Call Virgo Cordilia or Miriam or Kaijin
When Princess Selenity dismissed chaos to its rightful place, she thought it would stay there. The thing is, chaos doesn't like to be trapped where it's supposed to be, and soon it was out again. Chaos has once again collected itself, but it has learned this time. It remembers its original mistake, and so seals Galaxia away in a mirror lost ages ago on the moon. Its second mistake was letting the senshi have a hope of fighting it. That was easily remedied. No longer hindered by a senshi's will and body, it goes by, pulling the henshin powers from each soldier and sending them to a system of eternal darkness. Only two figures retain their right to transform, but even they cannot help. They have been corrupted, and now serve the chaos. Thousands of shadows begin attacking the planets, destroying everything. With no powers to protect them, the senshi fall, one by one. In desperation, the Starlights return to Earth for help, and resume their former positions as Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki.
Unbeknownst to chaos, however, all the henshin powers are separating and recombining to create ten stars. These stars must travel through to senshi made of the solar system. They must find the ten senshi that never lost their powers, and enter their bodies, making their powers unbelievably stronger. Already the other planets have been dismissed and everything is centered on Earth. The final showdown is to take place here, and if it is lost, there will be no survivors.
Inside the mirror Galaxia is able to watch the system's plan start into action. However, the last star is lost, and unable to find the senshi it needs. If it doesn't find the solitary soldier of reflection, made long ago and whose life depends on a mirror, the plan might not work. If her powers remain based in that mirror, the same one Galaxia is sealed in, she will die, and that would be the breaking point to kill every other senshi.
It must hurry. Already the Earth is suffering, a fact well known by a man named Chiba Mamouru.
1-A new evil! Senshi lose their henshin. The wind whispers untold futures as a dark light creeps over a woman with long blonde hair pulled up in two buns. The darkness settles into her brooch. In her sleep, the girl's dreams of happiness turn into nightmares of her past. A brilliant white light that embraces everything flies out of her brooch and heads to another solar system far away.
A doctor with short blue hair pulled back by silver barrettes is giving her patient a shot, so neither notices her crystal, light blue, leaving her body.
A priestess is praying in front of a fire. Her hair is tied back, braided, so it does not ignite. She sees a vision of bright lights in a galaxy so dark that even they do not light it up, and her crystal, red, goes there as well.
"Here you go ma'am." The woman wipes her hands off and sets to work baking more cinnamon rolls. Her green eyes seem to laugh as her chestnut colored ponytail whips some flour onto the floor. As she bends over to wipe it up, a bright green crystal flies out of her back to join the other crystals.
The pretty suited sailor soldier of love and justice, Sailor V dies and the words 'Game Over' flash on the screen as a cell phone rings. The newest idol sighs, and clicks on the phone. So intent is she on her conversation that she never notices the pale orange crystal brushing past her blonde hair.
"Butterfly!" A teenager of about 18 is playing in a field, chasing butterflies. She has short black hair and violet eyes. When a purple light surrounds her, she stops and watches as a new butterfly flits across the field and into the sky.
The aqua-marine glow of a violinist also turns into a butterfly and leaves. She sees it from the corner of her eye, but continues playing for her audience.
The guardian of time is standing outside the gate when she disappears. She reappears in the field and looks around, seeing her old friend. When her butterfly leaves, she chases after it, but is unable to capture it. She sees a woman with getting out of a car and runs towards her.
The woman getting out of her car stops as she sees her friend rushing toward her. Suddenly her friend pulls out a staff, and the woman ducks. The sound of glass breaking fills the air. The young woman looks up and sees the shards of a crystal floating in front of her. A sort of warmth enters her as the energy from the crystal returns, and the shards fade away.
A man turns over in bed with a hacking cough. His crystal has left a long time ago, leaving his body weak and in pain.
Three senshi appear in what, many years ago, was their room. Suddenly three stars leave their bodies and disappear. The next moment the idols Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten, are standing alone.
Setsuna looks worried. A meeting of the past senshi is needed. .................................................................
"So a weird light left all of us?" Usagi was unusually quiet. She held her brooch, repeatedly opening and closing it. She had noticed this morning that its previous light had gone out. Suddenly they heard screams. Rushing outside they found what looked like a senshi dressed all in black attacking several tourists. "Sailor Shadow!" It cried out, and it sent a blast at the group of former senshi. "Mercury Crystal Power!" "Mars Crystal Power!" "Venus Crystal Power!" "Jupiter Crystal Power!" "Neptune Planet Power!" "Uranus Planet Power!" "Pluto Planet Power!" "Saturn Planet Power!" "Moon Eternal-" The ten voices joined for the last words. "Make-UP!" Then came three different voices. "Don't bother. Your henshin are gone." True to their word, the group remained untransformed except... "Uranus! Since the rest of us can't transform, don't you think you'd better attack?" Michiru's voice broke through Haruka's haze. "World Shaking!" The so-called 'Sailor Shadow' disappeared, and a star seed appeared. The star seed immediately broke and a strange dark energy flew out of it.
"A phage?" Usagi turned to look at the Starlights. "Do you know what's going on?" "No. Uranus is the only senshi in the galaxy that we've seen whose powers weren't taken away" Seiya sighed. "Our princess sent us here while she continued to protect her people. She said that this is where the world would happen and we needed to try to help." "Hmmm... Mamo-chan fell sick and went into a state of unconsciousness a few months ago. We haven't been able to help him," Rei pondered aloud. Usagi looks up at Seiya. "Maybe you could meet us all in America. We'll be vacationing there for a few months." The Starlights looked at her. "Well, I'm thinking of moving there for a while so..." The Starlights nodded. "Hai."
2-Light Up the Night! A Shining Star Arrives! Himeno Hikari, a 14 year old girl with straight brown hair barely past shoulder length and brown eyes, raised her shotgun and aimed it at the huge, ugly monster that stood at the other end of the hallway.
"Sssttaarrrsss," it growled at her, then raised the rocket launcher it was holding onto its shoulder. "I'll beat you this time!" Kari yelled. After a few shots, the rocket launcher finally exploded.
Behind her, Aino Minako screamed. Minako was the newest idol, the legendary senshi Sailor V, and the person who had adopted Kari about a month ago without knowing what she was getting herself into. Kari had learned more about her and her friends in that time than that psychotic stalker ever would.
"You should have knocked," she said calmly, not taking her eyes off the screen. Minako, soaked and still standing in the doorway, was extremely annoyed. This wasn't the first time Kari had set a water balloon above the door to fall on anyone who dared to open it, also known as her "security system".
"How many times do have I t-" The monster suddenly ran at Kari. "Hey! You cheater!" "Kari! Listen to me for once!" If she had heard Minako, she showed no signs of it. Minako sighed. "Hino's on the phone."
Okibino Hinotama, more commonly known as Hino, was Hikari's best friend and always had been as far as either of them could remember. She had long black hair and dark red eyes. She was a talented guitarist and a strategic planner.
Minako tossed the phone at Kari. "Catch." She managed to turn and catch it, but when she turned back the words "YOU DIED" appeared on the screen in big, red letters. Upset over once again being defeated by the monster, Kari exited the game.
"What?" she said coldly into the phone. "That's a great way to answer the phone, Kari. I prefer 'moshimoshi', though. It works better." "What do you want Hino-chan?" "Well, I want to go to the arcade, but I obviously can't beat all your high scores without you being there to see it." "You? Beating my scores? I wouldn't count on it." "I would." "See you there then." "Ja ne."
She hung up the phone and immediately started for the door. She didn't reach it before Minako spotted her, though. "Where are you going?" she demanded. "Out," Kari called over her shoulder and hurried out the door before Minako could even think of responding.
* * * *
Hinotama was already playing the Sailor V game when Kari arrived. She had taken all of five minutes to get to the arcade and already Hino had started playing games! It was amazing how impatient she was.
Kari glanced at the screen. "Your not even close to my high score, Hino- chan." "Oh yeah? Watch this, Kari-chan!" With that Hino started firing as fast as she could. Not fast enough, it seemed. A few seconds later the words "GAME OVER" flashed on the screen. Kari laughed out loud. "It worked last time," Hino muttered.
"So, are you ready to go to America?" she asked, trying to change the subject of her failure. "Do honestly think I'll ever be ready for a vacation of rabid fans and psycho stalkers?" Kari hadn't wanted to go and only agreed because Minako told her Hino could come. "It can't be that bad." "You have no idea."
