Disclaimer: I don't own Sailormoon
"Supreme Thunder," Jupiter exclaimed as her attack collided with Petz's creating a smokescreen from the explosion, "Now Venus!"
Using the smoke as a cover, Venus raced toward the descending Rubeus.
"You're not going anywhere," Calaveras exclaimed as her whip halted Venus in her track.
With a deadly glare aimed at her interceptor, Venus sent her Love-Me-Chain straight at Calaveras who easily side-stepped the attack. To the Ayakashi's surprise, the chain bounced off a metal beam and ricocheted back to wrap her arms around her waist.
"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"
Turning her head, Calaveras found the ball of electricity flying straight for her, but before the attack could make impact, Petz freed her sister by slicing through the chain with a quick swipe of her hand.
"Not good enough," Calaveras taunted as she dodged the attack.
"That's what you think," Jupiter retorted with a satisfied smile.
Confused by the two senshi's triumphant looks, the two sisters eyes flew wide with realization when they saw the attack's true intended target.
"Rubeus-sama," the two cried out simultaneously.
Turning around to see why he was called, Rubeus found the attack quickly closing in on him. With no time to dodge, he could only raise his arms in front of him in an attempt to shield himself. As the smoke cleared, an enraged Rubeus prepared to strike back.
"Luna-P!"
At the sound of Chibi-usa's cry, Rubeus found himself hit in the back by a speeding projectile. Catching himself in a kneeling position before his face met the ground, he turned his head to see the cat-shaped sphere floating back to the young girl's outstretched hands. Not soon after, he became further enraged when he noticed Sailor Moon was slowly regaining consciousness.
"I've had enough," he roared out as he aimed a hand crackling with dark energy at the young girl and the disoriented senshi.
Before he could unleash his attack, Rubeus let out a yell of pain when his hand was hit by what felt like a sharp needle. Lowering his gaze, he found a single red rose embedded into the concrete ground a few inches from where he stood. Raising his head, he spotted Tuxedo-Kamen perched on a metal beam overhead.
"Those who threaten and attack the innocent are unforgivable," Tuxedo-Kamen declared before descending down.
Although his eyes were hidden behind his mask, Tuxedo-Kamen's facial expression was cold as a silent aura of anger seemed to cloak his entire being. His grip on his cane tightened after stealing a quick glance at his weakened princess who was attempting to stand using the wall behind them as a support.
"Who do you think you are interfering in matters that does not concern you," Rubeus's growled in a low threatening tone.
"Anyone threatening the safety of others is my concern," Tuxedo-Kamen replied in an equally cold voice.
'Especially if the one being threatened is my Usako.'
"You're a dead man," Rubeus exclaimed as he swung at Tuxedo-Kamen with fists emitting sparks of dark energy.
Dodging each blow, Tuxedo-Kamen purposely lead the Black Moon commander further from Chibi-usa and Sailor Moon. Then in a show of speed and agility, he sent Rubeus stumbling back with a heavy blow of his cane. Fueled by rage at the injuries this man had brought upon his princess, he proceeded to slam his fist into the stunned Rubeus's stomach before kicking his feet from under him.
The feeling of humiliation and anger swept over the Black Moon commander as he unleashed a wave of dark aura before Tuxedo-Kamen could continue his furious assault. Floating into the air, Rubeus sent his attacker back with a blast of dark energy.
"You will pay dearly for this humiliation," Rubeus snarled as tiny balls of condensed dark energy began forming in his palm.
"Moon Scepter Elimination!"
Caught unaware, Rubeus was hit by the attack before he could unleash his own. Clutching his chest with one arm, he glared down at the Moon Senshi who still had the scepter aimed in his direction.
"Leave him alone," Sailor Moon said in a clear steady voice even in her weakened state.
Holding the senshi's free hand, Chibi-usa could feel Sailor Moon's slightly trembling. Gazing at her protector with eyes filled with concern, she hoped the battle will end quickly as even a young girl like her can tell that Sailor Moon could pass out from exhaustion at any moment.
Gritting his teeth in anger and annoyance, Rubeus silently contemplated his options. Stealing a side-way glance at the battle between his four underlings and the senshis, he saw things were not going well for their side. The desire to reach their weakened leader had somehow fueled the four senshis effort ten-folds. Knowing little good would come from continuing this fight, Rubeus swallowed his pride and yelled, "We're retreating!"
