Here's chapter 11! A bit of an early update this time, but this chapter was a little shorter, plus I had a lot of free time to work on it this week. This chapter is focused on Luna. She hasn't gotten much attention is this story so far, and based on how things went with Usagi in the last chapter, I figured some development was an order! Oh, and if you're wondering what happened to Mamoru and Naru, don't worry! They'll be back next time. Hope you all enjoy! :)


Chapter 11: Shadows of Doubt

A pair of sunny-side up eggs sizzled in a large black frying pan. A black and white newspaper crinkled as the pages were flipped. A handheld video game went 'beep-boop-beep' as the sprites move across the screen. Aside from these few distinct noises, silence dominated the Tsukino household early in the morning. Ikuko, or Mrs. Tsukino, was frying up a pair of eggs for breakfast. Kenji, or Mr. Tsukino, was reading the morning paper and was glued to the latest story of the Sailor Soldiers, slightly jealous that they always made the front page instead of the stories he wrote. Shingo, the Tsukino's youngest child, was exercising his thumbs with a small portable video game (which he really should not be playing at the table). However, all three family members knew that their peaceful morning was about to be broken by the blind panic of a girl who loved to neglect her alarm clock.

"Should I go wake her up?" Mr. Tsukino said.

Mrs. Tsukino shook her head. "Give her a few more minutes. She must be having a beautiful dream if she's this late."

A minute passed, then two minutes, and then five minutes. Finally, it had been a half hour since they had last heard an alarm clock going off. Seeing what time it was, Shingo glanced up from his game and chimed in. "Five, four, three, two, one…"

"WAAAAAUUUUGGGHHH! I'M SO LATE!"

Ikuko, Kenji, and Shingo braced themselves for the oncoming storm. Suddenly, an unstoppable force of nature tore its way down the stairs and burst into the kitchen. It was Usagi, complete with a wrinkled school uniform, only one of her buns done up, and a backpack with papers falling out of every pocket.

"Mooom! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!" Usagi whined.

"Oh dear, it seems I simply forgot. I must not have heard your alarm go off over the sizzle of these eggs…" Mrs. Tsukino sighed.

"I can't miss another first period or it's detention for life!" the disheveled girl cried as she frantically dashed over to the counter and stuffed one of the eggs into her mouth, which had just come off the frying pan. "Owowow! Hot hot HOT!"

"Careful Usagi, you don't want to burn that big mouth of yours," Shingo scoffed.

Usagi's forehead popped a vein. "I am not in the mood, Shingo!" As she scurried about, the young girl noticed Luna laying in her small cat bed, curled up and looking depressed. Usagi crawled over to the bed and leaned down to the cat's eye-level. "Hey, you okay Luna?" she whispered.

Luna barely responded, simply nodding her head and giving a soft purr. Usagi smiled brightly. "Oh, good! You just looked really sad there." She turned to go, but stopped and leaned back down to the black cat. "Remember, when we have that meeting after school today, I want you to apologize to Mako for what you said about her." Luna gave another half-hearted nod. "Okie dokie! See you later, Luna!" Usagi sprang to her feet, snatched her lunch off the counter, and ran out the door to begin the long trek to school. "Bye-bye, everyone! Love you all!"

"We love you too, Usa," Mr. Tsukino called back. Once Usagi was out the door, he turned to his wife. "So… mind explaining why we let her sleep in so late?"

Mrs. Tsukino flipped the last few eggs onto a plate and brought them over to her husband. "Honestly, it's because her frantic running around in the morning is the closest thing to exercise she gets these days." Hearing the beeping of Shingo's video game, Mrs. Tsukino turned to her son with a disapproving look. "Shingo, don't forget you have school too. Put that thing down before you're late as well," she ordered.

Shingo rolled his eyes and shut the game off. "Fine…" As he got up from the table, he noticed that Luna's food dish was still completely full. "Hey mom? Luna still hasn't eaten her breakfast."

Mrs. Tsukino looked over to the cat's dish and raised and eyebrow. "How odd… she didn't eat her dinner last night either."

"Have you thought about taking her to the vet?" Mr. Tsukino asked.

"I'll wait until the end of the day to see if she eats anything," his wife responded. "If not by then, I'll take her to get looked at."

Luna laid curled up in a tight ball on her bed. She was still shaken up from the storm the night before, trying desperately to erase the echo of thunder from the recesses of her mind.

