Thoughts
Scene Break/Time change
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Eternal Darkness Episode 10: Arcade Mania! Relief At Last.
"So…why is it that you're here, anyway?"
There was a rather tense silence between Sailorsenshi as they stood at Rei's shrine as all of their eyes gazed upon the figure of one woman; the woman who had battled so long and hard against them and would have nearly killed all of them, if it wasn't for Sailormoon's words of kindness. The Split Senshi of Storms, Sailorgemini, stood at the entrance of the shrine with her arms folded across her chest and what appeared to be a perpetual sneer upon her lips. Her split-colored eyes continued to gaze around the group and fell upon each of the other members present. It was incredibly still and quiet, and perhaps, a little too still; but no one dared make a move. They had just barely gotten rid of her before by the skin of their teeth, and they weren't to keen about letting her in their presence again.
"Well?" Haruka asked again, though in a less pleasant voice then before.
"Hmph," Came Alexis' crude voice as she took a slow step forward, which caused the entire group to tense up even more, "I'm here to…help you." She commented in a dry tone, and, much like the expressions that Lizzie and Enala wore when she stated that the prior day, everyone's faces twisted into expressions of both shock and confusion. Still, they weren't entirely sure if they should trust her - after all, the Zodiac did mention that she was always a drifter who never had any need for anyone else - but she did say she wanted to help, and she wasn't transformed or acting particularly aggressive at the moment.
"See, guys?" Usagi spoke up as she wore a bit of a forced smile on her face, "She can't be all that bad if she wants to help!"
"Don't misunderstand me," Alexis grumbled, her feet continued to carry her forward towards the group, "I am not your ally by any means of the word! I'm only acting because she is my enemy too. I would not be able to defeat her on my own!"
"The enemy of my enemy, as they say," Ami sighed with a serious tone to her voice, "So you're only helping us to benefit you, correct?"
"Da," The response was gruff and in Alexis' native tongue, so no one really was quite sure what she meant, "Do not expect this to be permanent. But…if she is here, she is a far greater enemy then all of you combined." As she spoke, the group of girls before her began to wonder who this ever-mysterious 'she' was; "Even I could not deal with a threat that is as dangerous and as real as she is…"
Of course, this was what caught everyone's attention - the fact that someone as incredibly powerful as Sailorgemini was afraid of some mysterious woman who no one was quite sure who she really was. Was it Darksaturn? No, that couldn't be possible; Gemini appeared to be much stronger and in better control over her powers then the Shadow of Silence was. Besides, she wasn't a threat anymore…right? Then again, the thought came to their minds that she had managed to survive that incredibly powerful attack Sailoruranus had chucked at her previously, so perhaps she would return again.
Still, curiosity got the best of them. Usagi, since no one else wanted to say anything to this chaotic woman for fear of rather…painful retaliation, piped up in a slightly nervous, if not curious, tone, "So…um…if you don't mind me asking, that is…"
"What?" Alexis snapped in a less-then-pleased tone, which caused the blonde girl to wince slightly.
"Well…ya'see…who is this girl you keep talking about…?" An angry snort sounded from the stocky Russian girl as she folded her arms across her chest and tossed her long bangs out of her split-colored eyes, only to have the shaggy tresses fall back into them again. She gave a humph of frustration at this and store down at Usagi.
"Someone which some of you may know very well…" As she said this phrase, she eyed the trio of her 'fellow' Zodiac - though she seemed to look at Loren more specifically, which made the red-head become very uncomfortable - "In no doubt you would also know her as well." Her attention removed itself from the rather befuddled Loren and looked over to Usagi again, "It is her life's goal to kill you."
Usagi was taken aback by this phrase. Although it was nothing new for random people to seek revenge or seek to kill her for various reasons, but it was usually the whole taking-over-the-world thing and the-sailor-senshi-in-general thing. Of course, the dense girl failed to realize that, in fact, all of the enemies they had faced prior were, indeed, after her pretty little head, or the Ginzuishou, but usually both. Usagi blinked her blue eyes in shock, in an almost 'me?' manor, then looked to her fellows beside her. They appeared to be tense about the whole thing, but somehow, they didn't seem as surprised as Usagi was. She just figured that they picked up on something that currently wasn't in her brain at the moment, and decided to change her surprised expression to a knowledgeable one…which still looked rather amusing, to say the least.
