Here is chapter 14! Apologies for the big delay, but I promise the upload will come at regular time next week. The issue here wasn't even my schedule, I was just really bored writing this chapter. It's basically filler, which you all know I hate, but I felt that I needed a good segway between the last chapter and the next two, which will make up (no pun intended) a two-part "episode." I'm really looking forward to writing it, but for now... enjoy this one, I guess?
Chapter 14: The Crybaby Miracle
Usagi slugged her way into the Crown, dragging her backpack across the floor with half-lidded eyes. The others watched her stumble over to their table and drop into her seat like a rag doll.
"You're late," Rei chided.
Usagi nodded. "Yep."
"Detention?" Makoto asked.
"Uh-huh," Usagi said.
"Forgot your homework again?" Ami asked accusingly.
"Sorry…" the blonde muttered.
The nerdy girl sighed, clearly disappointed in her friend. "You and I need to have a serious talk at our next tutor session."
Luna hopped up on the table. "Alright, that's enough for now, girls. We need to get down to business." The black cat turned to the Soldier of Passion. "Rei, can you tell us everything you learned about this new enemy?"
"Well, learned is sort of subjective here. More like… beaten into me," she chuckled, as if trying to lighten the mood, but Luna gave her a serious look. "Sorry. Anyway, this Jadeite is apparently the fourth of the Dark Knights."
Makoto immediately facepalmed. "You're kidding me… are there any more of these knights that we don't know about?!"
Luna shook her head. "No. I distinctly remember there only being four. At least this means we won't be getting any more surprises. Of course, with the exception of whatever monsters they throw at us…"
"That's not all," Rei interjected. "While we were fighting, Jadeite told me that he was the strongest of all four knights."
"No way!" Makoto said. "You guys told me that… Kunzite guy was the leader! Shouldn't that make him the strongest?"
"Could Jadeite have been bluffing?" Ami asked.
Rei rubbed her temple. "It's possible… I was fighting him alone after all. But… the fact that he took everything I threw at him without a scratch doesn't exactly shift the odds in our favor."
"Hmph! I bet if I were fighting him, he wouldn't have lasted two seconds!" Makoto huffed, flexing her arm.
"Would you stop with the macho crap?! I almost died back there! I hate to break it to you, but I don't think your almighty badassness would have been any better off than I was!" Rei shouted at the brunette.
Everyone went silent at the raven-haired girl's sudden outburst. Usagi quickly placed a calming hand on Rei's arm. "But… I healed you. You're okay now, right, ReiRei?"
Rei blushed a little when Usagi touched her, but shook it off. "Yeah, I am. It's just… it was so scary. I always worry about you getting hurt, but to have it happen to me was… too real…"
Usagi smiled. "Awww, you do care about me…"
"What?! I… I didn't mean… shut up, Bun-Head!" Rei stammered.
"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about next," Luna said. "Usagi, how exactly did you heal Rei's wounds?"
"I cried on her," Usagi said bluntly.
Luna raised an eyebrow. "And…?"
"That's it," the blonde said with a shrug. "I cried, one of my tears fell on her, there was a bright glow, and poof! She's back to grumpy old ReiRei!"
"Hey!" Rei snapped.
"So what you're saying is that you have healing tears now?" Luna asked rhetorically. "How odd…"
"Don't you remember anything like that from the Moon Kingdom, Luna?" Ami asked.
Luna scratched her ear, trying to recall her memories. "I do remember you all having other abilities besides to ones you use now, but nothing about healing tears."
Makoto jumped up excitedly. "Wait, we have more powers?"
Luna backed up a little. "Uh… yes, of course. What soldiers would you be if you used the same attacks over and over again? You'd become dangerously predictable."
"Oh man, this is awesome!" Makoto said, bouncing a little. "Sooo, what kind of powers do I have?"
"I can't recall any specifics, but they would obviously be based around your individual elements. Makoto, your current attack is Supreme Thunder, so you use lightning." The black cat turned to Rei and Ami. "I'm sure you two can guess your elements given your attack names."
"Ooh, ooh! What's my element Luna?" Usagi chirped.
"Just as the Moon reflects the Sun's light, you possess the power of light," Luna informed. "Your element is best suited to chase away the shadows cast upon us by the Dark Kingdom."
The bun-headed girl grinned from ear to ear. "Wow! You make it sound so cool!"
"Yeah, yeah, enough about her!" Makoto interrupted. "How exactly do I get these other abilities that you're talking about?"
"I can't exactly say for sure. However, your powers were all unlocked when you were under attack from a monster. I suppose your memories of your abilities will just come back to you in the heat of a fight," Luna said.
Makoto looked disappointed. "So… what? I'm just supposed to keep fighting and hope that some voice in the back of my head will randomly tell me how to use these new powers?"
Luna nodded. "Yep, that about sums it up." This generated another facepalm from Makoto.
"Hey Usagi!" The others looked up and saw Motoki approaching with a big plate in his hand and a fork and knife in the other. "Here's that funnel cake you asked for! Lucky you, it was the last one I had in the stockroom."
Usagi drooled as the massive treat was set down in front of her. "Thank you Motoki! It's so great to have you back!"
Motoki laughed. "Yeah, I still got a few cricks here and there, but I'll be back to normal in no time! Go easy on that cake!"
"I will!" Usagi called as he walked away. She began cutting into the dessert when she saw the disapproving look on Rei's face.
"You ordered an entire funnel cake? Are you trying to get diabetes or something?" the young martial artists chastised.
