My thanks to Indigo for playing Ultimate Sailor Ami on such notice and with such little direction, and for Ikari Shinji for pruning the raw chat transcript into something usable.

What a difference five minutes can make.

Five minutes ago, everyone had been safely relaxing at the Ten'Aino house, calmly chatting and relaxing, enjoying their last moments of peace together, doing their best to ignore the subtle unquiet that was building around them.

The last week had been a strange one. Everything had started calmly enough with one of Haruka's usual drunken boasts, that she and her outer senshi could easily defeat the inner senshi of the future, proving once and for all whose team was superior. The senshi from the future had arrived to meet the challenge, and everyone had assumed there would be a fun tournament for all.

But things had declined rapidly when Sakura Xadium Aino, fresh off a grueling exhibition match with her father, was supposedly killed by an antiproton blast courtesy of a 20 foot tall mecha. This started a chain reaction of events that led to the theft of the three Talismans and the Golden Crystal, as well as the kidnapping of an American exchange student, Serena Tsukino.

The Inner Senshi revealed that they had not come merely to fight in a tournament, but as part of a lst-ditch strategy on their part to return Minako to their ranks, as one of their own, Mizuno Ami, had been kidnapped by the traitorous King Endymion, now in reposession of the Golden Crysatal, who had finally gone insane after years of brainwashing at the hands of just about every person he had ever met.

Minako, for her part, was willing to sacrifice everything, her family included, in order to travel back to the future and aid Serenity once again. Then, to her shock, she found out that the husband she had known and loved for so long had been duplicated three weeks earlier in an unrelated incident. Quick- Divorcing the "copy who was not a copy", she elected to stay behind and find him. Meanwhile, Mizuno Ami herself appeared in the past, forcing Sakura (who had not been killed, but rather faking her own death to conceal the whereabouts of the talismans, which she, because of her bloodline, could use), to reforge then into the Holy Grail.

With the power of the grail, Ami became Eternal Sailor Mercury, and pledged to become even stronger, in order to avange herself against those who had mocked her in the past. Revealing that the American Girl Serena Tsukino was in fact an alternate timeline version of Sailor Moon who also carried the Ginzuishou, she took the girl away to parts unknown, for purposes unknown. It was a safe bet she wanted the power of the Silver Crystal for herself. And it was up to the Senshi and their friends to help stop her.

Things spiraled out of control rapidly, however, as Elios made his own way to Endymion to try and retrive the crystal, accompanied by Sailor Mars. Mars was returned injured, and Elios was hurled to the future where his fate lay unknown.

Five Minutes later, Jedite had opened a teleport portal to Endymion, and the final battle was joined by those who remained.

Everyone emerged into darkness, the engulfing, oppressive silence and musty, stale atmosphere of their destination a stark contrast to the fresh, free-flowing air of Azabu-Juuban that they had been breathing mere moments before.

They were a motley crew, this bunch. Bound together by friendship and care, they numbered ten. Ten against the power of the Future gone mad. Ten against the insanity of Mizuno Ami and her literal lust for power. Ten to Doomsday.

A cross-section of the multiverse, they stood together, back-to-back in the dark, tense but calm, ready but yet apprehensive.

Representing the Silver Millennium itself were three fighters. Elda Aster, a young girl with the power to transform into Sailor Mimas, a satellite senshi of Saturn's. Sailor Quinox, soldier of one of the outermost planets in the solar system, tough and determined in her Eternal form. Michael Dembeck, the Senshi Guardian, a warrior of old whose powers were linked to all the senshi, and who was sworn to protect them. From outside the Solar System came the massive, well-built Sailor Molybdenum Fledermaus, a Kinmokian senshi, raised by the Animamates.

Alongside these senshi, two Time Lords, former rivals, also stood shoulder-to-shoulder. Archangel, a cold, calculating, yet also kind and honorable man, godfather to Sakura Xadium Aino, was on hand to avenge the mistreatment of his godchild at the hands of Mizuno Ami. He sought the blood of the senshi, and relished the chance to spill it. Doctor Xadium, Sakura's father-- or rather the man who was to have become her father until three weeks ago-- was also present. Despite the changes to his timeline due to whatever was to occur in the future, Sakura still considered him her parent, and had lent him her sword, the holy blade Arataka, to use alongside his own weapon, the Soul Slayer Fenrir.

Back-to-back with Xadium was the Expellan magus Shaldra Darkness, whom he had come to trust deeply and completely over the course of the last few weeks, her swords and magic primed and at the ready to do battle with whatever might arise. Defending her was her husband, the ever-prepared Space Marine Solarchos, dressed from head-to-toe in mechanized Orrus combat armour.

As varied as the group was, no one typified the insane multiversal nature of the crew more so than Green Lantern Ikari Shinji, a universe-hopping interplanetary policeman who wielded one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, the power ring of the Oan Race.

Finally, there was the ex-hitman Jordan "Wolfwood" Davis, who had girded himself for battle with all manner of weapony both mundane and magical, most notably a shotgun loaded with enchanted shells, blessed by both rei.bot and Hino Rei prior to battle.

Despite everyone's varied backgrounds and martial combat philosophies, they all remained focused on one single solitary goal. Stopping whatever it was Mizuno Ami was up to, no matter the cost.

This thought remained shared and unspoken, hanging leaden over the minds of everyone present as the floor slowly shifted up and down, creaking and groaning. It may have been dark, but the sound of water rushing against a ship's hull was plainly evident to everyone. Ami had chosen a sea-going vessel, most likely a modified cruise ship, to be her mobile base of operations in the 21st century.

"Hail, the gang's all here," Senshi Guardian said after a moment somewhat jocularly, his words shattering the eerie quiet. A palpable break in the tension followed immediately, as the collective breath everyone seemed to be holding was finally released.

"Let's do this," Shaldra Darkness said authoritatively, taking one last look at her sword, Hanyua, and narrowing her eyes, using the full range of her feline senses to take in every last detail of the environment. Not that there was much to see, yet.

Leveling his weapon, Wolfwood did a quick perimeter sweep of the immediate area. "We're clear," he announced quietly.

"I would have felt better with a smaller group," Shaldra mused, her years of adventuring experience telling her that danger shared was most often danger multiplied.

Xadium heard her, but said nothing. He had allowed extra members into the party in order to replace the two senshi who were missing. Sailormars, who had been waylaid at the last moment, and Sailoruranus, who was nowhere to be seen. He just hoped everyone would make it out in one piece. If they didn't, he would never be able to live with himself.

Sailor Quinox got into a defensive pose, unsure really of what was to come. She was a skilled and oftimes brutal warrior, but she also shared a delicate nervousness that few understood. She focused and did her best to remain calm and in control for whatever lay ahead.

"Well I do account for forty percent of the group's overall mass," Sailor Molybdenum Fledermaus quipped, flexing a muscled arm and causing Sailor Quinox to giggle. As the others chuckled at her joke, Sailor Mimas, for her part, secreted and protected a small bag of magical Senzu beans, healing foods with a potent restoratative capacity. Haruka has secured them just prior to the battle, reasoning that given Ami's propensity for using heavy mechanized weapons in combat, the fighters might need all the aid they would get. There were just enough beans that everyone in the party could have two. the fact that there were so many was ironically, less of a comfort to everyone than one might think-- they were so potent that usually only one would be needed over the course of even the most extreme circumstances. Two indicated that things were expected to get very, very nasty.

Archangel took the opportunity to make his way to a corner, depositing a special present he had brought on board just for Mizuno Ami's pleasure and enjoyment-- a high grade flamethrower, whose use, he half-hoped could be directed precisely at her pretty little face.

Meanwhile, panting and sweating, back in Azabu-Juuban Haruka Ten'ou finally made it back to the house, only to find that everyone had gone. "ARRGH!" she yelled. "YOU F[BLEEP]ERS LEFT ME BEHIND AGAIN!" Aggravated to no end, she went back inside for a beer.

Xadium peered into the dark, fishing out an everlasting match from his pocket and striking it. Predictably, the flame went out 5.87 seconds later. Shaking his head, he switched to a penlight and flicked it on as Shinji performed a passive scan of the room with his power ring.

The light of the torch barely illuminated the silhouettes of four objects in the rear of what was now clearly some kind of cargo hold. Sailor Quinox deployed her spear, the weaponized form of her flute-talisman, and clutched it at the ready.

