Hello! Those of you reading this decided it was worth a chance. I thank you. This is my first story, and I accept all comments and criticism. I was going to put this AN in the first chapter, but I forgot, so I'll give you a more accurate description here, so you know what you're getting into.
I was hit with the idea for this while reading Sage of the Toad's "Beautiful Destroyer Sailor Moon," in which Usagi took several levels in awesome. The idea is two-fold. 1) The order the senshi wake up is almost always the same in every story, (Pluto active from the beginning, Venus alone, Moon, Merc, Mars, Jup, and then the outers in a different season of Nep, Ur, Sat) and the stories that do alter it rarely change the plot because of it. This one, it starts off looking the same, but it won't stay that way. Anyone who wants to give this prompt a try on their own is more than welcome, and I look forward to reading it. 2) Rather than make Usagi awesome, I wanted to see what she would be like less sucky. She still cries, and makes mistakes, and gets hurt, but she takes her job as a hero seriously.
Good news, also. I have suffered too many disappointments with abandoned stories, or ones with a 'wing it' plot. I won't do that. I have already plotted out the ENTIRE STORY (which ends after Beryl, though there may be a sequel) and am several chapters into writing it. Unless something huge happens, I will update at least once a week, or you are welcome to flame me for laziness.
Lastly, I don't own Sailor Moon, the characters, or any of what is portrayed in this or the previous chapter.
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"And then this man wearing a tuxedo shows up from out of nowhere and throws roses at the monster! Roses! But I grabbed one after everything was over, and they were like metal darts, except they were actually flowers," Naru explains to the enraptured audience before pausing to take a few more mouthfuls of her lunch. The Osaka-P attack had been just early enough to make this morning's papers, and everyone was ravenous for details, especially when Naru had only come in during second period, having been answering the police's questions prior.
"Do you still have it?" a boy in the year above them asked, awed instead of incredulous. Naru's face fell and she began rooting around in her backpack.
"Officer Tanaka let me keep one, since they didn't need all three for evidence, but this happened around third period." Naru pulled out a handkerchief and unwrapped to show a withered corpse of a rose, pieces of which began blowing away in even the gentle breeze.
"What about Sailor Moon, what did she do?" asked another girl.
"Hey wait," interjected Usagi, wanting to keep the focus off Sailor Moon as long as possible. "I want to hear more about this rose guy. Who is he?"
"There have been stories going around about a man they're calling Tuxedo Kamen breaking into jewelry stores, but not stealing anything," said Naru. "He actually hit our store a month ago. It might have been him, I guess."
"And Sailor Moon?" prompted another listener.
"She pulled off another shot and blasted it into dust with one shot.
"Wow, even Sailor M needs two or threes hits. What then?"
"Well she left after she realized I was still awake," said Naru. "But before that she was putting the shop back together. She actually fixed some of the broken glass with magic."
"Did you see what she looked like?" Usagi bit her lip at her classmate's question and began rehearsing the lie Luna had drilled her on in case this happened.
"No," said Naru, prompting Usagi to freeze in surprise. "She had some magic on that kept her face disguised, like Sailor M. I bet the two of them are friends or something. And that monster's magic blew out our cameras or something, so no luck there." At this point the bell rang, and Usagi had never been so happy to hear it.
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"So, Usagi," said Naru as they walked to the Crown arcade & fruit parlor after school, "how do you think you did on that re-test?"
"Better, I hope," Usagi moaned. "You're really great to wait up for me, you know. If I'd known you were going to I wouldn't have triple-checked myself like I did."
"I know: that's why I didn't tell you. And really, I need to vent about what happened last night Usagi." Usagi tensed but Naru still seemed normal, not accusatory. "I might have been crowing about it over lunch but it was the most frightened I've been in my life! You'd think seeing one of Sailor M's fights would be cool—or Sailor Moon, I guess—but it's not until you get up close and personal with a demon that you realize how nasty it is. In the manga the youma Sailor M fights are always like wild animals, but this one could talk! It even said its name was Farquhar."