Finally, after a few hours, Hino said she had to leave. Kari checked her watch. It was 9:00. She decided it was time for her to leave, too.
She found the streets silent and deserted. As Kari strolled toward her house, she stared up at the full moon, absentmindedly fingering the star- shaped crystal in her pocket. She had found it only two days ago, just lying on the ground, and had become a bit attached to it. It was the size of her fist, clear as glass, and lighter than a feather.
Suddenly a sailor senshi, dressed completely in black, appeared in front of her. "Sailor Shadow!" it cried, sending the usual blast toward Kari. She reflexively held her arms in front of her in a useless attempt to block it, there was no way she could dodge, and squeezed her eyes shut.
A few seconds pasted before she even dared to open her eyes. When she did, she found she was still holding the crystal. It was emitting a bright light. Kari stared at it a moment before looking back up at the phage. It seemed to be shocked and, strangely, afraid. She ran and didn't stop until she was in the house with the door locked.
In the shadows, a black kitten with bright green eyes watched this. "That must be her," it whispered to itself, sprinting down the street in the direction Kari had gone.
* * * *
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" "What?" Minako asked. Kari glanced out the window, then took a moment to calm herself down before answering. "That thing! It said 'Sailor Shadow' or something like that."
Minako looked worried. "A phage. They've been appearing all over and attacking people." "Can't you and your friends kill them or something?" She shook her head. "It's not that simple. We have to find the source of them, but even if we do there's not much we can do about it." Kari had forgotten that almost all the senshi's henshin were gone, so they couldn't transform.
Sighing, she walked past Minako and into her room, only to find a black kitten sitting on her bed. The kitten had bright green eyes and a golden star on her forehead. "How'd you get in here?" Kari asked, not really expecting an answer.
She did answer, though. "You left the window open," she said. This surprised Kari, but not as much as it would've sommeone else. This wasn't the first talking cat she had ever seen.
"What do you want?" she asked uncertainly. "Well, that's a long story, but you don't need to know everything at the moment. You've obviously seen those phages-" Kari interrupted her. "If that's what this is about, then you should talk to Minako, not me." "I'm pretty sure I'm talking to the right person. Let me explain. My name is Gemini. I'm here to find one of the sailor senshi. I've been watching you for a while now. I wasn't sure, but after that stunt you pulled." She trailed off. "What stunt?" Kari demanded. "If you mean that thing at school last week, I didn't mean to do it. I-" "Not that," Gemini said, looking annoyed, "But I know you did that on purpose. I meant that stunt with the crystal! That was very dangerous! What did you do that for anyway?"
Kari pulled the crystal she had used against the phage earlier out of her pocket and examined it "You mean with this? I should probably ask Minako about that." "The senshi I'm looking for, Sailor Star, is the only person who can use that crystal." A moment passed in silence. "You must have figured out who that is by now," Gemini said.
Kari still wasn't convinced. "How do you know she's the only one who can use it? Has anyone else ever tried?" Gemini hesitated before answering. "Well.no, but.I know you're the only one who can use it. And you're still stubborn, as always." "Prove it, then." "Fine. I will. Hold up that crystal and say 'Star Crystal Power'."
Kari did as she was told, holding up the crystal and saying, "Star Crystal Power! Make-UP!" It worked. A moment later she was wearing an outfit similar to the other senshi's. It had a yellow collar and skirt, white gloves lined with light blue that cover her forearm, but stopped at her wrist, and short white boots, also lined with blue, that had a yellow star centered at the top of each of them. The crystal took the place of the brooch, but there were no bows anywhere on the outfit. As for the tiara, she didn't have one, but there was a golden star, identical to Gemini's, on her forehead. She let out a startled shriek as she realized this.
* * * *
Minako heard the shriek coming from Kari's room and, thinking something bad had happened given the previous events of the evening, dashed into the room, only to find Kari in her fuku and Gemini sitting on the bed with a triumphant look on her face.
"Told you," the kitten gloated, but Kari's attention was elsewhere. "Umm. hi Minako. What brings you here?" "Two things, actually. One, you were screaming and two, I live here." "I was not screaming!" she protested, adding, "I was shrieking." "Same thing."
* * * *
"She has awakened," Sepens observed. An evil grin crossed his face. This was what he was waiting for. It was finally time to find out which side Sailor Star was on.
* * * *
The next night, Kari went out with Gemini looking for one of the phages that were attacking people. Much to Gemini's dismay, she had already transformed.
"When you see a phage, just shooting 'Shooting Star' to defeat it," Gemini told her for what must have been the hundredth time. "I know, I know," Sailor Star replied, rolling her eyes. "I think they're asleep. I haven't seen one yet." The moment she said that, though, a phage appeared in front of them. "Sailor Shadow!" it cried, but before it could send it's usually blast at them, Sailor Star yelled "Shooting Star!" A bright white ball of fire materialized in front of her and flew at the phage, incinerating it on contact.
She said nothing for a few moments, then, "Do you think another one will come if we stay here?" "No," Gemini answered. "Come on, we're not finished yet." She started walking, Sailor Star obediently following.
Sepens watched this from the shadows. It was obvious she didn't know what she was doing. That meant she probably didn't know what was going on. It also meant she would be easier to convince.
* * * *
Kari woke in the middle of the night with the strangest feeling that someone was watching her. Reaching over, she turned on a lamp on her dresser. Sure enough, there was a guy standing in one corner of the room. He had short, dark blue hair, blue eyes the same shade, and looked like he couldn't be more than two years older than her.
Sepens smiled as she noticed him. "My name is Sepens," he told her. "And I have something to offer you." "What?" she asked. "How did you get in here?" There was defiantly something bad about him. Evil even. "Let me explain. Have you ever heard of the Sailor Wars?" Kari was suspicious and confused. "No." He nodded. "That's what I thought. The Sailor Wars are a series of wars, all of which involve the sailor senshi. These wars have been going on ever since the senshi appeared and are still going on today." "And you're point is?" "I'm part of a group that wants to stop these wars," he told her, "and we need your help."
Act 3: Another attack! Usagi's younger sister When you first enter the orphanage you look around and smile. All around are children playing and building friendships, ignorant to the fact that many of their parents abandoned them. It takes several minutes to notice the small group of teenagers by the fence. In fact, if their presence wasn't so strong, no one would notice at all. They never seem to move from that spot where none of the cameras can see.
At first this worried the nurses taking care of them. It wasn't right for two or three children to just sit there. However, after a time they were forgotten about, and when inquiries were made, the adoptors were carefully diverted to other more. normal or less disturbing children.
The group was rather interesting. It had all started with the young girl. No one knew how old she was, because she never seemed to age. She had been there for almost ten years. When she first arrived she was quiet, shy, scared, and above all, your average child. At the timed she had seemed about seven. At least, that's what her behavior suggested. She could have been anywhere from seven to sixteen. Each person perceived her differently somehow.
The day she came there had been a terrific storm. Her hair had been brown and her eyes were a dull blue. Mud coated her body, and she was soaked to the bone. She was immediately placed in the shower. Her name was Kage.
Now with the dirt out of her she had long blonde hair. It sparkled really, and at the beginning had been part of what attracted the older boys in the place to her. Her eyes were another. The dullness left with the dirt, revealing sparkling blue eyes. One might even suggest that they were violet at times.
The last thing about her that attracted the boys, and everyone else for that matter, was the cheerful air that surrounded her. Although she never said more than was necessary, when you talked to her, you were left with the impression that she genuinely liked you and was concerned about your happiness. She was the one that held her small group together. She was never left alone until the other girls came.
Several girls had gone through the small group, but only two others ever remained. One was a teenager named Kaji. It was commonly assumed that what had originally brought the two girls together was their similar name. Other than that they were at odds with each other. Kaji had black hair she left tied in a long braid. Her eyes were a startling green. Her parents had recently visited Japan when they had her. Barely a year came the storm that had turned up Kage. Both her parents died in it. No one knew what had happened to Kage's parents.
While Kage was polite but didn't speak very much, Kaji was prone to lengthy conversations. She wasn't really rude, but she was far from polite and very sarcastic.
The other member of the group was a girl about five years old. She had been brought in by her mother (only fourteen herself) and was immediately taken in by Kage's group. Although her real name was Maria, after a long discussion, it was decided that she would be called Keahi Tiana. Only they ever understood why she was named that, although previous to the decision both girls could be found in the library using the internet connection to its fullest. *** Fourteen years after Kaji came into the group, all the employees' efforts to keep the girls from being noticed by potential parents failed. A woman with graying blue hair (which was a bad sign in itself) started it.