Shaldra let her hand slide down to the handle of her nodachi and kept a keen eye on the area as Wolfwood checked his weapon, and Archangel flicked on the bright light of his staser rifle, illuminating a mechancial object heading straight towards the group...

...a clanking, hulking replica of 'Robbie the Robot' from Lost in Space (rebranded with Mizunomics logo) that was flailing its arms about in some kind of panic.

Super Sailor Mimas spun around instantly to face the enemy, arms in a fighting position, even as Sailor Molybdenum Fledermaus readied her Bandai Replica Pink Moon Stick for combat.

As the others caught sight of their first foe, they were predictably impressed.

"The hell?" Wolfwood asked, jaw almost to the floor.

"Robbie?" Ikari exclaimed in surprise and disbelief.

"That thing. Looks. Pathetic." Mimas intoned, sounded much like her superior, Hotaru would have in that situation.

"Is this another of Ami's stupid creations?" Solarchos asked, sweatdropping.

"Danger! Danger!" The robot exclaimed in his deep monotone voice, flailing his arms about and moving from side to side.

"This is pathetic," Xadium muttered.

"This is INSULTING," Shaldra replied, just staring at the heap of nuts and bolts as it puttered about.

Suddenly, the robot fired a blast of energy at Solarchos. "Danger Danger!" It reiterated.

Solarchos twitched a bit as the beam was absorbed by the "Rosarius" conversion field of his armor, reducing the impact in a flash of light, doing little real damage.

"So who's going to take this thing on?" Senshi Guardian asked, not overly worried.

"We could roll a d10 and see what comes up," Shaldra suggested, also paying the tinkertoy little mind.

"Rock paper Scissors?" Mima offered.

"Let's just figure this out and move on, m'kay?" Wolfwood hissed, eager to get back to the fight, even if it was with 1950's robot-boy. He knew there would be worse yet to come. He could feel it.

"Well," Xadium said pensively, putting his fingers to his temple as he considered the very serious matter of who would kill Robbie the robot, "We can just collectively hit the thing until it dies?"

"I go with X!" Shaldra exclaimed, chuckling.

"I like the shoot it 'till it dies option, meself," Wolfwood concurred.

"ARRGH!" Robbie exclaimed, flailing its springy little arms around, annoyed at being ignored so completely. It vented its robotic frustrations by firing laser beams at Wolfwood, which shot him in the side.

"F[BLEEP]er!" Wolfwood exclaimed in surprise, wheeling around and unloading his shotgun into the thing, blowing off one of the rotating antennae on the side of its head.

"Okay people stop gabbing and ATTACK, we're under fire here!" Shaldra exclaimed.

Xadium responded to the call by slashing at the arms of the creature, the golden blade of Fenrir neatly slicing off one arm.

Solarchos fired off some rounds from his Gauss Assault rifle, blasting open the neck area of the machine, sending sparks flying everywhere. Archangel joined in, firing some staser bolts into the center of its chest, and Quinox unleashed a shockwave of supercompressed air at its front, warping and twisting the chassis.

"Error! Error!" Robbie exclaimed, spinning around on fire, flailing its one good arm and blinking its leds frantically.

Shaldra smirked and stayed back, husbanding her energy, seeing as the situation was well under control. Super Sailor Mimas and Ikari Shinji followed suit, assuming that there would be a much more powerful enemy soon enough.

Buzzing and smoking, Robbie turned and fired a grenade at Solarchos, the detonation sending the Space marine off of his feet and down to the ground, stunned. As Archangel took a shot the robot's head, Senshi Guardian summoned a tendril of mars energy and lashed it in the back, exposing its infrastructure.

Ignoring the assaults, the robot continued to attack Solarchos, firing lasers into his Orrus suit.

"HA AH HA!" The robot cackled as it flailed at him with its one good arm.

"Damn tin toy," Quinox hissed.

Archangel took careful aim and shot out the back of the robot's knees, causing it to fall over on top of Solarchos, who stood, lifting it above his head, the powered Orrus armour multiplying his strength by a factor of three. Growling, he proceeded to rip the robot in half unceremoniously, casting its remains to the ground, where they promptly exploded.

"Woo!" Sailor Molybdenum Fledermaus exclaimed from a strategically safe distance as the robot went up in flames.

"Hmph," Shaldra muttered, unimpressed at the quality of the enemy.

"SUCK.ON.THAT," Wolfwood exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

"Robbie just became someone's robo-b[BLEEP]ch," Shinji quipped.

"Next," Archangel said with a dark smile, readying his weapons.

It was not long before the Time Lord got his wish.

Two golden eyes pierced the darkness, a shiny golden metallic figure emerging from the shadoes.

"Oh, my my my my," the lanky metallic protocol droid exclaimed in a high-pitched British accent.

Ikari Shinji just stood there in silent shock, jaw agape as he realized just what was heading towards the group.

"Oh god..." Wolfwood groaned as the tall, slim, golden humanoid staggered towards them, nads on his hips.

Archangel, for his part, did not take the machine at face value, shouldering his rifle and extending the blade secreted in his silver cane.

"3P0..." Shinji simply whispered in shock.

"Surely..." Shaldra began slowly, not quite beliving the sight before her, "...You jest."

The Droid carefully looked over everyone, threw up its hands and ejaculated "Univited visitors. How Rude!". It waved its hands about in indignance. Shaking its head it pointed a finger at Xadium and impaled him with a proton beam.

As Xadium went crashing into one of the walls with a thud, the mood quickly turned serious. Clearly the effiminate droid was nothing to take lightly, no matter how much it strutted and fretted.

"...OHSHI--" Shinji began, watching his friend slam into the wall.

"F[BLEEP]k my hat!" Fledermaus exclaimed.

"Tsk, Tsk! How messy!" 3P0 exclaimed, fretting as he looked over the body.

Sailor Molybdenum Fledermaus leapt into action, unfurling her plastic moon stick and launching a Pink Sugar Heart attack at the droid in retaliation as Shaldra raced over to check on Xadium.

Slammed back by the barrage of pink energy hearts, C3P0 fell on his posterior, holding his head in his hands. His head spun around as Wolfwood rifle-whipped it.

"Oh dear!" it cried out as its head was twisted. Fledermaus followed up by beating his head with the stick.

"Ow! Ow! MY WORD....!" It gasped.

"Damn, Moly made 3PO her b[BLEEP]ch!" Shinji exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

"No s[BLEEP]t!" Solarchos concurred.

"X-chan...!" Shaldra exclaimed as she stood over Xadium, who was still lying on the round, dazed. She looked down at him worriedly.

"Unh..." Xadium moaned as he looked up at her blurred form, eyes regaining focus. "I'm all right, thank you."

Shaldra turned away from him and withdrew her dual blades, Mefuya and Hanuyam standing in front of the Time Lord to guard him, assuming the Shinmei Ryu guard style.

Gratefully, Xadium smiled to her even as he focused on recovery. Sensing his smile, Sahldra looked back over her shoulder and returned it.

"THAT SMARTS!" 3P0 wailed as it fired a golden shower of energy at Fledermaus, who was slammed back and partially blinded, stumbling around.

As Archangel prepared his rifle, Solarchos checked the perimeter to make sure everything was all right.

Rising, C3P0 firmly inserted his foot into Fledermaus' side, pounding it again and again.

"Ow! Oh, for f[BLEEP]k's sake!" Fleermaus groaned, wincing in pain.

Xadium tried his best to stand but staggered to the side as the ship shook, the impact of Wolfwood lobbing a grenade at the golden man rocking the area.

C3P0's chest exploded in a burst of golden light, and the droid fell to the ground. Fledermaus, keen for revenge, hurled herself at the twtiching droid and landed on him, hoping her superior bulk would supercompress the tin man.

"OH, OH!" C3P0 exclaimed. "You people are SO Uncouth!"

Suddenly, its strength belieing its willowy appearance, the droid lifted up Fledermaus bodily, to the shock of all present. Seeing their surprise, he twittered "I have superior Mizunomics construction!"

Running in, Wolfwood punched the droid, causing it to drop Fledermaus. It retaliated by headbutting him, and sending him reeling back into the corner.

As the chaos contined, Solarshos joined Shaldra in checking on Xadium, who was barely on his feet.

"'I'm all right, thank you both," the Time Lord said, managing a smile and rubbing the side of his head.

" Hey, I'm here to protect you if the need arises, X-chan," Shaldra said with a smile. "Don't worry."

