Disclaimers:
I don't own Sailor Moon, and I don't have any money, so please don't sue me.  However, I do own the residents of Kaji.  Don't use them without my permission (as if you would anyway).

I am really, really needing to finish at least one of the stories I'm working on, and as this one seems the shortest, it actually gets some closure.  Um... well, like I said in the very first author's note for this one, it wasn't planned at all, and I just kinda wrote whatever popped into my head.  I hope you aren't disappointed.  And... I'm using their uber-powers in this one because I wanted to.  Don't get mad at me, ok?  :)

Just to stress how true it is, I hope you all remember that this story has nothing to do with either "Cycle of Our Souls" or "Welcome Me."

Write me, come to my web site, and enjoy the story.  Not necessarily in that order.  :)

Makoto let out a long breath.  "For once I'm glad these skirts are so short," she said, wiping sweat from her forehead.  She couldn't remember being so hot in her entire life!  The air rippled with the heat, the ground seemed to churn and boil, and to say the sun was baking them would be an understatement.
 
"Be glad you aren't in a tuxedo!" Mamoru said with a frown.
 
"Yeah, well, be glad you aren't in heels!" Minako cried as her shoe sunk into the soft ground for the umpteenth time.  "Whose idea were these fuku anyway?  I'm going to have to take this up with Artemis when we get home.  Sailor Soldiers... hmmph.  Sailors aren't soldiers, they're sailors!  Be one or the other, that's what I say."
 
They ignored the blonde's grumbling, instead concentrating on Ami and her computer.  "How much further do you think?" Rei asked, peeking over the other girl's shoulder.
 
She shrugged.  "A kilo, maybe more."
 
"A kilo?" Makoto cried, dismayed.  "Well, come on, let's get it over with."
 
"Who is it you're looking for?" a smooth male voice said from behind them.  "Perhaps we could be of assistance.  You're obviously from off world."
 
The group whirled around and, almost as one, let out a long gasp.  "Usako!" Tuxedo Kamen cried.  "Thank Kami-sama we found you!  Are you hurt?  Who is this man?"
 
The blonde looked up at her companion curiously.  "Kaen-san?" she asked, obviously confused.
 
"He is confused, Hibana.  Do not worry about it.  Now, I believe you were looking for directions...?"
 
"What have you done to her?" Mars whispered, horrified at the blank look in Usagi's eyes.  "She doesn't recognize us!  Where is the ginzuishou?"
 
"The... oh, of course, her little bauble.  I believe it is in Furea-sama's possession now."  The man's strange yellow eyes narrowed as he regarded Rei.  "The FireChild," he said in an oddly triumphant tone.
 
She stepped back from him, suddenly frightened.  "What are you talking about?" she demanded.
 
Usagi -- or at least this strange girl who looked like Usagi -- smiled in triumph.  "We've found them, Kaen-san!  Furea-sama is sure to give you your Blue now."
 
"Minna-chan," Makoto whispered, tugging on Rei's arm as she said it, "look at her eyes.  They're red!"
 
"Of course they are.  I'm a Red General of Furea-sama's Fire Guard.  What other color would my eyes be?" she asked as though Makoto were a complete idiot for even noticing it aloud.
 
"You are not!  You are Tsukino Usagi, Sailormoon, Princess Serenity of the Moon, and future Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo!  Don't you remember, Usagi-chan?" Minako cried.
 
Hibana moved closer to Kaen, her eyes troubled and confused.  "I am Hibana Red!  What are you talking about?  Kaen-san, who is this Usagi?"
 
He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and said soothingly, "Remember what I told you, Hibana?  That the 'Children might say things to confuse you?"
 
She nodded slowly.  "Hai.  Domo arigato, Kaen-san."
 
"Now, Hibana-chan--"
 
This familiar endearment attached to an unfamiliar name was the last straw for Mamoru.  With an angry cry, he surged through the air, flying at Kaen.  With an almost negligent wave of her hand, Hibana arrested his movement mid-flight with telekinetic power.  "What should I do with him, Kaen-san?" she asked with a sweet smile.
 
"Shabon Spray!" Mercury cried, the dense fog making it impossible to see and nearly freezing the hot-blooded Hibana and Kaen.  In her surprise, she let Tuxedo Kamen fall, where he landed with a sickening crunch.  The blond sent a blast of power at Mercury that rendered her unconscious.  Jupiter was beside her in an instant, lifting her up and attempting to carry her away from the scene of the battle.
 
"Tuxedo Kamen!" Mars cried, running to his side.
 
