SailorStar9: And another chapter goes up. This is Chapter 11. Read and review.
Disclaimers: I own nothing, except the plot.
Chapter Summary: Rubeus appears with the Ayakashi Sisters and Wiseman tells us why there isn't a Sailor Mercury in the future.
Chapter 11: Red-haired Trouble
The group was, as usual, meeting at Rei Temple. Natsumi and Seijuro were also there.
"The Makaiju's healthy now." Natsumi said.
"All thanks to you, guys." Seijuro added.
"So, we've decided to help you battle." Natsumi explained.
"You didn't have to." Ami blinked.
"Well, we owe you one for the Makaiju, and we also caused some troubles around the city..." Seijuro admitted.
"We could really use some help, though." Minako noted. "It's not like the Ayakashi are easy to beat."
"And they've faced us in groups of two. There're four of them, plus whomever's sending them to get Chibi-Usa." Ami noted.
"Four?" the three Imperial Senshi echoed.
"I know we've only faced three of them. But since they worked in groups of two, there's bound to be a fourth." Ami reasoned.
"Good point."Rei nodded.
"What I really want to know, is why they want Chibi-Usa." Makoto pointed out.
"Well, that's one mystery yet to be solved." Minako shrugged.
"One more thing." Ami added, turning to the twins. "What's with those plant-like creatures you use?"
"They're just mindless creatures." Natsumi explained. "We can summon a lot of them at will, but they are not that good at fighting anyways..."
Seijouru nodded, "The Makaiju gave us our powers, we don't know where it comes from or how it works."
Just then, the Senshi communicators buzzed and the four Senshi whipped them out of their space pockets.
"What can we do for you, Tsukino?" Rei asked tiredly.
"Guys, I don't usually need your help, but this is an emergency!" Sailor Moon's voice rang from the communication mirror.
"Eeek!" she screeched as a beam of fire barely blasted past her head.
Ami sighed.
"Cooan." she guessed.
"And another one." Rei sweatdropped as a stream of water blasted past Sailor Moon's right.
"Looks like you're right about the fourth Ayakashi." Makoto remarked.
The girls nodded and henshinned.
The girls quickly arrived at Tokyo Park.
"Guys, this doesn't look good." Imperial Sailor Mercury muttered as she looked at her computer's monitor.
The three Millennial Senshi looked at her.
"The four Ayakashi are coming our way." Imperial Sailor Mercury said. "And they have some company and he's even stronger than the four Ayakashi together."
"Shoot." Millennial Sailor Mars muttered.
Ail and Ann materialized a few meters away from the Senshi.
"Maybe we can even the odds?" Ann suggested.
"We could use the help." Imperial Sailor Jupiter admitted.
The five enemies came floating towards them. The four Ayakashi sisters and Rubeus. The red-haired man gave one dismissive look at the group of Senshi and their allies before raising his eyebrow .
"And you had troubles fighting them?" he asked in disbelief.
"Let's show them what flower power means." Ann joked. She produced a handful of seeds as Ail produced his flute and played a slow melody in it. The seeds all turned into the plant-like creatures and charged at the villains.
Rubeus gave Ann a mock grin, ""You call that a troop?" He reached out his hand, a red energy beam shot from it and blasted all of the creatures to dust.
"So much for the 'Flower Rangers'." Millennial Sailor Venus joked.
"Eeehh..." Ann mumbled then glared at Rubeus. "Okay, you asked for it." She shot a green energy ball at Rubeus, but it bounced on an energy shield Rubeus had formed a split second before.
"Darn.." she muttered.
"Moonlight Flash!" Sailor Moon summoned her attack and it shot towards Rubeus.
"Not enough..." Rubeus said with a frown and punched the attack away.
"They just keep getting stronger, don't they?" Millennial Sailor Mars muttered.
"Mercury..." Imperial Sailor Mercury reached her hands up and started spinning, water chains started swirling around her. "Ice..." The water froze, turning into fist-sized icicles and she stopped spinning. The ice, however, continued its circular movement around her.
"Storm!" She ended summoning her attack by reaching both hands forwards, palms opened, and the ice thundered towards Rubeus.
"Erk!" Rubeus shrieked in pain as his body started freezing up.
"Rubeus, no!" Cooan screamed, seeing her lover fall.
"You'll pay for that Mercury!" she turned a hated glare at the Senshi of Ice.
"Dark Fire Combustion!" she cried out her attack, launching multiple fireballs from her hands.
The Planetary Senshi, minus Millennial Sailor Mars, were thrown back to the ground by the attack.
"That hurt..." Millennial Sailor Jupiter moaned, her fuku scorched.
"I won't forgive you, Cooan." Millennial Sailor Mars hissed, as she started glowing a ruby red.
