Kyouko Tsukino
Steampunker
The continuation of the saga started in http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/sailor-moon-aeons-book-1-the-senshi-of-dawn.11333/ - If you haven't read that one, read it before reading this, as several things which are mentioned in this story are things that happened in the first book of the saga.
Some warnings before you start reading:
- This part of the saga, or "book" as I call them, is long. Currently three hundred thousand words, may possibly have twice that many words when I'm done.
- This follows none of the original Sailor Moon canon plot lines a hundred percent, but it's close to the old anime's plot line. It also uses elements from the manga, and may in the future even include elements from other related media, like for example, Sailor Moon: Another Story.
- Cursing and gore are not a constant, but will be around when the story calls for them. No magical swords that leave no mark while running someone through, unless the sword is actually a magical sword...
Anyhow, with that out of the way, this story starts basically where the Sailor V manga starts, with Sailor Venus' first battles, along with other groups - but I won't spoil a thing, the best way to know is to read the story.
The girl woke up with a start. She looked around, relieved to see she was in her bedroom, and looked at the clock sitting in her nightstand through half-opened eyes. One hour too early to wake up, but she didn't feel like going back to sleep now. The memories of the nightmare she had just awoken from were fading, but she could still hear the screams. She could smell the smoke in the distance. She could remember being hit by something, right before she woke up.
It was all a little too real, even though she didn't know what it had all been about. All she could remember clearly was a palace, a white palace, and she knew it was what she was protecting in her dream.
She dressed up quickly and walked to the dining room. Her mother and father both looked at her, their surprise not concealed at all. "Hi mom, hi dad."
"Minako, it's good to see you're awake early for a chance," her father mused.
"Accidents happen," Minako joked back.
They had waited for too long, for too many generations, but the time to reclaim what was theirs was close at hand. Queen Beryl looked at the device the best mages in her ranks had created. A device which could break through the barrier set between her world and the Earth, and which allowed them to transport troops through. It could only be used once every two days for the time being, and could only be used to send one soldier in. But it was still good for her plans, she didn't want to rush in blindly into a world which could have strong defense forces to fight back an invasion.
"I am ready, my Queen."
Beryl turned to the creature. "You've already been told what your mission is. If you find no defenses in there, I want you to gather as much energy as you can before returning."
The creature bowed to her and turned to the device. To anyone not capable of sensing magic, it would have looked like an ordinary archway. But it was a gateway to another world, a world which every creature like her, every youma, had heard countless stories about. A world that had once been theirs, and was then taken off their hands by a group of strong mages. That didn't really matter to her right now, as she was aware of the honor that had been given to her. She would be the first youma to set foot on Earth in many thousand years.
Beryl saw the youma walk through the archway, vanishing in a flash of light, and smiled. It was only the first step, but if everything went as planned, their conquest of the Earth would take less than it had taken the first time around.
Minako was rather upset. If a strange nightmare wasn't enough, now she had a strange white cat stalking her. She had first noticed it while heading for school, but the cat had been always around, and whenever she looked at it, it would just stare back at her. And there was something about this cat that seemed odd, as if it was not just doing it by instinct.
Finally fed up with the small animal, she started walking straight to it (him, her?) surprised that the cat didn't back away. It was either very brave, or very stupid, to not take the glare she was giving as a hint to flee the scene.
"All right, cat, I'm not a mouse, so stop chasing me."
Minako stood there, waiting for the cat to take the hint and run. Seeing it just stared at her, she growled and turned to leave. And then, the small animal did something she wasn't quite ready for. It spoke. "Of course you're not a mouse, Minako."
And it knew her name? Wait, that wasn't all that important right now. "You- You- Cat-"
"Name's Artemis, and I'm a Mooncat, not just a cat."
"A talking cat, huh?" Minako was now staring at the white cat. It had a small, yellow crescent on its forehead (or rather, his forehead, considering his voice,) and was, as impossible as that could have sounded, smiling at her. "I knew it, first that nightmare and now a talking cat. I'm still asleep, right?"
"Minako, listen. There's an emergency, and..."
"Oh, of course I'll listen to you, Mr. Talking Cat. And I'll also listen to the dancing flowers and pink rabbits when they show up."
"Dancing flowers?" Artemis shook his head. "Anyway, you need to listen to me, Minako."
"Not here," Minako said, "if anyone saw me talking to a cat, they'd think I'm crazy." And if they heard the cat talking back, they'd think her craziness had rubbed on them.
"Well then, where do you want to meeeeow!" Artemis' question was interrupted as Minako lifted him and dashed down the street. "Hey, what's the deal, girl?"
"We'll talk at home, cat."
"I told you, my name's Artemis."
"Right then, Artemis." That would save her the problem to give him a name. Wait, why was she thinking about keeping him as a pet?
Fortunately for Minako, her mother had gone shopping for groceries, and her father was at work. She wasn't in the mood to tell her parents some lie about why she brought the cat home.
As she let Artemis on her bed, she sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll ignore the fact cats aren't supposed to talk and listen to whatever you have to say."
"This will be hard to believe, but you're not just a normal human girl. You're the reincarnation of a Senshi, a warrior from ancient times, and if I've been awakened, it means the enemy's back."
"A reincarnated Senshi from long ago?" Minako stared at Artemis in shock. Sure, a part of her mind was laughing at how unlikely all that sounded, even coming from a talking cat, but another part of her... Something in her felt the word "Senshi" was something she had heard before.
"You're the Senshi of Venus," Artemis said, "one of the strongest Senshi. We have to stop the enemy before they get the princess."
"Princess?"
"The Moon Princess."
"Oh, of course, a cat from the Moon, looking for a princess from the Moon. It does make sense."
"Ahem... I don't think you will really believe me until I show you some proof, so..." Artemis closed his eyes, and a small, orange wand appeared in front of him. "This was used to train Senshi until they were able to call upon their powers on their own. Hold it and say 'Venus Planet Power.'"
Minako took the small wand (which looked like a pen,) and smiled. "I have to say 'Venus Planet Power,' right?" She gasped as light surrounded her, and for a few seconds she was unable to see anything. When the light dimmed, she found herself wearing an uniform similar to the one she used for school, only its neckline and skirt were orange, and the skirt was way shorter. "Hey, what's going on?"
"You've awakened your powers, Minako, or rather, Sailor Venus."
If this was a dream, she was starting to like it. "So I'm some sort of super-heroine, huh?"
"Your strength, agility, speed, resistance to damage both physical and magical, they all increase when you're in that form."
"How do I turn back to normal?"
"Just focus in changing back... Be careful, though, because the transformation will revert to whatever you were wearing before transforming."
"I see, no transforming while in my underwear unless I can get back home to change back."
Artemis laughed nervously at that. "Yes, that's quite correct."
"Okay then, I'll change back now."
"Wait," Artemis said as his ears perked up, "not yet. I'm sensing a youma, and it's near."
Kron hated this, having to disguise herself as one of these disgusting creatures. Humans, how could creatures like these even exist, unable to feel the magic around them, ignorant to the kind of power one could obtain from channeling the mana present in the air. At least she had been able to scout the area. There were no defense forces capable of sensing magic, as far as she could tell, and after a bit on researching, she decided to complete the other part of her mission.
"Stop it right there!"
Kron dropped the man she had been draining to the side and turned to see something she wasn't expecting to see. A girl wearing a suit which matched that of the ancient warriors who had forced her race out of the Earth. A Senshi. "Who are you?"
Sailor Venus smiled. "I'm Sailor V, and I'm here to stop you, monster!"
"Sailor V?" Artemis asked, as confused as the youma.
"I'll explain later," Venus whispered to him.
"So you're not one of them after all? Then die!"
Venus barely dodged the energy blast that shot from the woman's mouth, and gasped as she turned into a humanoid crab. "Hey, Artemis, how am I supposed to fight that?"
Artemis let out a long sigh as he realized he had forgotten to tell her how to use her basic attack. If Luna had been around, he was sure he would have to listen to her rant for a while. "Look for the words in your mind, the words that will let you attack this enemy."
Venus looked at the cat, wondering what he meant. She then turned to see the monster rushing at her. "Words in my mind..." she closed her eyes and smiled. Yes, there they were.
"Giving up already? Good!" Kron snapped, then saw the girl raise her arms. "Hey, what's..."
"Crescent..." As Venus pointed her index finger at the creature, a small circle of light appeared in front of it. "Beam!" with that word, the point became a thin beam, which pierced through the monster's skull, stopping it dead in its track. "I did it?"
Artemis watched as the youma's body turned into dust. "Yes, you beat this enemy."
Venus noticed the crowd gathering around her. "Uh... I think we should leave now."
"That would be wise," Artemis admitted as Venus picked him up. "Hey, what are you-"
"You said my agility and strength were improved, right?" Venus asked, then leapt over the crowd. She looked around before leaping into a parked truck, then a rooftop. "Wow, no kidding. I thought I could jump quite high before, but this..."
Artemis smiled. It was good to see Minako wasn't too freaked out about the changes in her life.
"I could use this to get to school in time!" Venus said.
Still, he realized the girl wasn't taking this as seriously as he would have wanted her to.
Queen Beryl looked at the report in her magic crystal. "I see... So the humans are rather greedy, competing for what they call money. Just like the old days."
"Indeed," the white-haired man standing in front of her noted, "they seem to value gold above many other metals."
"Gold?" Beryl couldn't help but laugh at that. It was perfect for them. This world they had been thrown into, it had entire deserts made of gold. Youma had never considered it a valuable metal, simply because it was everywhere. "I see... Have as many youma as you can start gathering gold, then. We could use it in our conquest."
"As you wish, my Queen."
"And also, Kunzite, you will be in charge of tracking down and killing the one known as Sailor V."
"I will send another scout first," Kunzite said, "with an eye spell, so we can know how she looks like. The auditive spell we set in Kron only told us the girl's not alone, but we don't know how many Senshi there could be out there."
"I want that human out of the way, but you also have to gather as much energy as you can. We need it to awaken our goddess."
Minako had finished explaining the whole 'Sailor V' idea to Artemis, and he had to admit she wasn't wrong. Given the youma would know about Sailor Venus, then using a disguise and giving them a false lead would make it easier to confuse them. If the youma were also after the Princess, then they would think 'Sailor V' was her, disguised to hide her true identity.
"If all enemies are as easy as that one, this will be easy."
"They're not. That was just a scout, with near zero combat ability. Combat-able youma will be far stronger, and if we ever face a General, things could get messy."
"General?" Minako asked.
"They are the strongest warriors our enemy has, not counting their leader. If we ever face one, be careful. At your current power level, they would kill you easily."
"So they're like the game's stage bosses," Minako mused, then realized something. "Wait, what's that you said about power level?"
"Senshi have several power levels, but they start at their most basic one. It takes years of training and using those skills to get to the highest levels."
"Training?" Minako flinched. "No way, I've got enough with school already. I'll help you kill those youma bugs and look for the Princess, but that's it."
Artemis scowled at that. "You need to take this mission seriously, Minako."
Minako glared at Artemis in a way that made the cat shiver. "Now listen, Mr. Talking Cat, you threw me head-first into a fight with a monster I would have normally run away from, you told me I have to look for some Princess you know little about yourself, and you tell me there's some monsters out there who could kill me easily even with my powers. I can somehow accept all that. But I had a life before meeting you, and I'm not going to give it up just because you say so. Do you understand that?"
Artemis was quite surprised by that. Minako wasn't as naive as he had thought at first, he could see now that she understood the risks of her mission. "I suppose you're right about that. Training would only help you in this mission, but..."
"But?"
"... But I think you could manage to defeat our current enemies without it."
Minako smiled. "Good to hear that, Art."
"Art?" Artemis muttered. So much for Minako staying serious for long.
It didn't take long for another creature to show up. Minako had been on her way home when she saw Artemis running her way. "Art?"
Artemis shook her head. "I told you not to call me that. Anyhow, there's a youma, and it's close."
"Right," Minako looked around as she 'summoned' her transformation pen. She didn't still know how she did it, but it had became second nature to her, to call upon the small item whenever she needed it. "Venus Planet Power!"
Artemis looked at the new suit. He had modified it on Minako's request, and he had to admit it looked like a good disguise. The suit was now blue with a red bow, unlike the original orange and blue colors of her suit. She had added a blue mask over her eyes, something that would make her harder to identify.
He leapt on her shoulder and smiled. "Let's go, Sailor V."
"Where is that bug?"
"Straight ahead," Artemis said.
"Good," V said and took off running.
The youma staggered back, shocked. He had chosen this girl because she seemed to be an easy target, but to his surprise, the moment he had clasped his hand against the girl's arm, things went very wrong. Instead of being able to drain her energy, it was his energy the one being drained.
"What the Darkness are you?"
"You don't want to know," the pale girl said, her voice cold and unemotional.
"Hey you, leave that girl alone!"
The girl looked at the newcomer. Perfect, with this Senshi here, she wouldn't have to do a thing.
"You must be Sailor V," the youma snapped as his human disguise changed to his real self, a ratlike humanoid. "Die!"
V leapt out of the way as an energy blast hissed by. "You first. Crescent Beam!" To V's surprise, the youma didn't just stand there gawking, instead jumping out of the way of the beam. "Hey, no dodging!"
"Same goes to you, human," the youma said.
V dodged a couple beams more and looked around. The area was still too crowded, as most civilians didn't realize the threat this creature was to them. The girl she had saved, however, was gone.
The youma growled in frustration. If not for that girl weakening him, he could have killed this Sailor V rookie in seconds. "I'm not going to be defeated by a newbie."
V smiled. "Good thing I'm not a newbie." She leapt over the rat, flipping in mid-air and aimed at him as she passed right over him. "Crescent Beam!"
The rat snorted at that. Even at this range, it was easy to... He realized he couldn't move, and looked down in shock. Last thing he saw before being pierced through by the beam, was a skeletal hand clutching his foot.
"Yeah! I did it!"
"Nicely done, V," Artemis said, then looked around. That magic aura... It couldn't be her, could it?
"I thought I said you had to stay out of their battles."
The girl looked at the older woman and nodded. "I know that, but this time around, I got involved in their battle accidentally."
"You helped her."
"She needed help. I have to agree with that youma, she's a newbie."
"Maybe you're right, but she will improve."
"I hope so, or she won't be around for long."
The woman smiled. "There are still more Senshi to be found."
"Won't you help them?"
"I can't. It's supposed to be this way."
"A group of untrained newbies running around fighting the youma. Are you sure this is the right way to go about it?"
"Don't worry, they will be fine. They will find the Princess."
"If they're going to do it, why have you awakened us?"
"Because this won't be the only war to be fought, and they will need you all in the future."
"I see." The girl looked at the now retreating V, and then turned to leave. "I'll go back home now. Call me whenever you decide it's time to start fighting back."
"I will. Don't worry, Hotaru, it will be soon." As the pale girl walked away, the woman turned around and looked at the spot where V had last been. "It will all start very soon."
"Okay, I admit that fight was harder than the first one. Still nothing to be worried about, right?"
"Of course," Artemis admitted. They were both walking back to Minako's house, but he couldn't shake the feeling that familiar presence he had felt minutes ago was a Senshi. Which one, he couldn't tell, but he would have to investigate.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
Artemis looked up at Minako, who was frowning at him. "Sorry, was thinking about that battle. You didn't realize someone helped you, did you?"
"Someone helped me? What do you mean?"
"There was someone else there," Artemis said, "and I'm going to find out who it was."
"Think it could be someone like me?"
"That's possible," Artemis admitted, "but why didn't they contact us?"
Minako smiled. "Maybe they're shy?"
"Eh... Not likely." He decided to change the subject as he saw her house come into view. "Think your parents will be okay with this?"
"I know mom likes cats, so don't worry, Art."
"Minako..."
"Art fits you."
Artemis sighed in defeat. "Whatever you say, Mina."
Beryl looked at the images in her crystal ball and smiled. "This Sailor V doesn't look like any of the ancient Senshi."
"We can't let our guards down."
"I agree. Kunzite, you will go to Earth next time and lure V to you. Make sure she doesn't bother us any longer."
Kunzite bowed to the Queen before looking at the image of 'Sailor V' in the crystal ball. "I will not fail, my Queen."
Minako walked in to see her father reading the newspaper while eating breakfast. However, something caught her eye almost immediately. "Sailor V? Who's that?"
"A strange woman who's been seen fighting monsters lately. Nobody knows who she is, or if the attacks are real. Maybe it's just publicity for a new movie or..."
"Or maybe there's things out there we can't explain," Minako's mother interrupted.
Minako smiled at that. "I think it would be great to be a heroine, fight monsters and defend the city like that..."
"See, now you got her thinking about useless things," Minako's father said.
"If there are monsters out there, then it's good someone's there to stop them, isn't it?" Minako asked.
"Yeah, but if they're real, then whoever this Sailor V girl is, is risking her life."
"Hmm, that's true," Minako said, then looked at Artemis.
Artemis was listening to them while eating his own food. This era's cat food wasn't half bad, he could admit that much. But he wondered if Minako was having second thoughts about her mission. That could make things complicated for them.
"Queen Beryl, the gateway has been improved. We are able to send two soldiers through now at a time."
"Excellent work, Aurite."
The gold-haired General bowed to her Queen. "I will keep on improving the gateway when possible, but with how limited our energy is right now, two is the limit."
"I see. Kunzite!"
Kunzite appeared, taking a second to nod at Aurite before turning to the Queen. "There is a way to work around our current limitations. As much as the idea disgusts me, some of us could go and stay on Earth, and request for extra soldiers when needed."
"That is a good plan, and I suppose you're okay with staying there for long?"
"Unlike weaker youma, us General still keep our human form. We won't need to be wasting energy in a disguise spell to stay there. Besides, if I can search the city, I may be able to track down and eliminate Sailor V."
"I will stay in Tokyo as well," Aurite said. "I want to research on how advanced the Earth's armies really are, and search for anything that could help us take over that planet faster."
"Then you two may go. Learn all the weaknesses of those humans, and gather as much energy as you can."
"As you wish," the two Generals said in unison before vanishing.
"Hotaru, where are you running off to lately?"
"It's none of your business."
"Come on, tell your older sisters about it."
"You're not my sister, Michiru."
Michiru let out a sigh as Hotaru walked out of the house. "She's not the social kind, is she?"
"She is a lot more human than she want us to believe she is."
Michiru looked at the older woman. Legally, their mother, but in reality, she was more of a mentor, someone who had taught them a lot about combat, preparing them for the challenges ahead. "Setsuna, while I can't understand her behavior, I can agree with what she asked you."
"About Sailor Venus and the others?"
"Yes. Why is it that we must stay out of their fights? If we combined our forces..."
"You are forgetting I'm the one who can see all possible futures," Setsuna said. "You will have your own battles to take care of, and, when the time comes, you will be joining them."
"I'm still not sure, but if you say it's for the best, then I'm okay with it."
Setsuna smiled softly. She, Sailor Pluto, was the one who had found these two, two orphans living in orphanages, two reborn Senshi who she knew would play an important role in the battles to come. She had raised them, but she had also trained them, prepared them for combat. The time drew near for them to prove their skills, but she was sure they would get through it, somehow.
Hotaru walked in and looked around. As usual, the house was empty. Her father was a scientist, working for the army, and she didn't see him all too often. Her mother had died when she was still a little girl, and she had been a loner ever since. Her schoolmates were freaked out by her power, a power she had found rather hard to control at times. She knew some of them had feared her, even hated her, but she didn't mind. She needed no friends, now that she knew what her powers could be used for.
Maybe that was one of the reasons he had been so ready to accept Setsuna's offer that day. Maybe he knew she needed this, she needed someone to teach her how to control her powers.
Only one year had passed since then, though in 'reality' the time passed in a different way than in 'that place,' the place where they trained. Setsuna had been rather nice to her, she wasn't afraid of her powers, maybe because she, as Sailor Pluto, had powers that went beyond what Hotaru could ever dream of doing.
Still, she had learnt to control her own powers. The power to heal herself and others, and the other, darker side of her powers, the ability to drain any living being's energy. She had learnt to summon soul-less ghosts, something Setsuna called 'wraiths,' to help her fight.
She was different than Haruka and Michiru, Setsuna's adoptive daughters. She wasn't strong like Haruka, and she wasn't as agile as Michiru. She had little endurance, which made long battles something extremely difficult for her.
As she walked down the street, heading back to Setsuna's house, she sensed something. In a short range, she could sense living beings around her. Those with magic in them were like beacons of light to her, or, in the case of the one she was 'seeing,' beacons of darkness. "Youma."
Minako was surprised to see Artemis right outside her school. "What's up, Art?"
Artemis rushed off, and Minako followed him. Once they were a good distance away from school, he decided to tell her. "There's an enemy near, but this time it's not just a normal youma. If what I'm sensing it's true, this could be one of the Generals."
Minako stopped running. "That is..."
Artemis stopped and turned to look at Minako. She looked scared. Terrified. And he couldn't really blame her. If those Generals were as strong as what little he remembered of them, then... No, he couldn't think like that. "Minako, I can't force you to go and fight someone that powerful. But you're probably the only one who could have a chance to stop a General."
"But you said they're strong, and..."
"Listen, Sailor V... No, Sailor Venus. That General will target civilians, people who can't do a thing to defend themselves. I know you're scared, and you would have to be pretty stupid not to be scared, but only you can help them."
Minako stared at Artemis for almost one minute, before she shook her head. "I'm still scared to the bone, but that won't stop me. Venus Planet Power!"
Aurite looked around and couldn't help but laugh. A dozen or so humans were surrounding her, all armed with some sort of primitive, non-magical weapons. Their uniforms made it clear to her these were the city's defense forces. If that was the best this world had to offer, then this would be an easy conquest. "I see, you are sure your toy guns will stop me."
"Don't move!" One of the police officers said. He looked around and couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine. There were dozens of civilians all around the scene, unconscious, and pale. This was probably one of those monsters he had heard about, one of those monsters he had believed to be just fantasy. But this fantasy was just too real. "Drop your weapons and walk slowly towards us, and you won't be harmed."
"Weapons?" Aurite laughed. "I don't need any weapons to defeat you. Here, let me show you." She reached her hand out, tendrils of energy shooting in all directions, and her attackers all dropped to the ground, drained out of energy. She hadn't killed a single human, though, because they didn't deserve the honor of being killed by one of the strongest Generals of Beryl's army. No, when the day came, all these pathetic human soldiers would be sliced to shreds by common youma.
"That was quite a show."
Aurite turned to see a girl standing on top of one of the patrols. The suit she was wearing, Aurite knew it all too well. "Sailor Saturn?"
Saturn didn't mind being recognized. "You youma will not be allowed to roam free in this world. Begone."
"That's amusing, weakling. Die!"
Saturn looked at the incoming energy blast with the same emotionless face she had from the start. A glaive appeared in her hands, and she used it to cut the blast in half.
"Oh my, I see you're not a pushover."
"And I see my mentor overestimated you."
Aurite snarled at that. "That's it, brat, I'm done playing with you!"
Saturn saw Aurite rushing at her and nodded. "We're done playing, too."
"Gale Shot!"
Aurite was knocked aside by a strong, focused gust of wind. "What the heck..."
"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."
Aurite saw two new Senshi walk out from behind a parked truck and growled. "Uranus and Neptune?" There were this many Senshi around already? Well, it didn't really matter, she could beat them easily.
"Judging from your hair and skin, you should be Aurite," Saturn said, "the one rumored to be second in power only to Beryl and Kunzite. If that much is true..."
"It is, brat."
"... Then you're doomed to fail."
Aurite laughed. "This is too much fun. Even if there's three of you, you won't defeat me."
"You're all talk!" Uranus snapped and rushed at the woman.
"Fool," Aurite said as she rose her arms. Several energy blasts came from the ground itself, knocking the three Senshi to the ground. "You're rookies, and you're weak. There's no way ones like you could ever dream of fighting me as equals."
"Then what about me?"
Aurite looked up and paled. She knew who this green-haired Senshi was, one of the ancient Senshi. "Sailor Pluto? But you..."
"These are my protegees, so I'm afraid I can't let you kill them, Aurite."
"Big words for someone who never fights!" Aurite shouted as a dozen energy blasts appeared around Pluto, all homing on her. Aurite smiled, sure of her victory, until she saw Pluto hadn't made a move to dodge them, and the shots had done nothing to her. "What is..."
"I never fight, unless I know it's the only way out for the others." A staff appeared in Pluto's hands and she stared at Aurite for a second before pointing it at her. "Dead Scream." A nearly invisible ball of energy shot from the staff, hitting Aurite dead on and knocking her half a block away.
"This much power, how can you..."
"Your fate's already sealed, you will fall when the time's right, as will the rest of your race."
Aurite glared at Pluto for several seconds, then vanished.
"Thanks for the help."
Pluto turned to Uranus. "It's my duty to protect you. I hope this is a battle you can learn a lot from."
"We have to be stronger if we want to defeat Aurite."
"That's correct, Hotaru. You also need to study your foes, know what tricks they can use. That will let you find the best way to use your powers against them."
"In any case, I'm going to check on dad now. Call me if any more youma decide to attack today."
Kunzite looked at the short-skirted girl and had to try hard not to laugh. She was weak, he didn't need any scanner to see that. And he could see the fear in her eyes, hidden behind a spark of courage. "So, you must be the one they call Sailor V."
"That's right, youma. You should leave before I decide to attack you."
"Likewise," Kunzite noted dismissively. "I find it hard to believe something as weak as you defeated Kron and Leras."
"Believe what you want," V snapped. "Crescent Beam!"
Kunzite rose a shield, stopping her blast effortlessly. "So, is that it?"
"Uh..." Unfortunately, V thought, it was all she had to fight with. "You won't be able to block that one next time."
"Try all you may, Sailor V. I'm stronger than you, I have more energy reserves, and I've got combat experience. This will be your last battle."
V run towards her foe, jumping at the top of her speed, and kicking out with her left leg as she reached him. "Sailor V Kick!"
Kunzite blocked the kick, noticing it took more energy to block than the magic blast. He grabbed V's leg and tossed her to the side, smashing her into a parked car. "You are truly pathetic, V. But it's time to..."
"Leave her alone!"
V saw Artemis leap straight at the man's face, leaving some quite visible scratches there before Kunzite slapped him away. The small white cat hit a tree and fell to the ground, unconscious, or maybe even- "Art!"
Kunzite turned to her and smiled mockingly. "Don't worry, you will join him soon."
"Fireball!"
Something hit Kunzite from the side, knocking him to the ground. As he stood up, he saw a man in a white suit standing on top of a car, glaring at him. "What... Who the hell are you?"
"Name's Hunter Sigma, you may just call me Sigma," the man said. "And I can't stand those who bully girls weaker than them. Lightning!"
V was trying to stand up, while keeping an eye on Kunzite. This man, whoever he was, had managed to at least knock the white-haired youma down, though his attacks seemed to mostly make the General angry. She crawled to where Artemis was, and saw the cat was still breathing. "Hang in there, Art."
"Whirlwind!"
"Enough!" Kunzite deflected the wind gust and glared at Sigma. "I've got no time to play around with you, human."
"Who's playing?" Sigma snapped. "Also, if you're so intent in killing that girl, you shouldn't take your eyes off her."
Kunzite's eyes widened as he realized something. V wasn't where he had left her anymore. Had she escaped? "Damn you, you helped her escape!"
"Yes, that was my intention, but she's bad at giving up."
"Crescent Beam!"
The blast came from behind, and without a shield formed, it did some damage. Had he underestimated V, or was it the rage at seeing her pet hurt which made her stronger? In any case, Kunzite turned to the place where the attack had come from, and saw V smiling at him. "You stupid kid, I'm going to..."
"You're going to be hurt," V said.
"Flare!"
A blast of fire shot up from underneath Kunzite, sending him flying forwards. And that let him, he realized as he flew, open for V's next attack.
"Crescent Beam!"
Kunzite bounced once on the ground twice before stopping. This was impossible, a single Senshi and some human mage had damaged him this much? He realized that V was weak, yes, but that was compared to the power he had last time he fought a Senshi. If his god was awake like that time, then... But, he realized, brooding about the past when two foes were about to shoot you down wasn't a smart thing to do. "I will be back, V, and next time I will be ready for your friend."
V saw Kunzite vanish and fell to her knees. She had hit her right leg hard when he knocked her into that car, but it wasn't only that which caused her to sink down. If not for this Sigma person, she could have been killed today. "I... I'm weak."
"I wouldn't say that, if legends were true, not many warriors could have taken on a General like you did."
She looked at the man. He was wearing a mask over his eyes, much like she did. "Who are you?"
"An ally," Sigma said. "We will meet again. Teleport."
"Wow, he can teleport?" V whispered as she stared at the spot Sigma had been standing on a moment earlier. She noticed Artemis struggling to stand up and sighed in relief. "Art!"
Artemis looked around as he finally managed to stand. "Where's Kunzite?"
"Gone."
"What- You beat him?"
"I had someone helping me," V said, then flinched as she tried to stand up. "Damn..."
"Senshi heal faster than normal humans," Artemis explained, "so that pain should be gone soon."
"Good to know," V said as she carefully picked him up. "What about you?"
"Mooncats were also blessed with fast healing."
"It doesn't make getting hurt any easier," V muttered.
"Yes, that's right. So, who helped you this time? Did you get to see who it was?"
"He said his name was Sigma. Hunter Sigma."
"Hmm... That name sounds familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it before."
"Your memory's pretty messed up, isn't it?"
Artemis gave V a short glare, but then shook his head. "I don't know why, though, my 'sleep' shouldn't have any side-effects."
"Maybe you weren't supposed to sleep for that long?"
"I don't know, and the ones who could answer this are long gone."
Hotaru had reached her destination. To anyone who didn't know what this base was, it looked like a normal bunker. But inside it was the only branch of the Japanese Defense Forces that wouldn't take the incoming invasion as just urban legends.
"Good afternoon, miss."
Hotaru nodded at the men guarding the front door. She was one of the few civilians allowed in there, since her only living relative, her father, worked there. But there was another reason for them to grant her access, and she knew it. They already knew she was a Senshi. She didn't mind, and Setsuna didn't seem to be worried about it, either. But for the time being, she would let them think she wasn't aware of this.
After a rather long walk inside the base (which was far bigger than it looked, thanks to most of it being underground,) she reached her father's laboratory. "Dad, are you busy?"
The metallic door slid to the side, and a man looked at her from behind thick glasses. Some people would think the glasses made him look creepy, but Hotaru didn't mind. He was her father, and, also, she didn't mind his creepy looks.
"Hotaru, it's rare for you to come visit."
"I come here far more often than you go home," Hotaru noted.
"Isn't that true," the man mused, "so, what happened?"
"We had to fight one of the big youma today. The ones Pluto calls 'Generals.'"
"I see."
"And she beat us around without breaking a sweat."
"Oh. I take it Pluto rescued you."
"Yes. But it's strange. I shouldn't be bothered that this woman beat us, because I've never liked the idea of fighting. But I am. I don't want to lose to her again."
"If you were a warrior in your past life, then maybe some of that remains."
"Is Kino investigating Sailor V already?"
"Not as far as I know. Is she with you?"
"No, she's not in my group."
"That Sigma guy..."
"What's wrong?" Artemis looked at Minako. She had a few visible bruises, but most of the damage was gone. Minako had told her parents she had tripped while running, and from how fast her parents bought that lie, he could bet that was something that happened often.
"He was stronger than me," Minako said, but then shook her head. "No, not 'stronger' but a better fighter. His spells were weaker than mine, but he seemed to know what he was doing."
"You lack experience, but you can learn from your own mistakes."
"Of course," Minako said, "next time I see Kunzite, I'm going to blast him from behind first."
Artemis sighed. "Be careful, though. We're not sure that Sigma man is an ally."
"But he saved me."
"I know, but you shouldn't trust someone so easily."
"Hey, I trusted you."
Artemis smiled. "Yeah, and see where that got you." Minako stared at him, so he stared back at her. "What's wrong?"
"It's the first time I hear you joke, that's all," Minako said with a wink.
"You're quite a weird girl, you know that?"
"It's part of my charming personality," Minako beamed.
"Uh, yeah, charming personality indeed," Artemis said, rolling his eyes at her.
"I want a full report on the current crisis, Sigma."
Hunter Sigma looked at the woman talking to him. To those not trained in the magic arts, it would have seemed like the head of a woman floating in mid-air, and one would have almost expected it to be dripping blood down to the ground. But he knew the spell she was using to communicate through the countless miles that separated them, and thus wasn't surprised at all to be speaking to her in such a form. "I only managed to see one of the Senshi in Tokyo. If legends are to be trusted..."
"They are," the woman said, her tone showing no signs of doubt.
"... Then she's Sailor Venus. I can't tell whether she is a reborn Senshi or not, though, since she acts like a novice."
"Even a novice Senshi could outclass and outfight most of our clan," the woman said. "Make sure she understands you're an ally, or things could turn dangerous for you."
"I will, Huntress Hades."
The woman looked to the side, as if to make sure nobody else was listening, then smiled at Sigma. "Take care out there, son."
"Don't worry, mother, I'll be back home soon," Sigma said. He didn't doubt the statement he made, but he also didn't know just how soon he would be going back.
"What about the enemy?"
"Those 'youma' are relatively weak, but the one leading them is tough."
"What is the leader's name?"
"He calls himself Kunzite."
Hades' eyes widened as the man mentioned that name. "Then maybe I should send some backup."
"I take it this man is one of the strongest youma?"
"He was, from what legends say, the strongest of Beryl's generals."
"If that is the case, seeing how a novice Senshi and a mage can kick his rear, then all we have to do is wait for the other Senshi to awaken."
"That might not happen soon, son. Are you sure you need no help?"
"Trust me, I can handle this."