The woman brought in a man of about twenty. (He was obviously a son or friend. There was no way she was anywhere near that age.) Immediately after coming in they discovered Kaehi. Kaehi, being only five, brought the odd couple to meet her 'moms'. The rest was, as they say, history.
All three disappeared from the center that day. Kage was the only one adopted, supposedly because she looked so much like the man's sister had when she was younger. The man's name was Shingo.
***
Kage frowned and adjusted her skirt. Her 'mom' said that she would be more comfortable in it, but it was just another annoyance to deal with when she was meeting her older sister. She had never worn a skirt before. 'Wearing a skirt is for them streetluts.' Within minutes she found a pair of pants that were, if a bit tight fitting, comfortable. 'Pants like this are too, but at least I've got a bit of something around my legs. I can run away from the Suits if I need to.'
Flipping through the closet she found a shimmering black tank top and hurriedly put it on. Now she was almost ready to meet Usani? Usagi? She shrugged and pulled on a pair of sneakers from her older sister's closet and checked herself out in the mirror. 'Well, if I ever need to make some quick money all I gots to do is wear a bit of makeup and those boots over there.' She shook her head at the thought and ran down stairs to meet her waiting 'mom'.
***
"Usagi's friend Minako has a younger sister about your age. She was adopted too, so you two have something in common. Her name's Kari. Your names sound similar even." Kage's 'mom' smiled, so she smiled back despite the reminder of her home at the orphanage with the other girl whose name was similar to hers. 'Kaji.' The van stopped. "Well, here we are! Have a good time Kage!" Kage climbed out and slammed the door to make sure it closed. As the van drove off, she began her climb up the steps of the temple they were all supposedly meeting at.
***
'Eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven, achtundachtzig, nuenundachtzig. How many steps are there in this place?' Finally she was nearing the top of the stairs, and she could hear voices.
"Have you met her yet?" "No." "What's her name?" "Mom said it was Kage." "You guys don't have to worry about talking and making nice to her. I'll bring her with me to the arcade." Kage had finally reached the top and could see that the last sentence was spoken by a girl about her age. 'That must be Kari.' They noticed her.
"Kage?" She nodded to her sister. She recognized her from the pictures hanging on the wall at her 'home'. Kage smiled, falling back into the old routine easily. "You must be Usagi." She stepped forward. "I'm glad to meet you. You sure did pick a hard meeting place to get to though!" She laughed and gestured towards the stairs. "Would you mind introducing me to your friends?" Usagi nodded, apparently satisfied with her adopted sister's pleasant attitude. "This is Rei, Makoto, Ami, and Minako." She pointed at four ladies in turn. "And Yaten, Taiki, Seiya, Setunsa, Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru." Minako pushed Kari forward. "This is my little sister. Her name's Kari." Kari glared at Minako, then turned and grinned. "Hi! Do you want to go to the arcade? Don't worry; we won't have to walk back down those steps." She pulled out a large plastic garbage can lid. "We can sit on this and ride down!" Every one groaned except for Kage, who returned the grin. "Sure!"
***
"So where did you come from? Before you went to the home I mean." "I lived in Germany for a while before my parents took me to Japan and then here. They died several years ago during a storm." Kari could see that Kage was hiding something, but didn't say anything. "I've got the highest score on all the games here except for those two." She pointed to a set of games about twenty years old. "The one on the right is a dancing game, and the other is martial arts. Both have you actually doing it." Kage studied them for a moment before walking over to the martial arts and slipping in a few quarters, ignoring the out-of-order sign. In front of her a person all in black appeared. Kage watched Kari playing an old game called Crazy Taxi for a second before returning to the battle.
Her opponent was wearing a skirt, leotard, gloves, and a tiara. 'Whoever designed this really has some issues.' They raised an eyebrow at her and dropped into a fighting stance. Before she could press start they threw something at her. She didn't have time for any reaction other than ducking. 'So that's what it means by out of order.' She frowned and pictured the figure as a guy wearing leather pants and a spiked dog collar. "Well, what do we have here? She crouched down and swung her leg underneath it, surprised when she actually connected with something. A foot slammed down where her hand had just been. "A couple dollars is good enough for this one. Keep a good reign on her hair." She backed up enough to avoid its next attack and hit the wall. It ran towards her. "I own you! You don't leave unless I sell you to a guy as his personal slave, got it?" A blast of something hit her midsection as her fist hit its jaw. They both fell back "What the hell are you doing? What- Shit!" A familiar sensation surrounded her as the thing threw another burst of energy. Violet lightning hit the boy and sparkled around him. The thing's breath faltered and died. It was still there, bringing her suddenly back out of the memory. Kari was running up, probably alerted by the screams from around the arcade.
"Star Crystal Power! Make-UP!" Kage edged towards the entrance as she watched Kari transform into a fuku resembling her former opponent's. She bumped into a man standing and watching. He seemed to be the only other one there. He bowed. "Excuse me. I should have been watching where I was going," he mouthed the last word, but she saw it anyway. "princess." She turned away, confused. He felt like good and evil all mixed together to her. To her surprise, Kari felt blank. 'What the hell am I doing thinking about what people feel like? I haven't done that since right after him.' She shook her head and ran. What happened to Kari didn't concern her; looking out for only yourself was something you learned quickly on the street. Still, she felt a bit of guilt for it. 'Please be safe.' She rerouted herself to come in through the back entrance of the arcade. 'Damn.' She was getting soft.
***
"World Shaking!" "Shooting Star!" The thing disappeared, leaving two people in its place. She recognized them as Kari and Haruka. "Another phage." "Yeah. This one was stronger. It was weird though. Kage must have fought it because it was already pretty beat up." "She was an orphan, right?" "Yea." "That's probably why." They turned and walked back towards the temple after transforming out of their fukus. Kage ran to get there before them, not notice the man still watching her. 'Good-bye princess. I'll be seeing you again soon.' He turned to follow Kari.
Act 4:Bring On the Night
"Tell me again, why do you need me?"
Serpens rolled his eyes, but nevertheless repeated himself.
"'Cause
you have the power to stop the Sailor Wars. You're one of most
powerful senshi I've seen. The few who are more powerful than you
don't seem keen on making appearances, if they're here."
He glanced
at Kari, then mumbled to himself so quietly that she couldn't
hear, "And if they're even a match for you anymore."
"But how do I know you're telling the truth?" Kari asked
suspiciously. "What if this is all part of some big evil
plot?"
Serpens laughed. "I guess you don't, but that doesn't
prove anything."
Kari shrugged and resigned to the fact that that was probably the
best answer she would be getting out of him anytime soon. That was
all right though. She had plenty of other questions to ask. "Why
can't I tell anyone about you?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "Let's just say your kitten
and I aren't
on the best terms at the moment."
"Alright," Kari said shrugging, "Just one more thing.
What else can I
do?"
* * * *
Silently, Kari crept down the hallway toward her room. She glanced at
her watch. It was nearly 2:00a.m.
"Kari? Is that you?" Someone asked.
"No."
"I'm standing right here."
She spun around to find Minako standing behind her, an all too
familiar annoyed look on her face. "Oh."
"Yeah," Minako replied. "Where were you?"
"I was.umm.just.uh.going for a walk," Kari
said, doing her best to
look truthful. However, Minako was not convinced.
"No you weren't," she protested, "It doesn't take
three hours to take
a walk."
"Can we not do this now? I'm kinda tired," said Kari,
wondering if
Minako ever slept, and quickly shut herself in her room. A light
under the bedroom door told Minako Kari was not tired at all, but she
was too exhausted to argue anymore, and decided to get some much
needed sleep.
* * * *
Brriiiiiiiinng. Minako groaned and rolled over, wondering who wanted
to torture her like this. Brriiiiiiiinng. She reached over and picked
up phone. "Moshimoshi?"
"Konichiwa, Minako!" the voice on the other line answered
cheerfully. "Can I speak to Kari-chan?"
"Sure, Hino," she said. "KARI! PHONE!" No answer.
"HIMENO HIKARI!
EITHER GET OVER HERE OR PICK UP THE OTHER PHONE!" Still no
answer.
