Whooo! Been a while!
sorry bout that folks, family obligations been getting in the way, plus I'm on the opposite side of the planet right now, trying to avoid being spray painted by reveling Emiraties, what with it being national day and all.
But you don't want to hear about me, you want fiction, well here it is.
Shattered Glass.
"This is…!" Kaolinite exclaimed, her eyes widening as she recognized the strange, heart-shaped pendant that had adorned the uniform of Sailor Moon whenever the pig-tailed Senshi had made an appearance "It can't be…" she muttered, stooping down to pick up the brooch "could that girl be-!"
A savage snarl filled the air, the redhead looking on in surprise as a little blue and silver wolf lunged at her face, forcing her to back away from the brooch in alarm, the little lupine figure rounding on it, scooping the brooch up in it's jaws before racing off down the street, disappearing round the corner before Kaolinite could even think to snap her fingers.
"What the devil?" the redhead exclaimed, more startled than angry at the sight of the little, almost crystalline creature "Was that…another Daimon?" she wondered, blinking in confusion, her eyes narrowing in suspicion "Are the Witches 5 acting without my instruction?" she pondered features grim "I wouldn't put it past those little trollops to try and steal my thunder…" she smirked "Still, not that it matters, without that pendant, the girl can't become Sailor Moon!"
"Kaolinite-sama!" Cenicienta chirped, the crystalline crony waving at her from an alleyway, pointing up at a pair of shadowy figures that were leaping from rooftop to rooftop "I found them!"
"Follow them!" Kaolinite ordered, tracking the pair with her eyes even as Cenicienta cleared all forty stories of the building in a single leap "Let's see how well you do WITHOUT your powers, Sailor Moon."
With lulu...
"Are you sure this is the direction the signal was coming from?" Lelouch demanded, the teen steering the Side-Bashaar through the streets, Yuichiro riding in the sidecar, Lelouch's phone held in his hands.
"I'm positive!" the Oni Rider declared, peering at the display screen determinedly as they raced down the streets "The signals coming in loud and clear! The Daimon thing's definitely on the move!"
"Must be moving along the rooftops then…" Lelouch deduced, the former emperor's eyes narrowing at the logic "After all, you'd think someone would have noticed and started panicking if it really was moving that freely otherwise."
"True that…" Yuichiro muttered, only to blink, looking down at his Henshin brace as the strings began to strum, the Oni Rider glancing around only for his eyes to widen under his hair "Lelouch-san! Pull over!"
"What?" Lelouch wondered, looking around, only to blink as he caught sight of what had caught Yuichiro's eyes, pulling over at the nearest sidewalk, right next to where a Ruriokami was standing, the little blue wolf waiting for them.
"Wonder what on earth it's doing here?" Yuichiro wondered, reaching down to scoop the little lupine figure into his hand, only to blink as it dropped the red object in it's mouth into his lap, before changing back into a disk "What the? What is this?"
"Trouble…" Lelouch muttered, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Sailor Moon's Henshin Brooch, the former Emperor revving the engine of Side Bashaar as he stared ahead "We need to move now!" he cried, grabbing the phone from Yuichiro "C3!"
"Already on it." the Caucasus Zecter reported over the phone, her tone serious "I'm following Meatball head now, she's with Haruka and Michiru, headed for Tokyo tower."
"Haruka and Michiru?" Lelouch wondered, the former Emperor quirking a brow in honest surprise while Yuichiro held on for dear life "What are THOSE two doing there?"
"If I had to wager a guess, I'd say it's because they're Uranus and Neptune." C3 opined, waiting patiently for Lelouch's reply "You don't seem surprised." She noted, sounding mildly upset.
"Even if i COULDN'T see through whatever glamor protects their identities, I would've figured it out a while back." Lelouch admitted, his tone grim "They always seemed to show up just before something happened, and when one was absent, the corresponding Senshi was missing too."
"Like the night at the recital with Michiru." C3 deduced, her tone approving "Good to see you're staying on the ball." She paused "Head's up, Meatball head just went inside and the tower shut down."
"We'll be there in a minute." Lelouch assured her, hanging up and pocketing the phone, revving the engine again, tearing down the street, heedless of Yuichiro's cries of alarm.
with the senshi...
"No Good!" Sailor Jupiter grunted, the tall Senshi of Thunder struggling to force the barricades which had come down, sealing off the Tokyo tower.
"Looks like it's sealed up pretty tightly." Artemis noted, the pale Mau looking up at the towering, iconic structure grimly, the Senshi having gathered here after Usagi, still unable to transform, had gone running off on her own.
