In an instant, Naru had grasped the wand, shouting out, "Asteroid Power, make-up!"
Up from the ground, a brown light erupted from the ground, surrounding the girl in a pillar of light. Inside the pillar, the wind blew like a hurricane; the clothes she wore were torn to shreds, carried up to the sky by the isolated wind storm. Small rocks in the vicinity were caught up by the wind, even though the trees and grasses were unaffected.
The rocks swirled around Naru, blocking her from sight. The light then exploded outwards, the grasses and leaves blown outwards from the epicenter. Even Luna was knocked down by the shockwave. Sailor Asteroid stepped forward; her brown and tan fuku revealed. The skirt was a dark brown, and the bodice was a deep tan, not the normal white. Her boots were barely above her ankles, and the same tan as the bodice. She wore no ribbons, but her chest was covered in a bronze breast plate, attached to which was a cover for her left shoulder, going around to cover the top of her back. The red hair, which had been long and flowing, was pulled into a tight, low bun on the back of her head.
Sailor Asteroid's right wrist, covered in a bronze gauntlet, moved around to her back, where a tai chi sword hung. She stepped out of the trees, only to see the fire youma grasp Sailor Moon's locket, and for Sailor Moon's fuku to dissolve into pink ribbons. "You, stop that now!"
The youma turned, wanting to know what was getting in its way. "You, vile creature have done enough evil here! I am Sailor Asteroid; my will is as hard as rock, and it is time for you to leave!" The youma laughed, and turned back around, draining more energy from the locket. "I warned you, METEOR SHOWER!"
Asteroid flung her left hand out, her right solidly gripping the sword. From her left hand, a shotgun burst of energy loosed itself, taking the appearance of shooting stars as they raced towards the youma. On impact, each small grain exploded, extinguishing the fire on the back for a moment. Enraged, the youma released the locket, charging down Sailor Asteroid.
The two began an intricate dance, the youma shooting off bursts of fire, Asteroid responding with her Meteor Shower. The youma would get close enough to grapple, presumably in an attempt to suck her energy as well, but Asteroid would draw her sword and fend off the flame long enough to send off another round of Meteor Shower. Quickly though, she found that her blade injured the youma more than her other attack, and took the offensive.
In minutes, the youma had disappeared again, fleeing before it could be fully vanquished, just like it had done with Sailor Comet that morning. Asteroid then sprinted to Usagi, who sat reclined against a tree, the pink ribbons splayed about. Asteroid kneeled in front of her, both knees touching the cement. "Usagi-chan, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm alright, but I can't transform either way. It's like there's enough energy to keep me transformed, but not enough to transform all the way. I can't even de-transform myself!"
Suddenly, a searing heat was on Asteroid's back, and that hellacious voice said, "I'll just make that extra energy disappear then!"
Asteroid whipped around, seeing the fire beast again, arms ready to strike. A yell came from over the lake, followed by a burst of blue energy. In a flash, the fire monster was away from them, Sailor Comet pinning him to the concrete. Comet's dagger was plunged into where a heart would be, and Comet amassed his powers again, the blue energy drawing closer to him, just before the youma exploded along the path, the flames dying out in mid-flight.
Slowly, Comet picked himself off the trail, and wiped his blade on his right pant-leg before returning it to the sheath. He stuck his right hand out in a fist, then placed it just below his left collar bone. Bowing low he said, "Sailor Moon, Sailor Asteroid, forgive my tardiness, but I had to witness if I was needed. Sailor Asteroid, if you had not appeared I would've stepped in earlier. As you did appear, I showed myself when most prudent.
"Oh, my apologies, I have not introduced myself. My name is Sailor Comet; I am the soldier of necessity, and am only permitted to enter a senshi fight when it is apparent that the senshi already fighting cannot handle it alone. Please, forgive me, but I do not awake until that stage has been reached, not until my host is awakened to my presence at the very least."
"What do you mean by that?" Luna asked, brushing debris off her fur.
"A talking cat, how strange," Comet said in a detached voice. "My host body has proven itself willing to fight, to defend, and to do what it takes. However, my host's mind is missing, even though the spirit is ready to fight. The host is in a type of slumber most unknown to me. My deepest apologies, but until my host awakes, I can do no more than what I have done.
"Sailor Moon, I felt your emergency call earlier today, but as I said, I cannot be totally available until the awakening. As for your situation at hand though, I can be of assistance." Up until that point, Comet hadn't even spared a glance at the barely covered girl. Now he stared openly at her.
Usagi covered what she could with her hands, blushing a bright pink. Comet quickly dropped onto his haunches, and reached over with his left hand, taking the wrist covering her chest in his hand. He tried to lightly pry the arm away, but Usagi would not budge, and he found Sailor Asteroid's sword being held to his neck. Comet held up his right hand, and pushed the blade away with his index and middle finger.
