A/N: OMG I suck I am so sorry that you've all waited so long. I am prepared to dodge rotten vegetables thrown my way. Anway thanks to those that are still reading and a millions thanks to my beta Cherry and all you fantastic reviewers. I hope that you all got a personal reply because I try t get to everyone. If you didn't yell at me and you will get an extra long one this time. Please read, review and let me know what you think.
Disclaimer I don't won Sailor Moon
Chapter 4: The mask falls
Usagi was mystified over the gaps appearing in her memory. However she had no time to truly think about it until the last school day of the week – Friday. Her new friend Ami had become a welcome distraction, unlike Mamoru who, while being a distraction, seemed to enjoy making her furious. However their banter was quite playful and something she even looked forward to.
"Have you heard about the bus at Hikawa Shrine? People have been disappearing all week," a girl close, to where Ami and Usagi were eating lunch remarked.
"That's really weird," Usagi muttered to herself.
"Where is Hikawa Shrine?" Ami asked Usagi quietly.
"I'll show you after school if you like. I was going there anyway," Usagi said with a bright smile.
Ami nodded calmly though her eyes did hold a certain uneasiness that Usagi pretended not to see.
Usagi met Ami after school, outside the gates. Amazingly she hadn't received a detention, probably because Miss Haruna had a date tonight.
"Talk about luck!" Usagi squealed. "Miss Haruna should have a date every night if it gets me of the hook!"
She giggled as she pulled Ami to yet another shop-window and proceeded to peer into it for several minutes, something she'd insisted to do every time they'd passed a window belonging to a store. Fortunately the shrine wasn't too far away so they arrived well before the mysterious disappearing bus was due.
"Can I help you?" the shrine priestess greeted them somewhat coldly.
"Hi, I'm Usagi and this is Ami. We've heard a lot about this Shrine so we though we'd visit and make a wish," Usagi answered brightly.
The priestess looked at her somewhat suspiciously though she showed them towards the inner shrine.
"So what is your name?" Usagi tried to make conversation while Ami quietly studied her surroundings.
"Hino Rei," the priestess answered.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you Rei," Usagi smiled as she knelt to make her wish.
'I wish I could understand what is happening to me,' Usagi thought as she bowed her head before standing up.
"Ami?" Usagi gestured towards where she had been kneeling.
Ami knelt and made a quick wish to someday be normal and to have friends. Not that Mamoru wasn't a great friend, but she needed some friends in her own age – like Usagi.
"What do you know about the disappearing buses?" Ami asked as the three of them headed back to the stairs.
"What are you, the police?" Rei asked, getting defensive.
"Don't worry about it, Rei. We don't think it's your fault," Usagi soothed the irate raven-haired girl.
"We've had police coming here for the last few days and they've found nothing. This whole scenario is giving the shrine a bad name and I want to stop it. I sense something strange, but I don't know what," Rei answered truthfully
"It's okay. I'll find out what's going on," Usagi smiled as said bus halted at the bus stop.
"Usagi, what are you doing?" Ami asked with widening eyes.
"Just taking a ride," Usagi grinned as she boarded the bus.
"She's insane," Rei said.
Ami just nodded as Usagi waved out the bus window with a wide grin in place.
"Ami, is it me, or is that bus flying?" Rei asked as the bus suddenly became airborne.
"That explains what has been happening to the buses," Ami murmured to herself as Rei headed towards the portal opening that he bus was heading towards.
"No, Rei!" Ami called as Rei jumped through the portal just after the bus.
The portal began to close as Ami quickly transformed and quickly drew out her mini computer, trying to keep the portal open. She opened a link to Mamoru's communicator.
"What is wrong?" Mamoru asked with a calm look on his face.
"I'm at the Hikawa Shrine, the Shinto temple mentioned on the news yesterday. I think that the Dark Kingdom might be behind the disappearing buses. I saw one disappear with my own eyes," Ami explained.
"I'll be right there," Mamoru assured her as she closed off the link.
Mercury looked around nervously as she continuously kept the ever decreasing portal open. She was worried about Rei and Usagi, both who were within the Dark Kingdom's grasp.
Meanwhile Usagi had crept out of the bus and saw Rei bravely facing off against a youma with a blond man commanding it from above, a man whom she was instantly wary of.
'Jadeite,' the name came instantly to Usagi's mind.
She held a hand to her suddenly throbbing temple, her vision slowly clouding over. A hand was thrown out to prevent her from falling as she straightened herself.
"Moon Prism Power Makeup," she called.
Standing in her place was the pretty suited sailor senshi, Sailor Moon. She kept herself hidden as she noticed the symbol glowing on a weakening Rei.
'Mars," Sailor Moon realized as she restrained herself from helping her old friend.