"Looks like we'll have to bust it open!" Jupiter declared, stepping back and preparing to lash out at the door with her Thunder, only for Mars to hold up a hand, stalling her.
"It won't do any good." The Fire Senshi proclaimed, her tone grim "There's a powerful barrier all over the front of the tower." She glanced to the side "We'd be better off taking the stairs…"
"That seems like the best idea…" Mercury admitted, only to trail off as the sound of a motorbike drew their attention, the Senshi's eyes widening as a familiar looking machine and sidecar pulled up alongside them.
"Hey." Caucasus greeted, the Golden Rider in his Rider Form as he dismounted from the Side-Bashaar along with Yuuki "Thought I recognized those outfits. So this is where the party is."
"How can you joke at a time like THIS?" Mars demanded, looking at the Golden Rider in annoyance, causing Yuuki to flinch "And who the heck's THIS guy?"
"Kamen Rider Yuuki." Caucasus replied, speaking up for the understandably nervous Oni-Rider before he could make a mistake "He's new to the job, so I'm showing him the ropes."
"Pleasure to meet you, Yuuki-san." Mercury greeted, the Senshi of Ice nodding towards the guitar-carrying Rider "Thank you for your assistance the other day."
"Aw it weren't nothing…" Yuuki assured her, rubbing the back of his horned head while bowing towards the Senshi in embarrassment "Just doing my job."
"Quit flirting rookie." Caucasus joked, the Golden Rider chuckling as Mercury's face turned redder than Mars' fuku "You've got a Girl already, haven't you?"
"That-I mean…we aren't like that!" Yuuki exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air, only to flinch, twiddling his fingers nervously under the older Rider's stare "I mean…I haven't even asked her out yet…"
"What are you, Ten?" Mars demanded, looking at the Oni Rider in exasperation, though her features had softened from the scowl she'd worn when the word 'flirt' was mentioned "A woman won't wait around forever you know! If you don't hurry up and ask her, someone else will beat you to it!"
"Caucasus-san?" Mercury wondered, looking over at the Golden Rider in concern as he leant against a wall, shoulders shaking as he covered his faceplate with one hand "Are you alright."
"Oh God…The irony…" Caucasus choked, struggling to keep himself from bursting out laughing at the pair's predicament, only to clear his throat and turn to the group "In any case, I'm assuming since she isn't here with you, that 'Sailor Moon' is trapped inside then?" Caucasus noted, his tone calm, though he stressed the Senshi's title on purpose, though only Mercury, and the two cats, seemed to catch on, their eyes widening in surprise "And that she's trapped in civilian form?"
"Yes…" Mercury nodded, looking concerned as she realized what the Rider's inflection on her leader's title meant "She is, as is Tuxedo-Kamen!"
"We were just about to storm in and rescue her!" Sailor Venus declared, pumping her arm in readiness, a determined expression on her face as she scooped up the Henshin Brooch, holding it above her heat triumphantly "And our plan to protect her identity is FOOLPROOF!"
"Why do I not like the sound of that?" Caucasus wondered, the two Rider's sweatdropping at the sheer confidence that the Senshi of Love was giving off, which was even unnerving her fellow Senshi.
With Usagi...
"Uranus…? Neptune…?" Usagi wondered, peering up at the elder Senshi in surprise as life returned to her body "You guys saved me?"
"I'm glad…" Uranus admitted, the short-haired blonde Senshi's features lined with relief at the pigtailed girl's recovery. The idea that they'd have to take her Heart if she possessed a talisman had been strangely abhorrent to her, the relief she felt when she'd confirmed, with her own hands, that she didn't couldn't be described in words.
"Huh, not that it matters…" Kaolinite called out, the Senshi turning to glare at the redhead, who smirked at Usagi confidently "It doesn't matter if your heart crystal is a Talisman or not…you're not walking out of here alive…SAILOR MOON!"
"What?" Uranus gaped, the elder Senshi turning to stare at the pig-tailed blonde before her in alarm, a matching look of shock on Neptune's face, even as Usagi flinched at her cover being blown, and by an ENEMY no less!
"That girl isn't Sailor Moon!" a voice called out, the group whipping round to see the rest of the Sailor Senshi standing off to the side, a figure at their front, hands crossed beneath her chest, where a familiar heart-shaped brooch shone in the light peering through the windows.
"It can't be!" Kaolinite gasped, looking at the shadowy figure in alarm, and understandable disbelief alongside Cenicienta "You can't be!"
