Cosmic Warriors
Disclaimer: All non-original characters in this story are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi, Toei, or their original owners, respectively.
Note: Thanks always for the feedback and to JulietShadow and SadieSwirl for being my beta readers. Cosmic Warriors now has a TvTropes page, /Fanfic/CosmicWarriors. The link can also be found on my profile.
CHAPTER SIX - Red Strings
Friday night after defeating Eros and Psyche, Usagi only managed to get a glimpse of the Silver Guard, and that glimpse was a small fleet of black vehicles that ripped through the streets on their way to the construction zone. Luna promised her a chance to meet with them soon, but for now they had more pressing matters.
After they returned to the House of Fortune they found the boys that were passed out inside wandering around the property, confused as ever. Seeing that her work was done Usagi trudged home where she received an earful for being out so late, not telling her parents where she'd gone, and why she was carrying a stray cat.
The next morning Usagi gave Motoki a call and found out he'd taken a leave of absence from work, and wouldn't give her a good reason as to why. Usagi then decided to spend the day in bed, but Luna was against her wasting the day away and suggested some strength training, but both plans were thrown out the window when Usagi's newest friend, Makoto, stopped by. Word travels fast and Makoto had heard about Naru's incident and wanted to go visit her, she'd heard she was Usagi's best friend. Although it wasn't her idea of a relaxing Saturday morning, seeing Naru was still something fun to do.
After a quick shower and shoveling some cereal into her mouth she met with Makoto at the arcade and from there they headed to the hospital. The girls spent all morning with Naru, gabbing about school and filling her in on Umino's outrageous actions. Naru was just as shocked as Usagi was when she heard he flipped up their teacher's skirt.
While the girls wasted away their morning chatting and wolfing down snacks Mako had brought, across town at the top of a series of steps, starting at the street and ending at the entrance to the Hikawa Shrine, a young girl stood by herself.
In between the legs of the Shinto gate she stood, feet shoulder width apart, and watched a scene play out below her. Hoards of girls filing into a bus numbered 66 and ushering them inside was a new worker at the shrine. As the early September wind picked up it blew her purple tinted hair back, dark stands waving about wildly as the cool air passed through it.
At her waist was a large red bow that kept her equally red split hakama pants tight on her midsection, stopping at her ankles they revealed white socks and off yellow sandals. The wild sleeves of her white haori, held close by her ribbon, flapped back with the wind as well. In her hands she clutched a bow, one that had been created especially for her once she had become an official miko at the shrine.
The nipping chill in the air or the intensity of the wind didn't faze her. Neither did the squawking of her two pet crows, Phobos and Deimos, who were circling the gate legs. The only thing on her mind was the bus, now filled with passengers she watched the vehicle come to life, the tail lights lit up and the roar of the engine sounded like a soft purr from where she stood.
As the wind began to die down she closed her eyes, an image presenting itself behind her lids; a fire. She watched in her mind's eye as the fire flickered and made the shadows in the room dance. One of them stood out to her more than the others, a darker shadow that had a will of its own. It rose up from the floor, pasting itself across the wall behind the fire and began to take on a new shape. An amorphous figure with what she'd call a thick body, ending in jagged and uneven points.
Sitting in the same room was a woman, dressed down in beautiful red gown that was mostly covered with silver armor, along with small intricate purple details. She watched the woman hold her hand out and instantly an unrecognizable symbol came alive in her palm, it seemed to be made of fire; it moved and reacted just like it.
From the ember formed a large bow, much like the one she was holding, albeit it was made of fire. It didn't seem to affect the woman though; she held it all the same. On the wall the figure danced around, a face began to take form, two wild red eyes and a crooked mouth. All of which opened wide at the sight of the woman who was now standing.
The woman placed a hand to the bow and pulled back, a bright arrow forming a second later, from the fire itself. Rei furrowed her brow as she struggled to concentrate; the shadow on the wall lurched forward and the woman fired a single shot, through what one would guess would be its head.
Suddenly her vision blurred and the image vanished, leaving only a dull brownish colour until she opened her eyes again, the city under her now seeming more vibrant than before. In the distance she could see the bus nearing the end of the street and making its turn. She knew it would be best to follow it, but whatever dangers surrounded that bus, she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to handle them alone.
In the bus that had just left the Hikawa Shrine against the back Experiment-D-U-D, Diarmuid, stood quietly. The rest of the bus that was full of loud chattering girls who were all busy talking about their good luck charms. He closed his eyes, hoping to block out their noise but snapped them back open when an encroaching chill appeared beside him. Jadeite appeared on the bus a moment later, crouching down against the floor.
"Sir." Diarmuid said and wrapped a hand under his arm to pull him up. Jadeite yanked his arm free, but only after he was standing and cast the Experiment a deadly glare. Diarmuid instantly fell back against the interior wall and closed his eyes again, allowing Jadeite to move past him and into the aisle.
He then shared his glare with the rest of the bus, over twenty rows of chatting and giggling girls, it made him sick. The girls were fawning over their good luck charms, a small amulet covered by a white cloth with letters sown into it with a gold thread. The top was secured shut by a long white string that the girls were wearing around their wrists. Jadeite flared his nostrils before lifting a hand and stretching his fingers out, in the hands of the girls their good luck charms came to life, glowing a deep purple and lifting out of their grasps.
"What is this?" One asked, while the girls behind her started to scream.
"Pathetic…" Jadeite uttered before quickly bringing his fingers back in to make a fist. The floating charms again reacted to him and slammed onto the foreheads of the passengers, and thick white fabric burst free from the charms and wrapped around their heads several times over.
Though their attempts to tear it off proved useless the girls never stopped trying, many fell from their seats in their blind fury and others simply bellowed out muffled screams.
Diarmuid watched stoically as the flare of energy the girls displayed quickly died down as the charms finished encasing their heads. Jadeite smiled and dropped his hand after watching the last girl fall limp in her seat. He slowly progressed down the aisle, glancing around slightly to see the girls slumped over with the bandages on their heads and the rectangular charm glowing brighter each second with every ounce of energy it was siphoning.
