Chapter 6: Arrival of Darkness

"I'm home." Hotaru called out as she closed the front door behind her. She dropped her school bags on the floor and headed into the kitchen. "How was everyone's day?" she asked while sitting at the kitchen table.

"It was good. How about you Taru-chan? How was school?" Michiru asked while handing her a plate full of warm sugar cookies.

"We had an encounter with the inner senshi." She explained while biting into a cookie. "Want one?" she turned towards Haruka and held out the plate.

"No thanks. "Haruka shook her head. "What did the inners say?" she asked while resting her chin on her hand.

"Rei was the only one talking. She was basically saying that Usagi doesn't care for anyone and that she would be able to destroy the oncoming darkness by herself and-"Hotaru explained.

"Oncoming darkness?" Michiru and Haruka exclaimed at the same time. Haruka got up out of her seat and stood next to her lover.

"Did you feel anything?" she whispered while watching Hotaru eat.

"No, did you?" Michiru replied while grabbing a tea cup and the steaming tea pot. She poured the liquid into the cup and handed it to Setsuna.

"No...Setsuna, do you know anything?" Haruka turned her gaze towards her housemate.

"Hotaru, could you excuse us for a minute?" Setsuna turned towards the purple haired girl with a smile.

"Sure I'll be in the living room." She grabbed her plate full of cookies and skipped out of the room.

"A darkness army is coming." Setsuna explained the minute Hotaru left the room; she returned her voice to a normal tone so she could be heard easier. "This is more massive than any thing we have fought before. We need to find Usagi's crystal and soon."

"Will we be able to fight without Usagi and the inners?" Michiru asked while sitting on a stool. She rested her head in her hand.

"Yes...but we'll loose easily. That's why the starlights came. They are really powerful. We need all of the help we can get." She explained and turned to look at Haruka.

"So don't make them travel back home Ruka." Michiru said without looking at her.

"I wasn't going to do anything." Haruka said quickly in her defense.

"Haruka she's right. We know you hate Seiya but we need him...or her. So don't go ruining anything." Setsuna added.

"I won't, I promise." She sighed. Michiru grabbed a hold of her hand and squeezed it tight.

"Shouldn't we tell Mamoru about our fight coming up?" Michiru asked.

"No, Usagi should. No matter how hard it is." Setsuna answered. "He's her future husband. Not yours." She added softly. "Unless she asks you to talk to him instead...don't interfere."

"I can't believe we're going to have to fight again." Haruka muttered as the three of them got up off of their seats and headed into the living room.

"I thought we were in the clear." Michiru sighed and rested her head on Haruka's shoulder. The blond put her around her lover's shoulders and held her tight.

"We should have learned by now...we're never in the clear." Setsuna scoffed and collapsed onto the couch. Hotaru was lying on her stomach on the floor. Her hands were propping up her chin as she stared intently at the television. She had her i-pod on while watching the TV.

"What are you watching Taru-chan?" Michiru asked while taking a seat in an arm chair. Haruka sat at her feet.

"MTV Japan. One of my favorite singers is performing in a couple of seconds." She answered without taking her eyes off of the screen.

"The Three Lights are performing again? That was fast." Haruka snorted. "It's not like they were that good." She added.

"There album went gold." Hotaru corrected her. "Besides the Three Lights aren't performing, Starla is."

"Starla? Who's Starla?" Michiru asked. Hotaru got up from her seat on the floor and handed her guardian her i-pod. She placed the ear buds into her ears and listened to the music.

"She's a new pop star. She has a great voice. See look this is her." Hotaru explained while jumping back to her seat on the floor and pointed to the screen. "She's going to sing one of her singles called Kaze No Fuku Basho." A girl with long green hair climbed up on stage. She was wearing what looked like a school uniform but covered in sequences.

"She's pretty good." Haruka nodded as she listened to the music. Michiru tapped her on the shoulder and placed the i-pod in her hands. She reached over and gave it to Hotaru.

"Hotaru, I'm going to need you to change out of your uniform so I can wash it." Michiru said. Hotaru nodded and climbed to her feet.

"So when is the darkness arriving?" she asked while clipping her i-pod onto her skirt.

"Soon." Setsuna answered quietly.

"Are we going to be able to defeat it without Sailor Moon?" Hotaru questioned.

"We'll try." Haruka answered and looked out the window. The sky was darkening.

"Chibi Chibi don't eat that." Galaxia scolded her while taking a cookie out of her hand.

"Why?" Chibi Chibi asked while licking the little bit of chocolate off of her hand.

"Because it's bad for you. Here, have some ichigos." She slid over a bowl of strawberrys. Chibi Chibi grabbed a few and stuffed them into her mouth. Pink juice was splattered all over her face.