"Mmhmm, ah, yes, I see," Usagi stated in her best oh-i-am-so-smart tone as she nodded her head, "…So, um…remind me again…who is this we're talking about?"
Alexis looked about ready to storm over and beat the living bejesus out of Usagi at that moment, but somehow controlled the urge to kick the living snot out of her would-be-Princess in light of this whole 'truce' business she wanted to conduct. Yes, after this was all over, then she'd take out her aggression on the blonde. Righting herself into a more relaxed pose, she closed her eyes and raised a hand to her forehead and began to rub her temples.
"Slightly tan," Came the description as Alexis pictured the girl in her mind, "This high," She raised her hand up a few inches above her own height, "Black reversed crescent moon on her forehead. Long-ish kind of…gray…brown…hair. Long bangs. Pink eyes. Carries a short staff with an orb on it." After the description, she opened her eyes and looked to the group. Most of them looked rather tense, especially Ami, Enala and Lizzie. They all recalled that figure quite vividly.
"How…how can she be…?" Enala turned around to face Loren and Lizzie beside her, "We used our strongest combo, and she should have been killed!"
"I have no idea…!" Lizzie responded in a frantic tone, "There's no way she could have…she wasn't strong enough to survive, was she?!"
"Wh-…what are they talking about?" Usagi whispered to Ami, who looked rather shocked at this new discovery. She slowly turned to her friend and whispered back to her, though her eyes never left the figure of Alexis before them.
"You remember…when…she nearly killed Loren-san and I in Shin Mugen Gauken…right? She also attacked outside and at our School too…"
Blink. Blink. Usagi's eyes opened and closed several times as Ami waited five seconds before the little factoid had registered within her friend's brain, to which Usagi made the all-dawning 'oh!' sound as it smacked her hard in the face. Of course! That girl who the Trio of Zodiac had taken down…but…if Gemini was here and stated that the cloaked one was a threat, then that meant…
"She's still alive!" Usagi exclaimed as she jumped up to her feet, as if to announce to everyone in the group her newly-discovered revelation. However, she received no response from anyone else as she looked around at their faces and realized that her sudden spur of intelligence had already come to everyone else. She blushed and laughed awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head and sat back down.
"Of course she's alive, you ninny!" Alexis snapped harshly as her relaxed pose quickly changed into a more aggressive one as he held her fist out, as if to punch someone. A faint hint of sparks began to crackle around her fist, and to this aggressive stance, Haruka, Lizzie, Makoto and Minako rose to their feet and quickly moved in a more defensive position in front of Usagi. "Why the hell would I be here if she wasn't?!"
"Hey, cool your jets!" Makoto snapped as she glared at the shorter girl, "We're here to help each other, not to fight, right? So calm down!" To this, she received a cold glare from those split-colored eyes, but soon-there-after, Alexis relaxed her pose and sighed angrily, reaching her hand up again to rub her temples once again.
"If you don't want my help, then fine, I'll leave you to your own devices…" She muttered in a rather perturbed tone, as if she didn't really want to help these ninnies, but felt as if she needed to do it. Usagi rose up to her feet and, without any further consolidation from the others, she spoke.
"We could use all the help we can get!" She announced, much to the displeasure of several of her friends, "If this girl is as strong as you say she is…and with your strength alone unable to match her…then…we could use you, and you could use us, right? So, it's a truce, then?" With a warm smile, she pushed past the girls who stood in defense and held her hand out towards Alexis. "And hey…maybe though all of this…we can become friends, too!"
Alexis looked down at Usagi's extended hand and scoffed as she folded her arms over her chest and tossed her hair to the side. "Do not misunderstand me…" She hissed darkly, "Although we may be allies for the moment…do not, ever, to consider me your friend. And do not ever believe that I could be your friend! Past the point of her defeat, we will become enemies again. Do I make myself clear?"
For a moment, Usagi seemed hurt as she slowly lowered her hand down and said "Oh." Well, this Gemini certainly wasn't any nicer then she was outside of her fuku, but she couldn't be all that bad…could she? Right? She could only continue hoping and believing such a thing.
With a final snort and a hmph, Alexis abruptly turned on her heal and began to walk away from the group. However, just before going down the shrine steps below her, she stopped and turned her head over her shoulder. "The power you now possess," Her voice was low as she looked over at Haruka, "Is a curse unto itself. Beware of the danger that lurks within it." Although it seemed somewhat odd that she was warning Haruka about her new form, one couldn't help but to wonder why it was dangerous. Well, besides the fact that Haruka wasn't quite ready to accept the massive amount of power…but that didn't seem to be the case. Curse? What did that mean?
