Prologue He stares out at the icy expanse that stretches before him as far as he can see with a deep satisfaction. In his mind's eye he sees the world beyond with the pleasure of one who has done his duty. He has brought the blessing of Silence to this world and made it perfect. Though there were those who fiercely opposed the benediction all have fallen. The struggle was difficult but he never doubted their victory. For how could those who opposed the righteous hope to triumph? When he first brought his flock to this world it was a place of chaos. No more, now for the first time in its troubled history there is peace. Blessed Silence reigns, his gift to this world. He has built utopia upon this troubled world. From pole to pole there is naught but order. Perfect order, perfect sterility. His gaze turns inward and falls upon a globe that spins in the room's center. A world sheathed in white, where no blade of grass grows, where no bird sings. In the temple of the Acolytes of Silence he looks upon his works and knows that they are good. At length he chides himself for excessive pride. It was not his victory but a victory for the Silence. He is merely its servant and there is much left to do. The final battle cost them dearly and they have yet to finish replenishing themselves. Once that task is completed it will be time to depart this world and begin the next crusade. In time either they or another band of Acolytes will return here to recruit from those who have embraced the Silence. Be it a hundred, a thousand or a hundred thousand years will make no difference to the initiates. As he thinks this he wonders again if a diversion to a converted world will be in order. Losses were high, heavier than he had ever experienced before. Why this world held so many planetary guardians is a mystery, as is why so many drew power not from this planet but from this system's lifeless worlds. Never before had he encountered guardians who did not live upon the source of their power. In his considerable lifespan it is a thing unprecedented. Though losses on this crusade were abnormally high it would be adviseable to recruit additional forces. What if this situation recurs on the next world? Unlikely but before this crusade he would have said it impossible. An error he must not repeat. He nods, his decision made. He will chose the nearest suitable world and harvest the warriors he needs before seeking the next world to bring to the Silence. It is unfortunate their recent opponents are so stubborn, they would have been fine additions. But he judges it will be centuries more, perhaps millenia, before they embrace the Silence. But in time they will, everyone does. For a moment he tries to recall his life before elevation to the Acolytes but there is nothing but a blur of names and images that mean nothing to him. How long ago was that? An instant's consideration then he dismisses it. What does it matter? He is returning to his niche when he catches a flicker of ... something. He cannot define it but there was a brief sense of wrongness. His eyes are drawn to a familiar area on the slowly turning globe. Probably a momentary fluctuation of the planetary mana field, nothing to be concerned about. Probably. But it would be unwise to err though an oversight. He will dispatch a servant. He strides down the hallway inspecting the niches as he passes. He stops before one and nods. He will serve, he was not part of the final battle so he bears no wounds. By fortune or misfortune he is one of those who never engaged the foe on this world being assigned to securing areas they never attacked. Like all of his ilk he wanted to distinguish himself and prove his mettle, earning elevation in rank. This one will be suitable for this mission, his eagerness will compliment his vigilance. It takes a moment to awaken the slumbering warrior. Who bows and accepts his instructions solemnly. He strides from the temple pausing only long enough to forge a brace of warriors from the ice. Then rises into the air followed by his creations and rushes through the sky toward his destination. A land far from here called Nippon by its natives, Japan by outsiders. Toward the place both knew as Tokyo. end of prologue Some say the world will end in fire Some say in ice From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favour fire But if it had to perish twice I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice -Robert Frost, "Fire and Ice" Dark Kingdom Renegades : Fire and Ice by Mark Latus [*As sequence is Ice then transforming "Fire" reverse title?