Story 7
"Wake up, Usagi," Luna grumbled for the ninth time.
Usagi groaned. "Five more minutes?"
"It's seven-thirty. School's already started," Luna informed her.
"Aaaah! I'm going to be late for school!" Usagi screamed. She whirled around the room, putting on her Juuban Uniform, grabbing her backpack, and rushed downstairs. As soon as she got there, she grabbed a piece of toast, surprising Kenji, Ikuko, and Shingo, who were all sitting down and rushed out the door. A second later, she walked back in cautiously, staring at Shingo. "Nani? If it were seven-thirty, wouldn't you be in school already?"
Kenji stared incomprehensibly at his daughter. Shingo's eyes were wide with shock and his mouth had dropped open. Ikuko was the first to speak. "Usagi, dear, it's only six forty-five. School doesn't start for half an hour."
Usagi's eyes widened. Her mouth dropped. Her eyes narrowed. Her lips pursed. "A little kitty I know is going to pay a visit to the vet very soon."
Her family gave her strange looks.
"I'm going back to sleep," she announced, about to crawl back upstairs.
"No, you don't," Ikuko said firmly, catching hold of her shoulder.
"You're going to arrive to school early today," Kenji said.
"For the first time," Shingo snickered.
Usagi glared at Shingo. Taking another toast, she loftily said, "I'm going to meet Naru."
So saying, she sniffed and walked out the door. She saw Naru at the Arcade, and called out, "Naru, wait up!"
Naru turned around, saw Usagi, and … thunk!
Carefully, Usagi hauled Naru to the Arcade, and dumped a bucket of water on her. "Nani?" Naru asked. "What are you doing, Usagi?"
"You fainted," Usagi said.
"You're up early today," Naru noted
"Duh!" Usagi said exasperatedly before marching off to school.
~*~
Two hundred and fifteen thousand Thunks later, Usagi was sitting on her pink bed, sighing. I should get up early more often, she decided. Its not every day school is let off early because Haruna-sensei fainted and needed to go the hospital. I wonder why she fainted anyways. I only said, "here." She looked at her watch. Anyways, that meant she had five hours in which to play before going to Rei's meeting. Wouldn't it be great if she showed up early for once?
But Sailor Pluto had other things in mind. Just as Usagi was about to put on more comfortable clothes and go shopping, a portal appeared in her room. She stopped herself from shrieking just in time.
She glared. "Don't do that," she said sternly.
Pluto bowed. "I am sorry Serenity-sama."
"Don't call me that," Usagi scolded.
Pluto smiled a small half-smile. "Habits die hard."
"So you mean you're the Pluto from the future, not the Pluto from the past or the Pluto from the time portal," Usagi asked.
Pluto frowned. "I suppose so," she said cautiously. "But there's only one Pluto."
"How can there be millions of me in different times and dimensions and only be one you?" Usagi asked plaintively.
"I don't think about that one," Pluto explained. "That and temporal paradoxes confuse me so much, I get headaches."
"Good," Usagi said brightly. "It gives me headaches, too."
Pluto sighed. "Anyways, I have some news to give you. First of all, I am obliged to inform you that a new foe is coming."
"Couldn't you have warned me in my dreams?" Usagi asked. "Or have let my instincts figure it out? Did you have to scare me to death to tell me that?"
"I'm not finished," Pluto said. "And, this new enemy you will not be able to defeat alone, even with the outers' help. Instead, help will come from another direction. However, I would like to warn you that the other side believes they have a totally different mission, and will act arrogant like you can't do anything on your own. Grit your teeth and take it. They think they've remembered everything from the past, but they haven't. Bit by bit, each time you see them, you will. Don't tell them. For once, I would like to see them fall on their face."
"That'll be easy," Usagi said brightly. "I'll just handle them like I handled you outers."
Pluto winced. "Ouch. I deserved that," she said ruefully.
"You didn't come all this way to tell me something that I already know," Usagi said.
"Well, I'm just warning you ahead of time that one of them will become infatuated with Mamoru, but don't throttle her," Pluto said cautiously.
Usagi growled. "Mamoru is mine! Not Rei's! Not Beryl's! Not yours! Not Princess Serenity's! Not Sailor Moon's! Not Neo-Queen Serenity's! Not yours!"
Pluto sighed. "Calm down, Usagi. I'm just warning you ahead of time. And, I'm going to have to erase your memory of the vital things of what I just said, so only remember the skeleton."
So saying, she stepped back through her portal and vanished, and Usagi forgot about their new allies, and being something else, and everything.
"That was interesting," Usagi sighed, before getting ready to go to the mall.
~*~
A tall, evil, electric-purple haired lady stood in the distance. "Somebody will pay!" she shrieked.
Four girls bowed before her. "Yes, Queen Electric Purple?"
Four girls came behind the first four. "What is your wish, Queen Electric Purple?"
Queen Electric Purple glared. "Why have you not yet attacked?"
One of the first four answered, "We are analyzing the enemy."
"Good," Queen Electric Purple said. "Continue."
Let me introduce them. The aforementioned four girls are Sailor Ares, Sailor Zeus, Sailor Aphrodite, and Sailor Hermes. The latter four are Sailor Wind, Sailor Sea, Sailor Time, and Sailor Death. These four serve Queen Electric Purple … maybe serve isn't the correct term.
Queen Electric Purple's mother, Queen Silver, was a wise, but evil queen. She had no guardians but herself, much like Queen Serenity did. For her daughter, however, she chose eight of the wisest and slyest guardians there were. Part of this was because she knew that her own daughter was incompetent. So Queen Electric Purple has eight guardians, much like Princess Serenity does. Queen Electric Purple also has the Electric Purple Crystal.
A long time ago, Queen Silver had the Silver Crystal, but it was black. She attempted to attack the moon, and failed, and taken from her was her life and her Silver Crystal. Her daughter had remained on the planet of Eros, and had taken over. Part of the Silver Crystal had been given to Princess Electric Purple to train with, and as soon as she touched it, it turned electric purple, thus its name. And that is why Queen Electric Purple has the Electric Purple Crystal, a portion of the Silver Crystal.
~*~
Usagi was in the middle of buying this really cool soft pink miniskirt she knew Mamoru's eyes would bug out for, when suddenly, a scream was heard from the center of the mall. Immediately, Usagi rushed over. When she got there, this was what she saw.
A girl dressed in a blue and black sailor skirt was levitating in the center of the mall, zapping people with ice and water. On her blue boots were white, fluttering wings. She had dark blue-black hair and blue-black eyes. She looked like Sailor Mercury/Ami, only with black.
Usagi gulped. She was so terrified; she forgot the words to her transformation. Not! Usagi dealt with this as calmly and coolly as she called. She pulled out her communicator, and said "I NEED HELP FAST!!!!! THERE'S A YOUMA AT THE MALL! I'M GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Okay, so maybe she wasn't as calm and cool as she could have been … so what?
"Moon Cosmic Power!" She immediately turned into Sailor Moon. She ran up. "I am Sailor Moon, and I shall punish you!"
Sailor Hermes glanced at her casually. "I am Sailor Hermes. I am the harbinger…the herald…the messenger. And my message is this: Begone, thou vile beast, and leaveth us here to do what we wish with this despicable world. Begone and take thy senshi with thee!"
Sailor Moon stared at Sailor Hermes blankly … before bursting out laughing. "You're kidding, right?"
Sailor Hermes glared. "No one said I only had to be the messenger," she murmured, fingering her teardrop necklace. "And I recently got energy from those pathetic mortals … Hermes Water Disruption!"
Sailor Moon covered her head as a wave of water washed her back into the wall of the mall. She winced, and could feel herself bruising.
"Shine Aqua Rhapsody!" Immediately, Sailor Hermes was frozen in ice.
"How do you like that?" Sailor Mercury asked angrily, as she and the other Inners reached over to help Sailor Moon up.
Sailor Hermes closed her eyes, and slowly, the ice began to melt. She smirked. "I'm your counterpart, ~Mercury~, so don't try anything with me," she glared.
"Then try this on for size," Sailor Mars growled. "Mars Fireballs Charge!"
Sailor Hermes almost dodged it, but the fire burned off part of her long, blue-black hair. She glared. "You'll pay for that!" Suddenly, she growled. "I've got to go," she muttered before teleporting away, but not before they heard the words, "Stupid, incompetent Queen El-"
"Doesn't that sound like someone we know?" Sailor Mars asked caustically.
"Sailor Maaaaaaaaaaaars," Sailor Moon wailed. "Why are you always so meeeeeeeeeeean to me?"
Back to normal.
~*~
Usagi was thinking on her small bed. Apparently Sailor Hermes was only a messenger; otherwise she would have truly attacked. And who was the person that Sailor Pluto said would try to steal her Mamoru? It probably wasn't Sailor Hermes; she looked as if she didn't care for guys, only for her duty. Argh! It was so annoying sometimes.
As she frowned, Luna walked in through the window. "Usagi! Where were you? We had to hold the senshi meeting without you!"
Usagi blushed immediately. "Sorry, Luna," she said meekly. "I was thinking."
"About what?" Luna asked.
"Just … stuff," Usagi sighed.
"Like your last test, which you failed?" Luna asked.
Usagi glared. "No, like ice cream and Mamo-chan and chocolate and Mamo-chan and the arcade and Mamo-"
Luna shook her head. "Pretend I didn't ask."
~*~
"We have a mission."
"Yes we do."
"But will it dominate our lives?"
"If it must, it will."