Xadium nodded, focus returning, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But I never want to put you in that spot."

He turned his attention to the battle and drew his sword, Fenrir.

Meanwhile, Fledermaus had managed to rig an electrical cable from the wall to C3P0's groinal socket, switching on the power.

"OW THAT IS SO.... STIMULATING...!" C3P0 cried out, shuddering and twitching. Fliddling with the hose for a moment, the droid finally pulled it free, causing an explosion of sparks from its waist.

Hobbling over to Fledermaus, it decided to change tactics and insulted her sternly.

"Well, I never!" Fledermaus exclaimed indignantly, the words cutting her to the quick. "So... hurtful! You... b[BLEEP]ch!"

As Fledermaus and the droid argued, Wolfwood took the chance to sneak up close to it and bury his hand-axe in its skull.

"OW OW OW!" It screeched, whirling to face hiim, jabbing a forefinger in his face. "You'll be hearing from MY lawyers!" It kicked Wolfwood hard in the knee, cusing him to hop back in pain.

Solarchos looked on in shock. The pathetic looking machine was actually holding its own against a sustained assault.

Mirroring her husband's surprise, Shaldra pondered something.

"I won't stand for this!!" C3P0 barked, blocking an attempt by Fledermaus to damage it further.

Pulling out the two pactio cards that represented the physical manifestation of her magical link with both Solarchos and Xadium, Shaldra raised them and incanted, "Sis mea pars, Magus Shaldra, Minister Solarchos, Xadium!"

Xadium shuddered as the magical link was opened full bore, and Shaldra's power surged into him. Solarchos, having the superior link, was even more profoundly affected. Both men exhorted Shaldra to be careful.

"Die, mothafooka!!" Wolfwood exclaimed, firing round after round into the droid chest even as it proceeded to lecture Fledermaus on diet tips.

"Diet?!" Fledermaus laughed. "As if I'd want to lose THESE curves!"

C3P0 waggled its head a little and turned to the others, taking a moment to punch out Wolfwood, then laughing. "HA HA HA You are all such pansies oh yes indeed!" it chortled as Wolf hit the ground.

Sailor Molybdenum Fledermaus fired off another Pink Sugar Heart attack to the droid's face, which the mechanical man easily deflected with its forearm.

"It learns..." Archangel noted with worry as Fledermaus looked on in shock.

"HOLY s[BLEEP]t! C-3PO's DODGING attacks?!" Solarchos exclaimed. "OMGWTF?!"

"It's a Mizunomics C-3PO, of COURSE it's more skilled," Shaldra noted tiredly.

"Protocal Droids gone horribly wrong!" Quinox quipped. "Next on FOX!"

C3P0, for his part, danced a merry little robotic jig and gave everyone the finger.

Growling, Wolfwood leapt up and charged the robot, punching it hard in the head, knocking it clean off.

The droid shuddered, its chest exploding in a final outpouring of golden sparks which showered into the air. It then keeled over and fell to the side.

"Oh, Artoo," it exhaled for a moment before finally dying, "Is that you?" It fell inert.

"Nice One, Wolfie," Fledermaus said by way of congratulations as the ex-hitman cradled his hand.

"Damn, I think I broke my finger," Wolf muttered. Shaldra shook her head, chuckled and walked over to him, healing the finger with a spell. "Pansy," she joked.

Surreptitiously, Shinji looked around the room and grabbed the droid parts, leaving one long golden unit behind for Fledermaus.

There was a slight sound as one of the two remaining objects receded further into the bowels of the ship.

At the same time, a new light appeared. At first, all that could be seen was a blue glow, a small circle of light that changed shape like a camera lens focusing and refocusing.

Sailor Quinox and Doctor Xadium both frowned as they saw the light, memories and notions whirring in their minds. It seemed an eerily, dangerously, familiar sight.

Adjusting his night vision, Senshi Guardian tried to get a better look at the next machine. "Now who..."

Sliding closer, the light turned out to be the internal illumination of an eyestalk... attached to the smooth metallic shell of one of the universe's greatest killers... a Dalek.

"DALEK!!!" Guardian cried out as the others shuddered, hearing the dreaded name.

"Fratz!" Archangel cursed in Gallifreyan as Quinox spun her spear around, getting ready.

Shaldra kept her guard position in front of Xadium, recalling the animosity between the Time Lords and Daleks.

"EXTERMINATE!" the Dalek cried out, firing an intense blast of energy at Solarchos, determining that his armoured form was the most dangerous and therefore the most in need of destruction.

"Solar-kun!" Shaldra cried out, watching her husband fly back from the impact, just managing to get off some shots with his Gyroslug launcher, sending forth a hail of armor-piercing rockets at the Dalek. He lay stunned for a moment, his shield knocked out, the ceramite plating of his armor scorched.

"GREEARGH!" The Dalek yelled as some of the sensor domes on its side were shorn off by the rockets, its shell dented by the impact. It slid back as Archangel fired some bullets at its eyestalk.

"I'm still here, you inferior Xenos thing!" Solar yelled in anger.

Sailor Quinox, for her part, leapt up into the air and divebombed the Dalek with air attacks.

"EXTERMINATE!" the Dalek yelled, firing at Archagel. "EXTERMINATE!" It fired at Quinox.

Archangel fell to one knee as a blast glanced him, tearing into the side of his leg.

The Dalek slid sideways to avoid the air blasts and took another shot at Quinox, who screamed out and fell to one side, hitting the ground hard.

Solarchos grunted and sat up, firing another salvo of Gyroslugs at the creature, which pressed through the hail, taking damage to its bonded polycarbide armour as it moved.

"EXTERMINATE!" It cried out, firing at Archangel again. the Time Lord stood his ground at fired at the creature's gunstick.

Getting to his feet, Solarchos withdrew his Emel blade and ran to the Dalek.

Archangel spun slightly, the force of the impact from the Dalek's beam knocking him in the side, his suit charred and burnt.

Sailor Quinox leapt up and buried her spear in the head of the creature, smashing through the armor plate.

Sensing the critical levels of damage it was taking, the Dalek immediately slid sideways, making for a power outlet embdedded in the side of the wall.

Seeing its movements, Shaldra's eyes went wide. She guessed what it was up to. "KEEP IT AWAY FROM THE POWER!" she yelled out.

The Dalek, however, was faster than anticipated, attacking a probe to the power system.

"DIE, YOU BASTARD!" Sailor Quinox yelled, slashing at the wall. Solarchos also slashed at the power probe, but it was not enough. Power flowed through the machine, and self-repair systems engaged, repairing the damage done to its armor and to its weapons system.

Slashing at the Dalek's eyestalk with the progressive knife embedded in his cane, Archangel hacked off the creature's sole visual input.

"GRAAAAH! VISION IMPAIRED! I CANNOT SEE!" the Dalek exclaimed, spinning around in a panic, waving its arm and gun stalks, firing random shots.

Taking no chances, Sailor Quinox weaved between the shots and delivered a high energy kick to the side of the creature, severely danaging its gunstalk.

"WEAPON DAMAGED!" the Dalek cried, its casing hissing and smoking.

Rushing forward, Solarchos jammed his emel blade into the side of the Dalek's Armour and began prizing it open. Sparks began to fly.

"NO!" the Dalek Exclaimed. "WE WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!"

"Yeah," Sailor Mimas said matter-of-factly, "You will."

Sailor Quinox blasted the Dalek with a shockwave, badly deforming its casing.

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" The Dalek yelled.

"Nothing is impossible, bitch!" Quinox replied, grabbing its gunstalk and physically shearing it from the creature as the creature screamed.

Yanking out his Emel sword from the front of the Dalek, Solarchos screamed and slashed it deep into the top of the creature's casing, driving it down as far as he could.

"ERROR! ERROR!" it screamed in agony.

"DALEK!" Solar yelled with relish. "Cleanse...purge...KILL!!"

Slamming down the blade he impaled the mutant creature inside and jumped back as the whole unit exploded.

Shaldra looked at Solarchos dimly. "Solar-kun, stop that."

"Thank god for that," Xadium exhaled, still winded from the last battle.

"Senshi 3, b[BLEEP]ches... zip" Quinox pronounced authoritatively as the lights began to rise in the cargo hold.

"Shaldra?" Solarchos asked confusedly, ignoring the Dalek shrapnel bouncing off his armor. . "Stop what?"

"'Cleanse... Purge... KILL,' that," Shaldra replied.