Upon hearing the order, the four sisters backed away from their opponents and disappeared in a flash of black light. Before teleporting himself, Rubeus gazed at Sailor Moon and said in a loud enough voice so that only the Moon Senshi could hear, "Don't think this is over. I'll be back for both you and the brat so enjoy your freedom while you still have it."
Once she saw the Black Moon commander disappear, Sailor Moon immediately collapsed to the ground. The adrenaline she felt was quickly being replaced by exhaustion. The world seemed to fade to black as she slowly lost consciousness with the fearful cries of Chibi-usa and her fellow senshis being the last thing she heard before completely blacking out. In a burst of white light, her transformation was undone as she was too drained to keep it up while the Ginzuishou was healing her wounds.
Staring wide eye, Chibi-usa was left stunned at this new discovery. Not only did Sailor Moon have the Ginzuishou, but she was also Usagi. She remained standing in that shocked state even as the other senshis and Tuxedo-Kamen rushed past her to their unconscious princess.
"Usagi's Sailor Moon," Chibi-usa finally said softly catching the others attention, "She had the Ginzuishou this whole time."
None of them knew what to say as they watched the young girl with uncertainty. Chibi-usa in turn scanned the others with calculating eyes as another thought struck her.
"You're all Usagi's friends aren't you," Chibi-usa stated more than asked as everything seemed to fall into place in her mind, "And you, you're Mamoru."
"Chibi-usa," Tuxedo-Kamen began as he tried to place a hand on her shoulder only for the young girl to slap his hand away.
"You guys never told me," Chibi-usa suddenly yelled out in an accusing tone, "You all knew I was looking for Sailor Moon...for the Ginzuishou. You knew I needed it to save my mama and papa, but you didn't bother to mention who you guys are!"
"Please Chibi-usa," Venus pleaded softly to the clearly upset girl, "Try to understand. We really do want to help you. Lets all go to Rei's place and we can talk things out."
Refusing to meet any of their pleading looks, Chibi-usa remained stubbornly silent as her mind warred between logic and a sense of betrayal.
"Please Chibi-usa...for Usagi," Mars tried and was relieved to see the young girl was visibly softening at the mention of the girl currently lying in Tuxedo-Kamen's arms.
At the slight nod of Chibi-usa's head, everyone seemed to let out a breath they didn't even know they were holding. As they all detransformed and raised to their feet, the four Inners finally realized who was currently holding their friend. With an almost hostile look, Makoto walked up to Mamoru and demanded he hand Usagi over to her.
"No good will come form her waking up in your arms Chiba after you've clearly stated you don't love her anymore," Makoto spat venomously before the man could retort.
Suddenly remembering his current standing with Usagi and her friends, Mamoru put on a neutral expression as he reluctantly relinquished the precious bundle in his arms.
"I'm still coming with you guys," Mamoru said in an unquestionable tone, "All this involves me too."
"Of course Mamoru-san," Minako said before Makoto could give a biting retort, "Now lets get going. I'm sure Usagi-chan will recover quicker if she was lying in a warm bed rather than staying out here in the cold."
"How is she Ami-chan," Rei asked as she handed each girl a steaming cup of tea including Mamoru.
"She's just resting right now," Ami replied with a smile, "The Ginzuishou pretty much healed all her injuries. I'm sure the process has left her very weak so she needs some time to regain her strength."
Chibi-usa remained silent as the others proceeded to explain what had occurred to the two guardian cats. She had an unreadable look as thousands of thoughts seemed to hit her every second. Once she had found out Luna and Artemis could talk, she knew things could not just be a big coincidence. The two spoke and acted in ways that were identical to the two she had grew up with. Not only that, but the two cats were also associated with the Sailor Senshis of this time.
'That means Usagi and Mamoru are...,' Chibi-usa realized silently, 'Now it make sense why she feels so similar to mama.'
Watching Usagi's sleeping figure, a familiar sense of dread emerged as the image of an older woman with similar features to Usagi remained unmoving while encased in a form of crystal.
"Why isn't she waking up," Chibi-usa suddenly asked in a frightened tone catching the others by surprise.
"Don't worry Chibi-usa," Ami said placing a comforting hand on the girl's shaking form, "Usagi-chan's only sleeping. She'll wake up before you know it."
Taking her gaze off the sleeping teen, Chibi-usa turned to face Ami with hopeful look as she asked, "You promise?"
"I promise," Ami replied with a soft smile.