~*~
"I am Sailor Hermes, fourth-in-command of the Lesser Guardians of Eros. Dark mirror to Mercury, my mission is to collect energy and destroy the Sailor Senshi!"
Immediately, blue-black energy formed around Sailor Hermes's hands, and connected to random people, one of who was Naru. Slowly, white, pulsing energy, throbbed into her, and she began to feel mighty refreshed. Suddenly, a golden disc broke her connections and boomeranged back.
"Who goes there?" Sailor Hermes asked.
"I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I shall right all wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means you!"
Sailor Hermes snorted with laughter. "You?"
"I am Sailor Venus…"
"Sailor Jupiter …"
"Sailor Mercury…"
"Sailor Mars…"
"We are the Inner Senshi and in the name of our planets, we shall punish you!"
"Well, I told you what I was, and unless you feel like getting hurt, I suggest you stay away! I'm not looking for any of you … I want the Guardian of the Moon! Now get out of my way. Hermes Water Distortion!"
Immediately, the world around them became blurry, and none of them could see properly.
"Mercury Bubbles Blast!" The bubbles hit Sailor Hermes, momentarily startling her, and stopping her from distorting the world around them. "Mercury Aqua Illusion!"
Immediately, the place was filled with fog.
"Mercury," Mars shouted. "We can't see either!"
"Oops."
"But I can," Sailor Hermes sneered. "I have power over this … Hermes Ice Shards!"
Ice shards began coming from everywhere. By the time Sailor Mercury finally withdrew her fog; everyone was exhausted from dodging.
"And now for the finish, Hermes Ice Rhapsody!"
Immediately, ice began freezing everything.
"Mars Flame Sniper!" Slowly, the ice began to melt.
"Jupiter Thunder Dragon!" The dragon of lightning stormed and began electrocuting Sailor Hermes. Suddenly, Sailor Hermes threw off the dragon.
"Is that the best that you can do?" she taunted. "Hermes Ice-" a rose hitting right before her cut her off.
(A/N: I'm bad at speeches) "You fighter of evil shall pay for the wrongdoings you have wreaked upon this world. The park is a place for happiness, not for you scum!"
Tuxedo Kamen appeared with his cane in hand, as he perched atop a swing set.
Sailor Hermes scowled. "Fool, you have only angered me."
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"World Shaking!"
"Dead Scream!"
The four attacks cut off Sailor Hermes. The Dead Scream attack she barely managed to dodge, and the Silence Glaive Surprise hit her head on, but she managed to live. The World Shaking she almost avoided, but it hit her left foot, just as the Deep Submerge threw her back into a tree.
"Brought by a new age, I am Sailor Uranus!"
"I am Sailor Neptune!"
"I am Sailor Pluto!"
"I am Sailor Saturn!"
Sailor Hermes got up shakily. She smirked. "You've thrown your best … I've lived."
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" The last attack knocked her to the ground. Slowly, but surely, she got up again, to the dismay of everyone present.
"Melody …"
"Harmony …"
"Twin Distinction!"
The two attacks twined around each other, one blue-black, one silver- white, and they slammed into Sailor Hermes, finishing her off. Slowly, the former fourth in command of the Lesser Guardians disintegrated into dust, and floated off into the air.
The Outer Senshi looked around them warily. "Who is there?" Sailor Uranus asked.
"I am the Sailor Harmony, Unicorn of the Wishing Stars."
"I am Sailor Melody, Dragon of the Shining Stars."
"I am Sailor Soul, Phoenix of the Shooting Stars."
"We three are the Mystic Guardians. Forever in search of the Guardian of the Moon, we represent the peace of the cosmos!" three voices chorused.
The Sailor Senshi turned to look toward the direction of the voices.
Sailor Harmony had silvery white hair that flowed down to her waist. On each side, was a small, slim braid. She had a silver and white fuku with a large silver bow with a unicorn's horn in the middle of it. On her forehead, was a tiara with a unicorn's horn on it.
Sailor Melody had blue-black hair that flowed to who-knew-where. It was braided in a crown around her head. She had a green-blue and white fuku with a large green bow with a dragon's paw in the middle of it. Her forehead had a tiara with a dragon's paw on it.
Sailor Soul had reddish-orange hair that was a mass of curls. It flowed down to her knees, and spilled around her like a cape. She had a reddish-orange and white fuku with a large orange bow with a phoenix flame in the middle of it. Her forehead had the tiara with the phoenix flame on it.
The three had elegance about them, as well as arrogance. They held themselves slightly stiffly as if they were more powerful than the Senshi.
"And are you our friends?" Sailor Uranus wanted to know.
"We serve ourselves, and we show obeisance only to the Guardian of the Moon," Sailor Harmony said, her voice musical, yet lofty.
It wasn't as if they were trying to be arrogant … they just reeked of it. Let's put it this way. Imagine Uranus and Neptune, acting like they knew everything, really snobbishly back in Sailor Moon … S, and kind of multiply them by ten. That's what you get.
Everything about them, from their posture, to their tone, showed that they believed themselves superior. They stood kind of stiffly, and looked down on the senshi … standing on a roof didn't help. Their voices sounded as if they were trying to explain things in laymen's terms.
Of course, Sailor Mars blew up first. "If you're not for us, you're against us! We don't need you help, so you can leave!"
"You don't need our help?" Sailor Melody asked, raising her blue- black eyebrows daintily.
"We don't," Sailor Jupiter said fiercely. "We can always ask the Starlights for help."
"As if," Sailor Soul said, shaking her head. "You Terran Senshi can't do anything by yourselves, can you. You're bound to the planets you represent. At least the Starlights are Star Senshi; they can do something. We're Guardian Senshi … we can go anywhere we please, and we know what we're talking about. We have all our memories of the Silver Millennium. We're well known. People are delighted to see us when we go to their planets, because it means someone from their planet is a Guardian Senshi, too."
Flashback
"We are the Guardian Senshi, Queen Serenity."
"Yes, I know that."
"We have come to tell you that your daughter is of the same caliber as the Guardian Senshi and to ask if she will join us."
"My answer is as my mother's before me. No."
"Why not?"
"My daughter is destined to be Princess of the Moon, not Sailor Cosmos."
"But …"
"The line of Serenity will continue."
"Yes, my Queen. It shall."
"Out of curiosity, we will never say yes, and you knew that when you came here. Why do you come?"
"It is an obligation. We will come every year of the Princess's birth until she is 18."
"And my answer will always be no."
End Flashback
"And we really care," Sailor Venus shook her head. "You're not impressing us yet."
"They sure are modest," Sailor Uranus said sarcastically.
"No more than you were," Sailor Mercury said amusedly. "Come on. We have better things to do than stay here."
So saying, the Sailor Senshi left, not noticing that the Guardian Senshi had as well.
~*~
"Where is Usagi?" Rei asked impatiently. "We've been waiting here forever!"
At this moment, a young blonde ran up the steps of the temple, panting as she got to the top. "Sorry I'm late, guys," she panted. "I totally forgot that we had a meeting, and I went to the Arcade, and then I remembered, so I ran all the way here."
Haruka shook her head. "Neko-chan. I thought I reminded you a couple of hours ago."
"And I reminded you during school," Ami added.
"And I specifically told Motoki to remind you of your study session," Minako added.
"And I reminded you an hour ago on the phone," Mamoru chuckled.
Usagi shrunk. "Oops," she whispered.
"On to important matters," Luna said gravely. "We have a new enemy…as well as new allies."
"Allies?" Michiru asked, delicately raising her eyebrows.
Usagi snorted. "They weren't much worse than Tuxedo Kamen before we found out who he was. He was just plain rude, especially grabbing my Rainbow Crystal." She paused to glare at Mamoru, who smiled sheepishly. "They can't be much worse than the Outers were, who actually left us in the middle of battling a youma just because they were sure that the heart crystal wasn't it." She paused to give a meaningful glare at Michiru and Haruka, who smiled back sheepishly. "And they're just a tad more arrogant than the Starlights," she paused. "They actually helped … with no strings attached."
"Continuing on," Luna said. "We need information on our enemy and our allies. Mercury?"
"On it already, Luna," Ami said. "Notice how she referred to herself as Sailor Hermes, but she did not say she was a senshi … she said she was a Lesser Guardian. I researched in my computer, and it confirms that there is no registered Sailor Hermes, so she would have to be either a self- appointed senshi, an unregistered senshi (which would mean she had no henshin wand), or a Guardian, which is the next step down from a senshi."
"Hold it," Makoto said. "But didn't those strange chicks say that they were Guardian Senshi and were better?"
"I'm getting to that," Ami said patiently. "Wait. Anyways, I researched her aura, and I found that she is my counterpart, as she stated earlier. However, my water and ice powers are a bit more advanced, and she has bit more powers connecting to the god Hermes, who was the messenger god. Earlier, I checked where she teleported to, and came up with a comet that has been coming closer to Earth each day in a normal routine. I researched it, and found that back in the Silver Millennium, it was called Eros.
"Apparently, Queen Silver of Eros attacked the Moon Kingdom, but Queen Serenity defeated her, AND took away her Silver Crystal. Queen Serenity then combined the Silver Crystal with the Imperial Crystal, and we thus have the Imperial Silver Crystal. Queen Silver has a daughter, whose name the computer will not diverge, and the daughter had eight guardians, four Greater Guardians, and four Lesser Guardians. That is all I know.
