person standing straight, perhaps bigger than two 
people one top of each other. The head gave way to a sleekly muscular snakelike 
body covered in the same dark scales. It rose another few score feet, until it 
towered over the party. A pair of long slithering arms emerged from the lake 
also, so long, in fact, that they reached to opposite shores of the lake and 
braced the creature at its overbearing height. Mars felt a wave of mind-numbing 
fear wash over her, threatening to paralyze her into helplessness, but she 
fought hard to push the feeling back. Looking at the others, she could tell they 
were faring just as well. Whimpering, Moon dropped to the ground, her head in 
her hands. Likewise, Venus was having a hard time trying to keep from tearing 
away at a sprint. Jupiter remained stoic, facial features locked in a straining 
rictus of concentration. Even Mercury, cool, level-headed Mercury, wobbled a 
bit, attempting to tear her eyes away >from the monstrosity to continue scanning 
for the Crystal. The drow seemed to be doing better. Chaz had relinquished his 
blades in favor of his crystalline bow. Xune was praying for guidance to her 
goddess, and Szaravel was busy chanting softly, her staff's crystal sphere 
blazing with eldritch light. "AHH..." purred the deep voice within their minds. 
"A FINE REPAST MEETS ME BEFORE I SLUMBER." Mars whirled on the blue haired 
Scout. "Have you found the Crystal yet?!?" she whispered harshly. The computer 
bleeped a few times. "Yes! It's on the left side of the lake from us, three 
hundred and fifty-seven feet from here!" "HO HO! YOU SEEK THE CRYSTAL, DO YOU?" 
The draconic creature grinned, revealing a hideous maw of bone white fangs and 
sword-sharp teeth. "PERHAPS YOU SHOULD ASK NICELY AND I SHALL GIVE IT TO YOU." 
"What is your name, noble being? We seek no quarrel with you, only that we may 
retrieve what is ours and return from whence we came." The creature languidly 
focused on the male of the group. "NO QUARREL? YOU ARE IN MY TREASURE VAULT! HOW 
CAN YOU SAY THERE IS NO QUARREL? AND YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WILL STEAL FROM ME? I AM 
YOUR DEATH, MORTALS! I AM THE DRAGON ONE!" And with that, it bellowed out a 
thunderous roar that crashed through the cave like a crushing mountain. 
Ponderously, it dragged itself forward, feet by feet. "Scatter!" Szaravel cried, 
diving for the puny safety of a gold mound. Chaz and Xune sprinted for other 
mounds, while all the Scouts did likewise. All except one. Sailor Moon huddled 
in fear, sobbing into her hands, unable to move away from imminent death. The 
sheer aura of such an overwhelming creature grounded her to the floor. Mars and 
Jupiter were the first to notice their illustrious leader's immobility. "Sailor 
Moon! Get up NOW!" the sorceress screamed, stopping in midstride and sprinting 
back. Jupiter was a step behind. By then, The Dragon One had halved the distance 
to the shore. Mars and Jupiter each grabbed an arm and dragged Moon to her feet. 
"There's no time for this, Serena!" Jupiter yelled, pushing while Mars pulled 
the distraught blonde. "We've got to find cover!" "Get out of there, you fools!" 
Szaravel cried, waving wildly and pointing at the creature. "He's breathing!" 
'Well, that made no sense,' Sailor Moon thought to herself as she wiped away her 
tears, until the was a sharp intake of air behind them. She glanced over her 
shoulder and saw the dragon inhaling deeply. Mars, realizing the sound for what 
it was, knowing they wouldn't make it to safety, threw the blonde into Jupiter's 
grasp. "Go!" The brunette hesitated, but Mars had already shoved past her, back 
to the shoreline. The sorceress raised her arms to the ceiling forcefully, and 
suddenly her red cloak billowed behind her in the grasp of an unnatural 
galeforce. From her outstretched fingers, pencil-thin beams of scarlet raced 
out, curving in and out, to and fro, until they formed a web-like dome around 
her. Just as the intake of air finished, Mars clapped her hands together, and 
each strand in her dome burst into flames, drowning her out into nothing but a 
silhouette. A vortex of wind erupted from the dragon's maw, crashing into the 
web-dome with thundering force, nearly extinguishing the flames. The dome bent 
inwards quite a bit, and inside, Mars' shade crumpled slightly, but the 
protective barrier held. Behind the mounds of gold, Szaravel gaped in awe at the 
display of defensive magic. Few things in the world were known to hold back the 
breath of a dragon, and only the most skilled wizards could attempt them. For 
this foreigner to be able to wield such magic was awe-inspiring. Still, from her 
vantage point, Szaravel could tell that the human would be needing a great deal 
of help in this. Quite frankly, she expected a few of them to die, as any dragon 
is no laughing matter. Szaravel would simply make sure that none of the drow 
died on her vigil. She murmured the words to a spell, weaving her delicate 
fingers in the air. A sphere of magical darkness popped into being, masking out 
The Dragon One's left orb. Quickly, Szaravel spouted the words for another, and 
seconds later, another darkness globe covered the right eye. The breath of 
galeforce sputtered away as the creature roared in outrage, whipping its head 
back and forth in a futile effort to rid itself of the blinding globes. Great 
waves of water splashed about >from the thrashing, spraying chilling liquid over 
those close enough to feel it. Chaz touched his earring. 'Keep it occupied while 
I get the Crystal,' he telepathed to Xune. From another mound, Xune replied an 
affirmation. The web-dome shattered, releasing Mars from its protective shell. 