"Stalking after an innocent girl's pure heart, and then mistaking her for ME on top of it?" the shadowy figure called out, her tone accusing "That's a thousand insults worth swallowing a THOUSAND needles for! In the name of the Moon, I will PUNISH YOU!"
'No way…' Usagi stammered, sweatdropping as the light shifted, revealing the face of her impersonator in all her curly, pigtailed glory 'Minako-chan-?'
"Hold on…" Kaolinite muttered, eyeing 'Sailor Moon' with narrowed eyes, taking in her curlier, SHORTER pigtails and general appearance suspiciously "Something seems different…"
"What do you mean?" Sailor Moon demanded, even as the rest of the senshi began to act shiftily, wondering if the gig was up "Can't you tell who I am by looking at me?"
"Then who the hell is THIS girl Cienta?" Cenicienta demanded, pointing at Usagi, who recoiled from the crystalline digit as if it were a loaded gun.
"I have no clue." 'Sailor Moon' countered, shrugging her shoulders dismissively, a mocking smile on her face, aimed at the Daimon, but felt by Usagi "Maybe she's a fan of mine or something?"
"I somehow DOUBT that." Kaolinite countered, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as she glared at the Senshi in suspicion "Where's Sailor Venus?" she asked, smirking as the Senshi jerked, sweating nervously "Oh? Don't tell me she's abandoned her leader to her doom?"
"I did not!" a voice called out from the shadows, the Senshi whipping around to see Sailor Venus standing in her signature pose, though her face was shadowed "How could the Senshi of Love abandon her friend like that!"
'M-Minako-chan?' Usagi stammered, looking between 'Sailor Moon' and Sailor Venus down the corridor, even as the Outer Senshi sighed in relief 'How…Who…?'
"What a farce…" Uranus scoffed, getting to her feet with a snort "Not only can't you tell the talismans from regular crystals, but now you're having trouble telling your enemies apart from civilians."
"DON'T YOU MOCK ME!" Kaolinite snarled, her power causing the glass of the tower to explode, stalling the Senshi in their tracks "This time I'll finish you off for SURE!"
"Huh…" Uranus scoffed, smirking mockingly at the redhead even as she and Neptune dusted themselves off "this won't take long." She promised, the two of them leaping onto the roof of the tower through the hole in the ceiling Kaolinite had caused.
"You won't escape!" Kaolinite snarled, turning to her Daimon minion "Cenicienta! Take care of Sailor Moon and her brats while I deal with those two!"
"Hai-Cienta!" the Daimon agreed, turning to face the Senshi while Kaolinite vanished in a blur of red, er hand morphing into a blade "Now I'll fix you!"
"NOW!" a voice yelled, Cenicienta looking up in surprise as a figure burst out from behind 'Sailor Venus', knocking the Senshi to the floor, revealing her to be nothing more than a cardboard cut out of the popular Sailor V from the gift shop.
"What the Cienta?" the Daimon yelped, backing up in alarm, only to yelp as her assailant bore down on her, raising her weapon to defend herself, only to almost buckle under the sheer force of her enemy's own "Who are you, Cienta?"
"Howling White Thunder!" the figure called out, Usagi's eyes widening as she recognized him as the Rider from the other day "Kamen Rider Yuuki!"
"Never heard of you!" Cenicienta snarled, pushing the rider back, unleashing a storm of crystals from her mouth, only for the Rider to deflect them by spinning his guitar before him, sending the crystals flying right back at her "Ack! Can't see!"
"RIDER BEAT!" a voice declared behind her, Usagi's eyes widening as Caucasus appeared behind the Daimon, his foot already moving towards her head in a Tachyon empowered spin kick, Cenicienta exploding without every seeing what hit her.
As the dust settles...
"Yatta!" 'Sailor Moon' cheered, the blonde Senshi gripping her bicep as she made a fist with her free hand "Way to go, Caucasus-san! Yuuki-san!"
"Aw shucks…" Yuuki chuckled, the Oni Rider rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment at the compliment "I didn't do much…"
"Don't sell yourself short." Mercury countered, looking on in amazement as a Ruriokami prowled around Luna and Artemis, the Mau eyeing the Disk animal warily "If you hadn't recorded Venus' voice, we'd have been sunk!"
"But it was Caucasus' idea to use the Sailor V cut-out." The Oni Rider pointed out, turning to face the other Rider, who was leaning against the wall again "Caucasus-san?"
