Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any of its original characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.
Sailor Moon:
Siblings of the Moon Saga
Part VI
This story begins during the tales of the Nega-Moon. Rini has come back into the past, and the Sailor Scouts have already learned their new attacks. However, Rini does not yet know their true identities.
"Come here you little Brat!" exclaimed Serena as she chased Rini around the pool. The short pink-haired girl sprinted around the pool waving Serena's bathing suit in the air, as if it were a flag. The Luna Ball hovered just behind Rini with Serena closely following, only covered by a towel.
"Ha ha! You can't catch me meatball head!" proclaimed Rini as she raced past the others. Lita and Mina were laying in beach chairs, poolside, working on their tans. Amy was sitting under an umbrella reading a book. She looked up as Rini and Serena ran past her. Raye and Erick stopped splashing each other long enough to see Rini diving directly towards Erick. Erick reached up just in time to catch Rini before she landed in the pool.
He held her above his head and smiled. Serena was only seconds behind. She dove into the air and was heading straight towards Erick and Rini. Erick cradled Rini in his arms and dove under water. Serena flew completely over their heads and landed in the pool. Erick and Rini brought their heads up to see Serena slowly emerging from the pool with her hand outstretched.
Erick looked at Rini whom was handing him the bathing suit. "Now, Rini, you're going to have to stop teasing Serena so much," said Erick. He took the bathing suit and handed it to Serena. She jerked the bathing suit from his hand and held the towel closely to her body as she climbed out of the pool.
Serena turned back once more, scowling at Rini. Rini pulled the skin under her eye down and extended her tongue at Serena. Serena's face went blood red with anger. Fighting the urge to strangle the young visitor from the future, she stomped back towards the dressing room to get dressed.
Erick sat Rini on the side of the pool. Rini grabbed Luna Ball and began to bounce it. "Luna Ball Magic! Give me an air mattress!" The cat-shaped ball exploded into a pink puff of smoke and an air mattress appeared in the pool, with a glass of iced pink lemonade on the arm of the mattress. Rini swam towards the mattress and placed her pink sunglasses over her eyes as she climbed into mattress. She lay back and sipped the lemonade as she floated on the pool.
"Where is that little brat?" said Serena through clenched teeth. She was still furious, but now she was armed with an extremely large Super Soaker water gun. The maniacal smile on her face showed that there was no use reasoning with her. However, that didn't stop her friends from trying.
"Serena calm down," said Lita rising from her chair. "She's just a little girl. She was only trying to have some fun."
"Yeah. You can't really blame her," added Mina. "I mean she's been through a lot. Especially with those creeps from the Nega-Moon after her."
"Traitors!" exclaimed Serena. "You're siding with that little pink twerp. I thought you were my friends." Serena began to sob as tears filled her eyes.
"Oh give it a rest Serena!" scorned Raye. "You're such a big baby! I mean she's just a little girl, and she's acting more grown up than you are!"
"Oh no," said Amy as she shifted her umbrella towards her friends, so that she was hidden behind it.
"That does it!" shouted Serena. She aimed the Super Soaker at Raye and fired full blast. Raye put up her hands to block the stream of water that was showering her. Then, Serena turned towards Mina and Lita who were pulling out water guns from under their beach chairs. However, Serena managed to nail both of them before they could fire on her.
"All right, Serena," said Erick as he climbed out of the pool. "I think it's time to knock off…." Before Erick could finish his sentence, Serena fired the Super Soaker at his face. Erick stumbled backwards and into the pool. When he reached the surface of the water again, he realized that Serena was cheering, and the other girls (except Amy) were all drenched. Even Rini was now in the pool, and frowning at Serena.
"Get her!" exclaimed Erick. Mina and Lita fired their water guns at Serena, while Erick, Raye and Rini all splashed water at her from the pool. Serena eventually dove into the water for safety. Mina and Lita dove in with their water guns, still pursuing Serena.
Everyone continued to splash each other until they realized Amy was still sitting behind umbrella, completely dry. They looked at each other and nodded in agreement. "Hey Amy," called Serena. "Why don't you join us?"
"That's okay," replied Amy. "I'm just fine right here."
Serena climbed out of the pool, and approached Amy's umbrella. She covered her mouth to keep the giggles from escaping. She looked back towards the pool, where everyone was waiting to get Amy wet. "Surpri-…" began Serena as she pulled the umbrella away.
Amy had been standing behind the umbrella with a huge water cannon, obviously anticipating such an attack by her friends. Serena tried to turn and run, but it was useless. Amy nailed Serena from behind, and sent Serena flying back into the pool. Amy stood up, and fired at the rest of her friends. Before long, everyone was soaked and laughing at the fun they had together.