The raven-haired sorceress, legs wobbly from the beating her spell took, 
stumbled back through the treasure and plopped down near Jupiter and Moon, her 
breath coming in ragged gasps. "Such power... very strong," she whispered so 
low, none heard her. "Love and Beauty Shock!" A glowing golden heart shot from 
behind a pile, angling upwards towards the beast's snout, and crashed 
resoundingly with its upper lip. A shower of sparks exploded on impact, causing 
the dragon to rear back in pain. Suddenly, the orbs of darkness dissipated, 
revealing the flashing pearl eyes. "AN IRRITATING TRICK. NOW, FEEL MY POWER!" He 
raised one of his long, gangly arms and spread his claws, the hand coming to 
nearly three score feet in span. Jupiter, Moon and Mars scurried to their feet 
and dove out >from under the descending claws. The enormous hand crashed down, 
scattering numerous items of wealth in all directions, showering the three in a 
hale of coins and treasure. A marble candlestick holder smashed into Sailor 
Moon's temple, knocking her out instantly. She fell to the ground with a muffled 
grunt. "Sailor Moon!" exclaimed Jupiter, sliding to a stop and picking up her 
injured leader. A smear of blood dripped down the blonde's temple and down her 
ear. The great draconic claw raised once again, ready to smash the trio of 
Scouts to a messy pulp. "Venus Crescent Beam Shower!" "Mercury Aqua Mirage!" 
From somewhere behind another pair of mounds, blazing beams of concentrated gold 
light seared forth, joined by streams of chillingly blue bolts. The storm of 
firepower smashed unmercifully into the beast's hand, driving it back. Several 
crystalline scales shattered under the Scouts' power, ensuing a pain-filled 
scream from the serpent. Meanwhile, Xune sheathed her sword and clasped her 
hands together. "Eilistraee, grant me your strike of flame to smite this evil!" 
she prayed fervently. Once again, her circlet sparkled with the glint of silver. 
From a point several feet above the dragon's head, a whirl of fire winked into 
existence, then showered down in a single fiery pillar, striking it directly 
between the eyes. As soon as the fire touched its scales, however, the pillar 
sputtered in strength, and fluttered away, as if snuffed by a pair of giant 
fingers. Ignoring for the moment the trio of girls it had meant to squash with 
one blow, the dragon whipped its head about and inhaled ferociously, settling 
its gaze upon the mound hiding Sailor Venus. Mercury dashed out and shoved Venus 
out of the way just as a superheated cloud of dust belched forth, engulfing the 
blue-haired Scout in a suffocating mass. Venus, being the closest, watched in 
horror as Mercury clutched at her throat, coughing and gagging, her eyes bulging 
at the lack of air. Her skin blistered almost instantly, reddening painfully. 
Even her hair and parts of the Sailor suit curled up and melted under the 
scorching heat. The Ice Scout's gaping eyes raised to plead for Venus' help, 
then rolled into her head as she fell heavily to the treasure-strewn ground, her 
corpse smoldering in the heat of the cloud. For a few eternal seconds, time 
stopped for the rest of the Scouts, as each saw with pristine clarity Mercury's 
death flash through their minds hundreds, maybe thousands, of times. The Dragon 
One used the scant moments to grab hold of the smoking body. "THIS IS THE RESULT 
OF YOUR TRESPASSING." A definite sneering note dripped from his tone. 
Negligently, he tossed the corpse aside, and it flopped dully upon a suit of 
mithril plate armor. The first to recover from this outrage was Szaravel, 
shaking her head at the stupidity of trying to save someone else's life over 
your own. "A pity," she mumbled to herself, assaying the situation. "The human 
had potential." A plan of attack materialized itself in her mind, and so she 
proceeded to cast a few spells, the last of which winked her out of view. 
Jupiter's first instinct was to scream her grief and pound the dragon with all 
the force she could muster, but one glance at Mars reigned in her impulse. The 
latter's eyes had become pure milky white. "Get Sailor Moon out of here, 
Jupiter," the sorceress hissed coldly, a slight tremble catching her body. Her 
tone brooked no argument. The brunette picked up her friend, tears streaming 
down her face, and shuffled out of the way. Before she left, though, she turned 
to Mars and whispered quietly, "No mercy." Mars' did not respond, but white 
wisps of fire crackled and coruscated over her body. ***** On the far side of 
the lake, Chaz silently picked his way among the gold, silver, and platinum 
coins, drawing upon every ounce of dexterity and concentration in his being to 
avoid making any sound. Dragons were notorious for sensing the presence of 
ANYTHING within their lair, but he hoped the others were keeping it distracted 
enough for him to find the Crystal before anything truly went wrong. From this 
angle, he couldn't know that one of his friends had already fallen. Quite 
suddenly, Chaz noticed the fist-sized diamond crystal partially hidden beneath a 
polished shield of some red metal. Reaching hesitantly, he touched the gem, the 
prize of their search, and lifted it with a great deal of pride. It felt warm to 
the touch... almost alive. Suddenly, Chaszmyr found himself covered in a 
glittering cloud of sparkles that stuck to him with a magical tenacity. Every 
inch of him glinted and glowed in the stuff, but it was the rising trill of 
bells surrounding him that made him realize the trap that had been set. By then, 
The Dragon One had whipped its head about and located his frail form amidst its 
wealth. ***** Xune was torn between going for Ami's body to see if there was 
anything she could do, and aiding the others in the battle, but when the 
creature turned to Chaszmyr, the matter was settled. She scrambled atop the 
largest nearby mound and leapt towards the beast, Orthae Abban drawn high above 
her. Using the power of her enchanted sword, she enacted her ability to levitate 
into the air. Like a gliding leaf in a slight summer breeze, she floated towards 
the dragon, albeit slowly and lazily. "For the Glory of Eilistraee," she 
whispered to herself, nearing the dragon's gigantic head just as it turned its 
attention to her. She raised her sword for a striking blow, unmindful of the 
dragon's hand reaching out to swat her aside. ***** Venus finally tore her gaze 
away from the spot Mercury had died, her mouth gaping like a fish out of water. 