"Geez Rei, you don't have to worry about me that much!" Usagi said, still cutting the cake but not watching her fingers. "I'm not going to get diabeezees or whatever from one cake!"
"I'm not worried!" Rei retorted. "I just don't want to see you get fat or anything."
"Reiiii! What are you so- OW!" Usagi suddenly let out a sharp cry and grasped her forefinger in one hand. "Owowow…"
Ami quickly scooted over to see what was wrong. "Usagi! What happened?"
Usagi looked at the blue-haired girl with watery eyes. "I… I c-cut my f-finger…" She showed her friend the tip of her forefinger, revealing a small cut with a tiny amount of blood seeping from it.
Ami sighed. "C'mon Usagi, it's just a little-"
"Wait!" Makoto interrupted. "She's about to cry! Let her use her healing tears again!"
"Good idea, Makoto," Luna said. "Quickly Usagi! If you're going to cry, do it on your cut!"
Usagi held onto her finger and hunched over it, trying to line her eye up with the cut. Rei, Ami, and Makoto all gathered behind her, watching carefully to see if the clumsy girl could get it right.
"I guess being a huge baby will finally prove useful. Eh, Bun-Head?" Rei teased.
"Zip it, Rei! I only have one tear left in my eye…" Usagi said, never taking her eyes off her finger.
"Don't worry! You've got this, girl!" Makoto encouraged, capping it off with a slap to Usagi's back. Unfortunately, the hit caused Usagi to lurch forward, as well as her tear to fall. The tiny droplet narrowly missed Usagi's finger, but it splashed against the table below nonetheless.
"Makooo!" Usagi whined. "What the heck was that for?"
"It's no big deal, blondie. Just cry some more and I won't touch you this time," the brunette assured.
Usagi took a deep breath. "Alright, here we go!" She refocused on her finger and began flexing the muscles around her eyes, trying to squeeze out more tears. However, to the other girls, she just ended up making ridiculous faces that made her look like she was trying to give birth.
"She'll be at this for awhile, won't she?" Ami asked.
"I'm betting she'll do this all night," Rei scoffed.
"Give her some credit, girls," Luna said. "I seriously doubt she'll be doing this all night…"
The sun had gone down, the Moon had come out, and the stars were now shining. Even though every other living thing in the area was asleep by now, one blonde bun-headed girl in pink bunny pajamas was wide awake at midnight, hunched over the tiny cut on her forefinger and still desperately trying to cry one of her magic healing tears onto it.
Luna watched her from the edge of her bed. "I stand corrected… as usual…" she sighed before drifting off to sleep.
Kunzite marched into his monsters' barracks, his heavy boots echoing against the marble floor. All of his demonic and deformed troops stood at attention, waiting for their Master's orders.
"Would anyone like to volunteer today?" the Dark Knight asked simply. "Are there any here who have an ideal strategy for acquiring energy for our Great Ruler, Queen Metalia?"
Immediately, but not so quickly, a lanky, bony monster with a snail body instead of legs slithered forward. His skin was a bright jade green, and he had white eyes that lacked pupils. A second set of eyes sat atop a pair of antennae on his head. His arms were long and ended in three-fingered hands with long claws. The snail shell on his back was big and looked heavy, which was likely part of the reason he moved so slowly, aside from being… a snail monster.
"I… will… volunteer… Master… Kunzite…" the monster said, incredibly slowly.
"Ah, uh… Gastro. You would like to go out and gather energy?" Kunzite asked, clearly sounding unsure.
"I… would… be… honored…" Gastro replied, with the same speed as before.
Kunzite sighed. "Very well. As long as you can promise me that you will not take an entire century to accomplish your task this time."
Gastro nodded. "Fear… not… I… have… a… new… ability… that… will… make… me… much… faster… and… efficient…" He began making his way out of the barracks, but in the span of one minute, he barely made it halfway there.
Kunzite rubbed his head in frustration. "Don't bother walking. I shall teleport you there." He opened up a dimensional door in front of Gastro.
"Thank… you… Master…" the snail monster said, making his way over to the magic doorway. Even then, it still took him a good two-and-a-half minutes to make it through the portal.
"Master Kunzite, was that really a wise choice?" another monster said once Gastro was gone.
"Do not talk down to your comrades in front of me! Gastro is just as valuable to me a the rest of you are! I have no doubt he will get the job done," Kunzite said confidently, before turning away and dropping his expression. "Eventually…"
The school bell rang, and students began heading to their classes. However, Usagi leaned against her locker and kept focused on her finger, still trying to cry on it, despite the wound having already scabbed over.
"C'mon Usagi, we have to get to class!" Ami insisted.
"No… wait… I almost… got it…" Usagi stammered, still making her chicken-laying-an-egg face.
"You're still at this, huh?" her nerdy friend asked. "If you want to cry, why not just think of something sad?"
Usagi quickly searched her mind for anything and everything that made her sad; romantic-drama movies, homeless puppies, stuffed animals that got thrown out… however, even after all these thoughts, no tears came out.
"Thanks, Ami. Now I just feel depressed," Usagi pouted.
"Eheh… sorry," Ami said with a nervous laugh.
"CLUB SIGN UP!" a loud voice came from down the hall. Usagi and Ami saw a student standing in front of a large bulletin board with a loudspeaker. "REMEMBER EVERYONE, TODAY IS CLUB SIGN UP DAY! BE SURE TO VISIT THEM ALL AND PICK OUT YOUR FAVORITES!"
