PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE

Chapter 61: Earth's Defense Stratagem

"Sailor Zarnik," Serenity said. "My daughter and guardians have told me much about how you've always helped them in their battles against our enemy, and for that I am very grateful. However, your elusive nature has only served to pique our curiosity as to why you've come. There were numerous times that we thought you were with the enemy. I've granted you this opportunity to fully explain yourself and to officially decide which side of this conflict you have chosen."

"Understood, Your Highness," Zarnik replied. "I am fully aware that my actions have caused you all to have doubts about me. However, I was on a mission of utmost importance, and secrecy was an absolute necessity to avoid leaking information to the enemy."

"From what I understand, you came to Earth asking for help in Alkima's war?"

"That's correct. However, I became suspicious when I witnessed the Apple of Discord fall upon the palace on your birthday celebration. I came to realize that Eris' presence was much, much closer to Earth than I had anticipated, as I was expecting her to still be propagating the war in Alkima. I was afraid of approaching you immediately without gathering sufficient intelligence as to why Eris was here all of a sudden. That was why I remained hidden in the shadows while only appearing to help your guardians defeat her minions."

Endymion added, "That was when you discovered that your own Sailor Soldier comrades had become subordinates of the Animus Syndicate without your knowledge."

Zarnik closed her eyes forlornly and sighed deeply, repressing the grief that welled within her. Small Lady's heart practically broke when she saw her friend's turmoil, but remained silent. Then, Zarnik spoke again:

"Sailor Kanos, AKA Sailor Cyanide Cobra, the charismatic leader who can move thousands with her words.

"Sailor Mangar, AKA Sailor Manganese Dragon, the loyal knight who speaks with lips she dare not show to anyone.

"Sailor Nabar, AKA Sailor Cinnabar Vulture, the ferocious warrior who spills blood with tendril-like claws for hands.

"Sailor Kadmas, AKA Sailor Cadmium Bee, the bubbly genius who dreams up revolutionary ideas and makes them reality.

"And myself, Sailor Zarnik, AKA Sailor Arsenic Hyena, the strategic archer who plans the team's next move with precision.

"We were the Toxicum Sailor Soldiers; five of Alkima's most undesired and 'toxic' warriors who sold ourselves as mercenaries to sustain our dying worlds. We used these noms de guerre to shield us from a cruel and unjust galaxy in order to protect our home worlds. Only we knew each other's real identities and capabilities, and we stood strong together just as your guardians do for you. The only difference is that we had no one we were specifically protecting. We fought only for each other, not for whoever hired us.

"Before the outbreak of the war, Sailor Kadmas developed a capsule for one of us to travel to Earth and ask for help from the legendary Sailor Moon, progeny of the great goddess Selene. As you can see, I was the one selected for the job. I was expected to have traveled to Earth without anyone from Alkima noticing, and then return with a pre-emptive assault from you and your Soldiers."

"Was there any guarantee that Serenity would have agreed to fight an enemy that's uninvolved with our part of the cosmos?" Endymion asked.

"My plea rested on the fact that Eris held a grudge against Selene, and she would have returned to this galaxy sometime in the future anyway. I figured it would have been best to eliminate Eris before she could reap the discord from Alkima's war and regain her full strength."

"I see."

"Unfortunately, during my trip to Earth, Upala and Eris had devised the Opal of Culling as a means of instantly reducing the number of Sailor Soldiers in the galaxy. The remainder of Sailor Upala's faction, along with Eris, became the Animus Syndicate and traveled here with the intent of taking the Silver Crystal. They sent the Erisians to attack you shortly after I landed and woke up from coldsleep. No doubt, Eris must have charmed Upala into seeking the Silver Crystal as a means of gaining more power for herself. This is all in accordance with Eris' personal quest for revenge without revealing her hand as a fake 'goddess of victory' to Upala.

"In other words, my allies' strategy was never meant to be successful in the first place. They must have sent me here for some other purpose, which they were not willing to tell me."

"My..." Serenity pressed her lithe fingers against her forehead. "This is almost too much for me to follow."

"I apologize for thrusting such a complex matter onto your lap, queen. The situation is urgent, and now that my reconnaissance has revealed this dire twist in affairs, it was prudent for me to notify you immediately. As for my allegiance, I will wholeheartedly fight alongside you and your guardians."

"That's wonderful to hear. Despite your earlier suspicious activities, I would be happy to let you accompany us in this battle. I trust you, since it's clear that we both have a stake in this."

Zarnik raised an eyebrow. "A stake?"

"You've helped my daughter numerous times while fighting the ones you once called friends. I don't want to imagine the horror of fighting the people closest to me. I honestly couldn't bear it," Serenity closed her eyes sadly.