Her voice wouldn't come to her, no matter how hard she tried. All she saw were 
her friend's pleading mask of agony, boring into her for any kind of help. Over 
and over, that look seared itself to her brain. It threatened to drive her mad. 
Nearly thirty feet away, she saw Jupiter drag Sailor Moon's unconscious body 
behind a pile of red gemstones. She saw the brunette glance her way, and move 
her mouth to demand something of her, but Venus couldn't hear. The only things 
filling her ears were Mercury's pitiful chokes, sucking in nothing but heated 
dust. <"Come on, Ami! It's time for you to stop studying and go shopping with 
me!" "Sorry, Mina, but I need to finish this Chemistry- Hey! Give that back!" 
Mina ran all over the park, giggling joyfully as Ami attempted to catch her, 
indignant but amused.> Venus screamed... and screamed... and screamed. Somewhere 
in her shrieks, she stood up and added words to her screams, pointing at The 
Dragon One. "Love and Beauty Shock!" "Venus Crescent Beam!" "Venus Crescent Beam 
Shower!" "Love and Beauty Shock!" "Venus Crescent Beam Shower!" Suddenly, The 
Dragon One was assailed by a barrage of stinging blows, slamming it all over. 
Its scales cracked in some areas, pain lancing as exposed flesh sizzled under 
the beams. It had never known this kind of agony before. A roaring cry thundered 
from its maw, causing dust to filter down from the cavern ceiling at the rumble. 
It turned its attention to the insolent women who DARED cause it such pain, 
ignoring the theft of the Crystal and the floating gnat of a drow. It called 
upon its own innate powers. An invisible force grabbed hold of the Scout of 
Beauty, lifted her ten feet in the air, and threw her back, slamming her 
terribly into the unforgiving solidity of a ruined galleon. So strong was the 
impact that the wood splintered and shattered, as did several of the blonde's 
bones. Before Sailor Venus could fully lose her sanity, the darkness of 
unconsciousness settled over her mind. ***** More power. More power. More power. 
MORE POWER! ***** Something was wrong. It realized this as soon as it released 
the telekinetic force that had dealt with the human girl. A vastly magical 
being, nearly godlike in strength, The Dragon One had some affinity to the 
manipulations of magic in its vicinity, and right now, someone was drawing on a 
frightening amount of magical energy. Its left pearl orb settled on the 
brilliantly shining figure of the raven-haired human girl, and widened at the 
display. All around her, tendrils of white lightning and flames waved and 
reached out, crawling several feet from her, drawing on every speck of energy in 
the surrounding weave and pulling it into her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?" A slight 
sting diverted its attention to the troublesome drow who continued to float 
about its head, stabbing at it with her blade. It reached up with its claw to 
finish this insect. ***** "No, no, no," Chaz murmured, analyzing everything he 
could do to help his love. His bow would not reach, and he lacked the ability to 
levitate as she did. "Help her!" he screamed to no one in particular, hoping one 
of the Scouts, or Szaravel, would hear. To his surprise, the Crystal in his hand 
burst into a star, and erupted in a blazing gout of cosmic energy. The beam 
drove through the air, angled for the claw, and speared through the beast's 
hand, severing it cleanly through the wrist. This time, the serpent's shriek of 
pain dropped many rocks, cracking the walls in weaker places. Xune was tossed 
backwards from the eruption of sound, tumbling in mid air before settling calmly 
out above the shore. The Crystal winked back to dormancy, its reaction to 
Chaszmyr's plea completed, and it was only then that the drow fell to his knees 
in excruciating suffering at his bittersweet triumph. The hand and forearm that 
had grasped the Crystal had been charred down to the bone. ***** Szaravel popped 
into view next to Jupiter, who was busy shielding Sailor Moon with her body from 
falling debris. The drow sorceress tapped her staff to the ground and whispered 
a few arcane words, and suddenly there was a nearly transparent square barrier 
hovering above them, protecting them from the falling rocks. "What is Mars 
doing?!" she screamed at Jupiter, pointing at the glowing figure. "I don't know! 
She's never done this before!" "Well, it had better be good! That dragon is 
going to tear us to shreds!" The brunette grunted in response. "We need to buy 
her some time!" She stood up defiantly, and raised up her arms. "Jupiter Oak 
Evolution!" The blasts of emerald exploded in sparks upon the creature, but 
didn't seem to add to its injuries. It was hard to tell anything as it whipped 
about in a frenzy as it did. "MY HAND! YOU'VE DESTROYED MY HAND!" Seven spheres, 
each nearly twenty feet in diameter, each glowing violet-blue with electricity 
crackling inside like caged animals, materialized around the dragon at exactly 
the same distance of thirty feet from it. "WHAT IS THIS?!? YOU CANNOT DESTROY 
ME!" A sneer of contemptuous rage crossed Mars' face, and she gestured with her 
arms. Elemental lightning surged from each sphere to the next sphere, until a 
ring formed around the dragon. Then, with a tremendous clap of sonic pressure, a 
pillar of electric blue energy drilled from the ring, both up to the cavern's 
ceiling, and down into the lake's depths. Thousands of bolts of sizzling 
electricity arced from the inner walls of the pillar, slashing and shocking the 
great beast without mercy. The Dragon One writhed and squirmed, squealing in 
horrible pain. Every time it tried to burst through the pillar, a tremendous 
explosion of sparks blasted it back to the center. From around the cave, the 
conscious members of the group gaped in awe at the phenomenal show, all except 
Mars, who continued to pour everything she had into the raging spell. The dragon 
would not go down just yet, however. Through the haze of suffering, a part of 
its stubborn draconic pride held tenaciously to rational thought. Concentrating 
like it had never concentrated before, The Dragon One drew on its ability to 
change its shape into something else completely, something that could withstand 
the awful beating it was taking from this spell. The scales smoothed and changed 
color from crystal blue the dull grey of iron. The arms filled out to a pair of 
muscular limbs, rather than the gangly long ones it was used to. Even the body, 
long, sinuous and serpentine, broadened into the proper torso of a humanoid 
construct of iron. Below the lake, its great tail split and became hulking metal 
legs. When complete, no longer was there a 500 foot long dragon of majestic 
power, but a 500 foot tall giant iron humanoid creature of immense strength. 