~Flashback~

Luna pressed herself against Usagi's bedroom window, trying desperately to avoid the torrential downpour, but to no avail. She was thoroughly soaked and freezing cold, not to mention the lightning and thunder that occurred every couple of seconds terrified her to no end. She realized she had upset Usagi, but was a punishment like this really what she deserved? At this point, she was willing to apologize to Makoto a hundred times if it meant getting out of this storm.

Suddenly, she heard the window unlock and open. "Luna? What're you doing out here?" It was Shingo. "C'mere, you little rascal. You're gonna get sick sleeping out in this rain," He picked up Luna and pulled her into the house, setting her down on Usagi's carpet. "I was just gonna open Usagi's window and let all the rain as a joke, but I ended up finding you. What're the odds?" he chuckled to himself. "I'll get a towel and dry you off."

~End Flashback~

If it hadn't been for Usagi's mischievous little brother, she might have spent the entire night out there. Luna shook at the thought, believing she wouldn't have been able to sleep for a week if that had happened. Any way she looked at it, Luna knew she didn't deserve to be traumatized like that. Usagi had gone too far.

"But was it really her fault?" Luna thought to herself. "She's clearly convinced that Makoto is a good person, so for me to say otherwise, of course she'd get mad. After all, she's just a kid." Luna continued to think for a moment, but then something hit her that made her curl up even tighter. "Is it possible all the stress I'm putting on her is making her act this way? Is the life of a Sailor Soldier really too much for a little girl like her to handle?"


Kunzite paced slowly back and forth across the monster barracks, walking steadily with one foot in front of the other. His body never swayed, and he never once broke moving in a straight line. The monsters stood as still as possible, knowing that the slightest of movements or noises could result in Kunzite snapping and subsequently snapping one of them in half.

"Every time I send one of you out, all you bring back is failure," Kunzite said in a no-nonsense tone. "Now, the Queen has it out for me, and I've lost the respect of Nephrite, who was once my most loyal follower." He suddenly stopped in his tracks, clicking his steel boots against the floor. "My life is on the line!" he shouted. "And if you fools don't get your act together, so will yours! The Sailor Soldiers grow stronger by the day, yet you feel obligated to play games and make petty bets with one another!" He shot a look over to Oxen, the monster who had fought with Mugg the other day. The humanoid ox lowered his head in shame, knowing he had caused the death of one of his comrades.

"With all that said, understand this," he said, his voice much more calm now. "You're all family to me as much as Jadeite. I will always pray for your safe return when I send you on a mission. Every single one of your brethren that has perished in battle has brought pain to my heart. I only send out one of you at a time because I fear losing you all too quickly. I care about you all, but my duty to the Queen comes first to my emotions." He placed a hand over his chest as if her were saluting Queen Metalia. "I ask that from now on, you put maximum effort into your missions. No holding back, no playing games. Obtain life energy for our great ruler, and vanquish any Sailor Soldiers that get in your way!"

"Yes, Master Kunzite!" the monsters all roared in unison, copying the hand-over-chest salute.

Kunzite felt the edge of his mouth perk up into a smile. There was something about the undying loyalty of his monsters that just brought him indescribable happiness. Of course, this joy only heightened the depression he felt when one of them died. They may just be monsters, but they had been under his command for eons, and as he said they felt more like family now than disposable soldiers.

"Oh, Kunzite?" a sly, feminine voice came from the darkness.

The silver-haired man turned around and saw a half-woman half-cat monster walking up to him. She was incredibly slender, with smooth, defined curves and a delicate face. This face, however, was complete with cat-like features, including whiskers, bright yellow eyes, and pointed ears. She also had sharp claws on her hands and a long, striped tail. She was dressed in a short, tight, and strapless black dress and black knee-high boots, giving her a dominatrix-like appearance.

"Felina," Kunzite said in greeting.

"That was quite the speech you gave," the cat-lady purred. "In fact, it has me motivated to go out and give the Sailor Soldiers a shot of my own."

"Are you sure?" the Dark Knight said, sounding slightly concerned. "Will you be able to gather human energy without losing your life to the Sailor Soldiers?"

Felina giggled. "Oh, trust me. I have a… different kind of energy in mind that should suffice just as well."


The door to the Crown Arcade creaked open, and Usagi slowly stumbled in, exhausted after a long day of school. She was hunched over, dragging her backpack along the concrete all the way. Miraculously, there were no tears in it despite this.

"Man, school was a drag today… and I got detention for being late again…" Usagi sighed. As quick as a wink, she perked up and replaced her sagging frown with a bright smile. "But now I get to spend time with my bestest friends! Right guys?"

