This story contains violence and themes that while not sexual in 

nature, could be disturbing to more sensitive readers.  Caution is 

advised.  This story is rated "PG-13".



Hold onto your seat people.  Things really take off at breakneck 

speed in this chapter. Eternal gratitude to the talented Masked 

Maiden and my dear Lost One.  Angels come in many shapes and sizes 

and some of them have a southern accent!  Please write to me with 

comments, critiques or commitment papers at Mearari@aol.com and 

please be kind.  The good you do comes back to you but bad karma is 

forever.  





Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the attendant 

characters.  This is story is not intended to make any money or as an 

infringement of valid copyright.





"Moonfall"



by Meara



Chapter Four





They fell and they fell and they fell and it seemed to take forever.  

Usagi grabbed at Mamoru, who had been closest to her, but the force 

of gravity tore him from her.  The insane, incessant laughter of the 

Shadowlord mingled with her own screams and followed them down.  When 

they finally did hit the bottom, it was with bone jarring suddenness.



Usagi lay there for a long moment, stunned and only half-aware of 

what was going on around her.  She could hear both Mamoru and Rei 

moaning in pain.  Panic grabbed her hard, jolting her fully awake.  

Where were the others?  



Getting slowly to her feet, Usagi found Mina laying much too quietly.  

Closer examination found that there was blood in her golden hair and 

more dripping from her ears.  Ami was just beyond her.  The delicate 

Senshi of Mercury's eyes were open but could not see Usagi.  The 

pupils were dialted if trying to look at something very far away.  

Mako lay twisted and broken.  She coughed weakly and Usagi could see 

blood showing at the corners of her mouth.  It was a sure sign that 

Jupiter was bleeding heavily inside.  Rei was moaning softly, 

unmoving.  Her right side was crushed and her breath came in quick, 

short gasps.





The light was dim but she managed to find where Mamoru lay.  "Mamo-

chan?"  Usagi gently moved his head onto her lap.  "Are you…" she 

choked on the words.  Fear ran screaming through her mind. <NO MORE 

PAIN!  NO MORE PAIN!  NO MORE PAIN! > Unreasoning, insane fear 

demanding that she let it take her over. Usagi fought the feeling 

down. "Are you all right?  Where does it hurt?" she managed to say.



Mamoru, still Tuxedo Kamen, hissed in pain.  "I've been better."  He 

squeezed her hand weakly as Usagi took it in her own.  "I think…I 

think my back may be broken."  Sure enough, when Usagi ran a careful 

hand down Mamoru's torso, she found his legs bent at an unnatural 

angle.  



"Be still.  I can help." whispered Usagi.  Before he had time to 

wonder at the tone in her voice, Mamoru felt it.  A warm wave of soft 

light paused briefly then flowed over him.  His strength returned and 

he moved to sit beside Usagi.  She had her eyes closed and hands 

cupped in her lap of the flowing white dress.  The Ginzuishou spun in 

lazy circles and pulsed.  The pulse formed a wave that grew and 

moved.  In its sylvan wake he saw the Senshi stir and rise, whole 

once more.  



Realization of Usagi had just done brought Mamoru up sharp.  She had 

healed them - again.  As the light receded and the stone disappeared, 

he turned to look at her face.  The pain that lingered in it broke 

his heart to witness.  "Usako!"  He grabbed her hand and pulled her 

to him. She slumped against him with exhaustion.



"I'm okay, really," said Usagi in a dull voice, not really believing 

her own words. "I'm okay."  Using the Crystal always left her 

drained.  She was rapidly losing the energy to fight against the 

invisible, cold dagger that pierced her heart.  The chill spread like 

a poison through her, relentless and unstoppable.  "Is everyone 

better now?"



Mamoru helped Usagi to her feet. He held her close for a moment and 

gently whispered the words he knew were running wild in Usagi's mind.  

"It's going to be all right now.  The pain is over."



"I don't know where the hell we are." said Makoto as she peered into 

the gloom around them, "And frankly, I couldn't care less if you paid 

me to.  I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to leave."