"Dear god!" exclaimed Szaravel, "An iron golem! It's transformed into an iron 
golem!" "So?" the brunette inquired. "It still can't get through that pillar." 
The drow turned to Jupiter with a near hysterical look upon her face. "Yes! Yes 
it can! An iron golem is among the most durable constructs known to this world! 
They are nearly immune to magic of any kind!" As if on cue, the golem punched 
one arm through the pillar. This time the explosion did not give it pause, and 
it began to methodically push its way through. Realizing the spell was having no 
effect upon the creature now, Mars dropped it and watched the golem carefully. 
She still glowed with the light of a blazing star. In this form, the creature, 
though immune to the spell, plodded with agonizing slowness, as if moving 
through very thick mud. Reaching the dark-haired sorceress, for that was 
obviously its target, would require some time, a few minutes perhaps. "WHAT NOW, 
MAGE? I WILL GROUND YOUR FRIENDS TO DUST AS YOU WATCH, MY DEAR. WHAT WILL YOU DO 
TO STOP ME NOW?" "It will take physical blows to defeat it now," Szaravel said, 
her shoulders slumping. "Even then, that thing will kill more than one of us if 
we dally. We have to flee." "No! We can't leave without Venus and Mercury! They 
didn't deserve this!" Jupiter cried back. "None of us deserved this, but it has 
happened nonetheless! Chaszmyr has the Crystal! I can teleport us home!" 
Szaravel sighed softly. "I am sorry about your friends, but there is nothing we 
can do for them while the dragon rages." Xune came into view, struggling to 
carry Venus' pained form over her shoulders. "She is correct, my friend Lita. We 
cannot hope to defeat such an immense foe." "And think of your princess. Will 
you let her die here, away >from her home, because of your stubbornness? You 
must get her back. Perhaps later, we can return..." Jupiter growled, but the 
sensibility of the drow's argument eeked through her mind. The golem was only a 
few score feet from the shore. They would have to leave before it reached them. 
She made her decision. "Mars, we've got to get out of here!" she yelled, 
hoisting Sailor Moon up into her arms. The sorceress, still glowing, still 
analyzing the movements of the approaching danger, did not reply. "Mars! Hurry! 
We've got to go!" "Two can play at this game, Beast," Mars whispered, and she, 
too, morphed her form to that of another. "Dammit! What does she think she's 
doing?! She can't fight that thing!" Szaravel shouted, waving her staff in 
exasperation. The others watched in awe. When she was finished, Mars had 
transformed herself into a silver phoenix, exactly as she had during her battle 
with herself nearly three years ago, though this time, she was nearly five times 
bigger. With a wingspan of nearly two hundred feet, Mars sped them out and 
blasted forth a clarion call of challenge before rising to the air. The backlash 
dropped everybody to the ground, covering their faces from the unsettled dust. 
"She gives us time," Xune said after a gagging cough. "I'll get Chaz. Jupiter, 
go find Mercury's body and bring her here." The latter nodded and took off. 
Though there wasn't too much room to maneuver about, the phoenix managed quite 
nicely, raking its diamond-sharp beak and talons about the golem's body, while 
buffeting it with her powerfully strong wings. All was not going well, however. 
For all of the creature's lack of speed, it more than made up in sheer strength. 
Because of the reduced mobility, the golem was able to land several heavy blows 
to the grand phoenix, each one punctuated by a high-pierced shriek of pain. The 
silver bird circled away, fluttering shakily, readying itself for another pass. 
Both combatants looked the worse for wear. The phoenix bled from several gashes 
to its torso and wings, while the iron golem had great gaping tears in its 
metallic armor. "SURRENDER YOURSELF, MAGE. YOUR END IS INEVITABLE." "Perhaps, 
but with my end, I will have given them the necessary time to escape," returned 
the phoenix in Mars' voice. "I WILL HUNT THEM DOWN FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY 
SHOULD THEY ESCAPE!" The bird made a parody of a shrug. "Then I will have to 
take you with me to Death." She dove forward, talons exposed to rip the golem's 
throat. Xune reached Chaz just as he was struggling to his feet. "Chaszmyr! 
What's happened?!" she cried, reaching for him and spying his horribly burned 
arm. She pulled out a flask of healing potion, but he waved it away. "No, not 
yet," he hissed, gritting his teeth, his eyes glued to the titanic battle over 
the lake. He raised the Crystal again. "Help her!" he cried, and the gem burst 
to life again. Streams of starlight seared the air, driving in a single blast 
through the back of the golem, and piercing through its chest. At the same time, 
Mars passed over, tearing through the face of the creature, and ripped out 
nearly half of its head. The arm that still had a hand swung out and grabbed the 
phoenix by a leg, causing her to cry out and lose her balance in the air. 