As he headed to the front of the bus a girl beside him slid out of her seat and bumped against him. Fixing his face into a look of disgust he slammed a glowing hand onto the head of the girl, a loud explosion followed the impact and the now headless corpse slumped over in her seat.
"Kigaan, let's go." He commanded and the bus driver turned back to him, an evil grin plastered across her face as tipped off her cap to him.
Slowly she turned back around and gripped the steering wheel as sparks of dark electricity raced around it and soon the entire dashboard. The bus then gained momentum before the front wheels left the ground, Jadeite gripped two seats beside him for support, a moment later the rest of the bus was up and flying through the air.
"Experiment-D-U-D."
"Sir." Diarmuid addressed.
"Has everything at the shrine been going smoothly?"
"Yes, as you requested I've become a temporary worker there and as you can see the good luck charms have been selling well." Diarmuid continued. "Just as you expected, hoards of young girls are swarming to the shrine to get them, after that I lead them all onto the bus you've provided for their transportation."
"So you've had no problems at the shrine?" Jadeite prodded, unwilling to believe everything was going as smoothly as he wished.
"No problems to report sir."
"Good." he replied warily. "We're dealing with several projects at the moment and it is of the upmost importance they all run smoothly." Jadeite moved forward through the bus to the very front and glared out of the window, they had left Tokyo and were floating over another city. Clueless humans wandered around below, all speaking a language far different than Japanese.
They slowly began to descend, past a crumbling exterior stone wall with gaping holes in it. As they flew through an opening that was created by the structure's decay, they passed a similar inner wall and the bus lowered into an arena.
"Take us down here." Jadeite said. Kigaan nodded and the bus lowered until the wheels met with the dusty earth inside, slowing to a stop inside a ring of crumbling stone pillars and a gang of monsters.
Diarmuid stared down at his feet, a somber expression crossing his face as the image of the shrine maiden crossed his mind. "No problems…" He sighed as his body began to flicker and soon vanished from the bus, reappearing a moment later a few feet away, at the door to the bus where monsters were beginning to congregate.
"Back up, back up." He shouted throwing his arms out to signal to the hungry monsters this wasn't their time to eat. "Back up!" One monster seemed determined to defy him, he quickly spun around, tearing a sword from his back and sliced of one arm of the beast. The monster, resembling an ogre groaned and cupped the wound before staggering away.
Behind him the door to the bus opened and Jadeite snapped his fingers, the group of beasts instantly bowed in submission at the sight of their master.
"Experiment-D-U-D and Kigaan, get the girls off the bus and have it ready for the next wave." He commanded and waved them both off, Diarmuid bowed before he hopped into the bus and followed Kigaan to the back.
"The rest of you," he added sharply. "if any of these girls are harmed before their energy is done being drained and collected." He spoke slow, but with precision to emphasize each word. "I will personally lop your heads off, dip them in oil, and use them as torches to light Queen Beryl's dinner hall." He stepped up to the ogre that Diarmuid had accosted. "Do you understand?"
"Sir." Diarmuid stated, catching Jadeite's attention. "What about the corpse? We can't gather anymore energy from it. The charm was destroyed."
"Ah." Jadeite held a hand out and curled his fingers in, the body of the headless girl flowing out of one of the open windows and floating above the eldritch crowd. "I suppose you get a treat after all."
The ogre as well as the rest of the group nodded fiercely as Jadeite dropped his hand. The invisible force holding the girl's body vanished and she limply fell into the crowd. Within a second claws and thick hands were gripping her body and the sound of teeth and nails digging into flesh could be heard from the group.
"I'll leave the rest to you." Jadeite said to Kigaan and Diarmuid who were tossing out the bodies' one at a time before he vanished.
"I'll stay," Kigaan offered as Diarmuid was ready to hop outside. "get back to the shrine." He nodded in understanding before his body vanished from the arena.
As Kigaan shut the doors she noticed the group of monsters was watching her with hungry eyes, many of their mouths stained red, wanting more. Kigaan gave the monsters a dangerous glare as she knocked her cap off, red hair falling down her back and her skin changing into a sick pea green. "You heard Jadeite, you so much as touch them and you're dead!" Several of the monsters growled in disapproval and began to disperse as Kigaan started lining up the unconscious girls near the pillars.
Back in Tokyo the shrine maiden had swapped her bow for a broom and was busy tidying up the shrine steps when Diarmuid reappeared at the bottom. He watched her move about with a sense of urgency in his eyes, he tilted his head left and right each time she changed the direction in which she was sweeping. He was content on watching her move until from the corner of her eye she spotted him.
"What are you doing down there?" Rei Hino, the beautiful shrine maiden with long raven hair and a fiery spirit, shouted from the top of the steps.
Diarmuid smiled and began to race up the steps, taking them two at a time. "I was seeing another group of visitors off." He replied slyly.
"And you're back so soon?" Rei asked looking him up and down. The man had come to the shrine Friday night looking for work and grandpa was too enthusiastic in hiring him after hearing his idea to bring in young female customers. The following day he had set up a small shack on the property to sell lucky charms and business had been booming since.
Rei took notice of the white haori he was wearing and how it still wasn't fitting his body right, or perhaps he had removed the hemming she'd done on purpose. She narrowed her eyes at him as he stood stoically watching her with his strange eyes.
"You better get ready; the afternoon rush of girls will be here soon." she reminded. "I'll be out back practicing." She slammed the broom into his chest and headed off.
"Do you think I could watch?" He asked following after her.
"I think your time would be better spent doing your job." She snapped coldly, giving him an equally cold look over her shoulder. "And I don't feel safe around you." She muttered and quickly snatched up her bow that she'd left near a tree before heading across the property.
With a sigh Diarmuid's shoulders dropped as he turned back to head towards the charm shack to start business for the day.
The following day Makoto and Usagi were heading down the street after stopping at OSA-P. "Do you think Naru will like her present?" Makoto asked.
"I hope so; I really wanted to get her something she'd like for when she comes home." Usagi smiled to her friend as they turned a corner.
"When is that exactly?" Makoto asked, tapping her chin.