Without another word, Alexis began to descend the staircase and, eventually, disappeared out of view of the group. Nervously, they looked to one another.
"Usagi…" Rei muttered with a bit of annoyance in her tone, "You shouldn't have agreed to that without consoling us first!"
"I-I know," Usagi sighed as she looked down at the ground, "But…I know Gemini won't turn her back on us. At least, not yet. I saw it in her eyes…she's firm upon her standing and won't backlash until that woman is dead. So, we don't have to worry about her now, at least…right?"
Everyone gave weak nods of their heads.
"It does appear as if we have more then on enemy on our hands…" Ami mused, "The Deathbusters, Darksaturn, this Woman now, too…"
"They could all be aligned, though," Michiru commented softly, "We know nothing about those two…though that woman Gemini described was involved with creations of Daimons and, as you described, did have an attack relating to the Death Busters…so we cannot say for sure." She sighed and shook her head, "All we know is that we have several people after us. We need to be cautious if she is afraid of that woman."
"Agreed," Rei said with a nod of her head.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about Gemini, too!" Minako added with a grin, "And with her on our side, this should be easy, right?" The group collectively nodded their heads in response, though the air of seriousness still lingered. What was happening to them was dangerous, and already, it had claimed far too many lives for comfort. This was different from anything they had ever faced before…and with an unlikely ally on their side maybe, just maybe, they'll have the ability to right all of the wrongs and vanquish this returned evil, once and for all.
However, something else was on Haruka's mind then what the other's contemplated. Curse? On her? With that new form? It didn't make any sense. Sure, she wasn't ready to take on such power, but she would find a way! She had to, to protect the Princess. Still, she couldn't help but to wonder…
"Hey," She piped up and broke the uneasy silence that had claimed everyone, "Do you guys know what Gemini was talking about? With that curse business?" Her attention was turned towards the triad of Zodiac with them. The trio all glanced at each other in the way that they did, as if they had some sort of way to silently communicate with one another.
Upon looking at their individual faces, one could see a mixture of emotions painted across their features. Enala's expression was stern and serious, her pale eyes glistening with determination, but also, as if she had some sort of a secret to hide. Loren appeared to be less serious and more concerned, but, behind it all, there was another emotion; fear. She certainly seemed to know what Gemini meant, but somehow, didn't want to admit or face it. Meanwhile, Lizzie had a baffled expression, as if she was out of the loop somehow. There seemed to be a lot more going on with them besides what the Sol Senshi already knew, and they didn't appear to be keen on letting them in on whatever they still hid, either.
Enala gave a soft nod of her head as she turned to Haruka, "Well…I think it's because of the nature of how one gains that form. It can only be done by a Zodiac, your unseen protectors, taps directly into the power of the Planet and, through the Zodiac, it feeds into you and, thusly, the form is created. Because we were forbidden from ever leaving our posts, least of all meeting you in person, the form itself could be considered forbidden or a secret. Also, such as what happened with you, Haruka-san, it is…difficult to tell when one is ready to accept such an overload in power. Thusly, it is rather dangerous to do."
Haruka didn't believe a word Enala said, and, by the looks of a majority of the other Sol Senshi, they didn't either. She seemed to be bullshitting them, and doing it quite well too, because of some sort of secret that she, and the others, wanted to keep in. Even though it was clear that the Zodiac were their allies, there was still a lot about them that they didn't know. Especially all of this secret business.
About to open her mouth in retaliation, Haruka's voice was cut off when Usagi chirped up. "Well, now that that's settled, I'm starving! Lets go get some burgers, okay?" Ever-cheerful, ever unaware of what was really going on. With a giggle and a skip, she started her way down towards the exit of the shrine, but stopped when she turned to face the others. "Come on, guys! All of this doom-and-gloom is really getting' me down! Let's go have some fun, 'kay?" With laughter at Usagi's usual persona finally making a comeback, the others quickly followed suit.
Even though she appeared to be fine on the outside, Enala could tell that Usagi was more troubled then the entire group that stood there…
(Gemini)
Although her spirit had been returned to her, that light of hope burning bright within her heart, it still did not make the pain of Mamoru's death any less real to Usagi. Inside, even though she could smile again, it still hurt inside of her chest whenever she thought of him. Thought of what he would say to her, what he would do when presented with a situation…the dates they would go on.
