So, hello everybody! This is what I like to call a "Story Tennis" collaboration with StrikerStanding692. Basically, it goes like this: I post a chapter on my page, and he will post the next chapter on his page, and we will go back and forth until the end. So, when you're done reading this, check his page out for Chapter 2!


Chapter 1: It All Begins

Part I: The Honour Would Be Entirely Mine

Noon, Present-day, London, United Kingdom

Earth, Universe 11, Multiverse Junistera

It'd been three days since they returned back to London. Three days of uneventful quiet; a welcome relief, no doubt, especially after getting sucked into a rift and into some huge and intense battle in Makati, Philippines. Then, there was that one girl, who seemed to have not only interspatial rifts at her fingertips, but even Time itself. They had so many questions, especially since after the battle, the mystery girl just disappeared without a trace. But the Cosmic Sailors were here to do one thing: to investigate a Shadow outbreak, and eliminate it. And so far, they'd been coming up short on that end. Tired from patrolling nonstop for the past few days, the Sailors decide to find a place to rest and reconvene. Little did they know that Fate had other plans for them.

Honoka heard a knock on the door. The Sailors had rented out a flat to use as a base of operations while they were patrolling the city. Nine girls shared a space meant for just a family of four. And it was there that all nine were relaxing when the knock came on the door. Honoka got up to answer it.

Opening it, she found a girl with fair skin and brown eyes; her long black hair was tied into twin tails on the sides. She wore a school uniform, and she had in her hands a stack of envelopes. "Um, hi," she said nervously.

"Hello," said Honoka, "Who might you be?"

"I'm a neighbor. From across the street. Ummm….anyway, these came to my place. But they weren't addressed to me. I guess the postman got the addresses mixed up, eh? Not a hard mistake to make; our addresses are pretty similar, ehehe. Anyway, I believe these were supposed to come to you." She held out the stack of envelopes.

"Oh, uh, thanks," said Honoka, taking them.

"Well, uh, goodbye, then," the twin-tailed girl turned and walked back to her place across the street.

"Bye…" Honoka's voice trailed off as the girl closed the door to her flat. She looks quite young to have a place all to herself, she thought to herself, anyway, let's see what's in these envelopes. As Honoka looked through the envelopes, she found that there were exactly nine, one for each of them. It was colored silver, with their names elegantly written in fancy cursive. It almost looked like a wedding invitation.

"So what did the girl give us?" asked Umi.

"Envelopes. One for each of us," said Honoka. She gave each Sailor the envelope with their name on it.

"I wonder who sent us such a fancy thing," said Nozomi.

"Pretty stationery, though," said Hanayo, "Almost seems like a waste to open it."

"Well, I dunno about you, but I'm opening mine," said Umi.

"Yeah, let's just open them up, Kayo-chin," said Rin.

"Okay."

They all opened up their envelopes, and took out the contents within. Inside was a single one-sided card. On it, written in the same elegant handwriting, were the words:

"Dear Ms. [Sailor's Name],

The honour would be entirely mine if you could come to my little party tonight.

My address is enclosed behind this message. I hope to see you there.

Yours sincerely,

Sayaka Ichiro Miyafuji Bishop"

As the note said, there was an address right on the back of the card, underneath to a big indigo bow. "A party?" asked Maki, "Why in the world would we be invited to a party?"

"I don't know," said Honoka, "But what I want to know is why that indigo bow looks familiar."

"Now that I think about it," began Eli, "wasn't that girl from the Witch battle in Makati named Sayaka?"

"You're right," said Hanayo, "If I remember right, that's what she was called."

"But why suddenly invite us to her place for a party?" asked Maki, "She doesn't even know who we are. After that battle, she just…disappeared."

"Well, only one way to find answers," said Honoka, "Girls. We're going to that party."


Part II: A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

That night….

Honoka and the girls had called for taxis to bring them there; when she'd shown the driver the card, he said, "Huh. Going there tonight, eh? Alrighty then." He didn't say anything further on the matter.

