Losing a Friend, by Boyce
Chapter 1 : Endless Tears
/ A park, in Tokyo \
It was a very sunny day. The Scouts and Darien had decided to go on a pic-nic. Lita had made some goodies for her friends to eat. The rest of them brought what was needed for the pic-nic. The dinner was over, and each of them were enjoying this day. Serena was with Darien under a tree, and were looking at each other. Amy had brought one or two books to read. Lita wasn't happy to see her friend read on this day, so she stole her two books. The two of them were still arguing on "The Good and the Bad of reading on a sunny day".
Mina and Raye were a little further. Mina was sitting, looking at some butterflies dancing in the wind, while Raye was on her back, her arms behind her head, and her eyes closed. "It's so relaxing don't you think Raye?", said Mina, in a calm voice. "Yeah... It feels so good", her friend replied.
In the back, Serena and Darien were hiding from the rays of the sun, in the shadow of a tree. "This is so perfect Darien", the girl said. "Everybody seems so calm and happy". "Yeah... We didn't have peace for a long time", the man answered. Serena put her head on the knees of Darien. He delicately passed his hand through her hair.
Not too far away, the discussion was now over between Lita and Amy. Amy had recovered her books, and was reading one of them. "Really Amy. I don't see how you can read on a day like this", Lita said. Amy replied : "Well, everybody has different ways of relaxing... This is mine". She turned her head and smiled at her friend, who smiled back.
It has been almost a month now since the Dark Moon had been destroyed. The peace was now ruling over Tokyo, at the joy of the Girls and the Man with them. But unfortunately, that peace was not too last...
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/ In another part of the Universe \
A man was standing there. A tall man, with short white hair and blue eyes. He had a white shirt, recovered by a black jacket. He had grey pants, with big black boots. He was surrounded by a black aura.
In front of his eyes stood three holograms. The first one was a green planet. A big "X" was over it. The second one was a small purple planet, with also a big "X" on it. The third hologram was a colorful planet... Blue, green, white. A planet named Earth... A dark laugh was the only sound filling the room. A figured appeared in a corner.
"You summoned me, Master Xeb?".
"Yes Debra. I need you to prepare my arrival on Earth", said the Master.
"Of course", replied the figure.
"There is a city called Tokyo on this planet. It seems to be emitting some powerful energy. It will be our final destination before the world is mine".
"As you wish, Master. Everything will be ready soon", replied Debra.
"Excellent!". The figure disappeared, and the dark laugh could be heard again.
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/ Tokyo, at the Temple \
The night was now falling on Tokyo. The group was at the Temple, watching the night sky that was looking on them. Lots of little lights could be seen. Sometimes, a light passed rapidly in the sky, and disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
"Look guys!! Another shooting star", said Serena.
"Yeah... Did you make a wish?", asked Lita.
"I don't need to wish for anything... I have everything I want : Great friends, the perfect guy, and peace". That last comment made her friends smile, as they were still looking at the sky.
"I wish everyday could be like today, don't you agree?" replied the blue-haired girl. Some nods and a couple of "Yes" could be heard to complete the last comment. There was a little wind blowing on the Temple, just enough to give a little chill to the group. In the Temple, the GrandFather of Raye was talking to the Sacred Fire. His voice wasn't fitting with the rest, but everybody was lost in their thoughts, and didn't hear anything.
After some more talking, they agreed to go to bed. The girls were sleeping at Raye's Temple, because tomorrow was shopping day for them. Darien gave a kiss to Serena, before leaving the group for his apartment. When they agreed to go shopping, he just decided to left, at the disappointment of her girlfriend.
"You know that Darien doesn't come with us when we go shopping Serena", said a sleepy Mina.
"Yeah, but I won't sleep as well as if he were here with me", replied the blonde.
"Come on Serena. Just think about the shopping tomorrow, and you'll sleep well. Besides, I'm sure you'll dream about him, like you do every night".
"You're right Lita!! Then we should go to bed now". Serena's eyes were turning into big red hearts.
"Just don't speak in your dream MeatBall Head. I want to be in perfect form tomorrow".
"I never talk in my sleep Raye". "Yeah Right!", said Raye in a low voice.
After a little word fight, the girls decided to call it a night, and went to sleep.
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/ In another part of the Universe \
The white-haired man was still looking at the hologram of the Earth. A smile appeared on his face : "Soon... Soon the Universe shall be in my hands".
As he finished, Debra appeared in the same dark corner of the room. "Everything is ready, Master Xeb".