Fuming, Minako forced herself to get up and trudge down the hall to
Kari's room. "KARI!" She banged on the door as hard as
she could
without breaking it, but again got no answer. Pulling open the door,
she found the room was empty. Kari had left.
* * * *
Yet another phage stared at the sailor senshi that stood before
it. "Sailor Shadow!" The blast was headed strait for Sailor
Star, but
she didn't even bother to dodge. "Star Crystal Power!"
The crystal
that took the place of her brooch, which was no longer clear, but a
light blue color, began to glow. In seconds the attack
dissipated. "Supernova!" A bright flash of light momentarily
blinded
the phage and, before it could even comprehend what had happened, the
senshi was behind it. "Shooting Star!" Just as before the
attack
finished it off, incinerating the phage on contact.
"What did you do that for?" Serpens asked, stepping out of
the
shadows where he had been watching the fight. "It'll be
difficult
finding another phage for you to practice on."
"They're just too easy to beat," Sailor Star complained,
"Is there
anything else, like maybe a yoma or something? At least something
harder to beat than a phage?" Serpens just smiled. "Nope.
It's the
phages or nothing. At least for now."
**** Everything around him was dark, and his ragged breathing was very near deafening. A scream started up behind him causing him to whirl around. No one was there. "Hello?" It was a girl's voice. She sounded much as his Usako had sounded in the nightmares Galaxia had induced. "Who are you?" He turned to try once more to find the source of the voice, but still couldn't see anyone. "You can hear me, right?" He nodded then cried out. His arm was bleeding. "You really should get out. They're all around you and trying to get even closer now that they've got a taste." Her voice was ignored this time however, as he was consumed by the blackness.
**** "Rei, you've got to help him. He's going to be eaten at this rate." Rei's head snapped up to look in the fire, but she only saw the same black that'd been there since Mamouru got sick. "He is the black. The earth is black." Rei glanced behind her, but the door was still open and showing an empty courtyard. "Who are you?" The voice didn't reply. "Answer me!" Nothing moved, and soon she bowed her head once more in prayer. "Wake up now. It's time for everyone to wake up."
**** Kage woke up and screamed.
**** "Mamo-chan, please be alright. You're in America right now. Minako said she might be able to find a doctor for you. I've got a little sister too. She looks a lot like me, and she seems really nice." Usagi sighed. "Please wake up Mamo-chan. Everyone's lost their powers, and we need you. I need you."
Act 5: DINGDONGDINGDONG DONGDINGDINGDONG
School let out and a rush of girls ran into the sunshine. Trailing behind the rest was a fourteen-year-old girl with long blue hair and pale gray eyes. "Happy birthday to me." she sang softly to herself. "Hey Miz! Wait up!" She turned around and laughed quietly as a boy carrying what looked like a million balloons rushed towards her. "Jay! What's all that for." He rolled his eyes and thrust the balloons into her hand. "You, bakka. It is your birthday today, right?" She nodded and smiled. Jay was her only friend, but could always be counted on to make her feel like she had thirty more friends every time he was around. Right now he was walking backwards in front of her, and it wasn't until too late that she realized he was going to run into something. She cried out, but he was already falling back into the bench, and into an unsuspecting girl's lap. The balloons went flying away, but no one noticed. "Gomen ne! I should have been paying more atten." Mizu laughed. Jay never had been good at speaking to girls (other than her) and this girl wasn't making it any easier by staring at him. Then her gaze turned to Mizu, and she saw just why Jay was having trouble. The girl was smiling, but it was a little scary; like seeing a villain from a book smile because you knew they weren't smiling because they liked you. "It's alright. My name's Kaji. You're Virgo aren't you?" Mizu stammered, "Ummm, I'm not quite sure what you mean. My sign of the zodiac is Virgo, but-" Kaji waved away the questions in the teens' eyes and grabbed Mizu, pulling her toward the cemetery. "I need to talk to you now." Another smile, although this one was a bit nicer. "I live right next to the beach with a friend." She called over her shoulder, "Don't worry-she'll be back in an hour or so." They left him standing there all alone. It was the last time anyone saw Jay Moore alive. *** When they reached the ocean, Mizu wrenched her arm out of the older girl's grasp. "What did you mean by 'Virgo?'" Kaji frowned and pulled out a red wand with a strange silver symbol in it. She whispered something and suddenly was surrounded in light. When the light died down, Mizu was standing next to a girl wearing a short red skirt and a silver leotard. "I am Sailor Celestial, and you are Sailor Virgo." Mizu backed away. "Long ago there was a beautiful kingdom on the moon. This age was called the Silver Millennium, and peace reigned throughout the galaxies. Unfortunately, a force called chaos began working to destroy our harmony. It was sealed into the body of a sailor soldier, Galaxia. It began to consume her, and brought evil, like Queen Beryl, Pharoh 90, and Queen Nehelenia to Earth."
"What happened to the moon kingdom?"
Kaji sighed. "Sorry, I forgot to tell that part, didn't I?" Mizu nodded. "The queen of the moon, Selenity, had two daughters, although the rest of the galaxy only knew of one. She was Princess Selenity, who now lives here as a girl named Usagi Tsukino. The moon was attacked, and in a last effort to save her kingdom and daughters, our queen sent everyone to earth to be reborn. Princess Selenity was reborn with the powers to become a senshi so she could fight for earth with her guardians, Sailor Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, and Uranus. The princess became Sailor Moon, and her love is now Tuxedo Kamen.
"On the other side of the moon lived the second princess of the moon, who wasn't even supposed to exist. She was hidden from the universe in hopes of protecting her. She too had guardians, who never should have existed either. Their names were Sailor Aquarius, Celestial, Virgo, and Aries. She also had two dear friends who served as guardians as well, Sailor Star and Sailor Mirai. These two were perhaps the most powerful of her protectors. All of us would sacrifice ourselves in a second to save our princess. We were sent to earth as well, and now we have to find each other again and search for our princess. Chaos, which Sailor Moon dispelled several years ago, is back, and took the other senshi's powers. We have to be the ones to destroy it and save the world this time. We need you."
Mizu backed up again, shaking her head. "This is a real nice joke and all, but even if it was true-I'm not sacrificing my life for some princess I don't even know. You don't even know her! Jay was right-I shouldn't have gone with you."
She was about to walk away when Kaji threw something at her. "Keep it. If you get into trouble, say Virgo Make-Up." She smirked. "And if you change your mind, you can come to my apartment since you won't be able to go home for a while." With that, Kaji started to jog back towards an apartment complex. Mizu thought for a second before running back to find Jay. He'd have a field day with this. *** "Hey, listen. I don't have any money with me, so why don't you go talk to someone else," Jay said to the thing standing in front of him. It hissed and lunged toward him. He tried to dodge its attack, but tripped. Before he knew what was happening, it was on top of him, powering up an attack. It ripped his throat out, and he had a vague picture of Mizu running in screaming, but then everything was black, so none of it mattered anymore, because it was quiet. So, so quiet. *** "Virgo Make-UP!" The thing Kaji had tossed to her glowed and surrounded her with a water filled wind. Not waiting for it to die down, she screamed the first thing the popped into her head. "Ice storm!" The water surrounding her froze and shot at the figure getting off of Jay's bloodied form. The thing was quickly encased in a blanket of ice. Sailor Virgo reached up, and found what looked vaguely like a gun. She aimed, fired, and missed. She collapsed saying, "I can't do it."
"Shooting star!" A ball of fire hit the ice, destroying both it and the thing inside. Mizu looked up to see another senshi watching her with a slight smile on her face. This one's smile looked genuine, however it was somehow worse that Kaji's. She ran, detransforming as she went and not noticing that the gun she'd dropped had disappeared. She was almost to her house when she realized it. "She was right-I can't go back." The things that killed Jay surrounded the house, throwing energy and leaping up to claw at the walls. They killed a boy who stopped to help while she hid in the basement. No help would come, and if it did they would kill it. A window broke and they came streaming in, destroying anything in their path. They came steadily closer and closer to the fake wall she had set up where she was hiding and waiting for them to come. Her path changed abruptly to the beach. Avoiding the more quiet sections of town, she quickly lost herself in crowds. An hour of dodging and looping back, she found herself in front of a door knocking. Kaji opened it and nodded, seeing the girl's state. Mizu followed her in, crying. *** "Gemini, I saw another senshi today. It looked like her boyfriend or something just got killed.I feel kind of sorry for her." She grinned. "But, if the senshi keep showing up like this, I won't need to worry about looking!"