Above the city, and unnoticed by the public, a large crystal-shape spaceship hovered in place. Aboard the ship, were the agents of the future Nega-Moon. They were sent to the present to capture Rini, the silver crystal and to secure Crystal Tokyo. Rubeus had led the Four Sisters of the Nega-Moon (Catzi, Bertie, Avery and Prizma) to the present. Thus far, they have been unable to succeed in any of their objectives. Time and the patience of their superiors are running out.
"Move out of the way!" shouted Catzi as she pushed Bertie from the front of the mirror. "It's my mirror. Besides you'd only be wasting your time. There's no way you could ever measure up to my beauty."
"Oh really," countered Bertie. "From what I can see, you need the mirror so that you can cover up those wrinkles." Bertie pushed Catzi's face out of view. Just as she started to gaze upon her reflection, two pairs of arms thrust her back as Avery and Prizma attempted to stand in front of the mirror.
"Out of the way little one," chimed Prizma. She started to put the lipstick on her lips as Avery nudged her way into view. "We don't have time to wait for you to finish playing dress-up."
"Yeah," Avery agreed. "Some of us actually have dates without a 7 o'clock curfew." Avery and Prizma laughed briefly at the joke before resuming to fight each other for the position in front of the mirror. Within seconds, all four of the girls were fighting each other for the spot in front of the mirror. The shrieks and screams filling the room accompanied the sight of hair being pulled and sharp nails clawing at faces.
Rubeus, whom had been watching, quickly grew tired of the sight. He rose and exited the room. He entered a room, which was completely empty except for the circular design (much like the ship's shape) that was in the center of the floor. As Rubeus entered the room, the circular design began to glow. Suddenly, the life-size image of a cloaked figure waving his arms above a crystal ball appeared. It was the Wiseman.
"Well, Rebeus," said the Wiseman, "do you have anything new to report?" The holographic projection of the Wiseman flickered briefly out of image before retaining its sharp representation. As the Wiseman waited for a response, he waved his hands over the globe.
"Sir, I'm sorry to report that we still haven't been able to capture the girl or the crystal. Nor have we been able to secure any of the points of Crystal Tokyo. However, I assure you that…" Rebeus reported before the Wiseman interrupted.
"So, you have failed!" the Wiseman scorned. Rubeus had taken a few steps back. The image continued to stare at Rubeus. Even though the face was hidden, Rubeus could feel the cold stare of the Wiseman. "Listen Rubeus, despite your constant failure, Prince Diamond has decided to give you al little help to make things easier."
From the image of the Wiseman, a sword flickered into view. Its blade was thin, straight, and also black. The handle was made of gold. Rubeus looked upon the image with awe. "This is the sword of Lunarius, the original King of the Moon Kingdom. He was from the dark side of the moon. He married Queen Serenity, and ended the constant battle between good and evil to bring about the Silver Millenium. They had two children: Princess Serenity and Prince Erick. However, some threat arose on the eve of Queen Beryl's attack and claimed the life of Lunarius.
"His blade, which contains immense power was lost during that battle. If you find this blade Rubeus, success will be all but guaranteed. You will be able to finally complete your mission."
Rubeus's eyes were gleaming at the beauty of the sword. "If the sword belonged to the ruler of the Moon Kingdom, why would it respond to evil commands? Such power could not possibly be so easy for us to control."
"You fool!" said the Wiseman. "Don't you understand? King Lunarius was the most evil tyrant ever to walk the stars. It was only some foolish love that he had for Queen Serenity that made his dark power waiver. The sword's power is rooted in evil. That is why he was so easily killed before the Negaverse's attack."
"Very well, sir. I am convinced. However, I have only one question. Where is this sword?" asked Rubeus.
"If I had known that you fool, I would have the sword already!" said the Wiseman. "Nevertheless, the sword is on Earth. I assume it got there when Queen Serenity sent her entire kingdom to Earth." The Wiseman began to move his hands over the crystal globe once again. Rubeus sat there watching him intensely. "Ah, yes," hissed the Wiseman. "You must be at the center of Crystal Tokyo at the next new moon. The sword will reveal itself to the eyes of evil and to the eyes of Lunarius's heirs.
"Make sure that you get the sword, Rubeus. Do not fail again," said the Wiseman. Then, his image flickered away, leaving Rubeus in the chamber alone.