The drive took them out of the city, and into the surrounding country. And then, lit up like a grand amusement park, appeared a huge mansion. Hundreds of people milled about the grounds, all bubbling with joy and excitement. Fancy cars found themselves parked next to normal ones, all crowding the garage and swamping the valet service. Even busses stuffed full of excited faces parked in front of the mansion's front, and unloaded its passengers, only to drive back to the city to pick up more. When the Sailors' taxis finally pulled up, a team of fancily dressed men opened the doors and stood by to let them out.

Honoka and the others stepped out, but Umi wasn't counted among them. Looking back into the taxi, Honoka saw her still sitting there. "Come on, Umi," she said, "It'll be fine."

"Can I trust you on that? Don't forget that time in New York."

"Oh, please, that was a long time ago. Now, are you going to come out, or am I going to have to drag you out of there?"

Umi silently got out of the taxi, tugging at her skirt.

"Hey, you look great," said Honoka.

"Welcome," said one of the well-dressed men, "Follow the crowd this way, please."

Honoka took out her invitation. "Do you know where we can find our host? We just got her invitations."

"Sorry," said the man, "I cannot provide any further information on the matter. The host wishes to remain anonymous. Now, if you would please follow the crowd inside." He gestured with his gloved hand.

Honoka figured she wouldn't get anything further on the matter, and so she and the rest of the Sailors went up the stairs and into the mansion. The inside was much different from the outside; it was decorated in an Art-Deco style, and almost felt like a first-class hotel in a big American city. There was music playing from a plethora of genres spanning the party atmospheres from all across time; a seemingly cacophonous mixture, yet they all combined well with each other, as if meshed together in a well-made mashup.

With all the controlled chaos a party could offer, Honoka and the Sailors were a bit bewildered. They let the surge of people take them, until they were pushed to the side. "Well, fancy running into you here," said a sort-of familiar voice.

Honoka turned, and saw the fair-skinned brown-eyed girl. She wore a loose white shirt with big red polka dots on it, a loose black skirt, blue leggings, and high-top sneakers. Her black hair was tied into a long ponytail on the left side of her head, held by a pair of big red beads. Despite the difference in appearance, Honoka recognized her. "You…from across the street, right?"

"Yes, that's me," said the girl, "I'm Azusa, nice to officially meet you."

"I'm Honoka," said Honoka, "And these are my friends Umi, Kotori, Hanayo, Rin, Maki, Nico, Eli, and Nozomi."

"Hello to you all," said Azusa politely, "So, first time at one of Sayaka's parties?"

"Yeah," said Honoka, "You?"

"I've been to a few. Pretty grand, huh?"

"I'll say," said Maki, visibly impressed.

"How did this Sayaka even get all these invites out?" asked Nico.

"Invites?" Azusa looked questioningly at Nico. "These people aren't invited. They just come here. Everyone comes here. Like, everyone. Rich, poor, young, old, politician, sailor, student, worker, celebrity, movie star…everyone from every walk of life comes here. Why, just a few weeks ago, the Prince and Princess came here."

"Really? To one of these?" said Eli in amazement, "Surely, they were invited, right?"

Azusa shook her head. "No. Not even them."

"You have got to be joking!" said Nico in disbelief, "If we got invitations, that has to mean that they got ones, too."

"Wait, you guys got invitations? No way…."

"You mean, you didn't know what those envelopes were?" asked Honoka.

Azusa shook her head again. "Like I said, none of us ever get invitations. You're the first. Ever. So I had no idea what those envelopes were."

"This is really unusual," said Kotori.

"I'll say," said Rin, "Go out of your way to give us invitations, and then don't even come out to meet us."

"Yes, that is funny, indeed," said Azusa. She suddenly heard a voice call her name over the party noise. "Ah, well, as much as I'd like to stay and chat further, I must meet up with my friend. It's also her first time here. See you around?"

"Yeah….bye," said Honoka.

With a wave and a smile, Azusa melted back into the crowd. Now alone, and a tad bit uncomfortable, the Sailors decided to split up and enjoy this party as best they could. "We'll stay for a few hours," said Honoka, "and then reconvene at the front steps to go home. Keep your earpieces on, in case we need to leave right away."

"Understood," said the others.

