Chapter 4: The Impostor Kingdom
I left on my own, but I heard chatter over the communicator indicating that the others were watching me from a distance. The police had set up a perimeter around the restaurant when I returned. I could see them carrying people out - some were badly hurt, but thankfully they were all walking. I figured out how to 'think' my robes off and was wearing regular clothes again; I did not want to attract any unwanted attention.
"Sir, there's been an explosion," the officer stated briskly.
"I'm looking for someone who was here. A man wearing all black, including a black hat," I asked. I saw the officer flip through a notepad.
"I may have seen him, can you give me more details?" he asked.
"I spoke to him earlier, he wanted to recruit me for something important," was what I said. The officer gave me an odd look, but said he would find out and walked towards the restaurant. Minutes later, everybody just collapsed on the floor. I felt a chill down my spine and the arm with the bracer grew hot again.
"I don't like the looks of this, we should grab him and question him ourselves," I heard Jupiter faintly mutter over the communicator.
"Stick to the plan, stay quiet," I heard Sailor Venus answer back. I could see the figure grinning as he came closer. I resisted the urge to step back as he stopped inches away from me. I noticed that his skin had a purple hue.
"You have returned, acolyte. For your own sake, I hope you were not foolish enough to lead Sailor Moon here," he sneered.
"She didn't. She tried to recruit me to her cause, but I escaped," I explained. I raised my arm and showed him the silver bracer. He reached out to touch it, but did not.
"Your powers are strong," he smiled, "and you are learning how to use them on your own. We studied the Scouts' previous missions and found the means to resist their powers, but we did not think they would try to turn you against us. But I have accounted for the other Shadows - tell me, what led you back to us?"
"Sailor Moon was really annoying, she seemed like a huge brat. And her friends were jerks," I answered back. I figured the best lies were close to the truth, but I knew Sailor Moon was going to make me pay for that later...
"I expected that reaction from them," he smiled. "Queen Serenity and her court were always arrogant. But a second Ice Age is coming to this planet and Silver Millennium shall be rebuilt upon its surface!"
"But I thought the Sailor Scouts were the enemy! They're the ones who want to restore Silver Millennium!" I asked. No doubt the others were also confused.
"That's what any tyrant would want you to believe: that they ARE the Kingdom, not merely its rulers! Their hubris did not only turn the people of Earth against them, acolyte! Our plan was set in motion long before the Moon Kingdom was destroyed! The only wrinkle left in our plan...is you!"
This time, I stepped back from him, trying not to let my 'cloak' magically activate itself. "Wait! I thought you were recruiting me! I can help you find Sailor Moon!" I 'pleaded'. Hopefully the others knew that I was trying to buy more time and coax more information out of him.
"Your powers are strong, acolyte, but they also make you a liability. By the time the Scouts find another way to stop us, it will be too late. I assure you: your sacrifice will guarantee the rebirth of our Kingdom and the end of the Sailor Scouts!" I flinched as he reached in my direction. When I opened my eyes, I realized that my cloak had activated. He reached in my direction and smirked; although he didn't know exactly where I was, he sensed I was still in the area.
"You can't hide, acolyte!" I tried to run when I saw him summon a ball of dark energy in his hand and throw it at the floor. He raised a fog of black smoke with energy particles surging through it. I felt as if I had been electrocuted and fell to the ground in agony.
"Mercury Bubbles...Blast!" The dark fog was blown away by a clear mist, giving me some time to get on my feet and run into the street.
"Back for your pawn, I see! Or was he yours all along?" I heard the recruiter scream behind me. He was still pursuing me.
"Venus...Crescent...Beam!" The recruiter dodged Sailor Venus' attack, but the distraction gave me a chance to run into the alley.
"Mars...Fire...Ignite!" I heard Raye's voice - she had come to help us! I saw a wall of fire behind me, blocking the recruiter from pursuing me any farther. I leaned up against the wall and sat on the ground.
"Charon, are you alright?" Tuxedo Mask ran up to me, followed by Luna.
"He said he could...resist their powers," I said, trying to stand back up.
"He might not expect YOU to attack him," suggested Tuxedo Mask.
"How?" I asked.
"Get close to him and use the same attack against him! Stay focused on him and remember: you're fighting to protect the Sailor Scouts! The rest will come!" said Luna.
I could see things were going badly for us when I approached the alley. Whenever the Sailor Scouts' attacked him, he would disappear like a ghost, only to reappear near them and deliver a close blast of dark energy. This was a trained Shadow in combat...what I could become if I could master my powers...
"Run," Sailor Mercury pleaded as she lay on the floor. Only Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon were left standing.
"Venus...Love Chain Encircle!" Sailor Venus launched her chain attack right at him, but he was dodged the initial strike, grabbed the chain and rode it back to her.
"Venus!" Sailor Moon shouted as he knocked her to the ground. The recruiter turned around and smirked when he saw me.
"Go! I can deal with this!" I shouted to Sailor Moon.
"But - " I nodded and Sailor Moon understood. She ran to Venus and Tuxedo Mask went to help the others.
"See how quickly your 'friends' desert you. You were foolish to betray us," taunted the recruiter.
"At least they didn't try to kill me when we first met," I retorted. I was focused on what Luna told me, trying to summon dark magic like the recruiter had earlier.
"I would have given you a quick death acolyte. Instead, I'll take my time..." He vanished from sight, surely to attack me up close, just as the ball of dark magic formed in my hand and I threw it to the floor. The cloud of smoke may not have been as dense as the one he had summoned before, but it was enough to stop him in his tracks. He reappeared, coughing and shaking helplessly.
"How? No...you're a..." he cried.
"He's vulnerable! Sailor Moon, finish him!" cried Luna. Sailor Moon raised a pink rod with a tiny gold crown, topped with a gold and red heart-shaped towards the Moon. I grew dizzy watching her spin the rod and herself around.
"Moon...Spiral...Heart...Attack!" she yelled. If the dizziness hadn't finished off the recruiter, then the enormous pink heart that smashed into him surely did. I made a note to myself to be careful about teasing Serena.
I could see that the people the recruiter had previously rendered unconscious were beginning to stir."Hey, Sailor Moon's back!" I heard a voice yell from down the street.
"It wasn't just us," smiled Sailor Moon as she flipped her hair. "We have our newest team member to thank - hey, where did he go?" she looked around frantically.
I had disappeared from sight and was watching the scene from a nearby rooftop. I heard Tuxedo Mask slip in behind me. "Camera shy?" he asked. I nodded. "It's OK, they can handle the attention. We'll see them back at the Temple..."
To Be Continued