"I thought we were all for the can then..." Fledermaus exhaled, sweating.

"Wasn't there one more?" Mimas asked. "I know it retreated..."

"Through that door, I think," Xadium muttered, pointing to a solid steel barrier that had dropped down shortly after the emergence of the Dalek.

Within a minute, thanks to the combined power of Mimas and some high explosives, the door was blasted open.

Hopping casually through the gaping hole, Mimas utterly failed to notice the huge lumbering mecha that rose up to block the entrance.

Bigass Mecha that looks like Gendam Deathscythe had arrived.

"Oh, fun," Shaldra muttered dimly as the huge, crudely-constructed faux facsimilie of Gundam Deathscythe cracked its neck and grinned.

"s[BLEEP]t! MECH!" Solachos exclaimed.

"Satan on a Unicorn, that's a big bugger," Sailor Molybdenum Fledermaus muttered, looking up and up and up, something she was not used do doing given her massive stature.

As everyone gawked at the cheap Hong Kong bootleg Gundam, Serena's screams of panic could be heard in the background. "HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she wailed in a bray that was something between a wail and the honking of a donkey.

"Who's up for this one?" Archangel asked.

Sweatdropping, Wolfwood took a few steps to the rear, snervously eyeballing the huge machine. "I'm gonna... hang back..." he muttered.

As Serena screeched again, Shaldra crossed her arms. "Someone take it down. Rright after, I'm getting through to Serena..."

She shuddered as she realized what she had just said. "NEVER let me say that again," she muttered, looking around nervously, and keeping her place in front of Xadium, standing guard.

"Sorry to be a bother, Shal," Xadium apologized.

"S'okay," Shaldra replied. "I've been trained for this, actually."

"Fledermaus?" Archangel asked.

"Don't ask me," Fledermaus snapped back. "I fought the gay robot man!"

"Hey!" Shinji cut in. "3P0 TOTALLY isn't gay!"

As a small argument erupted regarding the personal preferences of the golden protocol droid,

"Mike, let's handle this," Sailor Mimas exclaimed, leaping forward to attack the Gundam.

"i'm a shinigami so i cut you!" the Gundam exclaimed, swiping its beam scythe at Mimas, slashing her leg and sending her tumbling to the side, bleeding.

"Ba[BLEEP]rd!" Senshi Guardian roared as his friend fell to the side.

"ror i'm evil" the Gundam chortled.

"Oh my lord, it has Duo's personality," Shinji exclaimed, paling in horror at the thought that the machine could have absorbed the persona of the Duo Maxwell they had encountered several times before, a self proclaimed Shinigami.

Mimas lay there stunned speechless, more by the speech patterns of the Gundam than her physical injury.

"Oh GOD it *is* Duo," Shaldra muttered, shivering. "Keep it AWAY~"

The Gundam slowly turned its head, glowing green eyes locked with Shinji's. The Green Lantern braced for the inevitable assault.

"shinji what can you tell me about oa," the Gundam enquired pointlessly.

"...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Shinji screamed in incalculable agony at the attack of Inscrutably Annoying Question.

Leaping up, Super Sailor Mimas whipped her weapon around and slashed three times at the Gundam, which simply raised its arm and blocked, the clang of the blade hitting the "Gundanium" armor filling the room.

Shaldra sweatdropped. She'd had enough problems with the pilot of this particular mech in the past. She didn't need a 40 foot Hong Kong bootleg of same coming after her too! Damn that Mizuno Ami, for having probably researched everyone!

The Mecha tilted its head and looked to the FelPurr.

"shaldra what can you tell me about catnip" it asked as Shaldra froze.

Wasting no time, Senshi Guardian enclosed his first in a force shield, and using all his might, smashed his fist into its chest.

The Gundam blinked twice, sweatdropped, keeled over and promptly died, much to everyone's shock.

"GOD DAMN IT," Shaldra yelled, still a bit pale. "THAT ACTUALLY SCARED ME."

Xadium looked at Shaldra in shock, knowing how hard it was to scare the veteran warrior.

Sailor Quinox, for her part, held her ground, concerned that the defeat had been two easy.

There was a pitter-patter of footfalls as Serena ran up to everyone, tears in her eyes.

"OMG THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK---" she began, yelping suddenly as a giant fist emerged from the darkness behind her, grabbing her and pulling her away.

"I KNEW it!" Quinox yelled, slamming her fist against a wall in frustration.

"CRAP!" Solarchos exclaimed as Shaldra burst into action, racing after Serena at top speed even as the girl's screams could be heard. He quickly ran after his wife.

For a moment, a bright blinding light filled the room, then a giant metal door slammed down with a crash, barring further progress. Shaldra, with her feline instintcts, was able to stop mere inches from the door as it came down, but Solarchos, being slower and encumbered by his armour, kept going and slammed into the door, bouncing off.

Archangel prepared his rifle. From the loudspeaker system in the ship, King Endymion's voice could be heard. "Buy me the time I need."

"Now who could he be talking to, I wonder," Xadium mused.

"Do we really want to know?" Wolfwoord replied.

Suddenly, the metal door opened again, and a giant 50-foot robotic version of Tuxedo Kamen eemerged, adjusting his mask and smiling suavely. It was an almost exact replica of Tuxedo Kamen save for one detail-- the huge, oddly shaped codpiece jutting from its front.

"Robo... Kamen?" Shaldra asked as she looked up at the robot, sweatdropping. She returned to her defensive position in front of Xadium.

"Oh, HELL no," Shinji exclaimed. "Great Guardians, you damn robot, direct that codpiece somewhere else!"

"I'm blind!" Sailor Quinox wailed, trying not to look at the giant bulging codpiece of Robotic Kamen.

"I'm... hanging back for this one," Solarchos muttered.

"I'll take this one," Archangel muttered, extending the progressive knife mounted in the front end of his cane.

"It is impolite to barge in on my masters!" Robotic Kamen announced suavely.

"Tell that to someone that cares," Archangel replied coldly as Xadium gently stepped around Shaldra and made hsi way towards the robot as well.

"Ready when you are, Xadium," Archangel said confidently, never taking his eyes off the machine.

"Who will challenge Robotic Kamen-sama?" the robot boomed, swishing its robotic cape.

"The Lords of Time," Xadium said imperiously.

"X-chan," Shaldra said slowly, worry in her eyes, "...be careful."

"I will, Shal," the Time Lord replied, flashing her a bright grin.

Closing his eyes, Xadium called forth the magical energies bestowed upon him via the pactio with Shaldra. "Adeat... Ourobouros.... the blade that slices time."

Wita a shimmer, a large silver ring with a sharpened outer edge appeared in his hand, its surface inscribed with the runes of the Gallifreyan I Ching. Making a sideways motion with his thumb and forefinger, Xadium fanned the ring out into 6 copies like a hand of cards. He felt the blades part again, ready to divide into their maximum number of 12 upon deployment.

Meanwhile, Fledermaus had come up with her own strategy, planning to distract the robot with an Entrace Speech.

"After you," Archangel offered his fellow Time Lord, standing aside.

Xadium wasted no time and pulled his arm back, withdrawing his golden-bladed Soul Slayer, the katana Fenrir with his other hand. Expending the vast bulk of his energy, he slashed the sword forward and released a vortex of black ki, flinging the 12 gleaming, razor sharp chakrams straight into the belly of the robot, each one ripping though the air in swift streaks of silver.

Staggering back, the Robot clutched at its heart and fell over in a sparking heap, twitching, dead.

Xadium and the the others just stood there in slackjawed shock. Shaldra just looked at the Time Lord, who shook his head, unable to fathom the one hit kill.

Still engrossed in thought, Fldermaus finally snapped her fingers and struck a pose, declaring loudly, "Even a whiny gaijin using mid-nineties valley girl slang is a maiden worthy of protection! Imprisoning her is inexcusable, and also suggests you're a glutton for punishment!"

Noting the distinct lack of appreciation for her speech from either the robot of her allies, Fledermaus finally realized the object of her address was already quite dead. She sighed.

"Okay. He died BEFORE I made my speech," she muttered.

"Nice shot," Archangel said, as Xadium turned away from the corpse to face him.

As Xadium's attention wandered to the conversation, Robotic Kamen got back up with a sinister smile.

"What the hell?!" Shaldra exclaimed, raising her blades.