"Alright. Now, who's ready to party?"

"Yeah! Let's do this!"


Part III: You See…I'm Sayaka

Almost three hours later….

It's been nearly three hours, and the party was still going strong. Honoka and the Sailors decided that three hours was too short a time to look for their host, so they decided to stick around some more. They all soon found themselves lost and separated in the wild atmosphere.

In one area of the backyard, Maki found herself alone. She was a little bit nervous, but she took solace in knowing her friends were still just a call away. She wended her way through the crowd, and suddenly found herself roped into a Charleston line. As she danced the Charleston, she could hear 20th Century swing music blending with a modern EDM rhythm. She was honestly impressed. How they can somehow blend such different eras together is simply beyond me, she thought to herself.

After the dance, she kept walking. Then, she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Aren't you one of the girls with that Honoka girl?"

Turning, she saw Azusa standing there, a couple of soda cans in hand. "Yes," she said, "Maki."

"Hello, Maki," said Azusa, "Care for a Sprite?"

"Thanks," said Maki. After taking a sip, she said, "So, you say you've been to a few of these parties before?"

"Oh, yes," said Azusa, "How are you liking it so far?"

"It's…definitely a lot to take in."

"Yeah, it can be a bit bewildering at first." Azusa brightened up with a smile. "Tell you what, I'll give you the grand tour of the place. I've been here enough to know where everything happens. Come on!" She grabbed Maki's free hand.


Meanwhile….

In another part of the backyard, Kotori found herself fixated on a stage, where a performance was going on; specifically, she was looking at the singer in the center, who was dressed in an outfit she'd never seen before. She was dressed in a kimono decorated with plants and other flora, with a bottom reminiscent of a European-style dress skirt; it was tied with a turquoise sash around the torso, and had a blue trim. Her magenta hair was illuminated by what looked like a large candle flame. It was truly a sight to behold.

It seemed that this girl took notice, and after the song, she came down from the stage and walked up to Kotori. "Ya know," she said, "Staring is rude. Lucky for you, I'm nice. So, whatcha need?"

Kotori couldn't find the words to speak for a while. "Oh…uh….I was just…your outfit is very beautiful."

"Ah, thanks," said the girl, "Name's Kyoko."

"Nice to meet you, Kyoko," said Kotori, "I'm Kotori."

"Pleasure to meet you, Kotori." Kyoko placed her hands behind her head. "Ah, I love big parties. So much goin' on, y'know? Lots of fun."

"Ehehe, it's a bit overwhelming for me," said Kotori.

"Hm? Want me to show ya around?"

"Uh, okay. Thanks."

Kyoko opened up her arm for Kotori to link with it. Kotori nervously linked arms with Kyoko, and the two set off to explore the wilderness that was this mysterious mansion.

In another part of the party, Azusa and Maki have made their way inside, and found a group of high schoolers banging away on a piano. They had no idea what they were doing, and appeared to be causing the piano quite a lot of damage. Maki winced.

"Hey," said Azusa, "Be careful with that. It's an old piano."

"Oh?" said one high schooler, "And what are YOU gonna do about it?"

"Just be careful with it," said Azusa.

"Oh, sure thing, missy." The high schooler banged even harder on the piano. Azusa and Maki walked away.

"What kind of host just lets her guests destroy her things?" said Maki.

"Don't worry," said Azusa, "She'll take care of that."

As if on cue, a group of burly well-dressed men came in and told the group to leave. They did with little protest. Maki discretely breathed a sigh of relief.

"See? Taken care of."

Azusa and Maki walked up to the piano; Maki ran her hand along the keys, smiling reminiscently. She sat down, and began playing and singing a song she practically knew by heart, "START: DASH!"

When she'd finished, those who had heard applauded, including Azusa; just out of sight, the high schoolers glared with jealousy, and went outside. "That was amazing," Azusa said.

"Thank you," said Maki with a smile.

"Come on, let's go. There's still so much to see here." She and Maki continued on through the house.


Outside, Kotori and Kyoko conversed with a plethora of people from a plethora of backgrounds; they soon ended up talking with a drunken university professor from London. After an engaging conversation about God knows what, Kotori said, "Um, so have you ever met the host? Sayaka?"