"Good! Then let's not waste anytime", Xeb replied.
With these words, he put his hands in his jacket, and disappeared. The other figure also disappeared, following the Master.
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/ Back in Tokyo, at the Temple \
At the Temple, the 5 girls were enjoying their sleep. There was one blonde girl that was talking in her sleep, always calling the same name. "Yes Darien... Oh Darien! What? For me? Oh Thank you Darien!!" But it was not loud enough to wake her friends. As the night advanced, the words vanished, and everything was silent again...
Suddenly, a big explosion occured near the Temple. The ground was shaking, and four of the girls woke up immediately.
"What was that?", asked Mina.
"I don't know... But I can fell dark energy. Powerful energy", said the priestess.
"All right, then we should check it out right now", added Amy.
"Oh Darien!! I'm yours forever", answered the blonde girl, still on the ground. Tear drops appeared in the face of the other girls. The tall brunette went to wake her friend up. "Wha?? Hey, what's wrong? It's still the middle of the night. It's way too early for shopping!".
"Serena!! Get a grip!! There's dark energy building near here. The Sailor Scouts are needed... NOW!". "Okay Okay. Don't need to shout it Raye", replied Serena.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER" "MERCURY STAR POWER" "MARS STAR POWER" "JUPITER STAR POWER" "VENUS STAR POWER"
The room was filled with bright colorful light for a very brief moment. When the room returned to its dark state, the five girls rushed out.
Mercury got her computer out. "Let me see... According to the readings I'm getting, the energy is coming from the East".
"All right Scouts, then let's go", said Venus.
The others replied with a "Yeah". They rushed in the direction Mercury was still pointing.
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/ Not too far away \
The Master of this operation was standing on a roof, while his puppet, Debra, was casting dark energy on the ground. Everything that was surrounding Debra was getting darker by the second. "Hmm... I wonder if there will be some kind of protector that will come. I need pure energy to complete this mission... My indicator said that this city was the most energetic on Earth". He was still in his thoughts, when he heard two screams coming from the West.
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND" "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE"
A gold chain surrounded by fire rings were directed at Debra. The minion was still busy casting her dark energy, that it didn't have time to react. The attack crashed right into it, and sent it flying in a nearby brick wall.
"Finally, some resistance", mumbled Xeb.
Mercury got her computer out to analyse the situation. She used it to analyse the creature that had just crashed in the wall. The enemy was getting out of the rumble, and the girls could finally see what they were up against. At the surprise of everyone, it looked human. It was wearing a purple outfit, and long blue hair were covering the head.
"You'll pay for that", said the humanoid, in a feminine voice.
"Is it a girl?", ask Jupiter.
"Definitely not... She looks like a girl, but the energy she's giving is nowhere human", replied Mercury.
Xeb was still on the roof, amused by the way things were developping.
"Hey you!! I'm the Champion of Justice Sailor Moon!! How dare you wake me in the middle of the night?? You'll pay for that. So in the name of the Moon, I will punish you". The speech of Sailor Moon ended, with all the movements that comes with it.
"Moon? I don't know what the Moon is. I'm just interested in the Earth", replied Debra, now up, after the last attack.
"She doesn't seem hurt or anything, even after our double attack", said a worried Venus.
"Yeah... We should all be on our guards. We don't know what she can do", said Mars to her friends.
"You're getting in the way of our mission, miserable Earth people".
"A Mission...", thought Mercury. "What kind of mission..." Before she could finish her thoughts, Debra sent blasts of dark energy at her enemies. The Scouts jumped out of thew way.
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP"
"Take this", shouted Jupiter. The Lighting ball was heading right at Debra. She saw it coming, and jumped out of the way. The Lightning crashed into the ground, making a hole into the road.
"You think you can stop me, with those puny powers? Think again". With these words, Debra sent another set of dark energy beams at the Scouts. While she was not hitting her enemies, the battle was turning to her advantage slowly. The Scouts were counter-attacking as they could, but the attacks were not powerful enough to hurt her. Mercury was on her computer again, trying to solve how to destroy their enemy.
Debra was making such a good job, that no one, not even Mercury saw Xeb on the roof, laughing at the look of the battle. Debra was launching another attack. As she got her arm up, she suddenly fell to one knee, holding her arm... The Scouts looked confuse.
The answer came, as they saw a red rose stuck in the ground. It made a hole into the arm of Debra. "TUXEDO MASK", said the Leader. The hero landed near her lover. "Are you all right, girls?"
