"This is Takeda Sakura with breaking news." The reporter stood in front of the temple stairs. Fire fighters and police were bustling about in the background. "I'm here at the Hikawa shrine where a mysterious explosion interrupted a peaceful afternoon."
Makoto had the TV on as background noise, listening to an afternoon soap opera when the broadcast had suddenly interjected. The location caught her attention right away, causing her to drop the bowl of brownie mix she'd been blending with a wooden spoon.
"Usagi!" she shouted to her friends who had bustled to the back room to play some video games together. "Mina! Get in here!"
"WHAT?!" Minako shouted from the other room. "We're trading pokemon!"
Makoto frowned, frustrated at how childish the two leads could be sometimes. They were more focused on pokemon than anything else. "Something happened to the Hikawa Shrine! It's on the news right now!"
That quickly got their attention as the two bolted in to the living room. As they glued themselves to the TV, images of the explosion panned across the screen. Part of the temple was simply missing, leaving a black mark in its wake.
"The nature of this explosion is wholly unknown at the time," the reporter continued. "Firefighters are confirming that this was no ordinary explosion, possibly linked to the strange occurrences that seem to plague the Minato-ku area."
Minako turned to Usagi. "This smells of the Shadow Galaxy," she nodded. "But why would they go after Rei? They've been only going after the Eclipse Senshi until now."
"Head miko Hino Rei and two unnamed guests, both high school students, were reported to be in that section of the shrine when the explosion happened," the reporter noted. "The three girls are currently reported missing. It is unknown if they were caught in the disaster."
Usagi gasped. "Rei-chan!"
"No bodies have been found yet," she concluded. "Only this." She held up a plastic bag containing a single tarot card, the Magician. "This card was found in the middle of the scorched area in the temple covered in ice. In Tarot, the magician often symbolizes a symbol of power."
Usagi recalled that card from her tarot reading from Kasumi. It showed up in her own fortune as a symbol of the power to shape the world. She squinted at the screen. That card looked like the ones Kasumi had. "I think Kasumi-chan was with Rei-chan in the temple!"
"The card is highly unusual as it features a custom image. Can we get a close-up of this card?" Sakura held up the card so that the cameraman could zoom in on the picture. "As you can see, this is no ordinary magician but instead a picture of Sailor Moon in some sort of new outfit with fairy wings."
"What do you mean, Kasumi-chan was with Rei-chan?" Minako blinked stupidly.
"Because," Usagi replied, "I asked Kasumi-chan to read my fortune a few days ago. That looks like the Magician card that showed up in my fortune, but with a different person in the picture. The pose was exactly the same."
The camera zoomed back out to show Sakura fully once again. "After years of reporting on oddities and Sailor Moon news, it is this reporter's expert opinion that this is a message to Sailor Moon. If you're listening, Sailor Moon, please help find these girls. This card will be available for you and you alone to pick up at the Azabu-Juuban police station."
...
There was no question about going to retrieve the card, though the three senshi headed to the shrine first. Both Jupiter and Venus experienced a power-up when they transformed, donning new outfits reminiscent of their princess dresses.
Jupiter gained a scallop-like layered green skirt with sheer layers. Her outfit became two pieces, showing off her toned midriff. A single green rose decorated her right hip. Her brooch had returned to a green heart. Her gloves had shortened to wrist-length with fluted edges. Her shoes had returned to her green heeled high-tops.
Venus had also gained a layered skirt, though it was two layers on top of a full skirt. Her brooch and a gem in her hairbow shifted to closely resemble Moon's new brooch, a heart with pearls lining each side. Her waistband had changed to two stripes lined with pearls at the bottom. Her gloves too had become short and wrist-length. Her shoes now sported a heart-shaped buckle.
When they arrived, the police were wrapping up their investigation and the firefighters had cleared the area for re-entry. The news crews were packing up, but the reporter was still there.
"Takeda-san!" Moon called out to her.
Takeda Sakura turned sharply at the name and nearly dropped her notebooks. Of all her years of reporting, she'd never once met Sailor Moon in person. "That was... incredibly fast. It's an honor to finally meet you in person, though I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Me too," Moon agreed. There was sadness in her eyes as she longed for her lost friends, worrying for their safety. "I want to find Rei-chan and her friends. I... no, we'll do everything we can."
"I knew you would," Sakura smiled. Even as neutral as she had to be for a reporter, she was incredibly pleased to hear such reassuring words. "Unfortunately I don't have the card anymore. The police do."
"Sailor V! No matter how many times you change costumes, I know it's you!"
Venus tensed up at the voice, nearly pushing her shoulders up to her ears as she frowned sharply. "Natsuna. I should've figured you'd be involved in this." Jupiter and Moon both raised their eyebrows at Venus.
"Sailor Moon! I'm Sakurada Natsuna, superintendent-general of the police," she introduced herself, taking Moon's hands in hers and giving them a hearty, slightly fangirl shake. "Big fan. I'm so glad you're keeping my dear V busy now."
Sailor Moon was speechless. In the past two and a half years, Minako had never mentioned having a friendship with a policewoman. She always seemed to hate the police. But Natsuna didn't seem to act like an ordinary policewoman, nor look like one. She looked like an older Rei, her hair long and elegant, flowing over her sleeveless Chinese-style dress.
"Now's not the time to fan girl," Venus fussed at Natsuna. That woman was always fanning over something, usually Sailor V. She was somewhat surprised to hear Natsuna had switched from V to Moon, and strangely Venus felt a bit of jealousy. "There are lives at stake here. Now give Moon the card."
"Alright, alright," Natsuna sighed. "Here you go." She pulled the card from her bag and handed it over to Moon, who quickly held on to it like it was her lost friends. "I hope this tells you something."
Moon held it close to her heart. She could feel that energy that Kasumi seemed to emit, even if it was the sort of energy that made most people's skin crawl. It was hers alright, no doubt in her mind. "It does. We'll find them all. Rei-chan, Kasumi-chan, and the unknown third girl. I promise."
But she knew who the third girl was. There was really only one possibility. The ice which coated the card was a clue so big even she picked up on it. The mysterious third girl was without a doubt Plutonium.
….
Author's notes
Natsuna Sakurada is the police superintendent in the Sailor V manga. She's a bit off her rocker and is a total Sailor V superfan. A pity she never quite made it into Sailor Moon.
Sakura Takeda doesn't have any particular significance. I chose two names that sounded good together. Sakura's a very common name meaning cherry blossoms. Takeda is a name that dates pretty far back into the Sengoku Era and means bamboo rice paddy or warrior rice paddy, depending on how it's written.