"I think she's coming home either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Either way she should be back at school Monday." Usagi beamed, happy to have her friend back at school.
"So now what...?" Makoto asked glumly, they hadn't made any definite plans yet and noon was fast approaching.
"I'm kind of hungry." Usagi whined and rubbed her stomach when the sound of a girl's scream reached her from behind; they spun around and were almost knocked off their feet as a group of three snickering boys rushed past them.
"Watch it!" Makoto howled and snatched up two of them by their collars while Usagi looked further back to see Ami on the ground, surrounded by a pile of her schoolbooks.
"Oh, Ami!" Usagi hurried to her and as she came in close she could hear the girl crying as she tried to collect everything. Usagi froze in her spot; she'd never expected to see Ami crying over something like this. "Hey Ami, you okay?" She asked, scrunching up her face as she squatted down and began to help her gather up her supplies.
"Why do you care?" Ami asked harshly, snatching a notebook away from her. Usagi flinched at the question and thought back to Saturday when she and Makoto were leaving the arcade and heading to the hospital, they had run into Ami then too. Not only had Usagi refused to talk to her, but Makoto had invited her to come see Naru and she told Ami there wouldn't be any room in the hospital room for her.
In her defense it was all Luna's advice, keeping her distance from Ami as Usagi Tsukino would be for the best, but keeping an eye on her as Warrior Moon was necessary. But even so, maybe this was going too far, they still didn't have any proof Ami was behind the attack on OSA-P or the homes.
"Sorry Ami…" Usagi said, with all the things she wanted to apologize for in her head. She sighed and continued to gather up some papers as she heard Makoto yelling at the boys behind her. The two stood up and Usagi handed off the rest of her supplies and Ami wiped off her skirt.
"So... Are you busy?"
"Why?" She asked warily, adjusting her book stack.
"Just wondering if you might want to hang out with Makoto and I for the day, we don't have any homework this weekend so you don't have any excuse to say no." Usagi said; she knew Ami would try to back out.
Ami's eyes opened wide hearing that. "You really want to hang out with me?" she asked shocked.
"Definitely! Take it as part of my apology for being so mean to you yesterday." Usagi smiled and linked arms with Ami.
A tint of pink filled Ami's cheeks and a smile played across her lips. "W-Where were you thinking of going?"
"Can we go to the Hikawa Shrine?" Makoto interjected from up the sidewalk, she still had hold of the boys, but they soon ripped themselves out of her grasp.
"The what?" Usagi asked with raised eyebrows.
"I don't know, that's where those guys said they were heading off to." Makoto strolled up to them, giving Ami a wink and gesturing back to the boys.
"I heard girls are disappearing after visiting there..." Ami added Usagi's expression changed to shocked before she continued. "Don't you watch the news? It's all they've been talking about, disappearing girls and a strange bus."
"Then maybe we should find someplace else to go!" Usagi squeaked.
"Don't be so chicken!"
"O-Okay…" Usagi whimpered, although she wouldn't admit it, Makoto scared her. She'd shared a story of being kicked out of her previous school for fighting, a fact she would have liked to know the moment they met.
"We can get a good luck charm there!" Makoto beamed linking arms with Ami.
"Will good luck charms help me pass algebra?"
"I don't see why not!" Makoto continued. "I bet they work in love too, we can get love letters in our lockers and have boyfriends!"
"Love letters?!" Ami screeched as a bead of sweat ran down her forehead.
"Maybe Motoki will ask me out!" Usagi drooled. "Or at least talk to me after we get them. He's been missing from work..." Usagi's happiness quickly faded as she sighed and looked at her feet.
"Cheer up; it's probably just boy stuff Usagi." Mako added, jabbing her with her elbow. The blonde smiled and hoped it was true.
Back at the shrine Rei had spent the rest of her morning firing arrows at trees or dodging out of sight whenever she saw Diarmuid coming, who had been pretending to be sweeping. After her arm began to feel tense she opted for something more relaxing, meditating over fire.
"Cleansing flames provide me with your guidance..." Rei sat on her legs in front of a blazing fire, behind her the sliding doors of the building were open ajar and she was beginning to regret it. "I feel a strange force approaching."
The thought of the doors being open crossed her mind again. Several times she felt eyes on her, but getting up to close them would break her concentration. Concentration she would need if she was ever going to understand the rumors swarming around the shrine regarding the missing girls.
In her mind she began to see the steps of the shrine, as if she herself were walking up them. To the sides she could hear faint voices that she wasn't able to identify, or even tell what they were saying.
Rei furrowed her brow as the image started to become clearer, she could make out every detail of the scene, the top of the steps, the buildings, she could see Diarmuid sweeping. Whoever's vision she was seeing through, they were outside the shrine right now!
Strolling across the shrine property the trio of girls looked over everything in wonder. The grounds were clear of any leaves that one would normally find lying around this time of the year. All of the buildings looked as if they'd been washed recently and everything on the grounds seemed to be in order.
Ami noticed a tall man near a small shack off to the right and from the corner of her eye a much smaller man came trotting to them. "Uh... Usagi?" She said, tugging on her friend's arm. Usagi glanced around before the small man stopped directly in front of them.
"Welcome ladies!" The small man, dressed in what looked like shrine clothes made for a child, announced to them, slapping a stack of paper talismans against his hand. "What brings fine girls like you to the Hikawa Shrine this evening?"
Usagi stared down at the man with an uneasy feeling, even Ami was wary of getting too close to him. Makoto seemed to be the only one that didn't find him creepy; she even bent over to get into his face when she spoke to him. "We came for the good luck charms old man."
In the distance Diarmuid's ears perked up at the mention of his charms. He smiled and gathered up a handful before heading over.
"Are you sure that's all I can do for you ladies?" The small man asked. "What about a special luck charm, I'll perform the ceremony myself!"
"It's best not to pester young women master." Diarmuid said coolly, approaching from behind. The sound of his voice sent a chill down Usagi's spine; she whipped around, along with Makoto and Ami and spread her arms out to the sides to protect them.
"Oh hello there." Ami said shyly.