"I don't know which is worse…" Caucasus muttered, sounding like he was having an aneurysm as he palmed his faceplate in exasperation "The fact I actually went along with this plan, or the fact it actually WORKED."
"Hey! It was a GOOD plan!" 'Sailor Moon' countered, the disguised Venus putting her fists on her hips as she pouted at the Golden Rider "I TOLD you it was foolproof!"
"Yes, but I was under the assumption that Kaolinite was no fool." Caucasus replied wryly, causing the Senshi to sweatdrop at his logic "Whatever respect I had for the woman just went down the toilet. And there wasn't a lot to begin with."
"Ouch…" Usagi grimaced, flinching at the jab as she hugged the freed Tuxedo-Kamen, his prison having dissolved with Cenicienta death. Even SHE couldn't believe that the redhead had fallen for the ruse. Hell, even her DAIMON had seemed suspicious!
An explosion rocked the tower, the Senshi crying out in alarm as they stumbled, Yuuki catching a startled Mars, while Caucasus braced himself against the wall.
"Damn…" the Golden Rider muttered, glancing up at the hole in the observatory roof with a scowl "Looks like those three are getting serious up there." He noted, turning to Usagi, reaching behind his back and pulling out, to her surprise, her Henshin Brooch, tossing it into her lap "Transform and get out of here, Yuuki and I will back up Uranus and Neptune."
"Wait!" Usagi exclaimed, the Senshi and Mau looking at the Rider in alarm at the fact he'd had the Henshin brooch all this time, only for him to vanish with a cry of "CLOCK UP!" taking Yuuki with him.
"GREAT! Now he knows who you are Moon Brain!" Mars declared, the brunette looking both alarmed and angered by the revelation.
"Actually, I think he's known her identity for a while now…" Mercury countered, the Senshi of ice drawing her colleagues' attention to herself "The way he spoke earlier made it clear he knew who Sailor Moon's identity was."
"If he's known who she is for that long…" Jupiter deduced, her eyes widening at a sudden, uncomfortable thought "Then what about the rest of us?"
"It's possible…" Mercury admitted, her tone grim "He has access to fascinating technology, and can move at impossible speeds. I wouldn't be surprised that he knows not only WHO we are, but WHERE we LIVE!"
"This is a grievous breach of security…" Luna muttered, her tone grim "Bad enough Jadeite learned who you were, at least HE didn't live long enough to tell anyone."
"But…Caucasus-san's a good-guy!" Usagi insisted, looking desperately between the group, determined to set them straight "He always helped us out when we needed it!"
"He seems to be pretty close to those Hyenas, Uranus and Neptune." Jupiter pointed out, the Senshi of Thunder still feeling sore about their letting her Heart Crystal be stolen.
"They're not bad guys either!" Usagi insisted, much to her friends' shock "They saved me earlier! Before you guys showed up they restored my Heart Crystal!"
"Really?" Venus wondered, the disguised senshi blinking at her leader and friend, only to thump her chest with a smile "Yosh! Usagi-chan! Transform and let's go help them out!"
"Before that…" Usagi muttered, getting in Venus' face, tears of embarrassment streaming down her cheeks as she patted her fellow blonde on the shoulder "Minako-chan…Please…get rid of that disguise…"
On the tower...
"Dammit…!" Uranus swore, leaping out of the path of Kaolinite's animated hair, the redhead's maniacal cackles filling the night sky around them "She's gonna blow up the tower at this rate!"
"CLOCK OVER!" a familiar voice called out, the Senshi looking up as a pair of figures appeared nearby, the pale one slumping, looking a little motion sick.
"Walk it off." Caucasus ordered, slapping the Oni Rider on the back, before turning his attention to the trio of women before him "Yo, this a private fight or can anyone join?"
"You!" Kaolinite snarled, glaring at the sight of her most hated enemy, and his little sidekick too it seemed "So you've come to die as well eh?"
"Seriously, what is the DEAL with bad guys targeting Tokyo tower?" the Golden Rider demanded, his tone exasperated, as if he WASN'T facing off against a homicidal redhead with killer hair, literally "I mean, is it the height? The sparkling lights? Or some phallic sense of humor?"
"Couldn't tell ya Gold Bug." Uranus scoffed, snorting in wry amusement as she held her shoulder where a glancing blow from Kaolinite had torn through her Senshi armor, magical enhancements and all.
"It certainly is food for thought…" Neptune agreed, the aquamarine Senshi standing off to the side, eyeing their foe warily "The tower's been rebuilt so many times now…"
"STOP IGNORING ME!" Kaolinite yelled, lashing out with her hair, forcing the group to leap aside to avoid getting entangled in her treacherous tresses.