When Princess Selenity dismissed chaos to its rightful place, she thought it would stay there. The thing is, chaos doesn't like to be trapped where it's supposed to be, and soon it was out again. Chaos has once again collected itself, but it has learned this time. It remembers its original mistake, and so seals Galaxia away in a mirror lost ages ago on the moon. Its second mistake was letting the senshi have a hope of fighting it. That was easily remedied. No longer hindered by a senshi's will and body, it goes by, pulling the henshin powers from each soldier and sending them to a system of eternal darkness. Only two figures retain their right to transform, but even they cannot help. They have been corrupted, and now serve the chaos. Thousands of shadows begin attacking the planets, destroying everything. With no powers to protect them, the senshi fall, one by one. In desperation, the Starlights return to Earth for help, and resume their former positions as Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki.
Unbeknownst to chaos, however, all the henshin powers are separating and recombining to create ten stars. These stars must travel through to senshi made of the solar system. They must find the ten senshi that never lost their powers, and enter their bodies, making their powers unbelievably stronger. Already the other planets have been dismissed and everything is centered on Earth. The final showdown is to take place here, and if it is lost, there will be no survivors.
Inside the mirror Galaxia is able to watch the system's plan start into action. However, the last star is lost, and unable to find the senshi it needs. If it doesn't find the solitary soldier of reflection, made long ago and whose life depends on a mirror, the plan might not work. If her powers remain based in that mirror, the same one Galaxia is sealed in, she will die, and that would be the breaking point to kill every other senshi.
It must hurry. Already the Earth is suffering, a fact well known by a man named Chiba Mamouru.
1-A new evil! Senshi lose their henshin. The wind whispers untold futures as a dark light creeps over a woman with long blonde hair pulled up in two buns. The darkness settles into her brooch. In her sleep, the girl's dreams of happiness turn into nightmares of her past. A brilliant white light that embraces everything flies out of her brooch and heads to another solar system far away.
A doctor with short blue hair pulled back by silver barrettes is giving her patient a shot, so neither notices her crystal, light blue, leaving her body.
A priestess is praying in front of a fire. Her hair is tied back, braided, so it does not ignite. She sees a vision of bright lights in a galaxy so dark that even they do not light it up, and her crystal, red, goes there as well.
"Here you go ma'am." The woman wipes her hands off and sets to work baking more cinnamon rolls. Her green eyes seem to laugh as her chestnut colored ponytail whips some flour onto the floor. As she bends over to wipe it up, a bright green crystal flies out of her back to join the other crystals.
The pretty suited sailor soldier of love and justice, Sailor V dies and the words 'Game Over' flash on the screen as a cell phone rings. The newest idol sighs, and clicks on the phone. So intent is she on her conversation that she never notices the pale orange crystal brushing past her blonde hair.
"Butterfly!" A teenager of about 18 is playing in a field, chasing butterflies. She has short black hair and violet eyes. When a purple light surrounds her, she stops and watches as a new butterfly flits across the field and into the sky.
The aqua-marine glow of a violinist also turns into a butterfly and leaves. She sees it from the corner of her eye, but continues playing for her audience.
The guardian of time is standing outside the gate when she disappears. She reappears in the field and looks around, seeing her old friend. When her butterfly leaves, she chases after it, but is unable to capture it. She sees a woman with getting out of a car and runs towards her.
The woman getting out of her car stops as she sees her friend rushing toward her. Suddenly her friend pulls out a staff, and the woman ducks. The sound of glass breaking fills the air. The young woman looks up and sees the shards of a crystal floating in front of her. A sort of warmth enters her as the energy from the crystal returns, and the shards fade away.
A man turns over in bed with a hacking cough. His crystal has left a long time ago, leaving his body weak and in pain.
Three senshi appear in what, many years ago, was their room. Suddenly three stars leave their bodies and disappear. The next moment the idols Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten, are standing alone.
Setsuna looks worried. A meeting of the past senshi is needed. .................................................................
"So a weird light left all of us?" Usagi was unusually quiet. She held her brooch, repeatedly opening and closing it. She had noticed this morning that its previous light had gone out. Suddenly they heard screams. Rushing outside they found what looked like a senshi dressed all in black attacking several tourists. "Sailor Shadow!" It cried out, and it sent a blast at the group of former senshi. "Mercury Crystal Power!" "Mars Crystal Power!" "Venus Crystal Power!" "Jupiter Crystal Power!" "Neptune Planet Power!" "Uranus Planet Power!" "Pluto Planet Power!" "Saturn Planet Power!" "Moon Eternal-" The ten voices joined for the last words. "Make-UP!" Then came three different voices. "Don't bother. Your henshin are gone." True to their word, the group remained untransformed except... "Uranus! Since the rest of us can't transform, don't you think you'd better attack?" Michiru's voice broke through Haruka's haze. "World Shaking!" The so-called 'Sailor Shadow' disappeared, and a star seed appeared. The star seed immediately broke and a strange dark energy flew out of it.
"A phage?" Usagi turned to look at the Starlights. "Do you know what's going on?" "No. Uranus is the only senshi in the galaxy that we've seen whose powers weren't taken away" Seiya sighed. "Our princess sent us here while she continued to protect her people. She said that this is where the world would happen and we needed to try to help." "Hmmm... Mamo-chan fell sick and went into a state of unconsciousness a few months ago. We haven't been able to help him," Rei pondered aloud. Usagi looks up at Seiya. "Maybe you could meet us all in America. We'll be vacationing there for a few months." The Starlights looked at her. "Well, I'm thinking of moving there for a while so..." The Starlights nodded. "Hai."
2-Light Up the Night! A Shining Star Arrives! Himeno Hikari, a 14 year old girl with straight brown hair barely past shoulder length and brown eyes, raised her shotgun and aimed it at the huge, ugly monster that stood at the other end of the hallway.
"Sssttaarrrsss," it growled at her, then raised the rocket launcher it was holding onto its shoulder. "I'll beat you this time!" Kari yelled. After a few shots, the rocket launcher finally exploded.
Behind her, Aino Minako screamed. Minako was the newest idol, the legendary senshi Sailor V, and the person who had adopted Kari about a month ago without knowing what she was getting herself into. Kari had learned more about her and her friends in that time than that psychotic stalker ever would.
"You should have knocked," she said calmly, not taking her eyes off the screen. Minako, soaked and still standing in the doorway, was extremely annoyed. This wasn't the first time Kari had set a water balloon above the door to fall on anyone who dared to open it, also known as her "security system".
"How many times do have I t-" The monster suddenly ran at Kari. "Hey! You cheater!" "Kari! Listen to me for once!" If she had heard Minako, she showed no signs of it. Minako sighed. "Hino's on the phone."
Okibino Hinotama, more commonly known as Hino, was Hikari's best friend and always had been as far as either of them could remember. She had long black hair and dark red eyes. She was a talented guitarist and a strategic planner.
Minako tossed the phone at Kari. "Catch." She managed to turn and catch it, but when she turned back the words "YOU DIED" appeared on the screen in big, red letters. Upset over once again being defeated by the monster, Kari exited the game.
"What?" she said coldly into the phone. "That's a great way to answer the phone, Kari. I prefer 'moshimoshi', though. It works better." "What do you want Hino-chan?" "Well, I want to go to the arcade, but I obviously can't beat all your high scores without you being there to see it." "You? Beating my scores? I wouldn't count on it." "I would." "See you there then." "Ja ne."
She hung up the phone and immediately started for the door. She didn't reach it before Minako spotted her, though. "Where are you going?" she demanded. "Out," Kari called over her shoulder and hurried out the door before Minako could even think of responding.
* * * *
Hinotama was already playing the Sailor V game when Kari arrived. She had taken all of five minutes to get to the arcade and already Hino had started playing games! It was amazing how impatient she was.
Kari glanced at the screen. "Your not even close to my high score, Hino- chan." "Oh yeah? Watch this, Kari-chan!" With that Hino started firing as fast as she could. Not fast enough, it seemed. A few seconds later the words "GAME OVER" flashed on the screen. Kari laughed out loud. "It worked last time," Hino muttered.
"So, are you ready to go to America?" she asked, trying to change the subject of her failure. "Do honestly think I'll ever be ready for a vacation of rabid fans and psycho stalkers?" Kari hadn't wanted to go and only agreed because Minako told her Hino could come. "It can't be that bad." "You have no idea."