"Felza," Usagi corrected absentmindedly, only to freeze as Naru whirled around, latched her hands onto Usagi's shoulders, and went nose-to-nose with her, the redhead's eyes now showing a laser-like intensity.
"I knew I wasn't hallucinating," Naru said, darkly triumphant. "So tell me, Usagi, when were you going to tell your oldest, dearest, closest friend that you were a fucking superhero?" Usagi looked into her dearest friend's eyes, opened and closed her mouth a few times as the blood drained out of her face, and then her legs gave out and she plopped onto the ground.
"Luna is going to kiilll meeeee!" she wailed. Naru immediately felt horrible, and pulled her friend off the ground while a steady stream of assurances and comforts poured from her mouth. After a few moments Usagi calmed down. Then she latched her hand onto Naru's like a manacle and bolted off, dragging Naru behind her.
"Hey, slow down! Where are we going?" Naru managed to gasp out as she sprinted, already on the verge of falling.
"Home. Luna will know what to d—Oh!" Usagi had turned her head back to talk to Naru, but hadn't slowed down at all, and had run into someone.
"Are you blind, Odango Atama, or do I look like I have a target on my chest?" came the voice of none other than the same guy from yesterday.
"I'M blind?" snapped Usagi, rolling off of him. "How hard can it be to get out of our way? I've never run anyone over before and now suddenly I can't get away from you. Are you stalking me or something?"
"Stalk you? Don't make me laugh. What would I want with a girl barely out of diapers? I'd only track you down if I wanted to return your pacifier. Speaking of which, where is it? You really need one right now."
"PACIFIER? I'm surprised you know what that is. There's no way you could ever have been some woman's sweet baby boy; you were probably hatched—"
"Usagi!" shouted Naru. "Weren't we going somewhere?"
"Oh! Crud, you're right! Bye jerk wad!" Usagi took off running again, and was soon out of sight. The man just stood for a few moments before he gave a snort, and continued on his way.
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"I suppose it isn't really your fault," said Luna morosely. "I didn't have time to tell you about the disguise because of the attack. But this does make things difficult."
"How?" asked Naru, shifting to follow Luna as the Mau paced around Usagi's bedroom. "I'd think it'd be easier."
"How? Easier?" repeated Luna incredulously, "If people find out who Usagi is, then the Dark Kingdom—Beryl and her soldiers—can too, and can attack her friends and family."
"Well, she's got the disguise now, so I'm the only one who knows, and I'm not telling."
"Beryl has ways of making people talk," Luna counted chillingly.
"How would she know that I know? I'm not gonna shout it from the rooftops or anything." That gave Luna pause, and Naru soldiered on. "Since I know, I'm the perfect alibi. Anytime Usagi has to do Moon stuff and people wonder where she's gone, I can say she's with me. We've been best friends forever, so that isn't odd."
"That…is actually a good idea," said Luna appraisingly.
"You'd do that, Naru? You're the bestest friend ever!" Usagi squealed and initiated a BFF-glomp. There was laughing that devolved into a tickle war, until the girls pulled themselves together two minutes later.
"So," said Naru, "If I'm going to help I need all the details. Fill me in."
"Ask away," invited Luna. "But my memory isn't the best, so it may be that I cannot answer. If I can, I will."
"Well, why isn't your memory good?"
"I've spent thousands of years in magical hibernation, I think. I can't even remember entirely how I got to this era."
"Where do the sailors come from?"
"Collectively, they are called the senshi. Approximately 14,000 years ago there was life on all planets and most moons in the system, not just Earth. Moreover, it was vastly more technologically and magically advanced than Earth is now. All of the planets except Earth were joined into an alliance called the Silver Millennium, and Earth was on the verge of joining when the Fall happened."