Galaxia chuckled and started to wipe off her daughters face as the front door open and closed. She picked up Chibi Chibi in her arms and walked out of the kitchen. "It's about time you got back." She commented.

Kenji, Ikuko, and Shingo Tsukino paused at the front door staring at the 'intruder'. Their bags fell to the floor.

"Who are you?" Ikuko pulled Shingo close to her as if a women holding a baby would be harmful.

"I'm calling the police." Kenji said and ran towards the closest phone.

"Daddy no, she's my friend." Usagi quickly ran into the house. "And so are they." She added as the Three Lights and Princess Kakyuu entered the house behind her. They came into town yesterday night and I said they could stay here."

"You had men sleepover while we were away?" Kenji asked; Fury was written over his face.

"I've been alone with Mamoru before. What's the difference?" Usagi demanded.

"There are more of them." He whispered.

"Anyway, they came to me and you know I can't deny shelter to friends in need." She added. "Let me introduce them. Mama, papa, runt...this is Karou, Galaxia, Chibi Chibi, Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten." She explained.

"I'm Ikuko and this is my husband Kenji and our son Shingo." She smiled and shook everyone one of their hands. "Aw, cute baby. Chibi Chibi's her name? That's kind of odd." She commented while pinching Chibi Chibi's cheek.

"It was the first thing she said and she just responded to it." Galaxia answered. "And now I'll have to clean her up." She added and headed back into the kitchen.

"Mom, dad may they please stay? They have no where else to go." Usagi pouted.

"Yeah dad. Things could get very entertaining with them here." Shingo gave a small wink to Karou. She rolled her eyes and pinched Seiya's elbow. He glared at Shingo and he backed off.

"I guess, but they're staying in the basement." Kenji nodded.

"A child can't stay in the basement." Ikuko slapped her husband on the arm.

"She can sleep with Usagi. Chibi Chibi has a bond with her." Karou suggested.

Everyone jumped as a huge clap of thunder shook the house. The sky got dark and the winds began to howl. The lights flickered off and lighting brightened up the sky.

"Wow, that storm came fast." Ikuko commented while placing her suitcase in the coat closet.

BEEP, BEEP! BEEP, BEEP!

"What's that?" Shingo pointed to Usagi's wrist as she tried to cover up her communicator. The three lights quickly slapped a hand over their communicator that was covering an ear.

"Nothing, we have to go...to the super market." She stammered. Galaxia and rushed out of the kitchen with Chibi Chibi in her hands.

"All of you?" Kenji cocked a head to the side.

"Yes, I was going to make dinner and forgot to stop at the store on our way home." Usagi said while grabbing her car keys. She opened the door and pressed the unlock button. The other sailor senshi quickly rushed out.

"Still dumb as a doorknob I see." Shingo cracked. Usagi was about to tell him off but one of them honked the car horn, a message telling her to hurry up. "I'll be back soon." She said and rushed out of the house. "Where to?"

"Tokyo Tower." Taiki answered.

"Tokyo, Japan. How I missed you." Demando whispered while raising a whine glass to his lips.

"Do you want to wait or start the attack?" Emerald asked while batting her eyelashes at him. He threw his whine glass to the ground.

"Start, but I don't want you to fight." He answered while watching the monitor closely. "Akumu?" he called out.

"Yes, your highness?" a cloaked figure appeared in the room. Emerald angrily left.

"I want you to go and attack Tokyo." Demando said without taking his eyes off of the monitors.

"Yes, your highness." The cloaked figure nodded and disappeared. Demando smiled.

"I see you got our message." Haruka said as Usagi, the Starlights, Princess Fireball, Galaxia, and Chibi Chibi ran over.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up." Princess Kakyuu nodded while putting her hair up.

"Usagi, take Chibi Chibi and hide." Galaxia handed Usagi Chibi Chibi and tied her hair up into a ponytail.

"But-" she hesitated.

"You can't transform. You're in more danger now than you were before." Michiru placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be fine." She added.

"Be careful." Usagi said and ran away to a hiding spot.

"I never thought we'd have to do this again." Yaten flicked some of his hair behind his ear so that his head microphone was in plain view. Taiki and Seiya followed suit.

"The feelings mutual." Hotaru replied while pulling out her henshin wand.

"Ready?" Setsuna asked.

"Ready." Everyone else replied with a nod.

URANUS PLANET POWER

NEPTUNE PLANET POWER

PLUTO PLANET POWER

SATURN PLANET POWER

FIGHT STAR POWER

MAKER STAR POWER

HEALER STAR POWER

GALAXY STAR POWER

KINMOKU STAR POWER

All: MAKE UP!