Mina looked up into the darkness above their heads.  "Not the way we 

came, that's for sure."



Ami had popped her visor to life and seemed deep in thought.  With a 

free hand she pulled out the small computer that went everywhere with 

her and punched in numbers.  She shook her head almost to herself 

before saying, "We could try a Sailor Teleport, I suppose.  I'm not 

sure how it will work with Tuxedo Kamen, but he can at least add to 

the pool of power available to us."



"Sounds like a plan to me." Said Rei as she gave Usagi an encouraging  

smile.  "As much as I like that dress, Usagi, lose it.  I think 

Sailor Moon would be more helpful right now."



Usagi closed her eyes in concentration for a long moment.   She 

furrowed her brows together and gave a grunt of exertion.  Silver 

light came and flickered about her once before fading away.  "I…" 

Usagi closed her eyes again and balled her fists with effort. "…I 

can't change!  I'm stuck!"



The air about them grew colder as a rank wind stirred.  "You are who 

you are – Serenity of the Silver Millenium.  Always the Princess. 

Always the one everyone fawns over and makes much of.  Well you are 

nothing here – nothing! I am the Shadowlord."  The Shadowlord's voice 

filled their ears. There was anger and bitterness in it.  "I am the 

important one!  I am the one with power! I am Shadowlord, the one who 

will destroy everything you love – starting with them!"



Usagi gave a short shout of alarm as she felt something encircle her 

waist then pull her away.  Tuxedo Kamen had time to do no more than 

call her name as the wall nearest them erupted. The dark energy 

swirled then resolved into the shape of a huge, deadly three-headed 

snake.  With the same single mindedness it had shown before, the 

reptile made straight for Sailor Mars. 



Usagi was frozen, trapped in an ebony morass that held her fast.  She 

couldn't so much as turn her head from the carnage that was unveiling 

before her.  Jupiter and Venus combined the strength of their oldest 

attacks and released them at the three-headed monster.  Mars shot 

bolt after bolt of fiery power at the creature that sought her so 

persistently, but to no avail.  Tuxedo Kamen launched a dagger sharp 

rose toward one of the beast's eyes. The enchanted weapon found its 

target.  The creature shrieked in pain, but didn't even slow down.



Ami, however, stood off to one side and furiously input data into the 

small computer she held.  After a moment, she stopped and tapped the 

machine repeatedly with one finger.  People often thought that Ami's 

genius came from her relentless study habits, but that was only part 

of the greater picture.  Her mind never stopped.  It had the ability 

to work on several ideas at once in order to reach a solution.  What 

she had seen was finally beginning to make sense to her as things 

fell into place in her well-ordered mind.  Snapping the hand held 

device shut she moved almost casually toward the snake and certain 

death.



She waved her arms and shouted, "Hey!  Over here you miserable excuse 

for a hydra!  I know your secret!"  The beast stopped short and 

turned one head to look at her.  



Mars took the opportunity to put as much distance as the pit would 

allow between her and the monstrosity.  "What are you doing?!  Get 

away from it!"  She shouted to Ami.



Ami ignored her protests and gave the creature a sharp kick in the 

tail. She called to it in her best "tough" voice.   "Yeah, you!  I'm 

talking to you!"  It rumbled angrily as it turned to face her.  "Go 

ahead, take me if you can lizard lips!  I dare you."



"Ami!" Mina shouted in absolute panic.  The snake coiled itself for a 

strike that the tiny Senshi of Mercury made no move to avoid.  "What 

are you doing!"



Ignoring the death that rushed at her, Ami gave a small smile.  Her 

voice was firm as she looked at he friends and said, "Testing a 

theory."



Sailor Mercury watched with arms folded as the reptile dove for her.  

She disappeared into its mouth without so much as a sigh.  The last 

thing she heard was Usagi screaming her name over and over.  When the 

beast unfurled itself, Ami was gone as if she'd never existed.





