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Part Six cont.

***
Virgos  love to have everything just right, and they hate muddle and 
inefficiency.
***

	Saffir planned the attack.
	It was no surprise- much as he disagreed with his brother's 
faith in the Wiseman, he couldn't deny Demando anything that he 
wanted.    It was against his nature- what Demando wanted, Demando 
got.
	All the other members of the of the Black Moon Family who 
were offered earrings accepted them.    Saffir almost managed to 
convince Petz that wearing them was a bad idea, but she finally 
decided that she didn't want her sisters to be more powerful then she 
was.   Petz was, after all, Oneesan, and had a status to protect.   
He was upset with her decision and lack of trust in him, but not 
truly surprised.
	Saffir noted that those who wore the earrings with fragments 
of jakokuzuishou crystal to have their negative qualities 
accentuated.  The Ayakashi sisters, who had always been close, fell 
into major quarrels with each other over the pettiest of things, 
Rubeus became even more sadistic, while Esmeraude became even vainer, 
if that was possible.   Even Demando seemed affected by the gems, his 
obsession with conquering the Earth almost frightening in its 
intensity.   Saffir wisely kept his mouth shut, though, wondering how 
much influence the Wiseman actually had over his family.
	To his surprise, the actual attack went off without too many 
flaws- except for two.  The flaws, though, were major. The first was 
the Inner Senshi.   Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Mercury did not come out 
to face the sisters the way he had planned.   Rather, they rushed the 
Princess away, hiding her far from their reach, deep into the vast 
reaches of time.   Sailor Pluto was said to be able to control 
Portal, and the stronger members of the Black Moon family felt her 
open the time gates for the first time in over a millenium.  But this 
didn't happen until after the second major problem happened.
	The second was the Neo Queen herself.   Rather then using the 
ginzuishou, as he had expected, she came out defenseless and stood in 
the field, watching as the ships descended on her beloved city.  And 
that was the biggest flaw in the attack, for Demando was the one who 
had to bring her down.
	If she had fought back, he would have seen her as the 
enemy.   If she would have wielded the enormous power that the 
ginzuishou represented, he would have been more concerned with 
defeating then seeing her.   
	But she came out, alone and defenseless.
	Around them, the battle seemed to ebb, as the universe held 
its breath for this moment.   Serenity looked up, her sweet blue eyes 
sadly tracking his descent.   Without remorse, he slammed her with 
the full force of his power.   
	Then the Seishi appeared, seemingly from no where, and 
exercised a power no one knew they had.   Each of the Inner Senshi 
cast forth her energy, wrapping Serenity up in a crystal that 
reflected it the brilliant powers that the Inners carried inside 
their souls.  When the light settled enough for ordinary eyes to look 
on it, Demando drew back.
	Neo Queen Serenity has been suspended in time.   She lay in a 
casket of crystal, her hands laid across her breast, a serene 
expression on her face.   Demando pulled up short and stared down, 
and everything went still.   No one moved, no one spoke, until a 
shrill voice broke out.  "MOMMY!"  From within her, a light burst 
forth, and the Black Moon Forces recognized it for what it was.   For 
some reason, Neo Queen Serenity had passed her precious crystal to 
her daughter.
	A small child with pink hair raced out, reaching for the 
crystal.   The Seishi with dark hair caught her hand.   "No, Small 
Lady!" she said urgently, tugging the screaming child away.   
Demando's eyes lingered on the stricken Neo Queen, but he turned his 
attention from her long enough to begin to pursue the small child and 
claim the prize she held.
	"No!" a voice said, and Demando was confronted by the man who 
was married to the woman he had just brutally attacked.  The Neo King 
stood, holding out his staff.   His eyes were hard and cold, and 
Demando was surprised to see absolute hatred for him- this went 
beyond anything he could justify.   If he didn't know better, Demando 
would have said that Endymion was... jealous?
	The staff began to glow with a golden light, and Demando 
reached inside himself, touching the power that was the Pellucid 
Throne.   His pink aura flared around him, and his hair stood on 
end.  
	The men faced off.
	Calaveras and Beruche broke off battle and started to race to 
back their sovereign.   Petz and Cooan were busy attempting to subdue 
a few groups of Terrans who continued to fight, Terrans who had 
regained strength after watching their Goddess fall.   Rubeus and 
Esmeraude were with Saffir in the control room, powerless to help.  