"Met 'er?" said the professor, "Nah, I ne'er met 'er. I heard she killed a man."

"Yeah?" chimed in some celebrity, "I heard she has some strange superpowers. That she made a deal with the Devil."

"No no no," said yet another lady, "She was a spy. Working for the CIA and MI6. Real sneaky, that lass. One misstep, and bam. She'll have a knife jabbed in your throat before you could say a peep."

"Are all of these…true?" asked Kotori, anxious.

"Well, why don't we find her and ask her," said Kyoko.

"You won't find her," said another drunk old man, "Not here. This place, and all that's in it, is just a guise. A façade."

"Hiding what?" asked Kotori.

"The fact that this Sayaka Bishop…doesn't exist."

"Tch, don't listen to him," said Kyoko, "I met her."

The drunk old man looked disbelievingly at Kyoko, "Really? The spy? Or the murderer?"

Suddenly, before Kyoko could answer, a group of high schoolers barreled through the group, all of them unsteady and reeking of alcohol. They laughed and then fell to the ground, before laying eyes upon Kyoko and Kotori. Making a show of fixing themselves, they wobbled over to them. "Well, heller thar, byoutiful," said one of them, "Why don't ya come out wit' us. We'll show ya good time."

"Ah, uh….no, thank you," Kotori said.

"Back off, fellas," said Kyoko threateningly, "She's with me."

"Well, ain't ye the feisty li'l missy," said another, "I'll be 'aving a good bit o' fun with ye."

At that moment, Azusa and Maki showed up, talking happily. They stopped when they recognized the high schoolers.

"Oy, Jay. Ain't those them girls that showed us up on the piano inside?"

"Ah, that they are, gents." The boy known as Jay stepped towards Azusa and Maki. "You made a big mistake crossing us again, girl." Taking a drink from a passing butler's tray, he splashed it in Azusa's and Maki's faces, soaking them in vodka. He dropped the glass, shattering it on the ground.

"Real classy, gentlemen," said Azusa. As she wiped the vodka from her eyes, she glared at Jay and his crew. Maki also appeared ready for a fight, itching to pull out her Cosmic Rapier and "unman" these drunken delinquents. Kotori tapped a Morse signal into the comm, subtly calling for the other seven Sailors to come to her aid.

Tensions ran high. It almost seemed like a fight would break out. The high schoolers had the girls outnumbered two to one. When suddenly, another girl steps in. "Everyone calm down," she said in smooth voice, "We're all here to have fun. I don't like to see a fight break out here."

"Well well well," said Jay, "If ye wanna step in fer these sluts, then by all means. We'll have fun with ye."

"That won't be necessary," said the girl. She smiled, eyes gleaming threateningly. "Kyoko, dear," she said with an edge of anger, "Would you kindly escort these boys to a more discrete location. You can have your way with them there."

"With pleasure," said Kyoko. At that moment, another group of burly well-dressed men descended upon the high schoolers and escorted them out with Kyoko.

With the potential conflict resolved, the girl turned to Azusa and Maki; the other Sailors had finally shown up. The girl wore a simple but cute outfit of a red strapless dress with a strap going around the neck and a red hibiscus tucked over her left ear; her blond hair was tied in two ponytails going down behind her ears and onto her shoulders. The girl kneeled down, and began trying to clean up the mess on the floor.

"Oh, please," said Maki apologetically, "You don't have to."

"Your face is familiar," said the girl bluntly, "Have we met before?"

"Well, we do travel a lot, my friends and I," said Maki. She gestured to the other Sailors.

"As do I," said the girl, "I was in the Philippines not too long ago."

"We were also in the Philippines a while ago," said Honoka.

"Ah, yes, I knew you looked familiar," said the girl. She walked through the crowd, looking around at the party, "So, how are you all enjoying the party so far?"

"It's quite incredible," said Honoka. She, the other Sailors, and Azusa followed after the girl.

"I agree," said Eli, "Though, I must wonder why our host hasn't come to meet us yet."