*********************





Mizuno Ami opened her eyes to see the familiar faces of Sailor Uranus 

and Neptune standing over her.  A quick glance showed that her head 

was in the lap Sailor Pluto.  Luna and Artemis were at Ami's side 

with worried expressions on their faces.



"It worked."  Ami's voice was weak, but clear. She glanced at her 

hands.  "Of course.  It all makes perfect sense now.  I haven't 

really transformed yet."



Pluto assisted Ami as she sat up.  "What worked?  Can you tell us 

what's going on?"



Neptune knelt down into the grass beside Ami.  "Luna called us, 

frantic, saying that you'd all been attacked.  When we got here you 

were enclosed in a dome of dark energy that we couldn't break 

through."



"Not for lack of trying though." added Haruka.  "Pluto managed to use 

the Timegate to get us in here."  



Ami glanced at her friends lying on the ground.  They were all 

arranged in a kind of wheel that had Usagi at its center.  There was 

a black glow that seemed to be creeping up her body.  Tendrils of 

that energy extended out to the others.  Most importantly, they were 

all untransformed.  



"I'm not precisely sure what's going on, but I'll tell you what I do 

know." Said Ami.



She told them everything she could remember.  All about the attacks, 

the Senshi's seeming inability to defeat the monster sent against 

them.  Most importantly, Ami told them about the being who called him 

Shadowlord.



"I began to suspect that things weren't as they appeared to be," Ami 

said with growing intensity, "when Usagi transformed without using 

her locket – or her henshin phrase. Also, it's as if we are somehow 

sleepwalking through all of this.  I suspect the Shadowlord is 

preventing us from using our full intellect. Magic is, well, magical, 

but it has rules and limits like everything else in the universe. We 

all fell the same distance for over ten minutes by my reckoning.  

That means we hit the ground at what had to be terminal velocity."  

She threw up her hands in frustration.  "The laws of physics are 

immutable.  We should have been little squashed senshi stains on the 

floor of that pit. There is no way that Usagi could have remained 

unhurt in a fall that all but killed the rest of us.  I should 

realized that immediately, but it's been like trying to think through 

mud! That place isn't real!"



"A place between.  Where thoughts are made into reality.  A dream 

world without being asleep." Mumbled Pluto as if remembering an old 

lesson.



Neptune was deep in thought.  "And that also explains why Usagi 

hasn't simply blasted this Shadow creep right back to hell with the 

Ginzuishou!  You are being kept in check by this demon, made to play 

his game his way."



Luna and Artemis exchanged frightened looks.  "A Shadowlord?  Are you 

sure he called himself that?"  Asked Luna.



"Very sure." Relied Ami.  "He seems to take pride in that name or 

tittle or whatever it is.  Do you know who or what he is?"



"A Shadowlord is a very low ranking minion of the court of Hell."  

Said Pluto with certainty.  "Usually a damned soul who has a grudge 

against the person who they think sent them there." No one wanted to 

question exactly how she knew that.



Haruka looked somewhat surprised.  She remembered how Usagi had 

shielded Hotaru when Mistress Nine possessed her.  "Who would have a 

grudge against Usagi?  She wouldn't even turn a jay walker in to the 

police, never mind send someone to hell."



Another piece of the puzzle fell into place for Ami.  "Not Usagi – 

Serenity!  This Shadowlord seems to want to deal only with Princess 

Serenity.  He's laboring under the misconception that Usagi and 

Serenity are two different personalities.  Usagi's got problems, but 

multiple personality disorder isn't one of them!"



"This is worse than any of you can suspect."  Said Pluto quietly.  

They all turned to look at her. The Senshi of Time was usually 

unflappable, but this day the alarm in her face was all too easy to 

read.  "Shadowlords may progress up the hierarchy of the damned in 

only one way.  They must acquire the soul of the person who sent them 

to perdition."



"And how do they do that?" asked Neptune, afraid of the answer.



Setsuna looked them each in the eye and answered, "By getting that 

soul to commit suicide."





********************





The snake had caught Mars by the waist.  Fangs that dripped venom bit 

deeply into her abdomen and she screamed with pain. A toss of one of 

the reptilian heads sent her across the pit to crash into the wall.  