Usagi excitedly ran over to the bulletin board with Ami in tow. She gazed over the numerous Club Posters that were pinned to the board, some of which looked exciting, like Dancing and Video Games, while other just looked boring, like Art and Literature.
"Ooooh… it's so hard to choose!" Usagi whined. "Which one are you gonna sign up for, Ami?"
"I'm already in Swimming Club. I signed up last year," Ami smiled.
Usagi raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't that before knew your element was water?"
"Um… coincidence?" the blue-haired girl, shrugging.
The blonde girl turned back to the club posters, considering each one carefully before one in particular caught her eye. "Hey! Maybe I could run for Class President!"
"As if!" Usagi turned around to see Naru, standing next to Mamoru, glaring at her. "My Mamoru's already running for President, so don't you even think about getting in his way!"
"It's… really not that big of a deal, Naru. She can run if she wants," Mamoru said calmly, trying to console his girlfriend.
"Ha! See Naru? He's already admitting defeat!" Usagi sneered.
"Nice try, Usagi, but you'll never be able to compete with this guy! He is a superhero after al-" Naru was cut off by Mamoru covering her mouth hand giving her a nervous look. Naru gave him a sad, apologetic glance, and he quickly released her.
Usagi just stared them. "I don't know what that was all about, but it's getting on my nerves! Now if you'll excuse me, I have clubs to sign up for!"
Naru stuck out her tongue at Usagi, and the blonde returned the childish gesture before the two went their separate ways.
"Sooo… clubs?" Ami asked, trying to get back on track.
"Oh yeah! Now, let's see…" She ran her eyes across the bulletin board once more, then pressed her finger against one of the posters. "That one!"
Ami looked confused. "Martial Arts Club?"
"Heck yeah!" Usagi beamed. "I bet I can learn all those kicks, chops, and punches in just a few days!"
"Don't you remember what Rei said? Martial arts are all about self-defense, not beating people up!" Ami chastised. "Wait, this isn't about competing with her, is it?"
"What? No, of course not!" Usagi defended. "Well… maybe, now that you mention it… but I have a plan here! I'm going to find the toughest guy there, challenge him, and then get my butt kicked!"
Ami just gave her a blank stare. "What?"
"Yeah! Then I'll cry for sure and I can heal my cut!" Usagi beamed.
"So, let me get this straight… you're going to try out clubs all day just to make yourself cry?" the blue-haired girl asked, sounding both concerned and disappointed.
Usagi flashed a V-sign over her eyes. "You got it!"
It was a hot afternoon at Nagai Stadium in Osaka. Thousands of people had gathered to watch some of Japan's fastest track and field runners compete in the hundred-meter dash. The runners were stretching and warming up at the starting line, preparing for the action to start in mere moments.
Off in a dark corner of the stadium, four glowing red eyes watched the runners carefully, waiting for them to begin. Gastro the snail monster knew full well how slow he was without any human energy, but once he stole a good enough amount of it, he became and entirely different monster…
The crowd watched anxiously as the runners got down into position, preparing to spring off the starting blocks. They all glanced at each other one last time, letting one another know that the game was on, then focused back on the track as the referee raised the starting pistol to the sky.
BANG!
Once the blank shot had been fired, all eight runners pushed off the ground with all of their might and took off down the racing track. The crowd immediately went wild, cheering for their favorite athlete to make it to the finish line first.
Gastro just laughed. "Such sweet speed is wasted on these human scum…" He aimed a clawed hand at the runners and concentrated on their energy within.
The runners' bodies began to glow, but it was unnoticeable to the audience with how fast they were going. One by one, they began to slow down, going from an unbridled mad dash to a sluggish jog and eventually to a stumbling walk, before finally dropping to the ground face-first. The crowd's excitement quickly turned into confusion and panic as medics rushed out to the fallen runners to see what had happened.
Back in the shadows, Gastro guided the flowing energy through the air and into the shell on his back. The spiral pattern on his shell glowed a bright green, and Gastro felt a rush of adrenaline flow through him. Grinning to himself, he took off into the city with an unmeasurable speed, moving so fast that not a single bystander noticed him, except for the faint breeze he left in his wake.
Usagi stood stoutly on a foam mat in the middle of the school's gymnasium, wearing a white karate uniform with a white belt. She was doing her best to keep a confident face, despite the fact that parallel to her was a tall and extremely buff guy who already wore a black belt.
"Um… Mr. Takamoto?" Ami asked the club's moderator. "Is a fight like this really fair? I-Is it even allowed?"
"Miss Tsukino specifically requested that I pair her with a black belt for the tryouts," the man replied. "And… she wouldn't take no for an answer…"
The tall black belt assumed a fighting and glared at Usagi. The tiny blonde girl clumsily tried to mimic the pose, but ended up looking like she stepped out of a bad martial arts movie.
"Fighters ready!" Mr. Takamoto said, raising his arm. "Fight!"
Ami covered her eyes as Usagi charged at the muscular boy in front of her. She flailed her arms around like an angry cat, and screaming like one too.
"HYAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Minutes later, Usagi was sitting on one of the benches, with Mr. Takamoto holding a bag of ice to a black eye she now had. Her black belt opponent looked down at the two, scratching his neck anxiously.
Ami stormed up to the tall boy and got in his face. "Shame on you! You're twice her size! You had no right to hit her that hard!"
"She… kinda asked for it," the black belt stuttered. Ami decided to respond to this by smacking the boy across the face. It didn't hurt much, given Ami's size, but it was more of a blow to the boy's ego than his body.