"AHAHAHAH But I am cheap. Robot Kamen CHEATS," the robot chimed as it swung around to face Xadium, who was only now turning towards it, realizing too late what was happening.

"Die Xadium, die," Robotic Kamen said with a smile as it reared back, its massive codpiece swelling and exploding into a cannon as it splurted lethal energies into the air, splashing them all over the Time Lord in a completely disgusting wave of destructive farce. Xadium slammed back into a wall, the gross energies frankly sapping all his ki and his will to live. Bones cracking and shattering, he dropped to the ground, starting a healing trance, losing conciousness.

"X-CHAN!" Shaldra yelled, racing to his side.

"F[BLEEP]kIN' 'ELL!" Fledermaus yelled, the raw power of the bot taking her by surprise, as it had everyone. "Remember me.... to Gallifrey...." Xadium croaked, about to pass out. Fumbling in her pockets, Shaldra took out one of her two Senzu beans and quickly fed it to Xadium as Solarchos covered them both. "SOMEONE TAKE OVER FOR X-CHAN!" she yelled.

Archangel leapt in, slashing with his progressive knife, damaging Robotic Kamen's left. Sailor Mimas let loose a huge blast of energy from her Buster Sword Bazooka, and Sailor Q slashed at the machine with her spear.

Xadium slowly came to and offered Shaldra one of his Senzu beans in exchange for the one she had given him. "Thanks Shal," he said a bit weakly. Shaldra took it and growled angrily, slowly turning around.

Robotic Kamen itself had taken far too much damage, and keeled over, the Salsa Meringue beat of Tuxedo Kamen's Latin style playing in the background as it died.

"Blasted Robots," Archangel hissed.

Standing, Shaldra continued to growl, the belts and chains on her body snapping to bits as her previously bound energies were brought to the fore.

"Who's NEXT," she asked angrily. She did not have to wait long for her answer.

"How nice!" A light, detached, slightly arrogant voice said from the darkness.

"Careful... Shal..." Xadium rasped, worried greatly for his friend.

Clapping, Eternal Sailor Mercury stepped onto the battlefield.

"Finally," Ikari muttered, cracking his knuckles. He still owed her for their last encounter, when she had powered up and pounded him rather badly.

"Mizuno Ami", Sailor Mimas muttered darkly.

"And the b[BLEEP]ch presents herself", Wolfwood scowled.

"You......" Senshi Guardian muttered, feeling betrayed.

"Ami," Fledermaus asked with tears in her eyes, "Ami? How could you?"

"Ami..." Shaldra said darkly, palpable anger dripping from her every word, "You are MINE."

Archangel smiled, popping out his Prog. Knife, eyes gleaming with bloodlust. "Hello again, Ami."

"Cowardly b[BLEEP]ch," Shinji exhaled, cracking his neck.

"This one's mine, along with Shaldra if she dosen't mind," Mimas said, smirking dangerously.

Shaldra nodded to her, a look of determination on her face. "Shall we?" she asked, readying her blades.

"Hai!" Mimas exclaimed, unfastening her buster sword, ready to attack.

"I got dibs too," Shinji announced, a dark smile, getting into a defensive position. "I want my rematch with this b[BLEEP]ch."

"Good luck you three," Archangel said, modding to them. "I'll be here to fill in if needed."

"Elda-chan," Senshi Guardian called out, looking over to Sailor Mimas with worry, "...be careful."

Mimas flashed him a winning grin.

"I want in too," Wolfwood grinned, cocking his pistols.

"WOLF, STAY OUT OF THIS!" Shaldra yelled, angrily, cracking her knuckles. She wanted to extract the full measure of vengeance from the blasted senshi for everything that had been done to her friends.

Sweatdropping, all enthusiasm drained from the hitman's face. He had no desire to get shredded by the irate Expellian.

"...fine," he muttered, hanging back to observe even as Sailor Quinox powered up in the corner.

Out of nowhere, in the corner atop a convenient perch, the mad Khadi Yaijinden, immortal mischief maker and sinister menace suddenly appeared, eager to watch the proceedings and perhaps comment on them sarcastically should the mood strike. It wasn't often he got to see Senshi-on-Senshi violence and damn if he wasn't going to savour every last delicious bloodthirsty drop of it.

For her part, Eternal Sailor Mercury just stood there impassively, mentally calculating the relative strengths and weaknesses of her myriad opponents.

"Enough fooling with toys," she said in her oh-so-cute-in-japan deferential little schoolgirl voice that was yet laced with the stink of raw, naked ambition. Her mechs had been destroyed, but now it was her time to fight.

"Yes, Ami-chan," said another voice from the darkness, this one male and suave.

Slowly, King Endymion himself emerged from the shadows, wearing his stylish purple suit and slapping his hands majestically. "Now that you have the three talismans, and I have the Golden Crystal as well as this--"

He held up the Silver Crystal ripped from Serena's body.

"...WE ARE INVINCIBLE!" He yelled, laughing maniacally. GOD it felt good to be kicking ass instead of having one's ass be kicked.

"Endymion too?" Archangel asked, raising his eyebrow and slowly smiling a sinister smile. "How delicious."

Ami eyetwitched as she listened to the lavender fop of a monarch she so ostensibly served. "You foolish man..." she began.

Spinning, she quickly grabbed the Silver Crystal right out of his hands, before the King could even react.

Endymion stared at her blankly, uncomprehending. You'd think he'd be used to the notion of getting screwed over by now, but every time seemed new and unique to him.

Eternal Sailor Mercury laughed. "Did you think I helped YOU so YOU, the haiku spouting IGNORAMUS could be MY SUPERIOR?!"

"Ignoramus..." Endymion began, about to point out that Ami usually raided his library for books. But he was stopped short when he saw Ami open her mouth wide and lick the Silver Crystal, slowly and seductively running her tongue over it for a moment before swallowing it whole with a big grin.

"Someone's got issues," Shinji remarked flatly.

Mercury's face then turned bright red as the power surged through her. She shuddered, expression ecstatic.

Endymion sweatdropped.

"Oh s[BLEEP]t..." Quinox exhaled as she realized what was happening.

"And the true nature of uncontrolled ambition shows itself," Solarchos intoned.

"Omega's Hand..." Archangel cursed. Xadium joined him in that sentiment silently. Shaldra and Mimas looked on silently, in shock. "B[BLEEP]ch, please." Shinji muttered, rolling his eyes at Ami. "Swallow all the s[BLEEP]t you want. Hell, even swallow a load from me. Just know that your ass is going to get f[BLEEP]ked up." He cracked his knuckles.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHA" Ami laughed, the power coursing through her.

But there was no physical change.

Ami sweatdropped. "This... could take a moment," she muttered. To fill time she began to scream and pose, shaking the ground with her ki and spouting random phrases such as "All of you will die" and "I am the strongest", etc.

The others just looked at her dimly for a moment, and then turned away to converse amongst themselves. Shaldra began juggling some Kunai as Xadium watched appreciatively. Solarchos checked his weapons, and Mimas chatted amiably with Senshi Guardian while Endymion loitered, not sure what to do with himself.

Thirty minutes later, Ami let out some kind of ecstatic shriek, and her fuku shifted and shimmered, becoming an iridescent blue outfit with far too many shoujo-esque embellishments to be described here. She had become Ultimate Sailor Mercury.

"FINALLY," Shaldra exclaimed, exasperated, quickly catching and pocketing her Kunai. "FINALLY," Xadium said at about the same time. "Worse than FRIEZA she is."

Endymion, suddely realizing something had happened he should be made aware of, turned around to see the iridsecent blue sheen of Ami's Ultimate fuku. "What is this?!" He blinked. "This wasn't part of the deal!"

"Who's taking Ami?" Archangel asked, voice dripping with bloodlust.

"I am," Shinji said confidently.

"Me," Shaldra announced darkly.

"Not me!" Yaijinden chortled. "you b[BLEEP]ches got this one covered!" He leaned back and relaxed.

"Endymion!" Solarchos yelled mockingly. "You are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO stupid...not to mention screwed."

Endymion whipped around, purple cape swishing in the wind, hands on his hips, strutting over to the Space Marine. "I AM NOT STUPID! I AM THE KING!" he yelled, jabbing his gloved finger in Solarchos' face indignantly.

"YOU ARE THE KING WITH THE IQ OF A ROCK!" Shaldra yelled.

"You certainly seem stupid to me," Shinji noted.