"Stop stealing my coins! I killed that monster so they belong to me!" Makoto shouted. She and Rei were pounding away at the Sailor V video game, already at each other's throats.

"It's not like I can get any coins on my own! This cat can't even attack!" Rei retorted. "C'mon, please let me be Sailor V for awhile."

Makoto smirked. "Sorry girl, you should've thought of that before you threw scissors and lost to my gun."

"Gun isn't even part of rock, paper, scissors! Some idiot just made that up one day so they could win all the time!" The raven-haired girl's face was turning red from her anger.

"Are you suggesting that I'm an idiot?" Makoto asked, turning her own shade of angry red. "You're one to talk, seeing as how you don't even go to school!"

Usagi watched the two go at it, feeling tempted to intervene, but decided against it so she wouldn't get incinerated by their fiery temper. Those two were really made to argue.

"They've been at this for almost an hour," Ami said, stepping up to Usagi. "Where have you been all this time?"

Usagi nervously rubbed the back of her head. "Uh… I got detention again," she squeaked.

Ami shook her head. "Oh well, I guess I'm not surprised at this point."

"Wait, what?!" Usagi snapped.

Ignoring the blonde girl, Ami continued. "You at least spent detention studying, right?" Usagi froze, maintaining eye contact with Ami but not saying a word. Despite not getting a direct response, the nerdy girl read her like a book. "Usagi, don't you remember the motto we came up with during our tutor sessions?"

Usagi groaned at this. "Any and all free time is study time," she said, imitating Ami's voice and pretending to adjust a pair of glasses.

Ami smiled. "Right! Good to hear we're on the same page!" She patted Usagi on the back and then walked over to Rei and Mako, deciding to risk trying to break up their argument.

Usagi found herself hunched over again, feeling as if she had had the weight of school applied ot her once again due to Ami's comment. However, she straightened up again when she heard the door open. Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with nobody, but then looking down, saw a small black cat standing on the welcome mat. "Oh, Luna! You're here!"

"Yeah, I'm here," Luna said quietly. "Let's just start the meeting and get it over with."

As the cat sauntered over to the other girls, Usagi eyed her suspiciously. She sure did seem depressed for some reason, and Usagi had never seen her act this way before. "Maybe she really feels bad for insulting Mako? Ah well, I'm sure she'll feel better after she apologizes!" With that, Usagi skipped over to her friends and Luna, pulling up a stool and letting the Soldier Meeting begin.

Luna had the girls gather around her. "Thank you all for coming again. I understand these meetings are usually short notice, but I like to keep you all updated as much as I can."

Suddenly, Usagi cleared her throat. "Um, Luna? Isn't there something you want to say to a certain someone?"

"Uh…" Luna hesitated. "That's right! I just wanted to tell… you all that I'm very proud of your work as Sailor Soldiers so far! You've managed to stand up to several of the Dark Kingdom's knights and emerge victorious. That's not an easy feat for any normal-" The black cat paused when she saw Ami reading a book, not paying attention. "Ami? Are you listening?"

The blue-haired girl looked up from her book. "Oh, sorry Luna. It's just that I have some cram school homework I need to catch up on. I didn't get anything done due to the battle last night."

Luna felt a sting of guilt when she said this. Then, Rei joined in the conversation. "Same here. I missed an entire Tai Chi class because of that fight. I mean, I guess that could have counted as training though…"

"And I was gonna make a batch of cookies last night!" Makoto blurted out. The girls all gave her an odd stare. "What? I like cooking. Don't judge me!"

Luna lowered her head. "I'm… I'm sorry this is such a huge burden you all," she stammered. "Uh… excuse me! I just remembered I have to talk to my boss!" The cat suddenly ran away from the group and out the front door to the arcade.

"I wonder what that was about?" Ami said.

Rei shrugged. "Beats me." She heard the sounds of 8-bit laser blasts, and whirled around to see Makoto back on the Sailor V game. "Hey! Are you trying to make progress without me?!"

"You snooze, you lose, Bruce Lee," Mako said in a snarky tone.


Luna ran into an alley, trying desperately to contain her frustration. Once the cat knew she was alone, she used the crescent mark on her forehead to conjure up her 'communication bubble,' within which was the shadow of her boss.

"Luna? What's the matter?" he asked, clearly able to see that the cat was on the brink of crying.

"S-Sir, I have a request…" Luna said, her voice trailing off. "Please! We need to bring Sailor V back!"