"Venus Love-Me Chain!" Minako cried, sending the whip out to wrap itself around Kaen.

With a sneer, her sent his power through the chain, and Venus went flying.  "Hibana!" he called.  "Get the little blue-haired one.  I've got the blond.  Let's go!"

"What about the others?"

"A bit at a time, Hibana, a bit at a time."  There was a flash, and the only ones left on the empty plain were a very confused, empty-armed Makoto, an unconscious Mamoru and a horrified Rei.

"I could sense Usagi, but it was very faint," Rei was telling them later.  Mamoru had regained consciousness and the small group had made their way to what looked to be a palace of some sort.  Now they were sitting on a small rise just across from it.  "They've obviously done something to her, but I don't think it's irreversible.  If only we had the ginzuishou..."
 
"Would we be able to use it?" Makoto asked with a frown.
 
"I don't know that it would matter.  It might react to Usagi's presence and cleanse her of whatever it is they've infected her with."
 
"If only we could trick her into using it," Mamoru said.  "Surely then it would restore her back to herself."
 
Rei nodded.  "Good idea... but how?"
 
"I think the first step," Makoto said before he could reply, "is getting our hands on it.  We can find it using the trackers Ami gave us before we left."  She flipped hers open, and the ginzuishou's signal was strong and clear.
 
The dark-haired senshi chewed on her lower lip, thinking.  "This will be difficult without Ami's ice power.  I don't know if my fire will be effective at all... but at least we have you, Mako-chan, and Mamoru's roses."
 
"Did you hear what he called you?  'FireChild'... that look in his eyes was so strange.  It gave me the shivers," Makoto said.
 
"He called Usako 'Hibana.'  Rei, are you sure you felt her in there?"
 
"Hai, Mamoru-kun, definitely.  She was... frightened... trapped... but there.  Kaen knew it, too, which is why he didn't linger to collect the rest of us."  She gave a long, deep sigh.  "I wish Luna and Artemis were here... or Ami-chan... they would know how to get us in and out of this place safely."
 
Mamoru stood up abruptly.  "Well they aren't, so I guess it's up to us.  Let's go."

Okibi was in Kaen's chamber when he and Hibana returned with their prisoners.  "Ah, Okibi-san," Kaen said in his usual calm tone, "good to see you.  Hibana and I were successful on our little sortie."
 
The older man frowned deeply.  "I do not see the FireChild there, Kaen."
 
"The IceChild will please Furea-sama immensely: her power was a great threat to us," he said, neatly dodging the issue.
 
"Ice does not belong on Kaji.  I do not believe she will accept the Cleansing very well," Okibi said with a long, careful glance at the blue-haired girl.  "Where are the others?"
 
"The FireChild, ThunderChild and EarthChild are on their way here now, Okibi-san."  He waved his hand over the pool of flames at the center of the room, the same pool they used for the Cleansing, and a picture of the three appeared.  "See?  So close.  They will soon be ours."
 
"The EarthChild?" Hibana questioned, suddenly interested.  "Is that the boy?"
 
"Yes, Hibana.  Doushite?"
 
She shrugged and turned away from the pool.  "Just wondering."
 
Okibi and Kaen shared a glance.  "Do you perhaps know him from somewhere?" the former asked carefully.

'Usako'... he called me 'Usako'.  Why does that sound so familiar?  Could he... could he be my Mamo-chan?  But no... Kaen-san told me there is no Mamo-chan, that it was just something I made up... and Kaen wouldn't lie.  Would he? she thought.  "Nai, Okibi-san," she said at last, "I've never seen him before today."

An alarm went off somewhere deep within the palace and Kaen offered his superior a smug grin.  "They are here."

"Kuso!" Rei swore angrily at the sound of the alarm.  "Well, I guess everyone knows we're here now."
 
"How will we find Ami and Minako?" Makoto demanded.
 
"Here!" Mamoru cried, tossing her his tracking device.  "I've reconfigured it for the signals of Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus.  You and Rei go get them, I'll find the ginzuishou."
 
"Nai," Jupiter told him, "you shouldn't go alone.  Rei, go with him.  I can handle finding the others on my own."
 
"Are you sure?" Rei asked.
 
"Absolutely.  Go!"  They went.
 
"This way... the signal gets stronger through here!" Rei called over her shoulder.
 
"Chotto matte, Rei," he said, grabbing her arm with a strong hand.  "Kaen said that someone named 'Furea-sama' has the ginzuishou.  If Kaen and Usako were any indication, then this being is most likely very powerful.  We should wait for Jupiter and the others."
 