The woman took a minute to think about it, then nodded slowly. "I'll trust your judgement on this issue. But if you ever..."
"If I ever need someone to help me, I will let you know."
"Good, that's all I'm asking from you, Sigma. Prime Huntress Hades out."
Sigma looked at the spot where the 'floating head' had been and smiled. "So this Kunzite's the strongest, huh? Guess I'm lucky."
Things weren't progressing as she would have wanted them to. She hated this, her Generals should be far stronger than those Senshi, but the enemy still managed to stop their energy gathering. It was either how Zoicite had theorized, that the Senshi had means to detect the youma, or that they were always at the right place, at the right time. Or, Beryl thought, it could be a combination of both.
"Despite your lack of success, I'm still willing to give you both a chance to redeem yourselves. But I know as long as those Senshi stand in our way, then our energy gathering will go slowly."
"I've realized that too," Kunzite admitted, "and that's why I've made plans to take V out of our way, even without killing her."
"I'm listening."
"You see, there are three zones with active mana wells around the planet. One of those is right under Tokyo, the other one's in the city humans call London, and the third is in the city of New York."
"I think I know what you're planning," Beryl said, letting amusement creep into her face.
"I will move my operations to England, leaving clues on it for Sailor V to find. Once she's out of the way, it will mean the other Generals can go ahead with the draining. And, of course, I will be draining as much energy as I can from the humans in London."
Aurite smiled at that. "I like that plan. I think I will lead Pluto's group to New York. However, I have to admit I'm having trouble beating them."
"Then I can help you."
Aurite looked at the pale-skinned General that had appeared besides her. "I accept your offer, Luminite."
"Go ahead with both plans," Beryl said, and smiled as the two women left. "Jadeite!"
The blonde General walked out of the shadows, and bowed before looking up at the Queen. "At your command."
"You will be in charge of gathering energy in Tokyo after Kunzite and Aurite leave."
"I will not fail," Jadeite said with a smirk. It would be easy, after all, if all the Senshi were out of his way, chasing after the other Generals.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
Minako looked at the Mooncat and then sighed. "What exactly are the youma after?"
"My memory's a bit blurry about that, but from what I remember, they want to take over the world, as they did already in the past. The Senshi stopped them from expanding their domains."
"Expanding?" Minako asked. "Where would they expand to, if they already controlled the world?"
"There were humans living in all planets."
Minako looked at Artemis for a few seconds before whistling. "No way."
"It's true."
"But that means... I'm Sailor Venus, so I'm from Venus?"
Artemis was surprised she had made that connection so fast. "You were, in your past life."
"So, are all the Senshi like me?"
"They can use magic attacks, just like you," Artemis said.
Minako stood up from her bed and smiled. "Maybe we should contact those other Senshi who have been seen around the city lately."
"I'll try to find them," Artemis said, "but from what I could see, they are good at hiding."
After their initial failure against Aurite, the three girls had improved greatly. Aurite had attacked twice since then, and they hadn't needed Pluto's help at all.
It was good, though, since Setsuna had been watching over someone else, a person with powers like those they had. Only in this boy's case, the powers were still dormant, waiting for the right time to awaken.
"I was right, Moment, it was you after all."
Setsuna turned around to see the white Mooncat, Artemis, staring at her. "Been a long time since anyone adressed me by that name."
"Not surprising, you were never one to socialize."
Setsuna smiled at that. "Are you going to tell Venus about us?"
"If you didn't contact me, that means you know something I don't, and I shouldn't know about yet," Artemis noted. "So, how many Senshi have you found?"
"A few," Setsuna said.
Artemis knew Pluto wasn't going to give him a straight answer even before he asked, so he wasn't too surprised by that. "What about the other Mooncats, are they..."
"They're alive, but they have yet to awaken. Don't worry, they will be there when you need them."
"So, that boy you're watching, is he one of them?"
"If I told you, I would have to kill you," Setsuna said before vanishing.
Artemis stared at the spot where Pluto had last been in shock. From what little he could remember about her, she had never been one to joke about anything. "I better keep this meeting to myself," he noted before walking away.
"I will scout the city, just in case."
"All the Senshi are in Tokyo right now, Luminite."
"That's true, but there may be others waiting for us there. And even if there's no Senshi, maybe some lesser human warrior, like that Sigma man."
Aurite thought about this for a few seconds and couldn't help but agreeing. It was better to make sure no interferences would come, specially since they had to deal with more than one Senshi already. "Right, go to the city... What's its name again?"
"Some call it New York, but others refer to it as the 'big apple,'" From what I could gather, 'apple' is a quite popular type of fruit.
"We'll be soon taking a bite off that big apple, then," Aurite joked.
Luminite decided not to comment on Aurite's attempt at humor. "I'm going now, you get everything ready for our little show."
Artemis looked at the small artifact. To anyone other than him, the now broken, crystalline capsule was not there, thanks to a spell imbued in it. However, this was the second capsule he had found, both broken, which meant at least two other Mooncats were awake.
That meant there would soon be other Senshi in Tokyo. If he could contact those cats, then maybe they could form a team, like the one Pluto was...
His thoughts were interrupted as he spotted something. A man with white, long hair, entering a book store. Even from a distance, there was no way he wouldn't know who this was. "Kunzite... What is he planning now?"
He considered following the man, but decided against it. He would be better off coming back with Venus, as she had already beaten Kunzite twice before.
What he didn't know, was that Kunzite had seen him, and had let him go. Killing the cat now would be of no use to him, as he wanted it and the girl to follow them out of the country. Yes, the bluff was ready, and both the cat and the girl would surely fall for it.
Things had been pretty normal in the city lately, and he couldn't complain. He needed only to wait, though, for he knew things couldn't remain calm. Something was bound to happen. Something like a van stopping in front of a bank, and several suspicious men walking out of it and into the bank.
He pressed his wristwatch's side and spoke to it. "Are you there?"
A female voice came from the watch. "Zero, what is it?"
"A bank robbery, from what I can see. Can you see where I am?"
"You don't need to ask that," the same voice said, but it wasn't coming from the watch, but from behind him.
He looked at the girl as he turned around. While she was by no mean someone who would stand out in a crowd, he knew her looks were deceiving.
"Stop staring," the girl snapped with a fake stern voice.
"Can't help it," the boy noted, causing her to giggle, and then they both turned to look at the blue van. "Should we wait for them to get out?"
"That wouldn't be any fun."
He smiled at that. "What are you planning?"
"I'm sure you'll love this."
The leader of the small gang of criminals couldn't help but smile as he walked out of the bank. The guards had been easy to deal with, and things were going smoothly. They only had to leave before the cops arrived. Yes, everything was perfect. Everything...
... Except for the fact their van was somehow upside-down on top of a tree, and their driver was nowhere to be seen. The leader saw a girl standing in front of the tree where their van had been put and let out a snarl. "Oh great, it's that psycho
."
"Name's Nova," the girl said, glaring at them from behind the black mask she wore over her eyes. "Now if you would be kind enough to leave the money behind, I may consider not knocking you all out cold.
The leader's answer was quick, he whipped his arm forwards, taking the shotgun he was hiding inside his coat out in one swift, practiced move, then fired it.
Nova simply stood there, as the many small pellets fell harmlessly to the ground, after hitting an invisible barrier in front of her. "Now, that wasn't a wise move."
"The- She really is invincible!"
Nova let out a chuckle. "Maybe I am, but I don't say this was a dumb move because of what I can do."
"Then what the you mean?" the boss snapped, but then grunted and fell to the ground, unconscious.
The rest of the gang saw someone standing right behind their boss. Much like the girl, he was wearing a black suit, but he also wore a black hood which only let his eyes visible. "Oh," one of the thieves said, "it's that ninja kid!"
"You guys just love using that 'f' word, don't you?" the 'ninja' mused, then saw them all pointing handguns at him. He pulled out two swords and stared at them. "Go ahead, try your luck."
One of the men laughed at that. "You can't be serious... Swords can't stop bullet, boy, not in real life. Kill him!"
The man stood there, swinging his swords swiftly and in a seemingly random way at the incoming bullets, and still stood as the barrage ended, unharmed, while the bullets shot at him fell to the ground. "No luck," he said. "Time to go to sleep."
Nova walked to the 'ninja' as the thieves all fell to the ground, hit by her invisible attack. "You should stop showing off, specially since it's not you stopping those bullets, Zero."
Zero, the ninja, smiled at that, but then remembered she couldn't see his face. "It scares them and keeps them from aiming at you, so I will gladly 'show off' if I can."
"Let them fire at me, Zero. You know they won't get me."
"And then what would I do, sit and eat popcorn while you beat them down? That would be quite boring, Hana."
"Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you, Terry." Nova said sternly.
"Because of my charming personality, my incredible sense of humor and my looks?"
Nova shook her head at that and smiled. "Well, it surely isn't because of your modesty."
He looked at the tall woman he had met only minutes ago. It would have been quite hard for him to believe she was who she claimed to be, if not for the fact he could sense this woman's power. "I think mom's not going to believe this."
"What I've told you is true, Kage. There's a high chance you are one of us."
"If you are really Pluto, and I have no reason to doubt that, then you should know."
"That's an assumption I would be happy to do without. What I see are all possible futures, and not as clearly as I would want to, sometimes. I cannot tell which future will come to pass, but I can try to make certain futures come to pass. For example, I could have let you go on, unaware of what may come."
"But telling me what my future might bring steers me in the right direction," Kage said, following the woman's reasoning.
Setsuna smiled at that. "That's correct."
"I will have to tell my mother about..."
"Don't worry, I will speak to Prime Huntress Aries personally," Setsuna said.
"Shouldn't we inform the other clans?"
"They will become aware of our presence eventually, if they haven't already. But don't worry about that, go back home for the time being. We will soon have to move to the east."
"To Australia?" Kage guessed.
"No, further to the east. Much further."
"Oh," Kage said, realizing what she meant by that. "Good thing I paid attention to my English classes."
"Here it is."
Sailor V looked at the book store and flinched. "I wonder what he's planning this time. That place looks empty."
"Only way to find out is going in," Artemis noted.
The two approached the building as stealthily as they could. Artemis had to admit that Minako, despite being quite carefree, was becoming more of a warrior with each battle. The process was slow, and sometimes painful, but he knew she'd eventually become a good fighter.
As they sneaked into the building, they could see Kunzite speaking to someone. A youma, they realized, and one that looked like a cross between a cat and a plant. Both the youma and the general knew V and her pet were there, but they both knew they had to make it look like they had not noticed them.
"I've grown tired of V's interference," Kunzite said, "so I've created this." He pointed at the large, ring-shaped artifact resting on the far wall. Small energy arcs shot through the center of the 'ring' every second, as the machine charged for whatever it was meant to do.
"What exactly is that machine?" the youma asked, fully knowing the machine was just for shows.
"This, Cattleus, is a long range teleporter. It will allow me to travel to a far away country, where I will continue draining energy for our Queen."
V decided to make her grand entrance right then. "Not if I can help it!"
"Damn it, she's already here," Kunzite exclaimed, sounding as surprised as he could. "Cattleus, kill her!"
The cat-like youma tackled V to the ground before she could react, and tried to slash at her face. V caught both her claws with her hands, but couldn't get the creature off her. "Damn it... Art, destroy that machine!"
Artemis sighed. "Easier said than done," he muttered, then noticed something moving in the shadows. "Or maybe it will be easy after all."
Kunzite was about to walk into the "ring" when he heard a shout of "Fireball" and something hit the machine. He laughed as he saw Sigma standing on top of a table. "Silly boy, you think I would make this machine weak enough to be destroyed by something like that? Sadly, I must take my leave, but I'll leave my youma here to keep your company." And with that, he walked through the ring, vanishing as he passed through. A second after he did, the ring turned into dust.
"Damn it, he escaped," Sigma muttered, then saw V was still struggling to keep the 'cat girl' from clawing her face off. "Need help, Venus?"
"She's stronger than she looks," V commented, not noticing just what he had called her.
Artemis leapt on the cat youma's back, digging his claws into her skin. The youma yelped in pain and stood up, trying to reach for her attacker, and failing to notice V was up and ready to finish her.
"I've got her, Art," V said, and the Mooncat understood exactly what she meant, and leapt off the creature's back. The youma didn't quite get the meaning, until the shout of "Crescent Beam" and the light blast piercing through her made her realize her mistake.
Sigma smiled. "Guess my help wasn't needed after all. What was Kunzite planning?"
"He said something about going to a far away country," V commented, then looked around. "But what country?"
Artemis looked around and noticed a few books sitting close to where the machine had been. "I will make a wild guess and say it's England."
V looked at the books. They were all books about England and London, so she could only agree with her friend. "Damn it, how are we going to get there?"
"I'll find a way," Artemis noted, then realized someone was missing. "Hey, where's Sigma?"
"Gone, as usual," V said, then her eyes widened as she realized something from the battle. "Wait a minute... Art, he called me Venus, not V! How does he know?"
"Either he's a youma spy, or he somehow knows about the Senshi," Artemis guessed. "Venus was the only Senshi with control over light, after all."
"I hope he's not a youma," V said, "I kinda like that guy."
Artemis smiled at that. Yes, Sigma had helped them in several battles, it would be a pity if he turned out to be just a youma in disguise.
"Sir, your father is back from his trip."
The boy was distracted by this, and the girl sparring with him took the chance to knock him down to the ground, straddling him before slapping him playfully on the forehead. "Don't get distracted, Terry."
"Not my fault," Terry muttered, then turned to the man who had interrupted their sparring. "Sam, is he coming home soon?"
"I believe so, sir," the man said. "Are you going out to play again?"
"We were planning to, yes," the girl said.
"Miss Hana, please take care of him."
"Don't worry, I'll bring him back in one piece, Sam."
Terry growled. "Hey now, I'm not a helpless little boy."
"You're a helpless big boy," Hana teased.
"Let's just go out. I feel like punching out some more criminals."
Sam saw the couple walk out of the room and smiled. Those two were a strange duo, but considering what their lives were like, they were pretty normal. Neither fought criminals with their underwear over their pants, for starters, which was a good thing.
"So the youma are coming here?"
"Unless it's just a bluff," Sigma said to the woman, "but I doubt it. I'll stay for a few more days, just in case."
"I will send some of our best Hunters to watch over the city. If we detect any youma activity, I'll let you know at once."
"Good," he looked to the side, then back to the woman. "Oh, and mom, I may have found out who Venus is. Her 'civilian' identity, I mean."
The woman seemed surprised. "From what legends said, they're hard to identify."
"Yes, but I have only seen one white cat with a moon-like spot on his forehead... And I've seen him enter a certain house, several times, in the last few days. I suspect that means Venus lives there."
"You should keep an eye on them."
"That's what I've been doing, and I learnt that she's taking an English crash course. She was also recently chosen to study overseas, in England. There's too many coincidences around her."
The small, violet Mooncat looked at her prey. She had a quite strange hairdo, but she was the one she had been looking for. She was one of the Senshi.
The first few days in this world had been quite strange for the cat. She had awakened with almost no memories of who she was and what she was meant to do, but those memories returned in a matter of minutes. It was easy for her to pass as a normal cat, since there were no physical differences between them and a Mooncat. But from what she had learnt about this era, she was possibly the only Mooncat alive. She had heard news of Senshi being spotted in this city the humans called Tokyo, but she could guess the one responsible for that was Sailor Pluto.
The Mooncat had only managed to find one possible Senshi thus far, and that was quite frustrating. She had observed her target for a few days, and was sure the girl had powers. She just needed them to awaken, and she had decided today would be the day that would happen.
The swords clashed, and the two men grappled for a few seconds, before jumping away from each other. Hana observed the battle from a safe distance, amused by the show these two were giving. She knew if the older man wanted to, he could end the battle in a second, but that wouldn't help his disciple improve.
Terry relaxed his guard as he took a moment to recover his breath. "So, master Hakko, what do you think?"
"I think you're still a rookie," the older man said, just before rushing in, aiming for a slash to his foe's chest.
Terry leapt to the side, avoiding the initial charge, but then had to bring both his swords up to parry a potent slash. Much despite himself, he could only agree with Hakko, he was but a rookie compared to him. But that didn't mean he would not try to win.
Hakko noticed the leg swipe Terry was aiming for and countered it by kicking out with his leg. That caused Terry to lose balance and fall to the ground with a grunt. "I must admit, however, that you've got fast thinking on your side. But that alone is not enough to win a fight."
Terry saw the man walking away and stood up. "I'm lucky I've found nobody out there that could fight better than me, then."
"There are evils out there not even I could fight against," Hakko said, "I just hope you won't have to fight them yourselves."
Hana saw Hakko leave and shook her head. "Done playing with swords?"
"Am I ever?" Terry joked, but noticed his friend wasn't in quite a good mood. "Something bothering you?"
Hana shook her head. "Nothing."
"I may not be the one with mind powers, but I still know when something's wrong, Hana."
She sat on the lawn and gave a small shrug. "It's just that I feel like these powers I have- Heck, even your training, well..."
He sat besides her. "What's the problem?"
"I don't feel like they're just meant to fight second-class criminals."
"Maybe you're right, a superhero and his sidekick need a super villain or four to fight against."
She gave him a halfhearted glare. "A superhero and his sidekick?"
"Let's just give the city a try. Maybe there's some loser with metal tentacles or a fish bowl on his head out there."
Hana laughed at that and stood up. "Sometimes you can be too silly, Terry."
"Thanks, I try."
As they walked back into the house, his mind drifted to the past. Terry had known Hana for a few years, before they even became friends. He had always seen her as yet another snob girl at school (which was, by default, how he saw every kid at his school,) but it took only one chance encounter outside school, when they were both ten, to change his mind about her...
That day, he had been about to enter the car, when he heard what sounded like shouts, coming from an alley near the school. He looked at Samuel, the family's butler. "I'll be back in a minute, Sam."
"Sir, wait, it could be dangerous."
"Can't be more dangerous than Hakko's training."
He left the butler and walked to the alley, taking a look in before deciding what to do. He saw several boys around his age, and they were surrounding a girl. A girl he knew he had seen at school before. And he could also hear what they were telling her.
"I told you, you're my girlfriend now."
The girl snorted at that. "And I told you to leave me alone."
"And what will you do, cry until we do?" another of the 'brave' boys asked. That caused them all to laugh.
Terry decided to make his entrance right then. "I don't know about you, guys, but I heard her tell you to leave her alone."
The group's 'leader' recognized him. "Back off, Zephyr."
Terry smiled. "Let's make a deal. If you can knock me down, I'll leave. If you can't, you'll leave her alone."
The other boy laughed. He was bigger than this Zephyr kid, so it would be no challenge to knock him flat. "If you insist!" he snapped before rushing at his foe.
Terry waited until the boy was close enough, before sidestepping and tripping him, sending him crashing face-first against the alley's dirty ground. "I guess I won."
The others surrounded Terry, forgetting about their 'prey.' "Can we try too?"
Terry knew he had little chance to win against all ten of them, but still stood his ground. "Be my guests," he teased.
Through all this, the bullies had almost forgotten about the girl. And Terry had to admit he had also overlooked her. But he saw all the kids around him drop down to the ground, and realized the one he wanted to rescue was now looking at him, her eyes white. "What the..."
The girl shook her head and her eyes went back to normal. "Thanks for the help, Zephyr."
"You're welcome," Terry said, sparing a glance at his would-be foes. They were all clearly unconscious. "What was that?"
She seemed unsure about something for a second, but then sighed. "I can do things with my mind, like moving objects..."
"So you're a psychic? Cool."
"I thought you would be freaked out. Everyone but my parents is."
Terry shook his head "I think it's amazing.... Thompson, right?"
"Call me Hana."
"Then call me Terry," Terry said.
"Sir, I must admit I didn't know you would be able to beat this many foes."
Terry turned to see Samuel standing there, admiring what he thought was Terry's work. "Actually, I didn't beat them down, she did."
"Oh," Sam said. "Is she studying with master Hakko?"
Terry chuckled. "No, but I think I would like to see him try to beat her."
"I don't like fighting," Hana said.
"Oh well, nobody's perfect," Terry noted with a smile.
They had become friends after that, and eventually something more. Terry's mind returned to the present as he checked the area around the tall building they were standing on. "Nothing's happening in this part of the city. Maybe we should try going somewhere else."
Hana grimaced. "Wait, I'm sensing something." She looked down and pointed. "There, that woman."
Terry looked down as well. The woman had white, short hair, and was wearing what looked like a military uniform. "She looks strange, yes, but she's almost up to par with this neighborhood."
"You can't sense what I can. That woman's got a strange aura around her."
They saw her walk into a restaurant, and seconds later, the whole building went black. "What the heck?" The woman walked out of the building, which returned to normal, but they could see she was literally glowing.
"We need to stop her," Hana said. Her suit 'appeared' around her and she smiled.
Terry shook his head at that. It was a trick, and Terry knew how it worked. She could wear her 'Nova' suit and create the illusion of normal clothing over it, so that whoever looked at her would see Hana, not Nova. When she had to fight, she simply stopped the illusion.
He, however, took a more mundane approach to it, as he had been wearing his "Zero" suit since they left his house. "Okay, let's go see what Snow White did in that restaurant."
Luminite couldn't complain, she had more than enough info on the unimportant defenses of this city, and had just gathered a lot of energy for her Queen. All she had to do now was return to the Dark Kingdom and tell Aurite all she had learnt.
"Hey, Snow White, what are you up to?"
However, that would have to wait. "You two are no Senshi," she noted looking at the two human kids, "so you better leave before you get hurt."
"Now I'm scared," Zero snapped, pulling his two swords out. "Tell us what the heck was that you did at the restaurant."
"That? I was merely collecting the energy of your inferior race."
"So you're some sort of vampire," Zero said. "I thought vampires couldn't be out during the day."
"I'm not a vampire, I am a youma, and one of the strongest ones," Luminite snapped. She could have blasted this kid and his girl out by now, but she was amused by their ignorance.
"Let's see if my swords are stronger, shall we?" Zero asked, then vanished.
No, he didn't really vanish, Luminite realized, but jumped up so fast she only realized where he was a second before he fell down on her. She managed to leap back, but his swords still left twin slices along her chest. "What are you?"
"A human," Zero said, "now die."
"You first," Luminite countered. Before her foes could figure out what she was planning, she shot an energy blast right at the hero's chest, knocking him back several meters.
"Zero!" Nova watched him fly back and caught him with her powers, but noticed he was out for the count. "You're going to pay for this."
Luminite snorted. "I wasn't ready for him, but you won't pull another trick like that."
"I don't need to," Nova said, her eyes turning white as she focused on her foe. "Interesting, you're definitely not human," she noticed as she 'saw' what this creature's body looked like with her powers. "But you do have a heart, right... There."
Luminite was shocked. Somehow, this human girl was stopping her from moving, and she could feel it now... This girl had stopped her heart. If she stood there, she was dead for sure. Fortunately, she did have a second option.
Nova saw the woman vanish and frowned. "Left already?" She felt something right behind her, and knew she wouldn't be able to react in time. As she turned to face the threat, however, she saw Luminite had a shocked look in her face, and was looking down at the blade coming out of her chest. "Zero!"
Zero was kneeling right behind Luminite, still holding his sword. "Die already,."
"You won't be this lucky twice," Luminite growled before teleporting away and back to her makeshift base.
"Are you okay, Terry?" Nova asked.
"I'll live," Zero said, but then fall on his back. "Ow..."
Nova run to his side "Terry!"
"I'm quite useless, huh?"
"Don't say that, you saved my life."
Zero smiled. "That's what sidekicks do."
"Okay, time to visit the hospital."
"Oh, come on. It's just a flesh wound."
Nova sighed at him. "I see your sense of humor wasn't affected by that blast."
Hours later, Hana was sitting on Terry's bed. Fortunately, he had only gotten a few bruises and scratches from his fight, but she was still worried. "Terry?"
"What's wrong?" Terry asked. He was feeling a lot better now, but he could tell something was bothering her.
"I know you want to protect me, and I really appreciate what you do for me, but you don't need to keep me out of the fight, you know?"
"What? I didn't..."
"You did, you rushed that woman and started attacking her without even letting me try to help."
Terry looked at her for a few seconds before nodding. "I guess I did."
"You don't have to get hurt for my sake, Terry."
"Oh, but my plan worked, didn't it?"
Hana laughed at that. "That was no plan at all, mister."
"Or was it? You'll never know how my mind really works."
"I could find out rather easily," Hana joked.
Terry flinched. "Uh, I think I'll pass, thank you."
Later that day, the two were talking to Kyo Hakko, Terry's martial arts master. "... And then the woman vanished."
Hakko sighed. "That sounds quite incredible, but I've seen my share of incredible myself."
"How would you fight someone like that?" Terry asked.
"I wouldn't," Hakko said with a neutral stare.
"Wow, that sure helps a lot, old man."
Hakko growled at him. He didn't like the nickname, and Terry knew it. "If I were forced to fight someone who could use ranged attacks, I would try to use my surroundings as a shield, and lure them in. Problem is, this enemy seems to be good in close range too."
"She surprised me this time around, that's all."
"You're forgetting about one factor which will make it easier for you to fight her," Hakko said, then looked at Hana. "This young woman here."
Terry nodded. "I know. But have you ever heard about something like this? Women throwing light beams around and draining people?"
"As a matter of fact," Hakko said, "I have. There's rumors of monsters like those appearing in Tokyo."
"What's that woman doing all the way here, then?" Hana pondered.
"Maybe she's lost," Terry joked.
"Or maybe they've decided to try their luck in this part of the world," Hakko said. "I'll be keeping an eye on the city."
"Going to join us?"
"No, I won't be playing. If those youma are left unchecked, they could drain a lot of innocents."
Terry saw Hakko stand up to leave and sighed. "Why not tell the police, or the army?"
"Normal weapons are almost useless against youma."
"My sword left a nice hole in that," Terry commented.
"As I said, normal weapons are useless."
Terry stared at the man's back as he walked away. "I swear, that guy's keeping a lot of secrets from us."
"You're paying him to teach you how to fight, not to tell you the story of his life."
"Sometimes you can be quite a pest, girl. But know what, I think you got your wish."
"What wish?"
"You were complaining about how you didn't have any strong foe to fight against."
Hana thought about that for a few seconds before nodding. "'Be careful what you wish for,' huh?"
Minako could now see Artemis was far trickier than he seemed. Not only had he changed the school files to have her put in a fake student exchange program, and had managed to get her a free English crash course, but also, he was right now taking a nap on her lap, and nobody in the plane seemed to care. She was sure if she asked him, he'd just say it was magic, so she didn't ask. After all, it was just as strange as her own ability to shoot laser beams out of her fingertips.
What she liked the most about this trip, was that her seat was next to a cute foreign-looking guy. He seemed to be in his late teens, but she didn't really mind. She noticed he was looking at her and felt her cheeks heat up.
"Haven't we met before?" he asked. Though his accent was a bit strange, she hadn't expected him to speak Japanese at all.
"Uh, no, I don't think we have."
"I can guess you're going to England to study there. Am I right?"
Minako nodded at that. "I will stay there for a while."
"So I suppose you can speak English."
"A little bit," Minako said, unsure if her accent would be noticeable.
"Don't worry, I didn't know a lot of Japanese when I came to Tokyo. My name's Brad."
"Nice to meet you, my name's Minako."
The plane trip wouldn't be as boring as Minako had first thought. And even though she didn't know it yet, she would see this man again in a not-so-far future.
She couldn't really believe how lucky she had been lately. Brad had given her his phone number and address, in case she needed help, but she hadn't looked at them. However, as she reached her new house, she was rather shocked. The 'house' was too big to be called just a house, at least from her point of view.
"Are you sure this is the right address?" She asked Artemis.
Artemis saw nobody around and nodded. "Yes, this is the house. I didn't know it would be this big, either."
"Well, you know the saying, don't look a gift horse in the leg."
The cat stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head. "That's not how the saying goes."
The front garden was quite a show, too, but Minako realized she couldn't just stand there gawking at the house from the outside. As she walked to the gate, to look for a caller of some sort, she felt someone chuckle behind her. She turned and was frozen in surprise for a second. "... Brad?"
The guy was standing there, looking at her with unconcealed amusement in his face. "What are you doing here?"
"This is where I'll live," she said. "What are you doing here?"
Brad laughed at that. "That's my house. My mother's house, at least."
Minako flinched. "No way..."
Brad nodded and also switched to Japanese. "I don't believe in coincidences, but I don't know if I can call this anything else but that."
"A gift horse, indeed," Minako whispered.
"What?"
Minako giggled. "Never mind." She looked at the house and smiled. "I can't wait to see how your house looks from the inside."
Aurite saw Luminite crawl through the portal and couldn't help but cringe. Despite having used a healing spell, the wound in Luminite's chest was quite noticeable. "What the darkness happened to you?"
"Two humans, a crazy swordsman and a magician girl, showed up after I finished gathering energy. The magician used some kind of strange magic, she chanted no spell, but she managed to stop me from moving, and stopped my heart."
"That sounds like trouble. Maybe I should go next time?"
"No, I'll handle them myself."
"Don't be a fool. If that magician is dangerous, then you shouldn't underestimate her."
"The girl is easy to fool once you know how to, but the guy was the one doing this to me," Luminite noted. True, her wound was almost closed, but it still hurt. Next time she saw that kid, she would make sure to repay the favor. "I think I could use your help, Aurite."
"Consider it payment in advance for the help I'm expecting you to give me with Pluto's group," Aurite said with a small smile.
Kunzite was growing impatient. He had attacked twice in the last week, and no signs of Sailor V anywhere. Had she not taken the bait? No, he was sure she would buy his scam. So he just had to attack again, and then... But he realized there was now a youma in the room with him. "What do you want, Flia?"
The youma looked like a humanoid fly, and was ugly even by youma standards. "My Lord Kunzite, Jadeite's first energy draining operation is about to start."
"Then I hope V didn't stay there. It would be bad for Jadeite to have her show up today. If V is here in London, then you will have to lure her out, Flia."
The youma bowed to him. "As you wish, Lord Kunzite."
Sailor V stood on top of a tall building, looking at the results of her last battle. She was getting better at this, true, but sometimes she wished she could deal with these monsters before they punched a few holes in the walls of whatever building they attacked. Of course, she knew several of those holes were from her own attack. A proof that she was getting better, as she wasn't limited to one or two shots per fight anymore.
"This youma was rather easy," she commented.
The cat sitting besides her nodded, "Sigma helped, and without Kunzite showing up, there was little chance of you losing."
"I'm getting better, right?"
"I'll admit you've come a long way from your first battle, but... You're quite not as skilled as you could be."
"I still kick Kunzite's rear whenever he shows up."
"Don't grow overconfident, Mina. If you do, you'll leave your guard down, and that could mean losing a fight."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not going to fail in my mission, don't worry."
Artemis gave her a short glare. "I wasn't talking about the mission. I don't want to see you get hurt, or worse."
V smiled at him. "Sorry, and... Thanks."
"Kunzite's just sent a report to us, Sailor V is in London."
"Good, that's one less problem to take care of," Beryl said, "but Aurite, I'm growing impatient about your group."
"We're going to take care of the two pseudo-warriors in New York today," Aurite said, "Luminite's preparing the stage for that."
The Queen nodded at that, then looked to the other General standing near her throne. "Jadeite, we cannot afford to stop our energy gathering operations in Tokyo. You will go there today and drain as much as you can from those disgusting humans."
"I have already located a place where I can gather a large quantity of energy," Jadeite explained.
"Go, and do not fail me," Beryl said before giving him an evil smile. "Soon the Earth will belong to us youma, as it should."
The girl just stared at the cat as it spoke. It spoke, a cat! Of course, considering what the cat was saying, about her being some sort of warrior and having to look for a Princess, then the fact this cat spoke wasn't all that strange. However, the cat had stopped speaking, which meant she was supposed to say something.
"So I'm going to be a super heroine?"
"Usagi, this is no game, do you understand?"
"Of course I do, kitty."
"My name's Luna," the cat snapped.
A purple cat. From the Moon. And it had a name. Could things get any dumber? She hoped she would wake up from this dream already. "Luna, huh? That's a funny name."
Luna sighed and shook her head. "Okay..." a small, pink brooch appeared floating in front of her. "Hold that in your hand and say the words 'Moon Prism Power.'"
Usagi grabbed the brooch and looked at it. "That sounds like something a manga heroine would say."
"Manga?" Luna asked. "Just do as I told you."
"Fine, I'll do it, but only because I want to wake up from this stupid dream already. Moon Prism Power!"
Usagi's form was blurred by light as pink ribbons appeared out of thin air, wrapping around her body and forming a white leotard, blue collar and skirt, and red bows in the front and back of the suit. White gloves and red boots completed the attire, and as the light dimmed, Usagi looked at herself in the mirror. "Wow, this is cool!"
"As I thought, you are Sailor Moon."
"Sailor Moon?" Usagi repeated. For some reason, the name sounded vaguely familiar. "So, I can use magic now, right?"
Luna nodded. "Yes, you can." She stopped and looked out the window. "And you will have to use it sooner than I thought. An enemy's attacking."
"This late at night? Can't they wait until the morning?"
Luna sighed in defeat. "Usagi... No, Sailor Moon. Listen, as I told you before, the youma are evil creatures, and they are draining humans. We have to stop that from happening."
"What happens to those who get drained?"
"That depends, but if youma really want to, they can drain a person's life energy completely."
Sailor Moon paled at that. "They... Kill people?"
"Yes, and we're wasting time here talking while someone's being attacked. Let's go!"
"All right, you don't have to shout, Luna," Sailor Moon groaned as the two leapt out the window and dashed down the street.
In the other side of the planet, two other heroes were also searching for youma. After two hours of searching, however, they were quite ready to give up. "At least the weather's nice."