Rei slammed into it, then slid down to the floor leaving a gory 

trail.  She convulsed as the poison ran through her body.



The black hydra gave a sibilant, hissing laugh as it sought its next 

victim.  Sailor Venus dodged and tried to attack as she became the 

reptile's target.  Mercury was gone.  Sailor Mars was all but dead 

where she lay.  Tuxedo Kamen was attempting to hurl his floral 

daggers with his left hand.  His right arm was broken in several 

places and hung uselessly at his side.   A leg that had taken a dose 

of venom when she's used her body to protect Mars from a strike 

hobbled Jupiter.  Mako swayed on her feet as the poison slowly 

progressed through her, shutting down her respiratory system with its 

neural toxin. 



Usagi was past screaming anymore at what she saw.  Her heart pounded 

so hard that it threatened to burst and Usagi found herself hoping it 

would.  Anything to end the nightmare that played out before her 

would be a blessing.  The darkness of the Shadowlord curled around 

Usagi, tightening its obscene grip on her with each word he spoke.



"This is all your fault and you know it Serenity.  I told you what 

would happen if you relaxed, even for a minute.  But you did relax, I 

saw you.  So they have to suffer because of your weakness."  



The invisible restraints holding Usagi in place vanished and she fell 

to her knees.  Her mouth open, she screamed silently as she brought 

shaking fists up to her head and hit herself.  The voice would not 

stop tearing at her soul, though. "Now you have to feel them die.  

This pain will go one forever and ever and ever."



She curled into a ball and tried to hide her head within her arms. 

The only thought that her mind could form burst from her mouth.  

Usagi thought she would go mad from the sound of her own voice as she 

shrieked out the same words endlessly.



"Make it stop!  Please make it stop!"



The darkness tightened its grip on the Moon Princess.  It pushed at 

her soul with enough force to crush stone.  The agony that made up 

her world was magnified within it until it hurt to even breathe.  



"Poor little Princess.  Do you want it to stop?" the Shadowlord's 

voice dropped to a whisper, inviting and deadly.  "There's only one 

way, Serenity. Only one way out."



Usagi raised her head to look at the figure standing before her. "I 

can help you, Princess."  He said.  "This is the salvation you have 

been seeking."  



An impossibly thin arm reached toward her.  Within the hand was a 

sharp, shining object. The ornate dagger caught what little light 

there was and sparkled. "This is your way out, Serenity.  Your only 

way out."



A flash of white caught the corner of his vision and he snapped 

around to look at it.  "No!"  He shouted, "Not now!  I'm so close - 

not now!"  The Shadowlord extended his arms.  His cloak of shadows 

grew until it swallowed both he and the young woman in the white 

dress.







********************







Mina was trapped.  She had fought, dodged and used every last bit of 

strength she had left.  The snake had backed her into a corner.  As 

it laughed, the monstrosity gathered itself for what Mina knew was 

going to be a fatal blow.  Pride caused the leader of the Senshi that 

protected the Princess to lift her head and face death as it came at 

her.



From nowhere came the sound of a lion's roar.  A blur of white 

collided with the hydra and pushed it away from the Senshi of Venus.  

A snow-white lion of immense size stood between the injured girl and 

the creature that threatened her.  It reared up onto two massive legs 

and bellowed a deafening challenge.  Razor sharp claws extended as 

the ivory maned head dove for place where the snake's three heads 

met.  With one quick swipe the claws ripped the reptile open even as 

teeth closed on the creature's airway.  There was an audible snap as 

the trachea broke and the hydra stopped struggling, dead.



After giving the snake a final shake, the lion dropped it and turned 

to face Sailor Venus.  Mina stared wide-eyed at the beast as it 

padded toward her.  She barely dared to take a breath as the huge 

head looked at her and then turned in a way she immediately 

recognized.



Venus sat down hard on the ground.  "Artemis?"  She asked, shocked.  

"It that you?"



