Title: Moonlight Legend
Series: Manga influenced with a tiny bit of Live Action characterization. You can read more about it at twilight_eos[DOT]livejournal[DOT]com.
Summary: What if the four Sailor Soldiers were turned evil instead of the Shitennou? What if Usagi didn't remember anything at all? What if Mamoru and the Shitennou tried to protect the world in her place? And what if the Dark Kingdom had a martini bar?
Author's Notes: There is a one shot companion story uploaded on called "Sacrifice" detailing a few key moments of the Soldiers and Shitennou during the Silver Millennium. I hope it proves interesting for the rest of this story!
Chapter One – I'm Sorry, But I Cannot Tell
Sapphire smoothed the edges of her uniform hoping that careful concentration on the gray skirt fabric would keep her from having to acknowledge the martini set before her. Topaz, the leader of her four soldier unit, eyed the untouched drink with lust. She had ordered a round of martinis for all the girls in celebration of her utter failure with her last mission and had already gone through three before anyone else could finish their first.
Sapphire sighed as she caught a glimpse of a delicate pale hand inching its way towards the toothpicked olive resting in her glass like a trophy. "Have it," she said at last, Topaz quickly withdrawing her hand at being caught.
"You really should be more possessive of your finer possessions," Topaz lectured before swiping the small glass with her right hand.
"Perhaps you should finesse the practice of moderation," Ruby gruffed, extracting the drink from the blonde's hand.
"Hey, that's mine!"
"I'm calling limit."
"Sapphire didn't want it, I'm doing her a favor by not letting it go to waste!"
"You knew she wouldn't drink it, I'm inclined to believe you were counting on that," Emerald added leaning against the bar.
"Well I'm leader! And I'm ordering you to give me back her martini!" Topaz jabbed at the air with her finger pointing at the cone shaped glass. Ruby's violet colored eyes gave a twitch before she downed the entire contents herself.
"Now you've done it," Emerald muttered as Topaz gave a horrid screech and launched her tipsy self at the raven haired soldier.
Sapphire sighed. A month ago Sapphire had almost found meeting up with her unit at the local bar enjoyable. Topaz, bright and bubbly as the golden color that accented her standard gray uniform, led them in fierce pep talks of fights to come with the Shitennou. "Don't worry, we'll get them tomorrow," "Pfft, it was only luck," "If we let them think they're winning, we can take them by surprise," and so forth. The pep talks still continued, only now they often came out slurred.
Ruby had always been obstinate and stubborn, disgruntled by the idea of someone she described as daft being her superior. Queen Beryl named her second in command, and that position led her to believe she could challenge Topaz, this often leading in her title being unofficially stripped when Topaz was feeling petty, which was most of the time. But as their unit continued to be unsuccessful, Ruby's fiery nature lent itself more to her temper rather than her famous prowess on the battlefield.
Emerald remained Emerald. Sapphire observed her to be the most steadfast in her duties, though Sapphire was sure the strongest of their unit could feel the disappointment that surrounded them within the realm of the Dark Kingdom. Sapphire chose to stay closest to her, not only because she preferred Emerald's calmer temperament, but also because Emerald towered over most of the inhabitants in the kingdom.
As for Sapphire, she had been busy calculating and theorizing different ways to achieve success. She was known for her aptitude with numbers and logic, and was accepted into the unit with much fanfare from Topaz. While still regarded as a mastermind, she received less and less praise as her plans continued to falter, usually at the hands of Zoisite, a flamboyant member of the Shitennou that was Mamoru Chiba's personal guard.
She wished Ruby hadn't missed stabbing him in his perfect face earlier that day and wondered how her comrade was always able to land a punch in Topaz's face, but never one of the Shitennou.
"I believe that's enough," Emerald judged pulling Topaz away from a scathing Ruby by her cape. Topaz readjusted her red ribbon hair band and grumped. "And don't you think about it," Emerald commanded at Ruby crouched like a lioness on the floor. Ruby quickly conceded after Emerald drew herself to full height.
The four sat quietly beside each other, Topaz slightly more pepped after receiving another martini. "Perhaps we should go about this a different way," Sapphire said softly breaking the silence.
"How many different ways can we go about this?" Ruby snapped, still annoyed at being pinned to the floor.
"Could it work?" Emerald questioned cocking an eyebrow.
"Let's hear it!" Topaz cheered flinging her toothpick into the air.
Sapphire uttered a small hmph, "We can go about this as many different ways as it takes, it could work if we gave ourselves some time, and maybe we should try some investigative work."
"Investigate?"