Flailing wildly, she scrapped along it arm to dislodge herself, but the golem, 
even as it toppled under all the blows it had received, gripped tighter, 
crunching the bones noisily. Mars, lost in a pyrotechnic concussion of agony, 
relinquished her spell of shapechange, and the phoenix shrank back to the form 
of Sailor Mars. Her leg, mangled and crushed, slipped out of the golem's grasp, 
leaving her falling hundreds of feet into the churning waters of the lake below. 
Suddenly, she felt herself slowing, and finally stopping, as some force gently 
halted her fall and carried her across the lake towards Szaravel and Sailor 
Moon's prone form. Grateful for the escape >from death, Mars slipped into the 
darkness. "I WILL... FIND... YOU...," came a hoarse mental whisper before the 
golem, battered and beaten, sank below the waters. It was many moments before 
the lake returned to a sedate state. There was no sign of the dragon below its 
depths. "Thank you, Blessed Eilistraee, for seeing us through this nightmare," 
Xune murmured through her tears as she cradled a senseless Chaszmyr in her lap, 
his entire arm blackened and burned. His skeletal fingers still clutched the 
Silver Imperium Crystal. To Continue Later... This is the sequel to my earlier 
work, "Mars Fire Ignite". If you haven't read that one, you probably should. 
Some parts of this come >from my first work. Also, if you are wondering where 
this fits in in the Sailor Moon timeline, don't. It doesn't fit anywhere in that 
universe. The Inner Scouts are around 17 years old right now, some two to three 
years after "Mars Fire Ignite". Disclaimer-wise, Sailor Moon and her friends are 
the property of Naoko Takeuchi, and they're copyrighted by her, and to a lesser 
extent, DiC (those manglers!). Also, there is a good bit of Forgotten Realms 
flavor in here, and they belong to TSR (or Wizards of the Coast, depending on 
how you look at it). Most of the other things spawned >from my own imagination, 
so I'd like credit for such. Enjoy! Note: For those of you familiar with 
Forgotten Realms, and more specifically, the drow warrior Drizzt Do' Urden, I 
would like to make it clear that Chaszmyr is NOT, I repeat, NOT a copy of that 
copyrighted and fabulous hero. Chaszmyr was a character created by my best 
friend long before I made him read the Drizzt novels. Both of us were rather 
surprised at the likenesses. Comments, criticisms, compliments to 
meech@mindspring.com ------------------------------------- Quest for the Silver 
Imperium Crystal by Soumitra Choudhury Epilogue 
------------------------------------- More  than once, Jupiter wanted to gag as 
she carried Mercury's smoldering and battered corpse back to the shore where the 
others were camped. The smell nauseated her like nothing else, but she forced 
herself to forego the instinct to vomit. This was her friend, afterall, and it 
wouldn't do to throw up all over her, even if she wouldn't ever notice. Or 
perhaps her spirit would know? She'd hate to go to heaven, only to have Ami 
waiting for her, scolding her about vomiting all over her body. A bark of 
hysterical laughter slipped through her throat before she could reign it in. Her 
arms ached from carrying her, and she stopped and gently put the corpse down. 
Tears shimmered in her eyes, blurring her vision. She angrily wiped them away, 
but they were replaced by more. Suddenly, she was sobbing uncontrollably, 
rocking her friend's body back and forth. Jupiter didn't know who it was, but 
someone wrapped an arm around her from behind, comforting her. The brunette 
settled back into the embrace and cried herself to sleep. ***** "These humans 
are an emotional lot, aren't they?" Szaravel muttered to no one in particular, 
wrapping the blanket over the slumbering Jupiter. "That's a very harsh and cold 
way of putting their pain, Szaravel." Xune frowned, though she didn't look up 
from her work. She was busy wrapping Sailor Moon's forehead with a strip of 
cloth to cover the gash across her left temple. If the large lump was any 
indication, the blonde would have a monstrous headache when she awakened. "They 
are very young, very innocent, to have to bear their burdens, especially this 
one." The priestess caught the slight snort behind her, but realized it was more 
for show than actual derision. For all her rough edges, Szaravel really did feel 
pity for the girls. "Drow lack this compassion and loyalty," the sorceress' 
voice intoned, hiding her own sigh. Xune smiled sadly at that. "And that is why 
the good folk need not worry, for that compassion and loyalty makes people 
strong, something the Drow hopefully will never learn." Venus stirred in her 
sleep, her face contorted in fear and grief before she settled back again. Xune 
had used her healing power upon her to mend the shattered bones and the other 
injuries, but the wounds of the mind would be long in the healing for the 
golden-haired warrior. Still, Xune hoped to aid in that as well. All of the 
Scouts, except for Mercury, lay in a circle about the small fire Szaravel had 
conjured up, each of them fully mended of their injuries by Xune's power. 
Likewise, Chaszmyr snored softly alongside Sailor Mars, his arm whole, no sign 
of the charred ruin that had marred him before. He would once again be able to 
whirl his scimitars to the consternation of all things evil. Xune wiped away 
several trickles of sweat from her forehead, pushing back a lock of her snowy 
tresses. The hardest task was coming up, and she hoped she had the strength left 
to perform it. Szaravel rested a supporting hand upon her guardian mother's 
shoulder. "Are you able to do this, Auntie Xune?" she inquired, using the term 
of endearment that nearly always warmed the priestess' heart. "If Eilistraee 
permits, I will be strong," was her reply, sidling near to the body of Mercury. 