Finally, after a few hours, Hino said she had to leave. Kari checked her watch. It was 9:00. She decided it was time for her to leave, too.
She found the streets silent and deserted. As Kari strolled toward her house, she stared up at the full moon, absentmindedly fingering the star- shaped crystal in her pocket. She had found it only two days ago, just lying on the ground, and had become a bit attached to it. It was the size of her fist, clear as glass, and lighter than a feather.
Suddenly a sailor senshi, dressed completely in black, appeared in front of her. "Sailor Shadow!" it cried, sending the usual blast toward Kari. She reflexively held her arms in front of her in a useless attempt to block it, there was no way she could dodge, and squeezed her eyes shut.
A few seconds pasted before she even dared to open her eyes. When she did, she found she was still holding the crystal. It was emitting a bright light. Kari stared at it a moment before looking back up at the phage. It seemed to be shocked and, strangely, afraid. She ran and didn't stop until she was in the house with the door locked.
In the shadows, a black kitten with bright green eyes watched this. "That must be her," it whispered to itself, sprinting down the street in the direction Kari had gone.
* * * *
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" "What?" Minako asked. Kari glanced out the window, then took a moment to calm herself down before answering. "That thing! It said 'Sailor Shadow' or something like that."
Minako looked worried. "A phage. They've been appearing all over and attacking people." "Can't you and your friends kill them or something?" She shook her head. "It's not that simple. We have to find the source of them, but even if we do there's not much we can do about it." Kari had forgotten that almost all the senshi's henshin were gone, so they couldn't transform.
Sighing, she walked past Minako and into her room, only to find a black kitten sitting on her bed. The kitten had bright green eyes and a golden star on her forehead. "How'd you get in here?" Kari asked, not really expecting an answer.
She did answer, though. "You left the window open," she said. This surprised Kari, but not as much as it would've sommeone else. This wasn't the first talking cat she had ever seen.
"What do you want?" she asked uncertainly. "Well, that's a long story, but you don't need to know everything at the moment. You've obviously seen those phages-" Kari interrupted her. "If that's what this is about, then you should talk to Minako, not me." "I'm pretty sure I'm talking to the right person. Let me explain. My name is Gemini. I'm here to find one of the sailor senshi. I've been watching you for a while now. I wasn't sure, but after that stunt you pulled." She trailed off. "What stunt?" Kari demanded. "If you mean that thing at school last week, I didn't mean to do it. I-" "Not that," Gemini said, looking annoyed, "But I know you did that on purpose. I meant that stunt with the crystal! That was very dangerous! What did you do that for anyway?"
Kari pulled the crystal she had used against the phage earlier out of her pocket and examined it "You mean with this? I should probably ask Minako about that." "The senshi I'm looking for, Sailor Star, is the only person who can use that crystal." A moment passed in silence. "You must have figured out who that is by now," Gemini said.
Kari still wasn't convinced. "How do you know she's the only one who can use it? Has anyone else ever tried?" Gemini hesitated before answering. "Well.no, but.I know you're the only one who can use it. And you're still stubborn, as always." "Prove it, then." "Fine. I will. Hold up that crystal and say 'Star Crystal Power'."
Kari did as she was told, holding up the crystal and saying, "Star Crystal Power! Make-UP!" It worked. A moment later she was wearing an outfit similar to the other senshi's. It had a yellow collar and skirt, white gloves lined with light blue that cover her forearm, but stopped at her wrist, and short white boots, also lined with blue, that had a yellow star centered at the top of each of them. The crystal took the place of the brooch, but there were no bows anywhere on the outfit. As for the tiara, she didn't have one, but there was a golden star, identical to Gemini's, on her forehead. She let out a startled shriek as she realized this.
* * * *
Minako heard the shriek coming from Kari's room and, thinking something bad had happened given the previous events of the evening, dashed into the room, only to find Kari in her fuku and Gemini sitting on the bed with a triumphant look on her face.
"Told you," the kitten gloated, but Kari's attention was elsewhere. "Umm. hi Minako. What brings you here?" "Two things, actually. One, you were screaming and two, I live here." "I was not screaming!" she protested, adding, "I was shrieking." "Same thing."
* * * *
"She has awakened," Sepens observed. An evil grin crossed his face. This was what he was waiting for. It was finally time to find out which side Sailor Star was on.
* * * *
The next night, Kari went out with Gemini looking for one of the phages that were attacking people. Much to Gemini's dismay, she had already transformed.
"When you see a phage, just shooting 'Shooting Star' to defeat it," Gemini told her for what must have been the hundredth time. "I know, I know," Sailor Star replied, rolling her eyes. "I think they're asleep. I haven't seen one yet." The moment she said that, though, a phage appeared in front of them. "Sailor Shadow!" it cried, but before it could send it's usually blast at them, Sailor Star yelled "Shooting Star!" A bright white ball of fire materialized in front of her and flew at the phage, incinerating it on contact.
She said nothing for a few moments, then, "Do you think another one will come if we stay here?" "No," Gemini answered. "Come on, we're not finished yet." She started walking, Sailor Star obediently following.
Sepens watched this from the shadows. It was obvious she didn't know what she was doing. That meant she probably didn't know what was going on. It also meant she would be easier to convince.
* * * *
Kari woke in the middle of the night with the strangest feeling that someone was watching her. Reaching over, she turned on a lamp on her dresser. Sure enough, there was a guy standing in one corner of the room. He had short, dark blue hair, blue eyes the same shade, and looked like he couldn't be more than two years older than her.
Sepens smiled as she noticed him. "My name is Sepens," he told her. "And I have something to offer you." "What?" she asked. "How did you get in here?" There was defiantly something bad about him. Evil even. "Let me explain. Have you ever heard of the Sailor Wars?" Kari was suspicious and confused. "No." He nodded. "That's what I thought. The Sailor Wars are a series of wars, all of which involve the sailor senshi. These wars have been going on ever since the senshi appeared and are still going on today." "And you're point is?" "I'm part of a group that wants to stop these wars," he told her, "and we need your help."
Act 3: Another attack! Usagi's younger sister When you first enter the orphanage you look around and smile. All around are children playing and building friendships, ignorant to the fact that many of their parents abandoned them. It takes several minutes to notice the small group of teenagers by the fence. In fact, if their presence wasn't so strong, no one would notice at all. They never seem to move from that spot where none of the cameras can see.
At first this worried the nurses taking care of them. It wasn't right for two or three children to just sit there. However, after a time they were forgotten about, and when inquiries were made, the adoptors were carefully diverted to other more. normal or less disturbing children.
The group was rather interesting. It had all started with the young girl. No one knew how old she was, because she never seemed to age. She had been there for almost ten years. When she first arrived she was quiet, shy, scared, and above all, your average child. At the timed she had seemed about seven. At least, that's what her behavior suggested. She could have been anywhere from seven to sixteen. Each person perceived her differently somehow.
The day she came there had been a terrific storm. Her hair had been brown and her eyes were a dull blue. Mud coated her body, and she was soaked to the bone. She was immediately placed in the shower. Her name was Kage.
Now with the dirt out of her she had long blonde hair. It sparkled really, and at the beginning had been part of what attracted the older boys in the place to her. Her eyes were another. The dullness left with the dirt, revealing sparkling blue eyes. One might even suggest that they were violet at times.
The last thing about her that attracted the boys, and everyone else for that matter, was the cheerful air that surrounded her. Although she never said more than was necessary, when you talked to her, you were left with the impression that she genuinely liked you and was concerned about your happiness. She was the one that held her small group together. She was never left alone until the other girls came.
Several girls had gone through the small group, but only two others ever remained. One was a teenager named Kaji. It was commonly assumed that what had originally brought the two girls together was their similar name. Other than that they were at odds with each other. Kaji had black hair she left tied in a long braid. Her eyes were a startling green. Her parents had recently visited Japan when they had her. Barely a year came the storm that had turned up Kage. Both her parents died in it. No one knew what had happened to Kage's parents.
While Kage was polite but didn't speak very much, Kaji was prone to lengthy conversations. She wasn't really rude, but she was far from polite and very sarcastic.
The other member of the group was a girl about five years old. She had been brought in by her mother (only fourteen herself) and was immediately taken in by Kage's group. Although her real name was Maria, after a long discussion, it was decided that she would be called Keahi Tiana. Only they ever understood why she was named that, although previous to the decision both girls could be found in the library using the internet connection to its fullest. *** Fourteen years after Kaji came into the group, all the employees' efforts to keep the girls from being noticed by potential parents failed. A woman with graying blue hair (which was a bad sign in itself) started it.