"Y-You work here?" Makoto seemed to be lost in another world after seeing him again.
Usagi stared at him with an intense glare, knowing she had to get the others away from him, but her knees were shaking and her legs felt as if they'd give out on her any minute now.
Inside the meditation room Rei clenched her fists as she saw images of grandpa, Diarmuid, and two girls she'd never seen before flash through her mind. She realized she was seeing this through the eyes of the approaching evil. Whatever was outside was too close to let it go on any longer. Digging a hand inside her haori Rei pulled out a long white tag used for repelling evil. She held it up straight and stared down at the writing along the front.
"Did I hear you say you wanted good luck charms?" Diarmuid asked innocently, holding up precisely three of them to the girls.
"Thank you, that's very kind." Ami said, taking the first one and running her hand over it. With a shaky hand Makoto took hers and mumbled a thank you.
"And you?" he asked, his voice dropping down from the pseudo-polite tone he was using when he spoke to Usagi. He dangled the last charm in front of her face, before snatching up her hand, much to the shock of Ami and Makoto, and stuffed the charm inside it. "Don't be shy."
"EVIL SPIRIT, BEGONE!" From behind the group came the voice of a girl that was storming out of the meditation room. She flew across the courtyard before anyone could understand what was happening and threw herself into the middle of the group.
"Who's she?" Makoto asked, now snapping out of her trance.
"Rei, my dear child, what are you doing?" Grandpa asked as he watched Rei hold her hand up high, soon slapping it down onto Usagi's forehead. The tag sticking and sending the blonde girl toppling over into the arms of the Experiment.
"That girl is an evil spirit grandpa! Get back everyone!" Rei stepped ahead of the girls and grandpa, whipping out another tag and waiting for the girl to react to the first. Diarmuid stared blankly at the girl in his arms, Usagi's eyes rolled back and her skin was becoming pale.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Ami asked. After waiting a minute for something to happen Usagi's body became limp and then slid from the man's grasp.
"I-guess-she-wasn't-evil..." Rei stuttered and felt her cheeks heat up. "My mistake!" She burst out laughing and rubbed the back of her head, stuffing the tag into the back of her haori.
"I'll take twoooo more scoops of the chocolate chunk chocolate ice cream please with extra chocolate..." Usagi cooed. "And a slice of caaaake."
"She's lost it!" Makoto said shaking her head, she then scooped Usagi up in her arms and began to shake the blonde. "Snap out of it Usagi!"
"Oooohhh what hit me?" Usagi moaned becoming alert, not only to her surroundings, but to the throbbing in her head.
"That was me, sorry." Rei waved sheepishly. "I've been sensing some evil near the shrine, and the feeling got stronger just a minute ago, it was like I was looking through the eyes of the evil." Rei looked around her to everyone else. "And I could see all of them, everyone except you."
"So you figured you'd whack me on the head?!" Usagi screeched, getting so close into the girl's face they nearly head-butted.
"I said I was sorry!" Rei screamed back before she growled at the girl.
"Well, say it again!"
"NO!"
Usagi huffed and stuck her tongue out at the girl to which the raven-haired girl mimicked her. The two remained like that for a minute, waggling their tongues and making buzzing sounds at each other.
"Alright you two, break it up." Makoto intervened and placed hands on their shoulders to force them apart, Ami looked embarrassed to be there with Usagi by now.
"Who are you all anyway?" Rei asked skeptically looking at the girls.
"I'm Makoto Kino, but you could call me Mako if you like." she answered swiftly.
"Ami Mizuno, pleased to meet you." she gave a quick bow of the head to the shrine miko.
"The name's Usagi. Usagi Tsukino." Usagi jabbed a finger at Rei and shot her a dirty glare.
"Miss Rei." the girls all shifted their attention to Diarmuid who was standing a few feet away, as if patiently waiting for something. "It seems as if your sacred fire has died down. Would you like me to get another one started?" With the nod of his head he signaled them to the meditating room; inside Rei could no longer see the flame that normally would have been visible from all the way across the yard.
With a sigh Rei turned back to the worker. "No, it's fine. I think I need to take a break from it anyway, nothing is making sense anymore." Rei rubbed her forehead and made a quick clicking sound with her tongue, from the trees came two black crows that soon circled over Rei before landing on an extended arm. "I'll be out back practicing."
"The nerve of some people..." Usagi muttered as Rei walked away from the group to the side of the meditating room.
"Excuse me," Ami spoke up. "what's she going to practice?" she looked back to Rei who stopped at the side of the building before she disappeared behind it.
"Archery." Grandpa answered, scaring the girls who had almost forgotten he was there. "It's Rei's favorite hobby, and she's quite good at it."
"Sounds cool, do you think she'd mind if we watched?" Makoto asked, impressed such a pretty girl would be interested in something like that.
"I don't think she would, but let me know if you girls want some company okay?" Grandpa waved the stack at them as they began to shuffle off away from him.
"Will do old man!" Makoto called back as the girls booked it towards the back of the building. Usagi gave the yard one glance before it was out of sight, watching Diarmuid scowl at her from across the distance.
Behind the meditating room was a small area that had been set up for the sole purpose of practicing archery. Lined against the building were a series of bows in all shapes and sizes, along with quivers filled with arrows. There were several wooden polls fashioned to be used as targets with red X's painted on them as well.
"Wow, this is amazing." Mako exclaimed and broke Rei's focus as she fired an arrow, making it miss the target and fly into the wooded area off to the left. The girls listened to the arrow whiz through the trees and break off branches before a harsh hiss reached them.
"I think you may have hit something..." Ami said with great concern and tried to peer through the trees. As the girls waited for some kind of sign from within the foliage came a harsh and low hissing sound.
A dark flash flew out of the trees and landed atop one of the target poles, perched on it was Luna. Usagi's eyes opened wide with joy at seeing the cat who was now swatting at Phobos and Deimos.
"Shoo! Get out of here stupid cat!" Rei swatted at the feline with her bow, wanting it to leave her crows alone before she heard the blonde girl call out a name. In the matter of a second the cat's demeanor seemed to change and it leapt off the pole and into Usagi's arms.