"About the allies. Apparently, there is a hierarchy to the senshi. There are Guardians, who aren't senshi, and then there are senshi. In senshi, Planetary Senshi, like us, are the lowest. Then, there are Star Senshi, then Galactic Senshi, then Guardian Senshi, then the Virtue Senshi, and finally, the Element Senshi. All of the Virtue Senshi died, and the heiresses are completely no more, so there is no Virtue Senshi. Element Senshi would include senshi of all stars, or all moons, or all planets, etc, and the only one we know remaining is Sailor Cosmos, which we all know is the final form of Usagi.
"Anyhow, Guardian Senshi used to include Sailor Galaxia, but she advanced to Element Senshi. She's kind of temporarily on probation, however, because she has to complete the task Usagi set for her. There is an interesting note. The Guardian Senshi have invited every Princess Serenity in the line of Moon Royalty to become a Guardian Senshi, and each one of them has refused.
"The Guardian Senshi said they were looking for a Guardian of the Moon. Well apparently, in a Prophecy, it is said that the Guardian of the Moon will bring light to the cosmos, give hope to all, and bring peace. I assume they took it literally, and are looking for someone titled Guardian of the Moon, but I would like to mention that the original translation has been lost, and guardian of the moon may not have been capitalized, and it would have referred to any guardian of any moon. And since there many moons, that is virtually impossible. I mean, in our solar system alone, Pluto has one moon, Jupiter has four moons, the Earth has one moon, Mars has two moons, and more! So I think that these Guardian Senshi are going on very vague information." Ami concluded her lecture.
Most of the senshi had managed to stay mildly interested throughout the whole thing, but Hotaru had fallen asleep, though Usagi was awake, reading manga.
"So we've probably got a sister or a daughter or a niece or something with a grudge," Haruka said. "Great."
"I would like to know what we have to face," Minako commented. "Are we facing daimons or youmas or possessed people or possessed objects or possessed things or things that aren't possessed at all?"
"The Kingdom of Eros isn't sophisticated enough and doesn't have enough resources to send youma or daimons, etc, but I believe they will send all of their guardians, and possibly hypnotize people or something similar to that. On the whole, we should probably be prepared for counterparts for ourselves," Ami concluded.
"Okay. How powerful was Queen Silver?" Michiru wanted to know. "Was she weak?"
"Not exactly," Ami hedged. "There are no records of Queen Silver's attack on the Moon Kingdom because it was before the Sailor Senshi. As you all know the Sailor Senshi of the Silver Alliance were bonded together for the sole purpose of protecting Princess Serenity. Before, the senshi were scattered, so there was no Sailor Mercury to record everything.
"After the attack by Queen Silver, Queen Serenity called together her senshi, who until then had been roaming the galaxy, and charged with guarding her daughter. She did his because during the attack, Queen Silver had immediately gone for young Princess Serenity, and Queen Serenity did not want that type of thing to happen again." Ami concluded her lecture with a sheepish grin as she realized that not everyone was paying attention.
"So what do they know about us?" Usagi finally asked.
"Hmm?" Luna asked.
"We know all this about them because we have an Ami to tell us everything. Their Ami counterpart is gone, and there is no Sailor Hermes … but what do they already know about us?"
~*~
Queen Electric Purple was impatiently tapping her finger. Finally, a figure appeared before her, bearing a tray of refreshments on it. "Well?" she asked, while munching on a couple of brownies.
The figure before her began to recite. "Sailor Hermes, fourth-in- command of the Lesser Guardians is dead from the last battle."
Queen Electric Purple glared. "On whose order did she go?"
"Third-in-command of the Lesser Guardians did, and you approved along with all of the other Guardians," the figure said.
Queen Electric Purple was thoughtful for a while, and then she smiled. "Yes, what information do we have on the senshi?"
"We have their attack information, along with their names, except for the final attacks which were too abrupt to record."
"It's good enough," Queen Electric Purple said. "This attack was productive. After all, sacrifices must be made."
The figure paused. "Forgive me, Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to ask a question?"
"Yes," Queen Electric Purple said absently.
"Why do you permit your Guardians to believe you to be incompetent and useless?" the figure inquired.
Queen Electric Purple airily waved her hand. "Oh, my Guardians. They're worthless fools. Curse my mother! She had absolutely no faith in me, so she sent Guardians to watch over me. And of course, I let them believe I needed them. Do you know? This whole conquest is foolishness. My Guardians were very loyal to my mother, not to me. They were bent on revenge, and nothing I said could dissuade them. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have used my Electric Purple Crystal to change the orbit of the Eros and direct it to Earth. In fact, it will be fun watching my Guardians die one by one because of their pride."
The figure paused. "But, my Queen. If the Sailor Senshi attack you, what will happen?"
"Oh, they won't," Queen Electric Purple said. "Once I get rid of the Lesser Guardians, I'll insist on sending the Stronger Guardians all at once, and then move Eros back to where it belongs. Sacrifices must be made."
The figure hesitated. "But, my Queen, aren't you sad about your Guardians?"
"No," Queen Electric Purple shrugged. "They're not even humans. Haven't you wondered why Sailor Hermes turned to dust? They're all robots. Strong, powerful robots that could kill me in a minute, I'll give you that, but robots nonetheless. Besides, I could really care less. They've always maltreated me and yelled at me and such. It'll be useful to have them washed off my hands."
"Yes, my Queen," the figure said.
"And sister?"
"Yes, my Queen."
"How many times have I told you not to address me as my Queen or Your Highness? We're sisters!"
"Yes, my Queen, but the Guardians…"
"Who cares about the Guardians?"
"Okay, Lectra."
"That's better, Rainbow."
~*~
"Usagi Tsukino! Where were you last night?" Ikuko Tsukino was livid.
Usagi gulped. Last night? Oh, mom, I was out battling Sailor Zeus last night. She hurls lightning bolts, and she's Makoto's counterpart. She wears black and green, has brown-black hair, and black eyes. She managed to burn my pinky, too. "I was sleeping. Where else would I be?" Years of trained lying made her voice curious and confused, not the least bit nervous.
"Sleeping, my ***!" Ikuko stormed.
Usagi swallowed hard. Her mother never swore unless REALLY mad. "Where else would I have been?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Ikuko glared. "Were you at your boyfriend's?"
"Of course not!" Usagi said, shocked. "I was … in my bed the whole time." She'd almost blurted out the truth.
"I checked on you around midnight. You weren't there." This was said hardly.
Usagi blinked innocently at her mother. "You must have been dreaming, mother."
Ikuko glared at her daughter. "If you don't tell me where you were last night, I'm taking away all your privileges and you're not allowed out of the house other than school."
"Umm…" Usagi trailed off. "I'm Sailor Moon, and I was out saving the world last night?" she said hopefully.
"Yeah, right. Where were you?" Ikuko's voice was steely. "Were you at that boy's? Because if you do anything serious-"
"Of course no!" Usagi said, outraged. She lowered her voice. "And don't forget that Daddy doesn't know I'm going out with him yet, and if he finds out …"
"Then where were you?" The question hung in the air.
Usagi held her breath and made a quick decision. "Please don't kill me Luna," she muttered underneath her breath before shouting, "Moon Cosmic Power!"
Ikuko watched in silence as her daughter transformed, and swallowed hard.
Beep! Beep! Sailor Moon turned on her communicator. Sailor Zeus at the park … AGAIN! It's like they're attacking in obvious places just to do this! Sheesh! Venus out "Umm … Mom, don't faint. I'll be right back," Sailor Moon said in a nervous voice, and leapt out of the window before her mom could say anything.
"Just wait a minute, young lady!" Ikuko called out of the window vainly. "Young lady!"
~*~
"Zeus Thunderbolts Strike!"
Sailor Moon winced as the flashes of lightning struck at her, but she bore it, as she satisfactorily watched Mars' flames engulf Sailor Zeus, leaving her weak.
"Silver Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" She recited the familiar incantation, watching as Sailor Zeus was left exhausted lying on the ground. She also knew that her senshi were too weak to attack as well. It was the ritual, and happened each time. Sailor Zeus would barely have enough energy to teleport back, and strike again tomorrow. It was like a script she was forced to memorize by heart.
"Soul Mystical Entwine!"
Sailor Moon smiled faintly as Sailor Zeus turned to ashes and scattered away. The few times they had met the Guardian Senshi, the Guardian Senshi had explained that they didn't care about protecting Earth; they were looking for the Guardian of the Moon. It also turned out that the enemy was looking for the same person, to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
She shakily got up and bowed politely to Sailor Soul. "Thank you for the help." Her tone, however, showed that she was very insincere with her thanks, and her eyes were almost mocking, though her smile was serious.
Sailor Soul, Sailor Melody, and Sailor Harmony frowned, but they said nothing. These senshi were certainly rude.
As Sailor Moon turned around, she rolled her eyes. Whoever had trained these three senshi had forgotten to shrink down their ego size and explain what being a senshi was all about.
But before she could react, there was an explosion. She whirled around faced Sailor Ares and Sailor Aphrodite. Both were evil parodies of Sailor Mars and Venus. Her senshi knew the situation was not good. One Inner and one Outer were down, unable to battle at all. Two Outers were injured slightly, and two Inners were completely drained of their powers, only able to use weaker attacks. Venus was out of town, and Saturn was nowhere to be seen. Even Tuxedo Kamen was injured from protecting Sailor Moon. She herself was only barely drained, frustrated at being able to help her friends earlier because her attacks were easily deflected. Then, there were the three doubtable allies.