*] The five travellers gazed on the scene before them with a mix of shock, disbelief and wariness. Calcite was the first to break the silence. "Well we had to expect there would be some changes in our absence." Azurite nodded wisely. "True. After all it's been ten years." "Beta changed a lot while we were there, why shouldn't this world?" "Absolutely. Foolish to expect otherwise. Why should things look the way they did when we left." "Good point." "Yah." Titanite rolled her eyes. "If you two are through proving you're unflappable I have to say I'm major creeped out by this." She stopped fiddling with her backpacks straps and gestured at the scene before them trying not to visibly shiver. It wasn't the cold that bothered her, what did it was the implications. She'd been a teenager last time she stood in this park, ten long years ago. Since then she'd matured in both mind and body but she'd never learned to hide her feelings the way they could. Not that she'd want to but a heroine shouldn't show fear. Even if there was no audience beyond her family. An alarming thought echoed through her mind; perhaps there was no audience, period. The park had changed a lot in ten years and not for the better. While it was still free from urban development the cherry trees that had filled it were gone. A few lumps that might have been low cut stumps dotted the snow. It looked barren ... but compared to the city surrounding them it looked warm and familiar. Every time she had seen the wrecked Tokyo of Earth-Beta her thoughts had turned to the vibrant, living city they'd left behind. A memory that seemed as out of place here as it had there. In its own way it looked just as dead, perhaps more so. Oh, this city hadn't been devastated, the skyscrapers still proudly reached for the sky as monuments to the works of man. But it was just as lifeless, perhaps more so. At least on Beta there had been renewal. First the youma had arrived to build fortresses then after the liberation the resistance forces had joined the emancipated humans in retaking it for their race. Tokyo would rise anew from the rubble on that world. Here? Here though the city still stood it seemed so much more desolate. Except for the howl of the wind there was silence. According to Margrave the air bore none of the scents that marked either life or industry. From every one of those towering building came the telltale sheen of ice running their length while snow capped every tower. Every street that could be seen was filled with snowdrifts that no hand had ever touched. No lights burned, nothing moved except at the wind's urging. Yet the city still stood, there was no sign of war and after ten years she could recognise that. It was as though everyone had just left one day, abandoning the city to the elements. That couldn't be what really happened ... could it. Could the world have changed so much? Shifted so the South Pole extended to cover Japan? It couldn't be. Where would all the millions who lived here have gone? An evacuation on that scale would be disasterous, a migration greater than any since the fall. Nowhere had the resources to support that many refugees. Again she shivered and not from the cold. "Will the last person to leave Tokyo please turn out the lights." Startled, Titanite snapped back to reality. Nearby Azurite and Calcite kept watch while Pyrite assured both everything checked and he'd brought them back to their native continuum. By her side Margrave grinned. "Welcome back. Looked like you were sinking into existential gloom and I get enough of that from Calcite. No reason to let that run in the family." Having been strangely enjoying her introspective doomsaying (it had possessed a certain poetic glamour) Titanite glared at Margrave. Who showed no signs of repentance. Ti sighed and began feeling a little foolish. Okay things weren't the way she'd expected but there was no reason to just stand here moaning about. It was time to do something. She didn't know what yet but she'd never let that get in way before starting to put things right. "Okay, you're so smart what happened here and what are we supposed to do about it?" Margrave snorted. "Don't look at me, I didn't say things were fine on this side of the gate. Though you might want a few words with Mr 'The probes aren't picking up any hazards, magical or environmental but you'd better dress warmly, it's winter over there'!" Pyrite looked up from his instruments and flushed. "I stand by that statement, there are no hazards to us around here. How was I supposed to anticipate an ice age starting? Besides they're perfectly natural parts of the global ecology!" Calcite nodded. "True but it's the origins of this one that concern me. I know current theory is ... was that ice ages began swiftly but this swiftly? Not to mention whatever happened to global warming?" Pyrite shrugged. "It's not really my field but an iceage is a definite possibility. Besides what would have both the ability and power to freeze a whole city?" The same name immediately occurred to all five of them. Ti broke in with, "Let's not jump to conclusions. Mercury isn't Hermes and even she wouldn't do something like this without without a reason." Margrave nodded, "True but old Psycho Senshi taught us they can go off the rails if they get pushed far enough. Who knows what's happened to her counterpart in the interim?" Calcite sighed. "Perhaps but let's speculating in a vacuum." Ti nodded vigourously, "Absolutely! Besides this is starting to remind me of