Nova smiled. "Yeah, it would suck to be searching for that woman under the rain." She stopped and looked around, until she got her bearings. "There she is. But she's not alone."
Zero looked down and saw what she meant. That white-haired woman was back, but there was another woman with her now. "Two for the price of one."
"You take care of the gold-haired one, I'll take care of our old friend," Nova said.
"Sounds like a plan."
To say that Naru Osaka was scared would have been a huge understatement. Her mother had turned into a monster, a monster with black, evil eyes and a sinister smile. No, this couldn't be her mother, her mother would never hurt her. Her mother would never try to choke her to death, which was just what this creature was seemingly trying to do. And she was feeling tired, sleepy, she knew it wouldn't be long until she just couldn't stay awake anymore.
"Stop it right there!"
Naru saw two shadows in the doorway. One was a small cat, the other, a girl. "Who..."
The monster's head turned (in a way a woman's head shouldn't be able to turn) and looked at the newcomer. "Who the darkness are you?"
Sailor Moon took a second to look at her surroundings. Dozens of unconscious women were scattered around the store, and they were all wearing at least one piece of jewelry. "Wow, I think I was lucky to not have enough money to buy one of those after all."
"I asked you something, brat," the monster snarled.
"My name is Sailor Moon, and for using beautiful jewelry for your evil goals, I will punish you!"
Luna saw Moon striking several poses as she went through that phrase, and sighed. "All that posing isn't really needed, you know?"
"Magical girls always do it," Moon countered.
The creature growled at her. "Sailor Moon? One of the Sailor Senshi? That's quite convenient, since killing one of your kin will make me my master's favorite." As she said that, the women all around the store rose, their eyes glowing. "Kill her!"
Naru watched as Sailor Moon was chased around the store by the women. She had heard rumors of the Senshi, specially Sailor V, but they were always brave, skilled warriors. This girl was quite the contrary. Still, she had saved her. "Get her, Sailor Moon!"
Moon heard that and stopped running. No, she couldn't be scared, not when her best friend was in danger. "Luna, how do I fight these women?"
"They're being controlled by the creature," Luna explained, "so if you kill the creature, they will stop." She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and turned in that direction. "Who is...."
Something shot by the youma's side, slicing her cheek. As the youma looked down, she saw it was a red rose, which had stabbed into the floor after hitting her. "What? Who are you?"
The man looked at her from the doorway. "Jewels should enhance a woman's beauty, not cloud her mind and make her act against her will. I cannot forgive someone like you."
The youma growled at him. "I'm going to destroy you, human!"
Luna smiled. "Moon, do it now, while she's distracted."
"Do what, punch her?"
"No, use your..." It was then that Luna realized she hadn't told Sailor Moon how to attack her enemies. Such a dumb mistake for her to make! But now wasn't really the time to be mentally slapping herself in the forehead. "Concentrate, Moon, and look for the words in your mind."
Moon noticed the women weren't attacking her, not since the youma had targeted the newcomer, who was fending her off with a cane. Maybe that creature needed to keep her focus in order to control them? It didn't matter, really, and it was giving her some time to figure out how to defeat her. She closed her eyes as told, but couldn't really understand what Luna was talking about. Search for words in her mind, what kind of words? She was about to ask Luna, but then found what she was looking for.
"I got it," Moon said as she pulled the tiara off her forehead. "Moon..." she started spinning as her tiara lit up, hovering a few inches above her hand. "... Tiara..." she spun a few more times before stopping and pulling her arm back, ready to toss her weapon. "... Action!"
The youma heard the last word clearly, but didn't have time to turn and see the projectile heading for her before it punched through her chest, and she screamed before turning to dust.
"I did it!" Moon shouted and leapt up in joy.
"Well done, Sailor Moon."
Moon looked at the mysterious man, who was walking to the door. "Wait, who are you?"
"You may call me Tuxedo Kamen. Until we meet again, Sailor Moon!"
"Wait!"
But it was already too late, as the man run out of the store and vanished from sight.
"Well done, Sailor Moon, I'm proud of..." Luna stopped as she saw the girl was paying no attention to her. Moon was just looking out the shop, smiling, and quite obviously thinking about that mysterious man. "Hey, snap out of it!"
"Sailor Moon?"
Moon heard Naru's voice and turned around. "Are you okay, Naru?"
Naru gasped at that. "How do you know my name?"
Moon flinched as she realized her mistake, but found a way out of it quickly enough. "We Senshi know everything."
"Are you sure this is the only way?"
"You must not interfere with today's battle."
Hakko looked at the woman, his face as unreadable as hers. "So you're asking me to let them be killed by those two?"
"I'm asking you to wait until I consider it safe for you to act, Kyo."
"Such a sacrifice, for what? For that illusion of yours?"
"I never thought I would see you mocking my mission, Master Hakko."
Hakko shook his head. "I apologize, Setsuna, I know I'm being selfish. It's just that I would rather not see any of them die."
Pluto nodded at him. "Trust me, if I didn't know what could happen if I stop this battle, I would stop it myself."
"It must be hard to stay sane, with such a burden on your shoulders."
"I'm a Senshi, Hakko. Honestly, I doubt any of us, past or future, could be really considered 'sane' by most standards."
Hakko smiled as he heard that. "I didn't know you could joke."
"I can, but I wasn't joking this time," Pluto said. "You should head there now, before it's too late. Farewell."
Hakko stood there for a second, as Pluto vanished, then stood up and run down the street, as fast as his feet could take him.
Usagi was back at home, quite aware her adventure had not been a dream. They had found Naru's mother locked up in the basement, had explained her what had happened in the shop, and left. It felt good being a heroine, but fighting that monster had been quite scary.
"We Senshi know everything, huh?"
Usagi stuck her tongue at Luna. "Hey, what else could I say? 'I'm Usagi'?"
"That's true. Your secret must not be known," Luna said, "as you saw today, the youma can disguise themselves as humans. Next one could be disguised as someone you know and trust."
"All right then, I don't really understand everything about what's going on, but I'll do my best!"
"That's the spirit, Usagi," Luna said.
"And if I keep on fighting those monsters, Tuxedo Kamen will show up again," Usagi added, with a silly smile as she stared out the window.
Luna shook her head. "Should have guessed that..."
The enemy's target had been a metro station. When the two heroes got in, they saw dozens of civilians spread around the area. "We apologize for interrupting your meal, ladies, but we must kindly ask you to stop attacking the citizens."
Aurite looked at Zero in an almost condescending way. "And we must kindly ask you to not intrude into our mission, unless you want to die, human."
'You know the plan,' Nova 'said' in Zero's mind.
And he did know the plan. He rushed forwards, jumping at Aurite and connecting with a kick to the stomach which dragged the General back several inches. "Uh, you should be doubling over in pain right now," he commented.
"Don't think I'm weak like you, human," Aurite snapped. "I will play along, however."
"Go ahead, hit me," Zero snapped back.
Aurite let out a snarl and charged, swinging a magic-charged fist at Zero. The ninja, however dodged to the side, and Aurite's fist ended up hitting the wall behind him... And punching a hole into it. "You moved."
Zero flinched as he looked at the hole left by her fist. "And I'm damn glad I did."
Meanwhile, Luminite was wondering why Nova wasn't attacking. "Hey, what's the matter with you, girl? If you don't fight me, I'll help Aurite with that loser."
"That 'loser' run a sword through you," Nova said with a smile, "so I suppose your friend should be careful."
Luminite smiled back. "I'm not worried about her. I'll help her once I'm done with you!"
Nova saw Luminite run to her, but didn't move. She waited calmly, until the youma hit her invisible psi wall, and chuckled. "The fact you can't see my attack, doesn't mean I'm not attacking you. I thought you learnt that last time we fought."
"Damn you, girl, I'm going to..." Luminite started, then froze. No, this was doing it again, her muscles weren't responding! "I'm... Not... Going to let you do that... Again."
Nova's smile turned mocking as she saw Luminite vanish. Just as planned. She heard the surprised yelp behind her, as an updraft blast of psi energy knocked Luminite back and away. "And I'm not going to let you do that again, either."
The General stood up and laughed. It wasn't a mocking laughter, she was genuinely amused by this. "Damn it, I never thought I would say this, but you're good, human. It's a pity we'll have to kill you and your friend. Aurite!"
Aurite had been waiting for that, her fight against this 'ninja' was just a game for her. "Got it," she shouted back, then turned to Zero. "I'm sorry, boy, but the game's over."
Zero pulled his swords out and smiled. "Let's do this."
"You'll do nothing," Aurite snapped, and a second later, two golden rings of energy shot from the ground, knocking Zero away. She saw the ninja fall unconscious and frowned. 'That should have killed him... Guess Kunzite's right, our lack of practice did make us weaker.'
Nova had seen this, and knew it wasn't good. Terry was alive, yes, but if these two women defeated her, then everything was over. "You've hurt him."
"Yeah, that was the idea, girl."
"That was your last mistake," Nova said, her voice almost a growl, as her pupils went white, and her hands lit up.
"Okay, she didn't do that before," Luminite mused, waiting for her attack. She realized, a second too late, that the real attack wasn't coming from her hands. "Aurite, watch out!"
But Aurite was already down to her knees. What kind of magic was this? Wind? Gravity? No, this was something else, her mind was in pain, not her body. "What... Are you?"
"Wish I knew," Nova said, "all you need to know, is that I will not let you monsters hurt anyone else."
Luminite smiled. Nova was attacking them both, yes, but most of her rage seemed to be focused on Aurite. And while Luminite's mind was hurting quite a lot, she knew she had to deal with it, and to stay silent until she was ready. Question was, would Aurite stay conscious long enough for that?
"See, that magic of yours may be strong, and I admit it's dangerous, but my powers are a bit more direct. I don't need to damage the body at all. I can destroy your mind. I don't like to use this much power, but you... You deserve it, monster."
"Such a nice speech," Aurite said, noticing even speaking was hurting her, "but you forgot one little detail..."
"And that is?" Nova asked.
"Me," Luminite shouted from the side. Before Nova could turn to her, she had already shot a couple energy blasts, knocking Nova into a wall.
"Nova!"
Aurite looked to the side and sighed. "Oh great, the boy's up. Luminite, finish that. I will deal with her boyfriend."
Zero staggered up. His whole body was aching, and he knew his arms were bleeding, but just looking at Nova was enough for him to keep on fighting. "Leave her alone!"
Aurite stood between him and Luminite. "You shouldn't have awakened, kid. Now you will see her die, and you will soon follow."
Zero put all his focus in Aurite. He dashed to her, and saw Aurite preparing to block his swords (with her bare hands!) but he didn't unsheathe them, instead tackling Aurite and knocking her back, straight into Luminite. As the two women fell, he run to check on Nova. "Hana?"
Nova was lying limp on the ground, a line of blood running down from her mouth. That barrage of attacks had been too much for her body, and she was still awake only because she didn't want to leave him alone against those two monsters. "Terry, I..."
"Die, human!"
Zero heard the shout, but as he turned, ready to block whatever they were throwing at him, he saw Aurite and Luminite fall to their knees. "What..."
"It seems I didn't make it in time," Hakko said as he walked past the two women.
"Who the Darkness are you?" Aurite snapped.
"Someone who decided to come take a look at his student. You two should leave before I show you what I can do if I fight for real."
Luminite's eyes widened at that. Did he mean whatever he had hit them with moments ago was a weak attack? She didn't want to stay and learn what this human (if he was even human) could do. "Aurite, let's go."
"We have to make sure those two will not interfere," Aurite said.
"Don't worry, they won't stay in this country," Hakko said calmly.
"What do you mean we won't stay?" Zero snapped. He had no strength left to stand up, but he still tried to do just that.
"Zero, Nova needs you right now. I'll take care of those two," Hakko said.
Zero looked at him, then the two youma, and nodded. "I get it. Thanks."
Hakko walked to the two women. Humans or not, these women were built a lot like normal humans, so he knew what nerves to touch in order to make their limbs stop working. They were far from a threat right now, but he couldn't tell Terry that. "Your group's been mostly active in Japan, right?"
"We don't have to tell you anything, human."
"True, you don't. I already know many of the details. Whatever you're looking for, it's there, in Tokyo. The attacks here and in London are just distractions to make the Senshi split." He was saying all that not for the youma, but for Terry. "So you two don't need to worry about a thing. I'm sure if you go back there, my student will follow you gladly."
Luminite frowned. "I suppose we should give our strategy some more thought."
Aurite nodded, still glaring at the man. "We will meet again, human, and next time you will die."
Hakko turned as the two women vanished. "Been there, heard that."
Zero had listened to all he had said, but his attention was mostly focused on Nova. "Hana, hang in there. We'll take you to a hospital, and..."
Nova smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Terry, but I'm..."
"No! You have to get through this!"
Hakko looked at the two, then knelt besides Terry. "She's right, boy."
"Shut up."
"I underestimated them," Nova said, "they're strong. They're too strong for me."
"I'm going to kill them. Kill each and every one of them."
"If you go after them, you could die..."
"I'll make sure he doesn't," Hakko said.
"You can't stop me from going after them."
"I could, if I wanted to," Hakko noted.
"I wish I could help you," Nova said.
Terry removed his mask and looked at her "Hana, please..."
"I'm just glad... I met you."
He froze as he realized Hana wasn't breathing anymore. "Hana..."
Hakko idly noticed the girl's clothing had reverted to a normal outfit, and he also heard Terry's badly concealed sobs. He stood up and took a look around. There was more than enough evidence of the fight, so rumors were sure to spread. "Let's go."
"I want to stay here for a while," Terry said.
Hakko froze in his place for a second. He was sure he had never heard the boy sound so emotionless. Then again, he couldn't really blame him for that. "I will go and call some ambulances, the victims will surely need to be hospitalized."
Terry said nothing as the man left. Right now, he only cared about one of the victims. "I won't rest until that Luminite monster is dead, Hana."
Hakko put his swords down and nodded at his disciple. "You've improved."
"I guess I just needed the right motivation," Terry said with a scowl.
"She wouldn't like seeing you like this."
"I know."
"So, you're leaving for Japan tomorrow," Hakko said, "do you even know where to start searching?"
"Yes, the Senshi have been mostly spotted in Juuban, so my best guess would be going there."
"What about your father?"
"He doesn't fully agree with this, but I guess... He knows I can be stubborn."
"Just like his wife."
Terry smiled at that. "I guess that's true. Are you going to help me?"
"This is not my battle," Hakko said, "but I was planning on going back home in a few months."
Terry smiled. "I'll take that as a 'maybe,' then. Anything else I should know about these youma?"
"And why do you think I know anything about them?" Hakko asked, and kept his poker face for a minute as Terry glared at him. "I can tell you this much... You will be bringing a sword to a gunfight."
"I'm going to bring a few other things to that gunfight, actually," Terry said. "Can you teach me what you did... That day?"
The boy was still reliving that day in his mind, and Hakko knew it. "I wish I could, but you will need a lot of practice before you can even start understanding how I did it."
"Thought so," Terry said with a sigh.
"It's time for me to leave, so... Good luck, boy."
Terry waited until the man was several meters away before smiling. "See you soon, Kyo."
Hakko stopped and turned to him with a half smile. "That's Master Hakko for you, boy."
Terry nodded and walked back to the house. His smile vanished as he got close to it, and he felt those memories returning. He was sure they wouldn't leave until he did what he had to do, until Luminite was dead.
The dark gray cat watched her target. Yes, this was the one, one of the soldiers. She had to hurry and tell her about her mission, because youma were already active. They had to find the Princess before the youma did, and for that they would need all the Senshi they could gather.
Artemis was exploring the house. Well, 'house' was a bit of an understatement, comparing the Diamond residence to Minako's house. He found it rather silly to have a house this large for only a dozen humans, but he couldn't shake the feeling there was something else about this house he wasn't seeing. Maybe it was just his mind being stubborn, but he could feel a hint of mana around him, a faint trace of magic.
His mind drifted as he walked the many corridors. There was something else bothering him. Demon Hunter Sigma. He had known what that meant for a while now, the Demon Hunters were a group of mages who dealt with evil beings, but he couldn't remember anything beyond that. Were they allies of the Senshi? Was this Sigma like them, or was he just using the name to deceive them? He couldn't be sure. Sigma seemed to always show up at the right time and place. Almost as if he knew what Kunzite was planning beforehand... Or maybe he was stalking Venus.
"There you are, Art."
Artemis saw Minako walk to him and smiled. She had been fighting Kunzite for a few months now, but outside the 'battlefield' she was still the same. Carefree, naive, somewhat lazy... But that didn't bother him now as it had at first.
"Say, what do you think of Brad?"
That caught Artemis' attention. "Hmm? What about him?"
"I... I think I like him."
"You think that? From the way you act whenever he's around, you couldn't make it more obvious if you had a neon sign on your head."
"Fine, be that way. I was being serious, you know?"
Artemis saw Minako stomping off and sighed in defeat. "Wait, Mina... What is this about Brad?"
Minako stopped and turned, cooling down as she realized Artemis was interested in her theory. "You know... Sigma had this strange accent back in Tokyo, I couldn't really place it, but when he showed up here, he was speaking flawless English. I'm guessing he wasn't Japanese."
The Mooncat stared at the girl in awe. "I... I hadn't noticed that."
"See, I can be smart too," Minako said and stuck her tongue out.
"I suppose you can, once in a while," Artemis admitted, causing Minako to give him a short glare. "What's that have to do with Brad?"
"Brad was in Tokyo, and left for England at the same time I did. And I somehow end up where he lives. And now Sigma seems to know exactly where Kunzite is attacking, haven't you noticed?"
"I have," Artemis said, almost certain of what the girl was thinking.
"I may be just making up stuff, but what if Brad is Sigma?"
"That would certainly explain a lot about this place," Artemis admitted.
"Huh? What about the place?"
"You know I can sense mana by now."
"Magic energy, yeah, you told me that."
"And I'm sensing some of it in this house. It's a little too much to be residual mana, like what I can sense all the time outside."
Minako scanned the corridor with her eyes and then looked at the cat. "You mean there's magicians in this house?"
"Maybe it's just Sigma," Artemis noted, "but we can't be sure. There's a slight chance Sigma is working for the Dark Kingdom."
"That can't be true. He's saved my life and yours several times."
"That he did. But why is he being so covert about this?"
"Maybe because he knows he's not supposed to know what he knows. You know the saying, if it's not fixed, don't break it."
Artemis blinked a few times before shaking his head. "It's 'if it's not broken, don't fix it,' Mina."
Minako waved his correction off. "Yeah, I guess you could say it that way, too."
"Firefly!"
Luminite saw the swarm of small fire bolts heading her way and laughed. "Really now, human... Is that all you can do?"
"I'm just the distraction, and guess what, you got distracted."
"Gale Shot!"
The concentrated 'bullet' of wind hit Luminite from the side, knocking her down. "Oh, that brat again."
"Aqua Drop!"
Just as she was about to stand up, Luminite was knocked back down by a blast of water. This was looking bad, she couldn't take on three of these brats alone. Where the heck was Aurite?
"Grim Edge."
Aurite landed right besides Luminite, staggering up slowly. "Those brats are too strong. Retreat!"
Luminite found herself alone against the three Senshi and the magician, and sighed in defeat. "We'll kill you next time, kids."
Saturn looked at the spot where Luminite had been standing, her glaive still shining from the blast she was preparing. "I suppose this is our victory."
"They drained many civilians before we arrived."
Uranus turned to Pluto, who had just appeared near the others. "Can't be helped. We need to keep an eye on the city, next time we'll get them before they can even start gathering energy."
Pluto nodded. "We can't let them steal too much energy."
"Why did they only show up today? We've been here for a few weeks," the 'mage' said.
"They wanted to make sure the previous threat to their plans was gone."
"Can't we track them down?" Uranus asked. "If we knew where they attack from..."
"We can try," Pluto said, "I think Orion has a few ways to do it."
The mage, Orion, smiled at that. "Beholder."
The three Senshi looked at the small eye floating in front of him. "What is that thing?" Neptune asked.
"A spy spell. It can be used to look into a building before going in, or to track down someone... But for that, it needs to get their 'scent,' their magic aura," Orion explained.
"Demon Hunters are full of tricks," Saturn admitted.
Orion nodded at her. "But our spells are comparatively weak. You Senshi focus in one element, and thus can have spells far more powerful than any a Demon Hunter could use."
"Enough chatting," Neptune said, "the police should be here soon."
Pluto stood there for a minute as her protegees run out of the area. "A Demon Hunter has limited mana to work with," she said, mostly to herself, "but I wonder what a Demon Hunter who is also a Senshi could be able to do?"
"Hello, Minako."
"Good morning, miss Diamond."
The woman shook her head at that. "I've told you to call me Amber."
Minako smiled apologetically. "Sorry."
"If you're looking for Brad, he's in his 'training room' right now." Amber noticed the girl's cat staring at her and smiled. "I've said it before, but it's still true... You sure gave your pet a curious name."
Minako nodded. "Well, I like it, and think it fit him."
Amber looked out the window. "I see. Say, Minako... You like Brad, don't you?"
Minako blushed at that. "I..."
"I'll take that as a yes," Amber mused. "I think you're quite a nice girl, myself, and I know he likes you too."
"But he's much older than me..."
"Older? Three years is not that much, dear. My husband was nine years older than me."
"Oh, I didn't know... Wait, 'was'?"
"He died a few years ago," Amber said, her tone turning sad for a moment, "but don't worry about that right now. Brad will be happy to see you, I bet."
As soon as they were a safe distance away from the room, Minako looked at Artemis. "Why where you staring at her like that?"
"I had never been that close to that woman," Artemis explained. "The faint trace of mana I mentioned earlier..."
"It's coming from her, right?" Minako finished. "So that means..."
"She's a mage, but she's keeping her powers concealed. The trick's not perfect, or I wouldn't be able to sense anything at all."
"What about Brad?"
"Let's check on him," Artemis suggested, "nothing to lose, right?"
Minako didn't really hear him, but was heading to where Brad was right now. She had a lot of questions in her mind, and she wanted answers.
Brad was in the middle of sparring with one of his younger sisters when Minako walked in. "Mina, good morning."
"Morning," Minako said.
"Tia, I think that will be all for today's training."
The girl smiled at him. "Sure, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."
Minako giggled as Brad glared at the girl's back. "Must be nice having siblings."
"Oh sure, it's wonderful," Brad said, his tone dripping sarcasm.
Minako looked at Artemis, who gave her a slight nod. She understood what he meant and turned serious. "Brad, I... I like you, but I don't think I can keep up with this charade anymore."
"Charade, what are you..."
"I know you know everything about me, Brad. Or should I call you Sigma?"
Brad stared at her for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. Minako looked at Artemis in shock. Maybe they were wrong after all?
"This is just crazy... Mom was sure you two would never figure it out. Guess she underestimated you."
"Brad?"
"You got me, Mina. I know who you are, Sailor V, or rather, Sailor Venus. And of course I know about your guardian as well."
"Good," Artemis said, "I was rather tired of having to play the normal cat act all day long."
"Now, what was that about liking me?"
"I need to know what side you're on first."
"I'm a Demon Hunter. Doesn't that mean anything for you?"
"... Not really." Minako admitted. "See, I know I'm supposedly a reincarnated warrior from the past, but I have no memory of that time. And Art here, well, he doesn't remember much more than I do."
"Oh, so mom was right about that. And I think she can explain what our group's about far better than me."
Amber's face was neutral while Brad told her what had happened minutes earlier, but then she turned to Minako with a warm smile. "I must admit Brad is quite right, I underestimated your ability to sense magic."
"I was the one sensing your magic," Artemis said, "Minako worked on wild guessing alone."
"How come I can't sense her magic when she's not transformed?" Brad asked.
Artemis shrugged. "A Senshi's magic cloak is incredibly strong. That, and Minako here is just a Planet Senshi."
"Oh, I see. Do you really think that will be enough?"
"There are a few other Senshi out there, and more will be awakened sooner or later," Artemis explained, "and the enemy, well, they seem to have been out of action for too long, their power is far lower than it should be."
"I lucked out," Minako said with a smile. "But Art, what is that about Planet Senshi?"
"That's how the first, weakest form of a Senshi was called," Amber explained, surprising both Artemis and Minako. "If I am to take the legends I've heard about your kin literally, then your power will grow exponentially. Given enough combat experience and training, a Senshi could, in theory, destroy a planet."
Minako stared at Amber in shock. "You... You're kidding, right?"
"There was an old legend about the asteroid belt. It was, they say, formed by the final sacrifice of a Senshi, who chose to destroy the planet and herself before letting a powerful evil spread across all the other planets."
"The more I know about these powers," Minako said, "the more I wonder if I'm really up to the task."
"You are," Brad said, "you may fight like a novice, but once that's fixed..."
"I was meaning to ask this," Minako said, "is everyone in your family a magician?"
"Yes, each and every one of my children is part of the Demon Hunters. But there's other Demon Hunters beside us."
"Where?"
"We are the Europe section," Brad explained, "but there's two other main sections, in Japan and the United States. There's also small groups in other places. Someone had to keep the Earth in one piece until the Senshi returned."
"I have a request," Amber said suddenly, "I've heard about your power but I have yet to see it myself."
Minako looked at Artemis, who nodded at her. "Okay, I don't see any harm since you already know who I am." She took her transformation wand and smiled. "Venus Planet Power!"
As the transformation ended, Amber stared at the girl. "Amazing, your mana gathering ability is better than that of the best Demon Hunter I've known."
"From what I can recall, the Senshi were always that way," Artemis noted, "they passively drain mana from their surrounding, which makes it far easier to call on their spells during combat."
"And the higher their level, the higher their mana reserves get," Brad guessed.
"That's correct," Artemis admitted, "from what I remember, the Moon Princess, whom we are supposed to find, was one of the strongest Senshi ever born."
"But we have no idea who she is," Venus added.
"So, why are you here?" Brad asked.
"To trick a trickster," Venus said.
Amber rose an eye at that. "You mean..."
Artemis nodded. "Kunzite wanted to drag us all the way here so his allies would have free reign over Tokyo. But we already knew there were other Senshi around."
"Those Senshi have apparently moved to the States," Amber noted.
"Yes, but there's a new group in Tokyo," Artemis explained, "we just have to keep Kunzite here until the Tokyo group finds the Princess."
Usagi walked into the classroom and let out a relieved sigh. Miss Haruna wasn't there yet, so that meant she had managed to get there in time. "Whew..."
"Today's definitely a day for strange events," Umino commented as Usagi sat down.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you getting here before the teacher, for one," Umino explained.
"Hey, I'm not always late," Usagi noted.
"As a matter of fact..." Naru started, but then fell silent.
Usagi groaned in defeat. Umino was a pest, even though he was one of her best friends. "So, what else is 'strange' today?"
"Didn't hear the rumors?" Umino asked. "There's a new student in our class."
Usagi frowned. That was hardly enough to start any rumor. "And?"
"And he's the son of Zephyr Robotics' owner."
The blonde stared at Umino. "So?"
"You don't know about Zephyr? They're famous overseas. The family's quite wealthy, from what I know."
"I wonder what a rich boy's doing in our school?" Naru pondered.
"Is he cute?" Usagi asked.
Umino shrugged. "How would I know?" Right then, a boy walked in, seemingly upset. He was tall, and definitely not Japanese. "That must be him."
Usagi looked at him. Yeah, he was quite cute, but he'd look far better if he stopped scowling.
The boy sat down on the desk right behind Usagi's, which was the only one still not occupied. "What's with them, I'm no rock star."
Umino smiled at that. "That's Japanese teenagers for you, Zephyr."
Terry was surprised that the other boy knew English. Sure, his accent was noticeable, but so was his in Japanese. "So they're just as crazy as the ones back home."
"Not all girls are like that," Usagi noticed.
"I suppose not," Terry said.
"My name's Usagi Tsukino," Usagi added.
"Rabbit huh? Amusing name."
"No, my name's Usagi."
"That 's what Rabbit means in English," Terry said.
"Why the constant scowl?" Naru asked, then noticed Umino flinching.
"That's something I'd rather not talk about with strangers."
"Huh?"
Terry didn't say anything else. Usagi was curious as to what had happened, but she decided against being pushy. She'd have to ask Umino about it later, since he apparently knew.
Venus looked around. "So, what now?" she had followed Amber outside the mansion, to the rather large backyard, but she wasn't sure what the woman wanted. Also, she had always wondered why the backyard had no flowers or plants, but something told her she was about to find out.
"I wanted to test just how much power you have in that form," Amber said, "and I know better than shooting magic inside the house, unlike some of my children," she looked at Tia as she said that, and the girl looked down at her own feet.
"But my attacks could hurt you."
"I'll take that risk," Amber said, "but don't think I'm defenseless. I taught Brad everything he knows, and there's still plenty of things I have to teach him."
"Mother, don't overdo it," Brad warned.
Amber smiled. "So, Sailor Venus, if you would kindly attack me..."
Venus looked at Brad. "Are you guys okay with this?"
Tia smiled. "I can't wait to see if Prime Huntress Hades can really fight against a Senshi."
"If Venus was at her strongest level, then I'm sure I wouldn't stand a chance," Amber admitted, "but this may be a different story."
Venus sighed. "Okay, if you insist... Crescent Beam!"
Amber smiled. "Shell." She looked as the beam bounced off the invisible barrier she had set, and then at Venus. "You didn't aim for any vital organ."
"I know."
"Let's see how you handle defense," Amber said. "Stone Arrow."
Venus didn't know where the attack was coming from, and thus had no time to dodge. However, she felt the large triangle-shaped stone hit her back, but it caused her no harm. "What..."
Amber laughed softly. "Legends are indeed right. That battle armor of yours is very strong."
Venus stared at her in confusion. "Armor?"
"Your Senshi suit," Brad explained. "It's imbued with an unknown spell, which greatly diminishes enemy attacks."
"Had your suit been just normal fabric, and had you been just a normal human," Tia added, "you would have been pierced through by that stone."
Venus paled. "Wow, you guys are that powerful?"
Artemis flinched. "But that attack only had about half the power of your Crescent Beam."
Venus made the connection quite fast. "I understand. I'm never going to use my attacks against a human being."
"There are other attacks you can use in such a situation" Amber explained, "but I'm no expert in Senshi magic. Besides, each Senshi has a different set of techniques, so only you would know the right words."
"I wish I could 'level up' already."
"Be patient," Brad said, "besides, what are you complaining about? You've been using magic for two months, and already have stronger attacks than me, and I've been using it for five years."
"Jealous?" Venus asked.
"Fire wave."
Amber saw Venus get swallowed by a wave of flames, and looked at Brad. "That was quite rude, son."
Venus looked at her arms as the attack passed, and smiled. "Amazing."
"Thanks, I trained quite a bit to use that one," Brad said.
"No, I meant, it's amazing how I barely felt the heat."
Brad smirked. "Cute. Want to turn back to normal and try again?"
"No thanks, I'll pass."
"Hey, wait!"
Terry looked back and sighed. He had decided to walk back home to have some time to think, but apparently that was a moot point now. "What's the matter, Usagi?"
"My house's down this road, too," Usagi said.
"I see."
Usagi blinked. Terry was rather cold, but if what Umino had told her was true, then she could understand.
"Let me guess, you heard the rumors?"
That took her out of her line of thought. "Yes, about your girlfriend..."
"So, you also want to know if I'm available?" Terry said, coldly.
Usagi stopped for a second, then glared at him. "I was actually worried about you, but if you're going to be a jerk, then see you at school."
Terry saw Usagi walk past him and sighed. Maybe this girl was just trying to be friendly. "Wait, Usagi."
"What?"
"You said you're worried about me? Why? You don't even know me."
"I just like helping others," Usagi said.
"I don't think you can help me, sorry."
Usagi sighed. "Yeah, I can't even imagine how that must feel. So, are the rumors true?"
"I don't know what the rumors are. My girlfriend was murdered, that's all."
Usagi bit her lip. She had heard a lot more, but rumors could often be misleading. "So, why come to Japan?"
"It's here."
"Huh?"
"Your house. That's your last name in the mailbox, isn't it?"
"Oh..." Usagi smiled as she realized he was right. "See you tomorrow, then."
"Sure, Rabbit."
Usagi watched him go and shook her head. What a weird guy.
"Jadeite, is your next plan ready?"
"Yes, my Queen. Humans seem to have a thing for unhealthy food, "fast food" as they call it, even though they know it may kill them. I've set up a place to sell such food, and we will begin draining the customers today."
"I hope this isn't another failure, Jadeite. My patience's running short."
"I am aware of that," Jadeite said, "I shall not fail."
"Heard that before," Beryl noted as Jadeite vanished.
Zero looked at the building from atop a tree. A normal fast food restaurant at first sight, but he was getting the same kind of energy readings the two women had. That meant either they were there, or one of their kin. He could just beat the crap out of whoever it was until they told him where Luminite was.
"It's time to..." He stopped as he recognized one of the customers. "That's Usagi? What is she..." He saw everyone inside the building was out cold, and Usagi was right now shouting something at the woman behind the counter. "So the youma are there." The woman turned into a creepy, blue creature whose armor was apparently made out of fries. "I'll give them points for originality," he added with a smirk.
"Moon Prism Power!"
Zero's eyes widened. The transformation took only a moment, but he knew who this was. He had seen the photos of this Senshi, Sailor Moon. Some said she was the strongest warrior of her group. However, seeing how all she was doing was dodging the enemy's attacks, he couldn't really tell if she was a warrior or just a scared girl.
Suddenly, a rose fled through the window, slicing the monster's side just as it was about to stab Moon through with her rather sharp-looking claws. Zero looked on as a man wearing a tuxedo and top hat (along with a cape,) gave a rather inconsequential speech about monsters having no right to feed on those who were feeding. However, during that speech, he noticed Moon had moved right behind the somehow distracted monster, and had taken her tiara off her head.