"Mamoru-kun..." she frowned, unsure how to make her point.  "This is my fault," she finally said.  "I'm the one who made the deal with the flames in the first place, so I'm the one who has to get Usagi -- and the rest of us, for that matter -- out of this mess.  If that means fighting their leader by myself, then I will."
 
"You said yourself that your power may not have any effect!"
 
"I know that!" she cried angrily.  "But every minute we wait is another minute for them to turn Ami and Minako against us as they've done with Usagi.  Putting it off is pointless.  So are you going to stand out here in the hall and whine, or are you going to come with me?  The choice is yours, because I'm going in there either way."
 
"Damn it, Rei... fine!  Ikimashou."  Together they strode through the vast door-way and into Furea's throne room.

Makoto was running down a long, dark corridor with all her might.  She knew she had to get to Ami and Minako soon... soon... soon!  Gods, please don't let them be like Usagi when I find them... onegai...
 
She burst through a door and found herself in a small chamber, a pool of flames at its center.  "Mercury!  Venus!" she cried, relieved.  They were still out, but at least they hadn't been changed.
 
"The ThunderChild... so I suppose that means the FireChild finds herself in the grip of Furea-sama himself?" a voice said from a shadowy corner of the room.
 
"Who are you?" Jupiter demanded, squinting as she tried to peer through the darkness.
 
A man stepped into the light, and Makoto's eyes widened.  He was dressed all in blue, but not the blue of the sky or cornflowers or sapphires... it was the blue of flame, and Makoto recognized that with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.  "I am Okibi, Blue General of Furea-sama's Fire Guard.  But I suppose that wouldn't have much significance to you, would it?  I am the highest ranking of Furea-sama's generals.  There, you understand what that means, don't you?"
 
She did: it meant he was the most powerful, the most feared... she could only pray that her lightning would have some effect on this creature.  "Sparkling... Wide... Pressure!" she screamed, putting everything she had into the attack, and smiled in triumph at his scream of pain.  So you could fight fire with lightning!

But then he attacked.  Blue flames shot from his hands, not at Jupiter but at Venus and Mercury!  "Nai!" she screamed.  What was left?  She had used her strongest attack and it hadn't killed him... Shimatta!  Concentrating, she cried, "I call upon the power of Jupiter!  Oh great Jupiter, lend me your strength and help me defeat this monster!  Jupiter... Oak... EVOLUTION!"  Leaves sprang up around her, and she flung them toward Okibi with all her might.  When the smoke cleared, the Blue General was nothing but a charred husk, and Ami and Minako had come to.
 
"Are you all right?" she asked, running over to her friends.
 
"We're fine," Minako assured her.  "What happened to him?"
 
Jupiter grinned.  "He made a mistake.  Come on, minna-chan... Rei and Mamoru need us!"  She helped them to their feet, and soon the three were on their way to Furea's throne room.

"It worked!  The FireChild fell right into our trap!" a woman's voice said as soon as Rei and Mamoru were across the threshold.
 
"Indeed," a man agreed.  "Furea-sama will be most pleased."
 
Kaen, Mamoru thought angrily.
 
"Bring them to me."  The voice rumbled through the room like one of Jupiter's thunder attacks, and Rei felt goosebumps breaking out on her arms.  Was that Furea?
 
A woman dressed in orange stepped forward and grabbed Rei by the hair.  "You hear Furea-sama," she said with a jerk.
 
"Who are you?" she asked as the woman led her through the entry hall.
 
"I am Yashahino, Orange General of Furea-sama's Fire Guard.  I am Hibana's direct superior."
 
"And who is your superior?" Mamoru demanded, ignoring the swift stab of pain his heart felt at the mention of Usako.
 
"Kaen-san," Yasha replied stiffly.  It was obviously a sore subject.  "And Okibi is above him, and Okibi answers only to Furea-sama."
 
"Yasha, stop chattering," Kaen commanded swiftly.

It wasn't long before they were standing before a tall, imposing man dressed in all in white.  Kaen, Yasha and Hibana bowed low, but Mamoru and Rei stood their ground defiantly.  "I am Sailormars," she said, "and I demand that you release my friend, the one you call 'Hibana.'"

"So... you are the famous FireChild," he said in that strange, rumbling voice of his.  "I was expecting someone... bigger.  You truly are a child."