"What are you talking about? We already enacted Plan D. There's no going back at this point," the boss responded very straightforwardly. "Are the girls not living up to their responsibilities?"

"No, it's the opposite. They're all fulfilling their jobs as Sailor Soldiers perfectly. But…" She paused, a single tear finally trickling down her face. "I think this all might be too much for them to bear. Their lives are being turned upside down due to all these battles. I'm concerned that one day it will start to have a much greater effect on them."

The boss listened carefully, mumbling at the end as if deep in thought. "May I ask what brought this about?"

Luna paused again, not wanting to recall what happened between her and Usagi. "Last night, before the storm began… I got into an argument with Sailor Moon, and she locked me outside. She left me in the cold rain for almost the entire night. At first, I thought she had gone too far, and that she had acted immature. But then, I realized that she's still very young, so of course she would act that way." She looked back up to the bubble. "Sailor Moon is supposed to lead the soldiers, but I don't think she's ready for that responsibility!"

"Sailor V was no older than they were, and yet she-"

"She was a special case!" Luna interrupted. "We can't expect every girl to be exactly like Sailor V! That's not right!"

The boss sighed. "Luna, listen to me…"

"Wait!" Luna interrupted again. Her attention had drifted away from the communication bubble and over to a group of cats that were now walking down the alley. They slinked along in a single file line, not making a sound or blinking an eye. As they passed by, Luna swore she couldn't even hear them breathing. However, at the same time, she could feel a heavy energy emanating from them. "Those cats have dark energy all over them. Sorry sir, we'll have to continue this later."

Before her boss could continue, she dispersed the communication bubble and began following the line of stray cats. As they all headed deeper into the alley, Luna could feel the dark energy growing stronger with each step she took. There was a monster nearby, no doubt about it. But why was it controlling cats? Luna decided she would find out first and then call the girls, just in case it was nothing too serious.


"Luna's been gone an awful long time," Usagi said to herself. "I bet she's just trying to dodge that apology she promised…"

"Apology? What apology?" Makoto asked, sounding interested.

Usagi turned to the taller girl. "Luna said some pretty mean things about you last night, so I told her-"

"What?!" Makoto interrupted. She proceeded to crack her knuckles and grit her teeth. "So, what did little miss kitty cat say about me?"

The young blonde quickly threw up her hands in defense. "Whoa, whoa, calm down Mako! I made her promise to apologize! Don't worry, she'll explain everything when she gets back!"

"She'd better…" Makoto growled. The taller girl then glanced over Usagi towards the door. "Hey, who's that? I've never seen her around her before."

Usagi turned around and saw an old lady taping a piece of paper to the Crown's front door. As the curious girl looked closer, she could see that the paper said 'Missing,' along with a picture of a brown striped cat and a phone number. Her heart immediately melted.

"Excuse me!" Usagi called out, running over to the woman. "Is that your cat? Is he missing?"

The old lady sighed in a raspy breath. "Yes. This is my cat, Aiko. I've had her ever since she was a little kitten, but she went missing this morning and I haven't seen her since. I'm so worried about my little girl…"

"The poor thing. I'm so sorry for your loss," Usagi consoled. "I hope you find her soon!"

"It's not just Aiko, though," the old lady said. "Cats have been disappearing around Tokyo all morning. First, my neighbors said their cat went outside to pee and never came back in. Then, my sister called me and said her cat had vanished as well. It's as if there's a group of cat kidnappers on the loose!"

"Cat-nappers?!" Makoto snarled. "Those monsters! How dare they kidnap a bunch of adorable kittens?" She knelt down to the old lady to meet her height. "Don't worry, ma'am. If I find those bastards, I'll be sure to let you know first."

The old lady smiled. "Thank you, young lady. You're such a kind little… I mean, big girl!" The elderly woman then turned and headed out of the arcade.

Makoto turned back to her friends, who were all giving her the same odd look again. "What? I like cute things, okay?" The others just kept staring. "Just because I'm a badass doesn't mean I can't think cute things are cute! Don't be so dense, people!"

"I can't tell if you have layers, or if your just really inconsistent," Rei scoffed.

"Are you saying I have an inconsistent personality?!" Makoto snapped back. "At least I have one, tae-kwon-DORK! Your personality is as flat as your chest…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Rei shouted at the brunette, jumping out of her seat and storming over to her.

"Wait, guys stop!" Usagi cried. Makoto and Rei paused their squabbling to listen to the bun-headed girl. "She said cats are disappearing all over Tokyo, and Luna's out there on her own! She could be in danger!"