Mr. Takamoto got between the two. "That's enough, Miss Mizuno. I believe your friend should be taken to the nurse to have her eye looked at."
Ami nodded and walked over to Usagi, taking her hand and helping her to her feet. The normally shy girl shot the black belt boy one last angry glare before heading out of the gym with Usagi.
"Man, I've never seen you get like that before, Ami," Usagi said, still holding the ice bag to her eye.
"Hmph! Serves him right for hitting a girl!" she scoffed. "By the way, did you get those tears to work?"
Usagi's face sunk. "No! I think my eye might have swollen up and blocked the tears."
Ami shook her head. "I don't think that's how that works…"
"Well, whatever! I'm gonna check out more clubs and keep working until I get some tears flowing!" Usagi said confidently, followed by a nervous look. "But… I prefer ones that aren't as scary as martial arts…"
Ami grinned. "You think that was scary? You haven't been on the high dive in my swimming club. Even I don't go on that thing!" She paused when she saw the mischievous look in Usagi's eyes. "Oh no, don't tell me you're going to-"
"Yoo-hoo! Check me out, Amiiii!" Usagi cheered from the top of the twenty-foot tall diving board. She had donned one of the swimsuits and was now getting ready to jump into the school's swimming pool.
Ami watched from below, waiting anxiously for what she was sure was a disaster waiting to happen.
"The hell is she doing up there?" Makoto asked, walking up from behind Ami.
"Oh, hey Makoto! Usagi's just… doing something really unintelligent," she giggled.
"What else is new?" Makoto said with a laugh. "Well, I gotta say, I never thought she'd do the high dive, especially after you told me how scary it was."
Ami blushed. "That's the thing. She's trying to cry so she can use her healing tears again, and she thinks diving off of there will scare her enough to cry."
Makoto smiled. "Oh boy… this is gonna be good…"
Meanwhile, Usagi crouched on the edge of the diving board, looking over the edge. It hadn't looked that high initially, but now that she was actually up there, the pool seemed like it was miles away. Despite the immense fear running through her body, she stood up and got ready.
"You can do this! For the power of healing tears!" The blonde girl began jumping up and down on the edge of the diving board. "One… two… THREE!"
Usagi gracefully flew down towards the water's surface, her arms and legs spread wide. Just as the water was centimeters from her face, she heard a loud SMACK! And then everything went black.
The blonde woke up with her lungs feeling like they weighed a ton. She quickly sat up and began coughing, spitting out a seemingly endless amount of water that shot up from her lungs. Makoto patted her back, while Ami held onto her hand.
"Well, that certainly was something," Ami said, giggling a little. "Now you see why I never do the high dive."
"What… what happened?" Usagi asked, coughing up more water.
"As soon as you hit the water, you lost consciousness and sunk to the bottom of the pool," Ami informed, not taking note of the blonde's wide-eyed expression. "Thankfully, Makoto here was happy to dive in and save you before you drowned."
Usagi looked over and saw Makoto sitting next to her in a thoroughly soaked school uniform. "You're welcome. I mean, don't get me wrong. It was hilarious for about five seconds, and then really, really scary for about a minute," the brunette chuckled. "Anyway, ya feel like crying yet?"
Usagi blinked, ask if still trying to recover her vision. "Ah… honestly, I think being underwater must have washed away all the tears." She looked down at her body, which was still bright red and stinging from her little belly flop. "Speaking of which… OOOOWWWW!"
Makoto suddenly got an idea. "Hey, Usagi… what do you say you some check out my Cooking Club?"
"Cooking Club?" Usagi and Ami said in sync.
"Yeah, think about it! All you gotta do is make something spicy and you'll be shedding tears in no time!" the brunette encouraged.
Usagi jumped to her feet, ignoring the stinging pain that still covered her body. "That's a great idea, Mako! Let's go!" She took off to the locker room to change.
Ami looked at Makoto disapprovingly. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
Makoto gave the blue-haired girl a mischievous grin. "C'mon, Big Blue! It'll be hilarious!"
Ami tightened her lips, trying not to shout at Makoto for calling her that demeaning nickname again.
Usagi stood over a large double boiler on a stove. She had a pink apron tied to her body and was whisking something with a spatula. Makoto stood next to her, also garbed in an apron (and a rather frilly one at that, much to Ami's delight).
"What're you smiling at, Big Blue?" Makoto asked, having caught Ami's eye.
The shy girl turned bright red and looked down. "N-Nothing! Nothing at all! I just… I thought you looked really good in that apron…"
Makoto grinned. "Damn right I do! Who says a badass like me can't look pretty from time to time?" She was about to say something to Usagi, but when she saw what she was cooking, the brunette froze.
Usagi was throwing pretty much anything spicy she could find into the pot: hot sauce, hoisin sauce, jalapeño peppers, kimchi, and even tartar sauce. She mixed everything together with the spatula, left it on the stove flame for far too long, and finally yanked it off the burner.
"TA-DAAA! I call it Usagi's Spicy Surprise!" she announced.
Makoto squinted at the sizzling dish. "Is that even edible?"
"Of course it's edible! Edible and spicy to the core, just like you said, Mako!" Usagi beamed.
"Well… I don't want you to kill yourself or anything," Makoto muttered, sounding legitimately concerned.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic! As long as I can get it into my tummy, I'll be just fine!" With that, she grabbed a fork from the drawer and prepared to devour the fiery course.