something. Remember those Icedancer things?" "Vaguely. Showed up ... twice, pre-Christmas then shortly before Hermes and Zeus hit town? Temporarily froze both you and that Trenchcoat Mask character now that I think about it." "Right! Now I recall I remember asking Mars about them while we were setting up to take on my counterpart. She told me Sailor Moon had taken out the Ice queen, Ice Princess or whatever she was." Azurite frowned. "Ti, that means she's very unlikely to be responsible. One thing you have to say for the senshi, they know enough to make sure their enemies don't come back for seconds." "Well yeah but if there was an ice princess doesn't that imply an ice people? Maybe there's more where she came from." "Maybe." Calcite [Hermes goodbye present] [What happened? Faint energy readings at Tokyo Tower. Make way there. Cal & Azure on point, Ti at rear] "Oooeee oooeee, wah wah wah." Everyone stopped and looked at Margrave who ceased singing spagetti western music. "What?" "Why the Siego Leone rendition?" She grinned at Calcite's question. "Just trying to help the mood." She nodded at him and Azurite beside him. "We've got our two tough guys striding through the deserted town ready to blast anything that moves and not giving a damn how many guys the opposition has. Very Clint Eastwoodish." Calcite just did a tough guy "hmp" while Azurite glared at her. "So what does that make me?" "Who else? The ugly Mexican bandit." Azurite's expression promised a later discussion of casting but she turned away and said simply, "Let's get going ... and forget the musical accompaniment!" Calcite nodded and the party continued on its way. Margrave kept quiet but awarded herself bonus points for a good shot. After all, needling Azurite was her hobby. It was good to know she still had what it took. Besides it kept her mind off other things. Ti wasn't the only one spooked by the frozen city though her edginess had a different reason. Destruction didn't bother her, but there was something fundamental missing. There were no scents beyond theirs, something no one else had or would notice. Odour didn't penetrated the ice and the wind brought none from anywhere else. With her heightened senses that was such a familiar part of any environment that its absence was disturbing. It was equivalent to anyone else suddenly finding themselves in a world turned black and white. The eerie sense of wrongness was all pervasive. It threatened to explode into panic if she didn't distract herself. She turned to studying their surroundings, joining the others in looking for visual clues to what had happened. One thing was obvious to all of them. The city hadn't just been frozen. Closer up [Enroute notice city damaged and run down - the torn open tank] [Hospital - Tom and Ami frozen] [The tower - remains of last stand. Welcome to the end of the world "Look on my works ye mighty and despair"] [SM frozen, still holding SC. Why wasn't it taken?] [Pyrite finds Shimizu Ryo's briefcase and clock - ten years later than expected?] [Acolyte attacks. Pyr blocks ice warriors but Acolyte is tough customer. Azurite kills him. Group nursing wounds. Retreat to shelter] [Chronicle of world's end] [Ti - we have to save world, Margrave - we have to get out of here. Majority favours M. Problem - where to run too?] [Group heads to gatepoint to guard Pyr while he takes readings. Acolytes attack and freeze Margrave] [group retreats. Shelter stealthed but how long will that last? They know we're here and are blocking our escape route! Not that we have anywhere to go] [The plan. What if SM was trying link to mana well to power SC, overcoming lifeforce limits? Hints in Ryo's account] [The last hurrah. Azurite & Pyrite to guard while Cal & Ti do the unsealing Change to Pyr & Cal running unsealing via "don't call it a 'mindmeld'" with Ti & Azure standing guard? Consider] [Rewrite final segment to detail what happens after DKR pass out. Group awakens powered up. Did we save world or just speed things up? End of old world beginning of new, Frost got it backwards] [Prepares to return to obscurity in reborn city. Fade out] ************************************************************************** And Action! .... Calcite reduced his energy flow as he felt Titanite's powerfield waver. Pyrite had been clear! An even, steady flow was more important than a surge of energy. He'd maintain it at this lower level that she could match rather let her push herself too hard. Through the ice he saw her open her mouth to protest then shut it and nod. They continued pouring power into the ice at the lower level. Impatient as she was to see results she knew Pyrite's device needed both time and energy to find the key to breaking the suspension. His sister had matured in both mind and body in the past few years. Hopefully she'd get a chance to show this world she'd grown up. But while power wasn't an immediate worry time was a commodity they lacked. The only question was if it would be sooner rather than later before the found them. He didn't worry about