A/N: This story is strictly Alternate Timeline. Thus, instead of the Senshi being discovered when they were 14, they're now 16, and so all five inner senshi are together already, as well as Luna & Artemis. Also, Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom only started gathering energy after all five were together, so it's quite different since the Inners are more mature, intelligent, and Usagi knows that she's the princess. Beryl has also had more time to plan. And last but not least, I'm going to be using the Japanese names, but I'll be starting from an American episode called "Talk Radio." So this story may not be following the BSSM timeline in Japan. (PS- sorry if my Japanese is wrong, I only know a little.) Oh, one more: I'm taking artistic license in regard to the Generals' powers.
Tactical Change
Plan I: Capture or Destroy?
Usagi ran up the stairs to Rei's temple, and screeched to a stop in front of Minako and Ami. "Gomen nasai, minna." "It's okay, Usagi-chan." Makoto commented, peeking her head out of the kitchen."Hai, Usagi-chan. Ami told us that you stopped to talk to your math teacher." Rei yelled from the kitchen.
Usagi sent a grateful glance to Ami, while waving to Minako.
Just then, Makoto emerged with a plate of cookies, followed by Rei with drinks.
"Arigatou, Mako-chan, Rei-chan." She chorused with Ami and Minako. "So, Ami, how did you do on the test this morning?"
"Oh, it was really quite simple. I'm not sure that I aced it though. I think I might have made a mistake." Everyone rolled their eyes at her comment and dug into the fresh baked goods.
Jadeite paced in front of his door, unsure of what to do. This new "champion" of love and justice had destroyed his first plan to gather energy. Now, coming up with a new plan to gather energy wasn't the problem. He had already put his next plan into action; however, knowing this self-proclaimed champion, he was sure that she would try to thwart his plans again. He dwelled on his enemy a little more before the thought occurred to him. If she was Sailor Moon, she probably knew who the princess was. And, if he was lucky, she might know where the Ginzuishou was hidden as well. At the very least, he'd be gaining crucial energy for his queen. Pleased with his scheme, he left to present it to Beryl. "Appear before me and report of your progress, Jadeite.""My Queen." Jadeite murmured, kneeling.
"Well?"
"My Queen, I have already set in motion my next plan to capture energy. Humans spend ridiculous amounts of energy on an emotion called love. My servant is already on the other side, working to collect energy for the Dark Kingdom.
"And what about this Sailor Moon that thwarted you the last time?"
"I plan to capture or trap her, and force her to tell me anything she might know about the Ginzuishou and the Princess.
"And how do you know that she will know anything?"
"I don't know for sure, however, if she doesn't, then I'll just get rid of her."
"Very well, you may proceed. Now go!"
Usagi was walking home after the Senshi meeting, holding Luna in her arms. "Luna, do you really think that we can beat this Beryl?"
"I'm sure of it, Usagi. You girls have learned to work as a team well which will only help you."
"And what about the new Youma? They're strong, as though they've had time to prepare for us."
"Well, just as you've had time to train before the Youma started attacking, the opposite holds true for Beryl and her forces."
Reaching her house, she unlocked the door and stepped inside, pushing the door shut with her foot. Slipping off her shoes, she walked into the kitchen where her mom was baking. "Hi Usagi-chan, did you have a good day?" Her mother asked, turning around to talk to her daughter.
"Hai, okaa-sama. I think I did well on the English test today."
"Well, I was just baking some cookies so you can have a couple if you'd like."
"Arigato, okaa-sama." Usagi replied cheerily, taking two after letting Luna down. Happily munching on one, she headed upstairs to do her homework.
Luna just shook her head. She might be the Princess, but some things never changed.
Later that night, as she was getting ready for bed, she thought about the radio program she had been listening to recently. It seemed kind of strange, because the station that it played on had claimed no knowledge of such a show. So, naturally, she had voiced her concern about it to her fellow Senshi. Just then, her communicator beeped. Flipping the top open, she saw Minako's face on the screen. "Usagi, meet us outside of the radio station. Ami and Rei are already there, and Makoto and I are heading there now."