"The Fall? Wait. What could wipe out a civilization that huge, and why haven't we found any ruins?"
"A noblewoman from Gaia—that was the name for Earth at the time—made a pact with a being known as Metaria, and summoned an army of demons. Her name was Beryl. Moreover, at full power Metaria itself was powerful enough to scythe the life off of a planet single-handedly. As to the lack of ruins…Yes, what is it Usagi? This isn't a classroom in your school." The blonde was waving her hand in the air and bouncing in place.
"I know this! I know this! Shingo watched a movie about it once. It said that if humans just vanished off the Earth, then in 1,000 years there would be no sign we ever had been here except for the stuff like the pyramids that are already really-really old. So 14 times that would leave 14 times less ruins, right?"
"Yes," said Luna. "Also, I imagine that there are some ruins, but your civilization simply doesn't have the technology to find them yet. Or they may be protected by magic, which is especially likely with the moon."
"Okay, and the senshi?" asked Naru.
"When a family becomes a planetary ruler, the planet itself recognizes them by bonding its magic to their the family's, in a very small way. Members of the family will have the planet's astrological symbol appear on their head and they gain some small token magical power: Martian royalty could conjure small fires with their will, for instance. However, from among the royal families the leader of the Silver Millennium, which was Queen Serenity at the time of the Fall, would choose one girl whom she empowered with the Ginzuisho to make them a senshi. This gave them exponentially greater magical ability, as their connection to the planet became much more powerful. The senshi were the champions of the realm, tasked with fighting evil and protecting the innocent."
"So there's one senshi for each planet, right? Does that mean that each of the moons had senshi too, since there's Sailor Moon? Will there be a Sailor Europa, or Titania?"
"I wish there were, Naru, but no. The moon, or Lunaris, as we called it, was the only non-planet with a senshi, possibly because it was the center of the Millennium, or possibly because of the Ginzuisho."
"Hey, if you had to be planetary royalty to be a senshi, does that mean that I was a moon princess?" asked Usagi.
"Oh yes, undoubtedly, but you wouldn't have been the princess," clarified Luna. "It was very rare for heirs to be made senshi: if Princess Serena's father hadn't died when she was young the mantle would probably have fallen to a younger sister. As it was, you probably were a cousin of some sort. I honestly don't remember your identity, though. Or much about Sailor Moon at all: just a vague description and a different woman wearing the uniform—probably your predecessor."
"What's this Ginzuisho you keep mentioning?" asked Naru.
"The Ginzuisho was the talisman of the Lunarian royal family. It was a powerful magical crystal that was said to be capable of almost anything, but it drained the wielder's life when it was used. Queen Serenity didn't die in battle; she died using the crystal to seal the Dark Kingdom and send the senshi forward to reincarnate."
"And there are eight senshi we're looking for, counting Sailor M. Hey, what senshi is she, anyway? Mercury?"
"Her real title is Sailor Mars. She was a member of the inner senshi, who usually stayed at court as internal guardians. The inners were Mercury through Jupiter, led by Venus, and the outers were Saturn through Pluto, led by Pluto. They guarded the kingdom from external threats."
"Where do I fit in?" asked Usagi.
"As a member of the Lunarisian royal family, you would have been…the overall commander of the senshi; both Venus and Pluto took orders from Moon. I think."
"Cool," said Usagi. "So how do we find them?"
"We've already found Mars, though she won't be joining us for a few months," said Luna, "but unfortunately the inner senshi are the only ones I knew well enough to recognize. And considering that we found one senshi in England and the other in Japan, we have to rely on luck and fate, since the Ginzuisho will probably want them to be found. I have no idea how we will find Princess Serena, sadly."
"Do we need to look for her?" asked Naru. "She doesn't sound like a fighter, if you don't mind my saying so."
"Yes, we have to find her and the Ginzuisho. The Ginzuisho is the only thing that can defeat Metaria, and only the Princess can wield it. Without them we cannot win this war." Both girls were silent for a moment at this ominous statement.