Usagi walked along the street, towards her home from the Hiwaka Shrine, her stomach was full of junk food goodness. Though she had a bounce to her step as she walked away from her friends, it became more like a dragging march as she progressed along. This stretch of this street was where she and Mamoru would always walk down, looking for things for him to buy for her, or to slip into one of the many cafés around for a quick bite to eat. Subconsciously, Usagi reached for the ring adorned upon her left finger, lightly twisting it against her skin.
Promise…
Yes. It was a sign of promise. Although it pained her to think about Mamoru in such a way, that they would be sharing a life together as husband and wife, but…it was a sign to her. A sign that he would return to her. Taking Enala's words to heart, Usagi used this item - this simple item, a beautiful ring - as her own source of hope. Anytime she felt sad, she would remember that Mamoru had promised to be by her side through thick and through thin…even if he wasn't there with her. A smile formed upon her lips. This ring was what would guide her through this to find him again. To bring him back.
It was his promise to her.
And her promise to herself.
As Usagi walked along, she stopped in her tracks as she turned around and looked up at the bright, neon-flashing sign overhead through the encroaching darkness of evening. The Crown Game Center. She hadn't been there in ages! A bright smile crossed her lips as she skipped inside of the glass sliding doors and looked around at the sounds and the flashing lights of the councils. Yes, this was just what she needed to get rid of all of this stress and loose herself within her horrible scores.
Immediately, Usagi's eyes went over to her favorite game - the Sailormoon Fighting Tournament. Due to Sailormoon always being popular, with its own Anime, Comic and Musical, the game never got old and people kept on coming in - and sometimes even fighting for it! - to play it. It wasn't much of a surprise to her to see all of those people crowded about it. In fact, it made her gloat a bit in her mind. Even though things were awful for her and her fellow Senshi, it made Usagi feel warm and fuzzy on the inside that people still idolized Sailormoon - her.
Usagi scooted over towards the game and weaved her way through the spectators, though was surprised that no one was fighting or claiming the next round on the game, only observing a single person. However, due to her rather small stature, she couldn't tell who was playing, but judging from what people were saying, she was good. Very good.
"Oh my gosh!" A girl gasped, "I've never seen an A on every round on the hardest level!"
"Yeah, and she's up to Pluto and has barely taken any damage! As Mars, too!!" A boy commented. Usagi gritted her teeth and squeezed through them, popping out in front of the crowd.
Her jaw dropped.
Sitting at the game was none other then the chain-smoking, trench-coat wearing, rude girl that had run into her at the Fair the day before! Usagi gasped in shock and loomed over her shoulders, watching her take down Pluto without barely any effort what so ever, barely taking a single blow from the powerful Senshi of Time. Even as she watched, Usagi could not help but to feel a twinge of sorrow inside of herself, remembering the lost Guardian that she held so dear to her.
With a final Mars Snake Fire, Pluto was charred to a crisp and the round was decided - the score was through the roof! Even Usagi, who actually did well at that game, couldn't believe her eyes! This girl was insane! More over, she could feel herself brimming with anger that this annoying girl was about to beat her high score! The nerve of her!
With Saturn easily downed without any effort at all, the bumper-girl reclined back in her chair as her name appeared at the very top of the score card - right above the one labeled 'Muun.' Usagi brimmed with rage for this petty little thing, perhaps, to release her inner aggression about her current and present situation. Shoving her way through the crowd, she plopped down on the seat next to the girl and folded her arms.
"Well well," The bumper-girl, Akyjinno, commented with a grin, "Look who decided to show up…"
"I challenge you to a game!" Usagi exclaimed, much to the awe of everyone who stood around them, "I'll show you who really rules at this game!" Akyjinno gave a chuckle and nodded her head.
"Well, you certainly are brave, onna. Let's go." The girl passed a cool and confident grin as each chose their characters - Akyjinno picked the one who had gotten her the high score, Sailormars, while Usagi aimed for the obvious character, Sailormoon. Both, confident within their own abilities within this simple little game, store intently at the flickering screen as their individual characters rounded off with some insults before they appeared upon the battle field.
