Chapter Ten: Westwood Hill

Abbey cleared her throat. "Okay, we have the final tally. . ."
Rick took a deep breath. "The vote is unanimous: Sailor Moon fights solo."
A tear slid down Venus' cheek. What have I done? she thought. Was it the right decision?
Somehow, Alvis wasn't surprised. The pressure to save the world would be difficult for anyone to endore. For four schoolgirls to be doing it and not tell anyone was becoming increasingly more difficult. It was obvious to Alvis that this was wearing the other three down. I think we at least need a break.
Candace managed not to show it outwardly, but inside, she was jumping for joy. Oooh! There is a God!
Miri was a mixture of emotions. She was glad she wasn't going to be fighting monsters anymore. Then again, she had started to like this superhero thing. Well, maybe not "like"; "compelled" might have been a better term. "So, now what? Do we lose our powers or something? Turn in our bracelets?" she wondered out loud.
Venus wasn't sure if Miri's question was directed at her specifically, but she went ahead and answered anyway. "I have a feeling we are Senshi for life no matter how we use our powers. . .if we even use our powers."
"So, we'll still have our powers; we just won't be using them anymore," Candace concluded.
Venus shurgged. "Possibly."
Silence filled the room once more.

It was now Halloween, four days after the girls had made the decision and things had become awkward between them. Candace and Miri hadn't spoken during lunch. Miri and Alvis hadn't spoke at the apartment unless it was something along the lines of "I'm going to get toilet paper." Even before school, the only thing said was "Hello."
Today, though, Miri exploded. "Okay, I have been quiet for four days now, and I can't take it anymore! I mean, just because we aren't going to. . .do that thing anymore doesn't mean we can't talk to each other."
"It's just so weird," said Candace.
"Why? We talked before this.. . .Well. . ." Miri looked over at Alvis sheepishly. ". . .sometimes only when necessary. . .but we did talk."
"Miri's right," said Alvis. "We can still do things together. We shouldn't let this Senshi thing be the only bond we have. Any suggestions?"
"Well . . ." Miri uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. ". . .tonight is the last night Westwood Hill will be open."
"Oh, God no!" shivered Candace.
"What's so bad?" asked Venus. "It's just a haunted house. It's gonna be fake."
"It's the legend," whined Candace.
"Legend? What legend?" asked Venus.
"You don't know the legend?" asked Alvis.
"Hey, I moved here three years ago. I'm still a newbie," Venus pointed out.
"Oh, yeah," said Alvis.
"We keep forgetting," added Miri.
Venus playfully smirked. "I noticed."
Alvis cleared her throat. "William Westwood is the founder of Crystal Town. When his father died, Mr. Westwood received the family heirloom, a diamond necklace. The family believed that if the head of the family wore the necklace, the rest of the family was somehow protected."
Venus raised an eyebrow. "A necklace? Protected the family?"
Alvis shrugged. "I don't know. Mr. Westwood apparently didn't understand it, either, because he never wore the necklace. By the end of the first year, his eldest son, two daughters, five cousins. . .I think five. . .an aunt, and his dog had died for unknown reasons. Even with his wife nearing death, Mr. Westwood still wouldn't put the darn thing on, so to save their own lives, his other two sons and four daughters killed him so the eldest of them could wear it. Their mother quickly recovered and no more harm came to the family.
"It is said that Mr. Westwood's spirit now wonders the mansion in a desperate search for the necklace, I guess hoping to protect his now dead family or bring 'em back or something, I don't know. But anyone who wears anything with diamonds or something that looks like a diamond, he attempts to kill that person so he can have it."
"Attempts?" asked Venus.
"Out of 2,568 reported attacks, only two made it out alive," Alvis finished.
"One lost a leg and the other never spoke again," Miri added.
Candace slammed her hands over her ears. "Okay! Enough!"
Miri smirked. "The subject creeps Candace out a bit."
"Well, I wonder why!" Candace retorted.
"Her grandfather is the one who lost the leg," Alvis told Venus.
"Oh," replied Venus. "I am impressed, though. . ."
"Why? That my grandfather lost his leg?!" asked Candace.
"No. That Alvis remembered all of those facts so well," Venus replied. "How did you do that?"
"I'm a member of Lynnville's Branch of the Illinois Spook Society," Alvis answered. "I also wrote my Grade 10 term paper over Westwood Hill."
"Are you girls planning to go there tonight?" The four looked up and found Lisa Kino to be the owner of the voice.
Candace finally took her hands off her ears. "They are; I want nothing to do with it."
"Well, you'd better find somewhere else to go; Westwood has been closed. Permanently," Lisa reported.
"Why's that?" asked Venus.
"Somebody was killed there last night," Lisa answered. "The police haven't released any info yet, but I hear he was a 22-year-old on Fall Break. His entire body looked like a raisin."
"Damn. . ." mumbled Alvis. "That's 2,569 now."
"Just thought I'd let you know." Lisa turned to walk away.
"Lisa!" Miri called after. "Just where do you get your information?"
Lisa simply winked. "I have my ways. See ya!"
"I envy her," said Alvis.
"While I feel bad about that guy. . .darn. I guess that means we won't be going, then." Candace quickly stood up. "And that's fine by me."
"No," said Alvis. "We're going."
"What? Why?" Candace whined.
"Maybe you forgot, but we gave that shit up," said Miri.
Alvis leaned forward. "This attack wasn't simply an isolated incidence, ladies. I've heard that in the past two months, 100 college students have been found dead in the same manner. Not in haunted houses, but their bodies have all been described as shriveled up like raisins or prunes. Not only that, but all of these students were male."
"Why hasn't the news picked up on this?" asked Venus.
"They have, but you really have to dig deep to find this stuff," said Alvis. "The coroners in every case say that most of the men were in perfect health. Of those who weren't, they all had conditions they already knew about and these conditions played no part in their deaths."
"What did?" Candace asked timidly.
"No clue," replied Alvis. "There isn't a medial condition out there that causes a sudden raisin-like appearance. I'm thinking Earth Kingdom."
"But, Alvis, we all agreed that we weren't going to fight as the Sailor Senshi anymore," said Venus.
"Yeah, but we didn't say anything about this form," said Alvis. "Besides, as much as I like the legend, people are dying. As humans, we have a duty to stop this."
"Well. . ." started Venus.
"No! I am not going!" said Candace.
Miri smiled. "Okay, then. You don't have to go, then."
"Oooooh. . .now you made me feel bad. I'll go."
Venus chuckled. "Gets her every time."
Alvis stuck out her fist. "One last time. What do you say, girls?"
Venus, Miri, and Candace placed their fists on top. "Let's roll," answered Venus as the other two nodded.