"Yes," said Nozomi, "It seems we were the only ones actually invited to this party."

"Seems like no one's ever actually met this Sayaka lady," said Nico.

"They say she's an immortal agent of the Devil," said Rin, "Stalking this household every party to steal away souls."

The girl stopped, sighing. "Well, I guess I haven't been a very good host to you, then."

"Excuse me?" said Eli.

The girl turned, and smiled. "You see…I'm Sayaka."

At that moment, a fireworks and laser-light show filled the night sky with color, physically displaying the thoughts running through all nine Sailors' heads. Her smile was one of those rare smiles that one could only hope to see. It seemed to ease their restless minds and relax them. "I'm sorry, girls. I thought you knew."

"Oh my God…" said Nico slowly.

"So, it was you?" said Umi, "At the pocket dimension Makati? You were the one with the connected Witch Form?"

"Yes ma'am," said Sayaka, "That was me."

"Are you…a Magical Girl?" asked Hanayo.

"Yep," said Sayaka. She showed her Soul Gem, disguised a ring on her right ring finger.

"So, what about that Indigo Grief Seed you got from defeating that Witch?" asked Honoka.

"Sadly, she's gone now," said Sayaka.

"She? Gone?" Honoka was confused.

"Good questions. For another time." Sayaka walked up to Azusa. "Ms. Nakano, how are you tonight?"

Azusa smiled. "Well I smell of alcohol, and I'm soaked. But other than that, I'm great."

"Come," said Sayaka, "I'll see about getting you some new clothes, and wash these ones." Turning back to the Sailors, she continued, "If there's anything you need, anything you want, just let me know." She produced a small card from seemingly out of nowhere, containing her name, address, and phone number.

"Thank you," said Honoka.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go help Azusa get cleaned up. Enjoy the party." And with that, she and Azusa disappeared from view.


Part IV: Sayaka's Darkness

With the promise of another hard day of work and school ahead, the partygoers slowly began to file out and return to society; by then, the party had died down to a sort of drunken tired vibe, and the butlers and servants were already starting to clean up.

Last among those to leave were the Cosmos Sailors. They'd gotten the chance to talk some more with Sayaka, recounting everything that had happened since they ran into each other in the pocket dimension Makati. They left each other as friends, and Sayaka promised to take them out to lunch sometime soon, so they could talk more. As the Sailors got onto a bus that Sayaka had called for them, they saw her waving at them from a second-floor window. They waved back, and left for their flat back in London.

"Well, I'd say that went well," said Azusa, "Smashing success." She took a sip of her tea.

"Yes, I was glad I made a good first impression," said Sayaka.

"Well, that's just you and your natural charm," said Kyoko, still in her fancy Half-Witch garb.

"I see you made fast friends with Kotori," said Azusa.

"And I saw you hanging around that Maki lady, so don't judge," said Kyoko.

"How did our high-school guests fare, Kyoko?" Sayaka asked, turning to face her two friends.

"After I took them someplace out of the way, I summoned some duplicates and knocked them out," said Kyoko, "They shouldn't even remember being here."

"That's good," said Sayaka, "The last thing we need here is for-hacgh…." She stopped mid-step, mid-word, and mid-sentence, unable to move.

"Whoa! Sayaka, are you okay?" asked Kyoko.

Sayaka couldn't answer. She was wincing and grimacing in a great deal of pain. She fell to her knees. "Gyaaaaaaagh! Hmn…grrgh…Raaaaaaaaaauuuugghhh!"

Azusa and Kyoko were greatly concerned and afraid; they wanted to help her, but had no idea what was going on.

Suddenly, a black smoke-like substance began escaping from Sayaka's Soul Gem, and swirled around in front of the fireplace. Then, a girl materialized from the smoke. She looked exactly like Sayaka, except sickly pale. She looked around, her indigo eyes devoid of any emotion.

Sayaka looked at this Shadow version of herself. She also took notice that her Soul Gem no longer had any color; it was just a black lifeless ring on her finger. "H…how….?"