"Moon Tiara Action!"
Zero's mind was quite busy trying to process what had just happened. The tiara had lit up, and the girl (after a few spins) had tossed it right through the youma's chest. "I see, what she lacks in combat abilities, she makes up for in magic power."
The tuxedo man (who should be that "Tuxedo Kamen" he had heard about,) had vanished as soon as the monster died, and Zero could see Moon looking around the store then saying something to a cat. The strange thing was, the cat was apparently talking back, though he couldn't hear what they were saying.
The girl left after turning back to normal, along with the cat, and Zero was left with far more questions than before. He needed to keep an eye on Usagi, to see who the other Senshi were, and then...
And then, what? He wasn't sure of it. Usagi seemed to easily trust him as Terry, but would she be just as trusty towards Zero? He didn't know for sure, and after seeing what the girl could do, he wasn't sure he would survive if they thought he was a youma. He had to earn their trust first.
Artemis watched as Minako rushed in, seemingly shocked. "Minako, what's wrong?"
"I'm going on a date."
"And that's bad because...?"
"I've never done it before."
The cat shook his head. "Well, that's not something I can help you with."
Minako sat on her bed and let out a long sigh. "What, never dated anyone either?"
"No."
"Why, wasn't there anyone you liked?"
"None of your business," Artemis said with a slight blush.
"Oh, so there was!"
"Besides, for all I know, she could be long gone," he added, looking down.
Minako flinched. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay," Artemis said, "I don't really know for sure. You just go and enjoy your date."
Minako looked at the clock and smiled. "I gotta get ready for that, so..."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm leaving," Artemis muttered as he walked out of the room.
Jadeite looked at the small flower resting on his hand. "Humans love these plants, specially the females. I have set up a flower shop and my youma's ready to start draining the customers."
"Do not fail me again, Jadeite."
"I won't," Jadeite said and vanished.
Two other Generals were watching from the shadows. "I hope he doesn't fail again."
"Why not? If that happens, Nephrite, you may be the next one. After all, you're the only one not busy at the moment."
"Not busy?" Nephrite looked at Aurite with a glare. "I'm searching for the Ginzuishou, so I'm not sure diverting my attention would be wise at this time."
"I see your point. Maybe you could ask for Zoicite's help."
Nephrite turned to leave. "That's not going to happen."
"Are you sure you don't need my help?"
Kunzite looked at the brown-haired General and smiled. "Yes. After all, I already know V is not the Princess."
"Then why...?"
"Because it will be easier to kill her if she's alone, Zoicite. Sigma's presence is of no consequence."
Zoicite smiled. "As usual, you're planning ahead."
"How's your search going?"
"Not good," Zoicite said, "neither me or Nephrite could find anything yet."
"That's bad. If we had the Ginzuishou, then their Princess would be useless."
"I know. I will try to find it as soon as possible, my dear Kunzite."
"Youma attacks are becoming rather sparse."
"That's true," Setsuna admitted, "but we can't let our guard down."
Hotaru sighed. "We've been close to killing Luminite. I've only held back because of what you said."
"And I thank you for that. She will be dealt with, but not right now," the older woman said, then turned to the others. "Haruka, Michiru, you two won't be fighting here anymore."
"Why?" Haruka asked. She was sure she would never figure out what was in Setsuna's mind.
"There is another threat, one that needs to be suppressed. The best way to deal with that is to send you two there."
"But what about Aurite and Luminite?" Michiru started.
"Leave those two witches to me," Hotaru said in her usual monotone voice, "if I can't handle them, Setsuna will help."
"Sure, forget about me," Kage muttered.
"I'm not, but your usefulness in battle is rather limited, specially against the Generals."
Kage smiled at that. "Brutally honest, as usual. I like that about you."
"Thanks, I guess," Hotaru said, her face not showing any sign of emotion.
"Don't you ever smile?"
"No."
Kage sighed. "I should have guessed you would say that."
Michiru looked at Haruka. "I think we can leave Aurite to these two. They sure get along."
Usagi could at times be rather naive (and she could admit to that,) but there were things which she just couldn't miss. After almost one month fighting the youma, she could tell that, whenever there was some sort of incredible promotion at a store, or a new shop opening and selling stuff at very low prices, then the youma were behind it. So the flower shop she was looking at right now was, most likely, another of Jadeite's evil plans.
While she waited for Luna to come back from exploring it, she noticed someone else was looking at the store, and walked to him. "Terry?"
"Oh, hi there, Rabbit."
Usagi ignored the nicknaming. "What are you doing here?"
"I was considering buying this store," Terry said in a joking tone.
"I don't think the owner will want to sell it," Usagi said.
"Huh? I thought this shop had only opened a few days ago."
Usagi laughed nervously. "Well, you could say I'm one of her best customers."
Terry smiled to himself. "I see. Have a boyfriend you buy flowers for or something?"
Usagi blushed. "No, nothing like that."
"Hana liked flowers," Terry said, his tone serious.
"Who?"
"My girlfriend, Hana," Terry explained. "Not surprising, seeing what his name means in Japanese, right?"
Usagi smiled at that. "It's a nice name."
Terry sighed. "Yeah... I guess I'll leave before I start moping again."
Usagi saw him walk away and smiled, but then saw Luna walk to her. "So?"
"You were right, there's youma in there."
"I knew it. Let's go!"
"Shouldn't we call the others?"
Usagi looked at the cat "I took care of the last one on my own."
"I will call them, just in case," Luna said.
Minako was really upset right now. Brad had convinced her to go for a walk through the park after they left the restaurant, but she should have known better. She was starting to believe youma liked to interrupt her fun. "Of all the stupid places to attack..."
"See the bright side," Brad said, "we won't have to look for them."
She looked at the youma. It was a large, plantlike monster, and she could've sworn it looked like a humanoid Venus Flytrap. Hopefully, that was just a coincidence. "Guess you're right. Let's show that bug what happens when they mess with a heroine's date!"
Brad smiled. "Sure. Sigma Seal." His clothes were replaced by his Hunter Sigma suit in a blink.
"Wow, didn't know you had a transformation phrase too," Minako noted. "All right then... Venus Planet Power!"
"Flare!"
The youma was busily draining a woman, but had to drop her as one of her vines was hit by a fire bolt, though it only surprised her. "Good, the Senshi and her pet are here. Now I can kill you."
"I'm not going to be killed by a Poison Ivy-wannabe," Sigma said.
V was angry, so she skipped the taunting and went straight for the kill. "Crescent Beam!"
However, the plantlike youma simply stared at the spot where the laser had hit and chuckled. "Wow, that's really the best you can do, V?"
V shrugged. "I suppose you're resistant to magic. That's neat. But you know the saying, if you can't beat them, kick them!"
Sigma was about to note the saying wasn't quite like that, but just shook his head as V tried her 'V Kick' (which was just a normal, albeit magically enhanced, jumping kick,) and failed. The youma took the chance to wrap its vines around the heroine. "Now you will die, and then that mage friend of yours will follow!"
V struggled against the vines, but the creature was stronger than her. "Hey, what the heck? Let me go, you pervert!"
"Not likely, you'll be a tasty dessert," the plantlike youma said, as its head spit in half, turning into a rather unsightly, large maw.
"Hang in there, V," Sigma said, not noticing the pun he was making, "I'll get you out in a second. Blizzard."
When the attack ended, both the youma and V were covered in a thin layer of snow. "Hey, watch it!"
Sigma looked at V. "My bad... But this creature's skin is resistant to magic, and I didn't bring a sword to our date."
"Yes, its skin is..." V started, then her eyes widened. "Wait, that's it!"
Sigma was confused for a second, until he saw V taking aim. "Smart girl." The youma realized V''s intent as well, but couldn't close its giant maw in time.
"Crescent Beam!" The laser hit its target, and the youma turned into ashes. V smiled as she turned to look at Sigma. "That will teach that monster what happens when you tie up a girl who can fight back."
Sigma looked around the park, noticing there were dozens of people drained. "I'll go call some ambulances."
V nodded, as she also looked around. This wasn't the first time she saw so many victims, and it didn't feel like a victory to her. Sure, she had killed the weed, but she was supposed to stop people from being hurt like this.
"What's wrong?"
She almost jumped at the voice. Artemis was standing besides her now, and looking curiously at her. "Art? When did you get here?"
"I detected the youma's energy in this direction, so I decided to investigate and call you once I found out what it was... But I guess you found out on your own."
"There's times when I feel like I'm not up for this job," V admitted.
If the cat was surprised to hear that, he wasn't showing it. "Why?"
"Just look around you. If I were a better warrior, then all this people would..."
"No use worrying about the 'what if,' Mina."
Artemis looked at Sigma, who was walking to them. "That's true. You can't be everywhere, so don't blame yourself for tonight's results."
"She killed the bug, didn't she?" Sigma asked.
"Yes, but every bit of energy those youma drain puts them closer to their goal."
"And what exactly is their goal?" V had asked a few times, but Artemis had blamed his faulty memory and winged the question.
This time, however, he considered she was ready to know. "There was a god these youma worshiped, but from what I remember, it was defeated. They may be gathering all that energy in order to bring it back."
"And if they bring it back, we're screwed," Sigma guessed.
"Not quite. If we find the Princess, she will defeat that evil being."
"Let's just get out of here," V said, "I'm not in the mood for a crowd." And now she noticed there was already a crowd gathering around the park, though they were staying a fair distance away from them.
"Want to try teleporting?"
V stared at Sigma in awe. "What, you mean you can take passengers?"
Sigma nodded. "Here we go. Teleport!" And the two heroes and the small cat vanished from the park.
"You seem upset about something. What is it?"
"I'm not sure about this, what was Setsuna thinking..."
"If this is about what I said earlier, I apologize if that made you feel bad."
Kage smiled at Hotaru. "Well, it's not nice to have your flaws pointed out, but... You're right. My magic can hurt normal youma, but when it comes to those Generals, all I can do is distract them."
"Sometimes all you need to win is a distraction."
Kage frowned. Hotaru's emotionless stare was usually something he liked, but right now, he was not in the mood. "How did you know you had those powers?"
Hotaru thought about the question for a minute before answering. "I didn't 'know' about them. Of course, I've had the skill to heal myself or others fast, but I didn't know what I was."
"You never told me how you awakened your powers."
"I was walking home one day, and there was a group of men following me. I knew what they probably wanted, so I tried to run for it. Needless to say, my endurance was lower than it is now, so I didn't get too far before they caught up with me."
"Damn, that must have been scary."
"Not as much as what followed. One of the men grabbed my wrist, and as I tried to pull free, I sensed something 'stirring' in my mind. It's hard to describe, but it was almost as if there was a seal inside my mind, and I guess fear broke it."
"So, you went Senshi on their asses."
Hotaru blinked at that. "That's one way to say it, I guess. I didn't know how to control my power, and I didn't really understand it was me doing it. All I saw were these bony hands coming out from the ground and holding the men pinned, and then I saw a kind of aura around them. The aura grew thinner by the second, and I felt a rush of energy. If Pluto hadn't showed up right then and transported me out of the way, I would have probably killed them."
Kage flinched at that. And, even for a split second, he was sure he had seen a hint of doubt in her eyes. "So she took you elsewhere?"
"Yes, she took me to the Gate and told me who I was, what I was meant to do. I must admit I didn't quite believe her, and I was shocked by what had happened. I think I spent a day in that place, as Setsuna told me just how to control my new-found powers."
"That's quite a story. I know Michiru and Haruka had a far easier start..."
"Yes, but for some reason, Setsuna's trained them a lot harder than me."
"Well, you can't really fight for long, so..."
"I know, I've been working on that."
"Since I'm here, I could help you train. And who knows, if you shoot me with enough death beams, you may just trigger my own powers."
Hotaru smiled at that. "That's a possibility."
Kage's eyes widened. "Wow..."
"What?"
"You smiled. Didn't think you could do that."
"I don't usually have any reasons to," Hotaru said, her face back to her 'normal' emotionless state.
Meanwhile, in the other side of the planet, a battle was about to start. "Stop it right there!"
The woman in charge of the flower shop smiled. "Welcome to Red Orchid. How may I be of service?"
Moon glared at the woman. "Drop the act, youma."
The woman let out a high-pitched laugh. "If you insist, Sailor Moon, then I will have to kill you." Her body changed swiftly, her skin turning a sickly shade of green, as her clothes were replaced by large flower petals. "I am Orkidus, one of Jadeite's strongest soldiers!"
Moon smiled, "flowers aren't dangerous."
"Do you really think that? Let me change your mind," Orkidus said. She rose her arms, and the flowers around her started walking out of their pots, some of them growing eyes, while others just grew large thorns. "Still think flowers are harmless?"
While Moon wasn't too skilled in the arts of fighting, she was rather good at dodging. And while she knew she had to use her tiara to blast this plant youma to dust, she couldn't do it with all these plants trying to gnaw at her. "Hey, not fair, you guys always cheat!"
"You call it cheating, I'll call it winning strategy."
Moon kept on dodging, but eventually run herself into a literal corner. She saw the mutated flowers crawling to her and shook her head. There just wasn't a way to fight this one on her own. Maybe she should've listened to Luna, for a change, and waited for the others.
But just as the plants got ready to jump at her, something rushed into the store, slashing several of the mutants before they could attack. Moon looked at the newcomer, expecting to see Tuxedo Kamen. Instead, she saw a man wearing a ninja suit and pointing a sword at the youma. "Who..."
"I will not let you use flowers for your evil plans, youma."
The youma stared at the ninja. "And who might you be? You don't look like that Tuxedo loser they warned me about."
"The name's Zero."
The youma blinked then laughed. "What, they named you by your fighting skills?"
Zero smiled, even though his foe couldn't see it. "If my skills are zero, yours are even lower."
The youma growled at that, then rose her hands again. "Attack!"
Moon watched in shock as dozens of flowers all jumped at Zero. He tried his best to keep up with the attacks, but was soon overwhelmed. She couldn't let him be eaten by those plants, he had saved her, after all. "Moon Tiara..."
"Die!" the youma shouted, and more flowers rushed at Moon, interrupting her attack as she was forced to jump out of the way. "You're a joke, Sailor Moo--" the youma hissed in pain as a rose struck her arm. "Another loser?"
"Flowers are meant to smell and look beautiful. I will not forgive those who turn such beauty into evil."
Zero frowned. That guy surely loved giving dumb speeches. However, it had distracted the youma, and her minions had stopped their attack. "I think this is the part where you kill the monster, Sailor Moon."
Moon nodded at that. "Moon Tiara... Action!"
Zero shook his head and chuckled as the youma vanished, "those monsters really need some serious combat training." He decided to not comment on how Moon herself also needed them. "I guess it's time for me to..."
"Moon, are you okay?"
Moon turned to see her friends run to her and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay, thanks to Zero."
Mars blinked at that. "Zero? Who is Zero?"
"He is..." Moon turned around to see Zero was gone. "Aw, he left." And Tuxedo Kamen had also disappeared, but that was nothing new.
Luna shrugged at that. "What's important is that you're okay, and the youma's gone."
"Next time you should wait for us," Mars scolded.
"I can fight youma on my own, Rei."
"Sure you can. You're always running around."
"Girls, calm down," Mercury said, "we're a team, remember?"
Moon nodded at that, but said nothing. She wasn't about to admit it in front of Mars, but she knew this last fight hadn't been easy. These youma seemed to be growing stronger with each attack, for some reason, and sometimes she wished they could be as easy as the first few she faced on her own... Even though, back then, they had seemed very strong to her.
Zero watched the three girls and the cat leave from atop a building. It was simply incredible. He had gathered a lot of data, but his scanner couldn't identify the type of energy Moon used, only that she was using a lot of it. Still, there was no room for skepticism in him. His girlfriend had the ability to move items with her mind, and he had always accepted it at face value, so whatever 'magic' these girls had, he could live with it. However... "That Moon girl, she really does need a lot of work before I'll call her a heroine."
But then again, his own performance today hadn't been good. What chance did he have against one of the 'bosses' if he was so easily pounded to the ground by a bunch of walking flowers? And he had seen photos, and a few videotapes of the one known as Sailor V. He knew these Senshi may look rather unskilled, but they still got the job done in the end. Maybe it was time to tell Usagi who he was, and find out what exactly these youma wanted.
"Hades, Aries, it's good to see you both again."
Only the third woman was physically in the room, as it was far easier to meet through magic than to abandon their respective areas. "Prime Huntress Sagitta, is there any clue on where the youma are coming from?" Aries asked.
"Still none. They may not be in any of the three areas."
"What's clear is that their goal is in Tokyo," Hades said. "Sailor Venus' guardian gave me that information."
"That is what Hunter Orion informed me, too," Aries admitted. "Maybe we should focus our forces there..."
"No, we will continue as we are," Sagitta said, "let the Senshi take care of their main force, and keep searching for the youma's main gateway."
Terry saw Usagi run in and shook his head. Apparently, it was harder for her to get to school in time (and to study, from what he had seen thus far,) than fighting monsters. At least today she had made it in time, if only for a minute.
"Hello, Rabbit."
Usagi didn't comment on the nickname, but she did glare shortly at him. "Hi, Terry."
"I need to talk to you," he said.
Usagi was surprised at the sudden seriousness in his voice. "Okay, how about during lunchtime?"
"There will be a crowd there," Terry noted.
"But what exactly do you need to tell me?"
"Something I don't want anyone else to overhear," Terry said, "and that's all I'm telling inside this classroom."
Usagi decided not to press the matter any further, but still wondered. Was it about his girlfriend, or whoever had murdered her? She had no way to guess, so she would just have to wait.
"Had any further trouble with fan girls, Zephyr?" Umino asked.
"No, I hired a hit men and had them kill whoever came too close to me without my authorization."
Umino looked at him in shock for a few seconds before speaking again. "You're joking, right?"
"Of course I am," Terry said, "I guess the fans just found a shiny new thing they could run after. Or they're taking a week off."
Beryl was once again listening to Jadeite's plans. She was rather upset at his constant failures, but still... The other Generals had 'failed' too, but there had been a lot of energy gathered in all three fronts. However, if Jadeite kept on failing like this, he would have to be replaced. After all, the draining in the other two fronts was just a facade to keep the Senshi separated.
"Humans in love seem to have more energy than normal," Jadeite explained, "I'm going to use this to our advantage."
"You better don't fail me again, Jadeite."
"Don't worry, I have a way to make sure the Senshi won't interfere. I'm going to use a cruise ship to take a lot of humans away from the city, and drain them once we are in the middle of the ocean."
"It does sound unlikely for the Senshi to stop you," Beryl admitted, "but still, they seem to always be at the right time, at the right place."
"I know, and I'm ready to fight them if they do interfere."
"My patience is almost gone, Jadeite. If you fail, you may be replaced by someone else."
"I shall not fail," Jadeite said with a bow, before vanishing.
"So..."
Terry looked at Usagi and smiled. He was still not sure how she would take what he was about to say, but at least the street they were walking through was empty, so he could say it without worrying about anyone listening. "I know who you are."
"I don't know what you mean by that," Usagi said, not showing any signs of being upset by his words.
Terry smiled. Right, she wouldn't just admit to it, so it was time to drop the bomb. "Okay then, what if I told you I'm Zero?"
That caused Usagi to stop walking and stare at him. He stopped a few steps ahead of her, still smiling. "You? But how..."
"It's a rather long story. I'll just say I have a bone to pick with one of these youma."
Usagi started walking again. "It was a youma, wasn't it? The one who killed your girlfriend?"
He nodded. "Her name's Luminite. There was another one, Aurite, but that just kept me distracted."
"Why did they kill her?"
"She was... Well, she had psychic powers. She could move objects with her mind, she could sense living beings around her, and other things. We had been stopping crimes for a while."
"So you were super heroes? Cool."
Terry laughed at that. "I guess you could call her that. As for me, all I have is my swords and some skill at using them. I've always thought of myself as a 'sidekick.'"
"I can guess what happened, then," Usagi said. "You two tried to stop the youma from draining civilians."
"We got there, both times, after they were done," Terry said, "but the second time, they were ready for us, and..."
Usagi waited for him to continue, but realized he was done. "Why did you help me?"
"I know I could say I came here only for my revenge, but that would be a lie. I want to know why these monsters are showing up, and where their boss is, so I can go kick him, her or it until I feel like stopping. So, I suppose your group's the one I should talk to."
"I guess I'll have to call Luna."
"Don't bother, I'm here."
Terry looked up at the cat, not really surprised she was speaking. "And who may you be?"
"My name's Luna, and I'm Sailor Moon's guardian. I've been following you two long enough to know your goals aren't quite the same as ours."
"Maybe if you let me know exactly what youma are after, I'll know why they did what they did."
"They want to take over the world. They already tried once, in the past, but were stopped by the Senshi."
"In the past... There is no record in history of such a thing."
Luna nodded. "That's because we're talking about at least a hundred thousand years ago."
"A prehistoric civilization, then?"
"You could call it that," Luna said, "except mankind had spread to all of the solar system, and were, in some ways, far more advanced than the humans of this era."
"Space-traveling cavemen, that's cute," Terry noted.
"Mankind lived in caves eons before that era, and I guess after the war, with their cities destroyed and nobody to lead them, they may have returned to that," Luna said with a shrug.
Usagi was rather lost by now. "But what's important is, we defeated these youma before, right? We can do it again."
"The 'you' who defeated the youma were different. They had years of combat training, and they had the Princess."
"Princess?"
Luna looked at Terry and let out a sigh. "See, the problem is, I wasn't supposed to sleep for this long. My memory's blurred, so there's a lot of things I don't remember clearly. I don't know how the Princess looked like, only that she was the strongest warrior we had."
"Wait, then how come you guys have been scaring the youma off for months?"
"I don't know why, but youma are far weaker now than they were before. Something else must have happened, but I..."
"So they're weak right now? I don't think I'll want to see them reach their full power, then."
"And they're gathering life energy from humans, in order to regain their true strength.".
"I get it. If these creeps get enough energy, they'll take over the world."
"If we find the Princess before that happens, we'll have a better chance to win," Luna said.
"I'll help you," Terry said, "but if Luminite shows up, I'm taking care of her personally."
"Revenge's not a good..."
"Save the lecture," Terry said, "I've been told that already."
"Fine, then," Luna said, and turned to look at the girl. "Usagi, there's a place we need to investigate."
Terry smiled as the cat started walking away. "Is it a travel agency?"
That made Luna stop and turn to look at him. "What... How do you know?"
"Because of this," Terry said pointing at his wrist. The watch he had looked like a normal digital watch. "It's set to detect whatever 'magic' the youma are using, and it was going nuts near that travel agency."
Luna looked at the watch. "For you to be able to detect mana without even knowing what it is... That's pretty impressive."
Terry checked his watch. "Hmm, this must be wrong, unless you're a youma."
"That's not it," Luna muttered, "you're detecting living beings who actively use mana. I don't think that gadget can make a difference between good and evil mana."
"I don't get a word of what you two are saying," Usagi commented, "but if there's youma at that travel agency, we have to take a look around."
The Mooncat nodded. "Yes, of course. Let's go."
"I'll tag along," Terry said, "maybe I'll get lucky and find Luminite."
As they got to their target, Terry could see a black-haired girl standing nearby, looking straight at the building. He knew that girl was one of Usagi's friend, so that meant she could be one of the Senshi. "If you stare at that place any harder, you'll drill a hole through it."
The girl looked at him and frowned. "Who are you?"
"He's the new student I told you about," Usagi said, then in a low voice, she added, "and he's Zero," then she continued, in her normal tone, "Terry, this is Rei Hino."
Rei nodded at that last bit of information, "nice to meet you. I was passing by when I noticed the evil aura around that place. If Luna's here, this means..."
"Here there be youma," Terry said, looking at his watch. And the strongest youma so far, if the numbers were right.
"Let's go in, then," Rei noted.
"They're giving away free romantic cruise tickets for couples," Usagi noted. "That could be fun!"
"Usagi, they're youma," Luna noted.
Rei looked at the building again. "Whoever it was, it's gone."
Terry nodded. "Still getting a reading from that place, but it's far weaker now."
"Then Usagi's idea may be right," Luna said.
Rei looked at the cat "Why?"
"The one who's in there must be a normal youma, but the one who left was most likely Jadeite."
"And their plan is actually good," Rei admitted, "dragging people away from the city, to the middle of the ocean, then draining them there."
"If we hadn't found this place, we would have no way to stop them," Luna said.
"A romantic cruise, huh?" Terry said with a blank stare. "Wait here."
"What..." Rei started, but Terry was already walking into the building. They saw him talk to the woman at the counter, and he walked out a minute later, with several tickets in his hands. "You bought all those?"
Terry looked at the dozen tickets, then shrugged "they were quite cheap, and I wasn't sure how many Senshi are in your group."
"Only three," Luna said, then rapidly added, "for now."
"And also... I figured the more tickets I buy and not use, the less victims the youma will get."
"So we'll save eight people from..." Usagi started.
"Nine," Terry said.
"What, not coming? What about your promise to help us?" Luna asked.
Terry turned around. "Hey kitty, see what kind of cruise it'll be. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out why I'm not going."
Usagi flinched as Terry walked away. "A romantic cruise..."
Luna realized what Usagi meant right then. "Damn it. I'll be right back."
Rei had no clue what was going on. "What was all that about?"
"I'll tell you while we go get Ami," Usagi said.
He knew someone was following him, but he wasn't bothering stopping or turning around. "Go away."
"Listen, Zephyr, I'm sorry."
Terry realized who it was, but didn't look at the cat. "It's not your fault."
"But..."
He turned to look at her. "I wish I could help this time around, but I know I won't be able to keep my cool in that place."
"I understand, Zephyr," Luna said.
"Call me Terry, all my friends do."
Luna smiled at that. "Okay. Are you sure..."
"If I change my mind, I'll be there."
Later that night, the three girls and cat were 'enjoying' the cruise.
"I don't know how you two managed to drag me here," Ami said as the three explored the boat.
Rei looked out to the sea. "We're the only ones who are not in a couple here, from what I can see."
"Aw, I was hoping there would be some lonely, handsome guys aboard," Usagi complained.
"What, giving up on Tuxedo Kamen already?" Rei mused.
"Of course not," Usagi said, then looked down at the small cat. "How come people doesn't notice you?"
Luna looked up at her. "That's a special skill of mine. Only those with magic can see me while I'm using it, but it does require a bit of mana to work."
"So you can't use it indefinitely," Ami said. "Any idea where the youma is?"
"I'm not sure where exactly it is, but it's definitely in the ship," Luna said. She suddenly looked away from the ship and frowned. "The evil energy just got a lot stronger."
"That means Jadeite's here," Ami said, "we should keep our eyes open."
"Attention, passengers, please go to the party hall. We have a special show for you tonight."
"Special show, huh?" Rei noted.
"Most likely our cue," Ami said.
Usagi sighed. "I wonder how many more youma we'll have to fight before this is over?"
"No idea," Rei said, "we'll just have to take them down one at a time."
As they reached the main hall, they could see the ship's captain and a sailor girl were the only members of the crew there. "That's Jadeite," Rei noticed.
Indeed, the 'captain' was none other than Jadeite. He was giving a speech, but soon stepped back. The sailor girl looked around and smiled. "It is time for our main event!" she said as her body turned blue. A water youma?
The three girls leapt behind a table, knowing what would happen next. The crowd was all knocked unconscious, and Jadeite's hand lit up as he collected their energy.
"We have to stop him!" Usagi said. "Moon Prism Power!"
"Mars Planet Power!"
"Mercury Planet Power!"
Jadeite frowned as he saw the three Senshi were there. "How in darkness' name did they figure it out?" He turned to his youma as he kept on gathering life energy. "They have nowhere to run. Destroy them."
"It will be easy," the youma said, looking at the three girls. "Die, Senshi!"
The Senshi leapt out of the way as their enemy shot a barrage of thin water beams at them. However, they noticed the beams could punch through walls... And the room was packed full of civilians. "We can't risk fighting here," Mars noticed.
"But what will we do?" Moon said, looking around. True, she wanted to save all this people, but she had no idea what to do to stop this youma.
"We should drag her out of the room," Mercury suggested.
"What about Jadeite?"
"We'll take care of him later," Mars said.
The youma shrugged as the three girls run out of the room. "Good riddance."
Jadeite growled at her. "Didn't I tell you to kill them? Go!"
"O- Of course, Lord Jadeite!" the youma said, her face pale, before rushing out of the room.
It took the youma a minute before she found the three girls. "Ha! You can run, but you can't hide!"
"Who's running, monster?" Mars snapped. "Fire Soul!"
The youma's body turned into a puddle of water, and the attack passed right above it. "Not going to work!"
Mercury smiled. "Then what about this? Shabon Spray!"
"Oh, nice trick, however," the creature said as her body absorbed the mist, "I'm attuned to water and ice, girl." Her body had, after absorbing the Shabon Spray, grown to about twice its size. "Now, how about you just stand still and let me kill you?" However, she noticed right then that her prey had fled. "Oh, I suppose that's not an option," the creature muttered before she started searching for the trio.
The three Senshi were on the opposite side of the boat, and trying to come up with a plan. "Any idea on how to kill that thing?" Mars asked.
"From the data I have, this monster could dodge even Moon's attack. However, once it 'melts down' it takes a few seconds to reform."
Mars knew what Ami was thinking "I get it."
"I don't," Moon said.
Mars sighed. "It's quite simple, Usagi. Hit her while she's still reforming."
"Found you!" the youma snarled as it rushed around the corner. "Now, as I was saying, it's time for you to..."
"Fire Soul!"
The youma used the same trick as before. "You girls sure are stubborn."
"Moon Tiara Action!"
Just as Mercury had predicted, the creature couldn't do a thing until it had reformed, so the tiara hit it dead on, and she turned into mist.
"Well done, Moon," Luna said as she rushed in.
"Where were you?"
"I was keeping an eye on Jadeite, but he's gone."
"Damn, he used the youma as a distraction," Mars said.
"What about the victims?" Moon asked.
"They're still alive, but we should contact the coast guards and..."
"Already on it," Mercury noted.
"Good. We also need to find a way to get out without being noticed."
"Maybe we should go for a swim?" Rei joked.
"We could use one of the lifeboats," Mercury suggested.
"Why don't we just stay here?" Moon asked.
"They could blame us for this," Luna said, "I've heard a lot of rumors about us and youma, and not all humans know what side we're on."
Terry watched the news report and smiled. An anonymous call to the coast guards had led them to a cruise ship packed full of people, people who seemed out of stamina. The reporter said the cause of that condition was unknown, but Terry knew what it was. "Good to know the girls managed to stop that one. I'm really curious about what the youma will try next."
"Sir, your father sent you a package."
"Hmm? It's not my birthday yet, right Sam?"
The butler, Samuel, smiled at that. "No, not yet. This is, from what I was told, something to help you in your fight."
Terry looked at the package. His father wasn't around much, even back when he was still in the States, but he had helped him a lot. The swords he used were a gift he got when he started training. And he had a few other things that he hadn't used yet, a few surprises for the youma, all created by the company. "Okay, I guess I'll just open this and see what new toy I got."
The woman walked in and looked at the man behind the desk. "Sir, I was told you wanted to see me."
"Have you heard about the last attack?" the man said, not in the mood for formalities.
"Of course. It's obvious the Senshi were in that ship, but they left before the rescue teams got there."
"I think we need to get in touch with one of these Senshi. Tomoe's daughter is not in the country right now, so we'll have to look for one of the others."
"And how would we go about that, sir?" the woman asked, pretty sure she knew why he had called her.
"I'm leaving that to you, Lieutenant Rakurai."
"General, you want me to go and bring one of those Senshi here?"
"We have no clues on what their civilian identities are, so yes, you'll have to talk to them right after one of their battles."
"That sounds like a challenge. I'll do it."
"Good." He saw the woman turning to leave and sighed. "Be careful out there, Saiko."
"Don't worry, General Kino, I can take care of myself."
The man simply nodded as the woman walked out of the room. Of course he knew how good her combat skills were, but these monsters weren't like anything he had seen before.
Naru woke up with a start. It had been just a nightmare, but it was always the same nightmare lately. It didn't happen everyday, fortunately, but she couldn't really understand what it meant. Also, she remembered more of it each time.
She could, in the dream, see herself wearing a Senshi suit. She saw a castle in the distance, but the castle was aflame, and she knew she was defending it. Fighting youma, monsters like the one who had attacked her the first time she saw Sailor Moon. But something killed her, in the dream, and that was the point where she would always wake up.
Come to think about it, the dreams had started shortly after Sailor V was first seen in Tokyo. Could it be that she was... "No way, what am I thinking? I'm not one of them."
"As a matter of fact, you are."
Naru stared at the gray cat standing in front of her, in her bed. "You... You're like Sailor Moon's cat!"
"My name's Shade, and I'm here to tell you about your mission."
Note: For those who noticed it: Yes, the first few episodes were written before most of Book 1 - I was writing both books at the same time for a while, until I finished writing the first book. I kept getting ideas for the "present" part of the story while writing the past, so I decided waiting would be pointless.
Some warnings before you start reading:
- This part of the saga, or "book" as I call them, is long. Currently three hundred thousand words, may possibly have twice that many words when I'm done.
- This follows none of the original Sailor Moon canon plot lines a hundred percent, but it's close to the old anime's plot line. It also uses elements from the manga, and may in the future even include elements from other related media, like for example, Sailor Moon: Another Story.
- Cursing and gore are not a constant, but will be around when the story calls for them. No magical swords that leave no mark while running someone through, unless the sword is actually a magical sword...
Anyhow, with that out of the way, this story starts basically where the Sailor V manga starts, with Sailor Venus' first battles, along with other groups - but I won't spoil a thing, the best way to know is to read the story.
Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 1: Sailor V.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 3, 2010
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 1: Sailor V.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 3, 2010
-----
The girl woke up with a start. She looked around, relieved to see she was in her bedroom, and looked at the clock sitting in her nightstand through half-opened eyes. One hour too early to wake up, but she didn't feel like going back to sleep now. The memories of the nightmare she had just awoken from were fading, but she could still hear the screams. She could smell the smoke in the distance. She could remember being hit by something, right before she woke up.
It was all a little too real, even though she didn't know what it had all been about. All she could remember clearly was a palace, a white palace, and she knew it was what she was protecting in her dream.
She dressed up quickly and walked to the dining room. Her mother and father both looked at her, their surprise not concealed at all. "Hi mom, hi dad."
"Minako, it's good to see you're awake early for a chance," her father mused.
"Accidents happen," Minako joked back.
-----
They had waited for too long, for too many generations, but the time to reclaim what was theirs was close at hand. Queen Beryl looked at the device the best mages in her ranks had created. A device which could break through the barrier set between her world and the Earth, and which allowed them to transport troops through. It could only be used once every two days for the time being, and could only be used to send one soldier in. But it was still good for her plans, she didn't want to rush in blindly into a world which could have strong defense forces to fight back an invasion.
"I am ready, my Queen."
Beryl turned to the creature. "You've already been told what your mission is. If you find no defenses in there, I want you to gather as much energy as you can before returning."
The creature bowed to her and turned to the device. To anyone not capable of sensing magic, it would have looked like an ordinary archway. But it was a gateway to another world, a world which every creature like her, every youma, had heard countless stories about. A world that had once been theirs, and was then taken off their hands by a group of strong mages. That didn't really matter to her right now, as she was aware of the honor that had been given to her. She would be the first youma to set foot on Earth in many thousand years.
Beryl saw the youma walk through the archway, vanishing in a flash of light, and smiled. It was only the first step, but if everything went as planned, their conquest of the Earth would take less than it had taken the first time around.
-----
Minako was rather upset. If a strange nightmare wasn't enough, now she had a strange white cat stalking her. She had first noticed it while heading for school, but the cat had been always around, and whenever she looked at it, it would just stare back at her. And there was something about this cat that seemed odd, as if it was not just doing it by instinct.
Finally fed up with the small animal, she started walking straight to it (him, her?) surprised that the cat didn't back away. It was either very brave, or very stupid, to not take the glare she was giving as a hint to flee the scene.
"All right, cat, I'm not a mouse, so stop chasing me."
Minako stood there, waiting for the cat to take the hint and run. Seeing it just stared at her, she growled and turned to leave. And then, the small animal did something she wasn't quite ready for. It spoke. "Of course you're not a mouse, Minako."
And it knew her name? Wait, that wasn't all that important right now. "You- You- Cat-"
"Name's Artemis, and I'm a Mooncat, not just a cat."
"A talking cat, huh?" Minako was now staring at the white cat. It had a small, yellow crescent on its forehead (or rather, his forehead, considering his voice,) and was, as impossible as that could have sounded, smiling at her. "I knew it, first that nightmare and now a talking cat. I'm still asleep, right?"
"Minako, listen. There's an emergency, and..."
"Oh, of course I'll listen to you, Mr. Talking Cat. And I'll also listen to the dancing flowers and pink rabbits when they show up."
"Dancing flowers?" Artemis shook his head. "Anyway, you need to listen to me, Minako."
"Not here," Minako said, "if anyone saw me talking to a cat, they'd think I'm crazy." And if they heard the cat talking back, they'd think her craziness had rubbed on them.
"Well then, where do you want to meeeeow!" Artemis' question was interrupted as Minako lifted him and dashed down the street. "Hey, what's the deal, girl?"
"We'll talk at home, cat."
"I told you, my name's Artemis."
"Right then, Artemis." That would save her the problem to give him a name. Wait, why was she thinking about keeping him as a pet?
-----
Fortunately for Minako, her mother had gone shopping for groceries, and her father was at work. She wasn't in the mood to tell her parents some lie about why she brought the cat home.
As she let Artemis on her bed, she sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll ignore the fact cats aren't supposed to talk and listen to whatever you have to say."
"This will be hard to believe, but you're not just a normal human girl. You're the reincarnation of a Senshi, a warrior from ancient times, and if I've been awakened, it means the enemy's back."
"A reincarnated Senshi from long ago?" Minako stared at Artemis in shock. Sure, a part of her mind was laughing at how unlikely all that sounded, even coming from a talking cat, but another part of her... Something in her felt the word "Senshi" was something she had heard before.
"You're the Senshi of Venus," Artemis said, "one of the strongest Senshi. We have to stop the enemy before they get the princess."
"Princess?"
"The Moon Princess."
"Oh, of course, a cat from the Moon, looking for a princess from the Moon. It does make sense."
"Ahem... I don't think you will really believe me until I show you some proof, so..." Artemis closed his eyes, and a small, orange wand appeared in front of him. "This was used to train Senshi until they were able to call upon their powers on their own. Hold it and say 'Venus Planet Power.'"
Minako took the small wand (which looked like a pen,) and smiled. "I have to say 'Venus Planet Power,' right?" She gasped as light surrounded her, and for a few seconds she was unable to see anything. When the light dimmed, she found herself wearing an uniform similar to the one she used for school, only its neckline and skirt were orange, and the skirt was way shorter. "Hey, what's going on?"
"You've awakened your powers, Minako, or rather, Sailor Venus."
If this was a dream, she was starting to like it. "So I'm some sort of super-heroine, huh?"
"Your strength, agility, speed, resistance to damage both physical and magical, they all increase when you're in that form."
"How do I turn back to normal?"
"Just focus in changing back... Be careful, though, because the transformation will revert to whatever you were wearing before transforming."
"I see, no transforming while in my underwear unless I can get back home to change back."
Artemis laughed nervously at that. "Yes, that's quite correct."
"Okay then, I'll change back now."
"Wait," Artemis said as his ears perked up, "not yet. I'm sensing a youma, and it's near."
-----
Kron hated this, having to disguise herself as one of these disgusting creatures. Humans, how could creatures like these even exist, unable to feel the magic around them, ignorant to the kind of power one could obtain from channeling the mana present in the air. At least she had been able to scout the area. There were no defense forces capable of sensing magic, as far as she could tell, and after a bit on researching, she decided to complete the other part of her mission.
"Stop it right there!"
Kron dropped the man she had been draining to the side and turned to see something she wasn't expecting to see. A girl wearing a suit which matched that of the ancient warriors who had forced her race out of the Earth. A Senshi. "Who are you?"
Sailor Venus smiled. "I'm Sailor V, and I'm here to stop you, monster!"
"Sailor V?" Artemis asked, as confused as the youma.
"I'll explain later," Venus whispered to him.
"So you're not one of them after all? Then die!"
Venus barely dodged the energy blast that shot from the woman's mouth, and gasped as she turned into a humanoid crab. "Hey, Artemis, how am I supposed to fight that?"
Artemis let out a long sigh as he realized he had forgotten to tell her how to use her basic attack. If Luna had been around, he was sure he would have to listen to her rant for a while. "Look for the words in your mind, the words that will let you attack this enemy."
Venus looked at the cat, wondering what he meant. She then turned to see the monster rushing at her. "Words in my mind..." she closed her eyes and smiled. Yes, there they were.
"Giving up already? Good!" Kron snapped, then saw the girl raise her arms. "Hey, what's..."
"Crescent..." As Venus pointed her index finger at the creature, a small circle of light appeared in front of it. "Beam!" with that word, the point became a thin beam, which pierced through the monster's skull, stopping it dead in its track. "I did it?"
Artemis watched as the youma's body turned into dust. "Yes, you beat this enemy."
Venus noticed the crowd gathering around her. "Uh... I think we should leave now."
"That would be wise," Artemis admitted as Venus picked him up. "Hey, what are you-"
"You said my agility and strength were improved, right?" Venus asked, then leapt over the crowd. She looked around before leaping into a parked truck, then a rooftop. "Wow, no kidding. I thought I could jump quite high before, but this..."
Artemis smiled. It was good to see Minako wasn't too freaked out about the changes in her life.
"I could use this to get to school in time!" Venus said.
Still, he realized the girl wasn't taking this as seriously as he would have wanted her to.
-----
Queen Beryl looked at the report in her magic crystal. "I see... So the humans are rather greedy, competing for what they call money. Just like the old days."
"Indeed," the white-haired man standing in front of her noted, "they seem to value gold above many other metals."
"Gold?" Beryl couldn't help but laugh at that. It was perfect for them. This world they had been thrown into, it had entire deserts made of gold. Youma had never considered it a valuable metal, simply because it was everywhere. "I see... Have as many youma as you can start gathering gold, then. We could use it in our conquest."
"As you wish, my Queen."
"And also, Kunzite, you will be in charge of tracking down and killing the one known as Sailor V."
"I will send another scout first," Kunzite said, "with an eye spell, so we can know how she looks like. The auditive spell we set in Kron only told us the girl's not alone, but we don't know how many Senshi there could be out there."
"I want that human out of the way, but you also have to gather as much energy as you can. We need it to awaken our goddess."
-----
Minako had finished explaining the whole 'Sailor V' idea to Artemis, and he had to admit she wasn't wrong. Given the youma would know about Sailor Venus, then using a disguise and giving them a false lead would make it easier to confuse them. If the youma were also after the Princess, then they would think 'Sailor V' was her, disguised to hide her true identity.
"If all enemies are as easy as that one, this will be easy."
"They're not. That was just a scout, with near zero combat ability. Combat-able youma will be far stronger, and if we ever face a General, things could get messy."
"General?" Minako asked.
"They are the strongest warriors our enemy has, not counting their leader. If we ever face one, be careful. At your current power level, they would kill you easily."
"So they're like the game's stage bosses," Minako mused, then realized something. "Wait, what's that you said about power level?"
"Senshi have several power levels, but they start at their most basic one. It takes years of training and using those skills to get to the highest levels."
"Training?" Minako flinched. "No way, I've got enough with school already. I'll help you kill those youma bugs and look for the Princess, but that's it."
Artemis scowled at that. "You need to take this mission seriously, Minako."
Minako glared at Artemis in a way that made the cat shiver. "Now listen, Mr. Talking Cat, you threw me head-first into a fight with a monster I would have normally run away from, you told me I have to look for some Princess you know little about yourself, and you tell me there's some monsters out there who could kill me easily even with my powers. I can somehow accept all that. But I had a life before meeting you, and I'm not going to give it up just because you say so. Do you understand that?"
Artemis was quite surprised by that. Minako wasn't as naive as he had thought at first, he could see now that she understood the risks of her mission. "I suppose you're right about that. Training would only help you in this mission, but..."
"But?"
"... But I think you could manage to defeat our current enemies without it."
Minako smiled. "Good to hear that, Art."
"Art?" Artemis muttered. So much for Minako staying serious for long.
-----
It didn't take long for another creature to show up. Minako had been on her way home when she saw Artemis running her way. "Art?"
Artemis shook her head. "I told you not to call me that. Anyhow, there's a youma, and it's close."
"Right," Minako looked around as she 'summoned' her transformation pen. She didn't still know how she did it, but it had became second nature to her, to call upon the small item whenever she needed it. "Venus Planet Power!"
Artemis looked at the new suit. He had modified it on Minako's request, and he had to admit it looked like a good disguise. The suit was now blue with a red bow, unlike the original orange and blue colors of her suit. She had added a blue mask over her eyes, something that would make her harder to identify.
He leapt on her shoulder and smiled. "Let's go, Sailor V."
"Where is that bug?"
"Straight ahead," Artemis said.
"Good," V said and took off running.
-----
The youma staggered back, shocked. He had chosen this girl because she seemed to be an easy target, but to his surprise, the moment he had clasped his hand against the girl's arm, things went very wrong. Instead of being able to drain her energy, it was his energy the one being drained.
"What the Darkness are you?"
"You don't want to know," the pale girl said, her voice cold and unemotional.
"Hey you, leave that girl alone!"
The girl looked at the newcomer. Perfect, with this Senshi here, she wouldn't have to do a thing.
"You must be Sailor V," the youma snapped as his human disguise changed to his real self, a ratlike humanoid. "Die!"
V leapt out of the way as an energy blast hissed by. "You first. Crescent Beam!" To V's surprise, the youma didn't just stand there gawking, instead jumping out of the way of the beam. "Hey, no dodging!"
"Same goes to you, human," the youma said.
V dodged a couple beams more and looked around. The area was still too crowded, as most civilians didn't realize the threat this creature was to them. The girl she had saved, however, was gone.
The youma growled in frustration. If not for that girl weakening him, he could have killed this Sailor V rookie in seconds. "I'm not going to be defeated by a newbie."
V smiled. "Good thing I'm not a newbie." She leapt over the rat, flipping in mid-air and aimed at him as she passed right over him. "Crescent Beam!"
The rat snorted at that. Even at this range, it was easy to... He realized he couldn't move, and looked down in shock. Last thing he saw before being pierced through by the beam, was a skeletal hand clutching his foot.
"Yeah! I did it!"
"Nicely done, V," Artemis said, then looked around. That magic aura... It couldn't be her, could it?
-----
"I thought I said you had to stay out of their battles."
The girl looked at the older woman and nodded. "I know that, but this time around, I got involved in their battle accidentally."
"You helped her."
"She needed help. I have to agree with that youma, she's a newbie."
"Maybe you're right, but she will improve."
"I hope so, or she won't be around for long."
The woman smiled. "There are still more Senshi to be found."
"Won't you help them?"
"I can't. It's supposed to be this way."
"A group of untrained newbies running around fighting the youma. Are you sure this is the right way to go about it?"
"Don't worry, they will be fine. They will find the Princess."
"If they're going to do it, why have you awakened us?"
"Because this won't be the only war to be fought, and they will need you all in the future."
"I see." The girl looked at the now retreating V, and then turned to leave. "I'll go back home now. Call me whenever you decide it's time to start fighting back."
"I will. Don't worry, Hotaru, it will be soon." As the pale girl walked away, the woman turned around and looked at the spot where V had last been. "It will all start very soon."
-----
"Okay, I admit that fight was harder than the first one. Still nothing to be worried about, right?"
"Of course," Artemis admitted. They were both walking back to Minako's house, but he couldn't shake the feeling that familiar presence he had felt minutes ago was a Senshi. Which one, he couldn't tell, but he would have to investigate.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
Artemis looked up at Minako, who was frowning at him. "Sorry, was thinking about that battle. You didn't realize someone helped you, did you?"
"Someone helped me? What do you mean?"
"There was someone else there," Artemis said, "and I'm going to find out who it was."
"Think it could be someone like me?"
"That's possible," Artemis admitted, "but why didn't they contact us?"
Minako smiled. "Maybe they're shy?"
"Eh... Not likely." He decided to change the subject as he saw her house come into view. "Think your parents will be okay with this?"
"I know mom likes cats, so don't worry, Art."
"Minako..."
"Art fits you."
Artemis sighed in defeat. "Whatever you say, Mina."
-----
Beryl looked at the images in her crystal ball and smiled. "This Sailor V doesn't look like any of the ancient Senshi."
"We can't let our guards down."
"I agree. Kunzite, you will go to Earth next time and lure V to you. Make sure she doesn't bother us any longer."
Kunzite bowed to the Queen before looking at the image of 'Sailor V' in the crystal ball. "I will not fail, my Queen."
Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 2: Generals.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 3, 2010
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 2: Generals.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 3, 2010
-----
Minako walked in to see her father reading the newspaper while eating breakfast. However, something caught her eye almost immediately. "Sailor V? Who's that?"
"A strange woman who's been seen fighting monsters lately. Nobody knows who she is, or if the attacks are real. Maybe it's just publicity for a new movie or..."
"Or maybe there's things out there we can't explain," Minako's mother interrupted.
Minako smiled at that. "I think it would be great to be a heroine, fight monsters and defend the city like that..."
"See, now you got her thinking about useless things," Minako's father said.
"If there are monsters out there, then it's good someone's there to stop them, isn't it?" Minako asked.
"Yeah, but if they're real, then whoever this Sailor V girl is, is risking her life."
"Hmm, that's true," Minako said, then looked at Artemis.
Artemis was listening to them while eating his own food. This era's cat food wasn't half bad, he could admit that much. But he wondered if Minako was having second thoughts about her mission. That could make things complicated for them.
-----
"Queen Beryl, the gateway has been improved. We are able to send two soldiers through now at a time."
"Excellent work, Aurite."
The gold-haired General bowed to her Queen. "I will keep on improving the gateway when possible, but with how limited our energy is right now, two is the limit."
"I see. Kunzite!"
Kunzite appeared, taking a second to nod at Aurite before turning to the Queen. "There is a way to work around our current limitations. As much as the idea disgusts me, some of us could go and stay on Earth, and request for extra soldiers when needed."
"That is a good plan, and I suppose you're okay with staying there for long?"
"Unlike weaker youma, us General still keep our human form. We won't need to be wasting energy in a disguise spell to stay there. Besides, if I can search the city, I may be able to track down and eliminate Sailor V."
"I will stay in Tokyo as well," Aurite said. "I want to research on how advanced the Earth's armies really are, and search for anything that could help us take over that planet faster."
"Then you two may go. Learn all the weaknesses of those humans, and gather as much energy as you can."
"As you wish," the two Generals said in unison before vanishing.
-----
"Hotaru, where are you running off to lately?"
"It's none of your business."
"Come on, tell your older sisters about it."
"You're not my sister, Michiru."
Michiru let out a sigh as Hotaru walked out of the house. "She's not the social kind, is she?"
"She is a lot more human than she want us to believe she is."
Michiru looked at the older woman. Legally, their mother, but in reality, she was more of a mentor, someone who had taught them a lot about combat, preparing them for the challenges ahead. "Setsuna, while I can't understand her behavior, I can agree with what she asked you."
"About Sailor Venus and the others?"
"Yes. Why is it that we must stay out of their fights? If we combined our forces..."
"You are forgetting I'm the one who can see all possible futures," Setsuna said. "You will have your own battles to take care of, and, when the time comes, you will be joining them."
"I'm still not sure, but if you say it's for the best, then I'm okay with it."
Setsuna smiled softly. She, Sailor Pluto, was the one who had found these two, two orphans living in orphanages, two reborn Senshi who she knew would play an important role in the battles to come. She had raised them, but she had also trained them, prepared them for combat. The time drew near for them to prove their skills, but she was sure they would get through it, somehow.
-----
Hotaru walked in and looked around. As usual, the house was empty. Her father was a scientist, working for the army, and she didn't see him all too often. Her mother had died when she was still a little girl, and she had been a loner ever since. Her schoolmates were freaked out by her power, a power she had found rather hard to control at times. She knew some of them had feared her, even hated her, but she didn't mind. She needed no friends, now that she knew what her powers could be used for.
Maybe that was one of the reasons he had been so ready to accept Setsuna's offer that day. Maybe he knew she needed this, she needed someone to teach her how to control her powers.
Only one year had passed since then, though in 'reality' the time passed in a different way than in 'that place,' the place where they trained. Setsuna had been rather nice to her, she wasn't afraid of her powers, maybe because she, as Sailor Pluto, had powers that went beyond what Hotaru could ever dream of doing.
Still, she had learnt to control her own powers. The power to heal herself and others, and the other, darker side of her powers, the ability to drain any living being's energy. She had learnt to summon soul-less ghosts, something Setsuna called 'wraiths,' to help her fight.
She was different than Haruka and Michiru, Setsuna's adoptive daughters. She wasn't strong like Haruka, and she wasn't as agile as Michiru. She had little endurance, which made long battles something extremely difficult for her.
As she walked down the street, heading back to Setsuna's house, she sensed something. In a short range, she could sense living beings around her. Those with magic in them were like beacons of light to her, or, in the case of the one she was 'seeing,' beacons of darkness. "Youma."
-----
Minako was surprised to see Artemis right outside her school. "What's up, Art?"
Artemis rushed off, and Minako followed him. Once they were a good distance away from school, he decided to tell her. "There's an enemy near, but this time it's not just a normal youma. If what I'm sensing it's true, this could be one of the Generals."
Minako stopped running. "That is..."
Artemis stopped and turned to look at Minako. She looked scared. Terrified. And he couldn't really blame her. If those Generals were as strong as what little he remembered of them, then... No, he couldn't think like that. "Minako, I can't force you to go and fight someone that powerful. But you're probably the only one who could have a chance to stop a General."
"But you said they're strong, and..."
"Listen, Sailor V... No, Sailor Venus. That General will target civilians, people who can't do a thing to defend themselves. I know you're scared, and you would have to be pretty stupid not to be scared, but only you can help them."
Minako stared at Artemis for almost one minute, before she shook her head. "I'm still scared to the bone, but that won't stop me. Venus Planet Power!"
-----
Aurite looked around and couldn't help but laugh. A dozen or so humans were surrounding her, all armed with some sort of primitive, non-magical weapons. Their uniforms made it clear to her these were the city's defense forces. If that was the best this world had to offer, then this would be an easy conquest. "I see, you are sure your toy guns will stop me."
"Don't move!" One of the police officers said. He looked around and couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine. There were dozens of civilians all around the scene, unconscious, and pale. This was probably one of those monsters he had heard about, one of those monsters he had believed to be just fantasy. But this fantasy was just too real. "Drop your weapons and walk slowly towards us, and you won't be harmed."
"Weapons?" Aurite laughed. "I don't need any weapons to defeat you. Here, let me show you." She reached her hand out, tendrils of energy shooting in all directions, and her attackers all dropped to the ground, drained out of energy. She hadn't killed a single human, though, because they didn't deserve the honor of being killed by one of the strongest Generals of Beryl's army. No, when the day came, all these pathetic human soldiers would be sliced to shreds by common youma.
"That was quite a show."
Aurite turned to see a girl standing on top of one of the patrols. The suit she was wearing, Aurite knew it all too well. "Sailor Saturn?"
Saturn didn't mind being recognized. "You youma will not be allowed to roam free in this world. Begone."
"That's amusing, weakling. Die!"
Saturn looked at the incoming energy blast with the same emotionless face she had from the start. A glaive appeared in her hands, and she used it to cut the blast in half.
"Oh my, I see you're not a pushover."
"And I see my mentor overestimated you."
Aurite snarled at that. "That's it, brat, I'm done playing with you!"
Saturn saw Aurite rushing at her and nodded. "We're done playing, too."
"Gale Shot!"
Aurite was knocked aside by a strong, focused gust of wind. "What the heck..."
"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."
Aurite saw two new Senshi walk out from behind a parked truck and growled. "Uranus and Neptune?" There were this many Senshi around already? Well, it didn't really matter, she could beat them easily.
"Judging from your hair and skin, you should be Aurite," Saturn said, "the one rumored to be second in power only to Beryl and Kunzite. If that much is true..."
"It is, brat."
"... Then you're doomed to fail."
Aurite laughed. "This is too much fun. Even if there's three of you, you won't defeat me."
"You're all talk!" Uranus snapped and rushed at the woman.
"Fool," Aurite said as she rose her arms. Several energy blasts came from the ground itself, knocking the three Senshi to the ground. "You're rookies, and you're weak. There's no way ones like you could ever dream of fighting me as equals."
"Then what about me?"
Aurite looked up and paled. She knew who this green-haired Senshi was, one of the ancient Senshi. "Sailor Pluto? But you..."
"These are my protegees, so I'm afraid I can't let you kill them, Aurite."
"Big words for someone who never fights!" Aurite shouted as a dozen energy blasts appeared around Pluto, all homing on her. Aurite smiled, sure of her victory, until she saw Pluto hadn't made a move to dodge them, and the shots had done nothing to her. "What is..."
"I never fight, unless I know it's the only way out for the others." A staff appeared in Pluto's hands and she stared at Aurite for a second before pointing it at her. "Dead Scream." A nearly invisible ball of energy shot from the staff, hitting Aurite dead on and knocking her half a block away.
"This much power, how can you..."
"Your fate's already sealed, you will fall when the time's right, as will the rest of your race."
Aurite glared at Pluto for several seconds, then vanished.
"Thanks for the help."
Pluto turned to Uranus. "It's my duty to protect you. I hope this is a battle you can learn a lot from."
"We have to be stronger if we want to defeat Aurite."
"That's correct, Hotaru. You also need to study your foes, know what tricks they can use. That will let you find the best way to use your powers against them."
"In any case, I'm going to check on dad now. Call me if any more youma decide to attack today."
-----
Kunzite looked at the short-skirted girl and had to try hard not to laugh. She was weak, he didn't need any scanner to see that. And he could see the fear in her eyes, hidden behind a spark of courage. "So, you must be the one they call Sailor V."
"That's right, youma. You should leave before I decide to attack you."
"Likewise," Kunzite noted dismissively. "I find it hard to believe something as weak as you defeated Kron and Leras."
"Believe what you want," V snapped. "Crescent Beam!"
Kunzite rose a shield, stopping her blast effortlessly. "So, is that it?"
"Uh..." Unfortunately, V thought, it was all she had to fight with. "You won't be able to block that one next time."
"Try all you may, Sailor V. I'm stronger than you, I have more energy reserves, and I've got combat experience. This will be your last battle."
V run towards her foe, jumping at the top of her speed, and kicking out with her left leg as she reached him. "Sailor V Kick!"
Kunzite blocked the kick, noticing it took more energy to block than the magic blast. He grabbed V's leg and tossed her to the side, smashing her into a parked car. "You are truly pathetic, V. But it's time to..."
"Leave her alone!"
V saw Artemis leap straight at the man's face, leaving some quite visible scratches there before Kunzite slapped him away. The small white cat hit a tree and fell to the ground, unconscious, or maybe even- "Art!"
Kunzite turned to her and smiled mockingly. "Don't worry, you will join him soon."
"Fireball!"
Something hit Kunzite from the side, knocking him to the ground. As he stood up, he saw a man in a white suit standing on top of a car, glaring at him. "What... Who the hell are you?"
"Name's Hunter Sigma, you may just call me Sigma," the man said. "And I can't stand those who bully girls weaker than them. Lightning!"
V was trying to stand up, while keeping an eye on Kunzite. This man, whoever he was, had managed to at least knock the white-haired youma down, though his attacks seemed to mostly make the General angry. She crawled to where Artemis was, and saw the cat was still breathing. "Hang in there, Art."
"Whirlwind!"
"Enough!" Kunzite deflected the wind gust and glared at Sigma. "I've got no time to play around with you, human."
"Who's playing?" Sigma snapped. "Also, if you're so intent in killing that girl, you shouldn't take your eyes off her."
Kunzite's eyes widened as he realized something. V wasn't where he had left her anymore. Had she escaped? "Damn you, you helped her escape!"
"Yes, that was my intention, but she's bad at giving up."
"Crescent Beam!"
The blast came from behind, and without a shield formed, it did some damage. Had he underestimated V, or was it the rage at seeing her pet hurt which made her stronger? In any case, Kunzite turned to the place where the attack had come from, and saw V smiling at him. "You stupid kid, I'm going to..."
"You're going to be hurt," V said.
"Flare!"
A blast of fire shot up from underneath Kunzite, sending him flying forwards. And that let him, he realized as he flew, open for V's next attack.
"Crescent Beam!"
Kunzite bounced once on the ground twice before stopping. This was impossible, a single Senshi and some human mage had damaged him this much? He realized that V was weak, yes, but that was compared to the power he had last time he fought a Senshi. If his god was awake like that time, then... But, he realized, brooding about the past when two foes were about to shoot you down wasn't a smart thing to do. "I will be back, V, and next time I will be ready for your friend."
V saw Kunzite vanish and fell to her knees. She had hit her right leg hard when he knocked her into that car, but it wasn't only that which caused her to sink down. If not for this Sigma person, she could have been killed today. "I... I'm weak."
"I wouldn't say that, if legends were true, not many warriors could have taken on a General like you did."
She looked at the man. He was wearing a mask over his eyes, much like she did. "Who are you?"
"An ally," Sigma said. "We will meet again. Teleport."
"Wow, he can teleport?" V whispered as she stared at the spot Sigma had been standing on a moment earlier. She noticed Artemis struggling to stand up and sighed in relief. "Art!"
Artemis looked around as he finally managed to stand. "Where's Kunzite?"
"Gone."
"What- You beat him?"
"I had someone helping me," V said, then flinched as she tried to stand up. "Damn..."
"Senshi heal faster than normal humans," Artemis explained, "so that pain should be gone soon."
"Good to know," V said as she carefully picked him up. "What about you?"
"Mooncats were also blessed with fast healing."
"It doesn't make getting hurt any easier," V muttered.
"Yes, that's right. So, who helped you this time? Did you get to see who it was?"
"He said his name was Sigma. Hunter Sigma."
"Hmm... That name sounds familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it before."
"Your memory's pretty messed up, isn't it?"
Artemis gave V a short glare, but then shook his head. "I don't know why, though, my 'sleep' shouldn't have any side-effects."
"Maybe you weren't supposed to sleep for that long?"
"I don't know, and the ones who could answer this are long gone."
-----
Hotaru had reached her destination. To anyone who didn't know what this base was, it looked like a normal bunker. But inside it was the only branch of the Japanese Defense Forces that wouldn't take the incoming invasion as just urban legends.
"Good afternoon, miss."
Hotaru nodded at the men guarding the front door. She was one of the few civilians allowed in there, since her only living relative, her father, worked there. But there was another reason for them to grant her access, and she knew it. They already knew she was a Senshi. She didn't mind, and Setsuna didn't seem to be worried about it, either. But for the time being, she would let them think she wasn't aware of this.
After a rather long walk inside the base (which was far bigger than it looked, thanks to most of it being underground,) she reached her father's laboratory. "Dad, are you busy?"
The metallic door slid to the side, and a man looked at her from behind thick glasses. Some people would think the glasses made him look creepy, but Hotaru didn't mind. He was her father, and, also, she didn't mind his creepy looks.
"Hotaru, it's rare for you to come visit."
"I come here far more often than you go home," Hotaru noted.
"Isn't that true," the man mused, "so, what happened?"
"We had to fight one of the big youma today. The ones Pluto calls 'Generals.'"
"I see."
"And she beat us around without breaking a sweat."
"Oh. I take it Pluto rescued you."
"Yes. But it's strange. I shouldn't be bothered that this woman beat us, because I've never liked the idea of fighting. But I am. I don't want to lose to her again."
"If you were a warrior in your past life, then maybe some of that remains."
"Is Kino investigating Sailor V already?"
"Not as far as I know. Is she with you?"
"No, she's not in my group."
-----
"That Sigma guy..."
"What's wrong?" Artemis looked at Minako. She had a few visible bruises, but most of the damage was gone. Minako had told her parents she had tripped while running, and from how fast her parents bought that lie, he could bet that was something that happened often.
"He was stronger than me," Minako said, but then shook her head. "No, not 'stronger' but a better fighter. His spells were weaker than mine, but he seemed to know what he was doing."
"You lack experience, but you can learn from your own mistakes."
"Of course," Minako said, "next time I see Kunzite, I'm going to blast him from behind first."
Artemis sighed. "Be careful, though. We're not sure that Sigma man is an ally."
"But he saved me."
"I know, but you shouldn't trust someone so easily."
"Hey, I trusted you."
Artemis smiled. "Yeah, and see where that got you." Minako stared at him, so he stared back at her. "What's wrong?"
"It's the first time I hear you joke, that's all," Minako said with a wink.
"You're quite a weird girl, you know that?"
"It's part of my charming personality," Minako beamed.
"Uh, yeah, charming personality indeed," Artemis said, rolling his eyes at her.
Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 3: To where no Senshi has gone before.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 4, 2010
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 3: To where no Senshi has gone before.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 4, 2010
-----
"I want a full report on the current crisis, Sigma."
Hunter Sigma looked at the woman talking to him. To those not trained in the magic arts, it would have seemed like the head of a woman floating in mid-air, and one would have almost expected it to be dripping blood down to the ground. But he knew the spell she was using to communicate through the countless miles that separated them, and thus wasn't surprised at all to be speaking to her in such a form. "I only managed to see one of the Senshi in Tokyo. If legends are to be trusted..."
"They are," the woman said, her tone showing no signs of doubt.
"... Then she's Sailor Venus. I can't tell whether she is a reborn Senshi or not, though, since she acts like a novice."
"Even a novice Senshi could outclass and outfight most of our clan," the woman said. "Make sure she understands you're an ally, or things could turn dangerous for you."
"I will, Huntress Hades."
The woman looked to the side, as if to make sure nobody else was listening, then smiled at Sigma. "Take care out there, son."
"Don't worry, mother, I'll be back home soon," Sigma said. He didn't doubt the statement he made, but he also didn't know just how soon he would be going back.
"What about the enemy?"
"Those 'youma' are relatively weak, but the one leading them is tough."
"What is the leader's name?"
"He calls himself Kunzite."
Hades' eyes widened as the man mentioned that name. "Then maybe I should send some backup."
"I take it this man is one of the strongest youma?"
"He was, from what legends say, the strongest of Beryl's generals."
"If that is the case, seeing how a novice Senshi and a mage can kick his rear, then all we have to do is wait for the other Senshi to awaken."
"That might not happen soon, son. Are you sure you need no help?"
"Trust me, I can handle this."
The woman took a minute to think about it, then nodded slowly. "I'll trust your judgement on this issue. But if you ever..."
"If I ever need someone to help me, I will let you know."
"Good, that's all I'm asking from you, Sigma. Prime Huntress Hades out."
Sigma looked at the spot where the 'floating head' had been and smiled. "So this Kunzite's the strongest, huh? Guess I'm lucky."