Sailor Moon and Kunzite started each other down. "I don't know where he is," Moon explained once again. "But even if I did, I still wouldn't tell you!"
Although already battered, Kunzite twirled his sword around his fingers in an attepmt to intimidate her. "I'll just have to make you change your mind, then, aren't I?"
Moon just shrugged. "You can try," she taunted. "Virginal Protector Assault!"
Kunzite was slammed into a tree with such force that the tree snapped in half. After a few seconds, it became apparent that he wasn't getting up; Jadeite quickly appeared at his side. "You will regret this, Sailor Moon," he said as the two faded away.
A gentle breeze started to blow. "Don't worry; I already do."

Venus and Alvis peeked over the bushes for a few seconds, then sat back down. "The police are just swarming the area!" signed Venus.
"The only way we will be able to get in is to disguise ourselves," signed Alvis.
"Do we really have to do this?" Candace signed with a whiney look on her face.
"Come on, Candace!" Venus signed. "We'll go out with a bang!"
"Oh, I sure hope not," signed Candace.
"Okay, that's not what I meant," Venus whispered out loud.
Alvis pulled out her SenshiCell. "Well, I don't know about you, girls, but I'm ready."

"The body was found here," the police officer told the group of reporters, many of who were from the southern half of the state as well as parts of Northern Indiana. "The head was found over there."
"Ewww," whispered Miri. Venus jabbed her in the stomach.
Alvis tapped Venus' shoulder, and quietly lead the other three "reporters" into an area off to the side. "Okay, I found out that this guy was part of yesterday's Two AM tour. The victim was wearing a silver chain that slipped off. He and a friend stayed behind to search for it. The friend found the chain, turned around, and saw someone becoming frustrated, grabbing that axe. . ." Alvis pointed to an axe that was part of the house's decoration. ". . .and chopping off the already dead victim's head."
"Ewww!" reacted the girls.
Alvis closed her notebook. "The thing is, the police found the body by the entrance. When I interviewed the friend, he said they were in the middle of the tour when this happened."
"So, someone moved the body," Venus concluded.
"And there's the trail." Candace traced the path from the body to a closed door. Candace gulped. "I bet you all want to follow."
"Come on, Candace," encouraged Venus. "We can't prevent what happened to your grandfather, but we can stop this person, spirit, whatever, from doing it again. Even if we weren't Senshi, this 'someone' needs to be stopped."
Candace's face paled a bit, but she nodded. "Okay, I'll do it. . ." She looked at Venus sheepishly. "Would you hold my hand?"
The girls chuckled. "Alright," agreed Venus.