"Is that your cat?" Rei asked skeptically, seeing her nuzzle with the cat before it climbed onto her shoulders.
"It's Luna! Hi there..." Ami reached a hand out warily to her which proved to be a mistake as Luna swatted at her.
"She doesn't seem very friendly." Makoto added, shaking her head, not even wanting to attempt to pet her.
"She's nice to me." Usagi said, scratching under Luna's chin and listening to the cat purr that seemed to calm her nerves.
"So." Rei tapped her foot impatiently watching the three of them. "Are you done interrupting my practice?"
"Oh, sorry we just wanted to watch. Archery sounds really cool!" Makoto said, looking over the array of bows that Rei had.
"Actually you guys stay and watch, I'm gonna – go to the bathroom!" Usagi sputtered before creeping off to the side of the building.
"Usagi!" Luna hissed once she was sure they were safe, Usagi crept inside the meditation room and they planted themselves in front of the dying embers.
"I know, I'm sorry!" she whined back, she already knew what Luna was thinking.
"Why are you here with Ami, and who is that other girl?" Luna demanded.
"Her name is Makoto, but you can call her Mako." Usagi started and Luna began to hiss again. "She's a friend from school, we stopped at OSA-P this morning and then found Ami and somehow we ended up here... It was Mako's idea."
"Honestly Usagi, you never cease to surprise me. You're frolicking with the enemy on the Guard's very own temple."
"The Guard?"
"Yes. The old man who runs the shrine along with his granddaughter are both members of the Silver Guard, and you've brought a potentially dangerous enemy onto the property!"
Usagi furrowed her brow and snatched up Luna. "C'mere."
"Usagi, put me down this instant!" Luna hissed and nipped her finger.
"Shh Luna! He'll hear you!" Usagi flicked Luna on her head before sliding the doors open and holding the cat up to look outside. "You see him?"
"I do!" Luna growled, spotting the man in question handing out charms to a few girls that were fawning over him. "Usagi, what have you gotten yourself into?"
"I wish I knew..." The girl gave a big shrug. "He was here when we showed up, so Luna what do we do?"
"Let's head back to the others for now." Luna answered and hopped onto her shoulder.
"Right." she agreed exiting the building. "Wait Luna, why are you here anyway?"
Luna kept her eyes on Diarmuid for as long as she could before they were on at the side of the building. "The disappearing buses, the Guard want answers."
"Then how come Rei isn't handling it?" Usagi retorted dryly.
"Handling what?!" The girl in question barked as Usagi stepped back into the training area. "Are you talking to yourself?"
Usagi scrunched up her face and snorted. "Of course not!" Her eyes darted from side to side, catching glimpses of Makoto practicing holding a bow and Ami examining the accuracy of Rei's shots. "So Rei, what do you know about those disappearing girls?"
Luna dropped her shoulders; Usagi had the skills of a cabbage when it came to being subtle and getting answers.
Rei's eyes opened wide at the mention of it before she turned her back on Usagi. "Don't tell me, you think it's the fault of the shrine too?"
"I don't know whose fault it is, that's kinda why I asked." Usagi rolled her eyes at the girl, not liking her tone at all, before she plopped down on the ground.
Rei spent the next couple of hours or so answering questions and regurgitating just about everything she knew about the buses. Including the bus number, the date it all had started happening and all the theories that had been circling around about the cause. She became particularly fiery anytime a mention of the shrine's cooperation in the matter came to light. Even after explaining everything the girl's still had questions that Rei answered to her chagrin, mostly for Usagi who seemed to ask the worst questions.
The girls had chattered for a while, so long in fact the sun had begun to set and Ami to reminded them all they had school in the morning. Usagi whined about having to wake up early and then began to think about all the homework she neglected to do the previous week as she Ami, Rei, and Makoto headed to the bus stop.
"So, if we stay away from bus number 66 we should be alright?" Makoto asked, thinking it all over in her mind.
"I believe so. I sure hope those girls turn up soon." Ami said, to which Usagi nodded in agreement while rubbing Luna's head. "Their families must be terribly worried." Ami added and Usagi heard Luna snort, obviously not believing Ami's concern was genuine.
"Why are you here again?" Usagi asked to Rei with hooded eyes. The girl was standing a considerable distance away from them and staring at a pad of paper.
"I have to make a trip to get some things for school, as if it was any of your business." she scoffed back.
At the top of the shrine steps Diarmuid watched the girls who were now standing at the bus stop sign. In his mind he felt a disruption before Jadeite's voice pierced through his silence.
I see a few girls are waiting, I'm sending the bus.
"That won't be necessary, there's only four of them." he replied quietly, even though Jadeite was communicating telepathically, talking to him would rely the message back all the same.
Nonsense! All energy is needed for our plan!
Instantly Diarmuid felt a static in his ears before his blood ran cold. His eyes then began to roll back and his body twitched, whatever Jadeite was doing to him he felt like his skull was splitting in two.
Don't ever question my authority!
In an instant the pain was gone and Diarmuid nearly fell down the steps as the relief swept over him. He took in a heavy breath of air and watched the girls before touching his fingers to his lips, feeling something warm run over them. Pulling his hand away he rubbed his fingers together; a thick dark red liquid was coating his fingers and running from his nose.
"Blood." he assured himself before his focus was broken by the cawing of crows and then the roar of an engine. He glanced up and sure enough there was a bus, bus 66, coming around the corner. He closed his eyes and his body instantly vanished from the spot, reappearing down behind near the bus stop, but far enough away that the girls wouldn't notice his presence.
"C'mon it's cold!" Usagi whined and began to hop up and down, watching the bus putter slowly towards them.
Diarmuid stayed where he was and waited until the bus had come to the stop and the door creaked open before moving in closer.
"Hey, did anyone see the number for this bus?" Makoto asked she boarded and plopped into a seat in the middle.
"WHAT?!" Usagi screeched. "I totally forgot to look!"
"I think it was 12." Ami replied taking a seat across from her.
"Whatever! Let's just go I'm cold!" Rei groaned, bumping against Usagi as she moved past her to sit down behind them.