She had already used all of their potions of healing to restore the Scout's body 
to the vibrant youth it had began this perilous adventure with, erasing the 
blisters and bruises from her body. Even her hair, tattered, ragged and melted 
as it was, shone now with the original luster of deep sea blue. Sailor Mercury 
seemed a beautiful corpse. Xune Kilsek, blessed drow priestess of the Dark 
Maiden, Eilistraee, knelt before the body, placed her hands upon the unmoving 
chest, and closed her eyes, praying fervently to her deity. As Szaravel sat down 
to keep watch, she saw Xune's circlet glow with the holy light of silver. ***** 
Serena felt like a thick wool gauze was covering her mind when she finally woke 
up. None of her limbs wanted to respond properly, but the crying she heard 
beckoned her attention. It was quite a familiar crying, like someone she knew. 
Slowly, she opened her eyes, having a hard time placing the environment. A vast 
cave, lots of gold, all the Scouts, some of them sleeping, a few dark-skinned 
elves, Mina sobbing all over an embarrassed Ami. Huh? "What's wrong?" Serena 
croaked, smacking her lips together to get some moisture to wet her dry mouth. A 
dull throbbing pain hammered through her head as she attempted to get up, 
causing her to clutch her forehead. She felt the bump, along with the cloth 
wrapped around. Mina relinquished her hold on Ami, quickly wiping away her 
tears, though her eyes remained red and puffy. She was about to respond, when 
Ami clapped her hand across her mouth. "I got hurt a little bit after you went 
down, and Mina's overreacting." She turned to Mina once again a squeezed her 
hand gently. "I keep telling you I'm fine." Serena missed the gently warning 
glare Ami passed on to the distraught blonde. The princess blinked a few times, 
then gasped. "Did we win? Why's everyone asleep? Are they alright?" She tried to 
get up again, but groaned at her foolishness as the hammering in her head grew 
to explosive bangs. "They are asleep, Serena," Ami answered, chuckling at her 
discomfort. "It was a rough battle, but we made it out just fine. Why don't you 
get some more rest. That bump isn't going to heal itself, you know." "But I just 
woke-" She was cut off by a gaping yawn. Blushing slightly, Serena giggled. "I 
guess I could use a bit more sleep." She settled back, pulling the blanket up to 
her neck. Internally, she knew they were hiding something, and it hurt her that 
the Scouts couldn't tell her. 'Well, maybe if I just pretend I'm going to 
sleep.' She listened as Ami soothed Mina, who had begun to cry again, something 
Serena couldn't understand. Mina had always been one of the stronger ones, the 
last to crack under pressure. "Now, now," she heard Ami croon, "It's not your 
fault I died. I-" "Died?!?" Serena shouted, jumping up, and falling back down 
when the wave of dizziness crashed into her, sloshing about her confusedly. She 
gritted her teeth to fight for control, clutching her head once again. "Huh? 
What's going on?" slurred Lita as she, too, woke up. The brunette rubbed her 
bleary eyes, and when they opened again, they settled on Ami, sweet blushing 
Ami. A split second later, the blue-haired girl found herself engulf under the 
tackling embraces of both Lita and Serena, the former weeping for joy, the 
latter spouting out seven hundred questions at once. Mina stood nearby, laughing 
and crying at the same time. "Please! Lita! Serena! It's hard... to breath!" Ami 
gasped out beneath the pile, though the broad smile plastered on her face told 
them she was more than enjoying the attention. There were several moments of 
warm, smothering hugs, touching Ami deeply, though she remained flushed with 
embarrassment. "Really,guys. I'm fine." "But how?" the tall girl asked. "I 
carried you back! You were quite, you know, not alive." Ami squirmed a bit. "Um, 
actually, you're going to have to ask Xune about that. I don't really know how 
she brought me back, but she did." "That was the power of Eilistraee," the drow 
priestess interjected calmly, emerging from her own sleeping mat. "I was merely 
the tool." The girls turned to her in awe. "You mean, you can... can raise the 
dead?" Serena's eyes were big enough to swallow half her face. The drow nodded. 
"If the need is great, and the subject willing." "Dear God," gaped Mina. Xune 
grinned impishly. "Goddess, child. Eilistraee is a goddess. Now, if you don't 
mind, healing all of your injuries has been very taxing on me. I really need to 
rest. If you don't mind, keep a lookout, though I don't think we need to worry. 
Sailor Mars and that Crystal of yours drove the dragon away." "Speaking of 
which, where is that hothead anyway?" the princess asked, glancing around at the 
group. Xune yawned expansively. "She walking around with Szaravel, checking out 
the hoard. You know how it is with mages and enchanted baubles." She wrapped a 
blanket about herself. Actually, the Scouts had absolute no idea how it was with 
mages and enchanted baubles. ***** On the far side of the lake from the 
campsite, Szaravel pointed to another ornate long sword. "That's magical also." 
Rei hefted it up, testing its weight. Light, delicate, yet exquisitely crafted 
of arcane strength. She swung it around, marveling at the way it left a fading 
trail of greenish sparkles in its wake. "Look at me, I'm King Arthur," she 
joked. "Excuse me?" Rei smirked. "Never mind. Foreign humor." She chuckled to 
herself. Surprisingly, the tiny drow joined in. "Humor of any kind would be lost 
on me, I'm afraid." "Why is that?" The human turned to her drow counterpart with 
curiosity. It took a moment for the dark elf to reply. She sifted through small 
pile of coins with the butt of her staff, seemingly engrossed. "I don't know if 
you really understand the extent of my race, but we are a deadly and evil lot, 
prone to cruelty for the sheer enjoyment of it." A frown molded itself into her 
face. "Of course, it doesn't help that the majority of them worship a goddess 
that promotes such behavior, but I won't torture you with the details. Suffice 
it to say, normal drow are not the type of people you're interested in meeting." 