As he leaned forward to examine her more closely, the light glinted off something at his throat.  The ginzuishou! her mind screamed.  Now how the hell was she going to get a hold of it?  If only she had Mercury's fog ability... or Mercury herself.  She offered a quick prayer for the safety of her friends before turning her attention back to Furea.  "What did you do to Usagi?" she asked.

"Usagi?  Ah, you mean the MoonChild... she was Cleansed, of course.  I'm sure Kaen will explain it to you in greater detail before you go through it.  Kaen, have you begun Cleansing the other two?"

"Nai, Furea-sama.  There was not time before the alarm was sounded."

"Then you will Cleanse the FireChild first."

He bowed low.  "As you command, Furea-sama."

"I have no wish to be Cleansed," Rei hissed.

Furea focused his strange white eyes on her again and smiled strangely.  "Whyever not?  In your veins runs the blood of Mars.  Your home and ours are very closely related."

"My home," she ground out between clenched teeth, "is Earth."

"Earth.  Such a primitive place, if I remember correctly.  But then you do come here in the company of the EarthChild.  What are we to suspect?  Kaen, take them away.  I want them to be ours the next time I see them, is that clear?"

"Shabon... SPRAY!"

The fog enveloped them thickly, but Furea merely waved his hand and it was gone.  "Find them!" he demanded of Yasha.

"Kuso," Mamoru muttered.  "Now we're done for."

"Something stronger, Mercury!" Rei cried desperately.  "Aim for Furea!"

The blue-haired girl leapt down from a balcony above them and turned to face the leader of Kaji.  "Mercury, I call upon you to help me deal with this evil!"  A harp formed in her hands, and she cried, "Mercury... Aqua... RHAPSODY!"  Streams of ice and water flew from the huge harp, surrounding Furea and freezing him... at least for the moment.

Rei surged forward and yanked hard at the chain around his neck.  It snapped, and the ginzuishou fell into her hands just as Furea recovered from Ami's attack.  He reached for her, and she sent the crystal flying.  "Mamoru!  The ginzuishou!"  He caught it neatly, and wrapped the chain around his wrist several times to secure it.

"You thought you could defeat me with a little bit of ice?" Furea hissed into Rei's ear.  "And what is so important about that little bauble?"

Gods, Rei thought, that was Ami's strongest attack, one she's never even
used before!  What are we going to do?  "The crystal has sentimental value," she said defiantly.

"Hibana!  Kaen!" Furea cried.  "Destroy them!  And find Yashahino!"

"Jupiter... Oak... EVOLUTION!" was heard from the balcony above, and then a woman's scream.  "Damn I love that attack!" Makoto said, leaping down to join the others, Venus right behind her.  "Your Orange and Blue Generals are dead, Furea.  Why don't you just let us go before we take the rest of you out?"

"Let you go?" he whispered, squeezing Rei a little harder.  "Why should I?  I have the FireChild, and your Princess as well.  It would seem as though I have the upper hand, little ThunderChild."

"I have the ginzuishou," Mamoru said calmly.

"A child's toy, nothing more."

"You're wrong, Furea-sama," Kaen said softly.  "That crystal protected the MoonChild during the Cleansing.  She was not completely ours until I took it from her."

"I thought I ordered you and your precious MoonChild to kill them, Kaen!"

"I thought our objective was to turn them to our side.  They're the 'Children of the Silver Millennium, Furea-sama!"

"We do not need their kind of power."

"Their kind of power killed Yasha and Okibi."

"You're arguing with me, Kaen?  Do I have to remind you that you are Yellow?"

He stiffened.  "I remember, Furea-sama, but I also remember what you told me when Yasha captured the MoonChild!"

As Kaen continued his argument with Furea, Mamoru inched ever closer to Usagi.  If only he could get the ginzuishou into her hand... surely she would remember... just like before, when they found out she was the Moon Princess and he, Prince Endymion of Earth.  "Usako," he whispered.

She gasped and whirled to face him.  "You!  You're the EarthChild."

"I suppose.  My name is Mamoru, but you always call me 'Mamo-chan'."

Her strange red eyes widened.  "Mamo-chan...?" she whispered.

"You do remember!  Usako, please, take the crystal.  It will restore you."  He grabbed her hand and pushed the ginzuishou into her palm.

"Restore me to what?" she hissed, pulling away from them as though he had burned her.  "Stop calling me 'Usako'!  It's not my name, and I've never heard of anyone named 'Mamo-chan' either!"  She turned away, clutching the crystal as though it was a life raft and she, drowning.

"Serenity, the ginzuishou will help you remember.  You are not Hibana.  You are not one of Furea's Fire Guards.  You are my love, Usako!  Please, remember!"