The Starlights had been informed of their grave situation, but the teleporting alone would take weeks, and they were not due for a day. Ares and Aphrodite were refreshed, and filled with anger at seeing their fellow Guardian fall. The odds weren't in her favor.
Sailor Moon lifted her face. She and her senshi were ready. "Moon Tiara Magic!" She knew her attack wouldn't work, but watched with beady eyes as Sailor Ares and Sailor Aphrodite easily dodged the attack, and smiled when Uranus launched her World Shaking.
Sailor Ares was taken by surprise was slammed into the floor. Quickly, before she could do anything else, Sailor Moon shouted, "Silver Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" She knew it wouldn't do much, but it would weaken Sailor Ares by a lot.
As she fought Sailor Ares in a contest of wills, Sailor Aphrodite was firing blast after blast of golden energy at her friends. Sailor Moon felt her anger and helplessness grow, because Sailor Ares was using her special aura powers to engage Sailor Moon in this, and she couldn't break away. As her anger grew, she began to feel herself radiate more power.
"Crescent Moon Judgment!" she cried, as her symbol flashed brighter. Instantly, the battle between she and Sailor Ares was broken, and she held a wand with a crescent moon on each end. "Finality!" she screamed the last word with all of her might, aiming the two crescent moons at Sailor Ares and Sailor Aphrodite.
Slowly, stars flew out of both ends and surrounded Ares and Aphrodite. The two shrieked with anger and pain as the stars swirled around them until they were lost from view. When the stars slowed down, all that was left was a pile of ashes. Slowly, they blew away.
But Sailor Moon was not finished. She rose into the air (imagine levitation) and held out her crescent moon wand, which now had a cluster of three crescent moons on it. She pointed her wand at Sailor Soul, Sailor Harmony, and Sailor Melody.
"I am Lady Justice," Sailor Moon said in a voice that was not hers. "I give people what they are deserving of. As this girl was deserving of help, so I gave it to her, but first, there are those I must punish. You trio of the remaining Guardian Senshi are not deserving of your positions! A senshi's job is to protect, to stand for love and justice, and to show compassion to all.
"You, who have not properly taken vows, who have not yet protected an innocent, and who have ignored your duties can be forgiven, for your instructor, Sailor Constellation, was a vain one. She neglected her duties by not teaching you properly. Now you have been so instructed, and no longer will forgiveness be given to you. So do I, Lady Justice, decree! Forever shall this girl be my vessel when I need her, to distribute justice amongst the senshi! This is my verdict, and all shall except it!"
So saying, Sailor Moon/Lady Justice pointed up with the wand, and the crescent moons fell off to the ground and disappeared, as a swirl of stars surrounded Sailor Moon and landed her safely to the ground. Then, she fainted, and the wand disappeared.
There was a silence, before Sailor Mars limped over. "We will take her home, and tend to our injuries."
~*~
"So, Usagi turned into Lady Justice?" Minako verified one last time.
Hotaru was looking sad, because during the fight, she had been with her class on a field trip, and could not break away.
"So I did what again?" Usagi asked, shocked. After she had wakened up, she had had no memories whatsoever of what she had done.
"You totally told off those snobby Guardian Senshi," Makoto said again, "and then you did this really weird thing and fainted."
"That was after you destroyed the enemy," Haruka had added.
After the attack, Usagi had slept for twelve hours. Her mother had covered for her, saying she was at Rei's, while she was in actuality at Mamoru's, because it was the most spacious place there was. (The Outers had sold their mansion, and now lived in an apartment, though a spacious one, it was two small for the Outers and a resting Usagi who needed sleep. Makoto's apartment had been temporarily sealed off for bug problems, and extermination was taking place, so she was staying at Rei's.)
"Oi, I just have to keep getting more titles, don't I?" Usagi complained. "First I'm normal Usagi Tsukino. Then I'm Sailor Moon. Then I'm Princess Serenity. Then I'm the future Neo-Queen Serenity and mother of a spore. Then, I turn out to be some messiah, just before my future daughter gets to find this Golden Crystal as well as the Silver Crystal. Then, I found out that I'm going to be Sailor Cosmos or something, with a confusing girl named Chibi-Chibi, who I still don't understand. I mean, she appeared on an umbrella doing a Mary Poppins thing! I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that I was the Guardian of the Moon everyone was looking for …" She trailed off at the speculative glances everyone had on. "No! I'm senshi of the moon, not Guardian of the Moon!"
"Senshi is warrior, and a warrior is basically a guardian," Ami suggested.
"Go away," Usagi said. "Can't I rest in peace?"
~*~
Queen Electric Purple stared at her Greater Guardians in shock. "What?"
Sailor Time stared at Queen Electric Purple. "We said … the Lesser Guardians are all dead, and you are no longer a competent queen. You are accused of treason against your Guardians."
"What?" Queen Electric Purple sputtered.
A girl with rainbow-colored hair stepped out. "Hello, sister," she spat. "I'm no longer yours to order around. I'm going to be Queen of Eros!"
"Why?" Queen Electric Purple asked weakly.
"Because that's what we royalty of Eros do. We betray each other. Take her away," she said in an imperative tone, and the soldiers did just that.
Sailor Time spoke again. "Queen Rainbow, if you even think of doing what the soon-to-be-late Electric Purple did, you will die."
Queen Rainbow nodded. "I know that. It's how I keep alive."
~*~
"One thing ex-Queen Electric Purple suggested was a good idea. If we attack at once, we will overwhelm them."
"Good idea."
~*~
Usagi sighed. She was exhausted and bruised from the last battle, and she had a sneaking suspicion that nothing was over yet.
Suddenly, a wave of evil washed over her.
Guys. Mars here. There's a lot of evil at the park ~there was sound of gagging as she was cut off~ Anyways, we've got to go, now!
Usagi managed a weak smile. If she felt the evil, then vibe- sensitive Rei must be having a really hard time. "Moon Cosmic Power!"
~*~
Sailor Moon got there just as everyone did. A quick inventory told who were there. All of the Planetary Senshi, the Starlights, and the Guardian Senshi.
Suddenly, a whirlwind appeared in the middle of the park. All were tensed and poised.
Suddenly, a loud sonic boom was heard, and from the air, like a tornado, four figures whirling so fast, you could barely tell them apart, spinning around each other, descended.
When the dust died, parodies of Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn were visibile.
"I am Sailor Death!" said evil Saturn.
"I am Sailor Wind!" called evil Uranus.
"I am Sailor Sea!" spoke evil Neptune.
"And I am Sailor Time," evil Pluto said in a threatening tone.
"We are the Greater Guardians of Eros of the newly coronated Queen Rainbow! Prepare to die!"
And the fight began. It wasn't something you kept track of. More like a whir and blur. Sailors Uranus, Jupiter, Soul, and Star Fighter were fighting Sailor Wind. Sailors Neptune, Mercury, Harmony and Star Maker were fighting Sailor Sea. Sailors Saturn, Mars, Melody, and Tuxedo Kamen fought Sailor Death. Sailors Pluto, Venus, Moon, and Star Healer fought Sailor Time.
The fight was long and hard, and even with advantages of four to one, the side of good was losing. All around her, Sailor Moon felt her friends fall to the ground. Star Fighter was down, now Mercury was down, now Venus was down, now Uranus and Neptune. Next to fall were Star Maker and Star Healer. Then Melody, Harmony, and Soul. Jupiter was down, as were Mars and Saturn. Then, fell Pluto and Tuxedo Kamen. No one but Sailor Moon was up. The four Guardians turned to her, and Sailor Moon felt ice grow in her stomach.
She looked over to her friends, and saw them all unconscious. Tears pricked her eyes. She remembered her friends' stories. ~Lady Justice, help me~ she prayed. –The answer is within yourself- she felt Lady Justice respond.
She looked up, eyes blazing. "I am not someone you can bully," she said in a hissing voice. "I have defeated Beryl, and with her, Metallia. I have healed Fiore, Ail, and Ann. I have defeated Wiseman, the Death Phantom, healed the Four Sisters, and destroyed the Dark Moon family. I have destroyed the Dark Moon Circus and imprisoned Queen Nehirenia. I have defeated the Death Busters and Mistress Nine, and with them Pharaoh 90. I have healed Galaxia, and met my future self. I am Usagi Tsukino. I am Sailor Moon. I am Princess Serenity of the Moon. I am the vessel of Lady Justice, and the Messiah. I am the future Neo-Queen Serenity, and I am the beloved daughter of parents, the beloved sister of my brother, the beloved fiancée of my boyfriend, and the beloved friend of my friends. I am Sailor Cosmos, and I can do anything. Above all, I AM GUARDIAN OF THE MOON!"
The last came out as a roar, and when she said it, she underwent a transformation. When she was finished, she had butterfly wings (princess wings, not Eternal wings) and wore a long golden-silvery-white dress, with glowing eyes. She looked like she was in her Princess form, but she looked so much more.
The other Guardians cowered, but they did not show their fear. Instead, they advanced.
"I issue upon you what you deserve!" the Guardian of the Moon shouted.
The four robots of Guardians screamed as they were shut down, and turned to ash. Up in Eros, queen Rainbow heard her Guardians' cries, and felt as the Guardian of the Moon pushed Eros back into its normal orbit.
Before she fell to the ground from the quaking, though, Queen Rainbow uttered a pledge. "I will come back, Guardian of the Moon, and you will pay. My daughter will fight your daughter, and her daughter will fight your granddaughter. I refuse to be beaten!" And the evil cackle of insanity filled the silent comet.