"I said the same thing to her before, Mama," Small Lady added.

"Yes, it would be most heartbreaking for us to do what you have done up to this point. If there's anything I would love to see, it's you reuniting with your Toxicum friends. No war, no Upala, no Eris... Just the five of you, together."

"Queen..." the young girl was taken aback by the ageless woman's sincerity.

"Then with this matter resolved, we can-"

"Hold on a moment," Endymion interrupted his wife and stood up. "There something else we need to discuss."

"What would that be, sire?" Zarnik asked.

He wordlessly reached into his pocket and took out the wiretap that Mercury had found earlier. "We found many of these gadgets throughout the palace, and we have plenty of reason to believe you were responsible for planting them."

He tossed it at her with an underhanded throw. Zarnik caught the transmitter and stared at it intently, realizing that she was busted. Small Lady asked, "What is that supposed to be?"

Endymion answered, "A listening device. She's been using several of these to covertly hear what has been happening in the palace."

Zarnik sighed, then admitted, "I had hoped to remove those without you noticing..."

"Why!?" the princess gasped. "Do you still not trust us!?"

"No, it's because-"

"It's her job," the queen sternly interjected.

"Mama?" Small Lady widened her eyes.

"You called yourself a mercenary. As someone living in such drastic times, there's no doubt you would have to rely on such devices to better understand the situation. Since information gathering is your specialty, you would have had to listen in on both friend and enemy."

Zarnik nodded. "So you understand."

Serenity replied, "I will forgive you this time. It's clear that you are desperate for answers to your many questions. But I beseech you, Sailor Zarnik. If you wish for us to help you, it's important for both parties to have a solid foundation upon which to form our alliance. I will not accept any further tactics such as this within my kingdom. If we find such behavior continuing on your part, I may be forced to ask you to leave."

"I understand. My actions up to now may have had their merits, but I won't deny the mistrust I must have caused among everyone. For that, I humbly apologize, Neo Queen Serenity," Zarnik genuflected and placed her hand upon her chest in sincere apology.

"It's all right. Sailor Mercury suggested to me that this could be a case of your war-torn culture clashing with Earth's peaceful nature. Indeed, just as you are seeing only a glimpse of our tranquility, I too am witnessing but only a fraction of the things you must do just to survive in a galaxy wallowing in discord. Eris is the one benefitting from all of this, and it is my duty to protect Earth from such villains."

"Of course. I would love nothing more than to destroy that witch and prevent her from causing further calamity. The problem is that I don't have enough information about the Syndicate's actual numbers and capabilities. All I know is that there's Eris, who is still fairly weak from Selene banishing her. Then there's Sailor Upala, who won the Victory Crown through cruel and unjust means, both in combat and in strategy. Then there are probably dozens of Apples of Discord that Eris has created as extensions of herself. Beyond that, I don't know of the Sailor Soldiers who joined her side and escaped Alkima's destruction. But don't hesitate to think that Eris will use your sentiment of fighting fellow Soldiers against you in an attempt to lower your guard."

"So Alkima's bloodthirsty culture has finally caught up with us," Pluto frowned.

"Indeed. If you all wish to protect Earth, you must not show mercy. It's kill or be killed."

Everyone felt uneasy from hearing such harsh words. Zarnik couldn't help but notice the collective hesitation everyone was experiencing. If this were a palace in Alkima, similar Soldiers would be thrilled at the prospect of taking down their enemies. This was the first time she witnessed them being so uncomfortable, and that got her worried.

Are they going to be all right fighting this battle?

Serenity shook her head in disappointment. "I really wish we didn't have to shed the blood of fellow warriors, but if what Zarnik says is true, then we must deliver justice upon them for invading this kingdom. Everyone, you must steel your courage for the coming battles, for I fear this ensuing conflict will put our morals and limits to the ultimate test. If there is a way to resolve things peacefully, then do anything you can. If they show no sign of relenting, then do what you must without burdening yourselves with a heavy conscience."

"Yes, Queen!" her Sailor guardians announced all at once.

"So now that we understand what's going on, we need to decide on our next plan of action."

"If I may," Zarnik interjected. "I traveled to Earth using Sailor Kadmas' cryogenic pod. I hid it in a safe place, but I can show you all where it is so that you can extract whatever information it has that may be helpful. Aside from that, I strongly believe that the Syndicate will be making the first strike within a matter of days, primarily from Upala Acropolis in the sky. I recommend focusing on strengthening the palace's defenses to withstand the first assaults, as well as evacuating Crystal Tokyo's citizens to a safe location to avoid hostage situations or needless casualties."

Endymion agreed with her plan and commanded the Four Generals, "You will be responsible for getting the citizens out of the city and defending them from any attacks. Take as many men as you can and send alerts out immediately."