"That's everything I can think of," Naru finally confessed. Usagi squared her shoulders.
"I want to know how we're going to find the next attack," Usagi said sharply. "It was just luck that I was transformed a happened to find out about it. If Luna had shown up an hour later my best friend would be dead." There was something in her voice, some shadow, or weight, or hidden edge, and it sent shivers up both Luna's and Naru's spines. At that moment, looking into her suddenly darker gaze, the two of them could fully believe that Usagi had once led a team of elite soldiers, and they almost felt sorry for the youma. Usagi's eyes were boring into Luna's in a way that reminded her of Queen Serenity, foggy though her memories may be, and she suddenly felt like a child given a pop quiz which will decide whether or not they pass the year.
"I-I will be s-scouting around during the day while you're in school. At nights, you can just take an hour or two to patrol in uniform to see if you sense anything. Since it clearly takes the Dark Kingdom some time to drain energy, we should catch anything they're planning."
"Right!" Usagi said brightly, dispelling the tension with her usual cheer. "So how come my parents aren't freaking out about my new cat?" The other occupants of the room exhaled, not having realized they'd been holding their breath.
"I hypnotized them into thinking they bought me last week," Luna smugly explained, beginning to groom herself. "In fact, your father will be bringing home some toys for me when he returns from work, and your mother has already stocked up on my favorite fish."
"Just hope they don't take you to be spayed" Usagi said, and grinned at the sight of Luna's hair standing on end.
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"Zoicite!" Queen Beryl's voice echoed around the cave menacingly. The effeminate man appeared in front of the throne of bone. "Where is the energy you promised me?"
"My Queen, I have good news and bad news," Zoicite said. He spent the next few moments screaming as needles of dark power slammed into him, before Beryl finally relented.
"Speak."
"My Queen, Felza was destroyed before she could deliver the energy she gathered."
"So I gathered," Beryl said archly. "You realize revelation of our existence jeopardizes everything?"
"But, your majesty, she was not destroyed by normal means, or government forces. I have reviewed the stories that the public has heard, and supposedly her killer was Sailor Moon." Beryl's eyes opened wide.
"Come!" she cried, and the previously silent figure materialized before the throne. "What do you know of one Sailor Moon?" There was a moment of contemplation where the tension was so thick it couldn't be cut by a knife: it would take a chainsaw.
"…Our enemy is cunning, but they keep repeating the same tricks over and over, hoping they will work repeatedly," said the shade in a surprisingly mild voice.
"Explain. Now."
"First was Sailor Mars, who posed as Sailor M in England, probably hoping that we would mistake her for Princess Serena using the Letter Compact. M for Moon, not for Mars." Beryl arched an eyebrow and the soldier elaborated. "The letter compact was used to train potential senshi in their powers before they took up the mantle. It grants a normal human minor senshi powers for a short time, though a real senshi may use it indefinitely. Now they hope to lure us out again with another false target: in the past it was not uncommon for Sailor Venus to act as Princess Serena's body double. The resemblance was very strong, as their fathers were brothers."
"Is that why she led the inner senshi?" quipped Zoicite, only to begin screaming again as dark lightning arced across his form. Note to self—keep my mouth shut when I'm not in favor.
"No," said the figure once there was quiet once again. "Venus led the inner senshi because she was vicious in unarmed combat, almost untouchable with most weapons, smart enough to ferret out well hidden secrets, cunning enough to hide her intelligence very well, and a powerful sorceress even without senshi powers. Alone among all the senshi, I would not relish a fight with her. She might win, even as powerful as I am now, and my victory would certainly come at a heavy cost."
"The wonders of inside information," Beryl mused idly. "Are you certain this Moon was Venus?"
"What spells did she use?" Zoicite took a moment to pull himself off the ground before answering the question.
"According to reports, she threw a ring of energy that acted like a blade."