"So what?" Makoto huffed. "That talking kitty annoys me! I say let her get snatched up!"

Rei got up in her face. "You're going to help us find Luna, or I'm going to transform and plant one of my high heels up your rear!"

"Petty threats won't get you anywhere, Miss A-Cup…" Makoto said, crossing her arms and looking away.

Rei was about to go full-rage mode, but Ami pulled her away and stepped up to Makoto instead. "Please Makoto. These kidnappers could be big tough guys. We could use your strength if that happens."

The brunette was about to refuse again, but caved in when she saw the pleading look Ami was giving her. "Ugh… alright, fine. I'll go…"

Suddenly, Usagi grabbed the three girls' hands and yanked them out the front door. "Well come on already! We have to act fast! Luna could be halfway across town by now, or worse…" The bubbly blonde continued to ramble worst-case scenarios as she tore down the sidewalk in search of her feline friend, her Soldier comrades quite literally in tow.


Luna continued to stalk after the entranced cats. She had been following them down several back alley bends and turns, but finally saw they were coming up on a clearing. Even from this distance, Luna could see what looked like dozens of other cats gathered around something. She quickly ducked behind a dumpster to avoid being seen, then peeked out around the corner to get a view of the scene.

Over fifty cats were sitting in a wide open parking lot that was crammed between three tall brick buildings. The asphalt lot was riddled with cracks that had grass growing between them, making Luna think that the lot hadn't been parked in for years. At the front of the kitty crowd was a tall, lanky monster that appeared to have the body of a woman, but the facial features of a cat. She also had a tail, sharp claws, and short brown hair all over her body.

"Welcome, my kitten brethren! My name is Felina, and I am your new master!" She pulled out a long whip from one of her thigh-high boots and cracked it. "You have all gathered here today to serve a great purpose. Offer up your energy to me, so that I may give it to our one true ruler, Queen Metalia!" Felina cracked her whip again, and immediately glowing tendrils of energy emerged from the crowd of cats and flowed into the cat-lady's hand.

Luna grunted in pain, feeling as if her heart was being pulled out of her. The monster's trick was affecting her too! "No, I'm stronger than this!" she told herself. She clutched her paws over her chest and flexed every muscle in her body, trying to hold in her energy. Eventually, the ripping pain subsided. "Whew, that was close," Luna sighed. "I've got to call the girls!" She focused her power and tried to call out to Usagi, but suddenly thought twice. If she brought the girls here to fight, she would be going against what she had told her boss earlier.

"I have to do this myself!" Luna said stoutly. "I made a promise to the Queen ages ago that I would look after her soldiers and the Princess! As a member of the Moon Kingdom, it's my duty to protect the innocent, no matter how strong our enemies are." Now filled with burning confidence, she jumped out from behind her dumpster hiding spot and faced Felina. "Those girls have been through enough! I can do this!"

Luna charged at Felina, weaving through the cluster of cats with great agility. Before the monster could react, Luna leapt at her face and dug her claws into her skin. Felina let out a scream of pain, completely shocked but the sudden attack. The black cat swung her arms wildly, slashing deep cuts into Felina's face. Just as the cat-lady was about to grab her, Luna sprung off and landed nimbly on the ground.

"What do you think you're doing, slave?" Felina hissed with rage.

"I'm no slave to you!" Luna shouted defiantly. "I am Luna of the Moon Kingdom, and I'm here to stop you an set all these cats free!"

Felina grinned. "The Moon Kingdom, eh? No wonder you're such a strong little kitty. I bet your energy will be a great treat to Queen Metalia…" She cracked her whip again, drawing more energy from nearby cats.

"That whip seems to be how she steals energy…" Luna thought to herself.

Felina raised her whip again, this time intending to strike Luna with it. Thankfully, Luna managed to leap out of the way. Upon landing, she changed direction and lunged at Felina's arm, clamping down on it with her teeth and hoping she would drop the whip.

The monster let out another scream, feeling the cat's teeth pierce her skin. "Damn you! Let go of my arm!" She flailed her arm wildly, throwing Luna off and sending her flying.

Luna landed on the hard asphalt, knocking the wind out of her. Before she could get up, she felt Felina's whip wind around her torso and yank her into the air again. Felina swung the black cat across the parking lot and smashed her into a dumpster with a painful crack. Luna felt a sharp pain stab through her body, as she was sure one of her ribs had just been fractured. She tried to get up, but the pain was too great and she just collapsed to the ground.