"What!?" Endymion yelled, casting spittle in Shinji's face. "I'm the man! Without me Sailor Moon could NEVER have won all her battles!"

"Oh noogie please," Shinji replied, right back in Endymion's face. "You threw f[BLEEP]king roses. Shut the f[BLEEP]k up,

"THE ROSES WERE STEEL TIPPED!" Endymion bawled, turning to Mercury. "GET THEM MERCURY! GET THEM!"

"Blood for the blood god!" Yaijinden screeched. "Murder kill obliviate!"

Mercury raised her hand and pointed at the king. The next moment, Endymion's eyes went wide like saucers. A blast of energy tore through his body and punched him through the ship's hull, casting him into the sea.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" he cried out, vanishing beneath the waves and being left behind by the rapidly moving cruise ship.

"Fool," Mercury muttered

"My liege?!" Yaijinden suddenly exclaimed in a panic, leaping from his secured perch, flinging himself out of the hole in the side of the cruise ship and diving into the ocean with a tremendous splash. He swam frantically towards Endymion's last known location until he ran afoul of a Portugese Man'O'War and started doing battle with it instead

"Now for you all," Mercury muttered, turning to the assembled combatants.

"Gee, nice way of showing what a traitorious b[BLEEP]ch you are, Ami," Shinji remarked dryly, not particulary concerned with the fate of Endymion.

"Uh... oh." Fledermaus muttered, a touch concerned at the ease with which the future monarch was dispatched.

"Hell," Archangel muttered as Wolfwood just stood there and stared, jaw agape.

"Time to die," Mercury pronounced, a bright blue ki aura exploding around her, the very ship beginning to shake under the pressure of her power.

"Ok," Senshi Guardian growled. "B[BLEEP]ch is going down, and not in the sexay way."

Shinji shrugged. "You know, I'd totally be into her going down on me in a sexual way... if... you know... she wasn't trying to kill me right now."

The others just stared at Shinji for a bit, slackjawed, giving Mercury the first opening to attack.

Spinning, Mercury opened up with a massive Shine Aqua Illusion on Sailor Mimas, who quickly raised her arms in front of her and managed to repel the power with the application of her own ki. Still the brunt of the attack sent her skidding back.

"I'll start this off!" Shaldra exclaimed, quickly flinging the kunai she was carrying at Sailor Mercury, the weapon slicing through the air and embedding itself in Mercury's raised forearm.

Sucking in her breath, Mercury swept her arm to the left, flinging out the blade, a minor splurt of blood from a wound that was quickly cauterised by the heat of her ki all that signified the hit.

With her arm still swung out, Mercury slammed out a torrential blizzard at the Expellian, sending a Shabon Spray Freezing at her, the blast so cold it froze the air en route to its target.

Shaldra mustered her own energies and braced, taking the hit and being forced back several feet.

"Shal!" Xadium cried out in worry.

"Feh," Shinji muttered, using his power rung to fashion a giant sword construct, with which he swung at Mercury.

Mercury quickly flitted to the side, dodging with a speed so great the move resembled a teleport.

"Motherf[BLEEP]ker!" Shinji cursed.

"Slow, Lantern, Slow," Mercury pronounced darkly.

Shinji replied by generated a huge green middle finger via his ring. "I like it slow, baby."

"You moved RIGHT into my hands, girl." Leaping forward again, Shaldra whipped out her two long blades and slashed at Mercury with blinding speed, swiping both blades in gleaming arcs. Mercury raised her left arm to block, but too late, the metal tearing into her glove and flesh.

Watching Shaldra fight, and having no energy to join in, Xadium pulled out a parchment he had... borrowed.... from rei.bot-sensei on healing arts, and prepared to send Shaldra some energy, not quite realizing how low he was on mana.

Mercury simply elected to ignore the Expellian for the moment, swiveling and launching an Aqua rhapsody at the impertinent Green Lantern.

Contemptuously, Ikari threw up a green force shield around himself, displacing the attack. "Nice try, b[BLEEP]ch," he muttered. "You still have the same s[BLEEP]tty luck from last night." He growled as he remembered how Ami had simply run off after leaving him lying in the rubble.

Shaldra, for her part, stayed in range and struck Mercury with her blades, as Sailor Mimas leapt in from the other side and kicked Mercury in the face.

Hit from both directions simultaneously, Mercury nonetheless took the hits and stood, implacable.

"You meet the blades of the Shinmei Ryu school, Mercury. Have fun," Shaldra intoned, her words laden with anger.

Ikari quickly followed up, forming and firing a huge green cannon at Mercury's abdomen. The force of the impact was so great that it sent the senshi crashing into the ground, momentarily stunned.

"C...Curse you lantern," Mercury growled, struggling to rebuild the energy to move.

Shinji grinned. "Don't f[BLEEP]k with the big green weapon."

"Keep it up!" Archangel called out. "Keep it up! You're wearing her down!"

Mercury forced herself to her feet and grabbed Shaldra by the leg, swinging her around and flinging her towards a wall.

Bring a Felpurr, the Expellian's cat-like reflexes were much faster, and she rotated in the air, rebounding off the wall.

Xadium futiley tried to send Shaldra energy through his pactio with her, but realizes he had no energy to spare, so he sat there and wished her well.

Archangel, for his part, had made his way back into the cargo hold and taken hold of the flamethrower he had brought with him, priming it as he ran back to the site of battle.

As Shaldra rebounded off the wall, she twsited around and unleashed a swirl of fire. "Chaos of a Hundred Flowers!"

Ami screamed out as the flames engulfed her, but then she braced herself and exploded her ki aura, quenching the flames.

The 31st Century

"Endymion-sama," Sailor Venus said darkly, cracking her knuckles. Fanning out from behind her, Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter appeared, as well as Elios, who was packing regular brass knuckles and itching to beat his Golden Crystal out of Endymion's body.

Endymion sweatdropped.

Now

Sailor Mimas swiveled her massive buster sword around slashed at Mercury's abdomen, but Mercury leapt up onto the blade and stood daintily, massive arcs of energy beginning to form around her.

So intent on the battle that she had not noticed why her impact had been broken, Shaldra blasted forwards, thunder crackling around her twin blades. "Raimeiken!" she cried out, blasting a thunderstorm of energy at the water senshi.

Ami blocked with the flat of her palm even as she turned her head to face a new threat.

"Would anyone like to 'tag out', as they say?," Archangel asked, hefting his flamethrower.

"Go, Archangel," Mimas assented, pulling away her Buster sword as Ami calmly levitated in the air.

Shinji created a huge green fist with his power ring, swinging it at Mercury. The senshi simply slid sideways and dodged. "Again, too slow, Lantern."

"Arghs," Ikari muttered. "And you still have small t[BLEEP]ts, missy.

Archangel grinned sadistically as he set his flamethrower to high and fired it at Mercury. The Senshi simply used the flat of her other palm to block even as she held back the tremendous force of Shaldra's Raimeiken.

The Time Lord scowled and dropped his weapon, moving aside out of the line of fire.

The 31st Century

"Mother... fu[BLEEP]er" Elios growled, taking a slow step forward. Endymion stepped back for a moment, contemplating a quick dash back through the time gate, but then Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Elios all leapt on him and simply began pummeling with their fists as he vainly tried to block.

Now

Shaldra growled and began chanting rapidly, her power building up as she casted "Thunderstorm", hurling massive bolts of energy at Ami, who fell back slightly under the withering assault.

Growling, Ami broke up the attack by firing a double shabon spray freezing at Ikari, momentarily freezing him into an ice crystal which was hurled at Shaldra, knocking her aside. Within seconds the ice crystal cracked and exploded in streams of green light as Shinji blasted out, the display distracting Mercury for a moment.

Archangel took the momentary distraction and slashed across Mercury's face with his progressive knife.

Screaming, Ami stagged back, clutching her face. Shaldra took the opening and slashed both blades right at the already-wounded portion of Ami's forearm, cutting right to the bone.

Mercury reflexively threw Shaldra back, her enhanced healing factor already repairing the damage.

Watching Shaldra fly back and land safely, Xadium turned his eye to Ami. The difference between her power and that of the others was still simply too great. She could stand there all day taking hits, and eventually outlast the others simply due to her massive storehouse of energy. There was only way to even the odds.

The Time Lord was out of magical energy. He was out of real strength. But perhaps a dash of applied physics...

Taking out some bubblegum he popped it in his mouth and chewed it, focusing on the chewing to screw up his courage.