"On how she falters when Zoisite is around."
"No I don't! He just gets in the way! He's infuriating!"
"You turn red up to your blue roots," Ruby rebutted gesturing at Sapphire's sky colored hair.
"I agree with Ruby, something less than decent is going on, and believe me, I know when these somethings are going on," Topaz teased wagging a finger.
"And how would you know?" Emerald chortled, "The Shitennou aren't martinis."
Topaz stuck out her tongue. "Very funny. But honestly, I'm the goddess of...romance is...I just know..." Topaz's subordinates watched her gaze off to the side.
"Beryl wouldn't let us above ground without a mission of engagement, you know that," Ruby reminded bringing the conversation away from Topaz's lost thought.
"Which I find peculiar," Sapphire replied resting her chin on her hand, a habit she had developed while in thought these days, "Why is she insistent on keeping us away from the surface? The best way to engage your opponent is to know them, and she's keeping us from achieving that."
"Then let's do it," Topaz stated.
"Defy the Queen, are you mad?" Ruby choked as Topaz's face hardened.
"We will do what is necessary to complete our mission, that is our priority. We will deal with the consequences after we reap our victories," Topaz commanded, Ruby casted her eyes to the ground.
"Well, shall we prepare a plan, then?" Emerald asked deciding to appreciate Topaz's renewed sense of leadership.
"Sure, after I order another martini. It helps me think," Topaz grinned.
XXX
Heat. It slathered Mamoru's skin like a thick lotion, sticky with his own perspiration. He leaned against the outside wall of the Crown Arcade, readjusting his sunglasses, waiting for Usagi to finish spending her small amount of allowance. Very rarely was he ever truly irritated with her, and unfortunately this happened to be one of those times, with the heat bearing down upon him and a pain in his back from last night acting up again, waiting for her inevitable death by pixelated hands.
Last night was the reason he stood outside of the arcade quietly stalking the girl he loved the most. He straightened, the thought strengthening his resolve. He never knew when the Dark Kingdom would strike next, he never knew when one of the girls would come for Usagi's head.
Two months ago the most fierce battle Mamoru had seen to date occurred, he as Tuxedo Mask and Usagi as Sailor Moon faced off against the bewitched Shitennou with the four Sailor Soldiers at their side. It was hard to tell who was winning and who was losing; if Venus seemed like she had an edge, Mars was narrowly dodging an energy blast. While Mercury calculated the best course of action, Jupiter took the brunt of the attacks coming towards her to buy her time.
Tuxedo Mask worked diligently with Sailor Moon trying to ward of Kunzite, the most decorated general and fierce fighter of the Dark Kingdom. While the Sailor Soldiers and Tuxedo Mask had been thoroughly trained in their past lives, Moon had not, and her inexperience was showing.
When the battle began to turn in the Shitennou's favor, Moon made a last ditch effort and released all the feelings of hope she had left in her body, her Soldiers dutifully joining her. It worked, she released a blinding amount of energy inside the park they had faced off in and brought the Shitennou back to their old selves.
However Moon and the others did not. Usagi rested in Tuxedo Mask's arms, detransformed from the amount of energy she had expended. The girls laid beside her in their school uniforms, breathing heavily, but still breathing. As soon as the Shitennou crept closer to plead forgiveness, the girls vanished without a trace leaving all five men bewildered and slightly panicked. Those feelings increased when Usagi awoke later and didn't remember any of them, threatening to scream if the creepy tuxedo wearing man didn't let her go.
Mamoru was stilled puzzled by how Usagi couldn't remember. He learned quickly to keep his distance when she staged a screaming fit on a street in Juuban in broad daylight, throwing her shoes at him as he backed away from the growing crowd in embarrassment. He also learned quickly that he couldn't. A few weeks later the girls had returned, but not as who they used to be. The called themselves Topaz, Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire; their looks and behaviors slightly reminiscent of their former selves. Jadeite refuted that Ruby could have ever been his lovely Mars until Nephrite pushed him out of the way of an incoming fireball.
The girls, or the Dark Soldiers as they called themselves, claimed to be after Usagi, dead or alive. Scared by the sudden threat on her life, Usagi fainted, leaving Mamoru and the Shitennou to defend her. Since then he and his guardians from his previous life had taken the place of Sailor Moon and her Soldiers, though one of them constantly keeping an eye on Usagi.
Mamoru pushed up the sleeves of his white button up shirt and glanced at his watch. "Hasn't she had enough already..." he grumbled to himself as a blonde teenage girl with a red ribbon wrapped in her hair walked passed him and through the arcade glass doors.