Each posed respectively, and then, the battle began. Usagi was caught completely off guard as her opponent fired off a quick round of Mars Flame Sniper, then a Fire Heel Drop just as Moon was sailing towards the ground, burning with fire. Usagi gave a yelp of displeasure as she watched her health drop down really quickly, but as soon as her character recovered, Mars was right on her and slapping her a few times. Just as Moon was ready to hit the deck again, the Senshi of Fire released a chain of physical combos of kicks and punches to the completely downed Senshi of the Moon. Just as Usagi thought she could get the edge by quickly jumping forward, Akyjinno sent her character into yet another Mars Flame Sniper, knocking off what little remained of the blonde's health. Mars stood triumphantly over the downed Moon and cackled like a madwoman.
"H-hey, no fair!" Usagi yelped as the second round began, and only received a cold chuckle from the taller woman.
Usagi decided not to waste any time as she lashed out a Moon Gorgeous Mediation at Mars, who also released an attack at the same time. The attacks meet head on and dissipated, leaving both parties a second to recover from their poses. Usagi released another Meditation towards Akyjinno, who instead of producing a Mars Flame Sniper, unleashed a Mars Snake Fire and quickly fell into a blocking stance. The low-riding attack knocked Moon down and sustained an excellent amount of damage, while Mars only gained a small amount from the blocked attack. Usagi gritted her teeth and growled as she rapidly began to mash the buttons without any heed as to what she was doing, punching thin air as Akyjinno chuckled again. Moon leaped at Mars, who kicked her back and lashed out with another one of those damn fire heels and cast Moon aside, then backed up.
Ah!
Usagi grinned deviously as she looked at her health bar. While on the ground and waiting for Mars to attack, she had one trick up her sleeve - Sailormoon's desperation move! She had never had to actually use it before, and prayed that she remembered the order in which the buttons needed to be pressed. Just as she saw Mars approach to release the final blow, a Fire Heel Drop, Usagi hit the right order of buttons in just enough time to release a blue-colored pillar of light from herself, surrounding herself and instantly destroying what health remained on Mars, effectively winning that round.
"Not so bad now, huh?!" Usagi exclaimed as she leaned over towards her gaming rival with a sly grin upon her lips. Akyjinno scoffed slightly as the final round began, as they were both tied.
"You got lucky," She commented as she grinned again, preparing to lay a smack down upon Usagi's ass.
Both were determined to win at this point. They were tied, and neither of them liked that fact. Usagi, though, simply had to prove her worth! It was her game, after all! It would be incredibly pathetic if she lost as herself.
However, before the beginning poses could be made, the lights began to flicker suddenly, before shutting off all-together. Usagi gasped as her head snapped behind her as she squinted against the darkness, seeing a faint silhouette, outlined by the twilight outside. Bright pink eyes gleamed in the darkness as the familiar inversed crescent pulsated upon her forehead as the figure snapped her hand outwards and called forth a short wand into her hands…Usagi's color drained from her skin as she recognized that staff, that aura…those eyes.
She was here! The girl that Gemini feared!
With a mad cackle, the woman rushed forward and stabbed her wand deep into an unsuspecting girl, the young woman screaming in pain for a few seconds, before her voice ceased to escape from her throat. The woman withdrew her wand and with it, a glittering sphere of light that quickly materialized into a familiar shape of a Pure no Kokoro. The woman cackled and closed her fingers around the visage, absorbing it into her body.
The people inside of the Crown Game Center began to scream and panic as the Woman caused the doors to slam shut and fuse to their spots, her maddening laughter filling the tiny space as she thrust her hands out, releasing several Daimon pods into the games. They quickly formed into monstrous creatures - though their details could not be seen well within the darkness. Usagi shot up to her feet and gasped as she could just barely make out the faint details of the Daimons attacking the poor people within the game parlor, ripping their souls from their bodies as the woman continued to laugh.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are…" She cooed between her fits of mad giggling, "Come out and play, Sailormoon!"
Usagi looked nervously around. Even though the darkness would obscure her identity from everyone, the fact that her transformation was so bright and flashy would surly draw attention to herself, and she really didn't feel like exposing herself to these people…but, as she saw one more child fall to the ground, lifeless, she had no choice. Gritting her teeth, she reached for her broach and prepared to shout the words to transform her, when a voice rang out above the strange woman's laughter.
"Aries!" The voice was horse and crude sounding as the lights began to flicker, "Blood…" The lights turned on dimly, enough for people to see, but not enough to make out detailed figures. "…Bath!"
