Yay, Jupiter! From here, the storyline really starts to unfold. I've written up to chapter 25… although there's something in chapter 23 that's bothering me that I'm planning to go back and change. Anyway, is anyone watching Sailor Moon Crystal? And if so, did you see the episode from this past weekend? OMG it literally broke my heart. If you saw it and want to discuss message me! Hehe. Anyway, happy holidays and thanks for reading :)
Suddenly a girl in one of the booths started to scream, her eyes rolling back into her head as a red glow surrounded her. Her body started to contort, the limbs stretching and bending uncomfortably as she morphed into a terrifying, spider shaped youma.
"What the –" Motoki gasped, the color draining from his face.
The spider shot webs in all directions, Usagi pulling Minako and Makoto to the ground with her. She shared a silent lookwith Minako, clutching onto Makoto's arm. They would have to transform… in front of Makoto. Other wise all these people… it was the only way…
The people around them started to fall, the webs wrapping around their unconscious bodies to bind their limbs and cover their eyes.
"Makoto, no!" Usagi gasped, lunging forward to try to pull her friend back. She fell forward, grasping at air as the brunette aimed a martial arts kick at the grotesque spider. She caught it by surprise, her flat leaving a red imprint across its cheek.
The rose shaped compact in Usagi's pocket thrummed softly.
The spider retaliated quickly, kicking out one of its many legs and hitting her cleanly across the face, her head turning back as she flew across the room. Minako gasped and tugged on Usagi's arm as a green mark shone brightly on Makoto's forehead before she crashed to the ground in front of them.
"Makoto!" she called out, sliding the compact across to her. The girl picked it up, looking back at Usagi in confusion.
"What does this have to do with –"
"We'll explain later! Throw it into the air and say Jupiter Thunder Power, Make-up!"
Makoto just shrugged, doing as Usagi said. At least she'd been faster to catch on than Rei had.
"Jupiter Thunder Power –"
"Venus Love Power –"
"Moon Prism Power –"
"MAKE-UP!"
Once they had all three transformed, Makoto took a moment to look over her new outfit skeptically. Her skirt and sailor collar were a deep forest green, coordinating boots lacing up to mid-shin. Both of her bows were a soft pink that matched her rose crystal earrings and compact. A dainty chain of pink roses hung low on her hips, a small orb filled with pale pink rose petals in the center. The bright green symbol of Jupiter glowed on her forehead as she looked back at the girls in obvious surprise.
"Cool!" she shouted cheerfully, demeanor changing as she turned to face the youma with a serious look on her face. "I don't know who you think you are, but I am the Agent of Love and Courage, the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Jupiter! In the name of Jupiter, I will punish you! Supreme Thunder!"
A condensed ball of lightning formed between her gloved hands, delivering a steady electric shock to the youma as she threw it with deadly accuracy. The spiders swollen body flashed, Usagi gasping as she caught a glimpse of the girl trapped inside.
"You have to be careful! That youma is a girl – you need to weaken her so Sailor Moon can heal her." Luna's voice shouted, Makoto's eyes going wide. "Sailor Jupiter, I am so happy you're here!"
Makoto just shrugged, grinning at the violet cat. "Hey you know, after everything else that's happened today, a talking cat doesn't seem to be the strangest thing."
"Love-me chain!" The delicate chain unwound from Mina's waist, spiraling around her before wrapping around the youma. It shrieked, fighting in vain against the confines of the chain.
"Now, Sailor Moon!"
She pressed the crescent wand to her forehead, eyes fluttering closed as she focused all of her energy inward. "Moon healing escalation!"
The youma peeled away, leaving the girl lying unconscious on the floor in its place. So now they were using innocent humans to turn into their horrible monsters?
"Ugh, that is low even for them!" Minako shouted, running to the girl's side to check for a pulse. A bright red orb of energy hovered above her lifeless form, glowing eerily in the dark arcade.