"How come we're the only ones on?" Usagi asked, sitting with Makoto now.
"It's late you airhead." Rei mocked. "This is probably the last bus for the night." she was still reading her pad of paper.
As the bus driver started to close the door a man's hand slipped into the path of the door and forced it open. The driver smiled to Diarmuid as he hopped up inside before she closed the door.
Usagi bit the inside of her cheek and wondered why he was here. Was he going to try something on the bus? She shifted in her seat at seeing Diarmuid board along with them.
Diarmuid scanned the back of the bus quickly before crouching down to whisper to the driver.
"Jadeite said to drop this group off at the regular bus stop, they didn't get any charms and he isn't coming for them..." he lied.
"If you say so." The driver replied grizzly and pulled away from the stop, taking the girls and the Experiment through the dying city streets.
Forty-five minutes and four stops later, the last of the girls had gotten off the bus at their destination. Usagi cast Diarmuid a glare as he watched her head down the sidewalk. She waited until the bus was out of the sight before she started doing any real walking, not wanting him to see her heading to her house.
"Luna, tell me why you didn't want me attacking him on the bus?"
"Too risky and besides, I had a strange feeling when all of you girls were together earlier..."
"Don't tell me you think Makoto AND Rei are evil?! Although... I wouldn't mind fighting Rei." Usagi contemplated the idea of vanquishing the girl with Moon Blade Slash.
"Don't be ridiculous." she scoffed. "It was something more powerful than the feeling I had around Ami..."
Back on the bus Diarmuid was leaning against one of the poles at the front and Kigaan was pulling into a deserted street.
"It's a shame this was a wasted trip." Kigaan said, slipping her cap off, her mangy red hair falling free after she did. She gripped the steering wheel and the bus began to lift off the empty street and fly through the air. "What do you think D-U-D?"
She turned back to the man but opened her eyes at what she saw. From his chest a thick collection of dark purple dust was gathering and slowly spreading to cover his body. She gave him a wide eyed look before nodding to him, his body and the particles disappearing soon after.
A moment later in the depths of the Dark Kingdom the same cloud of dust appeared before Queen Beryl and from it emerged Diarmuid. He glanced around him, before him sat Beryl, behind him was Jadeite who looked displeased and further beyond him was two of his own clones, gripping golden spears.
"Why-"
"SILENCE!" Beryl commanded, the sheer magnitude of her voice caused the pressure in the room to increase, all of the Experiment clones were forced painfully onto the ground. Only Jadeite had enough sense to see it coming and easily crouched down into a bowing position before his queen. "Why have you disobeyed your master Experiment-D-U-D?"
Diarmuid slowly looked around him to catch Jadeite's deadly gaze, he knew exactly why he was here. "There were only four girls my Queen. I didn't think it was necessary to waste a trip on them." With his body under the constant pressure of Beryl's power and the hard stone ground, even speaking was difficult for him. "None of them bought the charms anyway..."
Beryl clenched her fists before stretching her fingers, as if deciding whether she wanted to strike him on the spot or let him live. With a soft exhale the pressure forcing them all down dissipated and each of them rose to their feet again.
"For your sake no one important had better been on the bus." Jadeite reminded.
"A Cosmic Warrior, a Silver Guard member as well as the black cat that serves as an advisor to the former, were all on that bus your majesty. As well as two additional girls, all of which had in fact received charms." The two clones standing in the back spoke up at once, bypassing Jadeite and speaking directly to Queen Beryl.
Fire came alive in her eyes the moment she understood exactly what had occurred. "You purposely let them go!" She howled.
"How do you two know that?" Jadeite demanded.
"We share the same field of vision, should we chose." The clone to the left took a step forward towards Diarmuid.
"We noticed him becoming friendly with the shrine wench, and decided to keep an eye on him." The second clone stepped forward and along with the former was now circling their rebel brother.
"Is that it?" Jadeite spat. "You let them get away because you have a crush on a human woman?!" he pulled back a hand, a dark energy glowing around it instantly.
"Jadeite." Beryl commanded and the Shitennou dropped his hand. "No need to soil your hands..." she stretched her arm out to Diarmuid before coiling her fingers in. Below him a dark square formed on the ground and began to rise up, quickly forming a box around him that obscured his vision of the rest of the room.
The two remaining clones stepped away from the box warily, as did Jadeite. When Beryl clenched her fist a painful cry broke out from within and caused all in attendance other than the queen to jolt.
"Dismissed." Beryl cast her gaze to the remaining Experiments who took the hint and disappeared from her sight, sinking down into the floor.
"My Queen, perhaps this was for the best." Jadeite started to reason, staring at the black box, truly curious as to what hell he was experiencing inside. "Should the Cosmic Warrior have been taken to our lair in Europe, she would have led the Guard straight to it."
"Had you been doing your job!" Beryl bellowed, before Jadeite saw her, Beryl has flown out of her seat and had a firm grip on his neck. The cold skin on her hands seemed to freeze his own skin and sent waves of a sobering energy through him, as if his energy was being sapped and death was approaching. "THE COSMIC WARRIOR WOULD ALREADY BE DEAD!" Her voice echoed, not only in the cavern but through his mind, shaking him from reality and sending him spiraling into another time and place.
When she had released him he wasn't sure of, he only knew he had ended up on the floor, finding it hard to breathe normally anymore.
"Leave my sight Jadeite, before you suffer a fate worse than death itself." Beryl snapped her fingers and the black box vanished.
The butchered body of Diarmuid fell limply from inside and landed beside Jadeite, causing the man to shriek and crawl away. The body had been stripped of its clothes and barely resembled its former self, skin was dangling off bone, and any that was left intact had deep cuts all over it.
Blood was spreading from a pool around the body and to top it off, the clone was still alive, twitching in his own gore. Jadeite staggered to his feet as the chunks of flesh turned black and began to break off into dust. Jadeite shuttered and covered his mouth before he vanished from the cavern.
Beryl stirred in her seat and watched the clone turn his head towards her, mouthing something she cared not to acknowledge as the body turned into dust that filled the cavern.