Usagi looked around as she swore she heard the sound of rushing water, like when a massive wave neared the shore. The sound originated from the far wall, just behind Usagi, and as she strained her ears, she could tell that the sound was becoming louder. Her head turned in that direction slowly, to see that the wall had begun to bulge as if a massive force was brewing beyond it. Blue eyes widened in shock as it continued to strain against the heavy cement wall, creating massive fissures that riddled its surface, as a deep crimson, thick liquid began to squirt out. Metal broke and bent, and pieces of concrete began to shoot off from the wall as the spurts of fluid only increased. Then, with a massive creaking that could only be considered deafening, the wall gave way as a massive wave and onrush of blood burst out. Usagi screamed as she raised her arms to protect herself from the onrush of thick, sticky liquid, and could only pray she'd manage to not crash into something hard, like a game or the opposite wall.
To her surprise, the wave passed right through her and through all of the remaining people, only lashing out and crashing against the Daimons that existed, and the strange woman before her as well. The Daimons flew back against the opposite wall and were crushed against it, creating sizable indentations against the construction material. The blood began to seep into the ground so as everyone could breathe, and just as it had, Usagi heard a voice directed towards her.
"What the hell are you waiting for, onna" It commanded as Usagi looked behind her, only to see a vague outline of someone in a pony-tail with thick, heavy boots on sitting on top of one of the games, "Don't want to half-ass it, right?" Rather then debate who this person was, Usagi gave a nod of her head and thrust her broach up above her head.
"Moon Eternal, Make-Up!" She shouted. Golden light surrounded her and enveloped her body, spreading outwards away from her and blasting what little remained of the blood away and against the walls as she transformed within a flurry of feathers. With her Moon Tier in hand, she pointed it towards the blood-drenched woman.
"I will not allow you to harm innocent children wishing to get their minds off of the real world!" Sailormoon announced as she pointed the small and rather frail looking weapon at the cloaked figure. "And in the Name of the Moon, I shall punish you!" Just as she struck her infamous pose, the lights turned on completely as she placed her left palm against the butt of her slender weapon.
"You don't have a chance of defeating me, Sailormoon!" The woman announced, "Your little Zodiac friends couldn't even lay a scratch what makes you think --"
"Silver Moon!" Sailormoon shouted as she extended the bottom of her staff downwards by a great deal. The woman growled and pointed her weapon towards Sailormoon and the Daimons began to leap forward towards the pretty suited Senshi, who only stood fast. "Crystal Power…Kiss!"
With a final wave of her wand, bands of pure golden light rained down from the top of her Tier, shooting straight through the hearts of the Daimons and disintegrating them, their pods falling to the ground and shattering; though it did leave the games they infested in a very…well, broken condition. The souls that were stolen, however, returned to their owners as they slowly began to wake up.
Sailormoon lowered her wand down and looked around. Strange…that woman was gone, but she didn't recall seeing her leave nor did she hear her scream, but her aura certainly was gone. More over, the blood that stained every inch of the Game Center was gone as well…and the wall behind her was completely intact. Was it all just some sort of a fabricated illusion created by whomever had created it?
Of course, within her whole wonderment of what was going on, the whole blood scenario and the mysterious helper off to the side, Sailormoon failed to notice the people strewn across the arcade beginning to come to. With their souls returned to them, they were now quite alive and functional, and in about three seconds, Sailormoon would soon regret not de-transforming right off of the bat.
One girl sat up from her spot and groaned, rubbing her forehead as she glanced around. The lights were back on, there was no more monsters, nor was the strange woman around. Although her memory was a little foggy about what happened, she recalled a lot of blood all of the sudden…then a flash of golden light…then nothing. With another groan, she looked around and spotted her savior right across the way, right next to her.
The girl gasped and pointed towards the befuddled Sailormoon and shouted, "I-It's Sailormoon!" She exclaimed to the other people in the room, "Sailormoon has saved us all!!"
Sailormoon, with a loud yelp, quickly found herself surrounded by crazed fans. They squeezed so close to her, right up against her wings and some other unmentionable portions of her body, making it not only impossible to move or break away from them, and also making it difficult to breathe as well. Each person that stood around her spoke a mile a minute, showering her with praise, questions, answers and other nonsense which she could not make out otherwise, due to the sheer amount of people rambling at the same time. And the fact that each person grew louder and louder as they noticed that many other people were trying to steal their limelight did not help Sailormoon's present position anymore.