"Yes, sir!" the four men saluted and ran off.

"My planetary guardians," Serenity said, "we shall focus on boosting Crystal Palace's defenses and monitoring the Acropolis for any suspicious behavior."

"I have my satellites all ready to go," Mercury replied. "Any Apples of Discord they try to throw at us in the meantime will be dealt with. Sadly, they won't be enough to stop the Syndicate's fortress. At best, I could try disabling their artillery, but I can't guarantee how long that will last."

"Just do your best, Mercury."

"Then if you'll excuse me," the blue-haired soldier bowed and hurried to the main computer room.

"Even if we can slow them down a bit, there's still the problem of the enemy's stronghold being so far in the sky that we can't reach them without using Sailor Teleport, and marching into such a distant place without backup would be extremely dangerous," Neptune said.

Venus suddenly suggested, "Why not just shoot them down?"

"How are we supposed to do that? The palace doesn't have a weapons system other than what Mercury developed. We Sailor Soldiers are Earth's primary line of defense."

"But if we do a Sailor Planet Attack, it should work!"

"Can it reach all the way into space?" Uranus asked.

"I will lend you all the power of the Silver Crystal to guide it," Serenity nodded. "Us nine will perform it together, and the crystal surrounding this city will amplify it."

"We'd have to do it when they're not expecting it," Mars said.

"How about when they're busy dealing with Mercury's satellites?" Saturn wondered. "They shouldn't be able to focus on two things at once."

"Great! That sounds like a plan if I've ever heard one!" Jupiter smacked her fist into her palm enthusiastically.

"Very good," Serenity agreed. "As for Small Lady and the Sailor Quartet..."

"What should we do, Mama? I want to help out in this fight as much as I can!" Small Lady declared.

"So do we, Princess," Ceres added, and her sisters flanked her. "If there's anything we can do to support you, we'll do it."

"We should clean up any baddies that try to attack the citizens as they're fleeing!" Juno suggested.

"No, the Four Generals will take care of that. I'm more worried about what would happen should something go wrong with this plan."

"It's a sound strategy, to be sure," Zarnik said. "As long as they don't change their course towards Crystal Tokyo, your Sailor Planet Attack should work just fine. I have a different suggestion in mind though."

"Anything from the Sailor Soldier of Strategy has to be great!" Pallas smiled.

"If you say so. Assuming that things go as planned, then their fortress will be grounded. Sailor Upala and her soldiers will want to march by foot, at which point the palace's troops should intercept them. However, this will leave the acropolis virtually undefended, since their numbers are limited. The real threat is Eris generating Apples of Discord to attack Crystal Palace and exhaust the queen's energy, so I propose that a strike team consisting of Small Lady, the Sailor Quartet and myself go around the main battlefield and infiltrate their headquarters to keep Eris preoccupied. Then if the planetary warriors succeed, they can follow behind us and overwhelm her with numbers."

"Awesome!" Vesta cheered. "I can't wait to give that smug witch a piece of my mind!"

"But this is a goddess we're dealing with here," Juno reminded her sibling. "How are we supposed to fight her head on and expect to win?"

Zarnik shook her head despondently. "I haven't figured that out yet. I'm seriously lacking in any information regarding a potential weakness she may have. If only I could talk to someone who knew..."

Just then, an alarm rang through the audience chamber's computer. Endymion rushed over and demanded, "What's going on? Give me a status report!"

"Sire! We're evacuating the citizens, but a group of four women are holding a group of people hostage inside Juuban Park!" a foot soldier replied in audible panic.

"What in the world!?"

"Papa!" Small Lady exclaimed.

"Calm down. We need to maintain our composure during times like these. Soldier, if they're taking hostages, then they must have a demand."

"They said that they wanted to speak to the princess and to someone named Zarnik, or else they'll start killing people every 15 minutes. But I have no idea who this Zarnik person is supposed to be..."

"That would be myself," Zarnik told the confused man. "Did these four women look like they're wearing blue, purple, red and yellow clothes and have animal-themed masks covering their faces?"

"They did. H-How did you know that?"

"I knew it. They're on the move."

"They can only be your former comrades, right?" Small Lady asked. "We need to go and rescue those innocent people!"

"They're probably trying to capture me and take the Pink Moon Crystal by using those folks as bartering tools. Since their demands are so tight, there's no choice but to go see them."

"Heh!" Vesta chuckled. "They didn't say anything about us four not coming, so we're tagging along!"

"Of course! Sorry, Mama, but we have to get going!" Small Lady apologized to her mother and ran out of the throne room with her guardians.

Before Zarnik could follow them, she bowed lightly to Serenity and said, "If you'll excuse me."

"Please be careful."

"Don't worry. We'll clean up this loose end no matter what."