"Alright, I'll be there as soon as possible." Minako nodded, and the screen turned black. Snapping shut the small handheld she buttoned her shirt again, and snuck downstairs and out the door with Luna at her heels. Running down to the radio station, she saw the girls there. Staying low, the five senshi snuck past the guard and into the building. Usagi looked at the list of offices, and spotted the Love Line's listing. "Alright, minna, what's the issue?
Rei spoke up. "I had a bad feeling and called Ami. When we got here, I could feel the evil vibes surrounding the building."
"Good job, Rei. I thought something was funky about that show. Alright, let's go kick some ass."
"Yes! Time for some serious butt-kicking." Makoto yelled enthusiastically, running up the stairs.
"Rei, you and Ami block the exit; Makoto, you and I will block the door out of the studio. Usagi, I'm assuming you'll go in first." Minako asked, looking at her Princess.
"Yeah, so let's do this!" Usagi took the lead, passing Makoto on the stairs.
Reaching the office, Usagi burst in, followed by her guardians. Exploding through the studio door, she called out to the listeners. "Stop listening, all of you. He's playing with your hearts. He doesn't know the first thing about love!"
"Who are you?" Jadeite demanded, standing up and knocking the speaker over.
"That doesn't matter, what matters is that I'm here to shut you down." Usagi answered.
Motioning to his servant, he commanded her to destroy this intruder.
Usagi looked up and saw a female youma coming at her. Ducking out the door, she ran past Makoto and Minako, motioning for Makoto to get Rei and Ami, and then took off with Minako following her.
The youma launched an attack at Usagi and Minako, causing them to duck again. Getting up on their feet again, they used the smoke as a cover to transform.
"Moon Prism-Power Make-up!"
"Venus Power Make-up!"
When the smoke cleared, two of the Senshi stood in front of the youma. "You're Moon Dust creep!" Sailor Moon said, as she took her tiara off, and turned it into the disk.
"Venus, now!"
"Venus Crescent," she began.
Sailor Moon started her attack as well. "Moon Tiara."
"Beam!"
"Magic!"
Venus's attack covered the tiara and dusted the Youma.
Jadeite cursed. Another servant destroyed. Looking behind him, he saw the other three scouts. Teleporting away, his voice echoed around the scouts. "I doubt you can beat me."
"Damn it." Rei snapped. "He got away."
"No, something's not right." Ami said, typing away at her computer. "There's still energy all around here."
Usagi agreed. "She's right. Beryl's Generals aren't so easily defeated."
The scouts moved out of the office, worried that something might attack them from inside.
Usagi stood next to Ami, while the others stood in defensive positions. "What's the report, Mercury?"
"The negative energy left by that man is still here."
"You would be correct, Sailor Mercury." Jadeite said, before blasting her from behind.
"Mercury!" Usagi cried out as the scout flew back into the door. Mars, Venus, and Jupiter positioned themselves in front of Sailor Moon.
Mars powered up at the same time Jupiter did, and they combined their attacks.
"Mars Fire Soul!"
"Jupiter Supreme Thunder!"
Their combined attack didn't even reach him before hitting a shield and dissolving.
Venus attacked with her Crescent Beam while standing in front of Usagi, but it was no use. It was just absorbed like the others' attacks.
Usagi, meanwhile, was cradling Ami, whispering. "Oh Ami-chan, I'm sorry."
Ami weakly met her leader's gaze. "It's okay Usagi. I should've seen the power buildup. Now go, the other three aren't faring too well."
Usagi put Ami down and stood up, heading towards the others.
The three conscious guardians suddenly didn't see Jadeite, and started looking for him, still on guard. Despite that, Jadeite still caught all three of them by surprise when he appeared right next to Usagi.
Usagi felt a spacial fluctuation next to her. She looked to her fellow scouts in time to see them blown back into a wall, though Rei and Mako appeared to have taken the brunt of it. Knowing that the Jadeite was very close to her, she tried to head to the girls.
However Jadeite was too quick and Usagi ended up flying into the far wall when Jadeite hit her with a huge amount of energy. The blast sent ripples of pain through her entire body causing her to scream and she slumped against the wall.
"Well, Sailor Moon, I'd say you're in a pretty precarious position." Jadeite smirked at the female soldier, causing her to shudder from the evil that made itself so blatantly known across his face. Placing his hands on either side of her face, Jadeite leaned towards her, trapping Usagi between him and the wall. Grinning still, he knew the Senshi of the Moon was afraid of him. "What do you know of the Ginzuishou?"