-----
Things weren't progressing as she would have wanted them to. She hated this, her Generals should be far stronger than those Senshi, but the enemy still managed to stop their energy gathering. It was either how Zoicite had theorized, that the Senshi had means to detect the youma, or that they were always at the right place, at the right time. Or, Beryl thought, it could be a combination of both.
"Despite your lack of success, I'm still willing to give you both a chance to redeem yourselves. But I know as long as those Senshi stand in our way, then our energy gathering will go slowly."
"I've realized that too," Kunzite admitted, "and that's why I've made plans to take V out of our way, even without killing her."
"I'm listening."
"You see, there are three zones with active mana wells around the planet. One of those is right under Tokyo, the other one's in the city humans call London, and the third is in the city of New York."
"I think I know what you're planning," Beryl said, letting amusement creep into her face.
"I will move my operations to England, leaving clues on it for Sailor V to find. Once she's out of the way, it will mean the other Generals can go ahead with the draining. And, of course, I will be draining as much energy as I can from the humans in London."
Aurite smiled at that. "I like that plan. I think I will lead Pluto's group to New York. However, I have to admit I'm having trouble beating them."
"Then I can help you."
Aurite looked at the pale-skinned General that had appeared besides her. "I accept your offer, Luminite."
"Go ahead with both plans," Beryl said, and smiled as the two women left. "Jadeite!"
The blonde General walked out of the shadows, and bowed before looking up at the Queen. "At your command."
"You will be in charge of gathering energy in Tokyo after Kunzite and Aurite leave."
"I will not fail," Jadeite said with a smirk. It would be easy, after all, if all the Senshi were out of his way, chasing after the other Generals.
-----
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
Minako looked at the Mooncat and then sighed. "What exactly are the youma after?"
"My memory's a bit blurry about that, but from what I remember, they want to take over the world, as they did already in the past. The Senshi stopped them from expanding their domains."
"Expanding?" Minako asked. "Where would they expand to, if they already controlled the world?"
"There were humans living in all planets."
Minako looked at Artemis for a few seconds before whistling. "No way."
"It's true."
"But that means... I'm Sailor Venus, so I'm from Venus?"
Artemis was surprised she had made that connection so fast. "You were, in your past life."
"So, are all the Senshi like me?"
"They can use magic attacks, just like you," Artemis said.
Minako stood up from her bed and smiled. "Maybe we should contact those other Senshi who have been seen around the city lately."
"I'll try to find them," Artemis said, "but from what I could see, they are good at hiding."
-----
After their initial failure against Aurite, the three girls had improved greatly. Aurite had attacked twice since then, and they hadn't needed Pluto's help at all.
It was good, though, since Setsuna had been watching over someone else, a person with powers like those they had. Only in this boy's case, the powers were still dormant, waiting for the right time to awaken.
"I was right, Moment, it was you after all."
Setsuna turned around to see the white Mooncat, Artemis, staring at her. "Been a long time since anyone adressed me by that name."
"Not surprising, you were never one to socialize."
Setsuna smiled at that. "Are you going to tell Venus about us?"
"If you didn't contact me, that means you know something I don't, and I shouldn't know about yet," Artemis noted. "So, how many Senshi have you found?"
"A few," Setsuna said.
Artemis knew Pluto wasn't going to give him a straight answer even before he asked, so he wasn't too surprised by that. "What about the other Mooncats, are they..."
"They're alive, but they have yet to awaken. Don't worry, they will be there when you need them."
"So, that boy you're watching, is he one of them?"
"If I told you, I would have to kill you," Setsuna said before vanishing.
Artemis stared at the spot where Pluto had last been in shock. From what little he could remember about her, she had never been one to joke about anything. "I better keep this meeting to myself," he noted before walking away.
-----
"I will scout the city, just in case."
"All the Senshi are in Tokyo right now, Luminite."
"That's true, but there may be others waiting for us there. And even if there's no Senshi, maybe some lesser human warrior, like that Sigma man."
Aurite thought about this for a few seconds and couldn't help but agreeing. It was better to make sure no interferences would come, specially since they had to deal with more than one Senshi already. "Right, go to the city... What's its name again?"
"Some call it New York, but others refer to it as the 'big apple,'" From what I could gather, 'apple' is a quite popular type of fruit.
"We'll be soon taking a bite off that big apple, then," Aurite joked.
Luminite decided not to comment on Aurite's attempt at humor. "I'm going now, you get everything ready for our little show."
-----
Artemis looked at the small artifact. To anyone other than him, the now broken, crystalline capsule was not there, thanks to a spell imbued in it. However, this was the second capsule he had found, both broken, which meant at least two other Mooncats were awake.
That meant there would soon be other Senshi in Tokyo. If he could contact those cats, then maybe they could form a team, like the one Pluto was...
His thoughts were interrupted as he spotted something. A man with white, long hair, entering a book store. Even from a distance, there was no way he wouldn't know who this was. "Kunzite... What is he planning now?"
He considered following the man, but decided against it. He would be better off coming back with Venus, as she had already beaten Kunzite twice before.
What he didn't know, was that Kunzite had seen him, and had let him go. Killing the cat now would be of no use to him, as he wanted it and the girl to follow them out of the country. Yes, the bluff was ready, and both the cat and the girl would surely fall for it.
-----
Things had been pretty normal in the city lately, and he couldn't complain. He needed only to wait, though, for he knew things couldn't remain calm. Something was bound to happen. Something like a van stopping in front of a bank, and several suspicious men walking out of it and into the bank.
He pressed his wristwatch's side and spoke to it. "Are you there?"
A female voice came from the watch. "Zero, what is it?"
"A bank robbery, from what I can see. Can you see where I am?"
"You don't need to ask that," the same voice said, but it wasn't coming from the watch, but from behind him.
He looked at the girl as he turned around. While she was by no mean someone who would stand out in a crowd, he knew her looks were deceiving.
"Stop staring," the girl snapped with a fake stern voice.
"Can't help it," the boy noted, causing her to giggle, and then they both turned to look at the blue van. "Should we wait for them to get out?"
"That wouldn't be any fun."
He smiled at that. "What are you planning?"
"I'm sure you'll love this."
-----
The leader of the small gang of criminals couldn't help but smile as he walked out of the bank. The guards had been easy to deal with, and things were going smoothly. They only had to leave before the cops arrived. Yes, everything was perfect. Everything...
... Except for the fact their van was somehow upside-down on top of a tree, and their driver was nowhere to be seen. The leader saw a girl standing in front of the tree where their van had been put and let out a snarl. "Oh great, it's that psycho
.""Name's Nova," the girl said, glaring at them from behind the black mask she wore over her eyes. "Now if you would be kind enough to leave the money behind, I may consider not knocking you all out cold.
The leader's answer was quick, he whipped his arm forwards, taking the shotgun he was hiding inside his coat out in one swift, practiced move, then fired it.
Nova simply stood there, as the many small pellets fell harmlessly to the ground, after hitting an invisible barrier in front of her. "Now, that wasn't a wise move."
"The
- She really is invincible!"Nova let out a chuckle. "Maybe I am, but I don't say this was a dumb move because of what I can do."
"Then what the
you mean?" the boss snapped, but then grunted and fell to the ground, unconscious.The rest of the gang saw someone standing right behind their boss. Much like the girl, he was wearing a black suit, but he also wore a black hood which only let his eyes visible. "Oh
," one of the thieves said, "it's that ninja kid!""You guys just love using that 'f' word, don't you?" the 'ninja' mused, then saw them all pointing handguns at him. He pulled out two swords and stared at them. "Go ahead, try your luck."
One of the men laughed at that. "You can't be serious... Swords can't stop bullet, boy, not in real life. Kill him!"
The man stood there, swinging his swords swiftly and in a seemingly random way at the incoming bullets, and still stood as the barrage ended, unharmed, while the bullets shot at him fell to the ground. "No luck," he said. "Time to go to sleep."
Nova walked to the 'ninja' as the thieves all fell to the ground, hit by her invisible attack. "You should stop showing off, specially since it's not you stopping those bullets, Zero."
Zero, the ninja, smiled at that, but then remembered she couldn't see his face. "It scares them and keeps them from aiming at you, so I will gladly 'show off' if I can."
"Let them fire at me, Zero. You know they won't get me."
"And then what would I do, sit and eat popcorn while you beat them down? That would be quite boring, Hana."
"Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you, Terry." Nova said sternly.
"Because of my charming personality, my incredible sense of humor and my looks?"
Nova shook her head at that and smiled. "Well, it surely isn't because of your modesty."
-----
He looked at the tall woman he had met only minutes ago. It would have been quite hard for him to believe she was who she claimed to be, if not for the fact he could sense this woman's power. "I think mom's not going to believe this."
"What I've told you is true, Kage. There's a high chance you are one of us."
"If you are really Pluto, and I have no reason to doubt that, then you should know."
"That's an assumption I would be happy to do without. What I see are all possible futures, and not as clearly as I would want to, sometimes. I cannot tell which future will come to pass, but I can try to make certain futures come to pass. For example, I could have let you go on, unaware of what may come."
"But telling me what my future might bring steers me in the right direction," Kage said, following the woman's reasoning.
Setsuna smiled at that. "That's correct."
"I will have to tell my mother about..."
"Don't worry, I will speak to Prime Huntress Aries personally," Setsuna said.
"Shouldn't we inform the other clans?"
"They will become aware of our presence eventually, if they haven't already. But don't worry about that, go back home for the time being. We will soon have to move to the east."
"To Australia?" Kage guessed.
"No, further to the east. Much further."
"Oh," Kage said, realizing what she meant by that. "Good thing I paid attention to my English classes."
-----
"Here it is."
Sailor V looked at the book store and flinched. "I wonder what he's planning this time. That place looks empty."
"Only way to find out is going in," Artemis noted.
The two approached the building as stealthily as they could. Artemis had to admit that Minako, despite being quite carefree, was becoming more of a warrior with each battle. The process was slow, and sometimes painful, but he knew she'd eventually become a good fighter.
As they sneaked into the building, they could see Kunzite speaking to someone. A youma, they realized, and one that looked like a cross between a cat and a plant. Both the youma and the general knew V and her pet were there, but they both knew they had to make it look like they had not noticed them.
"I've grown tired of V's interference," Kunzite said, "so I've created this." He pointed at the large, ring-shaped artifact resting on the far wall. Small energy arcs shot through the center of the 'ring' every second, as the machine charged for whatever it was meant to do.
"What exactly is that machine?" the youma asked, fully knowing the machine was just for shows.
"This, Cattleus, is a long range teleporter. It will allow me to travel to a far away country, where I will continue draining energy for our Queen."
V decided to make her grand entrance right then. "Not if I can help it!"
"Damn it, she's already here," Kunzite exclaimed, sounding as surprised as he could. "Cattleus, kill her!"
The cat-like youma tackled V to the ground before she could react, and tried to slash at her face. V caught both her claws with her hands, but couldn't get the creature off her. "Damn it... Art, destroy that machine!"
Artemis sighed. "Easier said than done," he muttered, then noticed something moving in the shadows. "Or maybe it will be easy after all."
Kunzite was about to walk into the "ring" when he heard a shout of "Fireball" and something hit the machine. He laughed as he saw Sigma standing on top of a table. "Silly boy, you think I would make this machine weak enough to be destroyed by something like that? Sadly, I must take my leave, but I'll leave my youma here to keep your company." And with that, he walked through the ring, vanishing as he passed through. A second after he did, the ring turned into dust.
"Damn it, he escaped," Sigma muttered, then saw V was still struggling to keep the 'cat girl' from clawing her face off. "Need help, Venus?"
"She's stronger than she looks," V commented, not noticing just what he had called her.
Artemis leapt on the cat youma's back, digging his claws into her skin. The youma yelped in pain and stood up, trying to reach for her attacker, and failing to notice V was up and ready to finish her.
"I've got her, Art," V said, and the Mooncat understood exactly what she meant, and leapt off the creature's back. The youma didn't quite get the meaning, until the shout of "Crescent Beam" and the light blast piercing through her made her realize her mistake.
Sigma smiled. "Guess my help wasn't needed after all. What was Kunzite planning?"
"He said something about going to a far away country," V commented, then looked around. "But what country?"
Artemis looked around and noticed a few books sitting close to where the machine had been. "I will make a wild guess and say it's England."
V looked at the books. They were all books about England and London, so she could only agree with her friend. "Damn it, how are we going to get there?"
"I'll find a way," Artemis noted, then realized someone was missing. "Hey, where's Sigma?"
"Gone, as usual," V said, then her eyes widened as she realized something from the battle. "Wait a minute... Art, he called me Venus, not V! How does he know?"
"Either he's a youma spy, or he somehow knows about the Senshi," Artemis guessed. "Venus was the only Senshi with control over light, after all."
"I hope he's not a youma," V said, "I kinda like that guy."
Artemis smiled at that. Yes, Sigma had helped them in several battles, it would be a pity if he turned out to be just a youma in disguise.
-----
"Sir, your father is back from his trip."
The boy was distracted by this, and the girl sparring with him took the chance to knock him down to the ground, straddling him before slapping him playfully on the forehead. "Don't get distracted, Terry."
"Not my fault," Terry muttered, then turned to the man who had interrupted their sparring. "Sam, is he coming home soon?"
"I believe so, sir," the man said. "Are you going out to play again?"
"We were planning to, yes," the girl said.
"Miss Hana, please take care of him."
"Don't worry, I'll bring him back in one piece, Sam."
Terry growled. "Hey now, I'm not a helpless little boy."
"You're a helpless big boy," Hana teased.
"Let's just go out. I feel like punching out some more criminals."
Sam saw the couple walk out of the room and smiled. Those two were a strange duo, but considering what their lives were like, they were pretty normal. Neither fought criminals with their underwear over their pants, for starters, which was a good thing.
-----
"So the youma are coming here?"
"Unless it's just a bluff," Sigma said to the woman, "but I doubt it. I'll stay for a few more days, just in case."
"I will send some of our best Hunters to watch over the city. If we detect any youma activity, I'll let you know at once."
"Good," he looked to the side, then back to the woman. "Oh, and mom, I may have found out who Venus is. Her 'civilian' identity, I mean."
The woman seemed surprised. "From what legends said, they're hard to identify."
"Yes, but I have only seen one white cat with a moon-like spot on his forehead... And I've seen him enter a certain house, several times, in the last few days. I suspect that means Venus lives there."
"You should keep an eye on them."
"That's what I've been doing, and I learnt that she's taking an English crash course. She was also recently chosen to study overseas, in England. There's too many coincidences around her."
Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 4: New friends, new foes.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 4, 2010
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 4: New friends, new foes.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 4, 2010
-----
The small, violet Mooncat looked at her prey. She had a quite strange hairdo, but she was the one she had been looking for. She was one of the Senshi.
The first few days in this world had been quite strange for the cat. She had awakened with almost no memories of who she was and what she was meant to do, but those memories returned in a matter of minutes. It was easy for her to pass as a normal cat, since there were no physical differences between them and a Mooncat. But from what she had learnt about this era, she was possibly the only Mooncat alive. She had heard news of Senshi being spotted in this city the humans called Tokyo, but she could guess the one responsible for that was Sailor Pluto.
The Mooncat had only managed to find one possible Senshi thus far, and that was quite frustrating. She had observed her target for a few days, and was sure the girl had powers. She just needed them to awaken, and she had decided today would be the day that would happen.
-----
The swords clashed, and the two men grappled for a few seconds, before jumping away from each other. Hana observed the battle from a safe distance, amused by the show these two were giving. She knew if the older man wanted to, he could end the battle in a second, but that wouldn't help his disciple improve.
Terry relaxed his guard as he took a moment to recover his breath. "So, master Hakko, what do you think?"
"I think you're still a rookie," the older man said, just before rushing in, aiming for a slash to his foe's chest.
Terry leapt to the side, avoiding the initial charge, but then had to bring both his swords up to parry a potent slash. Much despite himself, he could only agree with Hakko, he was but a rookie compared to him. But that didn't mean he would not try to win.
Hakko noticed the leg swipe Terry was aiming for and countered it by kicking out with his leg. That caused Terry to lose balance and fall to the ground with a grunt. "I must admit, however, that you've got fast thinking on your side. But that alone is not enough to win a fight."
Terry saw the man walking away and stood up. "I'm lucky I've found nobody out there that could fight better than me, then."
"There are evils out there not even I could fight against," Hakko said, "I just hope you won't have to fight them yourselves."
Hana saw Hakko leave and shook her head. "Done playing with swords?"
"Am I ever?" Terry joked, but noticed his friend wasn't in quite a good mood. "Something bothering you?"
Hana shook her head. "Nothing."
"I may not be the one with mind powers, but I still know when something's wrong, Hana."
She sat on the lawn and gave a small shrug. "It's just that I feel like these powers I have- Heck, even your training, well..."
He sat besides her. "What's the problem?"
"I don't feel like they're just meant to fight second-class criminals."
"Maybe you're right, a superhero and his sidekick need a super villain or four to fight against."
She gave him a halfhearted glare. "A superhero and his sidekick?"
"Let's just give the city a try. Maybe there's some loser with metal tentacles or a fish bowl on his head out there."
Hana laughed at that and stood up. "Sometimes you can be too silly, Terry."
"Thanks, I try."
As they walked back into the house, his mind drifted to the past. Terry had known Hana for a few years, before they even became friends. He had always seen her as yet another snob girl at school (which was, by default, how he saw every kid at his school,) but it took only one chance encounter outside school, when they were both ten, to change his mind about her...
-----
That day, he had been about to enter the car, when he heard what sounded like shouts, coming from an alley near the school. He looked at Samuel, the family's butler. "I'll be back in a minute, Sam."
"Sir, wait, it could be dangerous."
"Can't be more dangerous than Hakko's training."
He left the butler and walked to the alley, taking a look in before deciding what to do. He saw several boys around his age, and they were surrounding a girl. A girl he knew he had seen at school before. And he could also hear what they were telling her.
"I told you, you're my girlfriend now."
The girl snorted at that. "And I told you to leave me alone."
"And what will you do, cry until we do?" another of the 'brave' boys asked. That caused them all to laugh.
Terry decided to make his entrance right then. "I don't know about you, guys, but I heard her tell you to leave her alone."
The group's 'leader' recognized him. "Back off, Zephyr."
Terry smiled. "Let's make a deal. If you can knock me down, I'll leave. If you can't, you'll leave her alone."
The other boy laughed. He was bigger than this Zephyr kid, so it would be no challenge to knock him flat. "If you insist!" he snapped before rushing at his foe.
Terry waited until the boy was close enough, before sidestepping and tripping him, sending him crashing face-first against the alley's dirty ground. "I guess I won."
The others surrounded Terry, forgetting about their 'prey.' "Can we try too?"
Terry knew he had little chance to win against all ten of them, but still stood his ground. "Be my guests," he teased.
Through all this, the bullies had almost forgotten about the girl. And Terry had to admit he had also overlooked her. But he saw all the kids around him drop down to the ground, and realized the one he wanted to rescue was now looking at him, her eyes white. "What the..."
The girl shook her head and her eyes went back to normal. "Thanks for the help, Zephyr."
"You're welcome," Terry said, sparing a glance at his would-be foes. They were all clearly unconscious. "What was that?"
She seemed unsure about something for a second, but then sighed. "I can do things with my mind, like moving objects..."
"So you're a psychic? Cool."
"I thought you would be freaked out. Everyone but my parents is."
Terry shook his head "I think it's amazing.... Thompson, right?"
"Call me Hana."
"Then call me Terry," Terry said.
"Sir, I must admit I didn't know you would be able to beat this many foes."
Terry turned to see Samuel standing there, admiring what he thought was Terry's work. "Actually, I didn't beat them down, she did."
"Oh," Sam said. "Is she studying with master Hakko?"
Terry chuckled. "No, but I think I would like to see him try to beat her."
"I don't like fighting," Hana said.
"Oh well, nobody's perfect," Terry noted with a smile.
-----
They had become friends after that, and eventually something more. Terry's mind returned to the present as he checked the area around the tall building they were standing on. "Nothing's happening in this part of the city. Maybe we should try going somewhere else."
Hana grimaced. "Wait, I'm sensing something." She looked down and pointed. "There, that woman."
Terry looked down as well. The woman had white, short hair, and was wearing what looked like a military uniform. "She looks strange, yes, but she's almost up to par with this neighborhood."
"You can't sense what I can. That woman's got a strange aura around her."
They saw her walk into a restaurant, and seconds later, the whole building went black. "What the heck?" The woman walked out of the building, which returned to normal, but they could see she was literally glowing.
"We need to stop her," Hana said. Her suit 'appeared' around her and she smiled.
Terry shook his head at that. It was a trick, and Terry knew how it worked. She could wear her 'Nova' suit and create the illusion of normal clothing over it, so that whoever looked at her would see Hana, not Nova. When she had to fight, she simply stopped the illusion.
He, however, took a more mundane approach to it, as he had been wearing his "Zero" suit since they left his house. "Okay, let's go see what Snow White did in that restaurant."
-----
Luminite couldn't complain, she had more than enough info on the unimportant defenses of this city, and had just gathered a lot of energy for her Queen. All she had to do now was return to the Dark Kingdom and tell Aurite all she had learnt.
"Hey, Snow White, what are you up to?"
However, that would have to wait. "You two are no Senshi," she noted looking at the two human kids, "so you better leave before you get hurt."
"Now I'm scared," Zero snapped, pulling his two swords out. "Tell us what the heck was that you did at the restaurant."
"That? I was merely collecting the energy of your inferior race."
"So you're some sort of vampire," Zero said. "I thought vampires couldn't be out during the day."
"I'm not a vampire, I am a youma, and one of the strongest ones," Luminite snapped. She could have blasted this kid and his girl out by now, but she was amused by their ignorance.
"Let's see if my swords are stronger, shall we?" Zero asked, then vanished.
No, he didn't really vanish, Luminite realized, but jumped up so fast she only realized where he was a second before he fell down on her. She managed to leap back, but his swords still left twin slices along her chest. "What are you?"
"A human," Zero said, "now die."
"You first," Luminite countered. Before her foes could figure out what she was planning, she shot an energy blast right at the hero's chest, knocking him back several meters.
"Zero!" Nova watched him fly back and caught him with her powers, but noticed he was out for the count. "You're going to pay for this."
Luminite snorted. "I wasn't ready for him, but you won't pull another trick like that."
"I don't need to," Nova said, her eyes turning white as she focused on her foe. "Interesting, you're definitely not human," she noticed as she 'saw' what this creature's body looked like with her powers. "But you do have a heart, right... There."
Luminite was shocked. Somehow, this human girl was stopping her from moving, and she could feel it now... This girl had stopped her heart. If she stood there, she was dead for sure. Fortunately, she did have a second option.
Nova saw the woman vanish and frowned. "Left already?" She felt something right behind her, and knew she wouldn't be able to react in time. As she turned to face the threat, however, she saw Luminite had a shocked look in her face, and was looking down at the blade coming out of her chest. "Zero!"
Zero was kneeling right behind Luminite, still holding his sword. "Die already,
.""You won't be this lucky twice," Luminite growled before teleporting away and back to her makeshift base.
"Are you okay, Terry?" Nova asked.
"I'll live," Zero said, but then fall on his back. "Ow..."
Nova run to his side "Terry!"
"I'm quite useless, huh?"
"Don't say that, you saved my life."
Zero smiled. "That's what sidekicks do."
"Okay, time to visit the hospital."
"Oh, come on. It's just a flesh wound."
Nova sighed at him. "I see your sense of humor wasn't affected by that blast."
-----
Hours later, Hana was sitting on Terry's bed. Fortunately, he had only gotten a few bruises and scratches from his fight, but she was still worried. "Terry?"
"What's wrong?" Terry asked. He was feeling a lot better now, but he could tell something was bothering her.
"I know you want to protect me, and I really appreciate what you do for me, but you don't need to keep me out of the fight, you know?"
"What? I didn't..."
"You did, you rushed that woman and started attacking her without even letting me try to help."
Terry looked at her for a few seconds before nodding. "I guess I did."
"You don't have to get hurt for my sake, Terry."
"Oh, but my plan worked, didn't it?"
Hana laughed at that. "That was no plan at all, mister."
"Or was it? You'll never know how my mind really works."
"I could find out rather easily," Hana joked.
Terry flinched. "Uh, I think I'll pass, thank you."
-----
Later that day, the two were talking to Kyo Hakko, Terry's martial arts master. "... And then the woman vanished."
Hakko sighed. "That sounds quite incredible, but I've seen my share of incredible myself."
"How would you fight someone like that?" Terry asked.
"I wouldn't," Hakko said with a neutral stare.
"Wow, that sure helps a lot, old man."
Hakko growled at him. He didn't like the nickname, and Terry knew it. "If I were forced to fight someone who could use ranged attacks, I would try to use my surroundings as a shield, and lure them in. Problem is, this enemy seems to be good in close range too."
"She surprised me this time around, that's all."
"You're forgetting about one factor which will make it easier for you to fight her," Hakko said, then looked at Hana. "This young woman here."
Terry nodded. "I know. But have you ever heard about something like this? Women throwing light beams around and draining people?"
"As a matter of fact," Hakko said, "I have. There's rumors of monsters like those appearing in Tokyo."
"What's that woman doing all the way here, then?" Hana pondered.
"Maybe she's lost," Terry joked.
"Or maybe they've decided to try their luck in this part of the world," Hakko said. "I'll be keeping an eye on the city."
"Going to join us?"
"No, I won't be playing. If those youma are left unchecked, they could drain a lot of innocents."
Terry saw Hakko stand up to leave and sighed. "Why not tell the police, or the army?"
"Normal weapons are almost useless against youma."
"My sword left a nice hole in that
," Terry commented."As I said, normal weapons are useless."
Terry stared at the man's back as he walked away. "I swear, that guy's keeping a lot of secrets from us."
"You're paying him to teach you how to fight, not to tell you the story of his life."
"Sometimes you can be quite a pest, girl. But know what, I think you got your wish."
"What wish?"
"You were complaining about how you didn't have any strong foe to fight against."
Hana thought about that for a few seconds before nodding. "'Be careful what you wish for,' huh?"
-----
Minako could now see Artemis was far trickier than he seemed. Not only had he changed the school files to have her put in a fake student exchange program, and had managed to get her a free English crash course, but also, he was right now taking a nap on her lap, and nobody in the plane seemed to care. She was sure if she asked him, he'd just say it was magic, so she didn't ask. After all, it was just as strange as her own ability to shoot laser beams out of her fingertips.
What she liked the most about this trip, was that her seat was next to a cute foreign-looking guy. He seemed to be in his late teens, but she didn't really mind. She noticed he was looking at her and felt her cheeks heat up.
"Haven't we met before?" he asked. Though his accent was a bit strange, she hadn't expected him to speak Japanese at all.
"Uh, no, I don't think we have."
"I can guess you're going to England to study there. Am I right?"
Minako nodded at that. "I will stay there for a while."
"So I suppose you can speak English."
"A little bit," Minako said, unsure if her accent would be noticeable.
"Don't worry, I didn't know a lot of Japanese when I came to Tokyo. My name's Brad."
"Nice to meet you, my name's Minako."
The plane trip wouldn't be as boring as Minako had first thought. And even though she didn't know it yet, she would see this man again in a not-so-far future.
-----
She couldn't really believe how lucky she had been lately. Brad had given her his phone number and address, in case she needed help, but she hadn't looked at them. However, as she reached her new house, she was rather shocked. The 'house' was too big to be called just a house, at least from her point of view.
"Are you sure this is the right address?" She asked Artemis.
Artemis saw nobody around and nodded. "Yes, this is the house. I didn't know it would be this big, either."
"Well, you know the saying, don't look a gift horse in the leg."
The cat stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head. "That's not how the saying goes."
The front garden was quite a show, too, but Minako realized she couldn't just stand there gawking at the house from the outside. As she walked to the gate, to look for a caller of some sort, she felt someone chuckle behind her. She turned and was frozen in surprise for a second. "... Brad?"
The guy was standing there, looking at her with unconcealed amusement in his face. "What are you doing here?"
"This is where I'll live," she said. "What are you doing here?"
Brad laughed at that. "That's my house. My mother's house, at least."
Minako flinched. "No way..."
Brad nodded and also switched to Japanese. "I don't believe in coincidences, but I don't know if I can call this anything else but that."
"A gift horse, indeed," Minako whispered.
"What?"
Minako giggled. "Never mind." She looked at the house and smiled. "I can't wait to see how your house looks from the inside."
-----
Aurite saw Luminite crawl through the portal and couldn't help but cringe. Despite having used a healing spell, the wound in Luminite's chest was quite noticeable. "What the darkness happened to you?"
"Two humans, a crazy swordsman and a magician girl, showed up after I finished gathering energy. The magician used some kind of strange magic, she chanted no spell, but she managed to stop me from moving, and stopped my heart."
"That sounds like trouble. Maybe I should go next time?"
"No, I'll handle them myself."
"Don't be a fool. If that magician is dangerous, then you shouldn't underestimate her."
"The girl is easy to fool once you know how to, but the guy was the one doing this to me," Luminite noted. True, her wound was almost closed, but it still hurt. Next time she saw that kid, she would make sure to repay the favor. "I think I could use your help, Aurite."
"Consider it payment in advance for the help I'm expecting you to give me with Pluto's group," Aurite said with a small smile.
-----
Kunzite was growing impatient. He had attacked twice in the last week, and no signs of Sailor V anywhere. Had she not taken the bait? No, he was sure she would buy his scam. So he just had to attack again, and then... But he realized there was now a youma in the room with him. "What do you want, Flia?"
The youma looked like a humanoid fly, and was ugly even by youma standards. "My Lord Kunzite, Jadeite's first energy draining operation is about to start."
"Then I hope V didn't stay there. It would be bad for Jadeite to have her show up today. If V is here in London, then you will have to lure her out, Flia."
The youma bowed to him. "As you wish, Lord Kunzite."
Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 5: Nova.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 4, 2010
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 5: Nova.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 4, 2010
-----
Sailor V stood on top of a tall building, looking at the results of her last battle. She was getting better at this, true, but sometimes she wished she could deal with these monsters before they punched a few holes in the walls of whatever building they attacked. Of course, she knew several of those holes were from her own attack. A proof that she was getting better, as she wasn't limited to one or two shots per fight anymore.
"This youma was rather easy," she commented.
The cat sitting besides her nodded, "Sigma helped, and without Kunzite showing up, there was little chance of you losing."
"I'm getting better, right?"
"I'll admit you've come a long way from your first battle, but... You're quite not as skilled as you could be."
"I still kick Kunzite's rear whenever he shows up."
"Don't grow overconfident, Mina. If you do, you'll leave your guard down, and that could mean losing a fight."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not going to fail in my mission, don't worry."
Artemis gave her a short glare. "I wasn't talking about the mission. I don't want to see you get hurt, or worse."
V smiled at him. "Sorry, and... Thanks."
-----
"Kunzite's just sent a report to us, Sailor V is in London."
"Good, that's one less problem to take care of," Beryl said, "but Aurite, I'm growing impatient about your group."
"We're going to take care of the two pseudo-warriors in New York today," Aurite said, "Luminite's preparing the stage for that."
The Queen nodded at that, then looked to the other General standing near her throne. "Jadeite, we cannot afford to stop our energy gathering operations in Tokyo. You will go there today and drain as much as you can from those disgusting humans."
"I have already located a place where I can gather a large quantity of energy," Jadeite explained.
"Go, and do not fail me," Beryl said before giving him an evil smile. "Soon the Earth will belong to us youma, as it should."
-----
The girl just stared at the cat as it spoke. It spoke, a cat! Of course, considering what the cat was saying, about her being some sort of warrior and having to look for a Princess, then the fact this cat spoke wasn't all that strange. However, the cat had stopped speaking, which meant she was supposed to say something.
"So I'm going to be a super heroine?"
"Usagi, this is no game, do you understand?"
"Of course I do, kitty."
"My name's Luna," the cat snapped.
A purple cat. From the Moon. And it had a name. Could things get any dumber? She hoped she would wake up from this dream already. "Luna, huh? That's a funny name."
Luna sighed and shook her head. "Okay..." a small, pink brooch appeared floating in front of her. "Hold that in your hand and say the words 'Moon Prism Power.'"
Usagi grabbed the brooch and looked at it. "That sounds like something a manga heroine would say."
"Manga?" Luna asked. "Just do as I told you."
"Fine, I'll do it, but only because I want to wake up from this stupid dream already. Moon Prism Power!"
Usagi's form was blurred by light as pink ribbons appeared out of thin air, wrapping around her body and forming a white leotard, blue collar and skirt, and red bows in the front and back of the suit. White gloves and red boots completed the attire, and as the light dimmed, Usagi looked at herself in the mirror. "Wow, this is cool!"
"As I thought, you are Sailor Moon."
"Sailor Moon?" Usagi repeated. For some reason, the name sounded vaguely familiar. "So, I can use magic now, right?"
Luna nodded. "Yes, you can." She stopped and looked out the window. "And you will have to use it sooner than I thought. An enemy's attacking."
"This late at night? Can't they wait until the morning?"
Luna sighed in defeat. "Usagi... No, Sailor Moon. Listen, as I told you before, the youma are evil creatures, and they are draining humans. We have to stop that from happening."
"What happens to those who get drained?"
"That depends, but if youma really want to, they can drain a person's life energy completely."
Sailor Moon paled at that. "They... Kill people?"
"Yes, and we're wasting time here talking while someone's being attacked. Let's go!"
"All right, you don't have to shout, Luna," Sailor Moon groaned as the two leapt out the window and dashed down the street.
-----
In the other side of the planet, two other heroes were also searching for youma. After two hours of searching, however, they were quite ready to give up. "At least the weather's nice."
Nova smiled. "Yeah, it would suck to be searching for that woman under the rain." She stopped and looked around, until she got her bearings. "There she is. But she's not alone."