She stopped and stared down at the stone in her hand.  It flashed, and she flinched away from it with a cry... but when she looked up at him again, her eyes were blue, the beautiful blue he remembered so well.  "Mamo...chan?" she said softly, and he knew it was Usagi talking, not Hibana.

Furea screamed.  "We are losing her!  I thought you said she was ours, Kaen!"

"She is!" he cried desperately, running to Usagi's side.  "Hibana, what are you doing?  Furea-sama ordered you to destroy the EarthChild."

"I am not Hibana!  Moon... Crystal... POWER!"

"NOOO!" Furea yelled, but too late.  The transformation had already begun.

"I am Sailormoon, champion of justice!" she cried.  "On behalf of the Moon I will punish you, Furea!"

Kaen leapt for her, but Minako called out, "I used my Chain on you once before, and it's not a mistake I'll make again!  I call upon the planet Venus!  Venus Love and Beauty... SHOCK!"

The attack hit him full-force and he was throne back into a column.  "Kaen!" Sailormoon cried.  "Venus, no!  What have you done?!"

"He was trying to kill you!" she said angrily.

Usagi knelt down beside him.  "Oh, Kaen, I'm so sorry.  I'll heal you, Kaen, the ginzuishou can do it!"

"Nai, MoonChild, don't waste your power on me.  Furea-sama must be stopped.  I thought... I thought he was looking out for our planet, for Kaji... but he didn't care about us.  Yasha is dead... and Okibi... and Furea-sama doesn't even care.  I'm sorry... I... Cleansed you against your will... MoonChild," he whispered before his yellow eyes fluttered closed for the last time.

"Gomen... oh, Usagi-chan, I didn't know... I just..." Minako said, desperate.

"It's all right, Minako-chan.  You were just doing your job.  Kaen was on the wrong side, but he wasn't evil... but you had no way of knowing that."

Furea, meanwhile, was frozen with shock.  The "bauble" had turned out to be one of the most powerful artifacts in history, and he had missed it.  He had let the MoonChild escape his grasp, and all of his Generals were dead.  It seemed that the FireChild was his only card, but she was proving much stronger than he would've suspected.  "I will kill her!" he said, pressing a ruby-bladed knife against the dark-haired girl's throat.

"Kill me," she prompted.  "Go ahead.  I dare you."

Suddenly a rose struck his wrist, its sharp stem cutting into the skin.  "Itai!" he cried, the knife falling to the floor.  Rei sent her elbow flying into his stomach and twisted away from his grasp with ease.

"Arigato, Tux!" she said with a grin.

"I could wash the evil away from you, Furea, if you would only let me," Sailormoon was saying gently.

"Never!"  He began gathering a ball of fire energy between his hands, pouring more and more energy into it.

"We need to combine our powers!" Mercury said.

"Right!"  They gathered in a circle, and Mars began with, "Mars Star POWER!"

"Mercury Star POWER!"

"Jupiter Star POWER!"

"Venus Star POWER!"

"Moon Crystal POWER!"

The multi-colored energy soared into the air, twisting and changing as it flew, before aiming itself directly at Furea.  "NOOOOO!" he screamed in horror as it enveloped him.  Usagi broke the circle and held out the ginzuishou, drawing on its power to add to the already formidable attack.  Flash after blinding flash filled the air, the whole palace rocked to its very foundations... but then suddenly everything went quiet.  And dark... impenetrably dark.

Finally, Makoto whispered, "Are we--"

"Dead?" Rei finished wryly.  "I doubt it.  I hurt too much to be dead."

"Me too," Usagi whispered, and they all knew she didn't just mean physically.

"What about Furea?" Mamoru wanted to know.

"I'm reading no life signs besides ours," Ami said.

"So I guess it's over," Usagi said.  "Maybe when we get home, one of you could tell me what happened."

"Sure," Rei volunteered.  "I'll even buy you a milkshake."

"Come on, minna-chan," Minako said softly, "let's go home."

End III

Yay!  I finished it before Godspell rehearsals start!  I know it ends rather suddenly, but that's because I'm thinking of doing a sequel.  Needless to say, what happened to Usagi would have lots of emotional repercussions for almost everyone in the group, and that's more the type of thing I like to write anyway.  In case you didn't notice, action isn't my number one specialty.  :)

Anyway, tell me what you think and if you would be interested in a sequel.  It wouldn't be very long, and it wouldn't be out any time soon, but... that might be for the best anyway.  :)

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