Felina walked over to Luna and stood menacingly over her. She looked back to her feline spectators. "Pay attention, my brethren! This is what happens when one of you defy me!" She raised her whip again and snapped it at Luna, the tip of the whip cracking against the black cat's body. Luna screeched in agony as she felt like a hot iron had just been touched to her skin. Not letting up, Felina brought her whip down again, snapping it against one of Luna's legs and tearing the skin open. Luna cringed and let out another screech.


"Lunaaaa! Where are youuu?" Usagi called out. She and the others had been walking up and down every street they came across, but there was still no sign of the black cat.

"Usagi, it's highly improbable that we'll find Luna by looking in random directions," Ami said.

"That, and I don't think everyone in the city wants to hear your annoying voice," Rei scoffed.

"Hey! Uncalled for!" Usagi cried. Just then, something clicked in her memory. "Oh yeah, I just remembered something! When I'm transformed, my brooch can pick up on cries for help! If Luna's in danger, my brooch should be able to find her…" She took her Transformation Brooch off her collar and held it up to the air.

Ami's eyes quickly darted up and down the streets. "Wait Usagi! Someone might-"

"MOON PRISM POWER! MAKE UP!"

Ami, Rei, and Mako covered their eyes from the blinding light of Usagi's transformation. When the light faded, Sailor Moon stood in her trademark pose: a hand on her hip and a V-sign over her eyes.

"Are you crazy?!" Rei hissed. "Somebody could have seen you! All of our identities could have been exposed!"

"Oh, right. Sorry ReiRei!" Sailor Moon giggled. "Alright, time to check the airwaves!" She clutched her brooch to her chest and began listening for Luna's voice. Multiple distinct cries for help came flooding into her mind. "Okay… that's a little kid who stubbed his toe… that's an old lady who can't open a pickle jar… that's a woman telling her husband to 'do it faster.' Not sure what that's about…"

The three other girls all blushed, knowing exactly what was going on there. They suddenly became uncomfortable, knowing they were basically eavesdropping on people's lives.

"Luna!" Sailor Moon screamed suddenly. She collapsed to her knees.

"Usagi!" Rei quickly ran to her side and supported her. "Are you alright? Did you find Luna?"

Sailor Moon got back to her feet, wiping a tear that had formed in her eye. "I did, and she's in pain. I think a monster is hurting her!"

Without thinking twice, Makoto whipped out her Transformation Pen. "Then we've gotta go after her! Let's transform and kick some ass!"

Ami quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Maybe we should do it away from the streets in case somebody does come by?"

"Oh, right. My bad," Makoto confided. She, Ami and Rei dashed into a nearby alley and held up their pens.

"MERCURY POWER! MAKE UP!"

"MARS POWER! MAKE UP!"

"JUPITER POWER! MAKE UP!"


Felina continued to torture Luna, striking her with her whip over and over again. The cat's pained cries had all but ceased, being replaced with weak grunts. "So, are you ready to give up your energy to the great ruler?" Felina asked in mock politeness.

"N-Never…" Luna said, her voice barely escaping her throat.

"Have it your way. I'll just have to suck it out of your cold, kitty corpse!" Felina laughed as she raised her whip again. Luna closed her eyes as tightly a possible, bracing for the impact.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The Sailor Soldiers had arrived on the scene, with Moon at the front. She saw Felina standing over something with a whip in her hand. As her eyes traveled down, she saw Luna lying on the ground, covered in deep cuts. "Luna!" She turned to Felina and glared at her with full blown rage. "You… you're gonna pay for this!"

"I am the pretty soldier who fights for love and for justice! I am Sailor Moon! And now, in the name of the Moon, I'LL PUNISH YOU!"

"I am the pretty soldier who fights for love and for wisdom! I am Sailor Mercury! In the name of Mercury, YOU SHALL REPENT!"

"I am the pretty soldier who fights for love and for passion! I am Sailor Mars! In the name of Mars, I'LL CHASTISE YOU!"

"I am the pretty soldier who fights for love and for courage! I am Sailor Jupiter! In the name of Jupiter, I'LL STRIKE YOU DOWN!"

Felina just frowned. "Oh, it's you four. My brethren, tear them to shreds for me…"

In an instant, what seemed like a tidal wave of cats came rumbling towards the Sailor Soldiers. All fifty of them leapt into the air and attacked the four soldiers, biting and scratching like a horde of rabid devils. As soon as the girls shook off one cat, another would jump onto them and continue the voracious assault.

"This is horrible!" Sailor Moon cried. "We can't fight a bunch of cute little cats!"