discovery. There was nothing more he could do prevent that. They'd shielded themselves as best they could from long range detection but any who passed nearby couldn't miss the power they were throwing around. And there was no shortage of the damned things patrolling the city, looking for them. None of which was his concern. All he had to do was draw on their unusually mana rich surroundings and let it flow through him at the highest level Ti could match and sustain. Azurite was watching their backs and this was far from the first time he'd entrusted his life to her. Hopefully it wouldn't be the last. Azure never gave less than her best but once those things started swarming ... no matter, they all knew the risks. The alternative was creeping around the city scavenging to survive until the day their luck ran out and they joined the frozen sleepers. Better to check out making one final effort to beat them. Heh, whatever happened to survival as the highest renegade virtue? "Anything?" Pyrite jumped at the question then shook his head automatically. He realized Azurite wasn't looking at him and said, "No. I still have no idea if we're making any progress. Defrosting senshi isn't an exact science." Azurite sighed faintly but didn't stop scanning the horizon. The powerfield Cal and Ti had generated was messing up Pyrite's ability to sense the at long range so it was back to good old visual recognition. Unfortunately they really blended into the background. And those things could move when they spotted prey. By the time you saw one it might be almost on top of you. Speak of the devil! An came cruising down the frozen boulevard hovering about two metres off the ground. It was moving slowly, eyes fixed straight ahead so it hadn't detected them yet. An easy target. Unfortunately experience had shown that every time you destroyed one of the damned things ... Its' head flicked in their direction and almost simultaneously it began to surge forward. An instant later it shattered into fragments which peppered the street with icy shrapnel. "Well that's torn it! We'll be hip deep in them in a minute!" As she spoke Azurite reached out and the air around them trembled then began to swirl. In the brief interval before a half dozen tore down the street a hurricane funnel had formed. Lacking any sense of either fear or self preservation the ice constructs dived into the vortex without hesitation. Inside they were whirled around helplessly until they had been dashed to inanimate pieces against flying debris or one another. Within the eye of the storm Azurite sensed them destroyed but felt no triumph. There were plenty more where they had come from. Next to her Pyrite murrmured, "Six down, half a million to go." "You're a real comfort." She concentrated on drawing all the power she could from this place. With this much power she could maintain the vortex indefinitely. At least in theory. The actuality was she'd get tired and the powerflow would falter, disrupting the air funnel. Of course long before then they'd be coming over the top of the vortex. The didn't seem to have much intelligence but made up for it with their hive mind and by trial and error. The moment one stumbled onto flying over the vortex as a way to get to those inside they'd all know it. She felt hands on her shoulders and the powerflow increased, strengthening her storm. "Is that any better?" Pyrite had little in the way of combat useful abilities but he'd learned he could synchronize with her and boost her abilities. Overhead hovering gemstones interwove energies and built a forceshield across the mouth of the funnel. They both knew just how short a time it would withstand a concentrated assault. She twisted around to face him as best she could, keeping her own hands (which sparked with energy) before her. "Much!" An exaggeration but it was the thought that counted. "Thanks ... sorry that's all I can do." "Just being here with me is more than enough." "That's more from resignation than courage. There's not much point in running. Not without a shielded base to run to and I had to dismantle the cloak to build the resurrectomat (not one of my more inspired names). For all the good it's doing." He sounded bitter. "We all knew it was a longshot. So you can hardly blame yourself for not producing a miracle. Besides if it doesn't work it's because I didn't hold them off long enough for your device to work." He didn't answer, just looked straight up. Overhead the clear blue sky was filling with flecks of white. Damn, looked like they'd be coming over the top from the very start. Yet there was no sign of downward motion. Instead the numbers overhead increased and the sky got whiter and whiter. This was different, until now when they swarmed they'd just charge as soon as they arrived at the battleground. "First time they've massed for attack. How many are there?" Pyrite sighed and answered, "Lots. They're too thick and more are arriving too fast for me to get a clear count. Think they're still planning to freeze us or just squash us