"Unlike Xune, Chaszmyr and I were born in their cities, deep underground. As far 
as I understand, Uncle Chaz was lucky enough to be born in a family that 
rebelled against the tenets of Lolth, the drow spider goddess. He managed to 
escape relatively easily, though I have a feeling it cost him most of his 
family." "I wasn't so lucky." Szaravel's gaze grew distant, bland, and very 
cold. "I was born as the youngest daughter in one of the most powerful families 
in the city of Rilavaun. That meant I had a certain amount of responsibility, 
one of which was to become a devout priestess of Lolth." She smirked slightly, a 
chill smile that froze Rei's blood. "It wasn't that hard, really. When your 
surrounded by that merciless, unrelenting cruelty all hours of the day, it seeps 
into you, grabs you by the soul." Rei gulped, a tingle of fear and pity mingling 
within her. She wanted to express some sort of comfort, but she felt the young 
drow would not appreciate being interrupted, so she held off. "Anyway, being in 
such an unstable society, families are rather found of gaining as much power as 
possible, so occasionally, one will surprise another with a sneak attack to 
better their rank, considering the hierarchical nature of the society." The 
human sorceress didn't quite understand that, but she let it slide. "Well, we 
set up an ambush against one such house, but it backfired, and I was forced to 
flee. I don't know what happened to the rest of my family, nor do I care 
anymore. I'm sure they got what they deserved." "It took me a long time to get 
through the Underdark, and I think I actually went mad a few times. It's very 
difficult to travel when your constantly on the lookout for monsters and stuff, 
especially when you're underground and there's no light for days at a time." 
"Eventually I ended up on the surface world, but my hardships didn't end their 
either. Drow aren't tolerated in too many places, so it's pretty difficult to 
survive if you've never been around before. I got thrown into a slave trade 
before I could blink my eyes." Her eyes hardened menacingly. "You can imagine 
what someone would want with a young female slave, drow or no." Rei shuddered, 
pity drowning her heart. "I killed my owner, but was caught before I could 
escape into the wilds again. The town, the ignorant bastards, decided it would 
be best to hang me as an example to all drow." "Lucky for me, Xune and Chaszmyr 
happened to pass by, in disguise of course. They rescued me, and took me in." 
Szaravel laughed softly. "I gave them hell for a while, not trusting them at 
first, wondering when they were going to turn me over to my city, but they never 
did. Xune patiently taught me that the world was not as bad a place as I had 
initially thought, and Chaz made sure I was properly prepared for when the gods 
tampered with my life. They took good care of me, something I never had before, 
something I can never repay them enough for." A long silence followed as Rei 
stared at the drow in a new light. She understood, now, that Szaravel wasn't an 
arrogant person, overconfident and condescending in her trade. It was all a 
ruse, a barrier against a world that had once dealt her a poor hand, but through 
a great deal of help and luck, she had managed to ride it out. "I was wrong 
about you," was the only thing Rei could think of to say. Szaravel shrugged. "I 
do it on purpose, for it keeps me from getting hurt much more than necessary. I 
actually would like to apologize to you for being such a pompous idiot. It's 
become something of a habit." Rei waved away her apology. "No, no. I understand 
completely. There's no need to worry about it. I'm kind of at a loss as to why 
you told me, though. I was pretty mean to you." For the first time, Szaravel was 
the one looking embarrassed. "Um, well, I want to ask a favor of you, and I 
didn't figure being at each other's throats would get you to accept." "A favor?" 
Alarm bells rang inside Rei's head. "I was wondering if you would teach me how 
to work magic like you." BRRRIIIINNNGGG!!! BRRRRIIINNNNGGG!! Those alarm bells 
were fairly deafening. "Eh, um, well... er, that is..." she fumbled, her tongue 
flopping about with nothing particularly to convey. Szaravel took this to be 
hesitance, and hurried forward. "I'm a fabulous student, and I promise not to 
get in your way or question your methods, or anything else, for that matter. 
I'll even pay you with odds and ends from my own cache of enchanted items, 
anything you wish!-" The drow was speaking a mile a minute, afraid Rei would not 
accept her offer and hoping to make the deal more lavish. "Whoa, hold on there," 
the Fire Scout interrupted, faintly amused. "It's not that I won't teach you my 
magic, Szaravel. It's that I can't." "Huh? Why not?" Rei pursed her lips, trying 
to figure out the best way to tackle the question without having to explain the 
whole history of her family and the Archmagi status. After a moment, she sighed, 
and cleared away a patch of ground so that she could sit comfortably. "Sit down, 
and let me explain a few things about my powers." ***** The Sailor Scouts and 
the drow spent nearly a day in The Dragon One's hoard cave before they were 
remotely ready to leave. Yawns still came often to them, and Rei continued about 
with a faint limp in her newly healed leg, but the general agreement was to 
leave as soon as they were physically capable. "What will happen to all this 
gold?" Mina asked, eyeing a few choice pieces of jewelry. Xune shrugged 
nonchalantly. "I suppose it will molder here until someone else finds it. I 
don't see why you couldn't take a-" Both of the blondes leapt into a pile, 
scurrying about to grab the most interesting items they could find, looking for 
all the world like a pair of gophers. The others got a good hearty laugh at 
their expense. "You know, Serena," Rei said, picking up the wondrous bow she had 
found earlier while strolling with the drow mage, "you're not going to be able 
to carry all that when we teleport back." Serena stopped just as she was 
reaching for a richly painted tapestry nearly twice her size in length. "But, 
but, it's all so pretty!" she whined, pouting. Rei glared fireballs into her 
friend. Before an argument could ensue, Ami stepped forward and patted Serena on 
her shoulder. "I'm sure you can take a few things that you can easily wear." The 
blonde beamed in triumph, and proceeded to jam every bracelet, ring, necklace, 
earring and pendant about her body, until pretty soon, she looked like a 
hoarding, miserly queen, which, in a twisted sense of fate, she was. A queen, 
that is. Mina was about to do the same, when one object in particular caught her 
attention. Gaping in awe, she picked up a gold crown, worked into a dragon 
sweeping its wings back and around. Clutched in its four limbs was the largest 
diamond Mina had ever seen, perfectly round and clear, glinting into her eyes 
with a playful inner light. "I think I'll take this," she murmured, mesmerized 
by its beauty. She wrapped it in her cloak and tucked it gently in her pack. 