"For once, I think we can agree, sister," Makoto said as she tossed a pair of cats off her back. "I would never punch anything this adorable!"

"Get it together, you two! It's them or us!" Mars shouted to them. She was busy striking at the cats with knife hands, hitting them between the ribs and at the base of their necks. However, unlike her experience with people, the cats didn't immediately go limp with the strikes. "Mercury! Do you know where pressure points are on cats?!"

"Sorry, but no!" the Soldier of Water called back. "We'll have to try something else…"

"MERCURY AQUA MIST!"

Mercury threw up a mist in an attempt to blind and stun the savage cats. While they did appear confused for a second, it still didn't stop them from continuing their attack.

"What's going on? How can they still see us?" Mercury cried.

Felina giggled maniacally. "Idiots! Cats use their noses to hunt their prey! Even if they can't see you, they can still smell you!"

"Does anybody else have a plan?" Mercury shouted as another cat latched onto her neck.

"Oh, just give up already! You all clearly don't understand the ravenous power of my brethren! As long as they are loyal to me, you don't stand a chance!" Felina laughed to herself for a moment, before stopping abruptly to look down at the injured Luna. "Oh, but there's an interesting thought… tell me, slave. Are those four your friends?"

"Yes… and they're going to… defeat you…" Luna choked.

"I think we both know at this point that that's not going to happen, but I am willing to make a deal with you," Felina snickered. She knelt down to Luna and stroked her behind the ears. "Offer up your energy to me, and I'll spare your friends for today. That's a fair trade, wouldn't you say?"

Luna's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe this monster was making such an offer. She glanced over to the Sailor Soldiers, who were now on their knees being torn apart by the raking claws of dozens of evil cats.

"Don't do it, Luna!" Sailor Moon screamed to her. "You can't give your life for ours! I can't accept that!"

"And who's to say she won't kill us anyway after you're gone?" Jupiter added.

Luna thought long and hard for a moment, considering both what Felina said and what Moon and Jupiter said. "I'll do it…" she said weakly.

"No!" Sailor Moon screamed.

"I'm a bother to you girls, aren't I?" Luna whimpered. "Once I'm gone, you can all go back to your normal lives…"

"I guess that means you've made your decision!" Felina hissed with glee. She stood up and raised her whip over her head, preparing to bring it down on Luna and suck her energy right out of her. Right as she was about to deliver the fatal strike, she felt a strong hand grab her wrist and prevent her from swinging her whip. "What the…?" Felina snarled as she turned and saw a man in a tuxedo and a mask standing before her.

"Tuxedo Mask! Thank goodness!" Sailor Moon cried happily.

"You dare bring harm to an innocent cat?! You make me sick!" Tuxedo Mask twisted the monster's wrist, loosening her grip on her whip. He quickly snatched the weapon out of her hand and ducked away from her.

"Give that back! You have no idea what power it possesses!" Felina snapped.

"I've seen enough to know this whip steals power from defenseless creatures like those cats! And if their power is locked away in here…" Without finishing his sentence, the dark-haired man pulled either end of the whip with all his might, causing the rope to break apart with a loud snap.

Immediately, glowing tendrils of energy burst from the stumps of the two ropes and returned to the bodies of the fifty cats. As their energy returned, their savage behavior all but vanished, and they quickly became docile, ceasing their attack on the Sailor Soldiers.

"My brethren!" Felina screamed. Enraged, she turned to Tuxedo Mask and glared at him with piercing yellow eyes. "You may have destroyed my strongest weapon and freed my army of slaves, but this cat still has her claws!" She held up both hands, and from her fingers extended sharp, shiny claws. She ran at Tuxedo Mask and slashed at him with one of her clawed hands, inflicting a deep cut into his chest and shredding his bow tie. The tuxedo-clad man grunted in pain as his white undershirt turned a dark crimson color.

"No! Tuxedo Mask!" Now free of the cats, Sailor Moon and the others got to their feet. "We have to help him, guys!"

"On it, Moon!" Jupiter said confidently before turning to Mercury. "Hey, Big Blue! What do you say we team up to kick this creepy cat lady to the curb?"

Mercury cringed a little at her nickname, but nodded in agreement. "I assume you know what happens when water and electricity mix?"

Jupiter grinned. "Why else would I pick you?"

"MERCURY AQUA MIST!"

"SUPREME THUNDER!"