"I've heard of bad hair days but this is ridiculous." Caucasus muttered, landing in a crouch next to Yuuki, who had his guitar at the ready "Seriously, you gotta spend a fortune just dealing with spilt ends."
"Always with the jokes…" Kaolinite growled, glaring at the Rider in annoyance, only to smirk as she held up a glass slipper, like the one Cenicienta had been formed from, as well as a small phial of pink liquid "Let's see how funny you find THIS."
Caucasus frowned, the Rider eyeing the redhead as she cracked the phial, pouring its contents into the shoe along with Yuuki and the Outers.
"This is a personal experiment of mine." Kaolinite admitted "By combining the Growth Fluid of a Daimon with an item used to CREATE the Daimon…" she smirked as the shoe morphed into a rapier "I gain all the abilities of that Daimon!" she declared, lashing out with the blade, creating a hail of diamonds "In this case: Cenicienta!"
"Caucasus-san!" Yuuki yelled, stepping in front of the Golden Rider, gripping his Guitar before him in both hands "HAAA!" the Oni Rider yelled, strumming his guitar-strings sharply, creating a wall of sound that deflected the oncoming hail.
"Nice." Caucasus applauded, patting the Oni Rider on the shoulder before turning to face Kaolinite head on, the redhead gaping at the Oni Rider in shock "That trick didn't do your Dime-store Daimon any good, did you HONESTLY believe a cheap knock-off would fare any better?"
"D-Dime-store Daimon?" Kaolinite sputtered, gaping at the Rider in alarm, even as anger boiled within her like acid, the redhead wanting to rip the Rider limb from limb, not at his insulting of her experiments, though that rankled quite a bit, but for his belittling of one of her beloved's prize creations "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Been there, done that, didn't even GET a shirt." Caucasus countered, his tone seemingly bored as he watched Kaolinite advance, her replicated weapon in hand, before slapping the side of his waist, time slowing around him with a cry of "CLOCK UP!" the Rider stepping forward as time seemed to slow around him, getting right in Kaolinite's unknowing face, still set in a mask of anger as she moved like a snail through molasses.
'Wish the helmet came with a retractable visor…' the Rider muttered, sighing whimsically at the memory of his Zero helmet 'I'd have loved getting some more info out of her…' he shrugged offhandedly as he gripped his Zecter 'Oh well…guess that means I'm taking you alive. Aren't YOU lucky?'
"RIDER BEAT!" the Zecter declared, Tachyon energy surging through the Rider's armor, centering in his helmet, his eyes glowing blue as he lashed out with a snap kick, just as his belt called out "CLOCK OVER!" Kaolinite's cry of rage instantly replaced with a choke of agony as she doubled over from the force of the blow, the Redhead sent flying backwards as time resumed, sprawling on her side on the walkway ten feet away.
"Huh, still awake?" Caucasus noted, looking the redhead over as she choked up vomit and blood all over the walkway "Looks like my hunch was right, you DID have a barrier up." He sighed offhandedly "How convenient…for me that is."
"You bastard…" Kaolinite snarled, glaring up at the Rider in distaste, her teeth red with her own blood as she gripped her abused stomach "You think…you've won?"
"Give up." Caucasus ordered, his tone cold "You're outnumbered four to one…" He paused at the sound of approaching footsteps "TEN to one, and you're in no state to keep fighting." He stepped forwards as the Senshi arrived "Plus you aren't fighting anyone with those wounds. Make it easy on yourself and we'll get you medical attention."
"I need no help from you!" Kaolinite countered, snarling at the Rider, gripping her sword in her free hand as she staggered to her feet "I will not…" she grit out, raising the weapon over her head "be pitied…" she slashed down with her blade "by my enemies!"
"Dammit…" Caucasus muttered, reading himself to clock up again to avoid the hail of crystals, only to stumble as Uranus' 'World Shaking' shot past him, the sphere of energy sending the shards right back at the stunned Kaolinite, encasing the redhead in a prison of crystal, the redhead managing one last, desperate plea of 'Professor!', before the crystalline ice formed over her, the Sailor Senshi and Riders unable to do anything but look on in shock as several I-beams, loosened from the explosion and the numerous magical attacks, fell on top of her, the entire section of walkway collapsing into the dark depths below with a sound of shattering glass.
And everyone's favourite redhead takes a bow, ending the Kaolinite arc.
Next up: The Witches arc!
And boy is mimette going to suffer.