After that, nothing really jumped out at her, so she idly picked up a few 
baubles. Ami, true to her nature, just had to have a few of the tomes that lay 
about, fascinated with many months of research she could devote to studying 
these works, even if they were in a foreign language. If her computer could 
track the Silver Imperium Crystal across a galaxy, surely it could manage to 
translate a few of the works. She didn't pass up the opportunity to add a few 
pieces of jewelry to her collection, especially a pair of sapphire earrings. 
Lita rested her interest on the sword Rei had brought back in her little stroll. 
Swinging the jeweled blade back and forth, she instinctively knew that, with a 
little practice in its use, she could do a great deal of damage on their next 
little encounter with a baddie of some kind. Besides, for someone whose favorite 
color was green, the trailing sparkles were a wonderful little trick. Rei tapped 
her foot impatiently while the others picked at the wealth. "Are you guys 
finished assuaging your greed yet?" she asked, exasperated. Chaszmyr popped his 
head up from behind a mound of gold. "Ah Lady Mars, you take the fun out of 
looting and pillaging." He walked over, his own pouches bulging with 
knick-knacks. Likewise, Xune came into view, though she seemed intent on 
carrying sacks of gold and platinum coins. "For those who require assistance in 
their road through Life," she replied to Chaz's questioning glance. "Hey Rei! 
Don't you get all high and mighty on us!" Lita shouted from afar, looking for a 
suitable scabbard for her sword. "I don't see you putting that bow down." The 
dark-haired sorceress smiled wickedly, brought her bow to bear, and pulled back 
the string. A flaming bolt appeared , in the shape of an arrow, and she shot it. 
The brunette dove for the ground as the fiery bolt whizzed past, dangerously 
close. It exploded somewhere behind her. "I think I'm going to keep this," Rei 
replied happily. Lita fought the urge to leap at her friend and strike her bow 
down from her hands. Instead she growled a long string of expletives that made 
Ami blush nearby. "Lita, please. My virgin ears," she said, half-joking, 
half-serious. Szaravel, having picked up all that she wanted (and secreting them 
away in a small, extra-dimensional pocket that was one of her belt pouches), 
cleared her throat rather noisily. "I would rather leave BEFORE I turn to an old 
drowish hag. Rei is right. It is high time we left." Before a lot of grumbling 
could set in, the girls transformed, packed up their things, and performed the 
Sailor Teleport that took them back to Xune's grove. ***** "Though we have not 
known you for long, we will miss you," Xune said, hugging each of the girls in 
turn. "It is not often Chaz and I get to adventure without the hindrance of 
racial prejudices. You cannot know how much that means to us." "Actually, it's 
we who should thank you, Xune, Chaszmyr, Szaravel. We probably wouldn't have 
found the Crystal without your help. We are deeply indebted to all three of 
you," Sailor Moon returned, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Chaszmyr 
waved the comment aside. "Think nothing of it. We enjoy the chance to risk our 
lives for the sake of such lovely women." He reached forward for Sailor 
Mercury's hand and kissed it gently. "I am dreadfully sorry that you had to 
suffer so for my ineptness. Had I but known the danger you had put yourself 
into, I would have acted sooner in sending it back to the pit of Hell it had 
crawled out of." Mercury stammered in embarrassment, blushing vividly at being 
treated so. "Every- everything turned out for the best in the end," she mumbled 
gently. He flashed her a dashing smile. "You are very kind, Lady Mercury." He 
kissed her hand again before releasing it. Szaravel harrumphed good-naturedly as 
Xune pulled Chaz back by his weapon belt. "Alright, Beloved. You are going to 
make them mad with desire if you flirt anymore. Then I'll be forced to beat them 
off with a very large stick. We wouldn't want that," the priestess scolded 
mockingly. The Scouts chuckled at their antics. "Well, are we all set then?" 
Sailor Venus asked. Szaravel stepped forward, a tightly wrapped scroll in her 
hand. "Um, Lady Mars? I would like you to have this." She handed it to the 
human. "What is this?" inquired Mars, puzzled at the gift and torn between 
opening it and waiting for the explanation. She opted for the latter. The drow 
smiled hesitantly, shuffling her feet. "I don't know whether you will be able to 
obtain all the ingredients in your world or not, but it's instructions on how to 
construct an enchanted staff, though I suppose you could modify it for any type 
of object." She glanced up shyly at Mars' face. "I remember you saying something 
about an enchanted knick-knack, and wanting one of your own." Speechless, Mars 
stared at the drow girl for a moment before engulfing her in a sisterly hug. 
"Thank you very much Szaravel. I'll miss you." A pang of sadness brought tears 
to Szaravel's eyes. "I will miss you too, Rei." The drow stepped back, joining 
her guardian parents, who each wrapped an arm about her shoulder. The Scouts 
waved a final farewell, tears streaming down all of their faces, then joined 
hands and cried "Sailor Teleport!" Each drow wondered if they would ever see 
those wondrous girls again. THE END