A razor sharp rose hurtled itself at the youma, breaking its hold on Rei. Tuxedo Mask then engaged the youma, which left Rei open to Jadeite.
"A shame that such beauty has to be wasted," Jadeite commented as he began to drain her remaining energy.
Sailor Moon saw red as she grasped her powered up tiara and threw it straight at Jadeite. He managed to dodge it but he dropped Rei, which briefly grabbed Tuxedo Mask's attention. She, after noticing that Luna was approaching Rei, let loose a tirade of physicals attacks. Fortunately, Sailor Moon had seen Jadeite's fighting techniques and, while she had no chance of beating him, she was able to keep his attention on her while Rei transformed into the senshi of fire and passion, Sailor Mars.
"Fire Soul," Mars launched a stream of fire at the youma, easily destroying it.
"Nice," Tuxedo Mask commented.
Sailor Moon knew that she was weakening and she didn't really want to hurt Jadeite, so she fell back on a reliable technique, verbal distraction.
"Give up, Jadeite," she yelled.
"Not in this lifetime," Jadeite called as he threw an energy wave at her.
Sailor Moon quickly brought out her Moon wand and deflected the attack, sending it straight back at Jadeite. He cursed and disappeared back to the Dark Kingdom.
Before the others could question her, she quietly slipped away, back onto the bus Usagi had been on. She saw Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mars loop the buses together. Before they could see Sailor Moon touched her brooch, de-transforming.
Usagi took a seat on the bus, frowning as she had a flash of the battle against the youma and the blond man, Jadeite. The strange thing was she was seeing it from the viewpoint of being involved in the battle. The buses were all led out of wherever they had been and the passengers all woke up, hurrying to disembark. Usagi walked off the bus, a thoughtful expression gracing her face. It was then that Usagi was shaken out o her thoughts by Ami who almost flung herself at Usagi.
"Usagi are you okay?" Ami asked.
"I'm fine," Usagi reassured her, a confused look on her face.
"Why don't we go home?" Ami suggested.
Usagi nodded distractedly as Ami led her away, not noticing how both Rei and Mamoru looking at them.
Once Usagi was home, she went upstairs to her room, telling her mother that she wasn't hungry. Ikuko was worried but decided to leave her daughter alone, at least for now. Usagi threw herself on her bed and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of herself as a powerful blonde haired senshi. This continued through the weekend, the dreams becoming more vivid, as though they were actually memories.
Monday soon came and Usagi was late for school, as usual. She had spent the weekend trying to researching the mysterious Sailor Mercury, whose pictures had begun appearing in all of Tokyo's media. The girl in her dreams, whom Usagi was convinced was herself, wore an outfit similar to Sailor Mercury.
Miss Haruna gave Usagi detention almost wearily. It was not a surprise since Usagi was rarely at school on time. Naru gave her a sympathetic smile as the day's lesson began.
Usagi dropped in to see Motoki after detention and was secretly pleased to see Mamoru there, though he was quietly speaking to Ami and Rei.
Usagi approached their booth and was there in time to hear Mamoru almost hiss, "she can't be evil she's saved us all."
"Who are you talking about?" Usagi asked trying not to smirk.
"None of your business, Odango," Mamoru bit back, though his voice held no malice.
"Don't call me that," Usagi said.
Mamoru just gave a sexy lopsided grin and Usagi could swear she felt a hot shiver run down her spine. She shook her head and, after saying a quick hello to both Ami and Rei went to chat with Motoki, who had a strange light in his eyes.
"What?" Usagi asked confused.
"Nothing," he responded with a grin.
Usagi frowned but decided not to question him further. After having a quick conversation she left though not without a few parting shots at Mamoru, who delivered some more than biting replies. Usagi smiled to herself as she walked through the park on her way home.
A scream echoed in the park and Usagi ran towards the source, seeing an octopus like youma, that was as skanky as its predecessors, drain a young man of all his energy.
"Moon Prism Power Makeup," Usagi called instinctively.
Unlike previous times when the transformation was complete, Usagi was still in control of her body. But there was a quiet voice in her head that was guiding her movements.
She grabbed the tiara off her forehead, turning into a glowing discus.
"Moon Tiara Action," she hurled the discus at the youma, disintegration the two main tentacles that it had used to drain the people surrounding it.
The youma was not going to take this lying down. It launched an attack on Sailor Moon, who instinctively dodged it. However one of the eight tentacles was able to grasp her at the waist, pining her arms against her torso. She struggled fiercely but was unable to break free. Fortunately, a sharp red rose pierced the tentacle clutching Sailor Moon. The youma quickly dropped her and howled in pain as it was swallowed up in an inferno of fire curtsey of Sailor Mars.