"Mars Twilight Power, Make Up!" she shouted as a wall of flames engulfed her. A blood red sign of Mars appeared on her suit's chest, as translucent elbow pads appeared over her elbows. The brooch on her bow changed, it now had a pair of small feathery wings. The light faded away and she stroke a pose "For all the pain you've caused, Twilight Mars will punish you!"
"What the..." Millennial Sailor Venus muttered as she painfully pushed herself up.
"Wow..." Millennial Sailor Jupiter gasped in awe at Mars' new suit.
"Dark Fire Combustion!" Cooan called out her attack again.
"Mars Inferno..." Twilight Mars began her attack, her left arm outstretched as swirls of flames surrounded her arm, her hand clutched into a fist.
"Punch!" she finished her attack, swinging her fire-up fist at Cooan's flames.
The fire tornado swallowed Cooan's flare and Twilight Mars decked the Ayakashi Sister with the powered-up attack.
"Cooan, no!" Petz screamed in horror as her sister was engulfed in flames.
"Dark Thunder!" she fired her attack at Twilight Mars.
"Lightning Shield!" Millennial Sailor Jupiter called forth a shield of lightning to protect Twilight Mars.
"Venus Twilight Power, Make Up!" Millennial Sailor Venus shouted as light surrounded her. The transformation was the same as Mars, and when it ended, she glared at the Ayakashi Sisters. "You dared hurting my friends, now I'll have to hurt you back. Prepare to face a raging lightstorm. Twilight Venus will punish you!"
"Nice speech." Calaveras applauded. "What else can you do?"
"This!" Twilight Venus grinned.
"Venus..." Energy started swirling around her, slowly gathering in her gloves. "Morning Star..." More energy gathered as she pointed her index fingers at Calaveras. "SMASH!" Two twin star-shaped beams tore through the air and hit the Ayakashi Sister dead on, vaporizing her in a blink. Venus fell to her knees and gasped for air.
"Not Calaveras too!" Berthe exclaimed in disbelief. How could they be that strong?
"They aren't the only ones." Millennial Sailor Jupiter retorted as she ran towards Berthe.
"Jupiter Twilight Power, Make Up!" Electricity covered her and she transformed into her next level while running. She rose her punch and electricity crackled around it. "Jupiter... Thunder Punch!" she punched Berthe with the electricity-charged punch and with such strength that the Ayakashi Sister was slammed through a nearby brick wall. Jupiter fell to her knees as Berthe started disintegrating.
"Darn, Berthe was weak too." Petz muttered.
"You're up against me, Thunder girl." Imperial Sailor Mercury muttered.
"What? Ice bitch. Are you going to power up too?" Petz raised a brow.
"Don't need to." Imperial Sailor Mercury replied, as an inky black aura surrounded her.
Petz shielded her eyes as the light exploded and gasped when Tula appeared in her full glory.
"Artic Fury!" she called out, raising her staff in the air as the snowflake symbol of her staff glowed an icy blue and spun furiously on top of her staff.
Petz screamed in agony as she was caught in the hailstorm of ice and snow, her entire body freezing as she died.
"Curses... the Senshi of the future weren't that strong." Rubeus hissed as he saw the four Ayakashi Sisters vaporised right before his eyes.
"I can see why." Prince Demando replied, floating above Rubeus.
"Demando-sama..." Rubeus muttered as Prince Demando fired an energy blast to break him free of Mercury's ice prison.
"Indeed." Sapphir nodded.
Taking Rubeus with them, the three teleported.
"That's strange brother." Sapphir remarked to Demando once Rubeus was safe in the healing chamber.
"What is?" Demando asked.
"Wiseman never warned us about her." Sapphir commented.
"Her?" Demando echoed.
Sapphir nodded, "The one they call Mercury. Her power surpasses even that of Neo-Queen Serenity."
"That's because she's a Goddess." Wiseman's voice entered as the sorcerer appeared before.
"A Goddess?" the two brothers echoed.
Wiseman nodded and continued, "She is Tula, the Goddess of Ice and Winter, daughter to Hades. Apparently, Serenity had feared her power and banished her from Crystal Tokyo. After removing Tula, Serenity further bound the Senshi's powers to the Ginzuishou, making the Senshi weaker than they were supposed to be."
"That's why it was easier to defeat the Senshi of the future." Sapphir nodded.
"Indeed." Wiseman chuckled. "Right now, Sailor Moon is the weakest of the five, even with her Ginzuishou."
"What are you implying, Wiseman?" Demando asked.
The sorcerer laughed, "Sailor Moon wants to be reinstated as leader, but she is the weakest among the five. We'll give Sailor Moon an offer she cannot resist. Once we'd turned her to our side, getting the Ginzuishou will be easy."
"I see." Demando nodded. "And then the future will belong to the Dark Moon."
SailorStar9: Wow, that was one short chapter. Will Wiseman's plan succeed? Stay tuned to find out. Read and review.