"Um…y-you're all quite welcome…excuse me…um…pardon me…I have to get out…please! Let me through!" However, Sailormoon's weak and embarrassed words fell to deaf ears, considering her lone voice wasn't enough to rise above the many of the people around her. It wasn't until one of them tore a piece off of her skirt and jumped away, shouting triumphantly did she start to get agitated.
She thrust her arms out towards the side and shouted, "Let me through!" at the top of her little lungs, which quickly caused everyone surrounding her to promptly shut the hell up. However, upon seeing their wide eyes and their quivering lower lips quickly changed her mood from slightly annoyed to a bit pitiful of these people. With a sigh, she wove her hand in front of them. "Okay, okay…I'll sign something for each of you, alright?"
There was a massive cheer from each person as they scrambled to find something to get THE Sailormoon's autograph on. Their sheer joy and happiness brought a soft smile to Sailormoon's lips that she could not help. Somehow, all of these people who were just so happy to actually meet her brought her a sort of comfort and a happiness inside of her which she had not felt in some time.
Her grin only grew as she began to scribble her name on their articles, whether it be a piece of paper or their shirt, letting loose a true and soft laugh as she did so.
Somehow, this was just what she needed…
(moon)
"It looks like the pieces of the game are starting to finally come into play…" The Red-eyed woman said with a grin across her darkly painted lips, her fingers lightly drumming the cold, steel table before her, "The Zodiac keep making their mark upon this game. Nothing but pawns…"
"It is as you predicted," The strange Woman, clad in pink, commented as she looked up from her kneeling position before the Red-eyed woman, "The Zodiac seem to be drawn to their Princesses, not only that, but somehow their mere presence gives the Sol Senshi strength. However, many of them still remain disconnected from the Sol Senshi, and even from each other." The Red-eyed woman smirked again as she turned around to face her minion before her.
"You've learned much since your last encounter with those annoying hoodlums," She commented coolly, "Not only that, but your extended…research upon them have given us great insight. We are so close…so close to learning their secrets! So close to being able to destroy them once and for all!! It is perfect, brilliant!!" The Red-eyed woman threw her arms into the air as she tilted her head back and let loose a wild and mad cackle from her throat. It was short-lived, however, as she turned her cackles into short giggles as she continued to speak, "What else have you learned?"
"They remain divided," The woman spoke, "The three who have been with their Princesses since the start remain loyal to the Sol Senshi and to Sailorcancer. However, the remainder of them still follow their temporary leader, Sailorleo. I feel…no, I know that this fact will divide them permanently! With them separate, they will be very easy to be disposed of."
"Most excellent! This proves to be in our favor, Evil," The Red-eyed woman smirked, "You will continue your study upon them. And, if need-be, destroy them if you so desire, or they become to…organized."
"Yes." The woman, Evil, bowed her head and rose up to her feet, lightly tossing her gray-brown hair over her shoulders, "How are your preparations coming along?"
"They will be finished tomorrow," The Red-eyed woman responded, "And we will finally make our move! I'll crush those pathetic Sailorsenshi with my own hands when the time comes! Oh, what a glorious day it will be…to take back what was rightfully mine in the first place from them!" Again, she began to cackle madly with her arms to the side and her head drawn back, and during this fit of insanity, the brown-haired woman snorted and turned on her heel, walking out of the room.
Her heels clicked against the stone corridors of the great Citadel, her magenta eyes gazing about the crumbling and decaying architecture around the halls. It was an ancient building, so old and so beautiful it put the most beautiful Cathedrals on Earth to utter shame, with long and twisting dark hallways and hidden rooms and passages. It was a perfect spot for their base of operations; secluded and in a place where no Sailorsenshi could ever find them. Lightly, Evil touched her fingers against the wall and brushed against it, finding a grainy portion of it and lifted her fingers away, to see dried blood upon them. A smirk came to her lips as she licked the powder from her fingers.
Under its desperately creepy feel to it, there lay blood. Blood stained everywhere…against the walls, pained across them like murals or simply splattered here and there, with fresh stains and blood across the floor and walls, dripping slowly down. The cries of poor mortals they snared up to rip to shreds before consuming their souls would be killed or tortured anyplace they happened to be…or in the specific rooms. Evil continued to smirk as she walked, taking a guilty pleasure in hearing their cries, their screams and pleas to stop, to leave them alone or to simply kill them. It was one of the few reasons why she remained.