Usagi's eyes widened. 'How does he know about it? What do I do? I can't exactly tell him that I'm the Princess. He'd kill me.' Gulping, she mustered her remaining courage and stared him in the eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Jadeite's brows rose. "Really? Well then, I'll just drain your energy and then destroy you." He grabbed her shoulders and Usagi felt her energy streaming out of her and into his hands. Her fuku turned into a flurry of ribbons, and then dissolved into her school uniform.
"No," she whispered, trying to push him away.
Jadeite looked surprised at her uniform before smirking. "Ah, so you're the Senshi of the Moon. It all makes sense now." Stepping away from her, he formed a vicious-looking ball of negative energy. "Good-bye, Sailor Moon." He said calmly, lobbing the ball at her.
Usagi saw the ball coming at her, and braced herself for the pain. But before it contacted, a bright white light enveloped her. Usagi knew what was happening and silently prayed that the Crystal didn't appear.
Jadeite stumbled back, covering his eyes from the brightness that surrounded the Senshi. "What the hell!"
Usagi sent a silent prayer to her mother, Queen Serenity, who was now being worshipped at the moon goddess Selene. 'Please don't let the Crystal appear. If he finds out who I am, I'll never survive.'
'My beloved daughter,' Selene appeared in front of her only. 'The Crystal is simply protecting its master. It won't fall into the hands of the enemy no matter what, for only you can control it. Beryl would have to control you before they could come close to the Crystal.' And as her mother's illusionary body vanished, the Crystal floated out of her chest and her school outfit changed into her princess gown.
Jadeite watched the girl's outfit change and his surprised expression melted into a grin as he saw the crescent moon glowing on her forehead. 'So she's the princess, well, now I know who possesses the Silver Crystal.' Straightening up, he walked towards the princess.
Usagi knew Jadeite had seen her change and was probably telling Beryl his good news, but all she could concentrate on now was protecting the Silver Crystal. She cradled the silver gem in her hands, holding it close to her body as she slipped down the wall to the floor. Just as the crystal started to disappear, a shadow loomed over her. Usagi looked up to see Jadeite standing above her, a truly evil grin on his face.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the long lost Princess Serenity of the Silver Millennium."
Usagi looked down just as the crystal completely disappeared before locking gazes with the general. Placing her hands against the wall behind her, she used it to push herself up to a semi-standing position.
"I don't care who you are, I just know that you're after the Crystal for some nefarious reason. Well guess what? You're not going to get it. Ever."
The blond haired fourth general shook his head, a smirk stretching across his face. "I'm not sure you understand what this means, Princess." His shadow covered Usagi, making the young woman shiver. "You see," Jadeite grinned evilly, "I know who you are now. And I'm more than willing to use that to my advantage. Not only do I know who you really are, but I know your secret identity. There's no way you can ever escape from me now. You're mine."
Usagi backed as tightly as she could into the wall, putting as much space as possible between her and the dirty blond haired man. "You're insane," she hissed.
He laughed. "I may be, but it doesn't matter what I am. What matters is that if you want your friends to live, you'll meet me tomorrow at Tokyo Tower."
The former princess of the Silver Millennium gaped at the Dark General in horror. "Excuse me?" She drew on all her memories of her mother and drew herself up to her full height- small as it was. "Who do you think you're making demands of?" Using a backbone that had been developed over the last few years- she had once been a crybaby, but no longer- she snapped at the General. "I'm more powerful than you could possibly be."
Jadeite's lips thinned and suddenly Usagi was pinned against the wall, his body pressed flush against hers. "I don't think you should be making threats. I'll say it once more- be at Tokyo Tower tomorrow at noon. Otherwise, your blonde-haired friend might not recover."
The moon princess blushed at the feeling of his body against hers before turning her head. Looking at Minako, the royal daughter saw that her blonde twin was bleeding freely from her temple. "Oh my God."
Jadeite smirked. "Precisely." He backed off and I collapsed to my knees, all strength gone. "I'll see you tomorrow, Princess." He bowed mockingly and disappeared.
She just knelt there numbly, not sure what to do.