"Wake up, Usagi," Luna grumbled for the ninth time.
Usagi groaned. "Five more minutes?"
"It's seven-thirty. School's already started," Luna informed her.
"Aaaah! I'm going to be late for school!" Usagi screamed. She whirled around the room, putting on her Juuban Uniform, grabbing her backpack, and rushed downstairs. As soon as she got there, she grabbed a piece of toast, surprising Kenji, Ikuko, and Shingo, who were all sitting down and rushed out the door. A second later, she walked back in cautiously, staring at Shingo. "Nani? If it were seven-thirty, wouldn't you be in school already?"
Kenji stared incomprehensibly at his daughter. Shingo's eyes were wide with shock and his mouth had dropped open. Ikuko was the first to speak. "Usagi, dear, it's only six forty-five. School doesn't start for half an hour."
Usagi's eyes widened. Her mouth dropped. Her eyes narrowed. Her lips pursed. "A little kitty I know is going to pay a visit to the vet very soon."
Her family gave her strange looks.
"I'm going back to sleep," she announced, about to crawl back upstairs.
"No, you don't," Ikuko said firmly, catching hold of her shoulder.
"You're going to arrive to school early today," Kenji said.
"For the first time," Shingo snickered.
Usagi glared at Shingo. Taking another toast, she loftily said, "I'm going to meet Naru."
So saying, she sniffed and walked out the door. She saw Naru at the Arcade, and called out, "Naru, wait up!"
Naru turned around, saw Usagi, and … thunk!
Carefully, Usagi hauled Naru to the Arcade, and dumped a bucket of water on her. "Nani?" Naru asked. "What are you doing, Usagi?"
"You fainted," Usagi said.
"You're up early today," Naru noted
"Duh!" Usagi said exasperatedly before marching off to school.
~*~
Two hundred and fifteen thousand Thunks later, Usagi was sitting on her pink bed, sighing. I should get up early more often, she decided. Its not every day school is let off early because Haruna-sensei fainted and needed to go the hospital. I wonder why she fainted anyways. I only said, "here." She looked at her watch. Anyways, that meant she had five hours in which to play before going to Rei's meeting. Wouldn't it be great if she showed up early for once?
But Sailor Pluto had other things in mind. Just as Usagi was about to put on more comfortable clothes and go shopping, a portal appeared in her room. She stopped herself from shrieking just in time.
She glared. "Don't do that," she said sternly.
Pluto bowed. "I am sorry Serenity-sama."
"Don't call me that," Usagi scolded.
Pluto smiled a small half-smile. "Habits die hard."
"So you mean you're the Pluto from the future, not the Pluto from the past or the Pluto from the time portal," Usagi asked.
Pluto frowned. "I suppose so," she said cautiously. "But there's only one Pluto."
"How can there be millions of me in different times and dimensions and only be one you?" Usagi asked plaintively.
"I don't think about that one," Pluto explained. "That and temporal paradoxes confuse me so much, I get headaches."
"Good," Usagi said brightly. "It gives me headaches, too."
Pluto sighed. "Anyways, I have some news to give you. First of all, I am obliged to inform you that a new foe is coming."
"Couldn't you have warned me in my dreams?" Usagi asked. "Or have let my instincts figure it out? Did you have to scare me to death to tell me that?"
"I'm not finished," Pluto said. "And, this new enemy you will not be able to defeat alone, even with the outers' help. Instead, help will come from another direction. However, I would like to warn you that the other side believes they have a totally different mission, and will act arrogant like you can't do anything on your own. Grit your teeth and take it. They think they've remembered everything from the past, but they haven't. Bit by bit, each time you see them, you will. Don't tell them. For once, I would like to see them fall on their face."
"That'll be easy," Usagi said brightly. "I'll just handle them like I handled you outers."
Pluto winced. "Ouch. I deserved that," she said ruefully.
"You didn't come all this way to tell me something that I already know," Usagi said.
"Well, I'm just warning you ahead of time that one of them will become infatuated with Mamoru, but don't throttle her," Pluto said cautiously.
Usagi growled. "Mamoru is mine! Not Rei's! Not Beryl's! Not yours! Not Princess Serenity's! Not Sailor Moon's! Not Neo-Queen Serenity's! Not yours!"
Pluto sighed. "Calm down, Usagi. I'm just warning you ahead of time. And, I'm going to have to erase your memory of the vital things of what I just said, so only remember the skeleton."
So saying, she stepped back through her portal and vanished, and Usagi forgot about their new allies, and being something else, and everything.
"That was interesting," Usagi sighed, before getting ready to go to the mall.
~*~
A tall, evil, electric-purple haired lady stood in the distance. "Somebody will pay!" she shrieked.
Four girls bowed before her. "Yes, Queen Electric Purple?"
Four girls came behind the first four. "What is your wish, Queen Electric Purple?"
Queen Electric Purple glared. "Why have you not yet attacked?"
One of the first four answered, "We are analyzing the enemy."
"Good," Queen Electric Purple said. "Continue."
Let me introduce them. The aforementioned four girls are Sailor Ares, Sailor Zeus, Sailor Aphrodite, and Sailor Hermes. The latter four are Sailor Wind, Sailor Sea, Sailor Time, and Sailor Death. These four serve Queen Electric Purple … maybe serve isn't the correct term.
Queen Electric Purple's mother, Queen Silver, was a wise, but evil queen. She had no guardians but herself, much like Queen Serenity did. For her daughter, however, she chose eight of the wisest and slyest guardians there were. Part of this was because she knew that her own daughter was incompetent. So Queen Electric Purple has eight guardians, much like Princess Serenity does. Queen Electric Purple also has the Electric Purple Crystal.
A long time ago, Queen Silver had the Silver Crystal, but it was black. She attempted to attack the moon, and failed, and taken from her was her life and her Silver Crystal. Her daughter had remained on the planet of Eros, and had taken over. Part of the Silver Crystal had been given to Princess Electric Purple to train with, and as soon as she touched it, it turned electric purple, thus its name. And that is why Queen Electric Purple has the Electric Purple Crystal, a portion of the Silver Crystal.
~*~
Usagi was in the middle of buying this really cool soft pink miniskirt she knew Mamoru's eyes would bug out for, when suddenly, a scream was heard from the center of the mall. Immediately, Usagi rushed over. When she got there, this was what she saw.
A girl dressed in a blue and black sailor skirt was levitating in the center of the mall, zapping people with ice and water. On her blue boots were white, fluttering wings. She had dark blue-black hair and blue-black eyes. She looked like Sailor Mercury/Ami, only with black.
Usagi gulped. She was so terrified; she forgot the words to her transformation. Not! Usagi dealt with this as calmly and coolly as she called. She pulled out her communicator, and said "I NEED HELP FAST!!!!! THERE'S A YOUMA AT THE MALL! I'M GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Okay, so maybe she wasn't as calm and cool as she could have been … so what?
"Moon Cosmic Power!" She immediately turned into Sailor Moon. She ran up. "I am Sailor Moon, and I shall punish you!"
Sailor Hermes glanced at her casually. "I am Sailor Hermes. I am the harbinger…the herald…the messenger. And my message is this: Begone, thou vile beast, and leaveth us here to do what we wish with this despicable world. Begone and take thy senshi with thee!"
Sailor Moon stared at Sailor Hermes blankly … before bursting out laughing. "You're kidding, right?"
Sailor Hermes glared. "No one said I only had to be the messenger," she murmured, fingering her teardrop necklace. "And I recently got energy from those pathetic mortals … Hermes Water Disruption!"
Sailor Moon covered her head as a wave of water washed her back into the wall of the mall. She winced, and could feel herself bruising.
"Shine Aqua Rhapsody!" Immediately, Sailor Hermes was frozen in ice.
"How do you like that?" Sailor Mercury asked angrily, as she and the other Inners reached over to help Sailor Moon up.
Sailor Hermes closed her eyes, and slowly, the ice began to melt. She smirked. "I'm your counterpart, ~Mercury~, so don't try anything with me," she glared.
"Then try this on for size," Sailor Mars growled. "Mars Fireballs Charge!"
Sailor Hermes almost dodged it, but the fire burned off part of her long, blue-black hair. She glared. "You'll pay for that!" Suddenly, she growled. "I've got to go," she muttered before teleporting away, but not before they heard the words, "Stupid, incompetent Queen El-"
"Doesn't that sound like someone we know?" Sailor Mars asked caustically.
"Sailor Maaaaaaaaaaaars," Sailor Moon wailed. "Why are you always so meeeeeeeeeeean to me?"
Back to normal.
~*~
Usagi was thinking on her small bed. Apparently Sailor Hermes was only a messenger; otherwise she would have truly attacked. And who was the person that Sailor Pluto said would try to steal her Mamoru? It probably wasn't Sailor Hermes; she looked as if she didn't care for guys, only for her duty. Argh! It was so annoying sometimes.
As she frowned, Luna walked in through the window. "Usagi! Where were you? We had to hold the senshi meeting without you!"
Usagi blushed immediately. "Sorry, Luna," she said meekly. "I was thinking."
"About what?" Luna asked.
"Just … stuff," Usagi sighed.
"Like your last test, which you failed?" Luna asked.
Usagi glared. "No, like ice cream and Mamo-chan and chocolate and Mamo-chan and the arcade and Mamo-"
Luna shook her head. "Pretend I didn't ask."
~*~
"We have a mission."
"Yes we do."
"But will it dominate our lives?"
"If it must, it will."