The woman brought in a man of about twenty. (He was obviously a son or friend. There was no way she was anywhere near that age.) Immediately after coming in they discovered Kaehi. Kaehi, being only five, brought the odd couple to meet her 'moms'. The rest was, as they say, history.
All three disappeared from the center that day. Kage was the only one adopted, supposedly because she looked so much like the man's sister had when she was younger. The man's name was Shingo.
***
Kage frowned and adjusted her skirt. Her 'mom' said that she would be more comfortable in it, but it was just another annoyance to deal with when she was meeting her older sister. She had never worn a skirt before. 'Wearing a skirt is for them streetluts.' Within minutes she found a pair of pants that were, if a bit tight fitting, comfortable. 'Pants like this are too, but at least I've got a bit of something around my legs. I can run away from the Suits if I need to.'
Flipping through the closet she found a shimmering black tank top and hurriedly put it on. Now she was almost ready to meet Usani? Usagi? She shrugged and pulled on a pair of sneakers from her older sister's closet and checked herself out in the mirror. 'Well, if I ever need to make some quick money all I gots to do is wear a bit of makeup and those boots over there.' She shook her head at the thought and ran down stairs to meet her waiting 'mom'.
***
"Usagi's friend Minako has a younger sister about your age. She was adopted too, so you two have something in common. Her name's Kari. Your names sound similar even." Kage's 'mom' smiled, so she smiled back despite the reminder of her home at the orphanage with the other girl whose name was similar to hers. 'Kaji.' The van stopped. "Well, here we are! Have a good time Kage!" Kage climbed out and slammed the door to make sure it closed. As the van drove off, she began her climb up the steps of the temple they were all supposedly meeting at.
***
'Eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven, achtundachtzig, nuenundachtzig. How many steps are there in this place?' Finally she was nearing the top of the stairs, and she could hear voices.
"Have you met her yet?" "No." "What's her name?" "Mom said it was Kage." "You guys don't have to worry about talking and making nice to her. I'll bring her with me to the arcade." Kage had finally reached the top and could see that the last sentence was spoken by a girl about her age. 'That must be Kari.' They noticed her.
"Kage?" She nodded to her sister. She recognized her from the pictures hanging on the wall at her 'home'. Kage smiled, falling back into the old routine easily. "You must be Usagi." She stepped forward. "I'm glad to meet you. You sure did pick a hard meeting place to get to though!" She laughed and gestured towards the stairs. "Would you mind introducing me to your friends?" Usagi nodded, apparently satisfied with her adopted sister's pleasant attitude. "This is Rei, Makoto, Ami, and Minako." She pointed at four ladies in turn. "And Yaten, Taiki, Seiya, Setunsa, Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru." Minako pushed Kari forward. "This is my little sister. Her name's Kari." Kari glared at Minako, then turned and grinned. "Hi! Do you want to go to the arcade? Don't worry; we won't have to walk back down those steps." She pulled out a large plastic garbage can lid. "We can sit on this and ride down!" Every one groaned except for Kage, who returned the grin. "Sure!"
***
"So where did you come from? Before you went to the home I mean." "I lived in Germany for a while before my parents took me to Japan and then here. They died several years ago during a storm." Kari could see that Kage was hiding something, but didn't say anything. "I've got the highest score on all the games here except for those two." She pointed to a set of games about twenty years old. "The one on the right is a dancing game, and the other is martial arts. Both have you actually doing it." Kage studied them for a moment before walking over to the martial arts and slipping in a few quarters, ignoring the out-of-order sign. In front of her a person all in black appeared. Kage watched Kari playing an old game called Crazy Taxi for a second before returning to the battle.
Her opponent was wearing a skirt, leotard, gloves, and a tiara. 'Whoever designed this really has some issues.' They raised an eyebrow at her and dropped into a fighting stance. Before she could press start they threw something at her. She didn't have time for any reaction other than ducking. 'So that's what it means by out of order.' She frowned and pictured the figure as a guy wearing leather pants and a spiked dog collar. "Well, what do we have here? She crouched down and swung her leg underneath it, surprised when she actually connected with something. A foot slammed down where her hand had just been. "A couple dollars is good enough for this one. Keep a good reign on her hair." She backed up enough to avoid its next attack and hit the wall. It ran towards her. "I own you! You don't leave unless I sell you to a guy as his personal slave, got it?" A blast of something hit her midsection as her fist hit its jaw. They both fell back "What the hell are you doing? What- Shit!" A familiar sensation surrounded her as the thing threw another burst of energy. Violet lightning hit the boy and sparkled around him. The thing's breath faltered and died. It was still there, bringing her suddenly back out of the memory. Kari was running up, probably alerted by the screams from around the arcade.
"Star Crystal Power! Make-UP!" Kage edged towards the entrance as she watched Kari transform into a fuku resembling her former opponent's. She bumped into a man standing and watching. He seemed to be the only other one there. He bowed. "Excuse me. I should have been watching where I was going," he mouthed the last word, but she saw it anyway. "princess." She turned away, confused. He felt like good and evil all mixed together to her. To her surprise, Kari felt blank. 'What the hell am I doing thinking about what people feel like? I haven't done that since right after him.' She shook her head and ran. What happened to Kari didn't concern her; looking out for only yourself was something you learned quickly on the street. Still, she felt a bit of guilt for it. 'Please be safe.' She rerouted herself to come in through the back entrance of the arcade. 'Damn.' She was getting soft.
***
"World Shaking!" "Shooting Star!" The thing disappeared, leaving two people in its place. She recognized them as Kari and Haruka. "Another phage." "Yeah. This one was stronger. It was weird though. Kage must have fought it because it was already pretty beat up." "She was an orphan, right?" "Yea." "That's probably why." They turned and walked back towards the temple after transforming out of their fukus. Kage ran to get there before them, not notice the man still watching her. 'Good-bye princess. I'll be seeing you again soon.' He turned to follow Kari.
Act 4:Bring On the Night
"Tell me again, why do you need me?"
Serpens rolled his eyes, but nevertheless repeated himself.
"'Cause
you have the power to stop the Sailor Wars. You're one of most
powerful senshi I've seen. The few who are more powerful than you
don't seem keen on making appearances, if they're here."
He glanced
at Kari, then mumbled to himself so quietly that she couldn't
hear, "And if they're even a match for you anymore."
"But how do I know you're telling the truth?" Kari asked
suspiciously. "What if this is all part of some big evil
plot?"
Serpens laughed. "I guess you don't, but that doesn't
prove anything."
Kari shrugged and resigned to the fact that that was probably the
best answer she would be getting out of him anytime soon. That was
all right though. She had plenty of other questions to ask. "Why
can't I tell anyone about you?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "Let's just say your kitten
and I aren't
on the best terms at the moment."
"Alright," Kari said shrugging, "Just one more thing.
What else can I
do?"
* * * *
Silently, Kari crept down the hallway toward her room. She glanced at
her watch. It was nearly 2:00a.m.
"Kari? Is that you?" Someone asked.
"No."
"I'm standing right here."
She spun around to find Minako standing behind her, an all too
familiar annoyed look on her face. "Oh."
"Yeah," Minako replied. "Where were you?"
"I was.umm.just.uh.going for a walk," Kari
said, doing her best to
look truthful. However, Minako was not convinced.
"No you weren't," she protested, "It doesn't take
three hours to take
a walk."
"Can we not do this now? I'm kinda tired," said Kari,
wondering if
Minako ever slept, and quickly shut herself in her room. A light
under the bedroom door told Minako Kari was not tired at all, but she
was too exhausted to argue anymore, and decided to get some much
needed sleep.
* * * *
Brriiiiiiiinng. Minako groaned and rolled over, wondering who wanted
to torture her like this. Brriiiiiiiinng. She reached over and picked
up phone. "Moshimoshi?"
"Konichiwa, Minako!" the voice on the other line answered
cheerfully. "Can I speak to Kari-chan?"
"Sure, Hino," she said. "KARI! PHONE!" No answer.
"HIMENO HIKARI!
EITHER GET OVER HERE OR PICK UP THE OTHER PHONE!" Still no
answer.
