Chapter 25-The Princesses
One day, while Uranus, Pluto and I were out patrolling, the Sailor Starlights showed up to talk to us. Lately, Hotaru had been spending a lot of time staying over at Usagi's and playing with Chibi Chibi. We were glad the princess was occupied and she wasn't here for this.
Seiya, the leader of the group, cut to the chase quickly. "We have our mission here on Earth. If you guys ever get in our way again, we wouldn't hesitate to fight you."
"We don't care what your mission is. If it affects the safety of Earth and our princess, then we will go against Sailor Moon's wishes and eliminate you." Sailor Pluto said and raised her Garnet Orb to make her point.
"Well, for Sailor Moon's sake, let's hope we don't kill each other then." The threat hung in the air as they turned and left.
Once we were back home, Setsuna made a decision. She would leave Earth for a while and she would go check out the time gate. "I have an uneasy feeling. I could feel the timeline changing. I need to go check on Small Lady also."
"Who is Small Lady?" Haruka asked.
Blood drained from Setsuna's face when she heard Haruka. "I will be right back! While I am gone, keep an eye out on the new girl that just arrived. Something is wrong. Something is terribly wrong!" With that, Setsuna teleported herself out, right in the middle of our kitchen. "Thanks, Setsuna," said Haruka annoyingly as she noticed the crack on the kitchen floor.
I slumped down on the couch and cuddled up to Haruka. Once again, the house was empty and quiet except the two of us. I put my head on her chest and listened to her heartbeat. "Huh, so what is my heart saying?" Haruka asked. "It is telling us to stay strong. But…." I trailed off, conflicted with my own thoughts.
Haruka grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes. "If I have to give up my soul in order to save Sailor Moon and the world, I would."
"What about me and Hotaru?"I said teasingly. I knew that if things got bad, chances were we would all be in grave danger. However, as Sailor Senshi, we had to make all the hard decisions. If we had to sacrifice our family in order to save the world, we would. Hotaru would understand.
"Have you not learn anything from the Talisman ordeal?" Usagi's voice popped in my head. I imaged she would say exactly that if she heard my thoughts just now. Yes, we did learn. We learned that sacrificing innocent lives wasn't always the only way. But sometimes, it might be.
The next day, Usagi called us. She sounded like her normal self again and was happily telling us about their school festival. "Our class is organizing a coffee shop, and all the money we earn will go toward the charity of our choosing. You guys should come! Mako-chan is making her famous cake."
We were about to say "yes" when Usagi added, "I have also invited Seiya….."
Sensing our reluctance, she begged us not to worry. "Seiya doesn't know who I am, or who you guys are. Even though we knew her true identity. Look, I am Usagi tomorrow. I am not Sailor Moon. Usagi wants to be friends with Seiya. Usagi isn't the princess. Usagi is just a normal high school girl that wants to share her cake with her new best friend, okay?"
We agreed to go. It would be easier to protect her if we were there too. "And guys, be nice to Seiya," Usagi said before she hung up.
So we went to Usagi's festival the next day. Hotaru wanted to come but we told her to stay home. Lately, we had been excluding her from Sailor duties. The storm was brewing and we were trying to shield her from it as much as possible.
When we arrived, Usagi in a maid costume dragged us to a "table". She set down the menu and asked us to order.
"We will have two cups of coffee," Haruka said. Usagi stared at Haruka and then coughed out the words "Charity! " Haruka blushed and ordered three more pieces of cake. Nodding in approval, Usagi wrote down our orders.
"Hey, Odango!" Seiya walked into the classroom and sweetly patted Usagi on the head. Both Haruka and I caught that gesture and we realized this was more complicated than we thought. Seiya had a crush on Usagi.
"Seiya, you know Michiru and Haruka from the concert, right? Why don't you guys share a table?" Before any of us could protest, Usagi shoved Seiya into the empty seat next to Haruka. When Usagi left to get us the cakes, Seiya's eyes lingered on the princess. Love and adoration practically screamed from his eyes.
"So, Seiya. You sure flirt with a lot of women. First with me, now with Usagi…"I said pointedly.
His face went red.
"So Seiya…do you like women that are not available? First with my partner, then with Usagi. Or did you not know Usagi has a boyfriend already?" Haruka added.
"Yeah, except Usagi's boyfriend needs to be beaten up! Did you know that Usagi had been writing every day since he left? He didn't even reply once. Did you know Usagi runs home every day after school just so that she could check her mailbox? This may be one sided, but I love…." He stopped halfway when he saw Usagi approaching with our food.