Several things happened at once. With a loud snap a figure Usagi recognized instantly to be a Dark Kingdom General appeared, his eyes clouded with the same icy glow Jadeite's had previously held. He was dressed in the same manner Jadeite had been, although his uniform was lined with dark emerald green. His long mahogany air fanned behind him as he leapt to the floor beside the girl, grabbing the red orb in his hand.
"No!" Makoto yelled, throwing herself in his path. She crashed right into him, the two rolling before he pinned her, hand on her throat.
"Jupiter!" Usagi gasped, clasping her hands together in relief as Tuxedo Kamen jumped through the window.
"Oh Tuxedo Kamen, you came –"
He caught the red orb easily, kneeling beside the fallen girl. Her chest began to rise shakily as he returned the orb of energy to her, dusting off his hands as he stood.
"Sailor Moon," he began in a serious tone, glancing over to where Makoto struggled. "Nephrite is the next General sent by the Dark Kingdom. He is one of the Shitennou and will be a formidable opponent. You must heal him."
She clutched her elbows, tightly hugging her middle. Why was he being so cold to her?
"Tuxedo Kamen, you'll stay and help us… right?" She asked hopefully, taking a step towards him. He flinched, turning his head.
"When it is in my favor, yes. But remember we fight for different things and a day may come where we have to go against one another," he said firmly, looking away as the color drained from her cheeks. As wrong as it felt he couldn't turn his back on his destiny, and ultimately if they were both after the same thing, she would end up being his opponent.
With that he leapt for the window, casting a glance back at her before he disappeared.
"Get. Off. Of. Me." Jupiter gasped, looking up into his cold eyes. Still though, amidst the icy blue there was something familiar… something comforting…
Suddenly he let go of his own accord, straightening out his coat as he stood. He looked down at her with disdain, hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"Next time I won't be so kind," he replied icily.
"Moon healing –"
"Ha, as if!" he laughed sarcastically, snapping his fingers and disappearing before she could finish.
"Basement. Now." Luna said quickly as the people around them started to stir. The three Soldiers and the violet cat slipped unseen down the secret staircase under the Sailor V game, Jupiter still trying to catch her breath as she massaged her throat.
"Makoto?" Usagi said softly, placing a hand tentatively on the brunette warrior's shoulder. "Makoto are you okay?"
"Yeah… just a little shaken up. Who was that guy, anyway?"
"He's a General from the Dark Kingdom," Minako explained, throwing herself into one of the computer chairs. "They try to collect energy from humans usually, only this time was different. They actually turned that girl into a monster and he only seemed interested in her energy, not everyone else's… Artemis?"
The white cat nodded, tapping the computer screen with his paws. A moment later Sailor Mars hurried down the stairs, glaring at Usagi.
"You could have called me on the communicator, you know!"
"Didn't have a whole lot of time, considering we had a new Sailor Soldier, a giant spider, an arcade full of unconscious people, oh, and a pissed off Dark Kingdom General!" She shouted back, Mars having the decency to look remorseful.
"Not to mention Tuxedo Kamen refusing to –"
"Don't say it!" Usagi warned Minako, pointing a finger at the blonde Soldier of Venus. The glared at each other, Minako placing her hands on her hips in defiance.
"Well it's true! He just swoops in to tell you Nephrite is a Shitennou, then says he's not going to help and that eventually we'll be his opponents and leaves! Meanwhile, one of his freaking Shitennou-whatever turned Dark Kingdom creep was choking the heck out of our newest recruit!"
"He saved that girl," Usagi whispered, looking away. It was hard to listen to Minako put a voice to all of her fears, to hear them confirmed. If it came down to it could she really go up against Tuxedo Kamen?
"Usagi," Minako sighed, backing off and placing a hand on her friends shoulder. "I'm sorry to be harsh but we have our own mission to follow and we can't stray from it because of him. If someone is after the same thing we are then they are a natural enemy, just like the dark kingdom."
"Sailor Jupiter," Makoto interrupted shyly, extending a hand to Mars. "Kino Makoto, normally."