"Finally, the Sailor Scouts will be crushed. Sailor Moon and Lunar Knight will be crushed by sword of their own father." Rubeus began to laugh as the eve approached. For tonight the new moon would appear.
After leaving the pool, the girls had decided to head over to Raye's temple. The girls were waiting for Erick and Rini to return with ice cream. After Erick and Rini exited the ice cream shop, they headed towards the temple.
"Hey, Rini," started Erick, "I've noticed you always said the Sailor Scouts of the future protected you. I was wondering, is there a Lunar Knight in the future?"
Rini was skipping along side him licking her ice cream. As the Luna Ball bounced along side her in the air, she paused for a second. "No. The first time I saw him was here in the present."
Erick stopped for a moment too. He looked at Rini with a startled look on his face. "Well does you parents have any brothers or sisters?" asked Erick.
"Well, my mother used to have a brother, but he died before I was born. She said he died protecting her," reported Rini. Erick slightly upset nodded, and they proceeded towards the temple.
Once they were at the foot of the steps, and about to climb up a mystical sound began to grow in the air. Erick and Rini paused and looked around them. Then, a bright light flashed over their heads. They looked up to see a halo of light shining above them. Then, they saw something come down from the center of it.
It was a woman, and she was wearing what looked like a Sailor Scout uniform. Her hair was long and black, and she carried a staff with a large red globe on one end. She was definitely older than the other scouts were and very beautiful. Erick stared at her face, as she descended to the ground. There was something familiar about her.
"Sailor Pluto!" shouted Rini as she dashed towards the lady. The woman opened her eyes upon Rini first. A smile appeared across her face as she kneeled and embraced Rini. "Are you here to take me home? Is everything okay now?"
The smile disappeared after hearing the questions. "I'm sorry, Small Lady, but I'm not here to take you home. Your home is still under attack," said Sailor Pluto.
"Uh, Rini," said Erick, "Why don't you go and gives these to Serena and the others. I need to talk with your friend for a moment." Rini nodded and grabbed the ice creams as she dashed up the stairs with Luna Ball floating behind her.
"I'm sorry, but I have this feeling that we've met before," said Erick. He looked at Pluto's eyes, which seemed to be gleaming with hope. Then, she turned away, as if the sight upset her.
"Is something wrong?" asked Erick. He began to put his arm on her shoulder. Sailor Pluto noticed and quickly turned to avoid his touch. Taken aback by her movements, Erick took a step back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"No, it's okay," said Sailor Pluto. "I was just surprised that you said you remembered me." She stared at Erick. Her eyes were filled with hope. Erick continued to gaze at her. There was something familiar about her, but what? Erick shook his head slowly. "You don't remember me do you?"
"It's just a feeling. Nothing specific. I'm sorry," he apologized.
"No, I understand. Your memory of most of your life on the Moon Kingdom is probably gone," said Sailor Pluto. "However, that's not why I'm here. I need your help."
"All right, let me get the other scouts, and then we can…" started Erick.
"No. Not them. Just you," responded Pluto. "They have to remain here to stop the threat in the present. I must take you to stop the threat in the future."
Erick sighed. "Why me?" he asked.
"Because," started Pluto. "You're the only one that can stop this villain. Only your power and skills have a chance at stopping him."
"What about the Sailor Scouts of the future. Surely they have to power to stop this threat you're talking about," said Erick.
"No, they don't, because this is the same threat that they are fighting now. Therefore, you are their last hope. Please, don't turn your back on them. If not for them, then do it for Rini," suggested Sailor Pluto.
"Very well, I'll go," agreed Erick. Then he lifted his hand into the air, and shouted, "Moon… Crystal… Power!" Erick's chest began to glow, and then a flash of light engulfed his body. When the light diminished, Lunar Knight stood before Sailor Pluto. His red cape being carried by the wind, as the street light reflected off of his armor. "I'm ready. Let's go."
Sailor Pluto nodded and raised her staff into the air. The same halo of light reappeared above them. Sailor Pluto and Lunar Knight were lifted into the air, and into the halo above them. The halo of light began to close and darkness reappeared on to scene.
At the top of the stairs, Rini led the group of girls to the point she had left Sailor Pluto and Erick. "Hey! Where did they go?" said Rini.
Serena looked at Amy. She shook her head. "Well, maybe they'll turn up later. Come on let's head back to Raye's room and wait for them," said Serena. The girls turned to look down the stairs once again, with an expression of worry on her face.
Lunar Knight and Sailor Pluto appeared in a dark setting. The floor seemed to be covered with mist. They proceeded to walk towards what looked like a golden gate, which extended far what seemed like miles. They paused in front of the gate, and looked at each other.