"I am not interested in your breasts, no matter how highly you think of them. I am going to recharge your henshin talisman so that you can properly de-transform! If your arm is in the way, I cannot do what I need to do. Now move your arm or I cannot help you!"
"Usagi, I can understand your reluctance, but you're not able to do anything in your state. I say, let him help you; he is a senshi after all," Luna said, voicing her opinion.
Usagi nodded in acceptance to the command, Asteroid wanted her own input to the conversation. "I'll go with this, but if you get frisky," she warned, holding her blade back up to his neck.
"Whatever," he muttered. He used his right hand to help himself balance, gently prying the arm away from the locket. Usagi blushed a bright red, her body had never been revealed to a man, not even to Mamo-chan, and she was a little offended when he was so professional about this.
He hadn't even glanced left or right, much less down her body, only at the locket, and she had to question, "Is he gay, or am I not that much to look at?"
His intense focus had gathered the mist about him, seemingly without his knowledge. The gathering aura receded from his body, gathering in one bright central point, between his hand and the locket. He slowly pushed his hand forward, pressing the energy into the locket. Slowly, the pink ribbons turned to blue, and then wound themselves back around the body.
As the fuku of Eternal Sailor Moon, complete with wings, appeared, the man stood up and started walking away from the others. "Sailor Moon, be warned, I have fixed your henshin talisman to the way it was before the energy was stolen from it, but the energy is fluctuating randomly. I tell you so that you are aware, your transformations will not be reliable until the fluctuations cease. I would strongly suggest that you have the other senshi return to your side as quickly as possible, to defend you as best they can. Until next time Sailor Moon…"
The blue mist, which had been absent since the fixing of the locket, was now back in full strength, and spread along the ground the way a rocket's exhaust would, lighting up the path Comet had taken into the stratosphere, becoming much thinner once he had gone supersonic.
Naru and Usagi returned to their normal selves. "Naru, would you like to spend the night at my house? Then we can talk about what happened tonight and everything."
"Well, I guess I could. I'd need to call my mom, and then borrow some clothes tomorrow, but it should be ok."
"Great!" Usagi yelled, hugging the redhead tightly. From there, Luna alerted them to the incoming police and fire trucks. Rushing, Usagi latched onto Naru's hand, and dragged her away from the authorities, jumping the back wall of the park. Luna, who was having trouble keeping up, stared in fascination as the blue mist that surrounded Sailor Comet started coming off Usagi. Usagi, in turn, started to run faster.
She didn't stop going faster either, she didn't even stay at the same speed; Usagi simply kept accelerating. Soon though, Naru's feet couldn't keep up with Usagi, but it didn't matter – the air pressure lifted her body for Usagi to pull along. The road was coming to an end though, and Usagi's house was growing larger, quickly.
Luna raced down the deserted streets after the girls, but came to an abrupt halt when Usagi did something amazing. Luna had managed to keep an eye on the blonde, the streets were long and winding, but even a hundred meters ahead, Luna could still see them. Luna saw that Usagi had veered left into the street, before picking Naru up in a fireman's carry, and then launching herself towards the houses, that same blue mist trailing off of her like it did Comet.
Luna's yellow eyes followed Usagi's arc above the walls, before she landed gracefully on her balcony. Usagi set Naru down, and they both went inside. Luna picked her jaw off the ground, and sprinted to the house, the misty trail already being blown away by the soft breeze. Luna jumped up to the wall, and went around back, where the cat-door was.
Stepping through the flap, she heard Naru in the hall, talking into the phone, presumably to her mother. Going upstairs, she took the steps two at a time, her long legs reaching them with ease. Up in Usagi's bedroom, Usagi was already in pajamas, with an extra set placed out for Naru.
Usagi was acting like hyper active child, zooming around her room, arms and hands out, acting like she was flying. She leapt from her floor to her bed and back, rushing out into the hallway, spinning around, and coming back in. she continued on until she tripped over the spare bedroll, crashing onto her bed. She cackled loudly, hugging herself as she rolled from side to side, crying with mirth.
"Did you see that Luna, did you? Oh my gosh, that was so cool!" Usagi squealed, burying her head in her pillow.
"That was not, cool, as you put it! I was able to contact Artemis today, and asked him about Sailor Comet. Do you want to know what he told me? He remembers what the other name of Sailor Comet is; Sailor Comet is known as the Destroyer of Systems! Systems, Usagi, not planets alone like Saturn. What's more is that he used that same power to recharge your henshin locket, and now he claims that its energy is fluctuating!"