Slowly, he withdraw his own soul slayer, Fenrir, and Sakura's blade, the Arataka, swiveling them around in his hands.

Xadium smiled a bit as he felt the wamth of Arataka in his hands. He knew that because of the split in time he was no longer the Xadium who would give rise to Sakura, but the girl had elected to accept him as her father anyway. Perhaps it was the wider perspective on the myriad dimensions of time that the Time Lords had as a race, but still, the emotion warmed him. Sakura-- and his TARDIS-- were his only links to a past, to a family that was now forever gone to him, since his "primary" self was going to be the one to have the family life with Minako, and the future he had always assumed would be safely his.

Heh, he realized. It was never safe to assume anything in this business, with Senshi and Demons and who-knows-what. Time is always moving, always flowing. Despite all the obvious assurances from the future, history could still skew in any direction. As a Time Lord he should have known that.

Looking over at his friends, he knew that while he might have precious little left, he still had them. And for them, he would risk it all. He took a lingering look at Shaldra, feeling a strange sort of kinship with the Expellian. They were both two aliens trying to understand the strange nature of humanity on this planet.

Grasping the blades tightly, Xadium decided that even if he had no family to go back to, he would do whatever it took to make sure that she got home to her family in one piece.

"Ikari, Shaldra!" Xadium called out, cracking his neck. "Can you hold Ami down for a moment?! I've an idea!"

"Gimme a sec!" Shinji replied, forming a giant glove and trying to press Mercury down. She barely batted it aside, giving Shaldra the chance to hit Ami with a binding spell, pinning her.

"Hurry up, will ya!" Shaldra yelled, as Mercury had already started to crack the binds with her power.

Xadium did not waste time. Taking the last piece of his family, Sakura's blade, and swiveling it around hilt first, as well as Fenrir, he created what effectively was a solid battering ram. Charging forward heedlessly, he barreled towards Mercury, and smashed the hilts into her stomach as hard as he could.

Mercury's eyes went wide and she coughed, hurling up some vomit.

"Nice shot, Xadium," Archangel complimented. "Very nice."

"GO, X-CHAN!" Shaldra cheered as Xadium quickly rolled out of the way, knowing he could not weather even a minor retaliatory strike. "Thank you, Sakura," he whispered to Arataka.

Mercury continued to spasm, the carefully-place shock to her stomach causing her to spit up more and more bile... until finally the Silver Crystal itself shot out.

"N---No!" Mercury cried out, dropping to Eternal form.

"Uhh," Fledermaus asked weakly. "Someone want to pick that up?"

Archangel grabbed the Silver Crystal and tossed it to Xadium, the show acing wide a bit. Solarchos caught it.

Shinji simply smiled at ami, eyes glowing green for a moment as he cracked his knuckles.

Shaldra lashed out, quick drawing her blades and whipping them at Mercury, who somehow managed to roll out of the way, snapping her bonds and putting a bit of distance between herself and the fighters.

In the future, a full scale-brawl had erupted by the time gate as Endymion found himself using the golden crystal to hold back the combined planet attacks of Venus, Mars and Jupiter, as well as Elios kicking him in the nether regions.

In the present, the battle raged on as well. "Die, Damn you, DIE!" Mercury screamed, firing Shabon Spray Freezing at Shaldra. the attack froze the Felpurr's arm for a moment and sent her skidding back, but the fighter continued to relentlessly advance, biting back the pain.

Charging the progrssive blade in his sword, Archangel slashed at Mercury twice, sending her spinning around twice and slamming into the ground, momentarily stunned.

"Good," Archangel muttered to his satisfaction, smirking.

"Everyone stand back," Shaldra said darkly, looking back to Xadium who was propped in a corner for a split second. "She's *mine* now."

Archangel ignored her and slammed his cane in Mercury's side hard, causing the senshi to wince in pain.

"ARCHANGEL, SHE'S MINE!" Shaldra roared.

"OURS," Archangel shot back, utterly unafraid of the angry Expellian. He hadn't come this far to be robbed of his retribution now!

"I second that, AA", Shinji replied, power leaking from his ring as he prepared to strike, and strike back hard.

"Mine, unnerstand, Time Lord?!" Shaldra said very darkly. For her friends, for Solarchos, Sakura, for X-chan, she WOULD end this.

Archangel looked at her, perhaps sympatheitcally, but also unyeildingly. "Shaldra, I made a vow she would pay, and I *WILL* honour it."

Ikari nodded. "Look, I wouldn't deny anyone anything but I owe that b[BLEEP]ch a few more licks."

Shaldra took a deep breath, realizing there were others here just as angry and hurt as she was, with pain that could not be denied. "Tch, fine."

Shinki grinned. "Time to take out the trash~"

Shaldra leapt forward quickly. If she couldn't take down the Senshi alone, at least she could get in as many hits as possible. "Total Annihilation Cutting Evil Sword!" she cried out, slashing hard and fast, the blades tearing into Mercury.

As Ami hit the ground, at the same parallel moment in the future, Endymion landed a hard strike on Sailor Mars' abdoment, sending her flying into the Time Gate and back to the past, where she landed on the front lawn of Ten'Aino house, battered and unconcious. Elios leapt in and began choking Endymion with his bare hands, and Endymion got his own arms up and began choking the high priest of Elysion. Venus took her shot and charged Endymion from behind, hoping to break his grip on Elios, but the king swung Elios around and battered Venus with him, sending her careening into the Time gate as well, landing unceremoniously next to Mars, who had dropped her transformation.

At the same moment Venus hit the ground, back on the cruise ship, Eternal Sailor Mercury fired off a Shine Aqua Rhapsody at Archangel, sending him crashing through some crates. Angrily, the senshi rose to her feet and cracked her knuckles. She was going to make that bas[BLEEP]d pay for cutting her face.

As soon as she stood, Shaldra was right there, slashing at her legs with her blades. Mercury, in her anger, simply grabbed the blades with her hand, stopping them, her blood trickling down the steel.

"Impressive," Shaldra was forced to admit.

In the background, Sailor Molybdenum Fledermaus grasped her plastic Bandai Pink Moon Stick nervously as Archangel got back to his feet, stalking forward.

Twsiting the sword-blades in her hands sideways, Ami snapped one of Shaldra's arms, causing both herself and Xadium and Solarchos to wince as the pain was communicated to all of them.

"Shaldra!" Solarchos cried out.

"Grrr," Shaldra growled. "I'm NOT DONE YET."

Xadium gritted his teeth and pushed himself past his limit, sending Shaldra energy across the pactio, and using his Gallifreyan mental focus to help her blot out the pain of the injury. It was all he could do for her.

Archangel dashed forward and slashed at Ami's ribs before opunching her hard in them. Ami staggered sideways, feeling her ribs crack under the assault as her side bled.

Shinji, for his part dispensed with the usual power ring constructs and just fired a huge blast of energy at Ami, buckling her knees and sending her slamming into a wall.

"Dodge that, b[BLEEP]ch," Shinji smirked.

Ami had no time to retort as Shaldra followed up with a marrive Thunderstorm attack, electrocuting her.

In the future, Sailor Jupiter stood alone, watching Endymion and Elios grapple for the golden Crystal, which had become dislodged. In her hands she held a small device, put together by Professor Tomoe and carefully hidden from Ami all this time. It was the Inner's trump card, and one of the reasons the decision to call Minako back to the future away from her family in the past so hard. Pressing the red button on that device would change everything, possibly forever.

In the past, Shaldra leapt forward and slashed with her claws, eager to tear out vengeance for her friends with her bare hands. Ami, however, leapt out of the way-- her trajectory unfortunately taking her into a side kick by Archangel, causing her to land inelegantly on her side.

Shinji leapt on top of the senshi and began mercilessly pummeling her with his fists, which were fortified with ring energy.

"Almost there, everyone!" Xadium yelled out. Ami was sweating, desperate and definitely on the ropes now.

"We have her!" Archangel cried out, the other Time Lord coming to the same conclusion.

"LET'S END THIS!" Shaldra yelled.

In the future, Endymion lifted Elios up by the neck, using him as a shield, his back to the Time Gate, ready to slip back into its murky depths and escape Sailor Jupiter, who was standign ready to hurl an attack at him.

Makoto growled. It was now or never. If she delayed, the king would flee. She pressed the button on the device.