"W-Wait! You should let it cool down first!" Makoto warned.
"Don't do something you'll regret, Usagi!" Ami joined in.
Ignoring the two, Usagi dug her fork into the stew and practically inhaled everything in the pot. She was like a piranha with how furiously she ate. Within minutes, the pot was empty, and Usagi stood there with a smile, her lips covered in sauce. One second… two seconds… three seconds…
BLEEEAAAUUGGGHHH!
Usagi now squatted over a toilet, barfing up practically everything she just ate. Makoto and Ami stood outside the stall, cringing at every stomach-churning noise the poor girl made. All they could do was wait for it to be over. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Usagi came out, holding onto her stomach and panting as if she just finished climbing a mountain.
"Sooo… how're ya feeling?" Makoto asked casually.
"My stomach feels like it's being ripped apart, my throat is sore, and my mouth is on fire… but still no tears! How does that even work?!" Usagi cried.
"Maybe you're just tougher than you think you are," Makoto said, patting Usagi on the head.
The blonde managed a weak smile. "T-Thanks… Mako."
"Are you finally going to give up?" Ami asked insistently. "What you're doing can't be good for your health."
Usagi gritted her teeth. "Not yet… there's still one more thing I need to try…"
"Oh, for crying out loud! Give it a rest, blondie!" Makoto scolded. "At this rate you really will kill yourself!"
"Trust me, this last thing will get me crying for sure," the bun-headed girl said. "It's something I do every day, but it never ceases to bring tears to my eyes…"
"Something you do every day?" Ami asked.
"Sprinting Club!" Usagi squealed, pumping her fist to the air.
The three girls were now outside, with Usagi dressed in a tank top and short shorts. Ami and Makoto watched from behind the fence that surrounded the track.
"I forgot she practically does a mad dash to school every day," Makoto said, leaning on her elbows against the fence.
"I guess that's why she's always crying when she runs into class in the morning," Ami agreed, resting her head on both of her hands.
Usagi joined the other members of the Sprinting Club on the race track, stretching her legs like a gymnast. "Now, all I gotta do is run this one mile, and it's hello healing tears!"
"What're you talking about?" a boy standing next to her asked.
Usagi held up her hands defensively. "Oh, nothing! I was just talking to myself! Hahahaha!"
"Psh, what a weirdo…" the boy sneered before going back to his warm-ups.
"Runners ready!" the coach announced from the sidelines. The rest of the runners got down on their hands and knees, while Usagi stumbled to mimic the same position. "GO!"
The runners lunged forward and began their race down the track, each determined to get the best time. However, what none of them were expecting was to see a petite blonde girl with twin buns and pigtails surpass all of them in a matter of seconds.
"Whoa, look at her go!" Makoto said.
Ami was transfixed. "I don't believe it…"
Usagi hadn't even been running for a minute, and she was already sweating like a pig under the blazing hot sun. Nonetheless, she was at the front of the group, running nearly ten feet ahead of the next runner behind her. The others were completely stunned, and at the same time angered, by the fact that this newcomer was beating them on her first race.
"Wow, this is amazing! I'm actually in the front! I guess being late to school at the time has done something for me!" Usagi said to herself. She then shook her head and switched up her mindset. "No, no time for excitement! I have to make myself cry!" She began pushing herself ever harder, running even faster than before.
Lurking behind a nearby set of bleachers was an all-to-familiar slimy monster with a snail shell. Gastro had been speeding on by, but stopped when he sensed another source of speed energy. He made his way to the school and was overjoyed to see a group of students in the middle of a race.
"Mmm… tasty, tasty speed," Gastro hissed. His attention became set on one particular runner: a small girl who was at the front of the group, and was quickly gaining distance from the other runners. "You could be an entire main course, my dear!"
Usagi felt the adrenaline flow through her body as she kept running forward. Still no tears, but at this point she had all but forgotten about that in favor of making it to the finish line. The thrill of the race had gotten to her head. However, as she approached the finish line, she felt her strength begin to fade and her body begin to slow down. Was the running finally catching up to her? Was she really tiring out that fast? She looked down at her body and noticed that it was glowing. Her mind immediately went a million different places, as she recognized this draining feeling from when she had her energy sucked out by an evil manga.
The rest of the runners suddenly ran past Usagi, laughing and mocking her as they went. "Where's your stamina, weirdo?" the boy from before laughed. Of course, they were all quickly silenced when their bodies began glowing and their energy began fading. They all dropped to the grounds gasping for breath.
"What's wrong, everyone?" the coach said as he ran over to check on his athletes. It was no time at all before his energy was being drained as well.
"Ami, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Makoto said, now on high alert.
"Yeah, but where is it?" she asked. Her eyes scanned all around the track, before they finally caught the ominous shape of a mangled monster body. "There!"
"Aight, let's transform and kick his ass before he gets away!" the brunette said, dashing under the bleachers with Ami close behind.
"JUPITER POWER! MAKE UP!"
"MERCURY POWER! MAKE UP!
Now transformed, Makoto brought her communicator up to her mouth and contacted Rei. "Listen Bruce Lee, transform and get your ass over here now! We got a monster on the loose at our school!"
Gastro laughed maniacally as he slithered out onto the race track, absorbing the last of the runners' speed energy. He now felt as if he could run to the edge of the universe and back in less than a millisecond. "Our Great Ruler will be so pleased when I bring back all this energy! Perhaps she will finally grant me a permanent source of speed…"
POW!