"Yeah. Thanks Tuxedo Mask", said a graceful Mars.
Back on the roof, Xeb wasn't laughing anymore, as he saw what just happened. On his two other conquests, no one was able to touch Debra, and now, a guy throwing roses had managed to hurt her. "I guess I should collect the energy of the most powerful one right now".
He analysed each of Debra's enemies, and concluded that it was the one with long pigtails that was the most powerful of the group. He got a little crystal out of his jacket , and pointed it at Sailor Moon.
Debra got the info telepatically from her Master that Sailor Moon was the most powerful soldier. She then made a black ball of energy and she threw it right at Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask saw the attack. He took Sailor Moon's arm, and threw her to his side. He lift his cape to block the shot, and received the blast. He was thrown back, landing on his face, losing his hat. "TUXEDO MASK!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!... Why you back-stabbing freak", answered an angry Sailor Moon.
The dark energy surrounding Debra was fading a bit, just enough for Mercury's computer to detect a second, more powerful mass of dark energy, coming from a nearby roof. She turned her head to look up, and saw a man, pointing a crystal directly at Sailor Moon.
Venus was right besides Mercury. She looked there also, and saw the same thing. "No...", Venus thought... She started to run in the direction of her Leader. "SAILOR MOON!! WATCH OUT!! ON THE ROOF!!!"
The alert was heard, and everyone looked up to see what was happening. Sailor Moon froze as she saw the man. "TAKE THAT HAHAHAHAHA."
"SERENA NO", said Tuxedo Mask, still on the ground after the last attack. A white beam emerged form the crystal directly at Sailor Moon. She saw it coming, and screamed. She felt a grab on her arm, and she was thrown to the ground!! The beam reached the victim. A high scream was heard, and a warrior felt to the ground.
"VENUS", Moon shouted!! The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask were now running in the direction of the impact. Sailor Moon felt the anger rising in her. She got up, saying nothing. She took her Scepter out, and looked directly in the eyes of Debra, that was still holding her injured arm. "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO MY FRIEND. NOW YOU'LL PERISH"
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION"
The light emitting from the Scepter was so fast, that Debra couldn't do a thing about it. She received the full anger of Sailor Moon into her body, which shattered into pieces.
Still holding the crystal, Xeb saw his minion completely destroyed by that bright flash of light. "NO!! How can she do that?? And that fool that got in the way. No matter, I still have her energy instead. It's not as powerful, but it's pure". Xeb said this as he was holding his crystal, now emitting an orange aura. He vanished, still looking at his enemies.
"That will teach you", said a satisfied Sailor Moon. She turned to face her friends. Her face quickly changed from satisfied to terrified, as she saw her other friends standing besides Venus.
"Come on Venus!! Wake up", said Jupiter. Mars was standing up, looking very worried at the scene.
Mercury was besides Venus, holding her fallen comrade by the hand, to check her pulse. A moment of silence filled the place. The face of Mercury could be seen again... Tears were falling from her eyes. She shook negatively her head, still holding the hand of her friend.
"No... NO!!!! Come on, wake up Venus... WAKE UP... please", said Jupiter, tears falling out of her eyes. Mars was still up, looking at the scene. She was crying too. She kneeled down to get closer. Tuxedo Mask was behind them all, shaking is head... He then looked at Sailor Moon, who was still looking at her friends crying on Venus. She was completely frozen.
Tuxedo Mask walked slowly to her, and took her in his arms. "Sailor Moon... Let it out". She looked quickly in his sad eyes, and turned again to Venus. She rushed herself to the body, exploding in tears as she hold the body of one of her best friends. "Venus... Why... Why did you do this?? I don't want to lose you... Wake up Venus... PLEASE... VENUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS".
The 3 other Scouts got back, crying in each other arms. Sailor Moon was still crying on her friend. Tuxedo Mask was in the back, and he couldn't keep inside him the sadness, as a tear also fell from his eye.
Slowly, the body of Venus turned into light, and it vanished slowly into little bubbles, floating into the sky. The 3 Scouts and Tuxedo Mask looked powerless at the scene. Sailor Moon was still crying, holding the little that was left of Venus's body... until nothing was left. She let a scream go, as the last bubble disappeared from her grasp. She put her hands on her face, as the 3 other Scouts went to confort her. Tuxedo Mask was looking at the last bubbles of Venus flying to the sky. "Good-Bye, Warrior of Love...", he said sadly.
End of Chapter 1