~*~
"I am Sailor Hermes, fourth-in-command of the Lesser Guardians of Eros. Dark mirror to Mercury, my mission is to collect energy and destroy the Sailor Senshi!"
Immediately, blue-black energy formed around Sailor Hermes's hands, and connected to random people, one of who was Naru. Slowly, white, pulsing energy, throbbed into her, and she began to feel mighty refreshed. Suddenly, a golden disc broke her connections and boomeranged back.
"Who goes there?" Sailor Hermes asked.
"I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I shall right all wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means you!"
Sailor Hermes snorted with laughter. "You?"
"I am Sailor Venus…"
"Sailor Jupiter …"
"Sailor Mercury…"
"Sailor Mars…"
"We are the Inner Senshi and in the name of our planets, we shall punish you!"
"Well, I told you what I was, and unless you feel like getting hurt, I suggest you stay away! I'm not looking for any of you … I want the Guardian of the Moon! Now get out of my way. Hermes Water Distortion!"
Immediately, the world around them became blurry, and none of them could see properly.
"Mercury Bubbles Blast!" The bubbles hit Sailor Hermes, momentarily startling her, and stopping her from distorting the world around them. "Mercury Aqua Illusion!"
Immediately, the place was filled with fog.
"Mercury," Mars shouted. "We can't see either!"
"Oops."
"But I can," Sailor Hermes sneered. "I have power over this … Hermes Ice Shards!"
Ice shards began coming from everywhere. By the time Sailor Mercury finally withdrew her fog; everyone was exhausted from dodging.
"And now for the finish, Hermes Ice Rhapsody!"
Immediately, ice began freezing everything.
"Mars Flame Sniper!" Slowly, the ice began to melt.
"Jupiter Thunder Dragon!" The dragon of lightning stormed and began electrocuting Sailor Hermes. Suddenly, Sailor Hermes threw off the dragon.
"Is that the best that you can do?" she taunted. "Hermes Ice-" a rose hitting right before her cut her off.
(A/N: I'm bad at speeches) "You fighter of evil shall pay for the wrongdoings you have wreaked upon this world. The park is a place for happiness, not for you scum!"
Tuxedo Kamen appeared with his cane in hand, as he perched atop a swing set.
Sailor Hermes scowled. "Fool, you have only angered me."
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"World Shaking!"
"Dead Scream!"
The four attacks cut off Sailor Hermes. The Dead Scream attack she barely managed to dodge, and the Silence Glaive Surprise hit her head on, but she managed to live. The World Shaking she almost avoided, but it hit her left foot, just as the Deep Submerge threw her back into a tree.
"Brought by a new age, I am Sailor Uranus!"
"I am Sailor Neptune!"
"I am Sailor Pluto!"
"I am Sailor Saturn!"
Sailor Hermes got up shakily. She smirked. "You've thrown your best … I've lived."
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" The last attack knocked her to the ground. Slowly, but surely, she got up again, to the dismay of everyone present.
"Melody …"
"Harmony …"
"Twin Distinction!"
The two attacks twined around each other, one blue-black, one silver- white, and they slammed into Sailor Hermes, finishing her off. Slowly, the former fourth in command of the Lesser Guardians disintegrated into dust, and floated off into the air.
The Outer Senshi looked around them warily. "Who is there?" Sailor Uranus asked.
"I am the Sailor Harmony, Unicorn of the Wishing Stars."
"I am Sailor Melody, Dragon of the Shining Stars."
"I am Sailor Soul, Phoenix of the Shooting Stars."
"We three are the Mystic Guardians. Forever in search of the Guardian of the Moon, we represent the peace of the cosmos!" three voices chorused.
The Sailor Senshi turned to look toward the direction of the voices.
Sailor Harmony had silvery white hair that flowed down to her waist. On each side, was a small, slim braid. She had a silver and white fuku with a large silver bow with a unicorn's horn in the middle of it. On her forehead, was a tiara with a unicorn's horn on it.
Sailor Melody had blue-black hair that flowed to who-knew-where. It was braided in a crown around her head. She had a green-blue and white fuku with a large green bow with a dragon's paw in the middle of it. Her forehead had a tiara with a dragon's paw on it.
Sailor Soul had reddish-orange hair that was a mass of curls. It flowed down to her knees, and spilled around her like a cape. She had a reddish-orange and white fuku with a large orange bow with a phoenix flame in the middle of it. Her forehead had the tiara with the phoenix flame on it.
The three had elegance about them, as well as arrogance. They held themselves slightly stiffly as if they were more powerful than the Senshi.
"And are you our friends?" Sailor Uranus wanted to know.
"We serve ourselves, and we show obeisance only to the Guardian of the Moon," Sailor Harmony said, her voice musical, yet lofty.
It wasn't as if they were trying to be arrogant … they just reeked of it. Let's put it this way. Imagine Uranus and Neptune, acting like they knew everything, really snobbishly back in Sailor Moon … S, and kind of multiply them by ten. That's what you get.
Everything about them, from their posture, to their tone, showed that they believed themselves superior. They stood kind of stiffly, and looked down on the senshi … standing on a roof didn't help. Their voices sounded as if they were trying to explain things in laymen's terms.
Of course, Sailor Mars blew up first. "If you're not for us, you're against us! We don't need you help, so you can leave!"
"You don't need our help?" Sailor Melody asked, raising her blue- black eyebrows daintily.
"We don't," Sailor Jupiter said fiercely. "We can always ask the Starlights for help."
"As if," Sailor Soul said, shaking her head. "You Terran Senshi can't do anything by yourselves, can you. You're bound to the planets you represent. At least the Starlights are Star Senshi; they can do something. We're Guardian Senshi … we can go anywhere we please, and we know what we're talking about. We have all our memories of the Silver Millennium. We're well known. People are delighted to see us when we go to their planets, because it means someone from their planet is a Guardian Senshi, too."
Flashback
"We are the Guardian Senshi, Queen Serenity."
"Yes, I know that."
"We have come to tell you that your daughter is of the same caliber as the Guardian Senshi and to ask if she will join us."
"My answer is as my mother's before me. No."
"Why not?"
"My daughter is destined to be Princess of the Moon, not Sailor Cosmos."
"But …"
"The line of Serenity will continue."
"Yes, my Queen. It shall."
"Out of curiosity, we will never say yes, and you knew that when you came here. Why do you come?"
"It is an obligation. We will come every year of the Princess's birth until she is 18."
"And my answer will always be no."
End Flashback
"And we really care," Sailor Venus shook her head. "You're not impressing us yet."
"They sure are modest," Sailor Uranus said sarcastically.
"No more than you were," Sailor Mercury said amusedly. "Come on. We have better things to do than stay here."
So saying, the Sailor Senshi left, not noticing that the Guardian Senshi had as well.
~*~
"Where is Usagi?" Rei asked impatiently. "We've been waiting here forever!"
At this moment, a young blonde ran up the steps of the temple, panting as she got to the top. "Sorry I'm late, guys," she panted. "I totally forgot that we had a meeting, and I went to the Arcade, and then I remembered, so I ran all the way here."
Haruka shook her head. "Neko-chan. I thought I reminded you a couple of hours ago."
"And I reminded you during school," Ami added.
"And I specifically told Motoki to remind you of your study session," Minako added.
"And I reminded you an hour ago on the phone," Mamoru chuckled.
Usagi shrunk. "Oops," she whispered.
"On to important matters," Luna said gravely. "We have a new enemy…as well as new allies."
"Allies?" Michiru asked, delicately raising her eyebrows.
Usagi snorted. "They weren't much worse than Tuxedo Kamen before we found out who he was. He was just plain rude, especially grabbing my Rainbow Crystal." She paused to glare at Mamoru, who smiled sheepishly. "They can't be much worse than the Outers were, who actually left us in the middle of battling a youma just because they were sure that the heart crystal wasn't it." She paused to give a meaningful glare at Michiru and Haruka, who smiled back sheepishly. "And they're just a tad more arrogant than the Starlights," she paused. "They actually helped … with no strings attached."
"Continuing on," Luna said. "We need information on our enemy and our allies. Mercury?"
"On it already, Luna," Ami said. "Notice how she referred to herself as Sailor Hermes, but she did not say she was a senshi … she said she was a Lesser Guardian. I researched in my computer, and it confirms that there is no registered Sailor Hermes, so she would have to be either a self- appointed senshi, an unregistered senshi (which would mean she had no henshin wand), or a Guardian, which is the next step down from a senshi."
"Hold it," Makoto said. "But didn't those strange chicks say that they were Guardian Senshi and were better?"
"I'm getting to that," Ami said patiently. "Wait. Anyways, I researched her aura, and I found that she is my counterpart, as she stated earlier. However, my water and ice powers are a bit more advanced, and she has bit more powers connecting to the god Hermes, who was the messenger god. Earlier, I checked where she teleported to, and came up with a comet that has been coming closer to Earth each day in a normal routine. I researched it, and found that back in the Silver Millennium, it was called Eros.
"Apparently, Queen Silver of Eros attacked the Moon Kingdom, but Queen Serenity defeated her, AND took away her Silver Crystal. Queen Serenity then combined the Silver Crystal with the Imperial Crystal, and we thus have the Imperial Silver Crystal. Queen Silver has a daughter, whose name the computer will not diverge, and the daughter had eight guardians, four Greater Guardians, and four Lesser Guardians. That is all I know.