"Venus's signature spell was the Crescent Beam, where she fired an arc of energy. It would be child's play to shape it into a ring. It's her."
"Do you have any recommendations for dealing with her?" Beryl asked. A mute shake of the head was all the answer needed, and the figure vanished again with a dismissive wave of Beryl's hand. "Now, Zoicite, I hope your good news is very good."
"Not only do we know that the Ginzuisho will be in Tokyo if it is not already, but it is likely the Moon Princess is as well."
"You found the little slut?"
"It can be reasonably deduced." Zoicite swallowed at the building madness in his queen's gaze. "In London, it took some time for Sailor M to locate our activities, and we recouped some energy before that happened. Here, they were on us before we could even set up an official operation, much less a spur-of-the-moment attack taking only a few hours. Thus, the senshi must have been in Tokyo before we arrived, while Sailor M had to travel to London to engage us. This would only be the case if they were guarding something important: either the Princess or the Ginzuisho. But not both, or they would have gone on the offensive already before Great Metaria regained full power. Furthermore, Venus was the head of the Princess's personal guard. She would not be separated from her charge if she could avoid it." Beryl considered this.
"Good enough to at least buy you a stay of execution, Zoicite," she decided stonily. "Kunzite is out and about, Nephrite is scrying, and Jadeite is maintaining and managing our wards and standard operations. You are in charge of gathering energy. Don't disappoint."
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"Strawberry milkshake, please, Motoki. And aspirin if you have it." The blond teen behind the counter looked at his pseudo-little sister in concern.
"Are you okay, Usagi?" he asked, giving her the shake. "You haven't been in here since Monday, and that headache has me worried. Or did you just get grounded because of the bad test you mentioned." Usagi shot him a forced grin.
"I bombed the test but re-took it Wednesday. The headache is just because my classmates have gone crazy. Have you heard about the Rising Star contest?"
"No, not really."
"Mikan-Mikan has announced that she's hosting a competition to scout out rising talent," explained Naru, slipping onto the stool beside Usagi. "At least half the school has signed up for it, and everyone was practicing their acts all day. Their very bad acts. Umino is still doing some karaoke song in the schoolyard. The teachers all pretty much gave up on teaching today, so instead of our usual homework we were assigned big projects due in a week instead of regular work. They figure it'll all blow over after the contest happens on Sunday. Vanilla shake, please."
"Was it really that bad?" asked Motoki. Usagi shot him a look and answered.
"Mrs. Haruna called me a model student today: quiet, attentive, and sensible." Motoki didn't say anything: words could not describe how disturbed he was. He just passed them a bottle of aspirin and Naru's order.
"So where are you patrolling tonight?" Naru whispered.
"I'll see if Luna's found anything yet. She's getting nervous that something big is coming. Or worse, that they might have moved cities again, since we haven't found anything the last two nights."
"Mamoru, it's about time! Who's the friend?" called Motoki to someone coming in the door. Usagi craned her head around; she'd heard Motoki mention his friend Mamoru but they'd never met. Her stomach sank when she saw the two people entering. Please be the blond, please be the blond, please be the blond.
"Professor Kagaku announced that we wouldn't be doing anymore labs this month, so I'll be coming by early more often," replied the dark-haired young man Usagi had run into too many times. Against all odds, she'd barreled into him on the way to school yesterday too, prompting a screaming match that made her five minutes late. She buried her head in her arms in an attempt to hide. "Instead, we're doing long-term projects with a partner. This is Haruka," Mamoru said, indicating the blond young man beside him, "he's partnered with me for the rest of the term." Mamoru took the free seat on Usagi's right, her plan to hide having worked too well, and Haruka the seat on his right.
"Naru, switch seats with me," Usagi growled, and Mamoru finally noticed her.
"Well look who we have here, Odango Atama. Don't you think you should be studying instead of stuffing your face?" He gave a condescending grin.