"I've always said I have the heart of lion." He smiled, his crescent 

moon shining on his forehead.  Artemis came to Mina and rubbed his 

massive head against her gently.  "It's going to be all right, I'm 

here now."



Mina grabbed at him and hugged him tightly.  She began to sob openly 

with a mixture of relief and sorrow.  Atremis cupped a massive paw 

around her.  He made soothing noises deep in his throat and let Mina 

cry herself out.  She finally stopped shaking and wiped her eyes 

clear of the last of the tears. 



"What's going on? How did you get here?  Why are you like this?"  She 

asked looking around.  "Ami?!"  She shouted and scrambled to her 

feet.  With out stretched arms she ran toward the senshi of Mercury.  

"Oh God, Ami!"



Ami smiled as Venus plowed into her, nearly knocking Mercury over 

with her enthusiasm.  "Thought I was gone?"  She said as she hugged 

her friend.  "Sorry, about that, but I had to test my theory and it 

seemed the most expedient way." 



Pluto was on the ground next to Mars.  A slow, ocher glow began to 

encase the Senshi of fire.  "That's right, very good." Said Pluto, 

"Keep that image in your mind and make it real."  



In a burst of flame the fatal injuries healed.  An angry red light 

surrounded Rei as she rose with a snarl from the ground.  "I am going 

to burn that sorry son of a bitch to ashes when I find him!"



Pluto gave a small, satisfied smile as she stood. "Show Mina what do, 

Artemis.  I'm going to help Mamoru."  



"Artemis?"  Asked Rei as she took in his appearance. She looked 

around and saw Haruka and Michiru leaning over Makoto.  Next to them 

was a black lion almost as large as the white one before her, but 

obviously female. It turned to look at her and she saw the crescent 

moon in the middle of the forehead.  "Luna?"



"Put your hand on me, Mina." The lion ignored the confused look Mars 

gave him.  "Now think of yourself as the Senshi of Venus."  She began 

to glow with golden light.  "That's right, see your self that way, as 

if you were looking in a mirror.  Make it real."



As the shape took over her body Mina felt as if she awakening from a 

dream. Thoughts that were hazy before became clear and sharp.  The 

emotions that had been so hard to control calmed within her.  "He's 

been manipulating us!"  She all but shouted.  "This isn't real at 

all."



"It's real to Usagi." said Pluto as she moved toward Venus.  Jupiter 

walked with her.  She seemed fully healed and encased in a verdant 

green light that did nothing to disguise the anger that emanated from 

her.  



Mamoru was no longer Tuxedo Kamen, but had morphed into Endymion.  

Since Usagi was currently trapped in her persona as Serenity, Mina 

decided it made sense.  "We have to find her. And from what Setsuna 

told me, we have to find her fast.  This Shadowlord is trying to get 

Usagi to kill herself."  Luna, beside him, gave a low growl.



"How do we find her?" asked Mako, "Nothing here is real."



Ami shook her head at the same time Pluto did.  "It's not unreal 

Mako, it's subjective. More than real enough for us to use when we 

need to."



"Whatever else this place is, it can't break the link between Usagi 

and Mamoru."  Said Pluto as she put a hand on the Prince's arm.  "Can 

you feel her now that you can think clearly?"



Mamoru's hands balled into fists.  "Yes." He said curtly.  "This 

way!" and took off at a run with the other at his heels.  What he 

hadn't said is that Usagi was in enormous pain.  He could feel her 

anguish as she tried to hold on to her sanity, but was slowly loosing 

ground. 



He would free his Usako and send the Shadowlord back where he 

belonged, Mamoru promised.  No matter what the cost, that miserable 

bastard was going straight to hell.  Even if Mamoru had to take him 

there himself.





********************

 



Next – It's payback time as Mamoru and the Senshi track down the 

Shadowlord and kick demon butt.  They mean to free Usagi; but can 

they get to her before she makes the choice between life or death by 

her own hand?  The final fate of the Moon Princess and Lucien are 

revealed in the grand finale.  So be here for Chapter Five and find 

out who survives!