"About the allies. Apparently, there is a hierarchy to the senshi. There are Guardians, who aren't senshi, and then there are senshi. In senshi, Planetary Senshi, like us, are the lowest. Then, there are Star Senshi, then Galactic Senshi, then Guardian Senshi, then the Virtue Senshi, and finally, the Element Senshi. All of the Virtue Senshi died, and the heiresses are completely no more, so there is no Virtue Senshi. Element Senshi would include senshi of all stars, or all moons, or all planets, etc, and the only one we know remaining is Sailor Cosmos, which we all know is the final form of Usagi.
"Anyhow, Guardian Senshi used to include Sailor Galaxia, but she advanced to Element Senshi. She's kind of temporarily on probation, however, because she has to complete the task Usagi set for her. There is an interesting note. The Guardian Senshi have invited every Princess Serenity in the line of Moon Royalty to become a Guardian Senshi, and each one of them has refused.
"The Guardian Senshi said they were looking for a Guardian of the Moon. Well apparently, in a Prophecy, it is said that the Guardian of the Moon will bring light to the cosmos, give hope to all, and bring peace. I assume they took it literally, and are looking for someone titled Guardian of the Moon, but I would like to mention that the original translation has been lost, and guardian of the moon may not have been capitalized, and it would have referred to any guardian of any moon. And since there many moons, that is virtually impossible. I mean, in our solar system alone, Pluto has one moon, Jupiter has four moons, the Earth has one moon, Mars has two moons, and more! So I think that these Guardian Senshi are going on very vague information." Ami concluded her lecture.
Most of the senshi had managed to stay mildly interested throughout the whole thing, but Hotaru had fallen asleep, though Usagi was awake, reading manga.
"So we've probably got a sister or a daughter or a niece or something with a grudge," Haruka said. "Great."
"I would like to know what we have to face," Minako commented. "Are we facing daimons or youmas or possessed people or possessed objects or possessed things or things that aren't possessed at all?"
"The Kingdom of Eros isn't sophisticated enough and doesn't have enough resources to send youma or daimons, etc, but I believe they will send all of their guardians, and possibly hypnotize people or something similar to that. On the whole, we should probably be prepared for counterparts for ourselves," Ami concluded.
"Okay. How powerful was Queen Silver?" Michiru wanted to know. "Was she weak?"
"Not exactly," Ami hedged. "There are no records of Queen Silver's attack on the Moon Kingdom because it was before the Sailor Senshi. As you all know the Sailor Senshi of the Silver Alliance were bonded together for the sole purpose of protecting Princess Serenity. Before, the senshi were scattered, so there was no Sailor Mercury to record everything.
"After the attack by Queen Silver, Queen Serenity called together her senshi, who until then had been roaming the galaxy, and charged with guarding her daughter. She did his because during the attack, Queen Silver had immediately gone for young Princess Serenity, and Queen Serenity did not want that type of thing to happen again." Ami concluded her lecture with a sheepish grin as she realized that not everyone was paying attention.
"So what do they know about us?" Usagi finally asked.
"Hmm?" Luna asked.
"We know all this about them because we have an Ami to tell us everything. Their Ami counterpart is gone, and there is no Sailor Hermes … but what do they already know about us?"
~*~
Queen Electric Purple was impatiently tapping her finger. Finally, a figure appeared before her, bearing a tray of refreshments on it. "Well?" she asked, while munching on a couple of brownies.
The figure before her began to recite. "Sailor Hermes, fourth-in- command of the Lesser Guardians is dead from the last battle."
Queen Electric Purple glared. "On whose order did she go?"
"Third-in-command of the Lesser Guardians did, and you approved along with all of the other Guardians," the figure said.
Queen Electric Purple was thoughtful for a while, and then she smiled. "Yes, what information do we have on the senshi?"
"We have their attack information, along with their names, except for the final attacks which were too abrupt to record."
"It's good enough," Queen Electric Purple said. "This attack was productive. After all, sacrifices must be made."
The figure paused. "Forgive me, Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to ask a question?"
"Yes," Queen Electric Purple said absently.
"Why do you permit your Guardians to believe you to be incompetent and useless?" the figure inquired.
Queen Electric Purple airily waved her hand. "Oh, my Guardians. They're worthless fools. Curse my mother! She had absolutely no faith in me, so she sent Guardians to watch over me. And of course, I let them believe I needed them. Do you know? This whole conquest is foolishness. My Guardians were very loyal to my mother, not to me. They were bent on revenge, and nothing I said could dissuade them. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have used my Electric Purple Crystal to change the orbit of the Eros and direct it to Earth. In fact, it will be fun watching my Guardians die one by one because of their pride."
The figure paused. "But, my Queen. If the Sailor Senshi attack you, what will happen?"
"Oh, they won't," Queen Electric Purple said. "Once I get rid of the Lesser Guardians, I'll insist on sending the Stronger Guardians all at once, and then move Eros back to where it belongs. Sacrifices must be made."
The figure hesitated. "But, my Queen, aren't you sad about your Guardians?"
"No," Queen Electric Purple shrugged. "They're not even humans. Haven't you wondered why Sailor Hermes turned to dust? They're all robots. Strong, powerful robots that could kill me in a minute, I'll give you that, but robots nonetheless. Besides, I could really care less. They've always maltreated me and yelled at me and such. It'll be useful to have them washed off my hands."
"Yes, my Queen," the figure said.
"And sister?"
"Yes, my Queen."
"How many times have I told you not to address me as my Queen or Your Highness? We're sisters!"
"Yes, my Queen, but the Guardians…"
"Who cares about the Guardians?"
"Okay, Lectra."
"That's better, Rainbow."
~*~
"Usagi Tsukino! Where were you last night?" Ikuko Tsukino was livid.
Usagi gulped. Last night? Oh, mom, I was out battling Sailor Zeus last night. She hurls lightning bolts, and she's Makoto's counterpart. She wears black and green, has brown-black hair, and black eyes. She managed to burn my pinky, too. "I was sleeping. Where else would I be?" Years of trained lying made her voice curious and confused, not the least bit nervous.
"Sleeping, my ***!" Ikuko stormed.
Usagi swallowed hard. Her mother never swore unless REALLY mad. "Where else would I have been?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Ikuko glared. "Were you at your boyfriend's?"
"Of course not!" Usagi said, shocked. "I was … in my bed the whole time." She'd almost blurted out the truth.
"I checked on you around midnight. You weren't there." This was said hardly.
Usagi blinked innocently at her mother. "You must have been dreaming, mother."
Ikuko glared at her daughter. "If you don't tell me where you were last night, I'm taking away all your privileges and you're not allowed out of the house other than school."
"Umm…" Usagi trailed off. "I'm Sailor Moon, and I was out saving the world last night?" she said hopefully.
"Yeah, right. Where were you?" Ikuko's voice was steely. "Were you at that boy's? Because if you do anything serious-"
"Of course no!" Usagi said, outraged. She lowered her voice. "And don't forget that Daddy doesn't know I'm going out with him yet, and if he finds out …"
"Then where were you?" The question hung in the air.
Usagi held her breath and made a quick decision. "Please don't kill me Luna," she muttered underneath her breath before shouting, "Moon Cosmic Power!"
Ikuko watched in silence as her daughter transformed, and swallowed hard.
Beep! Beep! Sailor Moon turned on her communicator. Sailor Zeus at the park … AGAIN! It's like they're attacking in obvious places just to do this! Sheesh! Venus out "Umm … Mom, don't faint. I'll be right back," Sailor Moon said in a nervous voice, and leapt out of the window before her mom could say anything.
"Just wait a minute, young lady!" Ikuko called out of the window vainly. "Young lady!"
~*~
"Zeus Thunderbolts Strike!"
Sailor Moon winced as the flashes of lightning struck at her, but she bore it, as she satisfactorily watched Mars' flames engulf Sailor Zeus, leaving her weak.
"Silver Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" She recited the familiar incantation, watching as Sailor Zeus was left exhausted lying on the ground. She also knew that her senshi were too weak to attack as well. It was the ritual, and happened each time. Sailor Zeus would barely have enough energy to teleport back, and strike again tomorrow. It was like a script she was forced to memorize by heart.
"Soul Mystical Entwine!"
Sailor Moon smiled faintly as Sailor Zeus turned to ashes and scattered away. The few times they had met the Guardian Senshi, the Guardian Senshi had explained that they didn't care about protecting Earth; they were looking for the Guardian of the Moon. It also turned out that the enemy was looking for the same person, to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
She shakily got up and bowed politely to Sailor Soul. "Thank you for the help." Her tone, however, showed that she was very insincere with her thanks, and her eyes were almost mocking, though her smile was serious.
Sailor Soul, Sailor Melody, and Sailor Harmony frowned, but they said nothing. These senshi were certainly rude.
As Sailor Moon turned around, she rolled her eyes. Whoever had trained these three senshi had forgotten to shrink down their ego size and explain what being a senshi was all about.
But before she could react, there was an explosion. She whirled around faced Sailor Ares and Sailor Aphrodite. Both were evil parodies of Sailor Mars and Venus. Her senshi knew the situation was not good. One Inner and one Outer were down, unable to battle at all. Two Outers were injured slightly, and two Inners were completely drained of their powers, only able to use weaker attacks. Venus was out of town, and Saturn was nowhere to be seen. Even Tuxedo Kamen was injured from protecting Sailor Moon. She herself was only barely drained, frustrated at being able to help her friends earlier because her attacks were easily deflected. Then, there were the three doubtable allies.