"I'll have you know I got an 83 on the re-test," she snapped.
"That's good," he complimented, and her stomach did a little flip. "Just hope they don't give you an eye test and you might pass the year."
"You know each other?" Motoki cut in, defusing Usagi's explosive reply.
"I've had a few…run ins, let's say, with Odango here."
"My name is Usagi," she countered through gritted teeth. "Motoki I've heard about your friend Mamoru, but I never thought he'd be this big a jerk! How are you friends with a slimy sleaze-bag like this… thing!?"
"We've known each other about as long as you and Naru have," he explained with a shrug, looking amused.
"I guess that's the only way a guy like him could have friends. Jerk."
"Odango, Odango, Odango," Mamoru sing-songed cheerfully only for Haruka to pull him off his stool and steal it. "Oof!"
"You're a kindergartener at heart, Chiba," Haruka smirked at him. "Are you going to pull her pigtails next?" Then he turned to the girl in question and she nearly swooned. Oh hotness. "He's actually a cool guy once you know him well enough, though he must be blind to pick on a cutie like you, Koneko. Mind if I call you that? Kitten fits you much better than meatball head." Haruka lightly ran his fingers through Usagi's hair and she, blushing furiously, found herself arching into them like the kitten he'd called her.
"I knew you were a flirt Haruka, but really. A middle-schooler?" groused Mamoru, taking Haruka's former stool.
"HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN!" shrieked Usagi.
"Sorry," Mamoru apologized, seeming sincere. He wasn't. "I didn't realize they let people that young into high-school. I'd ask if you skipped a grade, but that test…"
"I'm 14! Demon-spawn jerk!" Usagi snapped, downing the rest of her shake. Then she grabbed her bag and flounced out the door, an amused Naru following.
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Sailor Moon stood in the darkness, staring at the building Luna had led her to.
"Hey, look at the signs. Is this where Mikan-Mikan's contest is?" She squinted at the poster announcement. "Are you sure you smelled a youma here?"
"Yes," Luna responded. "If people are competing here, then they'll be producing a lot of energy for the Dark Kingdom to steal. Possibly this Mika person is in league with the Dark Kingdom."
"No way! She's been a pop-idol since I was eleven! She can't be ev—ow!" Usagi yelped at Luna's quiet-down scratch, and listened. "My jewels aren't picking up anything, I think. If they're working right."
"Then she may have been replaced, like your friend's mother. Are you sure you don't pick up anything?" Usagi closed her eyes and tapped the gems lightly, setting off a quiet ringing. She focused on the theatre and heard the quiet scurry of mice, the hum of the electronic security system, and…nothing.
"Nothing," she confirmed. "Maybe it's a false alarm?" Luna gave her scathing look. "Well, maybe it won't be back until the actual contest? Wait…shouldn't there be a security guard or something?"
"A quick look shouldn't hurt, and might help," Luna suggested. Usagi agreed.
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"So was that guy a youma?" Naru asked quietly as she and Usagi walked away from signing up for the contest.
"No, just a normal human," Luna concluded. They sat down on a bench in the park and Luna curled up on Usagi's lap to be petted. Naru glanced around and saw no one nearby.
"So we have until tomorrow to plan how we're going to do this," Naru said.
"And to practice our acts so we win!" Usagi chirped.
"It's probably safest if Usagi goes in already as Sailor Moon and waits until the draining starts so we can identify the youma. It might not be Mikan, after all."
"But wouldn't people recognize me? Not me Usagi, but me Sailor Moon?"
"Your picture hasn't been taken yet, and Naru didn't describe you, so no, only the youma could recognize you. But since we don't want you to be recognized later, either, you go in as Sailor Moon disguised as Usagi." There was a pause.
"How do I do that?" Usagi asked. Luna smirked, and wiggled out of her arms before flipping into the air.