"That will be 500 yen …for each slice. So three slices, that means 1200 yen. And you are paying." Usagi placed the bill in front of Haruka. She smiled sweetly at Seiya and gave him one of our pieces. Haruka was practically fuming at this point.
I was still shocked to hear Seiya said that Mamoru had not been in touch with Usagi. Even more shocking was that Usagi didn't tell us or any of the scouts. She confided in Seiya. Their bond must be deeper than I thought.
"Oh, Michiru. Can you keep an eye on Chibi Chibi for a while? Mako-chan needed some help in the kitchen. Thanks." Usagi shoved the little child onto my lap and ran out of the classroom. I have never held her before, but as soon as I touched her, I felt a massive star energy radiating out of her.
Seiya gasped and he stood up all of a sudden. Then he leaned in closer to Chibi Chibi. I guess he sensed the star energy as well. "Can I hold her for a second?" Seiya asked. Wanting to see what he was getting at, I handed the child over to him.
He was looking at the kid intensely. Then, to our surprises, tears started to well up in his eyes. "Princess?" he muttered. When he realized we were watching him, he gave a nervous laugh and tried to explain his way out of it. "Haha, she is so cute. Doesn't she look like a princess?"
Just then, the school PA system came on. "Tsukino Usagi! Tsukino Usagi! If you are in the building, please come to the school yard." Seiya handed the child back to me and said he had to leave. We too sensed the massive evil energy that surrounded the school just now.
We asked one of the classmates to look after Chibi Chibi and then we ran toward the yard. On the way, we ran into the other scouts and we all transformed.
Sailor Lead Crow, one of the evil sailors, was holding a weird tube in her hand. "Tsukino Usagi. No. Sailor Moon. Do you know what this is?"
We had no idea the enemy had figured out Sailor Moon's identity already. The seven of us jumped in front of Sailor Moon, shielding her from the assailant. Before any of us could attack, a blast from Lead Crow sent all of us flying. Whatever power she possessed, she was able to render all of us useless in one single blow. Sailor Moon stood alone.
"Now that the interruptions are out of the way, let's talk. This is a miniature black hole. It doesn't have enough energy to suck up the whole miserable world, but it can devour this school and a couple blocks surrounding. If you don't want all of them to die, then surrender your star seed."
"Don't! Sailor Moon!" Sailor Starfighter appeared and tried to jump in front of her, but she was held back by Sailor Healer and Sailor Maker. "If you give up your star seed, you will die!"
Sailor Moon closed her eyes and said, "I don't want any innocent people to die." Just like that, she spread her arms and was ready to sacrifice herself. We all watched in horror as the princess's star seed got extracted. The brilliant shine was like no others. It illuminated Sailor Moon for a while and then she de-transformed into Usagi.
"NO! NO! NO! Usagi? USAGI!" Sailor Starfighter shrieked, as she realized that Usagi was Sailormoon and that Usagi, the woman she loved was dying.
Lead Crow walked toward Usagi. Before she could grab the star seed, a blast of energy knocked her down, and the tube holding the black hole broke.
Evil laughter erupted from behind one of the trees. Sailor Tin Nyanko appeared. "Why thank you, Sailor Lead Crow, for doing all the hard work. The research. The extracting. Now it's time for you to die. Don't worry, I will take the star seed to Galaxia-sama."
What followed happened in less than a minute. For us, it felt like an eternity. Sailor Lead Crow was the first to be swallowed in into the black hole. As it expanded, Usagi, along with her star seed, was sucked in next. We couldn't get to her in time. Then, Chibi Chibi appeared out of nowhere. She ran up to Sailor Tin Nyanko and said "No" before jumping into the black hole.
All of us, the scouts and the Sailor Starlights, stared hopelessly as the black hole continued to expand. The ground started to crack under the pressure. Severely hurt, Sailor Mercury tried to stand up and her goggle was down. She was scanning the black hole, hoping to find a way to save our princess and save the school. When we saw her collapse to her knees, we knew it was too late. If our smartest scout couldn't figure a way out of this, and all of our attacks were useless against a black hole...
Boom! A bright light exploded from within and the black hole was blown up. Chibi Chibi was transformed into Sailor Chibi Chibi. She was holding up an incense burner and great power was radiating out of it. Usagi, along with her star seed was floating in mid air. Another lady was holding her and gently descended back to the ground.
"Princess!" The Sailor Starlights said in unison, before kneeling down and bow to their superior.
Usagi woke and looked at the woman with red, fiery hair. "So, you are the lady they have been searching for all this time. I am glad."
"I am Princess Kakyuu. Sailor Starlights and I are from the planet Kinmoku. Sailor Moon, I think it is time we talk…"