"This is the Gate of Time," said Sailor Pluto. "I cannot venture beyond this point. You are now on your own."
"What exactly do I have to do?" asked Lunar Knight.
"You must defeat the Wiseman. He is the real power behind the Nega-Moon. Chances are, that if you stop him, the threats in both your present in future will end," said Sailor Pluto.
Lunar Knight looked at the gate, and then back to Sailor Pluto. "You wouldn't happen to know, how I'm supposed to find the Wiseman would you?" he asked.
"The gate will take you where you need to be. I wish you look," she said.
Lunar Knight started to walk towards the gate, which had now opened. Then, he paused and turned around. "If anything happens, and I don't make it, would you…."
"Take care of Rini? Of course," finished Sailor Pluto.
"How did you know I was going to say that?" he asked.
"Because, I already made that promise to you before," she said.
Lunar Knight looked at Sailor Pluto's face. Tears were beginning to form around her eyes. "This is how the future version of me died, isn't it? He tried to stop the threat of the Nega-Moon before it attacked. He disappeared before the great battle that nearly destroyed Crystal Tokyo. That's why you asked me to fight."
Tears started to stream from Sailor Pluto's eyes. "You'll may never know how much it hurt me to lose you the first time. Then, to find you and lose you again…."
"What do you mean the first time?" asked Lunar Knight. "Then we have met, haven't we? It was during the Silver Millenium wasn't it?" Sailor Pluto was nodding. It was all she could do as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Who are you?"
Sailor Pluto raised her staff and the mist arose to cover her. When the mist had disappeared she was gone. Lunar Knight returned his attention to the open gate in front of him. He paused briefly, then stepped through the gate. After a brief flash of light, Lunar Knight found himself falling into nothing, but darkness.
"Where can he be?" said Serena as she paced the floor. "It's not like him to be gone this long. He should have called or something."
"You're right, Serena. This isn't like Erick. He's nothing like my old boyfriend Josh," said Lita. "Josh used to disappear days at a time and not even call. Why if ever got my hands on him again…." Everyone's eyes were now on Lita, and their faces should only shock. Lita chuckled nervously, and turned her attention back to the problem at hand.
"Maybe we should go and look for him," suggested Mina. "We can check the arcade, and some of the restaurants."
"I don't think that would do too much good," said Amy. "It's almost midnight, and I still can't get a lock on his communicator. Guys we may have to face the fact that Erick could be in trouble."
Tears started to bubble at Serena's eyes. Lita put her arm around Serena and tried to calm her down. Mina went and sat on the floor next to Raye's bed, where Rini was asleep. She stared at the ceiling and sighed.
Then, Raye slid the door open and stepped back inside. "Guys, I think you better check this out," she said, motioning them to come outside. The girls quickly rose to their feet and headed out the door. Raye had been standing outside waiting for hours to catch a glimpse of Erick rising over the steps, but he never came. Instead she managed to see a phenomenon, which had her worried.
"Is it Erick?" asked Serena hopefully.
"No, look," said Raye. Their eyes fell upon a bright light, emerging near the Starlight Towers. "I'm getting some really bad vibes from that light."
"Do you think it has anything to do with Erick?" asked Mina.
"I hope not, but we'd better check it out," responded Raye. "If he's there, then he's in danger."
The girls quickly transformed into their Sailor outfits and dashed down the stairs and towards the Starlight Towers. It took them a few minutes, but they never slowed down due to the chance that their teammate might be in danger. They finally reached the Starlight Towers to find a sight, which only made the situation worse. Before them stood, Rubeus and the Four Sisters.
"Ah, I'm so happy that you could join us, Sailor Brats," taunted Rubeus confidently. "You're just in time to see how powerful the Nega-Moon really is."
"We don't have time for one of your freak shows tonight!" said Sailor Venus.
"Yeah!" agreed Sailor Jupiter. "As far as we're concerned, your little production for tonight is out of business."
"You brats really don't know who're you're dealing with do you?" said Catzi. "Come on girls, let's go show them who're they're dealing with." Catzi leaped into the air and fired blue flames from her hands at the Sailor Scouts. The Scouts leaped away from the attack. Each of them landed, and appeared to be paired off with one of their foes. Sailor Mars was standing right in front of Catzi. Avery and Prizma were standing side by side across from Sailors Venus and Jupiter. Sailor Mercury stood opposite Bertie.
Sailor Moon had landed right in front of Rubeus and had drawn her Moon Scepter. "Give it up, Rubeus. We don't have time to put up with your nonsense right now," said Sailor Moon.