Alvis, Venus, Candace, and Miri found themselves wondering through what use to be a dining room. The windows had been boarded up to allow the house to be "haunted" 24-7. However, because of the investigation, the lights were on.
"Wow," Alvis commented as she examined the machines that brought the house to life. "This stuff is so fake-looking. Gives the place a bad name."
"Well, it's real enough to me," grumbled Miri. She had just walked into a spider's web and was quickly brushing the sticky strands from her face.
"Alvis?" asked Candace. "If this is the spirit of a guy, how do we stop him once we find him?"
"Um. . ." was the reply.
"You mean you don't know?!" yelled Miri.
"Well, I know of methods, but they involve a bunch of things that, even if we could afford them, would take weeks to get here. And there is no guarantee they will work."
"I guess our plan should be to reason with him," said Venus. "Or give him what he wants. At the very least, we'' be stalling until we think of something else."
Alvis shrugged. "Couldn't hurt."
They followed the trail of blood down a long corridor. About half of the way down, the trail curved and went under another closed door. Being the closest to the door, Miri reached for the doorknob.
Suddenly, low-grade electricity shot through Alvis. An image flashed through her mind of a woman standing on the other side of a door. Alvis gasped and quickly used her bodyweight to push Miri away from the door. Venus and Candace, who were standing directly behind Miri, were knocked over as well.
A faint black energy wave shattered the door. The woman from Alvis' vision stepped out with a wicked smile on her heavily-make-uped face. "I apparently underestimated you girls. I thought I would have more time to search before you caught on."
"I guess we don't have to worry about stopping a spirit now," Miri commented as Alvis helped her up.
Venus helped Candace to her feet and asked, "Who are you?"
"Well, I am offended," the woman replied. "How could you not know my name?"
"I guess you just aren't important enough," Miri said in an attempt to egg the woman on.
She took the bait. "I am important! I am Princess Beryl, second-in-line to the throne of the Earth Kingdom!"
Miri leaned towards Alvis and whispered loud enough so everyone could hear, "Nope. Not important enough." Alvis rolled her eyes, but also chuckled at the comment.
Angered by Miri's comment, Princess Beryl powered up to attack.
"Okay, now would be a really good time to leave!" said Candace.
As the girls ran back down the corridor, the walls started to shake. Back in the former dinning room, the girls sensed the oncoming attack and dove for the ground. The energy wave barely missed them and destroyed all of the House's equipment.
Venus quickly stood up. "Girls! We don't have a choice!" The others knew what she meant and stood as well. "Minna! Henshion yo!"
"Hai!"
"Venus Prism Power!"
"Mars Prism Power!"
"Jupiter Prism Power!"
"Mercury Prism Power!"
"Make Up!"
Princess Beryl powered up again. "Bring it!" she taunted.
"Oh, don't worry," Sailor Mercury reassured her. "It will be brought." She formed her daggers, twirled them around her fingers, then hurled them at Princess Beryl. "Mercury Ice!"
Princess Beryl deflected the daggers, but not without them cutting her arm.
"Love Gun!" attacked Sailor Venus.
Princess Beryl barley dodged that attack. "Hey! You're gonna hurt me!"
A sweatdrop slid down each Senshi's check. "Uh, that's kind of the point," said Sailor Jupiter.
"Well, that's not fair! I don't wanna get hurt!" Princess Beryl wailed.
"Then you should have stayed home." Sailor Mars readied her bow and arrow. "Mars Fire!"
Princess Beryl dodged that attack, too, but the heat from the arrow singed her arm. "Maybe using the legend as a cover up wasn't such a good idea after all." She teleported away.

She sighed as She read the headline on the front page of the newspaper. " 'Senshi Solve Murder Mystery.'. . .I guess I can't be mad at them this time; I would never have guessed that the Earth Kingdom was hiding in a haunted house."
"So, you'll join them now?" He asked as He placed the tray on the coffee table.
She lowered the newspaper. "I never said that."
"Oh, come on." He plopped onto the golden-colored recliner. "They can obviously fight. And, apparently, they can think as well."
"Are you saying I can't?" She asked.
"I just don't like the idea of you continuing to fight." He poured Her tea and placed the cup in front of Her on the table. "If the Earth Kingdom finds out. . ." He suddenly stopped and looked around for witnesses. ". . .you know. . .they'll stop at nothing. . ."
"I knew that before I started." She put down the newspaper and picked up the cup. "And while it is important to stay hidden, I do it only for The People." She took a sip. "I am to protect them, not myself."

Miri held her bracelet with both hands as she studied its design: three light-blue symbols of Mercury strung together by a darker blue metallic-looking string. The gems she had earned from the monsters she had destroyed dangled from the string. Miri brought the bracelet closer to her face in order to get a better look.
"Have any idea what those things are?" Alvis' voice startled Miri out of her thoughts. "Or even how they get on our bracelets?" Alvis sat next to Miri on the bench. She took her own bracelet off to study it: nine green-colored fours strung together with a light green metallic string. "I mean, I saw them attach, but still. . ."
"I'm still wondering how these things get us to henshion at all." Candace took off her backpack and sat on the ground in front of them. "And could someone else use these if they get a hold of them?"
"Let's not find out. That last question at least." Venus tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "As for the rest. . .I think there are just some things that we're never going to discover."
Candace looked down at her bracelet (six red Mars symbols held together by a red string) as she asked, "So, are we going to stop using these things or what?"
"Honestly, I don't think this planet is going to survive if we quit," said Alvis. "If these powers can stop that evil. . ."
"Then it's up to us to use them," Venus finished. "To hell with what the Princess said. These are our powers, not hers."
Candace stood up. "Yeah! Besides, the world is too important to have only one person protecting it!" (Inside, though, Candace was cringing. I really don't want to do this anymore.)
"We may be connected by the Past," started Miri as she stood as well, "but this is our present. These are our lives. Let's take them into our own hands."
Alvis clenched her fist and plopped it in the middle of the group. "We will finished what we have started. With no regrets."
Miri, Venus, and Candace placed their own fists on Alvis'. "And with each other," added Venus.