flat?" "Planning and doing are too different things. Just stick close and ...", the words, "... you'll be fine" died unspoken. Even if they freed Sailor Moon would she be in any kind of shape to join the fight? "... just stick close and I'll be able to fight harder. Like Kipling said, the female of the species is deadlier than the male. Especially when defending her mate." Kipling? She'd been hanging around England too long. Back to business. She'd have to maintain the hurricane to limit them to one narrow assault point. That would limit her counterattack abilities severely but there was no other chance. Like that last stand of the spartan 300 the historybooks glamourized. Best not to think about the fianl outcome. "I'm always with you. I love you Azure." She kept scanning the sky. "I love you Pyr. I'm sorry I didn't know that a lot sooner. And I'm sorry I can't give you a proper farewell but I can't get distracted." "I understand. But like you said we haven't lost yet. Cal works well under deadline pressure." "You're right. And neither of you have let us down yet so ... Here they come!" Overhead the white sky began to descend. Calcite heard the crackle as the forceshield overloaded and collapsed followed by the roar of plasma laced winds but ignored them. Titanite paid no more attention than he did to the identical battlecries. Both of them felt something stirring within and were concentrating on that alone. They continued the energy stream as their senses reached inside the block to touch ... something. Something buried within that enclosed something brighter. Like a flower on the verge of blossoming. They reached out to it and felt it begin to unfold ... The cold block his hands had rested on was gone. Not melted, just gone. Golden light seemed to suffuse everything but he barely noticed as he felt himself burning up. Power beyond anything he'd ever experienced flooded him, pushing him past his limits. Azurite's surrounding hurricane vanished. It didn't collapse into random winds it simply blinked out. She barely sensed her creation's cancellation as the power flooded every fiber of her being. Overhead the horde of ice warriors were erased from existence. Pyrite noted clinically that while youma required mana to survive it was possible to suffer overload when the environment became saturated. Then he collapsed into unconsciousness, glowing like a star as body tried to radiate off the excess. Azurite called his name then collapsed beside him. Titanite was still gazing where the ice block had been. Calcite heard her whisper, "Beautiful!" before she collapsed into a glowing heap. He dragged his mind back from seeing his seeing the ice warriors demise and the collapse of his friends and sister. Sailor Moon's clothing had shifted from the senshi fuku to the Princess Serenity guise she'd worn when fighting Beryl. Beside her Tuxedo Kamen's trademark outfit had been replaced by Endymion's black and silver armour. Serenity was beautiful but Calcite wasn't quite as objective as his sister. His last thought before consciousness fled was, "Should have known the Senshi would be the death of us someday!" Then he fell into the light and knew no more. [Tokyo transformed. World changes. Tokyo tower replaced by Crystal Palace Sacophagus's form around fallen last standers. At north pole Prime blocks change wave and tells Acolytes to prepare for war] Awareness returned slowly. He was looking at something but couldn't place it ... a face! That's what it was ... something else ... he knew this face ... framed by white hair it seemed very familiar ... it was so hard to think ... The face frowned and an exasperated voice said, "Come on, I know there's a few neurons still firing in there!" He knew that voice but ... Then like a puzzle picture image suddenly becoming obvious the pieces of his mind slid together and his memory flooded back. "Margr ..." She's using glamour, "... Cathy!" She snorted. "Nice to see there's still something working in there. Wasn't sure how much she left of you." "She?" Calcite glanced around to see the other Renegades scattered around him, all unconscious. They were lying under a broad awning spread over grass. Grass? Hadn't there been concrete under the ice. And what about this pavillion? "Queen Serenity." Before Calcite could question that Margrave nodded to the others. "You stopped glowing about half an hour back. Since then I've been hanging around to see if you'd wake up. What was that all about?" "Mana overload ... I think. Sailor Moon woke up and suddenly power was flooding everywhere." "I can believe it." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Take a look." The fantastic interwoven landscape of greenery, crystal towers, traditional and contemporary buildings was too much to take in at once. Calcite stared at it in openmouthed astonishment for minutes. At length he shook off the sense of wonder enough to ask, "Where are we?" "Geographically we're in the same place. As for the city ... welcome to Crystal Tokyo." "Where ... what happened ... how ...?" There were dozens of questions he had to ask as soon as he ordered his thoughts. Margrave didn't wait. "Here's what happened as far as I can tell. The ice is gone. The glacier they froze me in vanished, it didn't melt just disappeared. Just like that I was free and feeling fine. At least until I saw the energy wave wasn't just defrosting the city. Everything was changing as it passed which is when I started getting scared. Luckily everyone around me was too awestruck to notice me so I got my glamour reassembled before anyone looked my way." She shook her head, "At least that's what I thought at the time. Seems people weren't just unfrozen, suddenly everyone's blissed out of their skulls. The euphoria's faded a bit but back then I could have walked around in my own form and said, 'Hi I'd like to rip your throat out and drink your blood' and all they'd have told me was, 'Go ahead if it makes you happy sister. Would you like me to cut it myself and save you the trouble?' Gave me the creeps." "Anyway I was trying to work out what was going on when her image appeared in the sky and she started talking in my head. Mine and everybody else's really." "I can't remember exactly what she said but the gist ran something like this. She was Queen Serenity and this city was now known as Crystal Tokyo. That didn't seem to upset anyone around me. Monarchy suddenly seemed perfectly natural to them. Anyway she was currently restoring the world after which she and her senshi would be departing to deal with those responsible for the ice age. She realized this was a lot to take in but she hoped we'd get used to the changes very soon. With that she was gone and there was a sudden outbreak of cheering and good wishes to their new queen and prayers for her swift victory in the coming battle. No one had any doubts that she'd win or seemed surprised at Tokyo suddenly becoming a kingdom." Calcite's mind started working again. "A telepathic message beamed to everyone in the city and you can't remember it?" "It's hard to concentrate when you're cowering in terror." Margrave sounded very matter of fact. "Cal, she was scarier than Beryl and the Overlord combined! Worst you'd get from them was the Eternal Sleep or slow painful death. Serenity? I think she could just look at you and reality would change so you never existed in the first place." Calcite remembered the Dark Kingdom's fate and the aftermath. "That's certainly possible." "Yeah. Anyway no one else seemed worried and I saw people starting to drift to the west so I went to take a look. Know your enemy and all that. I arrived here ... well nearby actually to find the senshi gathered and a large crowd surrounding them at a respectful distance. You were all sprawled about and glowing but no one was paying you any attention. Serenity made a speech about restoring harmony, love and justice ... or something like that anyway. Wasn't as corny as her Sailor Moon speeches thankfully and everyone seemed to be treating it reverentially. Then they ascended ... seems more appropriate than flew ... way up and merged into this big ball of light which headed thataway at warpspeed. I have the feeling the bastards behind the aren't going to be bothering anyone ever again." "The crowd just stood there thinking good thoughts, luckily they didn't decide to dismantle you for holy relics. Anyway I noticed the glow was fading and got a few people to help moving you somewhere out of the sun and quiet. The glow blinked out a little while back and I've been waiting to see if you'd wake up. Now you have and I see the others stirring so I think it would be a good idea to teleport somewhere out of sight while we figure if we've just dropped ourselves in an even bigger mess. I have the nasty feeling we're going to wish we stuck with the ice." Calcite massaged his forehead as he studied his companions. Margrave was right, they were showing signs of life. "We don't dare teleport, everything's changed. Soon as everyone's up and around we recreate our glamours and get out of here on foot. Hopefully once the euphoria dies down a bit there'll be bureacratic chaos at the changes and we can slip some new identities into the system without too much trouble. After that we stay very low profile until we have some idea ..." Something registered. "Everyone was ignoring us right?" "Yes. The senshi are the stars of today, we're back to being extras. Meaning they're the ones who have to go out and fight and die on behalf of the humans rather than us. Which is how it should be." "So if everyone was ignoring us and thinking utopian thoughts why is Azurite covered in graffiti?" Margrave shrugged, "It was getting boring just sitting here waiting for you to wake up." "Washable ink?" "What do you think?" "Indelible. You like to live dangerously, don't you." "There are some things you just have to do. Besides she won't kick up a fuss when we need to make a quiet exit." Calcite sighed as he watched Titanite's eyes open. It seemed even the ginzuishou had its limits. Some things never changed.