"Nonsense?" said Rubeus. "Little girl, I'm about to show you how serious this is," he responded. Rubeus leaped to into the center of the courtyard around the Towers. In the middle of the courtyard was a sword emerging from the ground. The sword's handle was gold and the blade black. "Now witness the true power of the Nega-Moon, Sailor Wimp!" Rubeus started to run for the blade.
Sailor Mars saw the sword and gasped. "Sailor Moon, don't let him get to that sword. It's filled with more evil energy than I've ever felt before," said Sailor Mars as she dodged another of Catzi's fire attacks.
Sailor Mercury heard Mars's warning and briefly activated her AV Goggles to scan the sword. Bertie fired and ice blast in her direction. "Mercury… Ice Bubbles… Freeze!" The bubbles created a thick cloud, which gave Sailor Mercury time to scan the sword. "She's right Sailor Moon. If Rubeus reaches that sword, then we've lost!"
Sailor Moon nodded and reached for her tiara resting on her forehead. "Moon… Tiara… Magic!" Sailor Moon threw the glowing Tiara past Rubeus hair. The tiara ricocheted off a tree and bounced off the next. The tiara kept going in this pattern faster and faster. Rubeus couldn't get past the tiara to reach the sword. "You're not going to make it to the sword that easily, Rubeus."
Rubeus's anger began to grow as he watch the tiara bounce off each tree at incredible speeds, preventing him from reaching the sword. Rubeus leaped into the air. "So you want play games, huh? Well let's play tag!" Rubeus launched a series of energy balls, but not at Sailor Moon.
Sailor Moon looked up and traced the direction the balls were heading in. Then, she found their target. "Rini!" shouted Sailor Moon. She must have woken up and wondered off towards the mysterious light, expecting to find the other girls here. Sailor Moon started to dash towards Rini, but there was no way she would make it time.
"Tiara, stop those bombs!" she commanded. The tiara quickly changed directions, and proceeded to ricochet off the bombs, causing them to explode. Even as the tiara managed to destroy most of the bombs, there were to many to destroy them all, and Sailor Moon was too far away to save Rini.
Suddenly, Tuxedo Mask leaped down from the air and rescued Rini. He wrapped her in his arms and cape and leaped back up, high into the sky. The explosion of the bombs erupted underneath him. He landed safely a few feet away, with Sailor Moon finally arriving by their side.
"Thank you, Tuxedo Mask," said Sailor Moon. She turned to catch her tiara, and placed it on her forehead. "Oh no, Rubeus has the sword!"
Rubeus was laughing triumphantly as he pulled the sword out of the ground. He began to be surrounded by an aura of black energy. The other battles between the Sailor Scouts and the Four Sisters had ceased as they all stared at Rubeus.
"You too late, Sailor Moon!" he shouted. "The Sword of Lunarius is mine. Now, give me the girl, the Silver Crystal, and kneel before me. Then, I may decide to let you live long enough to kiss my feet."
Lunar Knight found himself in a dark chamber. He looked around, and found a figure squatting in the center of a single light hanging from above. Lunar Knight approached the single circle of light and drew the Lunar Saber.
"You're the Wiseman, aren't you?" he asked. "If you surrender now, and withdraw, your forces, I will not harm you."
The Wiseman laughed. "Foolish boy, you couldn't destroy me if you wanted to." The Wiseman raised his arm and fired black bolts of energy at Lunar Knight. Lunar Knight dodged the attack and attempted to swipe his sword at the Wiseman. As the blade was only a few inches from the Wiseman's skull, the Lunar Saber leaped from Lunar Knight's hand and crashed to the floor.
"What's going on hear?!" exclaimed Lunar Knight. He quickly got to the saber, and tried again. The Lunar Saber would not strike the Wiseman.
"You fool, the Lunar Saber would never strike me down," said the Wiseman.
Lunar Knight looked at the Wiseman in awe. Could he truly be that powerful? "Why not?" asked Lunar Knight.
"You haven't figured it out have you?" said the Wiseman. "The sword knows who I am, and it can never be used against me." The Wiseman stood to his feet, and pulled his hood back. Lunar Knight gasped at the sight of the Wiseman's face. How was it possible? Where his eyes telling the truth?
"Yes, that's right," said the Wiseman. "Now, you know why you can't strike me down with the Lunar Saber. Because I was its owner once before." The Wiseman chuckled at the disbelief on Lunar Knight's face. "It won't strike me down because it can't strike you down. And make no mistake about it, I… am… you."
TO BE CONTINUED…