Without a word and without warning, Shadow Sayaka attacked, dashing up to Sayaka and lifting her up off the ground by her throat. She glared at Sayaka, as Sayaka struggled. Azusa and Kyoko jumped up to do something, but were stopped when Shadow Sayaka stretched out her hand and froze them in a Time Field. Looking at Azusa, she glared again, and telepathically lifted her towards herself.

Still struggling against her Shadow self's grip, Sayaka said, "Please…s-stop…" Shadow Sayaka did stop, and Azusa fell unconscious onto the floor. Shadow Sayaka looked back at her normal self. And threw her at the window.

The last thing Sayaka glimpsed was a shower of broken glass, with Azusa's body following her out the window. And then everything faded to white.


Part V: Preparation

The next morning….

Kyoko banged on another flat door, panting from running up and down all of London looking for the supposed Cosmic Sailors she'd met at the party. She'd knocked on more than a few wrong doors along the way, and she was beginning to lose hope. She'd been at this since she woke up on the floor of Sayaka's messy study, and saw that Sayaka, Azusa, and Shadow Sayaka had disappeared; she initially thought that someone had fallen out the broken window, but there was no body or blood splatter.

Thankfully, Kotori answered this door, looking quite concerned with Kyoko's sweaty and haggard appearance; she still wore her outfit from last night's party. "Kyoko? What are you doing here?"

Cathing her breath for a moment, Kyoko looked at Kotori, and said, "It's Sayaka…and Azusa…they're….gone…!"


Morning, 1943, South Pacific

Earth, Universe 20, Multiverse Spokoystviye

The hot tropical morning sun beat down upon on Sayaka's face. She stirred and woke up; she found herself on the floor, still in her red dress, complete with the hibiscus tucked behind her ear. She slowly stood up. Surprisingly, she didn't hurt anywhere, despite being thrown with extreme force through a window by her neck. She rubbed her neck, head still racked with questions.

Suddenly, she heard the click of a pistol being cocked behind her. Along with a girl's voice that said, "Alright, I'm gonna ask you once, and you better be honest. How did you get here? And what are you doing trespassing on a Liberian air base?"

Thinking quickly, Sayaka produced a slip of Psychic Paper from her pocket, turned around, and said, "I'm a pilot, ma'am." Though it looked blank to Sayaka, the girl appeared surprised and baffled.

Taking the slip of Psychic Paper from Sayaka's hands, the girl looked it over, not lowering or uncocking her Colt M1911. "Huh. Transfer from the RAF, eh," she said.

"Yes," Sayaka said with a quick nod.

The girl smiled, uncocked her pistol, and holstered it. "Okay," she said, "Come with me, and we'll get you processed. Welcome to the Mother Goose Project."

"Thanks," said a confused Sayaka, "Hey, got a name?"

"Louise," said the girl, "Louise Zamperini. Call me Zamp."

Zamperini, thought Sayaka, Nice name….


Sometime, 2287, Japan, Tokyo, Rising Sun Industries Vault A-113

Earth, Universe 1, Multiverse Junistera

Azusa awoke to see giant cockroaches and beetles around her. Panicking, she shot straight to her feet. They advanced. She kicked one in the face, and ran down a hallway. Something crunched under her foot, and she saw that it was a human skull. Shocked and sickened, she fell backwards on her bottom, skittering backwards. Noticing a pistol laying on the ground, she grabbed it, and aimed down the hallway at the giant bugs now advancing on her. She fired a shot, got up, and ran in the opposite direction.

She came to a big door, and noticed a lit red button just beside her. When she pressed it, the door opened, and she was greeted with a barren landscape lit only by the stars. And was that a building in the distance?

She ran out the door in the direction of the huge silhouette. And lost her footing. She tumbled down a hillside.

[End of Chapter 1]


So, what did ya think? Interesting stuff, huh? Took inspiration from The Great Gatsby, Unbroken, and Fallout 4. The Cosmos Sailors are StrikerStanding692's characters, and they are all Love Live! characters. Kyoko Sakura, and her outfit appearance, both belong to Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Azusa Nakano is a character from K-ON!. Be sure to stay tuned for Chapter 3! And watch out for StrikerStanding692 to post Chapter 2 on his page! Bye now!