Sailor Moon gladly let the two senshi and Tuxedo Mask take up the task of fighting the youma, while she scanned the battlefield for a certain blonde Shitenou that she knew was here. Spotting him, she quietly approached him.
"Hello Jadeite," Sailor Moon stated.
"Do you honestly believe that you will be able to defeat me?" Jadeite said arrogantly.
"No, I don't think I can. I know it," Sailor Moon replied surprising herself with how assured she sounded.
Jadeite looked at her suspiciously as his hand glowed with the familiar beginning of an energy wave attack. Sailor Moon drew her Moon wand, preparing for what she knew would be the fight of her life.
The battle was quick, violent and furious with both fighters landing severe blows on the other. Sailor Moon had never moved this fast in her life, though, for some reason, she was able to follow Jadeite's moves almost perfectly. The voice in her head, that sounded so much like her own, was able to guide her.
Then, Sailor Moon began to slow down and Jadeite quickly took advantage of this weakness, slamming her into the lake's guard rail. Grimacing, she looked up at Jadeite, her eyes glaring angrily up at him.
"She will never forgive you for this," Sailor Moon warned.
"I will be richly rewarded by Queen Beryl for your destruction," Jadeite sneered.
"That's not who I'm talking about," Sailor Moon answered as she glanced quickly at Mars who was almost finished demolishing the youma with the help of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mercury.
A flash of recognition of her words swept itself across Jadeite's face but left just as quickly. He brought out a nasty looking blade.
Sailor Moon knew she should do something but she just couldn't bring herself to stop him, something was telling her that this was right. She heard the yells of horror coming from Tuxedo Mask and the two senshi as the blade came down, though it never pierced her skin. A beam of orange light had smashed the blade into tiny metal splinters
Standing at the beam's origin point was a long haired, blonde girl wearing a sailor suit with an orange skirt and blue ribbon on her chest. Like Sailor Moon she wore a mask over her eyes.
"Thanks, Sailor Venus," Sailor Moon grinned instantly knowing who the girl was.
Sailor Venus just gave her an answering grin as she motioned for Sailor Moon to continue.
Drawing out her Moon wand she aimed it directly at Jadeite, who looked somewhat fearfully at this small girl.
"Moon Healing escalation," she called as her wand sent out an enormous wave of power.
Jadeite grabbed his head, It felt like every fibre of his being was on fire. A dark shadow was torn from Jadeite and his body looked almost brighter.
"Crescent Beam," Venus cried as she destroyed the shadow.
Sailor Moon collapsed onto the ground in pure exhaustion, Jadeite falling close to her. Before the others could come close to them Venus was able to grab Jadeite and take him away, trusting that Sailor Moon could get away herself.
"Are you alright?" Tuxedo Mask asked her, his voice laced with concern.
"Just peachy," she replied.
"What did you do to Jadeite?" Mars asked suspiciously.
"Made him what he once was," Sailor Moon replied distractedly, not noticing Mercury's computer that had been analysing her battle with Jadeite.
They all looked confused and this gave Sailor Moon the opportunity to make a quick getaway. She was exhausted and as soon as she was out of their site collapsed on top of a nearby building's roof.
"Tired?" came Venus's amused voice.
"Exhausted and more than a little confused," Sailor Moon admitted.
"Looks like she let you have control," Venus explained.
"But, who is she?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Well, right now she's known as Sailor Moon, though in Silver Millennium we called her Serenity. Do you know what Silver Millennium is?"
"Yes, though I have no idea how."
"Serenity's memories are bleeding into yours, forming one mind. That's why you were able to transform into Sailor Moon and fight like you did. There was hardly a difference between your fighting-style and Serenity's."
"How long were you watching?"
"Long enough to see you transform, but I already knew your other identity. Serenity told me."
"Who are you?" Sailor Moon asked as she let the transformation fade away, sighing in relief as she became Usagi again.
Venus also detransformed and Usagi was surprised to see that she was a girl about her age. In fact they looked very similar except for their eyes, which were different shades of blue.
"Aino Minako," Mina introduced herself.
"Tsukino Usagi," Usagi replied.
"Well, at least we'll be able to see each other in our civilian identities," Mina grinned.
"That would be nice; do you know the Crown arcade?" Usagi asked.
"Of course, that really cute guy Motoki works there. I'll see you there tomorrow after school and I'll bring Artemis."
"Who is Artemis?"
"You'll see tomorrow," Mina smiled though Usagi could somehow detect sadness behind that bright smile, probably Serenity's influence.
"Just one question," Usagi said as Mina turned to leave.
Mina's eyebrow arched up as she gave Usagi her full attention.
"How do we get down?"
I love that last line. Let me know thoughts and feelings.
CrazyLikeaFox