Gastro was thrown off balance by a set of knuckles being smashed into his jaw. He stumbled back, wiping the greenish blood from his lips, and looked back to see a pair of girls in sailor uniforms, the taller of the two having her glove soaked in his blood.
"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!"
"I am the pretty soldier who fights for love and for wisdom! I am Sailor Mercury! In the name of Mercury, YOU SHALL REPENT!"
Gastro just chuckled. "Normally, I wouldn't waste my time on human scum like you, but you've damaged my face, and no inferior creature, especially not a human, gets away with harming me!"
Jupiter scoffed. "There's two of us and one of you! There's no way you could possibly-"
ZIP! BAM! POW! WHAM! CRACK!
Gastro put on a terrifying demonstration of his newfound speed by running circles around the two soldiers and hurling his fists at them, landing a number of blows in the span of five seconds. Jupiter and Mercury dropped to their knees, taken off guard by the instantaneous attack.
"And that was just a… how do the runners put it? A warm-up!" Gastro laughed.
"Dammit… he's fast!" Jupiter grunted. "I couldn't even see him!"
"This should slow him down!" Mercury said, forming a pair of water spirals in her hands.
"MERCURY AQUA MIST!"
The Soldier of Wisdom unleashed her mist at the snail monster, enveloping him in a freezing cold cloud of vapor. Jupiter got ready to use one of her own attacks, but the two were stunned by what happened next. The mist began to swirl around and around. They saw that Gastro was running in a big circle, turning Mercury's cloud of mist into a tornado. The monster suddenly sped past Mercury and Jupiter, and the breeze he left behind guided the mist tornado towards the two. Thankfully, they managed to jump out of the way and the mist tornado dispersed.
"You may be fast, but I doubt you're faster than electricity!" Jupiter shouted.
"SUPREME THUNDER!"
The lightning bolts streaked forward, nearly connected with Gastro. Unfortunately, the monster disappeared into another burst of speed, and the lightning struck the ground, leaving a black spot.
"Crap! He's faster than electricity!" Jupiter cried angrily, before she was struck by Gastro once again. The tall girl flew across the pavement and landed hard, and Mercury ran to her side.
"Jupiter! Are you okay?" Mercury asked.
Jupiter stood up and brushed off her shoulder. "I've had worse and you know it!" She looked back toward the slimy snail beast. "Now, how do we slow this guy down?"
"The way I see it, we can't," the blue-haired soldier said with dismay. She then tapped her earring and materialized her visor. "However, maybe we can find a way to keep up with him…"
Gastro cracked his neck. "Brace yourselves… here I come again!" He took off into another burst of speed too quick for the naked eye.
Mercury's visor did its best to track Gastro's movement. The girl was overwhelmed by how fast the arrow on the screen was moving. One second he was to their right, the next second he was to their left. Then all of a sudden, he was in front of them.
"Dodge!" Mercury shouted. She and Jupiter leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding Gastro's sharp claws as he zoomed past them.
Mercury landed nimbly on her feet, but as soon as she did, another arrow appeared on her visor, indicating Gastro was behind her. She stepped to the side, feeling a gust of wind as the monster's claws nearly cut into her face. She looked over to Jupiter, seeing that Gastro was heading for her next.
"Jupiter! Jump!" the Soldier of Water cried out. Thankfully, Jupiter heard it, and she jumped as high as she possibly could. She could see a brief flash of green as the snail monster dashed below her.
"Filthy humans!" Gastro screeched. "Fine! If you won't stand still, I'll make you!" He cupped his clawed hand, and in it formed a disgusting ball of slime. He hurled the ball at Sailor Mercury's feet, the slime enveloping her legs and gluing her to the ground.
Mercury was shocked by the sudden new attack and tried to pull herself free from the nasty substance, but it was no use. It was like being stuck in quicksand.
"Hang on, Big Blue!" Jupiter shouted, running over to her trapped friend. She grabbed hold of her legs and tried to pull them out of the sludge. Sadly, it seemed even the brunette's strength was no match for the sticky slime. Of course, unbeknownst to her, Mercury was busy blushing up a storm from having Jupiter grab her legs so tightly.
"No you don't!" Gastro roared, throwing another slime ball at Jupiter. Soon enough, the Soldier of Thunder was stuck as well. "Now you're both mine!" With that, Gastro took off once again, running around the trapped Sailor Soldiers and striking them over and over again.
SMACK! POW! BLAM! THWACK!
After about a minute of a brutal beatdown, Gastro finally relented, and watched with a grin as the two soldiers collapsed to the ground, covered in bruises and scratches.
"And now to finish you off…" Gastro sneered, forming two more slime balls in either hand. "Let's see if you can breathe through my slime!" He reared back his arms, preparing to stick the slime balls over the soldiers' faces and suffocate them…
"FIRE SOUL!"
Gastro felt a searing pain in his side as a fireball smacked into him, burning his slippery skin and causing him to drop the slime balls. He grit his razor sharp teeth in pain and rage, narrowing his eyes at the new arrival.
"Anyone who tries to kill my friends will get burned!" Sailor Mars announced, forming another fireball in her hand.
"Ah… Sailor Mars. I've heard of you. Word has it you went toe-to-toe with Master Kunzite's little brother…" Gastro chuckled, causing Mars to snarl at the beast. "You may be a Sailor Soldier, but underneath all that fire you're still just a human!"
Gastro hurled another slime ball at Sailor Mars, sticking it to both of her hands, forming what could only be described as a pair of slime handcuffs. The snail monster took this opportunity to make a dash for the Soldier of Passion, long claws bared, preparing to gut her with one swoop. However, Mars managed to use her fire powers to melt the slime off her hands and form another fireball.