"With this," she said, as Usagi caught a pink—Pen? Wand? Plastic stick?—that appeared and fell. "This is one of the few Silver Millennium artifacts that was saved: the Disguise Pen. You can use it to make yourself look like anyone you wish, anyway you wish"
"Can I use it too, or only senshi?" Naru asked immediately.
"Most Silver Millennium tools could be used temporarily by anyone, but only someone with magic could use one for long periods of time."
"So just senshi?" Naru prompted.
"No, plenty of people were natural sorcerers. Still are, probably, but lacking the ability to train or even recognize their talents. And before you ask, I don't know how to test you, I don't know if you are, and I wouldn't be able to train you properly if you were. Also, the Dark Kingdom might sense a budding mage and, at best, try to recruit you. Now, the plan…"
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am super pop-star, Mikan-Mikan! Welcome to the Rising Stars Contest!" The crowd went wild at the young woman's announcement, accompanied by a shower of glitter and indoor fireworks. "We have here today an assortment of up-and-coming talent for your perusal, with the winners getting a series of performances sponsored by me: Mikan-Mikan! And now I'd like to introduce our judges! First off is my own manager, Yasora Kumo!" Hypnotized human number one walked on stage and sat at the judges' table. "Second off is a the man who first recruited me as new talent, Tohaku Marudo!" Cue hypnotized human number two. "And lastly, leading the judges is my close personal friend, the talent scout Zenmatsu Takai!" Zoicite walked on stage, dressed as a male for once, and sat at the judges' table. The youma Cristra, disguised as Mikan-Mikan, handed him the mike.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a show for you today," he said smoothly. "First we'll see the individual acts of our contestants, then for the finale we'll have them all performing together on stage as they take turns performing solos. You, the audience, will vote for them with your screams and applause. The louder you are, the more points they get." And the more energy you produce for the Dark Kingdom, he finished mentally. "And now for our first act, please welcome Umino and Akira!"
Usagi was wandering around backstage, having slipped away from the room where the contestants waited their turn after she and Naru had done a duet.
"Find anything new?" came Naru's voice from communicator/hand-mirror Luna had given them.
"No, but I may be onto something. I called it quits before I explored this area, but…" She walked into a T-intersection in the hall and cocked her head, glad that her gems were also blocking out the contest noise. "There's like a patch of silence over here that's too silent. You know, like when the computer's on but it's a screen-saver? Found it." She opened a closet door, forcing the lock, and froze at the sight revealed. "Oh crap ohcrapohcrap! Naru, Mikan-Mikan is the youma! The real one is in here covered in glass. She's alive, I think, but it's that suspension anime thing."
"Suspended animation? Try using your tiara to shave off the crystal," Luna suggested. "If not that, the sound."
"Moon Tiara Magic," Usagi muttered, not throwing the ring but touching it to the crystal. When it came close the glassy substance simply evaporated. "Hey, it's working!" She waved the ring around the idol and in a few moments she was free.
"Usagi, it's time for the big finale. I'm hiding and not going on stage; this has to be when they do the drain! I'll try to get into position."
"I'm coming! I'm keeping an eye on Mikan, too," Usagi hissed and grabbed the idol bridal style, dropping the disguise. She quickly retraced her steps—noting the eerie quiet—and came to the side of the stage in time to se the last of the performers fall over, unconscious. The audience and judges also appeared to be out of it.
"Who you?" came a sleepy question from the now semi-conscious idol.
"Sailor Moon, and I'm here to save everyone." Usagi put the idol down in the wings and raced onto the stage. "Moon Tiara Magic!"
"Get down," yelled someone off to her side, and the youma twisted aside.
"You abused these people's hopes and dreams, and in the name of the Moon I'm going to punish you!"
"Well I am Cristra, and in the name of Queen Beryl I'm going to kill you!" snarled the youma, dropping its disguise. It looked like a human-sized T-rex with a humanoid face, only bright orange with clear crystal splotches, and Usagi's gut churned.