"Their plans are already taking effect," She whispered to herself, "When will it be my turn to have some fun?"
"Patience, my dear," The voice of The Yami rang in her head, "All will occur in due-time. One must learn how to deal with these things. It is not yet time for you to reveal your true self to them. Let them grow…let them suffer and die by those Sailorsenshi so you have fewer people to go through."
"And in the mean-time? Simply be her lap-dog until I can finally break her neck with my own hands?!" Evil hissed darkly as her eyes narrowed, flashing a bright color of blue briefly as she clenched her fists.
"All in due time, my dear!" The Yami assured, "You will get your chance. For now, keep spoon feeding her information on the Zodiac. They will die by your hands…I assure you…"
Evil continued to smirk widely and began to chuckle, "I will take much pleasure in it…" She stopped and looked up to the beautifully arched ceiling and closed her eyes, "Oh, Yami…what would I ever do without you?"
"You would not achieve Eternal Darkness…one must be patient with acquiring such a thing…" The Yami chuckled after this, "Without me…you would be nothing… nothing at all, my child…"
"Right you are, Yami. Right you are…"
(Yami)
"So, you saw Aries?" Came Enala's curious voice as she addressed Usagi. The blonde girl gave a bit of a nod of her head and glanced around her.
Herself, Enala and Lizzie now stood behind Juuban Senior Highschool after she had taken the Duo of Zodiac Senshi aside to tell them about what had happened the day before at the arcade. Although there was little to report, something did seem a little odd about the random attack that did not seem to mean serious harm or damage. At least, none that she could see.
"W-well…" Usagi stated, assuring that no one else was around, "I didn't really see her, per-say. I saw a vague outline, it was too dark to make anything out, really." She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head aimlessly as her two companions glanced at one another, then back at her.
"So, how exactly did you know it was her?" Lizzie asked as she folded her arms and looked down at her fellow bun-wearer.
"Well, I still don't know if it's really her and all…" Usagi laughed nervously again, "Heck, even if I DID see her, how would I know by looking, right?" As she said those words, Usagi noticed that a look of frustration crossed Lizzie's face, as if Usagi had been avoiding the question. She sounded a small 'eep' sound and poked her fingers together, scuffling the ground with her shoe, "A-anyway…I just heard an attack. 'Aries Blood Bath' and this wave of blood came out of the wall…and …and it was really creepy!"
"Yeah, that's Aries all right," Enala confirmed with a nod of her head, "You kind of get used to the whole blood-thing after a while, especially when you realize it's not real in the first place…"
"Wait, the blood isn't real?!" Usagi exclaimed as she store at the Zodiac Duo in wonder, "It sure felt like it was on me! It was really gross and I almost felt like I was going to throw up…!"
"That's the thing about it," Lizzie explained in a serious tone, "Although Aries considers 'blood' to be her element, it's actually more closely altering emotions, thoughts and brain-waves of people to suit her needs. She's actually a very accomplished illusionist; all of her attacks deal with tricks of the mind, which is why you and everything in the arcade weren't blown back by the wave. Only those she wanted to effect on a physical level were hurt and thrown back. It's a little complex, but after you've been around her for a while, you start to notice these things."
"Ah…" Usagi placed her hand to her chin and closed her eyes, giving a very thoughtful nod at the explanation of Aries' interesting powers. She continued to nod her head a few times, making interesting 'hmm!' noises. After a few seconds of doing this, her blue eyes opened and she dropped her hand. "…Um…what exactly was that again?" Usagi laughed nervously and Lizzie gained a rather perturbed look in her eyes, her right eyebrow twitching slightly at the other blonde.
"Oh for the love of Pete!" She hollered and lunged after Usagi, Usagi managing to dodge out of the way and avoid the rage of the Soldier of Justice, giving a 'eep' of surprise and began to run for her life, Lizzie chasing after her across the back of the school. Enala looked on with a quirked eyebrow and a bit of a chuckle, raising her hand to stifle it ever-so-slightly.
However, as Lizzie and Usagi dashed out of sight, with a massive dust-cloud at their heels, Enala's pleased expression changed into that of a more serious nature. Her blue eyes drew up towards the sky as she looked at the fluffy white clouds overhead.
"So…it's finally begun…" Her voice was barely a whisper as a small smile formed across her pale lips.
(cancer)