The Starlights had been informed of their grave situation, but the teleporting alone would take weeks, and they were not due for a day. Ares and Aphrodite were refreshed, and filled with anger at seeing their fellow Guardian fall. The odds weren't in her favor.
Sailor Moon lifted her face. She and her senshi were ready. "Moon Tiara Magic!" She knew her attack wouldn't work, but watched with beady eyes as Sailor Ares and Sailor Aphrodite easily dodged the attack, and smiled when Uranus launched her World Shaking.
Sailor Ares was taken by surprise was slammed into the floor. Quickly, before she could do anything else, Sailor Moon shouted, "Silver Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" She knew it wouldn't do much, but it would weaken Sailor Ares by a lot.
As she fought Sailor Ares in a contest of wills, Sailor Aphrodite was firing blast after blast of golden energy at her friends. Sailor Moon felt her anger and helplessness grow, because Sailor Ares was using her special aura powers to engage Sailor Moon in this, and she couldn't break away. As her anger grew, she began to feel herself radiate more power.
"Crescent Moon Judgment!" she cried, as her symbol flashed brighter. Instantly, the battle between she and Sailor Ares was broken, and she held a wand with a crescent moon on each end. "Finality!" she screamed the last word with all of her might, aiming the two crescent moons at Sailor Ares and Sailor Aphrodite.
Slowly, stars flew out of both ends and surrounded Ares and Aphrodite. The two shrieked with anger and pain as the stars swirled around them until they were lost from view. When the stars slowed down, all that was left was a pile of ashes. Slowly, they blew away.
But Sailor Moon was not finished. She rose into the air (imagine levitation) and held out her crescent moon wand, which now had a cluster of three crescent moons on it. She pointed her wand at Sailor Soul, Sailor Harmony, and Sailor Melody.
"I am Lady Justice," Sailor Moon said in a voice that was not hers. "I give people what they are deserving of. As this girl was deserving of help, so I gave it to her, but first, there are those I must punish. You trio of the remaining Guardian Senshi are not deserving of your positions! A senshi's job is to protect, to stand for love and justice, and to show compassion to all.
"You, who have not properly taken vows, who have not yet protected an innocent, and who have ignored your duties can be forgiven, for your instructor, Sailor Constellation, was a vain one. She neglected her duties by not teaching you properly. Now you have been so instructed, and no longer will forgiveness be given to you. So do I, Lady Justice, decree! Forever shall this girl be my vessel when I need her, to distribute justice amongst the senshi! This is my verdict, and all shall except it!"
So saying, Sailor Moon/Lady Justice pointed up with the wand, and the crescent moons fell off to the ground and disappeared, as a swirl of stars surrounded Sailor Moon and landed her safely to the ground. Then, she fainted, and the wand disappeared.
There was a silence, before Sailor Mars limped over. "We will take her home, and tend to our injuries."
~*~
"So, Usagi turned into Lady Justice?" Minako verified one last time.
Hotaru was looking sad, because during the fight, she had been with her class on a field trip, and could not break away.
"So I did what again?" Usagi asked, shocked. After she had wakened up, she had had no memories whatsoever of what she had done.
"You totally told off those snobby Guardian Senshi," Makoto said again, "and then you did this really weird thing and fainted."
"That was after you destroyed the enemy," Haruka had added.
After the attack, Usagi had slept for twelve hours. Her mother had covered for her, saying she was at Rei's, while she was in actuality at Mamoru's, because it was the most spacious place there was. (The Outers had sold their mansion, and now lived in an apartment, though a spacious one, it was two small for the Outers and a resting Usagi who needed sleep. Makoto's apartment had been temporarily sealed off for bug problems, and extermination was taking place, so she was staying at Rei's.)
"Oi, I just have to keep getting more titles, don't I?" Usagi complained. "First I'm normal Usagi Tsukino. Then I'm Sailor Moon. Then I'm Princess Serenity. Then I'm the future Neo-Queen Serenity and mother of a spore. Then, I turn out to be some messiah, just before my future daughter gets to find this Golden Crystal as well as the Silver Crystal. Then, I found out that I'm going to be Sailor Cosmos or something, with a confusing girl named Chibi-Chibi, who I still don't understand. I mean, she appeared on an umbrella doing a Mary Poppins thing! I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that I was the Guardian of the Moon everyone was looking for …" She trailed off at the speculative glances everyone had on. "No! I'm senshi of the moon, not Guardian of the Moon!"
"Senshi is warrior, and a warrior is basically a guardian," Ami suggested.
"Go away," Usagi said. "Can't I rest in peace?"
~*~
Queen Electric Purple stared at her Greater Guardians in shock. "What?"
Sailor Time stared at Queen Electric Purple. "We said … the Lesser Guardians are all dead, and you are no longer a competent queen. You are accused of treason against your Guardians."
"What?" Queen Electric Purple sputtered.
A girl with rainbow-colored hair stepped out. "Hello, sister," she spat. "I'm no longer yours to order around. I'm going to be Queen of Eros!"
"Why?" Queen Electric Purple asked weakly.
"Because that's what we royalty of Eros do. We betray each other. Take her away," she said in an imperative tone, and the soldiers did just that.
Sailor Time spoke again. "Queen Rainbow, if you even think of doing what the soon-to-be-late Electric Purple did, you will die."
Queen Rainbow nodded. "I know that. It's how I keep alive."
~*~
"One thing ex-Queen Electric Purple suggested was a good idea. If we attack at once, we will overwhelm them."
"Good idea."
~*~
Usagi sighed. She was exhausted and bruised from the last battle, and she had a sneaking suspicion that nothing was over yet.
Suddenly, a wave of evil washed over her.
Guys. Mars here. There's a lot of evil at the park ~there was sound of gagging as she was cut off~ Anyways, we've got to go, now!
Usagi managed a weak smile. If she felt the evil, then vibe- sensitive Rei must be having a really hard time. "Moon Cosmic Power!"
~*~
Sailor Moon got there just as everyone did. A quick inventory told who were there. All of the Planetary Senshi, the Starlights, and the Guardian Senshi.
Suddenly, a whirlwind appeared in the middle of the park. All were tensed and poised.
Suddenly, a loud sonic boom was heard, and from the air, like a tornado, four figures whirling so fast, you could barely tell them apart, spinning around each other, descended.
When the dust died, parodies of Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn were visibile.
"I am Sailor Death!" said evil Saturn.
"I am Sailor Wind!" called evil Uranus.
"I am Sailor Sea!" spoke evil Neptune.
"And I am Sailor Time," evil Pluto said in a threatening tone.
"We are the Greater Guardians of Eros of the newly coronated Queen Rainbow! Prepare to die!"
And the fight began. It wasn't something you kept track of. More like a whir and blur. Sailors Uranus, Jupiter, Soul, and Star Fighter were fighting Sailor Wind. Sailors Neptune, Mercury, Harmony and Star Maker were fighting Sailor Sea. Sailors Saturn, Mars, Melody, and Tuxedo Kamen fought Sailor Death. Sailors Pluto, Venus, Moon, and Star Healer fought Sailor Time.
The fight was long and hard, and even with advantages of four to one, the side of good was losing. All around her, Sailor Moon felt her friends fall to the ground. Star Fighter was down, now Mercury was down, now Venus was down, now Uranus and Neptune. Next to fall were Star Maker and Star Healer. Then Melody, Harmony, and Soul. Jupiter was down, as were Mars and Saturn. Then, fell Pluto and Tuxedo Kamen. No one but Sailor Moon was up. The four Guardians turned to her, and Sailor Moon felt ice grow in her stomach.
She looked over to her friends, and saw them all unconscious. Tears pricked her eyes. She remembered her friends' stories. ~Lady Justice, help me~ she prayed. –The answer is within yourself- she felt Lady Justice respond.
She looked up, eyes blazing. "I am not someone you can bully," she said in a hissing voice. "I have defeated Beryl, and with her, Metallia. I have healed Fiore, Ail, and Ann. I have defeated Wiseman, the Death Phantom, healed the Four Sisters, and destroyed the Dark Moon family. I have destroyed the Dark Moon Circus and imprisoned Queen Nehirenia. I have defeated the Death Busters and Mistress Nine, and with them Pharaoh 90. I have healed Galaxia, and met my future self. I am Usagi Tsukino. I am Sailor Moon. I am Princess Serenity of the Moon. I am the vessel of Lady Justice, and the Messiah. I am the future Neo-Queen Serenity, and I am the beloved daughter of parents, the beloved sister of my brother, the beloved fiancée of my boyfriend, and the beloved friend of my friends. I am Sailor Cosmos, and I can do anything. Above all, I AM GUARDIAN OF THE MOON!"
The last came out as a roar, and when she said it, she underwent a transformation. When she was finished, she had butterfly wings (princess wings, not Eternal wings) and wore a long golden-silvery-white dress, with glowing eyes. She looked like she was in her Princess form, but she looked so much more.
The other Guardians cowered, but they did not show their fear. Instead, they advanced.
"I issue upon you what you deserve!" the Guardian of the Moon shouted.
The four robots of Guardians screamed as they were shut down, and turned to ash. Up in Eros, queen Rainbow heard her Guardians' cries, and felt as the Guardian of the Moon pushed Eros back into its normal orbit.
Before she fell to the ground from the quaking, though, Queen Rainbow uttered a pledge. "I will come back, Guardian of the Moon, and you will pay. My daughter will fight your daughter, and her daughter will fight your granddaughter. I refuse to be beaten!" And the evil cackle of insanity filled the silent comet.