It was early Monday morning, the day had just begun not even five hours ago, but the streets were alive. A small black cat sprinted down the streets; following her was a winded and groggy teenage girl, whose blue jumpsuit shone under the streetlights.
"Hurry up!" Luna screeched as she skidded to a quick halt before heading down an alleyway, behind her Warrior Moon stopped to catch her breath before following after her.
"Do not lose them!" Jadeite commanded as he flew through the air above a ghastly looking monster he had brought with him. It had a sickly brown tint to its skin that sagged in some places, and was pulled gaunt over the bone in others. Its brown hair, thick, shiny, and wild was blown back by the wind and the dark curls with frayed ends whipped about in the night sky. On its body was a tattered black dress with several patches missing or sections torn. "Morga, attack!"
"Yes master." she hissed and went in for a dive, holding her arms out at the ends of which were long boney fingers with unnaturally sharp nails.
"Luna, wait!" Moon stopped and threw herself against a wall to catch her breath again.
"We can't stop!" Luna halted near the end of the alley.
"OSA... P!" Moon exclaimed and pointed to the exit, Luna followed her hand to see they had almost reached the jewelry store without realizing it. "We're leading them straight to Naru!" She gripped her side and winced at what felt like a thorn poking her spleen.
"AH-HA!"
Moon and Luna both heard it, the monster's scream and managed to only catch a glimpse of her as she flew down the alleyway faster than either of them could see. After her came a strong wave of a wind that nearly knocked Luna over and blew up a cloud of dust and dirt in the small space.
"Warrior Moon, are you alright?" Luna asked, struggling to see in the now cloudy darkness. "Warrior Moon!" Luna stared at the spot the girl had been in, but it was empty. It wasn't until a moment later she heard glass shattering and a scream she caught on.
Across the street Morga had hold of Moon, her cold claws were clutched around the girl's arms as the two flew through the front of the jewelry store. Inside Morga swung her around before releasing her and sending her through one of the display cases.
"Owwww..." she whined, to her right she could see a light flicker on from the back room. Slowly she pushed herself up to her feet, careful of the broken glass that surrounded her and watched Morga who was stretching out her fingers.
"This is not okay ugly! Moon cried and held a hand out, clutching a blue light that appeared in it shortly after. From it formed her lance that she pointed at Morga defiantly. With a shrill scream Moon charged to her and Morga leapt into the air, suspending herself high above her.
Moon glared at the woman and ran straight for the wall, trying to picture Sailor V doing the exact same thing that she'd seen in her video games. Moon pressed a foot against the wall, and then another before pushing off and lunging for Morga. The monster hadn't expected it and wavered for a moment in the air, unsure of how to act before Moon swung her blade at her, cutting her arm slightly.
"You brat!" Morga screeched and jabbed at her as she fell, her nails piercing the side of the suited warrior. Moon cried out and gripped her side as she fell to the floor hard, her lance clattering down a few feet away.
"What's all the noise?!" Mayumi Osaka asked as she tumbled into the main room, her daughter right behind her. They both froze at what they saw, a frightening woman and part of their front room destroyed. "Naru stay back!"
"No! Naru!" Moon wheezed and tried to roll over to her lance.
"More prey!" Morga howled in victory and flew down to them faster than the girls could react; her speed caused another gust of wind and sent the shattered glass flying around the room.
When Moon reached her weapon she heard two loud crashes. Upon managing to stand she saw Morga's body standing in the center of the room, her arms no longer at her side, but stretched out across the entire room. Each arm pinning one of the Osaka women against opposite walls.
"Naru!"
Naru squirmed and struggled to free the creature's hand that was gripping her throat tightly, as did her mother, but they proved no match for her strength.
"Moon, use the Moon Blade Slash!" Shouted Luna, who appeared by the girl's side.
"Right." Moon nodded looking at the lance before closing her eyes and visualizing her energy flowing into it. A moment after she could feel the weight of the lance increasing and as she opened her eyes the blue and white glow was all she could see. She continued to stare at the weapon, trying to see the actual shape of it, she continued to stare into the glow until Luna swatted at her ankles.
"What are you doing? Attack!" she reminded.
Moon peered through her mask at Morga and the two she was pinning against the wall. "I can't Luna! The attack, I can't use it in here, it'll destroy the place." Moon jabbed her lance into the ground and it quickly began to revert as she crouched and picked up Luna.
"What are you doing?!"
"Sorry Luna! But I need a distraction!" Moon took a couple of steps back before charging forward and hurling the cat towards Morga. "Moon Cat Attack!"
"Warrior Mooooooooon!" Luna cried as she flew the distance of the room, landing on Morga's head and causing the monster's focus to break as she tried to pry the cat off.
"It worked!" she squealed before quickly running over to Mayumi and lifted her up, dragging her across the room while Luna scratched and bit Morga.
"Almost done Luna!" she called after pulling Naru into the back room with her mom. "Follow me!" she waved to Luna as she sprinted out from the back towards the front entrance that was nothing more than a hole in the wall now. Luna gave a fierce growl before swiping at Morga, leaving a large cut on her forehead and leaping away to follow Moon.
"I admire your consideration for your surroundings Warrior Moon. But if you ever use me as a projectile again, you'll wish we'd never met!"
From a distance Jadeite watched the Cosmic Warrior race through the streets with Morga hot on her trail when something nearby caught his eye.
Staggering through the empty streets of Azabu-Juban Mamoru Chiba was weak and wounded. The wound on his abdomen from the previous last week still hadn't healed completely. Occasionally they got a little better, Motoki had even taken a leave of absence from work to take care of him, but even with all his help the most he could do was ease the pain. The throbbing pain in his abdomen caused him great discomfort as he hobbled along the streets, feeling he was needed someplace.
He paused for a minute, pressing himself against a storefront and caught his breath. He had awoke in his apartment by a painful throbbing his head, it happened often and every time he felt himself drawn to something, or someone.
While he rested against the building a loud crash came from the other side, to him it sounded like a car had run into it.