Luna had long since worked herself into hysterics, and her claws had come out, holding herself to the floor, moments away from going into a breakdown. In a flash, Luna's entire mood changed. Her pupils narrowed, her fuzzy fur straightened, and her ears went back. "I'm borrowing your communicator to get in touch with Artemis. He should be informed about what happened tonight."
Luna then grabbed Usagi's communicator and rushed out of the room, wanting to talk to him alone. Naru walked in then, having barely missed stepping on Luna, she was slightly off balance. She regained though, and picked up the pajamas Usagi had set out. "What's up with Luna? She seemed hacked off about something."
"Oh, she thinks that this thing with Sailor Comet is really bad, especially that he recharged my locket. I think she's paranoid. I mean, I've never felt so strong in my life! And when I jumped, I've only been able to do that as Sailor Moon!"
"Maybe that's why Luna's worried, because your abilities are with you, even when you're not transformed?"
"No, that can't be it. All the other scouts have some manifestation of their powers in their normal state. Makoto's stronger than average, Rei is good with her shrine hocus-pocus. Ami is incredibly smart, Minako is able to tell if a couple is really in love, or if they can fall in love. I haven't really had any manifestation of a power in my normal self. "
"So, Usagi, what's it really like to be a senshi?"
"Well…"
Downstairs, Luna was trying to contact Artemis through Minako's communicator. The communicator rang for a few seconds before the screen went black. "Luna?" Artemis's voice sounded from the speaker.
"Artemis, are you there, I can't see you."
"Yes I'm here, it's just so dark in here – and cold.
"Where are you?"
"In a plane, in a cat-carrier. Mina gave me the communicator if she needed to be contacted. We're headed back to Japan right now; Mina and I felt the call, and started packing immediately. Luna, it's been two years. The inner scouts are about to start their senior year of schooling, and the outer scouts come and go as they please. What made Usagi call everyone back?"
"Usagi was attacked again today. Apparently, these attacks have been happening all over Japan, and we have two new senshi! One is Naru, who is Sailor Asteroid, and the other is Sailor Comet!"
There was silence on the other end. Minutes seemed to pass, but then he said, "The Destroyer of Systems..." almost in respect of the awesome powers the reclusive senshi possessed. "But Sailor Asteroid, I don't remember that as part of the ritual."
"That's because Lord Demetrius had preformed the ritual as the System Overlord. He didn't do a planetary ritual for each royal family, but had an encompassing ritual that would allow for all the planets to have a senshi, even Earth and Nemesis."
In the darkness, Artemis was stuck between two extremes. On one hand, he was excited that the other senshi were appearing, because that meant the kamen would make an appearance too. It meant that the curse of the senshi would finally be broken! On the other hand, it meant that Metalia wasn't beaten the first time around. "Luna, you realize what this means, both parts of it, right?"
"Yes, I do, but I can only imagine how much damage will be done this time around. The first time, Beryl took out Demetrius, and he had over eight hundred years to hone his skills, not to mention all the quadrillions who died from her invasion. Last time, the Inner Senshi all died, and it was only because of the ginzinshou that they were able to come back. Now, the situation is so grave that even Sailor Comet has emerged. I don't think I want to know how much pain will be caused this time. I can only hope that Nemesis, Earth, and the new Sailor Sun appear soon."
"I for one, hope that the new Sun is as hardheaded as King Demetrius. I think that's the only reason we were as prepared as we were, and did as well as we did back then."
"I agree with you there, Artemis. I wonder though, will this incarnation of the sun senshi be a male or a female? Even more so, will the senshi be Demetrius's reincarnation?"
"I think I have a more important question, how will the new Sailor Sun be able to handle the sheer magnitude of energy? I remember quite well how tough it was for Serenity during her pregnancy. I believe the only one able to wield the powers would've been Demetrius, as he was of solar blood, but I guess we'll find out, won't we?"
"I hope, for the senshi's sake, that the power enables them to wield it properly, unlike the ginzinshou… I still don't think Demetrius knew exactly what he was doing with that…"
"As much as I'd love to agree with you, it did stop Beryl twice; the second time when it was being wielded by a fourteen-year-old girl."
Luna sighed, it was true. "I remember us having this conversation before. And I think we're going to have the same end as last time: not agreeing. Artemis, do you know when you should touch-down?"
"No, not really. Mina is horrible at remembering things, and her mother kept the ticket away from me, afraid that I might do something to it. All it means is that I don't know much. I only hope Minako got on the right plane, and'll be there when it's time to pick me up."
"I suppose, then, that I'll see you when you get here. We need to be on the lookout for the new senshi. Until you get here, good bye Artemis." With that, she closed the communicator, and settled down for the night. As she drifted off to sleep, she listened to the moderately discernable voice of Usagi, drifting down from her room, regaling Naru with the stories of old villains.