Back in the past, Mercury lashed out with the last of her energies at Shaldra. "DIE, DAMN YOU!" she screamed, slamming the Felpurr high into the air. Solarchos ran to his wife's aid and caught her before she hit the ground.

Archangel rolled in, charging his progressive blade, and slashed at Ami. "1000 slash attack!" he roared, flaying her sides with the force of his attack.

Shaldra thanked her husband and stood, walking over to the twitching Ami with purpose. Kneeling, she began to chant, massing energy. For her freinds. For her husband. This would end.

Darkly, she intoned, "End of the World."

Power lashed forth in unimaginable torrents, lashing and striking Ami from all directions, overwhelming her already battered defenses and knocking her out cold.

Shaldra stood and smirked as the others finally relaxed, suddenly looking very tired.

At that parallel moment in the 31st century, as Jupiter watched, the Time Gate exploded, severing the primary link between that time zone and the present trapping her and Elios there. The energies hurling into the time vortex screamed out and tore at time, splitting the roads between past, present and future, creating two ways forward where there had once been only one. The two new timelines wove and stranded around one another like a ponytail, events in parallel running at the same time. The past was not replaced, it was added to. New variables were put into place. The Future... was once again an open book, even as it stayed completely written.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Xadium and Archangel cried out at the same time, both Time Lords instantly sensing time screaming in pain, the aftershocks from the future explosion tearing into the past, effect preceding cause. The universe was split. A parallel world where the Senshi were Americam girls formed, twisted and joined to our own, creating the Gaijin Serena who would eventually transfer to Chibiusa's school. In the mind of Jedda Rain Xadium was split in twain, his original self trapped there unknown to everyone even as he escaped with them, his destiny suddenly changing and twisting in new directions.

"What in the hell?!?" Senshi Guardian exclaimed as he watched the Time Lords.

"This... can't be..." Mercury wheezed, her powerup to Eternal fading in and out.

"...b[BLEEP]ch, you did not just say that," Shinji muttered, pointing his power ring at her. "Know when to quit."

Ami passed out, the powerup failing utterly.

"And It's DONE," Shaldra proclaimed, finally smiling for the first time that night.

"Victory for us!" Sailor Mimas cheered.

At that moment, Ami vanished, the Holy Grail remaining behind.

"DAMMIT!" Shinji yelled as Ami vanished. He tentatively reached for it.

"The future is open now," Xadium wheezed, regaining his balance and glancing to Shaldra for a moment. "We're safe. Time is in no danger of collapse from what I can feel. But the road to the future is uncertain."

Shaldra held her broken, bleeding arm, the bone ripped through her skin courtesy fo Ami. Xadium walked to her and started to help dress her wounds, then stepping away as Solarchos rushed past him and deployed his medical kit.

"We did it..." Shaldra marveled. "We actually did it."

Archangel smiled and looked at his bloodied blade. "Victory indeed."

"And I have a new fancy golden cup!" Ikari exclaimed, holding up the Holy Grail. He paused. "Wait, I have to give this back, don't I?"

"Yes, Ikari," Xadium intoned tiredly, taking one last look at Solar bandaging Shaldra's wounds before turning away.

"Aww man," Shinji muttered, almost pouting.

"Come on!" Shaldra exclaimed with the first sign of cheer she had shown all night. "We have to drink beer outta it first! Then take it back!"

Shinji grinned. "Shaldra... you are a magnificent f[BLEEP]king creature."

"I second Ikari's statement," Xadium said quietly, examining the inner hull of the ship for stress fractures.

The Holy grail flashed for a moment, its energies healing everyone in the room in an instant, and then it vanished, its energies flowing back into the three component Talismans.

"...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Shinji exclaimed in pain as his Beer-cup vanished.

"So all this means we have two paths to take or something?" Mimas asked Xadium.

"And I take it that Minako is free to stay?" Archangel asked Xadium.

Xadium nodded. "Yes... with him." He sighed, glad for his other self and the continued existence of Sakura, but the loss for himself still cut deep.

At that moment a teleport portal opened, and Jedite leaned out. "People. we have a problem." He pointed to the inside of the portal.

Inside, the front lawn of the Ten'Aino house would be seen. Hino Rei was arguing viciously with rei.bot, the two miko seeming ready to come to blows.

"We have a new houseguest," Jedite muttered.

"Eheheheheh..." Fledermaus chuckled, suddenly very glad for the recent turn of events.

"OH NO. REI." Shaldra blanched.

"Legs is here to stay?" Shinji asked with a big grin.

"No wonder rei.bot-sensei had a headache when she read the flames," Xadium muttered with a grin.

"Rei-sempai!" Fledermaus cried out happily, plans and plots already forming in her head. "I can't wait to learn all kinds of cool stuff from her!"

As people began crossing the portal, Archangel shook Shaldra's hand. "Well fought. Damn well fought."

Xadium turned to leave, but then walked over to Shaldra and patted her on the back. "Thank you," he said slowly, voice filled with gratitude. "For everything."

Shaldra smiled. "Hey, just glad to be of service." She collected her blades and sheathed them, the belts and chains that helped restrain her powers snapping on again.

[21:54] * Shaldra Darkness collects her blades and sheaths them, the belts and chains snapping on her body again.

Xadium watched her for a moment, leaning on a bulkhead. It had not been a bad day. Not a bad day at all.

"Oh and before I forget," Solarchos said, walking up to him and breakign his train of thought. "The Silver Crystal." He handed it to Xadium.

"Serena!" Xadium suddenly realized. We have to give this back to her!"

"Well now we just have to find the other Xadium, but all told a job well done," Archangel noted.

"Oh forget him," Xadium muttered. "Mina--" he checked himself. He no longer had the right to use that name. "Minako is looking for him."

The Time Lord put the crystal on Serena, and it sank back into her body.

"Very well," Arrchangel assented.

"Ooh, my head..." Serena muttered, sitting up and blinking.

"You OK, Serena?" Shaldra asked.

"WOW!" Serena cried out in glee. "Whatta trip! That was such a cool DREAM!"

"She truly has no idea what she is," Xadium muttered in disbelief.

"NOW THEN," Shaldra said with glee. "Shall we go home and celebrate? Beer and pizza's on the house!"

"Capitol idea!" Xadium exclaimed, clapping his hands and heading through the portal as the others followed.

Back at the Ten'Aino house, the others emerged just as Minako and Rei were conversing.

"So Rei-chan, you can have my old room in my half of the house."

"YOU aren't leaving ME here!" Rei shot back in a quasi-panic, looking at all the wierdos in the house inclusing those who had just stepped out of the portal.

"I'm not leaving forever, just going on vacation to find my X-chan!!" Minako grinned. Rei blanched.

"Rei-chan, you'll like it here!" Minako promised.

"You're sooo stuck here, Legs," Shinji grinned.

"This place is INSANE!" Rei yelled, glaring at Shinji.

"Don't deny the insanity, embrace it!" Shinji countered with a smile as Sailor Q gave Rei a wicked smile.

"Well then, welcome to the asylum, Rei," Senshi Guardiansaidd with a smile.

"Rei-sempai!" Fledermaus gushed. "You're my hero! Teach me stuff!"

Rei backed up in a panic from the huge overly muscled senshi.

"Heh", Solarchos noted appreciatively. "Rei DOES have some nice-looking legs on her."

Rei growled.

Starcat, another regular house visitor cosplaying as Mimete, smiled at Rei.

A Sentai team member appeared out of nowhere and offered Rei tea. Rei backed up again, overwhelmed.

Minako grinned and stepped into the shadows. She would be back soon, but for now, she left it to Rei-chan.

"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Shinji said with a grin.

"OH NO YOU DID NOT just LEAVE!" Rei yelled as she saw Minako go. "Oh god... Kami-sama..."

Sailor Q hugged Rei as Rei blanched.

"She totally dumped your ass here, Legs. Come join the party!" Shinji called out as everyone else began to celebrate their victory.

A large cosmicall powered man with bunny ears sauntered up to Rei and waved, his muscles pumping, strainign his stretched clothing. "Bonjour, rei-san," he said with a strong French-canadian accent and a broad smile.

Rei paled.

Fledermaus hugged Rei. "Yay! My sempai is soooo cool! She's going to be staying here! that's so COOL!

"People are touching me...." Rei spazzed as the camera pulled back from the house to show it in its entirety.

"PEOPLE ARE TOUCHING ME!" Rei yelled out, her frustrated scream echoing into the night.