Fuming, Minako forced herself to get up and trudge down the hall to
Kari's room. "KARI!" She banged on the door as hard as
she could
without breaking it, but again got no answer. Pulling open the door,
she found the room was empty. Kari had left.
* * * *
Yet another phage stared at the sailor senshi that stood before
it. "Sailor Shadow!" The blast was headed strait for Sailor
Star, but
she didn't even bother to dodge. "Star Crystal Power!"
The crystal
that took the place of her brooch, which was no longer clear, but a
light blue color, began to glow. In seconds the attack
dissipated. "Supernova!" A bright flash of light momentarily
blinded
the phage and, before it could even comprehend what had happened, the
senshi was behind it. "Shooting Star!" Just as before the
attack
finished it off, incinerating the phage on contact.
"What did you do that for?" Serpens asked, stepping out of
the
shadows where he had been watching the fight. "It'll be
difficult
finding another phage for you to practice on."
"They're just too easy to beat," Sailor Star complained,
"Is there
anything else, like maybe a yoma or something? At least something
harder to beat than a phage?" Serpens just smiled. "Nope.
It's the
phages or nothing. At least for now."
**** Everything around him was dark, and his ragged breathing was very near deafening. A scream started up behind him causing him to whirl around. No one was there. "Hello?" It was a girl's voice. She sounded much as his Usako had sounded in the nightmares Galaxia had induced. "Who are you?" He turned to try once more to find the source of the voice, but still couldn't see anyone. "You can hear me, right?" He nodded then cried out. His arm was bleeding. "You really should get out. They're all around you and trying to get even closer now that they've got a taste." Her voice was ignored this time however, as he was consumed by the blackness.
**** "Rei, you've got to help him. He's going to be eaten at this rate." Rei's head snapped up to look in the fire, but she only saw the same black that'd been there since Mamouru got sick. "He is the black. The earth is black." Rei glanced behind her, but the door was still open and showing an empty courtyard. "Who are you?" The voice didn't reply. "Answer me!" Nothing moved, and soon she bowed her head once more in prayer. "Wake up now. It's time for everyone to wake up."
**** Kage woke up and screamed.
**** "Mamo-chan, please be alright. You're in America right now. Minako said she might be able to find a doctor for you. I've got a little sister too. She looks a lot like me, and she seems really nice." Usagi sighed. "Please wake up Mamo-chan. Everyone's lost their powers, and we need you. I need you."
Act 5: DINGDONGDINGDONG DONGDINGDINGDONG
School let out and a rush of girls ran into the sunshine. Trailing behind the rest was a fourteen-year-old girl with long blue hair and pale gray eyes. "Happy birthday to me." she sang softly to herself. "Hey Miz! Wait up!" She turned around and laughed quietly as a boy carrying what looked like a million balloons rushed towards her. "Jay! What's all that for." He rolled his eyes and thrust the balloons into her hand. "You, bakka. It is your birthday today, right?" She nodded and smiled. Jay was her only friend, but could always be counted on to make her feel like she had thirty more friends every time he was around. Right now he was walking backwards in front of her, and it wasn't until too late that she realized he was going to run into something. She cried out, but he was already falling back into the bench, and into an unsuspecting girl's lap. The balloons went flying away, but no one noticed. "Gomen ne! I should have been paying more atten." Mizu laughed. Jay never had been good at speaking to girls (other than her) and this girl wasn't making it any easier by staring at him. Then her gaze turned to Mizu, and she saw just why Jay was having trouble. The girl was smiling, but it was a little scary; like seeing a villain from a book smile because you knew they weren't smiling because they liked you. "It's alright. My name's Kaji. You're Virgo aren't you?" Mizu stammered, "Ummm, I'm not quite sure what you mean. My sign of the zodiac is Virgo, but-" Kaji waved away the questions in the teens' eyes and grabbed Mizu, pulling her toward the cemetery. "I need to talk to you now." Another smile, although this one was a bit nicer. "I live right next to the beach with a friend." She called over her shoulder, "Don't worry-she'll be back in an hour or so." They left him standing there all alone. It was the last time anyone saw Jay Moore alive. *** When they reached the ocean, Mizu wrenched her arm out of the older girl's grasp. "What did you mean by 'Virgo?'" Kaji frowned and pulled out a red wand with a strange silver symbol in it. She whispered something and suddenly was surrounded in light. When the light died down, Mizu was standing next to a girl wearing a short red skirt and a silver leotard. "I am Sailor Celestial, and you are Sailor Virgo." Mizu backed away. "Long ago there was a beautiful kingdom on the moon. This age was called the Silver Millennium, and peace reigned throughout the galaxies. Unfortunately, a force called chaos began working to destroy our harmony. It was sealed into the body of a sailor soldier, Galaxia. It began to consume her, and brought evil, like Queen Beryl, Pharoh 90, and Queen Nehelenia to Earth."
"What happened to the moon kingdom?"
Kaji sighed. "Sorry, I forgot to tell that part, didn't I?" Mizu nodded. "The queen of the moon, Selenity, had two daughters, although the rest of the galaxy only knew of one. She was Princess Selenity, who now lives here as a girl named Usagi Tsukino. The moon was attacked, and in a last effort to save her kingdom and daughters, our queen sent everyone to earth to be reborn. Princess Selenity was reborn with the powers to become a senshi so she could fight for earth with her guardians, Sailor Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, and Uranus. The princess became Sailor Moon, and her love is now Tuxedo Kamen.
"On the other side of the moon lived the second princess of the moon, who wasn't even supposed to exist. She was hidden from the universe in hopes of protecting her. She too had guardians, who never should have existed either. Their names were Sailor Aquarius, Celestial, Virgo, and Aries. She also had two dear friends who served as guardians as well, Sailor Star and Sailor Mirai. These two were perhaps the most powerful of her protectors. All of us would sacrifice ourselves in a second to save our princess. We were sent to earth as well, and now we have to find each other again and search for our princess. Chaos, which Sailor Moon dispelled several years ago, is back, and took the other senshi's powers. We have to be the ones to destroy it and save the world this time. We need you."
Mizu backed up again, shaking her head. "This is a real nice joke and all, but even if it was true-I'm not sacrificing my life for some princess I don't even know. You don't even know her! Jay was right-I shouldn't have gone with you."
She was about to walk away when Kaji threw something at her. "Keep it. If you get into trouble, say Virgo Make-Up." She smirked. "And if you change your mind, you can come to my apartment since you won't be able to go home for a while." With that, Kaji started to jog back towards an apartment complex. Mizu thought for a second before running back to find Jay. He'd have a field day with this. *** "Hey, listen. I don't have any money with me, so why don't you go talk to someone else," Jay said to the thing standing in front of him. It hissed and lunged toward him. He tried to dodge its attack, but tripped. Before he knew what was happening, it was on top of him, powering up an attack. It ripped his throat out, and he had a vague picture of Mizu running in screaming, but then everything was black, so none of it mattered anymore, because it was quiet. So, so quiet. *** "Virgo Make-UP!" The thing Kaji had tossed to her glowed and surrounded her with a water filled wind. Not waiting for it to die down, she screamed the first thing the popped into her head. "Ice storm!" The water surrounding her froze and shot at the figure getting off of Jay's bloodied form. The thing was quickly encased in a blanket of ice. Sailor Virgo reached up, and found what looked vaguely like a gun. She aimed, fired, and missed. She collapsed saying, "I can't do it."
"Shooting star!" A ball of fire hit the ice, destroying both it and the thing inside. Mizu looked up to see another senshi watching her with a slight smile on her face. This one's smile looked genuine, however it was somehow worse that Kaji's. She ran, detransforming as she went and not noticing that the gun she'd dropped had disappeared. She was almost to her house when she realized it. "She was right-I can't go back." The things that killed Jay surrounded the house, throwing energy and leaping up to claw at the walls. They killed a boy who stopped to help while she hid in the basement. No help would come, and if it did they would kill it. A window broke and they came streaming in, destroying anything in their path. They came steadily closer and closer to the fake wall she had set up where she was hiding and waiting for them to come. Her path changed abruptly to the beach. Avoiding the more quiet sections of town, she quickly lost herself in crowds. An hour of dodging and looping back, she found herself in front of a door knocking. Kaji opened it and nodded, seeing the girl's state. Mizu followed her in, crying. *** "Gemini, I saw another senshi today. It looked like her boyfriend or something just got killed.I feel kind of sorry for her." She grinned. "But, if the senshi keep showing up like this, I won't need to worry about looking!"