"Moon Tia—" Usagi jerked back as she caught movement in the corner of her eye, tripping to the ground but rolling away anyway. The bolt of dark power flew past where her head had been. She had just enough time to pull herself into a crouch before a stream of clear goop sprayed onto her right side, covering the arm and leg with hardening crystal. Her tiara was in her right hand.
"Well, well, well," said a man with long blond hair in a gray uniform. "We've caught ourselves a sailor slut. Don't bother struggling, that crystal could survive atmospheric re-entry. And you can't use your pretty tiara either."
"Who are you?" Usagi asked, trying to buy time. She could free her arm with her tiara, he didn't know it vaporized the crystal apparently, but that would leave her leg still stuck. He had to be close enough that he couldn't dodge.
"You don't recognize me? I'm hurt. I am General Zoicite, one of her majesty Queen Beryl's Shittennou. How does it feel to know that your failure has doomed the world? Cristra, show her our spoils!" The youma came forward, holding a ball of glowing mist in its hand. "All of this energy is going to be given to Metaria, who will place all of you humans where you belong: in the dust!"
"Aren't you human?" she asked, trying to keep his attention on her. Naru should be moving into position soon…
"Not anymore," he laughed. "Now do you have any last words? I'll give you a few seconds to pray before I kill you." He formed a crystal spear and Usagi bowed her head and muttered something. "All done?" Then he screamed as roses rained down from above. "My face!" he screeched.
"—Magic!" she yelled and she swung her suddenly free arm around, barely missing Zoicite but releasing the tiara straight into and through Cristra.
"No!" shrieked Zoicite as the energy dissipated, streaming back to its owners. He whirled on the trapped girl, prepared to run her through, only to take a ten-pound sandbag to the face and stumble back, stunned. A follow-up blitz of three roses hit, one sticking into his shoulder.
"Those who pursue their dreams with dedication shall always prevail! Such stars burn with the brightest of lights, bringing joy and hope to all. To take advantage of such hopes is unforgivable," called Tuxedo Kamen. The tiara returned to Moon. "Sailor Moon, let faith and truth be your guides!"
"Moon Tiara Magic!" Usagi yelled, cutting her leg free and throwing the disk at Zoicite. Just as he prepared to dodge, she screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Zoicite didn't dodge, but the sound knocked him on his back, so it still missed. However, five roses thudded down, pinning Zoicite to the ground.
Sailor Moon ran off on a diagonal to catch her tiara and make distance, and Naru, hidden on the catwalk, threw down a second sandbag. Zoicite saw it coming, and thought Not the face! Screw this; I'll try again later. He teleported away.
"Hey! Where'd he go?" Usagi asked, and listened for him with her gems. "I think he's gone," she called up to Naru. "And so is the tuxedo guy." The redhead waved and vanished to the stairs. Usagi began pulling the contestants into some form of order, grateful that they had mostly fallen further upstage, away from the fight. Keeping them out of the way would have been a nightmare. Why didn't we think of that before?
"What now?" asked Naru.
"We can't just leave them here," said Usagi. "I'll borrow a cell phone and call the hospital. I'll wait for an ambulance before I leave, just to be safe. You go on and tell Luna what happened. Ask her what kind of medical treatment you need for drained energy, and tell me over the communicator."
"All my mom needed was sleep and food," Naru volunteered. "The hospital is a good idea though. You're really getting more responsible, Usagi."
"Sailor Moon," Usagi corrected, fiddling with her disguise mask. "And you won't be saying that when you see how little I've done for my part of the project."
"Since you just saved a bunch of people, I'll pick up the slack just this once, lazy-bones," Naru teased, before she turned and raced off to report in person to Luna, who was waiting a few blocks away. Usagi smiled softly and started rifling through pockets.
"I don't know who he is, but I want to find out," she murmured with a soft smile, thinking of Tuxedo Kamen, and not the unknown man who attempted to murder her.