"What's going on?" Clutching his stomach Mamoru forced himself off the wall and made his way to the end of the street. He froze at the edge of the sidewalk at what he saw standing in the center of the street. A demon that seemed to resemble a woman with a black dress facing the blue suited girl with a large lance.
"Shit." He rasped and began to back up, only to collide with something. Before he could turn a hand was clamped around his throat and Mamoru was thrown against the wall.
"You should be in bed young man." Before him stood Jadeite, a devilish smile played across his lips while his fingers dug into Mamoru's throat. From the street Mamoru could hear a loud crash followed by a girl's scream, the culmination sparked a thumping in his chest that resonated through his entire body.
Weakly Mamoru clamped his own hand around Jadeite's throat and the two men began to apply pressure, testing to see which would give first. Mamoru sputtered as he tried to keep from passing out, his vision was blurring, but Jadeite wasn't fairing any better. From the street came another crash and this time the blue suited girl came tumbling into view and the monster flew after her.
"Morga!" Jadeite rasped and slammed his other arm down onto Mamoru's, breaking his hold on him. "I've got another victim for you!" Jadeite cackled and Morga lunged towards him. "Humans don't know when to mind their own business!"
"Moon Blade Slash!" Moon swung her lance wildly and sent a slash flying for Morga. To her surprise it managed to lop off the woman's arm.
Morga howled in pain as she cupped the injury and Jadeite narrowed his eyes at Moon before tossing Mamoru aside.
"Is that jerk face?" Moon asked trying to get a good look at the person Jadeite had been accosting.
"We must get them away from him Moon." Luna reminded at her feet. "Civilians should never been involved!"
"Gotchaaaa!" Moon wailed as she watched a thin brown line shoot out of Morga's severed limb and fly towards the woman. The line instantly dug into the stump that remained and soon the limb was reattached and Morga was stretching out her fingers.
"Nice try." Jadeite patronized with a petty clap of his hands.
"How do I take down something that reattaches limbs?!" Moon squeaked and took a step back as Morga took to the sky again.
"Aim for the head." Luna offered.
"Right..." Moon clutched her lance tightly and Morga dove down for her. With a large sweeping motion Moon swung her lance out, a brilliant white flash followed it and cut through Morga like paper.
"Dammit." Jadeite swore as he backed into an alley, his feet becoming covered in a murky darkness before his entire body was shrouded.
As the light cleared Moon watched as Morga's body hit the pavement in two twitching pieces, only connected from her shoulders up.
"Quick before she reconnects!" Luna reminded and Moon held the lance over the creature's head. Like Luna had said, the two halves of the body were connected by thin strips that were pulling the halves together.
"Yuck..." Feeling her stomach churn she pierced through the Youma's head with the blade until she felt it hit the ground.
"Excellent work." Luna said and nudged the split half of Morga's head. "Now, call the Guard."
Moon scrunched up her face as she dashed out of the street and into an alley. "Luna, what about all the noise we made? I mean if someone hasn't already seen me, aren't they going to get suspicious." Slowly strips of light surrounded the girl before her suit reverted back to her pajamas and she dug a phone from her pocket.
"The Guard will handle it."
Twenty minutes had passed and several black cars and vans had arrived and departed from the scene. Within that time frame they had retrieved the pieces of Morga's body and even managed to repair the storefront of OSA-P and most of the damage done to other nearby buildings. Usagi watched as some of the Guard's members approached the few nearby homes and began asking if they'd seen the car crash that happened.
While the Guard worked, Usagi and Luna made their way back home. Usagi had completely forgotten it was only Monday morning, meaning her sleep had been cut short due to the abrupt appearance of Morga early this morning.
"Sleepy..." Usagi yawned and flopped onto her bed and Luna placed herself down beside the girl on a pillow.
"You did well Usagi, I was surprised by how quickly you handled her in the end, even though you got off to a rough start." Usagi narrowed her eyes at the cat, wanting her to just praise her efforts for once. "Get some rest."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Usagi smiled and dropped her head onto her pillow with a sigh of relief. Her comfort only lasted a minute however, as her chicken alarm clock began to ring, signaling it was time to wake up.
"Nooooo!" Usagi cried.
"Good morning Artemis." A woman with flowing curling aquamarine hair said to him sweetly as he entered the lobby of a large building stationed downtown. He flashed a woman sitting at a makeshift desk a badge and gave the woman who greeted him a smile.
"Morning Michiru, are you heading home?" He slid the badge back into his pocket and picked up a briefcase he had by his feet.
"Haruka's been promoted to a field agent, so we're going to get some breakfast to celebrate. I'm meeting her at the restaurant." she nodded to him before bowing out of the door and into the chilly morning. Artemis smiled and crossed the lobby, pushing through two sets of doors to the left and heading across a wide room with tiers of seats on opposite walls.
On the right wall, filling up a handful of seats six people were waiting patiently, and five more were standing around in the same area. They all seemed to come alive at the sight of Artemis and the case he had brought with him.
"Artemis, have you got it?" A man with pale skin, a strong jawline and short dark hair asked urgently.
"I got it." Artemis beamed; the rest of those assembled began to gather around him as he slapped the case down on the stands. He punched in a code on the dial pad and listened to the locks of the case open before he flipped the lid up, sliding the case around for them to see.
"Are these really...?" A woman asked with flowing red hair that concealed her left eye, her right eye open wide. Her blue orb dancing in its socket over the case's contents. Slowly she reached inside and plucked out a small fragment of a broken gem.
After watching one do it, the rest of the group took turns picking out a chip or fragment of the gem, each of them in awe. Artemis nodded to himself as he checked inside, only two pieces left.
"They're the real thing Ilargi." Artemis assured, unable to shake the smile that was plastered on his face. "The Silver Crystal."
End of Chapter Six
Note-Can anyone guess where in Europe Diarmuid, Jadeite, and Kigaan took the girls?
Next, a beautiful woman appears, could she really be Luna? Also not one, but two monsters from the Dark Kingdom attack and Artemis is in the war path. When Minako witnesses the unbelievable, what strength will she reveal? Find out next time.
Chapter Seven - The Warrior of Love