"Now why don't you get some rest too. After all, you've just recovered from your fever," Rei said gently, "I already called and told Usagi's mom that you two will be staying the night."
"I want to stay with Usagi," Chibi-usa said with a shake of her head.
Hearing the stubbornness in her tone, Rei thought for a moment before saying, "How about this Chibi-usa? You can sleep next to Usagi. I'm sure my bed is big enough for the two of you."
Once the small girl nodded in compliance, Makoto gently moved Usagi to make room for Chibi-usa. As soon as her head hit the pillow, the day's fatigue seemed to catch up to her as Chibi-usa's eyes immediately began to droop. As she began to fall asleep, a content smile adorned her face when she felt a familiar pair of arms pull her into a warm embrace.
'Mama.'
Glaring down at the city lights below, Rubeus stood alone on the viewing deck of his ship with a deep frown. After arriving back, he had commanded for the four sisters to leave him alone so that he could think in peace. The four had been more than happy to oblige seeing as their commander was in an extremely foul mood. They had all immediately scrambled to their respective room with a feeling of relief that their commander had not carried out his earlier threat about disposing of them for failing him again.
'What should I do now,' Rubeus pondered after finally calming his own rage, 'Should I inform the prince right away or try to capture her again.'
The sinking feeling of knowing how his prince may react if he ever found out he had kept such important information from him made up Rubeus's mind. With a purposeful stride, he made his way to the communication room on the ship. Walking up to the command panel in front of a large screen, Rubeus began punching in codes as the machine lite up. To his annoyance, a woman with long green hair appeared on the screen.
"Well well if it isn't Rubeus," the woman taunted with a devious grin, "Have you finally accomplished something or are you still failing in your duties as usual?"
"I did not wish to speak with you Esmeraude," Rubeus replied coldly, "I have business with our prince. I highly doubt the prince will appreciate you preventing me from reporting an important finding."
Angered by Rubeus's arrogant tone, Esmeraude prepared to retort when a figure appeared behind her and said in a demanding tone, "I thought I've told you to inform me when Rubeus reports back Esmeraude."
"Prince Demando," Esmeraude exclaimed in a completely different tone to the one she had been using seconds ago, "I was just about to inform you when you arrived my prince."
Ignoring her explanation, Demando turned to the screen with the Black Moon commander bowing in respect and said, "You have better be bringing good news Rubeus. Your constant failures are tiring my patience. Have you finally caught the rabbit?"
"No sire," Rubeus said, but quickly continued when he saw Demando's eyes flicker in outrage, "But I have other news that I am sure would please you."
"And what might that be," Demando asked with narrowed eyes while Esmeraude inwardly rejoiced at Rubeus's obvious panic.
"I have found Neo-Queen Serenity's past self to be residing in this time my prince," Rubeus replied with a grin, "In this time she is also a senshi who calls herself Sailor Moon."
A smile slowly formed on his face as Demando soaked in his underling's news. Serenity was alive and about in another time. A feeling of elation filled his very being as he realized another opportunity to claim the beautiful goddess of Crystal Tokyo as his queen has been presented to him.
Unnoticed by the other two, Esmeraude was inwardly shaking with rage. She had been overjoyed when she found out the ever loved Queen of Crystal Tokyo had been put into a comatose state during an attack as it put the witch unreachable to her Prince, but now it seemed her prince has switched his target to Serenity's past self. Hatred for the future queen further enveloped her very soul when she saw a lustful glim shimmer in her prince's eyes.
"Bring her to me unharmed Rubeus," Demando commanded, "If you fail me, I will personally see to your demise."
"I understand my prince," Rubeus replied with a bow before communication ended.
Esmeraude tightened her grip on her fan as she watched her prince exit to the room she despised with a passion.
'I will not allow that little moon twit to steal my prince away!'
Paying no heed to his silent general, Demando entered a large room with a circular machine located at its center. With a slight flick of his hand, the machine quickly lite up as a hologram image of Neo-Queen Serenity appeared.
"Soon my queen you will belong to me," Demando whispered as he gazed longingly at the image with a devious grin, "My sweet Serenity."
A/N: Ain't inspiration a great thing. My obsession for Sailor Moon has apparently resurfaced once more which got my mind back into writing this story. But life gets in the way and I really doubt I will be updating again until after my finals which means not until winter break. So I would love to know what you all think of this chapter. 'Til next time.