The Sisters Ayakashi would be too late to help; this would be a 
battle between the King of Earth and the Prince of Nemesis, winner 
take all.
	Endymion made the first strike, launching forth a golden 
missile that looked sort of like Venus' Crescent Bean attack, yet was 
a hundred times more deadly.   Demando formed a shield, holding out 
his hands.   The attack deflected harmlessly to the sky.
	Demando's cape lifted off his shoulder and began to wave 
dramatically in the wind as he prepared to make his strike.   Taking 
out Serenity had cost him much of his power reserves, and he was on 
the verge of collapse, though he wasn't about to let anyone know.   
His eyes brightened and he spread his fingers, willing everything he 
had.
	Endymion raised his staff to block, but it was at that moment 
that the Time Gate opened, distracting him for a vital second.  
	Reeling backwards from the deadly magic, the Lord of Earth 
crumpled to his knees.  "Small Lady," he whispered, then vanished.
	Calaveras and Beruche reached Demando in time to grasp his 
arms, giving him much needed support.  "We've WON!" Calaveras said.
	Demando blinked, unable to believe it.   Beruche smiled 
eagerly, and opened her mouth to add her congratulations.  Before she 
could do so, though, the Crystal Palace lit up, and the casket that 
contained the sleeping Empress disappeared much the same way her 
husband had vanished moments prior.   
	Four columns of light ascended towards the sky from the heart 
of the Crystal Palace, and the Nemesians watched in horrified 
fascination as a magical force-field was created around the heart of 
Crystal Tokyo.   "What is that?" Beruche whispered.
	In the control room, Saffir pressed his hands against the 
window, cursing.   The Inner Senshi had obviously established a 
protective field, but how long would they hold it?  And for what 
purpose?   Their rulers were as good as dead.
	Behind him, he heard the Wiseman swear vehemently, and it 
caused him a slight shiver of fear.   He had never before heard of 
the Wiseman sound so angry, and he wondered why he felt a premonition 
of disaster.
	An hour later all the principles were assembled in the Throne 
Room.   Demando sat upon the Pellucid Throne, an abstract expression 
on his face.   Esmeraude paced back and forth, her heels clicking 
loudly.   The Sisters Ayakashi were bickering, as usual, about who 
was to blame.   Rubeus was watching Demando with narrowed eyes, while 
the Wiseman lurked in his usual corner, keeping his attention divided 
between Demando, Saffir, and his crystal ball.
	Saffir finally dared to break the silence.   "Oniisan?" he 
said.
	The others looked at him, and the Uncanny Sisters stopped 
their fighting, though Cooan kicked Petz one last time for good 
measure.
	Demando looked up.   "What is it, Saffir?"
	"What do we do now?" he asked in a quiet voice.
	Demando looked at his loyal subjects.   "Exactly what 
happened?" he demanded.
	Saffir rubbed his forehead.   "The Senshi put up a barrier 
that prevents us from taking the Crystal Palace.   The Time Gate 
itself opened- I never believed that Sailor Pluto would do such a 
thing," he grumbled.
	"What happened to the ginzuishou?" Demando asked.
	"The Rabbit has it- Small Lady Usagi Serenity," the Wiseman 
said.   "The only way to break through the barrier is to retrieve her 
and force her to give it up."
	"But she went through time!" Esmeraude protested.   "You 
think Sailor Pluto is going to let us go through the Time Warp with a 
'fare thee well?'"
	The Wiseman ignored her, focusing his attention on the 
Prince.  "We need not use the time warp," he said.  "We can create 
our own time portal.   Those of Nemesis have always had an affinity 
for time, as has been proven recently."
	The Sisters fell into confused mumbles, but Saffir was unable 
to believe it when Demando nodded.   "It sounds feasible," he mused.
	Rubeus wasn't about to be left out.   "Perhaps we can weaken 
the defense in another way- how about attacking the very foundation 
of Crystal Tokyo while we're there?  Then we can triggered the 
defects now and boom!   Sayonara, Crystal Tokyo!"
	Saffir looked at Rubeus with disgust.   Messing with time 
wasn't that simple.   "Rubeus-" he began, getting ready to lambast 
his cousin's lame-brain plan, but was interrupted.
	"Indeed.   Saffir, Get to work on the Portal.   Rubeus, take 
the Ayakashi Sisters and start to prepare.   I want this carried out 
within the week."
	Saffir looked at Demando, prepared to argue, but there was 
something in those purple eyes that waned him that his words would be 
met with, at best, an acidic counterorder.
	Biting his lip, he teleported to his lab and started his 
computers working on the physics he needed to know about in order to 
create a portal that would move people through time.

**

End 6 B- part c coming soon!



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