Zero looked down and saw what she meant. That white-haired woman was back, but there was another woman with her now. "Two for the price of one."
"You take care of the gold-haired one, I'll take care of our old friend," Nova said.
"Sounds like a plan."
-----
To say that Naru Osaka was scared would have been a huge understatement. Her mother had turned into a monster, a monster with black, evil eyes and a sinister smile. No, this couldn't be her mother, her mother would never hurt her. Her mother would never try to choke her to death, which was just what this creature was seemingly trying to do. And she was feeling tired, sleepy, she knew it wouldn't be long until she just couldn't stay awake anymore.
"Stop it right there!"
Naru saw two shadows in the doorway. One was a small cat, the other, a girl. "Who..."
The monster's head turned (in a way a woman's head shouldn't be able to turn) and looked at the newcomer. "Who the darkness are you?"
Sailor Moon took a second to look at her surroundings. Dozens of unconscious women were scattered around the store, and they were all wearing at least one piece of jewelry. "Wow, I think I was lucky to not have enough money to buy one of those after all."
"I asked you something, brat," the monster snarled.
"My name is Sailor Moon, and for using beautiful jewelry for your evil goals, I will punish you!"
Luna saw Moon striking several poses as she went through that phrase, and sighed. "All that posing isn't really needed, you know?"
"Magical girls always do it," Moon countered.
The creature growled at her. "Sailor Moon? One of the Sailor Senshi? That's quite convenient, since killing one of your kin will make me my master's favorite." As she said that, the women all around the store rose, their eyes glowing. "Kill her!"
Naru watched as Sailor Moon was chased around the store by the women. She had heard rumors of the Senshi, specially Sailor V, but they were always brave, skilled warriors. This girl was quite the contrary. Still, she had saved her. "Get her, Sailor Moon!"
Moon heard that and stopped running. No, she couldn't be scared, not when her best friend was in danger. "Luna, how do I fight these women?"
"They're being controlled by the creature," Luna explained, "so if you kill the creature, they will stop." She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and turned in that direction. "Who is...."
Something shot by the youma's side, slicing her cheek. As the youma looked down, she saw it was a red rose, which had stabbed into the floor after hitting her. "What? Who are you?"
The man looked at her from the doorway. "Jewels should enhance a woman's beauty, not cloud her mind and make her act against her will. I cannot forgive someone like you."
The youma growled at him. "I'm going to destroy you, human!"
Luna smiled. "Moon, do it now, while she's distracted."
"Do what, punch her?"
"No, use your..." It was then that Luna realized she hadn't told Sailor Moon how to attack her enemies. Such a dumb mistake for her to make! But now wasn't really the time to be mentally slapping herself in the forehead. "Concentrate, Moon, and look for the words in your mind."
Moon noticed the women weren't attacking her, not since the youma had targeted the newcomer, who was fending her off with a cane. Maybe that creature needed to keep her focus in order to control them? It didn't matter, really, and it was giving her some time to figure out how to defeat her. She closed her eyes as told, but couldn't really understand what Luna was talking about. Search for words in her mind, what kind of words? She was about to ask Luna, but then found what she was looking for.
"I got it," Moon said as she pulled the tiara off her forehead. "Moon..." she started spinning as her tiara lit up, hovering a few inches above her hand. "... Tiara..." she spun a few more times before stopping and pulling her arm back, ready to toss her weapon. "... Action!"
The youma heard the last word clearly, but didn't have time to turn and see the projectile heading for her before it punched through her chest, and she screamed before turning to dust.
"I did it!" Moon shouted and leapt up in joy.
"Well done, Sailor Moon."
Moon looked at the mysterious man, who was walking to the door. "Wait, who are you?"
"You may call me Tuxedo Kamen. Until we meet again, Sailor Moon!"
"Wait!"
But it was already too late, as the man run out of the store and vanished from sight.
"Well done, Sailor Moon, I'm proud of..." Luna stopped as she saw the girl was paying no attention to her. Moon was just looking out the shop, smiling, and quite obviously thinking about that mysterious man. "Hey, snap out of it!"
"Sailor Moon?"
Moon heard Naru's voice and turned around. "Are you okay, Naru?"
Naru gasped at that. "How do you know my name?"
Moon flinched as she realized her mistake, but found a way out of it quickly enough. "We Senshi know everything."
-----
"Are you sure this is the only way?"
"You must not interfere with today's battle."
Hakko looked at the woman, his face as unreadable as hers. "So you're asking me to let them be killed by those two?"
"I'm asking you to wait until I consider it safe for you to act, Kyo."
"Such a sacrifice, for what? For that illusion of yours?"
"I never thought I would see you mocking my mission, Master Hakko."
Hakko shook his head. "I apologize, Setsuna, I know I'm being selfish. It's just that I would rather not see any of them die."
Pluto nodded at him. "Trust me, if I didn't know what could happen if I stop this battle, I would stop it myself."
"It must be hard to stay sane, with such a burden on your shoulders."
"I'm a Senshi, Hakko. Honestly, I doubt any of us, past or future, could be really considered 'sane' by most standards."
Hakko smiled as he heard that. "I didn't know you could joke."
"I can, but I wasn't joking this time," Pluto said. "You should head there now, before it's too late. Farewell."
Hakko stood there for a second, as Pluto vanished, then stood up and run down the street, as fast as his feet could take him.
-----
Usagi was back at home, quite aware her adventure had not been a dream. They had found Naru's mother locked up in the basement, had explained her what had happened in the shop, and left. It felt good being a heroine, but fighting that monster had been quite scary.
"We Senshi know everything, huh?"
Usagi stuck her tongue at Luna. "Hey, what else could I say? 'I'm Usagi'?"
"That's true. Your secret must not be known," Luna said, "as you saw today, the youma can disguise themselves as humans. Next one could be disguised as someone you know and trust."
"All right then, I don't really understand everything about what's going on, but I'll do my best!"
"That's the spirit, Usagi," Luna said.
"And if I keep on fighting those monsters, Tuxedo Kamen will show up again," Usagi added, with a silly smile as she stared out the window.
Luna shook her head. "Should have guessed that..."
-----
The enemy's target had been a metro station. When the two heroes got in, they saw dozens of civilians spread around the area. "We apologize for interrupting your meal, ladies, but we must kindly ask you to stop attacking the citizens."
Aurite looked at Zero in an almost condescending way. "And we must kindly ask you to not intrude into our mission, unless you want to die, human."
'You know the plan,' Nova 'said' in Zero's mind.
And he did know the plan. He rushed forwards, jumping at Aurite and connecting with a kick to the stomach which dragged the General back several inches. "Uh, you should be doubling over in pain right now," he commented.
"Don't think I'm weak like you, human," Aurite snapped. "I will play along, however."
"Go ahead, hit me," Zero snapped back.
Aurite let out a snarl and charged, swinging a magic-charged fist at Zero. The ninja, however dodged to the side, and Aurite's fist ended up hitting the wall behind him... And punching a hole into it. "You moved."
Zero flinched as he looked at the hole left by her fist. "And I'm damn glad I did."
Meanwhile, Luminite was wondering why Nova wasn't attacking. "Hey, what's the matter with you, girl? If you don't fight me, I'll help Aurite with that loser."
"That 'loser' run a sword through you," Nova said with a smile, "so I suppose your friend should be careful."
Luminite smiled back. "I'm not worried about her. I'll help her once I'm done with you!"
Nova saw Luminite run to her, but didn't move. She waited calmly, until the youma hit her invisible psi wall, and chuckled. "The fact you can't see my attack, doesn't mean I'm not attacking you. I thought you learnt that last time we fought."
"Damn you, girl, I'm going to..." Luminite started, then froze. No, this
was doing it again, her muscles weren't responding! "I'm... Not... Going to let you do that... Again."Nova's smile turned mocking as she saw Luminite vanish. Just as planned. She heard the surprised yelp behind her, as an updraft blast of psi energy knocked Luminite back and away. "And I'm not going to let you do that again, either."
The General stood up and laughed. It wasn't a mocking laughter, she was genuinely amused by this. "Damn it, I never thought I would say this, but you're good, human. It's a pity we'll have to kill you and your friend. Aurite!"
Aurite had been waiting for that, her fight against this 'ninja' was just a game for her. "Got it," she shouted back, then turned to Zero. "I'm sorry, boy, but the game's over."
Zero pulled his swords out and smiled. "Let's do this."
"You'll do nothing," Aurite snapped, and a second later, two golden rings of energy shot from the ground, knocking Zero away. She saw the ninja fall unconscious and frowned. 'That should have killed him... Guess Kunzite's right, our lack of practice did make us weaker.'
Nova had seen this, and knew it wasn't good. Terry was alive, yes, but if these two women defeated her, then everything was over. "You've hurt him."
"Yeah, that was the idea, girl."
"That was your last mistake," Nova said, her voice almost a growl, as her pupils went white, and her hands lit up.
"Okay, she didn't do that before," Luminite mused, waiting for her attack. She realized, a second too late, that the real attack wasn't coming from her hands. "Aurite, watch out!"
But Aurite was already down to her knees. What kind of magic was this? Wind? Gravity? No, this was something else, her mind was in pain, not her body. "What... Are you?"
"Wish I knew," Nova said, "all you need to know, is that I will not let you monsters hurt anyone else."
Luminite smiled. Nova was attacking them both, yes, but most of her rage seemed to be focused on Aurite. And while Luminite's mind was hurting quite a lot, she knew she had to deal with it, and to stay silent until she was ready. Question was, would Aurite stay conscious long enough for that?
"See, that magic of yours may be strong, and I admit it's dangerous, but my powers are a bit more direct. I don't need to damage the body at all. I can destroy your mind. I don't like to use this much power, but you... You deserve it, monster."
"Such a nice speech," Aurite said, noticing even speaking was hurting her, "but you forgot one little detail..."
"And that is?" Nova asked.
"Me," Luminite shouted from the side. Before Nova could turn to her, she had already shot a couple energy blasts, knocking Nova into a wall.
"Nova!"
Aurite looked to the side and sighed. "Oh great, the boy's up. Luminite, finish that
. I will deal with her boyfriend."Zero staggered up. His whole body was aching, and he knew his arms were bleeding, but just looking at Nova was enough for him to keep on fighting. "Leave her alone!"
Aurite stood between him and Luminite. "You shouldn't have awakened, kid. Now you will see her die, and you will soon follow."
Zero put all his focus in Aurite. He dashed to her, and saw Aurite preparing to block his swords (with her bare hands!) but he didn't unsheathe them, instead tackling Aurite and knocking her back, straight into Luminite. As the two women fell, he run to check on Nova. "Hana?"
Nova was lying limp on the ground, a line of blood running down from her mouth. That barrage of attacks had been too much for her body, and she was still awake only because she didn't want to leave him alone against those two monsters. "Terry, I..."
"Die, human!"
Zero heard the shout, but as he turned, ready to block whatever they were throwing at him, he saw Aurite and Luminite fall to their knees. "What..."
"It seems I didn't make it in time," Hakko said as he walked past the two women.
"Who the Darkness are you?" Aurite snapped.
"Someone who decided to come take a look at his student. You two should leave before I show you what I can do if I fight for real."
Luminite's eyes widened at that. Did he mean whatever he had hit them with moments ago was a weak attack? She didn't want to stay and learn what this human (if he was even human) could do. "Aurite, let's go."
"We have to make sure those two will not interfere," Aurite said.
"Don't worry, they won't stay in this country," Hakko said calmly.
"What do you mean we won't stay?" Zero snapped. He had no strength left to stand up, but he still tried to do just that.
"Zero, Nova needs you right now. I'll take care of those two," Hakko said.
Zero looked at him, then the two youma, and nodded. "I get it. Thanks."
Hakko walked to the two women. Humans or not, these women were built a lot like normal humans, so he knew what nerves to touch in order to make their limbs stop working. They were far from a threat right now, but he couldn't tell Terry that. "Your group's been mostly active in Japan, right?"
"We don't have to tell you anything, human."
"True, you don't. I already know many of the details. Whatever you're looking for, it's there, in Tokyo. The attacks here and in London are just distractions to make the Senshi split." He was saying all that not for the youma, but for Terry. "So you two don't need to worry about a thing. I'm sure if you go back there, my student will follow you gladly."
Luminite frowned. "I suppose we should give our strategy some more thought."
Aurite nodded, still glaring at the man. "We will meet again, human, and next time you will die."
Hakko turned as the two women vanished. "Been there, heard that."
Zero had listened to all he had said, but his attention was mostly focused on Nova. "Hana, hang in there. We'll take you to a hospital, and..."
Nova smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Terry, but I'm..."
"No! You have to get through this!"
Hakko looked at the two, then knelt besides Terry. "She's right, boy."
"Shut up."
"I underestimated them," Nova said, "they're strong. They're too strong for me."
"I'm going to kill them. Kill each and every one of them."
"If you go after them, you could die..."
"I'll make sure he doesn't," Hakko said.
"You can't stop me from going after them."
"I could, if I wanted to," Hakko noted.
"I wish I could help you," Nova said.
Terry removed his mask and looked at her "Hana, please..."
"I'm just glad... I met you."
He froze as he realized Hana wasn't breathing anymore. "Hana..."
Hakko idly noticed the girl's clothing had reverted to a normal outfit, and he also heard Terry's badly concealed sobs. He stood up and took a look around. There was more than enough evidence of the fight, so rumors were sure to spread. "Let's go."
"I want to stay here for a while," Terry said.
Hakko froze in his place for a second. He was sure he had never heard the boy sound so emotionless. Then again, he couldn't really blame him for that. "I will go and call some ambulances, the victims will surely need to be hospitalized."
Terry said nothing as the man left. Right now, he only cared about one of the victims. "I won't rest until that Luminite monster is dead, Hana."
-----
Hakko put his swords down and nodded at his disciple. "You've improved."
"I guess I just needed the right motivation," Terry said with a scowl.
"She wouldn't like seeing you like this."
"I know."
"So, you're leaving for Japan tomorrow," Hakko said, "do you even know where to start searching?"
"Yes, the Senshi have been mostly spotted in Juuban, so my best guess would be going there."
"What about your father?"
"He doesn't fully agree with this, but I guess... He knows I can be stubborn."
"Just like his wife."
Terry smiled at that. "I guess that's true. Are you going to help me?"
"This is not my battle," Hakko said, "but I was planning on going back home in a few months."
Terry smiled. "I'll take that as a 'maybe,' then. Anything else I should know about these youma?"
"And why do you think I know anything about them?" Hakko asked, and kept his poker face for a minute as Terry glared at him. "I can tell you this much... You will be bringing a sword to a gunfight."
"I'm going to bring a few other things to that gunfight, actually," Terry said. "Can you teach me what you did... That day?"
The boy was still reliving that day in his mind, and Hakko knew it. "I wish I could, but you will need a lot of practice before you can even start understanding how I did it."
"Thought so," Terry said with a sigh.
"It's time for me to leave, so... Good luck, boy."
Terry waited until the man was several meters away before smiling. "See you soon, Kyo."
Hakko stopped and turned to him with a half smile. "That's Master Hakko for you, boy."
Terry nodded and walked back to the house. His smile vanished as he got close to it, and he felt those memories returning. He was sure they wouldn't leave until he did what he had to do, until Luminite was dead.
-----
The dark gray cat watched her target. Yes, this was the one, one of the soldiers. She had to hurry and tell her about her mission, because youma were already active. They had to find the Princess before the youma did, and for that they would need all the Senshi they could gather.
Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom
Episode 6: Demon Hunters.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 12, 2010
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom
Episode 6: Demon Hunters.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 12, 2010
-----
Artemis was exploring the house. Well, 'house' was a bit of an understatement, comparing the Diamond residence to Minako's house. He found it rather silly to have a house this large for only a dozen humans, but he couldn't shake the feeling there was something else about this house he wasn't seeing. Maybe it was just his mind being stubborn, but he could feel a hint of mana around him, a faint trace of magic.
His mind drifted as he walked the many corridors. There was something else bothering him. Demon Hunter Sigma. He had known what that meant for a while now, the Demon Hunters were a group of mages who dealt with evil beings, but he couldn't remember anything beyond that. Were they allies of the Senshi? Was this Sigma like them, or was he just using the name to deceive them? He couldn't be sure. Sigma seemed to always show up at the right time and place. Almost as if he knew what Kunzite was planning beforehand... Or maybe he was stalking Venus.
"There you are, Art."
Artemis saw Minako walk to him and smiled. She had been fighting Kunzite for a few months now, but outside the 'battlefield' she was still the same. Carefree, naive, somewhat lazy... But that didn't bother him now as it had at first.
"Say, what do you think of Brad?"
That caught Artemis' attention. "Hmm? What about him?"
"I... I think I like him."
"You think that? From the way you act whenever he's around, you couldn't make it more obvious if you had a neon sign on your head."
"Fine, be that way. I was being serious, you know?"
Artemis saw Minako stomping off and sighed in defeat. "Wait, Mina... What is this about Brad?"
Minako stopped and turned, cooling down as she realized Artemis was interested in her theory. "You know... Sigma had this strange accent back in Tokyo, I couldn't really place it, but when he showed up here, he was speaking flawless English. I'm guessing he wasn't Japanese."
The Mooncat stared at the girl in awe. "I... I hadn't noticed that."
"See, I can be smart too," Minako said and stuck her tongue out.
"I suppose you can, once in a while," Artemis admitted, causing Minako to give him a short glare. "What's that have to do with Brad?"
"Brad was in Tokyo, and left for England at the same time I did. And I somehow end up where he lives. And now Sigma seems to know exactly where Kunzite is attacking, haven't you noticed?"
"I have," Artemis said, almost certain of what the girl was thinking.
"I may be just making up stuff, but what if Brad is Sigma?"
"That would certainly explain a lot about this place," Artemis admitted.
"Huh? What about the place?"
"You know I can sense mana by now."
"Magic energy, yeah, you told me that."
"And I'm sensing some of it in this house. It's a little too much to be residual mana, like what I can sense all the time outside."
Minako scanned the corridor with her eyes and then looked at the cat. "You mean there's magicians in this house?"
"Maybe it's just Sigma," Artemis noted, "but we can't be sure. There's a slight chance Sigma is working for the Dark Kingdom."
"That can't be true. He's saved my life and yours several times."
"That he did. But why is he being so covert about this?"
"Maybe because he knows he's not supposed to know what he knows. You know the saying, if it's not fixed, don't break it."
Artemis blinked a few times before shaking his head. "It's 'if it's not broken, don't fix it,' Mina."
Minako waved his correction off. "Yeah, I guess you could say it that way, too."
-----
"Firefly!"
Luminite saw the swarm of small fire bolts heading her way and laughed. "Really now, human... Is that all you can do?"
"I'm just the distraction, and guess what, you got distracted."
"Gale Shot!"
The concentrated 'bullet' of wind hit Luminite from the side, knocking her down. "Oh, that brat again."
"Aqua Drop!"
Just as she was about to stand up, Luminite was knocked back down by a blast of water. This was looking bad, she couldn't take on three of these brats alone. Where the heck was Aurite?
"Grim Edge."
Aurite landed right besides Luminite, staggering up slowly. "Those brats are too strong. Retreat!"
Luminite found herself alone against the three Senshi and the magician, and sighed in defeat. "We'll kill you next time, kids."
Saturn looked at the spot where Luminite had been standing, her glaive still shining from the blast she was preparing. "I suppose this is our victory."
"They drained many civilians before we arrived."
Uranus turned to Pluto, who had just appeared near the others. "Can't be helped. We need to keep an eye on the city, next time we'll get them before they can even start gathering energy."
Pluto nodded. "We can't let them steal too much energy."
"Why did they only show up today? We've been here for a few weeks," the 'mage' said.
"They wanted to make sure the previous threat to their plans was gone."
"Can't we track them down?" Uranus asked. "If we knew where they attack from..."
"We can try," Pluto said, "I think Orion has a few ways to do it."
The mage, Orion, smiled at that. "Beholder."
The three Senshi looked at the small eye floating in front of him. "What is that thing?" Neptune asked.
"A spy spell. It can be used to look into a building before going in, or to track down someone... But for that, it needs to get their 'scent,' their magic aura," Orion explained.
"Demon Hunters are full of tricks," Saturn admitted.
Orion nodded at her. "But our spells are comparatively weak. You Senshi focus in one element, and thus can have spells far more powerful than any a Demon Hunter could use."
"Enough chatting," Neptune said, "the police should be here soon."
Pluto stood there for a minute as her protegees run out of the area. "A Demon Hunter has limited mana to work with," she said, mostly to herself, "but I wonder what a Demon Hunter who is also a Senshi could be able to do?"
-----
"Hello, Minako."
"Good morning, miss Diamond."
The woman shook her head at that. "I've told you to call me Amber."
Minako smiled apologetically. "Sorry."
"If you're looking for Brad, he's in his 'training room' right now." Amber noticed the girl's cat staring at her and smiled. "I've said it before, but it's still true... You sure gave your pet a curious name."
Minako nodded. "Well, I like it, and think it fit him."
Amber looked out the window. "I see. Say, Minako... You like Brad, don't you?"
Minako blushed at that. "I..."
"I'll take that as a yes," Amber mused. "I think you're quite a nice girl, myself, and I know he likes you too."
"But he's much older than me..."
"Older? Three years is not that much, dear. My husband was nine years older than me."
"Oh, I didn't know... Wait, 'was'?"
"He died a few years ago," Amber said, her tone turning sad for a moment, "but don't worry about that right now. Brad will be happy to see you, I bet."
-----
As soon as they were a safe distance away from the room, Minako looked at Artemis. "Why where you staring at her like that?"
"I had never been that close to that woman," Artemis explained. "The faint trace of mana I mentioned earlier..."
"It's coming from her, right?" Minako finished. "So that means..."
"She's a mage, but she's keeping her powers concealed. The trick's not perfect, or I wouldn't be able to sense anything at all."
"What about Brad?"
"Let's check on him," Artemis suggested, "nothing to lose, right?"
Minako didn't really hear him, but was heading to where Brad was right now. She had a lot of questions in her mind, and she wanted answers.
-----
Brad was in the middle of sparring with one of his younger sisters when Minako walked in. "Mina, good morning."
"Morning," Minako said.
"Tia, I think that will be all for today's training."
The girl smiled at him. "Sure, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."
Minako giggled as Brad glared at the girl's back. "Must be nice having siblings."
"Oh sure, it's wonderful," Brad said, his tone dripping sarcasm.
Minako looked at Artemis, who gave her a slight nod. She understood what he meant and turned serious. "Brad, I... I like you, but I don't think I can keep up with this charade anymore."
"Charade, what are you..."
"I know you know everything about me, Brad. Or should I call you Sigma?"
Brad stared at her for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. Minako looked at Artemis in shock. Maybe they were wrong after all?
"This is just crazy... Mom was sure you two would never figure it out. Guess she underestimated you."
"Brad?"
"You got me, Mina. I know who you are, Sailor V, or rather, Sailor Venus. And of course I know about your guardian as well."
"Good," Artemis said, "I was rather tired of having to play the normal cat act all day long."
"Now, what was that about liking me?"
"I need to know what side you're on first."
"I'm a Demon Hunter. Doesn't that mean anything for you?"
"... Not really." Minako admitted. "See, I know I'm supposedly a reincarnated warrior from the past, but I have no memory of that time. And Art here, well, he doesn't remember much more than I do."
"Oh, so mom was right about that. And I think she can explain what our group's about far better than me."
-----
Amber's face was neutral while Brad told her what had happened minutes earlier, but then she turned to Minako with a warm smile. "I must admit Brad is quite right, I underestimated your ability to sense magic."
"I was the one sensing your magic," Artemis said, "Minako worked on wild guessing alone."
"How come I can't sense her magic when she's not transformed?" Brad asked.
Artemis shrugged. "A Senshi's magic cloak is incredibly strong. That, and Minako here is just a Planet Senshi."
"Oh, I see. Do you really think that will be enough?"
"There are a few other Senshi out there, and more will be awakened sooner or later," Artemis explained, "and the enemy, well, they seem to have been out of action for too long, their power is far lower than it should be."
"I lucked out," Minako said with a smile. "But Art, what is that about Planet Senshi?"
"That's how the first, weakest form of a Senshi was called," Amber explained, surprising both Artemis and Minako. "If I am to take the legends I've heard about your kin literally, then your power will grow exponentially. Given enough combat experience and training, a Senshi could, in theory, destroy a planet."
Minako stared at Amber in shock. "You... You're kidding, right?"
"There was an old legend about the asteroid belt. It was, they say, formed by the final sacrifice of a Senshi, who chose to destroy the planet and herself before letting a powerful evil spread across all the other planets."
"The more I know about these powers," Minako said, "the more I wonder if I'm really up to the task."
"You are," Brad said, "you may fight like a novice, but once that's fixed..."
"I was meaning to ask this," Minako said, "is everyone in your family a magician?"
"Yes, each and every one of my children is part of the Demon Hunters. But there's other Demon Hunters beside us."
"Where?"
"We are the Europe section," Brad explained, "but there's two other main sections, in Japan and the United States. There's also small groups in other places. Someone had to keep the Earth in one piece until the Senshi returned."
"I have a request," Amber said suddenly, "I've heard about your power but I have yet to see it myself."
Minako looked at Artemis, who nodded at her. "Okay, I don't see any harm since you already know who I am." She took her transformation wand and smiled. "Venus Planet Power!"
As the transformation ended, Amber stared at the girl. "Amazing, your mana gathering ability is better than that of the best Demon Hunter I've known."
"From what I can recall, the Senshi were always that way," Artemis noted, "they passively drain mana from their surrounding, which makes it far easier to call on their spells during combat."
"And the higher their level, the higher their mana reserves get," Brad guessed.
"That's correct," Artemis admitted, "from what I remember, the Moon Princess, whom we are supposed to find, was one of the strongest Senshi ever born."
"But we have no idea who she is," Venus added.
"So, why are you here?" Brad asked.
"To trick a trickster," Venus said.
Amber rose an eye at that. "You mean..."
Artemis nodded. "Kunzite wanted to drag us all the way here so his allies would have free reign over Tokyo. But we already knew there were other Senshi around."
"Those Senshi have apparently moved to the States," Amber noted.
"Yes, but there's a new group in Tokyo," Artemis explained, "we just have to keep Kunzite here until the Tokyo group finds the Princess."
-----
Usagi walked into the classroom and let out a relieved sigh. Miss Haruna wasn't there yet, so that meant she had managed to get there in time. "Whew..."
"Today's definitely a day for strange events," Umino commented as Usagi sat down.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you getting here before the teacher, for one," Umino explained.
"Hey, I'm not always late," Usagi noted.
"As a matter of fact..." Naru started, but then fell silent.
Usagi groaned in defeat. Umino was a pest, even though he was one of her best friends. "So, what else is 'strange' today?"
"Didn't hear the rumors?" Umino asked. "There's a new student in our class."
Usagi frowned. That was hardly enough to start any rumor. "And?"
"And he's the son of Zephyr Robotics' owner."
The blonde stared at Umino. "So?"
"You don't know about Zephyr? They're famous overseas. The family's quite wealthy, from what I know."
"I wonder what a rich boy's doing in our school?" Naru pondered.
"Is he cute?" Usagi asked.
Umino shrugged. "How would I know?" Right then, a boy walked in, seemingly upset. He was tall, and definitely not Japanese. "That must be him."
Usagi looked at him. Yeah, he was quite cute, but he'd look far better if he stopped scowling.
The boy sat down on the desk right behind Usagi's, which was the only one still not occupied. "What's with them, I'm no rock star."
Umino smiled at that. "That's Japanese teenagers for you, Zephyr."
Terry was surprised that the other boy knew English. Sure, his accent was noticeable, but so was his in Japanese. "So they're just as crazy as the ones back home."
"Not all girls are like that," Usagi noticed.
"I suppose not," Terry said.
"My name's Usagi Tsukino," Usagi added.
"Rabbit huh? Amusing name."
"No, my name's Usagi."
"That 's what Rabbit means in English," Terry said.
"Why the constant scowl?" Naru asked, then noticed Umino flinching.
"That's something I'd rather not talk about with strangers."
"Huh?"
Terry didn't say anything else. Usagi was curious as to what had happened, but she decided against being pushy. She'd have to ask Umino about it later, since he apparently knew.
-----
Venus looked around. "So, what now?" she had followed Amber outside the mansion, to the rather large backyard, but she wasn't sure what the woman wanted. Also, she had always wondered why the backyard had no flowers or plants, but something told her she was about to find out.
"I wanted to test just how much power you have in that form," Amber said, "and I know better than shooting magic inside the house, unlike some of my children," she looked at Tia as she said that, and the girl looked down at her own feet.
"But my attacks could hurt you."
"I'll take that risk," Amber said, "but don't think I'm defenseless. I taught Brad everything he knows, and there's still plenty of things I have to teach him."
"Mother, don't overdo it," Brad warned.
Amber smiled. "So, Sailor Venus, if you would kindly attack me..."
Venus looked at Brad. "Are you guys okay with this?"
Tia smiled. "I can't wait to see if Prime Huntress Hades can really fight against a Senshi."
"If Venus was at her strongest level, then I'm sure I wouldn't stand a chance," Amber admitted, "but this may be a different story."
Venus sighed. "Okay, if you insist... Crescent Beam!"
Amber smiled. "Shell." She looked as the beam bounced off the invisible barrier she had set, and then at Venus. "You didn't aim for any vital organ."
"I know."
"Let's see how you handle defense," Amber said. "Stone Arrow."
Venus didn't know where the attack was coming from, and thus had no time to dodge. However, she felt the large triangle-shaped stone hit her back, but it caused her no harm. "What..."
Amber laughed softly. "Legends are indeed right. That battle armor of yours is very strong."
Venus stared at her in confusion. "Armor?"
"Your Senshi suit," Brad explained. "It's imbued with an unknown spell, which greatly diminishes enemy attacks."
"Had your suit been just normal fabric, and had you been just a normal human," Tia added, "you would have been pierced through by that stone."
Venus paled. "Wow, you guys are that powerful?"
Artemis flinched. "But that attack only had about half the power of your Crescent Beam."
Venus made the connection quite fast. "I understand. I'm never going to use my attacks against a human being."
"There are other attacks you can use in such a situation" Amber explained, "but I'm no expert in Senshi magic. Besides, each Senshi has a different set of techniques, so only you would know the right words."
"I wish I could 'level up' already."
"Be patient," Brad said, "besides, what are you complaining about? You've been using magic for two months, and already have stronger attacks than me, and I've been using it for five years."
"Jealous?" Venus asked.
"Fire wave."
Amber saw Venus get swallowed by a wave of flames, and looked at Brad. "That was quite rude, son."
Venus looked at her arms as the attack passed, and smiled. "Amazing."
"Thanks, I trained quite a bit to use that one," Brad said.
"No, I meant, it's amazing how I barely felt the heat."
Brad smirked. "Cute. Want to turn back to normal and try again?"
"No thanks, I'll pass."
-----
"Hey, wait!"
Terry looked back and sighed. He had decided to walk back home to have some time to think, but apparently that was a moot point now. "What's the matter, Usagi?"
"My house's down this road, too," Usagi said.
"I see."
Usagi blinked. Terry was rather cold, but if what Umino had told her was true, then she could understand.
"Let me guess, you heard the rumors?"
That took her out of her line of thought. "Yes, about your girlfriend..."
"So, you also want to know if I'm available?" Terry said, coldly.
Usagi stopped for a second, then glared at him. "I was actually worried about you, but if you're going to be a jerk, then see you at school."
Terry saw Usagi walk past him and sighed. Maybe this girl was just trying to be friendly. "Wait, Usagi."
"What?"
"You said you're worried about me? Why? You don't even know me."
"I just like helping others," Usagi said.
"I don't think you can help me, sorry."
Usagi sighed. "Yeah, I can't even imagine how that must feel. So, are the rumors true?"
"I don't know what the rumors are. My girlfriend was murdered, that's all."
Usagi bit her lip. She had heard a lot more, but rumors could often be misleading. "So, why come to Japan?"
"It's here."
"Huh?"
"Your house. That's your last name in the mailbox, isn't it?"
"Oh..." Usagi smiled as she realized he was right. "See you tomorrow, then."
"Sure, Rabbit."
Usagi watched him go and shook her head. What a weird guy.
-----
"Jadeite, is your next plan ready?"
"Yes, my Queen. Humans seem to have a thing for unhealthy food, "fast food" as they call it, even though they know it may kill them. I've set up a place to sell such food, and we will begin draining the customers today."
"I hope this isn't another failure, Jadeite. My patience's running short."
"I am aware of that," Jadeite said, "I shall not fail."
"Heard that before," Beryl noted as Jadeite vanished.
-----
Zero looked at the building from atop a tree. A normal fast food restaurant at first sight, but he was getting the same kind of energy readings the two women had. That meant either they were there, or one of their kin. He could just beat the crap out of whoever it was until they told him where Luminite was.
"It's time to..." He stopped as he recognized one of the customers. "That's Usagi? What is she..." He saw everyone inside the building was out cold, and Usagi was right now shouting something at the woman behind the counter. "So the youma are there." The woman turned into a creepy, blue creature whose armor was apparently made out of fries. "I'll give them points for originality," he added with a smirk.
"Moon Prism Power!"
Zero's eyes widened. The transformation took only a moment, but he knew who this was. He had seen the photos of this Senshi, Sailor Moon. Some said she was the strongest warrior of her group. However, seeing how all she was doing was dodging the enemy's attacks, he couldn't really tell if she was a warrior or just a scared girl.