Mercury's mist surrounded Felina, but before the monster could react, the mist was electrocuted by Jupiter's thunder attack. The lightning bounced off every microscopic drop of water in the air, creating a cloud of pure electricity that completely fried Felina. However, despite the relentless shock attack, the crazed cat-lady was still alive and kicking.

"Damn you…" she growled.

"Sailor Moon! Finish her now!" Tuxedo Mask shouted.

"MOON TIARA BOOMERANG!"

Sailor Moon threw her tiara swift and sure, sending it straight at Felina's head. In an instant, the monster was brutally decapitated, her stumped neck spurting black blood in the air like a fountain. As her head rolled to the ground, the skin melted off until nothing but a skull was left. Her body quickly followed suit, but once all her bones were exposed, they disintegrated into a heaping pile of dust.


Usagi placed a gentle hand on Tuxedo Mask's chest, which now bore three bloody cuts from Felina's claws. "Are you gonna be okay? They look pretty deep."

"Don't worry, they're not that deep. They just sting a little," Tuxedo Mask said with a smile.

Usagi's eyes shimmered with admiration. "You're so strong…" She spaced out for a moment, lost in his dark eyes, but quickly snapped back to reality. "T-Thank you… for saving Luna. I don't know what I would've done if she gave up her energy."

Tuxedo Mask placed a hand on her shoulder. "I've always got your back, Sailor Moon. I would never let you or any one of your friends get hurt." Before Usagi could respond, he turned to leave, swishing his cape into the air as he did. "Until we meet again!" With that, he took off down the alley and left Usagi standing in awe.

"Someday… I'll find out who you really are, Tuxedo Mask." She walked back over to her friends. Ami was hard at work bandaging up Luna's injuries. "Will she be okay, Ami?"

"I'm doing my best to fix her up, but I advise you take her to see a professional vet. From what I can tell, I think one of her ribs is broken," the blue-haired girl informed with dismay.

"Luna…" The young blonde knelt down to her feline companion. "Luna, what did you mean by that earlier? That you're a bother to us?"

"You heard that?" Luna said with a guilty smile. "When you locked me outside yesterday, I was so angry at you. I kept thinking you were being so selfish and acting like a little kid. But then I remembered that you still are a kid." She looked up the other girls. "All of you have normal lives. Rei, you have your Tai Chi classes. Ami, you have your cram school. Makoto, you have those cookies you want to make. Now that you're all Sailor Soldiers, I expected you to accept your responsibility and act like adults…" She began to tear up. "But that's not fair to you! It's not fair of me to ask so much of you when none of you asked for this responsibility in the first place! I understand… if you all hate me…"

Luna stopped when she heard Usagi sobbing. She looked over to see that the bun-headed girl was in rivers of tears. "That's not true, Luna! I don't hate you at all!" she cried. "I'm sorry for locking you out of the house. It's just… I like to see good in everyone, and when other people don't see that, I get really upset. It's my fault! I'm just really selfish!" Usagi covered her face with shame and continued to cry.

Luna quickly placed a paw on Usagi's leg. "It's not your fault! I should have just apologized right away!" She turned to Mako. "Makoto, I'm so sorry. After you insulted everybody, I said some terrible things about you and questioned you as a Sailor Soldier. I should have considered how you felt after being forced to team up with a bunch of people you obviously don't like…"

Makoto scratched the side of her head. "Yeah, I may have gone a little too far with that yesterday. Turns out you guys aren't as bad as I first thought. Except Bruce Lee over here…"

"Stop calling me that!" Rei shouted.

Usagi softly pet Luna on the head. "Luna, you don't have to worry about us. Being a Sailor Soldier may not be easy, but if it means protecting the people we love, we're in it until the end!"

"She's right, Luna. You can count on us!" Ami said. "Besides, catching up on cram school work is no problem for me."

"And it's not the end of the world if I miss one or two classes," Rei said.

Makoto thought for a moment. "Meh, I guess I've got nothing better to do…"

Luna smiled, genuinely this time, and wiped away her tears. "Thank you… thank you all! You have no idea how much this means to me. You all make amazing Sailor Soldiers!"

Usagi suddenly pulled Luna into a tight hug and started crying again. "WAAAAAAHHH! I LOVE YOU, LUNA!"

"Ugh… Usagi, my ribs!" Luna grunted.

Usagi gasped and released the black cat. "Sorry! I promise we'll get that looked at as soon as possible!"

Rei scoffed. "Kami-sama… even when you're compassionate, you're so reckless, Usagi."

"Reiiii! What are you so mean to me?!" Usagi cried while the others laughed.

~A Suivre~