"FIRE SOUL!"
Unable to see Gastro, she threw the fireball at the ground in front of her, creating a wall of flames. She watched Gastro come to a sudden screeching halt just inches from the fire. Mars grinned and leapt right through the flames, planting her high-heeled foot into Gastro's face, knocking the monster backwards. However, upon landing the kick, she felt a sharp pain shoot up her leg and twinge her knee. She realized in horror that this must be left over from the brutal injuries she received in her battle with Jadeite.
Seeing that the Soldier of Fire was off balance, Gastro summoned another slime ball and threw it at her. In no time at all, the raven-haired girl was glued to the ground, unable to free herself.
"When will you humans learn that you are unworthy to touch a superior creature like me?!" Gastro roared. He charged Sailor Mars at full speed, immediately going to town and smashing his fists into her with a speed so great his arms appeared invisible.
Usagi slowly recovered from having her energy drained and struggled to her hands and knees. She had a splitting headache, and all her limbs felt like noodles, but she could tell right away that something else was wrong. As she looked around, her vision returning to normal, she noticed Mercury and Jupiter lying on the ground, barely conscious.
"Guys… what h-happened?" She then heard what sounded like agonized cries of pain, and her eyes locked onto Gastro laying a monstrous beatdown on Sailor Mars. "REI!" she cried. She began having flashbacks to the day before when she found Mars dead after her battle with Jadeite, and now here she was again, having her life stripped away in the most brutal way she'd ever seen.
"You monster! GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Gastro heard the sudden rage-filled scream and saw the blonde whose energy he'd stolen getting back on her feet. "But how? I took your energy! You shouldn't be able to move!"
"MOON PRISM POWER! MAKE UP!"
Gastro covered his eyes to protect himself from the dangerously bright light that radiated off the girl's body. Once it faded, the snail monster was shocked to see that she had transformed into a Sailor Soldier.
"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!"
"So you're a Sailor Soldier too… no wonder you were able to get back up!" Gastro snorted. He proceeded to toss Sailor Mars to the ground as if she were trash and faced Sailor Moon. "Regardless, you're just another worthless human! I'll kill you and then finish off your friends!"
"Like heck you will!" Moon screamed, furious with the way he treated Mars.
"MOON TWILIGHT FLASH!"
Sailor Moon grasped the crown stud of her tiara and aimed the gems at Gastro, intending to incinerate him with the light of the Moon. Of course, when nothing happened, she came to the slow realization that the Moon wasn't out yet, and therefore she couldn't use this attack.
"Is she being serious?" Mercury asked.
"You think maybe that monster stealing her speed made her brain slower too?" Jupiter suggested.
"Can her brain even get any slower?" Mars added.
Moon felt the sting of every one of their comments. "Guys! I'm doing my best here!" She was going to say more, but froze, quite literally, when she felt something warm and wet stick to her feet. She looked down and saw that she was now also trapped by Gastro's slime.
"Looks like your best isn't good enough!" Gastro taunted. He got ready to speed over to her and finish the job, but paused when Sailor Moon took off her tiara.
"I'm not defenseless just yet!" she yelled confidently.
"MOON TIARA BOOMERANG!"
Sailor Moon threw her tiara with all the strength she had in her slender arms, and at first, it looked like she was right on the mark. That is, until she realized that the tiara was moving at about two miles per hour.
Gastro stood there and laughed his head off, watching the tiara approach him at, quite ironically, a snail's pace. "I guess my speed stealing ability has more effects that I realized!" he cackled. "I must admit, this is quite amusing, Sailor Moon. I'll tell you what: since you aren't going anywhere, I'll just stand here and wait for the tiara to get close. And when it's just inches from me, I'll step out of the way at my own leisurely pace!"
Sailor Moon tensed, knowing that Gastro was just mocking her at this point. She wished that she could just give the tiara a push and make it go faster, but she knew that wouldn't be happening. She had to think of something fast, because once Gastro got around her tiara, it would be all over for her and her friends.
"Ack!" Gastro grunted, feeling something grab him by the neck from behind.
Sailor Moon's eyes went wide with joy when she saw that Tuxedo Mask had appeared, and now had Gastro in a choke hold keeping him in line with the tiara.
"Tuxedo Mask!" the bun-headed girl cried.
"Don't worry, Sailor Moon! I'll hold him here until your tiara gets him!" Tuxedo Mask shouted.
"You… bastard!" Gastro snarled. "How do you expect to hold me and avoid that attack at the same time?!"
The man just chuckled. "I don't. I'm just gonna keep you here!"
All four of Gastro's eyes went wide. "You… you've lost your mind! Are all humans this stupid?!"
"Tuxedo Mask! You have to move now!" Moon screamed.
"Not happening! This is the best shot we have!" Tuxedo Mask shot back.
Gastro squirmed recklessly in the man's grasp, but ultimately was unable to get free. He suddenly realized how his prey must have felt when he trapped them in his slime leaving them unable to escape his wrath. The snail monster let out a final scream of panic as the tiara moved in and sliced into his neck, slowly and painfully decapitating him, but at the same time cutting nearly halfway through Tuxedo Mask's arm. The man cried out in pain and released Gastro, but by now the tiara had already done its work. Gastro's head and body fell to the ground and disintegrated into dust, allowing the energy he had stolen to escape and return to the bodies of the runners and the coach.