"Sailor Mars," Rei beamed back, shaking her hand with earnest. "Hino Rei. Nice to have someone else with some brains around here –"
"HEY!" Usagi and Minako yelled together, sticking their tongues out at Rei.
"That's enough!" Luna shouted, pressing her paw to the crescent mark on her forehead. "Honestly, the constant bickering is going to be the death of me! And all of you, if you're not careful! Now, we need to focus on our mission. They've upped their game, and we have to as well!"
"Right!" Usagi nodded fiercely, trying to push aside her feelings about Tuxedo Kamen to focus on the task at hand.
"We need to concentrate our search on the Phantom Silver Crystal. It has great powers – it can save the world, or destroy an entire planet in seconds. Falling into the wrong hands would be catastrophic," Luna continued somberly. The four girls nodded seriously, Usagi frowning as she looked down at her gloved hands.
"Agreed, but how do we protect something that we can't find?" The notion seemed impossible to her.
"I don't know. The only thing I can take comfort in is that the enemy seems no closer to finding it then we are."
"And we're not alone. Tuxedo Kamen seems to be after the same thing," Artemis added.
"What?" Usagi faltered, staring at him blankly. "How do you know?"
"Because, I've been keeping tabs on him. There's not much information to find but… that seems to be his purpose and he said as much today. You need to be careful! You can't trust him." Artemis scolded sternly.
"He's never tried to hurt us, though," she argued stubbornly. "He's only ever helped us."
"For now we'll agree to disagree. In the mean time, we have a lot to catch Jupiter up on."
"Which reminds me!" Luna interrupted, sliding a gold bracelet across to Makoto. A golden circle was in the center, four smaller circles of red, green, blue, and yellow in the center. "This is your communicator, Sailor Jupiter. To be used for official Sailor Soldier business, only," she emphasized, giving Minako and Usagi a warning look.
"Hey, listen, for two years until you two showed up it was just us on the scene, alright?" Minako replied, crossing her arms.
"Gee, it's a wonder Tokyo's still standing at all…" Rei snickered, Luna shooting a warning glance at all three of them.
"Now, we need a plan…"
…
"So, what is this silver crystal thing, anyway?" Kaidou interrupted, sifting through a bowl of noodles with mismatched chopsticks. "It was mentioned in the Dark Kingdom too, but they were hazy with the details. Sounds like a gawdy bookweight."
"Ha ha. I have no idea, honestly," Mamoru frowned, sifting his fingers through his hair. "I think that if I find it, it will give me the answers to the princess in my dream… somehow that just seems to make sense."
Kaidou just nodded, unable to reply with a mouth full of noodles. He swallowed, gesturing with his chopsticks. "So we're going after that now? What about the Sailor Soldiers? I can't see them willingly handing something like that over."
Mamoru shrugged. "We'll help them to get rid of the Dark Kingdom threat, but as soon as the crystal appears we grab it and get out of there."
"You make it sound so simple. I've seen the way you look at Sailor Moon," he teased, elbowing Mamoru in the ribs. "You think you'd be able to swipe it from her so easily?"
"If it comes to that… yes," Mamoru replied determinedly, leaning against the glass door to the balcony. He fixed his gaze on the full moon, a sense of calamity washing over him. Destiny was destiny – he couldn't let anything or anyone get in the way of that.
Kaidou nodded again, taking another bite of his noodles.
"Nephrite was there…" he continued, Kaidou's interest piquing.
"He'll be a tough opponent," Kaidou sighed, setting down the bowl. "He's cunning and ruthless in battle, but at the same time his overconfidence and arrogance can be his biggest downfall."
Mamoru simply nodded, waiting for him to continue.
The blonde man frowned, tugging on his hair. "It feels weird to be fighting against them. But, right now he's not really Nephrite, as Beryl's shadow has taken over his soul and corrupted him. Our only hope is for Sailor Moon to heal him as she did me."
Somehow, Mamoru exhaled, we are always inexplicably tied together. It will make this new betrayal of her more difficult. For the greater good, he sighed, shaking his head.
Man, and most guys his age thought college was difficult.