Suddenly, a rose fled through the window, slicing the monster's side just as it was about to stab Moon through with her rather sharp-looking claws. Zero looked on as a man wearing a tuxedo and top hat (along with a cape,) gave a rather inconsequential speech about monsters having no right to feed on those who were feeding. However, during that speech, he noticed Moon had moved right behind the somehow distracted monster, and had taken her tiara off her head.
"Moon Tiara Action!"
Zero's mind was quite busy trying to process what had just happened. The tiara had lit up, and the girl (after a few spins) had tossed it right through the youma's chest. "I see, what she lacks in combat abilities, she makes up for in magic power."
The tuxedo man (who should be that "Tuxedo Kamen" he had heard about,) had vanished as soon as the monster died, and Zero could see Moon looking around the store then saying something to a cat. The strange thing was, the cat was apparently talking back, though he couldn't hear what they were saying.
The girl left after turning back to normal, along with the cat, and Zero was left with far more questions than before. He needed to keep an eye on Usagi, to see who the other Senshi were, and then...
And then, what? He wasn't sure of it. Usagi seemed to easily trust him as Terry, but would she be just as trusty towards Zero? He didn't know for sure, and after seeing what the girl could do, he wasn't sure he would survive if they thought he was a youma. He had to earn their trust first.
Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 7: Flower Power.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 27, 2010
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 7: Flower Power.
By Razor Knight
Last update: January 27, 2010
-----
Artemis watched as Minako rushed in, seemingly shocked. "Minako, what's wrong?"
"I'm going on a date."
"And that's bad because...?"
"I've never done it before."
The cat shook his head. "Well, that's not something I can help you with."
Minako sat on her bed and let out a long sigh. "What, never dated anyone either?"
"No."
"Why, wasn't there anyone you liked?"
"None of your business," Artemis said with a slight blush.
"Oh, so there was!"
"Besides, for all I know, she could be long gone," he added, looking down.
Minako flinched. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay," Artemis said, "I don't really know for sure. You just go and enjoy your date."
Minako looked at the clock and smiled. "I gotta get ready for that, so..."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm leaving," Artemis muttered as he walked out of the room.
-----
Jadeite looked at the small flower resting on his hand. "Humans love these plants, specially the females. I have set up a flower shop and my youma's ready to start draining the customers."
"Do not fail me again, Jadeite."
"I won't," Jadeite said and vanished.
Two other Generals were watching from the shadows. "I hope he doesn't fail again."
"Why not? If that happens, Nephrite, you may be the next one. After all, you're the only one not busy at the moment."
"Not busy?" Nephrite looked at Aurite with a glare. "I'm searching for the Ginzuishou, so I'm not sure diverting my attention would be wise at this time."
"I see your point. Maybe you could ask for Zoicite's help."
Nephrite turned to leave. "That's not going to happen."
-----
"Are you sure you don't need my help?"
Kunzite looked at the brown-haired General and smiled. "Yes. After all, I already know V is not the Princess."
"Then why...?"
"Because it will be easier to kill her if she's alone, Zoicite. Sigma's presence is of no consequence."
Zoicite smiled. "As usual, you're planning ahead."
"How's your search going?"
"Not good," Zoicite said, "neither me or Nephrite could find anything yet."
"That's bad. If we had the Ginzuishou, then their Princess would be useless."
"I know. I will try to find it as soon as possible, my dear Kunzite."
-----
"Youma attacks are becoming rather sparse."
"That's true," Setsuna admitted, "but we can't let our guard down."
Hotaru sighed. "We've been close to killing Luminite. I've only held back because of what you said."
"And I thank you for that. She will be dealt with, but not right now," the older woman said, then turned to the others. "Haruka, Michiru, you two won't be fighting here anymore."
"Why?" Haruka asked. She was sure she would never figure out what was in Setsuna's mind.
"There is another threat, one that needs to be suppressed. The best way to deal with that is to send you two there."
"But what about Aurite and Luminite?" Michiru started.
"Leave those two witches to me," Hotaru said in her usual monotone voice, "if I can't handle them, Setsuna will help."
"Sure, forget about me," Kage muttered.
"I'm not, but your usefulness in battle is rather limited, specially against the Generals."
Kage smiled at that. "Brutally honest, as usual. I like that about you."
"Thanks, I guess," Hotaru said, her face not showing any sign of emotion.
"Don't you ever smile?"
"No."
Kage sighed. "I should have guessed you would say that."
Michiru looked at Haruka. "I think we can leave Aurite to these two. They sure get along."
-----
Usagi could at times be rather naive (and she could admit to that,) but there were things which she just couldn't miss. After almost one month fighting the youma, she could tell that, whenever there was some sort of incredible promotion at a store, or a new shop opening and selling stuff at very low prices, then the youma were behind it. So the flower shop she was looking at right now was, most likely, another of Jadeite's evil plans.
While she waited for Luna to come back from exploring it, she noticed someone else was looking at the store, and walked to him. "Terry?"
"Oh, hi there, Rabbit."
Usagi ignored the nicknaming. "What are you doing here?"
"I was considering buying this store," Terry said in a joking tone.
"I don't think the owner will want to sell it," Usagi said.
"Huh? I thought this shop had only opened a few days ago."
Usagi laughed nervously. "Well, you could say I'm one of her best customers."
Terry smiled to himself. "I see. Have a boyfriend you buy flowers for or something?"
Usagi blushed. "No, nothing like that."
"Hana liked flowers," Terry said, his tone serious.
"Who?"
"My girlfriend, Hana," Terry explained. "Not surprising, seeing what his name means in Japanese, right?"
Usagi smiled at that. "It's a nice name."
Terry sighed. "Yeah... I guess I'll leave before I start moping again."
Usagi saw him walk away and smiled, but then saw Luna walk to her. "So?"
"You were right, there's youma in there."
"I knew it. Let's go!"
"Shouldn't we call the others?"
Usagi looked at the cat "I took care of the last one on my own."
"I will call them, just in case," Luna said.
-----
Minako was really upset right now. Brad had convinced her to go for a walk through the park after they left the restaurant, but she should have known better. She was starting to believe youma liked to interrupt her fun. "Of all the stupid places to attack..."
"See the bright side," Brad said, "we won't have to look for them."
She looked at the youma. It was a large, plantlike monster, and she could've sworn it looked like a humanoid Venus Flytrap. Hopefully, that was just a coincidence. "Guess you're right. Let's show that bug what happens when they mess with a heroine's date!"
Brad smiled. "Sure. Sigma Seal." His clothes were replaced by his Hunter Sigma suit in a blink.
"Wow, didn't know you had a transformation phrase too," Minako noted. "All right then... Venus Planet Power!"
"Flare!"
The youma was busily draining a woman, but had to drop her as one of her vines was hit by a fire bolt, though it only surprised her. "Good, the Senshi and her pet are here. Now I can kill you."
"I'm not going to be killed by a Poison Ivy-wannabe," Sigma said.
V was angry, so she skipped the taunting and went straight for the kill. "Crescent Beam!"
However, the plantlike youma simply stared at the spot where the laser had hit and chuckled. "Wow, that's really the best you can do, V?"
V shrugged. "I suppose you're resistant to magic. That's neat. But you know the saying, if you can't beat them, kick them!"
Sigma was about to note the saying wasn't quite like that, but just shook his head as V tried her 'V Kick' (which was just a normal, albeit magically enhanced, jumping kick,) and failed. The youma took the chance to wrap its vines around the heroine. "Now you will die, and then that mage friend of yours will follow!"
V struggled against the vines, but the creature was stronger than her. "Hey, what the heck? Let me go, you pervert!"
"Not likely, you'll be a tasty dessert," the plantlike youma said, as its head spit in half, turning into a rather unsightly, large maw.
"Hang in there, V," Sigma said, not noticing the pun he was making, "I'll get you out in a second. Blizzard."
When the attack ended, both the youma and V were covered in a thin layer of snow. "Hey, watch it!"
Sigma looked at V. "My bad... But this creature's skin is resistant to magic, and I didn't bring a sword to our date."
"Yes, its skin is..." V started, then her eyes widened. "Wait, that's it!"
Sigma was confused for a second, until he saw V taking aim. "Smart girl." The youma realized V''s intent as well, but couldn't close its giant maw in time.
"Crescent Beam!" The laser hit its target, and the youma turned into ashes. V smiled as she turned to look at Sigma. "That will teach that monster what happens when you tie up a girl who can fight back."
Sigma looked around the park, noticing there were dozens of people drained. "I'll go call some ambulances."
V nodded, as she also looked around. This wasn't the first time she saw so many victims, and it didn't feel like a victory to her. Sure, she had killed the weed, but she was supposed to stop people from being hurt like this.
"What's wrong?"
She almost jumped at the voice. Artemis was standing besides her now, and looking curiously at her. "Art? When did you get here?"
"I detected the youma's energy in this direction, so I decided to investigate and call you once I found out what it was... But I guess you found out on your own."
"There's times when I feel like I'm not up for this job," V admitted.
If the cat was surprised to hear that, he wasn't showing it. "Why?"
"Just look around you. If I were a better warrior, then all this people would..."
"No use worrying about the 'what if,' Mina."
Artemis looked at Sigma, who was walking to them. "That's true. You can't be everywhere, so don't blame yourself for tonight's results."
"She killed the bug, didn't she?" Sigma asked.
"Yes, but every bit of energy those youma drain puts them closer to their goal."
"And what exactly is their goal?" V had asked a few times, but Artemis had blamed his faulty memory and winged the question.
This time, however, he considered she was ready to know. "There was a god these youma worshiped, but from what I remember, it was defeated. They may be gathering all that energy in order to bring it back."
"And if they bring it back, we're screwed," Sigma guessed.
"Not quite. If we find the Princess, she will defeat that evil being."
"Let's just get out of here," V said, "I'm not in the mood for a crowd." And now she noticed there was already a crowd gathering around the park, though they were staying a fair distance away from them.
"Want to try teleporting?"
V stared at Sigma in awe. "What, you mean you can take passengers?"
Sigma nodded. "Here we go. Teleport!" And the two heroes and the small cat vanished from the park.
-----
"You seem upset about something. What is it?"
"I'm not sure about this, what was Setsuna thinking..."
"If this is about what I said earlier, I apologize if that made you feel bad."
Kage smiled at Hotaru. "Well, it's not nice to have your flaws pointed out, but... You're right. My magic can hurt normal youma, but when it comes to those Generals, all I can do is distract them."
"Sometimes all you need to win is a distraction."
Kage frowned. Hotaru's emotionless stare was usually something he liked, but right now, he was not in the mood. "How did you know you had those powers?"
Hotaru thought about the question for a minute before answering. "I didn't 'know' about them. Of course, I've had the skill to heal myself or others fast, but I didn't know what I was."
"You never told me how you awakened your powers."
"I was walking home one day, and there was a group of men following me. I knew what they probably wanted, so I tried to run for it. Needless to say, my endurance was lower than it is now, so I didn't get too far before they caught up with me."
"Damn, that must have been scary."
"Not as much as what followed. One of the men grabbed my wrist, and as I tried to pull free, I sensed something 'stirring' in my mind. It's hard to describe, but it was almost as if there was a seal inside my mind, and I guess fear broke it."
"So, you went Senshi on their asses."
Hotaru blinked at that. "That's one way to say it, I guess. I didn't know how to control my power, and I didn't really understand it was me doing it. All I saw were these bony hands coming out from the ground and holding the men pinned, and then I saw a kind of aura around them. The aura grew thinner by the second, and I felt a rush of energy. If Pluto hadn't showed up right then and transported me out of the way, I would have probably killed them."
Kage flinched at that. And, even for a split second, he was sure he had seen a hint of doubt in her eyes. "So she took you elsewhere?"
"Yes, she took me to the Gate and told me who I was, what I was meant to do. I must admit I didn't quite believe her, and I was shocked by what had happened. I think I spent a day in that place, as Setsuna told me just how to control my new-found powers."
"That's quite a story. I know Michiru and Haruka had a far easier start..."
"Yes, but for some reason, Setsuna's trained them a lot harder than me."
"Well, you can't really fight for long, so..."
"I know, I've been working on that."
"Since I'm here, I could help you train. And who knows, if you shoot me with enough death beams, you may just trigger my own powers."
Hotaru smiled at that. "That's a possibility."
Kage's eyes widened. "Wow..."
"What?"
"You smiled. Didn't think you could do that."
"I don't usually have any reasons to," Hotaru said, her face back to her 'normal' emotionless state.
-----
Meanwhile, in the other side of the planet, a battle was about to start. "Stop it right there!"
The woman in charge of the flower shop smiled. "Welcome to Red Orchid. How may I be of service?"
Moon glared at the woman. "Drop the act, youma."
The woman let out a high-pitched laugh. "If you insist, Sailor Moon, then I will have to kill you." Her body changed swiftly, her skin turning a sickly shade of green, as her clothes were replaced by large flower petals. "I am Orkidus, one of Jadeite's strongest soldiers!"
Moon smiled, "flowers aren't dangerous."
"Do you really think that? Let me change your mind," Orkidus said. She rose her arms, and the flowers around her started walking out of their pots, some of them growing eyes, while others just grew large thorns. "Still think flowers are harmless?"
While Moon wasn't too skilled in the arts of fighting, she was rather good at dodging. And while she knew she had to use her tiara to blast this plant youma to dust, she couldn't do it with all these plants trying to gnaw at her. "Hey, not fair, you guys always cheat!"
"You call it cheating, I'll call it winning strategy."
Moon kept on dodging, but eventually run herself into a literal corner. She saw the mutated flowers crawling to her and shook her head. There just wasn't a way to fight this one on her own. Maybe she should've listened to Luna, for a change, and waited for the others.
But just as the plants got ready to jump at her, something rushed into the store, slashing several of the mutants before they could attack. Moon looked at the newcomer, expecting to see Tuxedo Kamen. Instead, she saw a man wearing a ninja suit and pointing a sword at the youma. "Who..."
"I will not let you use flowers for your evil plans, youma."
The youma stared at the ninja. "And who might you be? You don't look like that Tuxedo loser they warned me about."
"The name's Zero."
The youma blinked then laughed. "What, they named you by your fighting skills?"
Zero smiled, even though his foe couldn't see it. "If my skills are zero, yours are even lower."
The youma growled at that, then rose her hands again. "Attack!"
Moon watched in shock as dozens of flowers all jumped at Zero. He tried his best to keep up with the attacks, but was soon overwhelmed. She couldn't let him be eaten by those plants, he had saved her, after all. "Moon Tiara..."
"Die!" the youma shouted, and more flowers rushed at Moon, interrupting her attack as she was forced to jump out of the way. "You're a joke, Sailor Moo--" the youma hissed in pain as a rose struck her arm. "Another loser?"
"Flowers are meant to smell and look beautiful. I will not forgive those who turn such beauty into evil."
Zero frowned. That guy surely loved giving dumb speeches. However, it had distracted the youma, and her minions had stopped their attack. "I think this is the part where you kill the monster, Sailor Moon."
Moon nodded at that. "Moon Tiara... Action!"
Zero shook his head and chuckled as the youma vanished, "those monsters really need some serious combat training." He decided to not comment on how Moon herself also needed them. "I guess it's time for me to..."
"Moon, are you okay?"
Moon turned to see her friends run to her and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay, thanks to Zero."
Mars blinked at that. "Zero? Who is Zero?"
"He is..." Moon turned around to see Zero was gone. "Aw, he left." And Tuxedo Kamen had also disappeared, but that was nothing new.
Luna shrugged at that. "What's important is that you're okay, and the youma's gone."
"Next time you should wait for us," Mars scolded.
"I can fight youma on my own, Rei."
"Sure you can. You're always running around."
"Girls, calm down," Mercury said, "we're a team, remember?"
Moon nodded at that, but said nothing. She wasn't about to admit it in front of Mars, but she knew this last fight hadn't been easy. These youma seemed to be growing stronger with each attack, for some reason, and sometimes she wished they could be as easy as the first few she faced on her own... Even though, back then, they had seemed very strong to her.
-----
Zero watched the three girls and the cat leave from atop a building. It was simply incredible. He had gathered a lot of data, but his scanner couldn't identify the type of energy Moon used, only that she was using a lot of it. Still, there was no room for skepticism in him. His girlfriend had the ability to move items with her mind, and he had always accepted it at face value, so whatever 'magic' these girls had, he could live with it. However... "That Moon girl, she really does need a lot of work before I'll call her a heroine."
But then again, his own performance today hadn't been good. What chance did he have against one of the 'bosses' if he was so easily pounded to the ground by a bunch of walking flowers? And he had seen photos, and a few videotapes of the one known as Sailor V. He knew these Senshi may look rather unskilled, but they still got the job done in the end. Maybe it was time to tell Usagi who he was, and find out what exactly these youma wanted.
-----
"Hades, Aries, it's good to see you both again."
Only the third woman was physically in the room, as it was far easier to meet through magic than to abandon their respective areas. "Prime Huntress Sagitta, is there any clue on where the youma are coming from?" Aries asked.
"Still none. They may not be in any of the three areas."
"What's clear is that their goal is in Tokyo," Hades said. "Sailor Venus' guardian gave me that information."
"That is what Hunter Orion informed me, too," Aries admitted. "Maybe we should focus our forces there..."
"No, we will continue as we are," Sagitta said, "let the Senshi take care of their main force, and keep searching for the youma's main gateway."
Sailor Moon Aeons.
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 8: The Love Boat.
By Razor Knight
Last update: March 4, 2010
Book 2: Rebirth.
Act 1: Dark Kingdom.
Episode 8: The Love Boat.
By Razor Knight
Last update: March 4, 2010
-----
Terry saw Usagi run in and shook his head. Apparently, it was harder for her to get to school in time (and to study, from what he had seen thus far,) than fighting monsters. At least today she had made it in time, if only for a minute.
"Hello, Rabbit."
Usagi didn't comment on the nickname, but she did glare shortly at him. "Hi, Terry."
"I need to talk to you," he said.
Usagi was surprised at the sudden seriousness in his voice. "Okay, how about during lunchtime?"
"There will be a crowd there," Terry noted.
"But what exactly do you need to tell me?"
"Something I don't want anyone else to overhear," Terry said, "and that's all I'm telling inside this classroom."
Usagi decided not to press the matter any further, but still wondered. Was it about his girlfriend, or whoever had murdered her? She had no way to guess, so she would just have to wait.
"Had any further trouble with fan girls, Zephyr?" Umino asked.
"No, I hired a hit men and had them kill whoever came too close to me without my authorization."
Umino looked at him in shock for a few seconds before speaking again. "You're joking, right?"
"Of course I am," Terry said, "I guess the fans just found a shiny new thing they could run after. Or they're taking a week off."
-----
Beryl was once again listening to Jadeite's plans. She was rather upset at his constant failures, but still... The other Generals had 'failed' too, but there had been a lot of energy gathered in all three fronts. However, if Jadeite kept on failing like this, he would have to be replaced. After all, the draining in the other two fronts was just a facade to keep the Senshi separated.
"Humans in love seem to have more energy than normal," Jadeite explained, "I'm going to use this to our advantage."
"You better don't fail me again, Jadeite."
"Don't worry, I have a way to make sure the Senshi won't interfere. I'm going to use a cruise ship to take a lot of humans away from the city, and drain them once we are in the middle of the ocean."
"It does sound unlikely for the Senshi to stop you," Beryl admitted, "but still, they seem to always be at the right time, at the right place."
"I know, and I'm ready to fight them if they do interfere."
"My patience is almost gone, Jadeite. If you fail, you may be replaced by someone else."
"I shall not fail," Jadeite said with a bow, before vanishing.
-----
"So..."
Terry looked at Usagi and smiled. He was still not sure how she would take what he was about to say, but at least the street they were walking through was empty, so he could say it without worrying about anyone listening. "I know who you are."
"I don't know what you mean by that," Usagi said, not showing any signs of being upset by his words.
Terry smiled. Right, she wouldn't just admit to it, so it was time to drop the bomb. "Okay then, what if I told you I'm Zero?"
That caused Usagi to stop walking and stare at him. He stopped a few steps ahead of her, still smiling. "You? But how..."
"It's a rather long story. I'll just say I have a bone to pick with one of these youma."
Usagi started walking again. "It was a youma, wasn't it? The one who killed your girlfriend?"
He nodded. "Her name's Luminite. There was another one, Aurite, but that
just kept me distracted.""Why did they kill her?"
"She was... Well, she had psychic powers. She could move objects with her mind, she could sense living beings around her, and other things. We had been stopping crimes for a while."
"So you were super heroes? Cool."
Terry laughed at that. "I guess you could call her that. As for me, all I have is my swords and some skill at using them. I've always thought of myself as a 'sidekick.'"
"I can guess what happened, then," Usagi said. "You two tried to stop the youma from draining civilians."
"We got there, both times, after they were done," Terry said, "but the second time, they were ready for us, and..."
Usagi waited for him to continue, but realized he was done. "Why did you help me?"
"I know I could say I came here only for my revenge, but that would be a lie. I want to know why these monsters are showing up, and where their boss is, so I can go kick him, her or it until I feel like stopping. So, I suppose your group's the one I should talk to."
"I guess I'll have to call Luna."
"Don't bother, I'm here."
Terry looked up at the cat, not really surprised she was speaking. "And who may you be?"
"My name's Luna, and I'm Sailor Moon's guardian. I've been following you two long enough to know your goals aren't quite the same as ours."
"Maybe if you let me know exactly what youma are after, I'll know why they did what they did."
"They want to take over the world. They already tried once, in the past, but were stopped by the Senshi."
"In the past... There is no record in history of such a thing."
Luna nodded. "That's because we're talking about at least a hundred thousand years ago."
"A prehistoric civilization, then?"
"You could call it that," Luna said, "except mankind had spread to all of the solar system, and were, in some ways, far more advanced than the humans of this era."
"Space-traveling cavemen, that's cute," Terry noted.
"Mankind lived in caves eons before that era, and I guess after the war, with their cities destroyed and nobody to lead them, they may have returned to that," Luna said with a shrug.
Usagi was rather lost by now. "But what's important is, we defeated these youma before, right? We can do it again."
"The 'you' who defeated the youma were different. They had years of combat training, and they had the Princess."
"Princess?"
Luna looked at Terry and let out a sigh. "See, the problem is, I wasn't supposed to sleep for this long. My memory's blurred, so there's a lot of things I don't remember clearly. I don't know how the Princess looked like, only that she was the strongest warrior we had."
"Wait, then how come you guys have been scaring the youma off for months?"
"I don't know why, but youma are far weaker now than they were before. Something else must have happened, but I..."
"So they're weak right now? I don't think I'll want to see them reach their full power, then."
"And they're gathering life energy from humans, in order to regain their true strength.".
"I get it. If these creeps get enough energy, they'll take over the world."
"If we find the Princess before that happens, we'll have a better chance to win," Luna said.
"I'll help you," Terry said, "but if Luminite shows up, I'm taking care of her personally."
"Revenge's not a good..."
"Save the lecture," Terry said, "I've been told that already."
"Fine, then," Luna said, and turned to look at the girl. "Usagi, there's a place we need to investigate."
Terry smiled as the cat started walking away. "Is it a travel agency?"
That made Luna stop and turn to look at him. "What... How do you know?"
"Because of this," Terry said pointing at his wrist. The watch he had looked like a normal digital watch. "It's set to detect whatever 'magic' the youma are using, and it was going nuts near that travel agency."
Luna looked at the watch. "For you to be able to detect mana without even knowing what it is... That's pretty impressive."
Terry checked his watch. "Hmm, this must be wrong, unless you're a youma."
"That's not it," Luna muttered, "you're detecting living beings who actively use mana. I don't think that gadget can make a difference between good and evil mana."
"I don't get a word of what you two are saying," Usagi commented, "but if there's youma at that travel agency, we have to take a look around."
The Mooncat nodded. "Yes, of course. Let's go."
"I'll tag along," Terry said, "maybe I'll get lucky and find Luminite."
-----
As they got to their target, Terry could see a black-haired girl standing nearby, looking straight at the building. He knew that girl was one of Usagi's friend, so that meant she could be one of the Senshi. "If you stare at that place any harder, you'll drill a hole through it."
The girl looked at him and frowned. "Who are you?"
"He's the new student I told you about," Usagi said, then in a low voice, she added, "and he's Zero," then she continued, in her normal tone, "Terry, this is Rei Hino."
Rei nodded at that last bit of information, "nice to meet you. I was passing by when I noticed the evil aura around that place. If Luna's here, this means..."
"Here there be youma," Terry said, looking at his watch. And the strongest youma so far, if the numbers were right.
"Let's go in, then," Rei noted.
"They're giving away free romantic cruise tickets for couples," Usagi noted. "That could be fun!"
"Usagi, they're youma," Luna noted.
Rei looked at the building again. "Whoever it was, it's gone."
Terry nodded. "Still getting a reading from that place, but it's far weaker now."
"Then Usagi's idea may be right," Luna said.
Rei looked at the cat "Why?"
"The one who's in there must be a normal youma, but the one who left was most likely Jadeite."
"And their plan is actually good," Rei admitted, "dragging people away from the city, to the middle of the ocean, then draining them there."
"If we hadn't found this place, we would have no way to stop them," Luna said.
"A romantic cruise, huh?" Terry said with a blank stare. "Wait here."
"What..." Rei started, but Terry was already walking into the building. They saw him talk to the woman at the counter, and he walked out a minute later, with several tickets in his hands. "You bought all those?"
Terry looked at the dozen tickets, then shrugged "they were quite cheap, and I wasn't sure how many Senshi are in your group."
"Only three," Luna said, then rapidly added, "for now."
"And also... I figured the more tickets I buy and not use, the less victims the youma will get."
"So we'll save eight people from..." Usagi started.
"Nine," Terry said.
"What, not coming? What about your promise to help us?" Luna asked.
Terry turned around. "Hey kitty, see what kind of cruise it'll be. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out why I'm not going."
Usagi flinched as Terry walked away. "A romantic cruise..."
Luna realized what Usagi meant right then. "Damn it. I'll be right back."
Rei had no clue what was going on. "What was all that about?"
"I'll tell you while we go get Ami," Usagi said.
-----
He knew someone was following him, but he wasn't bothering stopping or turning around. "Go away."
"Listen, Zephyr, I'm sorry."
Terry realized who it was, but didn't look at the cat. "It's not your fault."
"But..."
He turned to look at her. "I wish I could help this time around, but I know I won't be able to keep my cool in that place."
"I understand, Zephyr," Luna said.
"Call me Terry, all my friends do."
Luna smiled at that. "Okay. Are you sure..."
"If I change my mind, I'll be there."
-----
Later that night, the three girls and cat were 'enjoying' the cruise.
"I don't know how you two managed to drag me here," Ami said as the three explored the boat.
Rei looked out to the sea. "We're the only ones who are not in a couple here, from what I can see."
"Aw, I was hoping there would be some lonely, handsome guys aboard," Usagi complained.
"What, giving up on Tuxedo Kamen already?" Rei mused.
"Of course not," Usagi said, then looked down at the small cat. "How come people doesn't notice you?"
Luna looked up at her. "That's a special skill of mine. Only those with magic can see me while I'm using it, but it does require a bit of mana to work."
"So you can't use it indefinitely," Ami said. "Any idea where the youma is?"
"I'm not sure where exactly it is, but it's definitely in the ship," Luna said. She suddenly looked away from the ship and frowned. "The evil energy just got a lot stronger."
"That means Jadeite's here," Ami said, "we should keep our eyes open."
"Attention, passengers, please go to the party hall. We have a special show for you tonight."
"Special show, huh?" Rei noted.
"Most likely our cue," Ami said.
Usagi sighed. "I wonder how many more youma we'll have to fight before this is over?"
"No idea," Rei said, "we'll just have to take them down one at a time."
-----
As they reached the main hall, they could see the ship's captain and a sailor girl were the only members of the crew there. "That's Jadeite," Rei noticed.
Indeed, the 'captain' was none other than Jadeite. He was giving a speech, but soon stepped back. The sailor girl looked around and smiled. "It is time for our main event!" she said as her body turned blue. A water youma?
The three girls leapt behind a table, knowing what would happen next. The crowd was all knocked unconscious, and Jadeite's hand lit up as he collected their energy.
"We have to stop him!" Usagi said. "Moon Prism Power!"
"Mars Planet Power!"
"Mercury Planet Power!"
Jadeite frowned as he saw the three Senshi were there. "How in darkness' name did they figure it out?" He turned to his youma as he kept on gathering life energy. "They have nowhere to run. Destroy them."
"It will be easy," the youma said, looking at the three girls. "Die, Senshi!"
The Senshi leapt out of the way as their enemy shot a barrage of thin water beams at them. However, they noticed the beams could punch through walls... And the room was packed full of civilians. "We can't risk fighting here," Mars noticed.
"But what will we do?" Moon said, looking around. True, she wanted to save all this people, but she had no idea what to do to stop this youma.
"We should drag her out of the room," Mercury suggested.
"What about Jadeite?"
"We'll take care of him later," Mars said.
The youma shrugged as the three girls run out of the room. "Good riddance."
Jadeite growled at her. "Didn't I tell you to kill them? Go!"
"O- Of course, Lord Jadeite!" the youma said, her face pale, before rushing out of the room.
-----
It took the youma a minute before she found the three girls. "Ha! You can run, but you can't hide!"
"Who's running, monster?" Mars snapped. "Fire Soul!"
The youma's body turned into a puddle of water, and the attack passed right above it. "Not going to work!"
Mercury smiled. "Then what about this? Shabon Spray!"
"Oh, nice trick, however," the creature said as her body absorbed the mist, "I'm attuned to water and ice, girl." Her body had, after absorbing the Shabon Spray, grown to about twice its size. "Now, how about you just stand still and let me kill you?" However, she noticed right then that her prey had fled. "Oh, I suppose that's not an option," the creature muttered before she started searching for the trio.
The three Senshi were on the opposite side of the boat, and trying to come up with a plan. "Any idea on how to kill that thing?" Mars asked.
"From the data I have, this monster could dodge even Moon's attack. However, once it 'melts down' it takes a few seconds to reform."
Mars knew what Ami was thinking "I get it."
"I don't," Moon said.
Mars sighed. "It's quite simple, Usagi. Hit her while she's still reforming."
"Found you!" the youma snarled as it rushed around the corner. "Now, as I was saying, it's time for you to..."
"Fire Soul!"
The youma used the same trick as before. "You girls sure are stubborn."
"Moon Tiara Action!"
Just as Mercury had predicted, the creature couldn't do a thing until it had reformed, so the tiara hit it dead on, and she turned into mist.
"Well done, Moon," Luna said as she rushed in.
"Where were you?"
"I was keeping an eye on Jadeite, but he's gone."
"Damn, he used the youma as a distraction," Mars said.
"What about the victims?" Moon asked.
"They're still alive, but we should contact the coast guards and..."
"Already on it," Mercury noted.
"Good. We also need to find a way to get out without being noticed."
"Maybe we should go for a swim?" Rei joked.
"We could use one of the lifeboats," Mercury suggested.
"Why don't we just stay here?" Moon asked.
"They could blame us for this," Luna said, "I've heard a lot of rumors about us and youma, and not all humans know what side we're on."
-----
Terry watched the news report and smiled. An anonymous call to the coast guards had led them to a cruise ship packed full of people, people who seemed out of stamina. The reporter said the cause of that condition was unknown, but Terry knew what it was. "Good to know the girls managed to stop that one. I'm really curious about what the youma will try next."
"Sir, your father sent you a package."
"Hmm? It's not my birthday yet, right Sam?"
The butler, Samuel, smiled at that. "No, not yet. This is, from what I was told, something to help you in your fight."
Terry looked at the package. His father wasn't around much, even back when he was still in the States, but he had helped him a lot. The swords he used were a gift he got when he started training. And he had a few other things that he hadn't used yet, a few surprises for the youma, all created by the company. "Okay, I guess I'll just open this and see what new toy I got."
-----
The woman walked in and looked at the man behind the desk. "Sir, I was told you wanted to see me."
"Have you heard about the last attack?" the man said, not in the mood for formalities.
"Of course. It's obvious the Senshi were in that ship, but they left before the rescue teams got there."
"I think we need to get in touch with one of these Senshi. Tomoe's daughter is not in the country right now, so we'll have to look for one of the others."
"And how would we go about that, sir?" the woman asked, pretty sure she knew why he had called her.
"I'm leaving that to you, Lieutenant Rakurai."
"General, you want me to go and bring one of those Senshi here?"
"We have no clues on what their civilian identities are, so yes, you'll have to talk to them right after one of their battles."
"That sounds like a challenge. I'll do it."
"Good." He saw the woman turning to leave and sighed. "Be careful out there, Saiko."
"Don't worry, General Kino, I can take care of myself."
The man simply nodded as the woman walked out of the room. Of course he knew how good her combat skills were, but these monsters weren't like anything he had seen before.
-----
Naru woke up with a start. It had been just a nightmare, but it was always the same nightmare lately. It didn't happen everyday, fortunately, but she couldn't really understand what it meant. Also, she remembered more of it each time.
She could, in the dream, see herself wearing a Senshi suit. She saw a castle in the distance, but the castle was aflame, and she knew she was defending it. Fighting youma, monsters like the one who had attacked her the first time she saw Sailor Moon. But something killed her, in the dream, and that was the point where she would always wake up.
Come to think about it, the dreams had started shortly after Sailor V was first seen in Tokyo. Could it be that she was... "No way, what am I thinking? I'm not one of them."
"As a matter of fact, you are."
Naru stared at the gray cat standing in front of her, in her bed. "You... You're like Sailor Moon's cat!"
"My name's Shade, and I'm here to tell you about your mission."
Note: For those who noticed it: Yes, the first few episodes were written before most of Book 1 - I was writing both books at the same time for a while, until I finished writing the first book. I kept getting ideas for the "present" part of the story while writing the past, so I decided waiting would be pointless.
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