Sailor Moon knelt next to Tuxedo Mask, who was still clutching his bleeding arm. The cut from the tiara was so deep that the arm was practically only hanging on by a few sinews. The blonde soldier held his hand tightly and tried to help him stop the bleeding with her other. Both of their white gloves were now stained with blood.
"You don't have to keep doing this…" Moon whispered.
Tuxedo Mask gave a half-hearted smile. "Of course I do. It's my duty to help you all defeat the Dark Kingdom."
"No! I don't want you to keep putting yourself in danger like this!" she cried, her eyes starting to shimmer. "I-I don't like seeing you get hurt. What if… what if one day you…"
"Sailor Moon…" the dark-haired man said softly. "I didn't know you cared about me so much."
A single tear streaked down Moon's face. "You dummy… how could you not notice?"
The tear fell from Sailor Moon's cheek and onto Tuxedo Mask's arm, directly onto the deep cut. As the tear splashed and shimmered away, there was another bright glow, just like the one from when Rei was healed by Usagi. In no time at all, Tuxedo Mask's arm was back to normal. The man lifted up his arm and examined it, turning his wrist and flexing his fingers, almost as if in disbelief.
"Thank you, Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask said. "You're starting to become my hero."
"Stop it! You'll always be my hero and mine alone!" Moon pouted. However, her expression softened when Tuxedo Mask cupped her cheek in his hand and smiled at her.
"I'll see you soon, Bun-Head," the tuxedo-clad man said before slipping away from the young girl and dashing out of view.
Sailor Moon reached up and touched her cheek, feeling it was still warm from her blushing. "Bun-Head… what was that about?" Normally, she would have taken offense to that stupid nickname, so why did she feel so fuzzy when Tuxedo Mask said it? More importantly, why did his voice sound so familiar when he said it?
"Well, I think we know what causes those healing tears of yours now," Makoto said.
"And what might that be?" Ami asked.
"C'mon, Big Blue. You haven't even figured it out?" The brunette looked around at the others one more time, then sighed. "It's love!"
"L-L-Love?!" Usagi stammered. "N-No way! I'm not in with love him! No way!"
"Maybe it doesn't have to be romantic love?" Ami suggested. "After all, you were able to heal Rei, weren't you?"
"As if! I've seen that look she gave Tux before. She's madly in love with that hunk!" Makoto said, puffing out her chest.
Rei nudged the taller girl and grinned at her. "You've seen that look before, eh?"
Makoto's face went red. "What? That's not what I meant! I've… I've never once been in love with anyone! I swear!" She looked around again, seeing the suspicious and doubting looks everyone was giving her. "Screw you guys! I'm going back to my Cooking Club!" she shouted before storming off.
Usagi lowered her head and gave a small smile. "Love huh? That doesn't sound so bad, I guess…"
"So, Bun-Head… got any tears left over for us?" Rei asked, gesturing to her bruised and beaten body.
"Eheh… well, funny story about that…" Usagi said, a bead of sweat forming on her head.
Rei bared her teeth like a wild animal. "Alright then… I'll just have to get some more tears out of you!" she said, cracking her knuckles.
"Rei!" Usagi cried, jumping to her feet and running away from the raven-haired girl. "Makoto just said I need to feel love for the tears to work!"
Rei chased after the blonde girl. "What do you say we put that to the test, then?!"
Ami sighed, smiling as she watched the two horse around. "Somehow, feel like it's never going to get old."
Mamoru, still dressed as Tuxedo Mask, hid behind the track's bleachers, trying his best to stay out of sight. He had regained control of his body, but now he had to find a way to get out of there before anyone saw him. Just as it look like the coast was clear, he turned around and…
"AUGH!" he shouted, but the sighed with relief. "Geez Naru, you scared me. Don't sneak up on me like that."
Naru said nothing, but stood there with her arms crossed and an angry look on her face.
Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "What's with the face?"
"Oh, I think you know," Naru hissed, narrowing her eyes even more.
The dark-haired boy got nervous. His girlfriend had never been mad at him before, at least not seriously like this. "I… don't know…"
Naru stepped up to him, arms still crossed. "Don't think I didn't see how close you were getting to Sailor Moon out there!"
"Wait, what?!" Mamoru asked, stunned. "I wasn't close to her! I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Don't play innocent! You were this close to giving her a big fat kiss!" Naru spat.
"B-But…" Mamrou stuttered, trying to choose his words carefully. "That was Tuxedo Mask doing all of that, not me!"
Naru turned her back on him, huffing like an angry child. "So that's the new excuse, huh? Well don't expect any smooches from me for awhile now!"
Mamoru took off his top hat and squeeze it tightly. "You… you hate me now, don't you?"
Naru kept her back to him for another moment, before whirling around and leaping into his arms. "Of course not, goofy! I was just joking! I know you'd never kiss another girl!"
Mamoru finally released his breath. "For real? You trust me?"
Naru looked up at him with starry eyes and rosy-red cheeks. "I trust you with all my heart, and I mean that!" To prove her point, the redhead stood on her toes and kissed her tall boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his neck. Mamoru gladly returned the kiss, relieved to see his girlfriend back to her cheerful self. After a moment of embrace, the two released each other. "Now, let's get you out of here and out of that outfit. It must be like, a million degrees in that thing on a day like this!"
Mamoru smiled and took her hand. Making sure the coast was clear one more time, the two headed off to the school locker room, thankfully with nobody catching a glimpse of them along the way.
~A Suivre~